I’m currently wrestling with the childcare/after school care question – we ‘lost’ (would never give that particular childminder a good reference) after school care last term (only one day a week but oh boy! what a difference an entire day makes) and then his playdate moved away. Going from two definite days per week to an entire week of only school time (yes, I can hear the preschool crowd gnashing their teeth in jealousy – it does get better with age) has really screwed up my productivity/creativity. I find I’m not that great at working late into the night either though I can schedule certain tasks for then. But I did find a spot in a three-day per week after school program …… then wondered if my Wee Guy really wanted to ‘not come home’ that many afternoons (what about playdates, piano, etc) which got me thinking about how much contracting out I was comfortable with ………

I totally agree with you about being a better parent when happy and mindfully employed. Whatever is in my family future (which also doesn’t feature handy nearby grandparents, another envy of local friends) I know that I need to put reliable childcare into place; whether it’s for outside employment or taking the plunge to amp up my own small business, I deserve to and my family will benefit if I can focus totally in the different areas of life I/we choose to go.

PS: not rambling at all – a great blow-by-blow account of how you successfully combine; a great description of how working life for families is at last moving forward step by step
thank you
pomomama aka ebbandflo’s last post … friday forte- holy crap

I get goosebumps when I hear people speak favorably of our store, products and customer service.

As for the Pomomama questions re: childcare/nannies, I truly believe this is an individual choice and there are many factors that influence your decision. When Raspberry Kids was being conceptualized and products were being researched, I was actually commuting back and forth to Winnipeg with two very young children, living at my best friend’s house while trying to spend as much time with my mom who was terminally ill with cancer.

Since then, we hired a nanny and this seems to work best for our family, although I think there are ups and downs with any child care situation. In the past I have worked from home quite a bit and only in the last little while have I started working more “full time” at the warehouse. I made the choice/commitment to take the kids to preschool every day (Our daughter was in the 4yo program on M/W/F and our son was in the 3yo program on T/T), I volunteered in their class, went on field trips and got to be a part of the special celebrations at the school, be on the PAC, take the kids to all their appointments etc.

Our kids also stay up rather late so we get to spend a ton of time together as a family in the evenings and we have a ball planning fun things to do for the weekends, mixed in with chores and work. Although I am not the primary caregiver to our kids during the day, I still feel connected with them and am pleased with the amount of time we get to spend together.

My husband also runs his own business and we have no family in Vancouver. I’ve lost both my parents and my husband has lost his father and his mom lives in Australia so we do not have the opportunity to drop the kids with the grandparents or relatives or have them play a role in our childminding schedule. I cannot tell you how envious I am of friends or other parents I know that have this support in their lives. Not only is there an enormous void of missing my parents and having my kids grow up without them, I also do not have the benefit or luxury of their help or wisdom in raising our kids the way other families might.

The other thing that allows me to own my business is that I often work until the wee hours once the kids have gone to bed. I’ve actually scheduled meetings or calls with other “Raccoon Moms” after 10PM because that was the only time that worked for both of our schedules.

The biggest question I always ask myself when faced with a ridiculous number of balls to juggle, insane logistics, mile long to do lists and so many obligations and priorities is: 1) What can I do differently to make things more manageable and 2) Do I still love what I do?

While I do have to change things up from time to time and learn how to say “no” a bit more often (still working on that one though because I really, really want to always say yes!), I absolutely still love what I do and it makes the craziness all worthwhile. I also have learned that I am a better parent and person when I am happy and doing something that is worthy of my time and talent. The other reminder I often give myself is that we need to take responsibility for our decisions and choices and if something isn’t working, we have the ability to change it.

Thanks for listening to my rambles!

What would be even more informative though would be some deeper questions about how they do manage childcare. At last month’s momcafe I was struck by how much a nanny plays a part in developing a business or working outside the home, and it’s certainly an area which is exercising my mind currently ie. how much do I want to/need to contract out my childcare and how comfortable will I/the Wee Guy be with it?

Is a certain level of childcare the decider between hobby and career? or is equal parenting/equal outside working life a possibility?
pomomama aka ebbandflo’s last post … friday forte- holy crap