August 10: A bag with a computer, presentations, high heels, baguette, package of cheese and chutney

Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

• While getting ready i heard Red crying; she was in one of those moods where she just laid there in a ball crying, and didn’t tell me what was wrong.  I try to be patient but it is hard.   What is it sweetie?   Why are you upset?  Did you have a good night sleep?   What can I do to make it better?   She was handling her loosened pony-tail.   Is it your hair?   do you want met to fix that for you?   Still no answer.   Twin Crazy came into the room and pointed to Red, “talking” in her baby talk and me responding “Yes, Red is upset.  She is sad.”   Twin Crazy is very empathetic and she gets it when someone is upset.  I have an idea.   Can you help me with my lotions?   She helped hold the bottles as I got my face cream and eye cream on.  That seemed to help.
• Twin Crazy came in with two toothbrushes and was saying “brush”.  She loves to brush her teeth.
• I still couldn’t find my brush since Twin Crazy took it downstairs yesterday and it never made its way back upstairs.   So Red, Twin Crazy and I went downstairs.
• I fixed Red’s hair in a pony-tail and I asked her to tell me how Daycare does it.   She directed me with water first, then brush, then put in pony-tail.   So I told her that I was going to follow her directions exactly as she told me.   She seemed VERY happy from that point on.
• Finding clothes was a bit of an issue this AM since we have 6 loads of unfolded laundry in our back bedroom.  I had to do some searching.   I came out with jeans for Big Bro but he wanted shorts so I asked him to go and look for some.  He got overwhelmed with the back bedroom but then I found him fishing for some in the dryer.  He was successful and found a pair of his favorite shorts.
• I then diapered the Twins, talked to them.   Twin Crazy was reading a book.   Twin Husky was playful and I asked him if I could kiss his belly.   They are so sweet.
• OK!   Time to get in the car!!!    I pack up the bag with their jackets and shoes.   Big Bro finds some books to bring to school.   Both drop-offs went wonderfully.

We are on the ferry now, it is grey but the water is flat.  Some people are chatting with each other but many are reading books or listing to music.  I wonder what they do for work.  I wonder what their situations are with kids – do they have any and at what ages?   I feel so old to be having these kids so young.  We see some of these faces at daycare in the mornings but for some reason we mind our own business.  This is a nice way to commute, probably one that cannot get any better.

Today at work I am going to be hustling:

• I have to get the presentation complete for our huge meeting tomorrow
• I need to confirm objectives for potential project so I can start that proposal
• I will have a face-to-face meeting with an old client who will give us some insight on potential business opportunities and guidance for 2 proposals under consideration so they do not die.

So – it will be a busy day for me.  I will again need to hit the ground running.  I wish we had a good bagel place by our office.

Highlights of my Working Day:

• got myself ready in the ladies room – make up and hair
• grabbed tea, water, and an entire box of fig newtons.  This was my breakfast.  I need to get better at this – I need to start bringing in something healthy to eat – yogurt, fruit, or something.   This is getting ridiculous.
• worked on the presentation that I will deliver to the “expanded” client team, tomorrow.  The content is there, it just needs to be repackaged for this new audience.   I received feedback from our client as to what to include, so I hit the ground and attacked the presentation.   It was in great shape for Director review; very few edits.   We went to press with it and then sent it to the client for them to print on their end.  Tomorrow’s meeting makes me a bit nervous since we may have some push-back from people – especially if they are on the defensive.   But the Senior EVP will be in the meeting too so hopefully that will keep the meeting tame.
• sent out a draft of project objectives and key questions for a proposal due this week; once potential client confirms, I will be able to write the proposal.  I will likely write it on the plane tomorrow if I receive feedback from him early enough.
• joined a business lunch that was rushed but got chicken parmesan so that made up for my shitty breakfast.
•  went to face-to-face meeting with an old client – he is moving on to another company so this was really to catch up with him and also gain his help in understanding who we can contact within the company for work and also follow up on status of two outstanding proposals to them.   On the way back from the meeting the Director and I talked through a go-to-market plan for this client/organization on who we should be talking with; we are going to start setting up meetings to do this; i love this kind of stuff – being more client facing versus managing a team to get the work done – project management is fine when the team is dependable but it is really hard when they are not – then the work falls on you and I just don’t have the time available to deliver a team’s worth of work myself – I only have a limited number of hours in the day and fewer than what most consultants are able to do.
• picked up the presentation materials, packed up my computer.   I’m now headed to an appointment so I have all sorts of things with me; iPad, computer, presentations, my high-heel shoes,etc.   I sort of look like a bag lady but with too much technology.

Commute Home:

During Wednesday nights I have these appointments so Hubby holds down the fort and we now have a NEW mother’s helper so I don’t feel guilty.    If I’m lucky,  I will be able to see Red and Big Bro off to bed, and only if they are dragging out their teeth, PJs, and book routine.   So I’ll think of them now and miss them.   Wednesday nights are hard for me for so many reasons.
4:45 PM:  NOTE:  There is a woman on the train who is bouncing her baby too much.   he’s in a baby Bjorn but she is honestly physically comforting him too much.   She must be a new mom.   She does not realize that she is creating a spoiled child who will not be able to soothe himself – creating a being who will be dependent on her for his satisfaction.   What the hell is she doing?  She’s bouncing all over the place and hopping.   I know I did this with my first, but by 3 and 4, you know better and I want to tell this woman to stop it but I know I can’t.  There she goes again, bouncing all over the place.   Even though the kid does not need to be bounced now.   STOP IT PLEASE YOU ARE MAKING ME NUTS WITH THE BOUNCING YOUR KID IS NOT FUSSING NOW AND YOU ARE CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT THAT WILL DRAIN YOU FOR YEARS ON END.   Whew.  That feels better.

6:50 PM.  OK.   My appointment finished and I had to wait and wait and wait for a train to take me back downtown to take the last ferry home.   It is absolutely freezing outside.   I really have had it with where I live.   I don’t know if I’ll have time to grab the glass of wine I was hoping for.

7:34.   Yes, I did.  Unfortunately I had to guzzle the glass of wine.  I shoved just one bite of baguette with some Mt. Tam cheese; had to wrap the rest, including the chutney.  So now I have a bag with some presentations, a computer, a baguette, and a saran package of cheese and chutney that I’m sure is fallout out all over the place.   There are few people on the ferry tonight.  I feel buzzed with the one glass of wine that I downed in less than 10 minutes.   It is freezing outside.   Think October/Nov weather.   I hope the kids did well tonight.

8:05 PM:   I’m still not used to the iPad and as I’m walking home in the freezing cold (windy, cold, snot dripping from my nose) I hear the Bee Jees coming from the iPad in my bag.   I need to figure out how to work this thing.

8:15 PM:   tuck Red and Big Bro in bed.   Ask them how their day went.   Scratch Big Bro’s back.   Talk to Red about a lot of stuff I don’t remember now.   I tell them about my trip on the airplane tomorrow and how I think I’ll be back in time for their dinner.   Big Bro asks me to see what games are on my iPad and tell him…. I tell him I’ll leave him a note so he can see it in the morning.   Now I have to figure out games on iPad…. I’m going to finish the baguette and cheese with hubby as I do this….

Till tomorrow

– Mama K