Summary: Day 1…<br> At last it is here! The event that children anticipate all school year long… SUMMER VACATION!!!!<br> I have to say that I absolutely love summer, it is by far my favorite season. After a Colorado winter (that lasted until late May this year) and a fairly dreary spring – all 2 weeks of it (it’s been a weird year weather-wise for us in Colorado)… I am soooo excited to see the sun and be warm finally. I love spending time outside, going to the pool, grilling burgers and brats while drinking the occasional margarita and doing all kinds of fun things with my kiddos.<br> There are many pros AND cons though to being a work from home mom during the summer.<br> THE PROS:<br> <br> * I am HOME with my kids – I am able to be here all day with them and take care of whatever they need or any issues that come up without the fear of needing to leave work early. Not to mention the amount of money it saves me on child care!<br> * I have a flexible schedule – I am able to work the hours that I want to and take off the time that I want to. I am able to work for half the day and take the kids tot he zoo in the other half should the mood strike me. I can take the whole stinkin’ day off if I want to.<br> * Have laptop will work – meaning that I can also take my work with me. If we decide to go to the park for a few hours I can always take my laptop and hotpot with me and get a few hours of work done under a tree while the kids play on the playground. I have even been known to take it with me to the pool (away from the splash zone of course). So the kids can get in fun time and I can finish up some work as needed.<br> * I don’t feel like I am missing out on summer vacation with my kids… I remember when I worked in an office during the summer, by the time I got home from work after picking them up from day care I was so tired and worn out that I didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything. I felt like the only time I got to enjoy during the summer was on the weekends and I hated it. I hated being so tired that it felt like a chore to go out and play with the kids after work.<br> * No rush hour in 90 degree weather!!! This is just my personal favorite – because I HATE rush hour with the white hot heat of a thousand suns. Take normal rush hour madness and add to that increased temperatures and it gets even worse. People get meaner, more short tempered on the roads and I just don’t like to be involved in any of that!<br> <br> <br> Now I don’t want you to think that working from home during the summer is all sunshine and rainbows… it’s not. There are many, many, MANY trying times working from home during this time of year…<br> <br> THE CONS:<br> <br> * They think I am on Summer Break too – So my children know that I work from home obviously – but they don’t apparently understand that I do actually WORK while they are normally at school. So when they are on break they seem to think that all my time should be spent on them, with them, entertaining them, spending money on them – and so on and so forth… yeah, not so much. There are many times through the summer where I have to remind them that just because THEY are on break doesn’t mean that I am on break.<br> * I am constantly a referee – having three kids home for the summer, two with special needs and one who thinks she is a teen even though she is only 8 – well let’s just say it creates a unique dynamic in our household. There are many times where they all get along and life is peaceful and serene. There are also times when all three want to tear each other limb from limb and are very vocal about it. These incidences tend to become more and more common the more time they spend together. The thing is that while I am working they have to entertain themselves and they don’t always do ...
