Wanted: Stay At Home Mom To Take Care of Jackson

I have been using all of my resources to try to find someone to watch Jackson while I'm at work. Fortunately, my mom is here until October and my grandma will be watching him until she leaves for Florida in January. My next step is to try to find someone to watch Jackson starting at the beginning of 2010 (he'll be six months old by then). I figured, why not try Facebook and my blog to try to find someone? My goal is to find someone who can give Jackson all the attention and love that he deserves. We are trying to avoid the daycare setting - at least until he's old enough to play with other kids. My ideal scenario would be to find a stay at home mom who's looking to make some extra income and that loves little ones. I want Jackson to be with the same person every day, if at all possible, so that he has some consistency and can keep a schedule. Please e-mail me if you know of any trustworty, caring, honest moms who would take great care of my little boy. I can be reached at heth7481@hotmail.com.

Madison Road

A good friend of mine has recently asked me to help her with some marketing for her new company. I am truly excited for this opportunity. Ann's company, Madison Road, is really starting to take off. We are in the process of forming partnerships with boutiques in the South Bend area, the merchandise is available online, (to view some our portfolio - mostly young girls' clothes - click here: http://www.madisonroad6.blogspot.com/.) , and Ann will be hosting a home show in November to kick off the holiday shopping season!

She is soooo talented. She designs and sews incredibly unique and stylish clothes and accessories for infants and children. If any of you were at my baby shower, you'll remember that she MADE some really really cute burp cloths and onesies. Within the next two weeks we'll begin working on a fall/holiday catalog and my family gets to be part of the photo shoot! Can you say Reed family Christmas card???!?!!?

This company's goal is to promote the strong family values and ideals of common Midwestern families. It is the face of everything that I was raised to know. I am so lucky to be friends with this creative, enterprenurial family. They are amazing people and I feel honored to help them with this. Some day, we hope that Ann will be the "Martha Stewart of the Midwest". For now, we are focusing on creating a local following of her designs. Please check out her blog (link above) and stay tuned for details about future Madison Road events!

Three Months Old

My baby is 3 months old today! I cannot believe that three months ago he came into our lives. I am so proud to be his mama. Here are a few recent pics...

Josh

Jan. 28, 1994 - Sep. 3, 2009

MISHAWAKA - Joshua Reed was a very vibrant 15-year-old boy. He was taken from this world by a truck accident on Thursday evening. Josh was a bright light who warmed all around him. He loved ATVing, snowboarding - anything fast. Josh was much loved by family and friends. Our hearts ache with his loss. He was beautiful and smart, and we loved him with all our hearts. Josh was a true friend to so many; he cared and helped whenever he could. He was big-hearted and always tried to do the right thing. He will be missed by all who knew him and loved him. There will never be anyone to replace him. He was a great asset to his family, always helping his Dad on our dairy farm. He was a Madison Twp. 4-H member, showing both pigs and cattle. Josh loved his My Space page and how it let him keep in touch with his many friends. The family would like all of his friends to leave a message on his page so we can read it. If you have pictures to share, his family would appreciate it. Josh was a Penn High School freshman, having come from Grissom Middle School. He was the greatest son anyone could ever ask for: I pray that God takes care of my baby now. Josh is survived by his father, David Reed; mother, Marci Reed; brothers, DJ (Heather) Reed, Eddy (Jenn) Reed, Jakob Reed and Jonathan Reed; maternal grandparents, Ed and Shirley Thomas of South Bend, Charles and Berniece Vogel of Ft. Worth, TX; paternal grandfather, James (Elaine) Reed of Cassopolis, MI; and many aunts, uncles and cousins, and one nephew, Jackson. Josh was a parishioner at Holy Family Catholic Church. Visitation for Josh will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. with a Rosary at 3:30 p.m. Monday, September 7, in the Hahn Funeral Home, 505 W. 8th Street, Mishawaka. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 8, with visitation one hour prior in Holy Family Catholic Church, 56405 Mayflower Road, South Bend, with Rev. Bernard Galic officiating. Burial will follow at St. John's Cemetery, Woodland. Memorial contributions may be made to Riley Children's Foundation, 30 South Meridian Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46204. To leave the family an online condolence or to share memories with the family, please visit our website at http://www.hahnfuneralhomes.com/.

Working Mom

Yesterday was my first day back to work after three wonderful months at home with Jackson. Honestly, leaving yesterday morning was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I was a wreck. Fortunately, my mom is here until October staying at home with him and taking great care of him. Despite how lucky I am to have her here, I had the hardest time saying goodbye yesterday. I was thinking too much about the "forever-ness" of going back to work.
My former manager and new manager have been amazing. (While I was on maternity leave my company reorganized and therefore I have a new boss.) When I got to work yesterday, there was a chocolate chip muffing sitting on my desk with a note from my former boss saying she knew how hard my first day back would be and that she was here if I needed anything. After a tear-filled message on her voicemail thanking her for the muffin, she rushed over to give me a hug ... a badly needed hug.
Next was a meeting with my new team and my new boss. I should have come in earlier and tried to get myselft together. By the time my 8:30 meeting rolled around, my face was all puffy and my eyes were red from crying. I never cry at work so it was hard for me to seem so vulnerable right off the bat on my first day. Then I saw Sarah - one of my new teammates who returned to work last Monday after having her little boy, Henry. The smile on her face gave me hope. She seemed to be coping with going back to work very well and I knew she had just as hard of a time returning to work as I did. My new manager has a 10-month-old son and we talked about traveling for work, the cost of daycare, and the amazing thing it is to be a mom or dad. I am seriously fortunate to work with such great people and it makes returning to work so much easier.
Did I mention that EVERY woman in my family has stayed home with her children? I'm serious. Every. Single. One. My grandmothers, aunts, sister-in-law, mother-in-law ... all stay at home moms. Ya - that makes it tons easier, I promise.
Now, I need to focus on the positive. My goal is to show Jackson that his mom is a hard working, successful career woman. Okay - that sounds corny, but what's the point of all this if he doesn't feel that way in the end? I want to show him that it's important to like your work and that I've done everything I can to give him the life that he deserves. I have quickly learned that I need to just take things one day at a time and run home as often as I can to hold my little guy so that he doesn't forget who Mommy is.