Balancing Parenting Between Partners

I think the word "balance" assumes equality. Whether it's work/life, or shared parenting, the word "balance" for me assumes that both get an equal share of time and effort.

For me, this never happens. The pendulum swings back and forth. JV is a very involved and hands on parent, but he also works much more than I do, often involving nights and weekends.

I came across this New York Times article about "shared parenting", where couples really do try to share things equally. I found it very interesting and thought provoking. I'm all for shared parenting, but I think it's almost impossible (notice I say "almost"). Take a look at this article when you get a chance and let me know your thoughts:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/magazine/15parenting-t.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. I probably don't tell him enough, but JV is an amazing father and husband and I feel so fortunate to have him in my life. I am also grateful to my own Dad, who taught me, among many other things, to have a strong work ethic and to never quit when the going gets tough. Thanks, Dad. To all the Dads out there - take some time to chill out and relax today - you deserve it!

Winding up vacation

Today is our last day down South. We've had a very sunny (and HOT - 95 degrees!) week, and we've had a great time together as a family. The sun and heat has been exhausting, but it's been nice to sleep in and eat out. We've been pretty active, bike riding and doing a lot of walking, but a few times I had to bow out, citing 30-weeks-pregnant exhaustion and backaches. JV, Diva, and Daredevil went on a lengthy (8 mile!) bike ride this morning. I graciously declined, stayed behind and did laundry and a bit of packing. Tomorrow morning we will leave early for the long drive back home. We hope to arrive home around dinner time tomorrow night, JV did not want to be traveling on Father's Day, and I can't really blame him. All this focus on family this week, as well as the passing of my 30th week, really made reality set in that I'm about to have a baby in 8 or so weeks. I'm so not ready!

Getting ready for vacation - a heck of a lot of work

Tomorrow morning we are heading south for a week to visit relatives who live on a beautiful island in the southeast. While I'm looking forward to a week off, I'm not looking forward to the 10-12 hour drive it will take to get there. I'm also not looking forward to parading my 7 months pregnant body at the beach, pool, restaurants, generally anywhere in public. Ugh.

I've taken today off work to get ready for the trip -but it's now almost 1 p.m. and I haven't done a darn thing. Well, nothing in a packing sense. I've been running around all morning. Diva finished school yesterday, so she is home with me for the day. I made the offer to Daredevil that he could stay home too, but he opted to go to his preschool since they were having "Circus Day" today. And I had an OB appt at 8am. Had to take them both with me, always fun to have to pee in a cup in front of your 5 and 8 year old. They thought it was hilarious.

All went well there, then we dropped Daredevil off at his school, got Diva's hair cut, went shopping for summer footwear (always essential before the season's first trip to the beach) came home and ate lunch. Now I guess I have no choice but to start packing and doing the 1,000,000 other things I need to do (stop papers, clean out fridge, clean up house, put away laundry, replace foglight on car, etc.) Pathetic that I have to burn a vacation day to get READY to go on vacation! Wish me luck that I'll survive the marathon drive and maybe be able to relax a little bit. :)

My first post!

Well, here I am. I finally set up a blog, something I've been wanting to do for a long time. As soon as I figure out what my first REAL post will be, I'll be back!