Binkies and Briefcases

Ok, I’m not updating daily as I originally intended. My bad, but I really don’t need another thing on the to-do list. Take today, for example…
I woke up with the baby at 6:30 and had all three of us (Nick, Abby, and myself) fed, dressed, and out the door by 8:15 to go to Mom N Me at our church. The program doesn’t actually start until 9, but I need to get there early because I’m on the steering committee and it’s my responsibility to make the coffee. We had to leave in the middle of the presentation because Abby was crying inconsolably and pulling on her ears.
Ear infection? An 11 am last-minute doctor’s appointment said no, just fluid in the ears, most likely from teething.
Got to the toy library by noon, and good thing because we actually had quite a bit of traffic today because our add was printed in the latest issue of Clipper Magazine, which just came out. Nicholas had his OT appointment at 2, which (thankfully) we can do right here at Tiny Toes. Cue pop-in visit from ad sales. Cue phone call informing me that Kirsten (my employee) has fallen down the steps while 6 months pregnant. Thank God mom and baby are both alright, aside from being a bit sore, but she will be in the hospital overnight for observation.
Kept the kids with me until after 5, when Eddie was able to pick them up. They were actually really good today, all things considered.
Continued to play phone tag all day with a reporter. Guess we won’t be able to schedule that interview for tonight after all. For the best, because I’m exhausted. I still have two more hours and a story time to do before I can crash in front of American Idol.
Coming in early tomorrow to open for our playgroup. Mommy needs a nap. Why did I think running a business and keeping the kids with me all day was going to be such a great idea?

Ok, that sounds totally full of myself. What I guess I should say is that I have discovered a hidden talent for writing press releases that seem to get a lot of attention. The latest one has gotten me into a bit of a pickle. You see, I recently partnered with the ladies from Atomic Bounce, another mom-owned business in our area, and we decided to send out another press release about ourselves as momtrepreneurs. So I wrote it and sent it out and about three hours later I had a lady from channel 8 on the phone wanting an interview.

Great! Slight problem, though. The header of the press release said something along the lines of “with dads being laid off and families stretched to their limits in this economy, some stay at home moms are going into business for themselves…” True enough, and it got their attention like I knew it would, but my husband (thankfully) is gainfully employed, and as far as I know so are the Atomic Bounce dads. Of course, the reporter wants to do a story with a group of moms who are struggling more now than they used to be. Of course, I tell her it will be no problem to get a group of these moms together to do an interview. Of course, I agree to schedule everything. Dumb? Maybe, but I think I actually can find a few moms who at least sort of fit that description, so hopefully I’ll be able to pull it off.

At home we’ve been battling a stomach virus for almost a week. Nicholas got sick last Saturday, but only for a few hours. I was next, so I missed several days of work this week, and then Eddie caught it much worse than anyone. Luckily his mom came and swept the kids away for a few days, hoping we could keep Abby away from the germs as much as possible. We’re going to pick them up later today. It’s been quiet without them!

Yay! I finally had some families come to bedtime stories tonight! Two moms who were friends brought their children. They were very sweet and complimentary. The best part was the way they heard about Tiny Toes. The Jewish Community Center, which operates one of the largest preschool programs in our area, had sent out a mass email to their parents that I didn’t even know about! They were on my list of places to contact about handing out fliers, etc., but they beat me to it.

It was a pretty long day because the one employee I have is sick, so I had the kids with me at work for almost six hours before Eddie could pick them up. Nicholas wound up falling asleep on the floor (of a room that was not his bedroom) for the first time in his life, the poor guy was so exhausted. I hope Kirsten is feeling better for her sake and mine because I have three appointments and a dinner date scheduled for tomorrow that I’m going to have to cancel if she’s still sick, plus I’m sure she’d much rather be hanging out with kids and toys than home feeling yucky.

Time to call it a night and head home.