Family CEO

My dad sent me this via email this morning and it made me feel so much better (for today at least) about staying home with my kids.

Help Wanted: Family CEO "Mom Upside Down" by Jason Kotecki. Made with Photoshop. More about this art. elp Wanted: Family CEO Applicant is responsible for the management and safety of her subordinates at all times. She will be responsible for the overall health and development of those under her supervision, including, but not limited to, ensuring proper regular hygiene, ethics instruction, and recreational activities. She will foster appropriate communication and team building skills within her unit, which shall require expertise status in the areas of conflict resolution and communications. Being particularly fluent in primitive languages is a plus. She will serve as the company’s accountant, overseeing a strict budget and handling all accounts receivable and payable. She will be in charge of securing the supplies necessary to provide proper nutrition and will use said supplies to prepare and serve three nutritious meals a day. Applicant will assume all janitorial and laundering duties for the premises of the entire office. Applicant will also be responsible for managing the daily and nightly agenda for all those under her supervision, while providing transportation to and from social activities and meetings with peers, physicians, and various mascots, muppets or clowns. Traditionally, the holder of this job also assumes the role of the one-person party planning committee. An ideal candidate will be exceedingly patient, kind, and caring, skilled at doing more with less, while possessing quick decision making skills and a willingness to answer several hundred questions a day. Other duties as assigned. Salary & Benefits: Starting salary range is between zero and zilch. We are unable to provide health insurance or a retirement program, but the rest of the benefits are great and working from home is encouraged. Vacation days are generously provided, as long as the candidate is willing to take her subordinates with her and maintain all job responsibilities while on vacation or is willing to pay someone else a hefty sum to assume them in her absence. Interested applicants should apply within. If you haven't figured it out already, this is a job description for a stay-at-home mom, written in corporate speak. My mom was a stay-at-home mom. I know a number of mothers who are, although their number is dwindling. That’s because to be a stay-at-home mom, a woman must give up her career, her income, her ambition, her identity, her sense of self. Or so it is assumed. Being a stay-at-home mom is not considered a very cool job to have. In fact, it’s barely considered a job at all. I just think it’s a job with a lousy title. It would appear that the number one requirement of a stay-at-home mom is to...stay home, while everyone else trudges off to work their “real” jobs. I mean, how hard is that? Staying at home is so easy, that apparently now even men can do it. We call them stay-at-home dads. What’s apparently not so obvious is that the job requires a lot more than simply being a parent and staying at home, as the sample job description above indicates. Clearly, “Stay-At-Home Parent” doesn’t seem to cut it as an accurate job title. I propose Family CEO. The position of Family CEO is more demanding and requires a more diverse skill set than just about any job you can name. And the duties assigned to a Family CEO are not optional. They need to be taken care of one way or another, whether you stay at home or not. Some people outsource many of the tasks to family members, friends, or strangers, while others try to squeeze them in and around their other full-time jobs. In fact, that’s what most people do. In the sum of my travels around this country, I have noticed that the families who are most overwhelmed by stress often have two parents who work outside the home. Family life is chaos. There is no structure, no balance, no peace. It is my assertion that the reason for this is because there is no dedicated Family CEO. One or both parents are trying to squeeze the responsibilities around their other jobs. Unfortunately, it’s too big of a job to do part-time during your non-peak energy areas. Most people will say that they need two incomes in order to live. I would argue that they need both incomes in order to maintain their standard of living. Upon honestly counting the costs of day care, transportation, convenience food, and most importantly, the STRESS that comes with both parents working outside the home, I wonder how many people would come to the conclusion that they’d be better off hiring a Family CEO from within. Make no mistake: It's a hard job. And you're borderline crazy to even consider it. But its importance is unparalleled and the benefits are out of this world. Thanks, Mom. No big revalation this week, other than to honor your mom somehow. It would appear that Hallmark's got us covered on that front, but how often do we comply out of obligation other than from the real gratitude that's in our heart? Share! --> What's your Mom's greatest superpower? Share it on our Facebook page! Stay young and stay fun, P.S. Could your workplace or association use a little bit more fun and a LOT less stress? We'd love to discuss the idea of bringing me in to do a program for your group.Here's a peek at some of the organizations that already did, have a lot less Adultitis because of it!

coolthing Just You Wait - A collection of raw, insightful, and humorous journal entries detailing the adventures in fighting Adultitis as first-time parents. Parents of all sorts – and especially first-timers – will enjoy following along with Kim and Jason on their journey into parenthood and will be left strengthened, inspired, and hopeful that children may not be the cause of Adultitis after all. bloghighlights Woman Sees City Streets as Giant Take a Penny, Leave a Penny Repository Mary Nuckolls is a Champion of Childhood because she gives away money. But not the way you think. Why Homeschooling Is For Us Although homeschooling is not right for everyone, it is for us. We are excited about the freedom and possibilities before us. Here are some of our favorite things (and some dowonsides) about homeschooling. It’s Kind of Fun to Try the Impossible It would seem that the subject of possibility and it’s pessimistic cousin, impossibility, is shaping up to be quite the theme around here.

Kim & Jason by Jason Kotecki | Visit the Gallery | New to Kim & Jason?

One of Those Days...

Do you ever have one of those days as a parent?  You know what I'm talking about, those days where you just want to tell your child(ren) to go away and leave you alone.  EVERYTHING sets them off?

Today is one of those days, starting bright and early at 6 am with one child whining they're hungry and need milk.  Then the other one decides it's going to be an off day and cries for no reason.  Not to mention the 2 year old throws a fit because he wants to have tummy time just like his 2 month old sister but can't because you have to feed said sister.  I mean, who does that?

It is one of those days where you tell your child to go put their shoes, sweatshirt, and hat on and their choice of hat is a winter hat, even though it's already 60 out, but you don't think it's worth the fight to make them wear a more weather appropriate hat.

This kind of day makes you sit back and question your sanity.  Was staying home with two young children really the best choice?  Can you even handle days like today if they were to happen consecutively?  Are your children really benefiting from being home with you and it seems like your whole day is one big argument?

Days like today wear me out, that's for sure, but they also remind me why I chose to be the one to care for my children.  I hate having a day like today and then having to go to work and leave someone else to deal with the repercussions of an "off" morning while I sit at work feeling guilty for how I left things between us.

"Off" days make you appreciate the little things with your children.  The 2 year old wants to read books with you and then sits and hums the songs played in the book.  The precious smiles of a little baby, awake or asleep.  The interactions between the two year old and two month old.

So why a blog?  Why now?

Blogs seem to be the popular thing right now, I mean where do you think most of those Pinterest things come from?  For me it's a public journal into someone's life.  I love reading what people I know are up to, what they really think and feel. On the other end, I love reading blogs from people I don't know, but can relate to. A blog is a great place to just connect with someone, whether they know you've read it or not.  It gives you a better understanding of a person, lifestyle, or way of thinking.

Mine will be about parenthood, living the Air Force life, and everything in between.