My Advice for Christina Applegate {and other working moms}.

I was recently perusing my typical intellectual reading(*cough gossip website cough*) and saw a link to a blog post written by Christina Applegate entitled "My Tips For a Working Mother".  

Yes.  Let's do this, Christina.
I am a full-time working mother of two.  I need all the help and advice I can get.

I quickly dive right into the article....  

....................and quickly realize Christina Applegate, God bless her, has no real advice for me.

So I had to respond:

Christina Applegate's working mom advice:  Find something you love to do with your daughter!

McMommy's working mom advice: Find something to do for dinner!  But make sure you defrost it at 6am because when you walk in the door at 6pm and the kids are a meltdown, screaming I-AM-STARVING!-when-is-dinner-going-to-be-ready?!-can-I-have-this-cookie-as-a-snack?-you-are-SOOOO-MEAN-for-not-letting-me-eat-this-cookie-right-now-because-I-am-HUNNNNGRY!! mess?
You are already ahead of the game.  
Even better?  CROCK POT.  


Christina Applegate's working mom advice:  Build a support system!

McMommy's working mom advice: Build a support system....Including but not limited to: the help of family, the bribery of a Dollar Store visit, and the victory of good wine on sale.  But let's be clear--the Dollar Store bribe is for your child. The wine is for you.  And do NOT buy any wine at the Dollar Store.  


Christina Applegate's working mom advice:  The ongoing juggling act and the power of distraction

McMommy's working mom advice:  What?  That isn't even a complete sentence, Christina!


You know the infamous phrase:  "I don't know how she does it!"  
Yeah, well, neither do we. 

I think my best advice for working moms is that when you feel like you are all alone, doggy-paddling to stay afloat.....comfort yourself by knowing there is another working mom out there who is feeling EXACTLY THE SAME WAY.

You are not alone when you are making their lunches and their breakfast simultaneously...when you are doing the kids hair while also trying to do your own...when you are wiping toothpaste off their cheeks, making sure you signed the reminder binder, and praying the outfit you are wearing isn't the same one you wore on Monday.  Because who can actually remember what happened on Monday.  

There will be many days when you will look longingly at the moms dropping the kids off at school wearing their workout clothes.  And imagine how awesome it would be to hit the gym or go for a leisurely run at 9 in the morning instead of sitting at a desk.  You are not the only one looking at the clock at dismissal time, wishing you could be there to pick the kids up from school.  And I promise you are not the only working mom who cannot volunteer in the classroom every week like the other moms {although you will wish with every star in the sky that you could because you see how excited and proud your kid is to see you there in the classroom.}  

There will be many a night when you are cooking dinner, helping the oldest with homework, trying to play legos with the youngest and yet you are still wearing your work clothes{please for the love of god just give mommy two minutes to get comfy and throw her hair into a ponytail, plllllllllease} all while you are trying to forget that due to that guy leaving the company today...you now have 17 hours worth of additional work to do.  {Did my phone just ding with a work email?  Ew.}

So amen, sister.  It is an ongoing juggling act but it's reassuring to know we aren't the only juggler in the circus.  We all have our reasons for working, whether it be for the money, the insurance, the fulfillment, the opportunity, or dare I say.....those initial 3 minutes of uninterrupted bliss when you first get into the office and enjoy a hot cup of coffee in silence.   HEAVEN RIGHT THERE.

Uh oh, that isn't even a complete sentence.

Touché, Christina Applegate, touché.