Today, my day was going great until 3pm, when I got a call from my daughter’s daycare asking me to pick her up because she had a temperature of 103.4F.  (Yes, no more live-in nanny.  My one year old is in daycare and 5 year old is in K and then after school program).

I right away made a call to the doctor for an emergency visit.  While driving to the doctor, I got a voice mail message.  As I continued driving, I checked the message.  It’s a call I’ve been waiting for.  The time is 3:30pm and the caller requested a call back by 4:30pm.  So I decided to make the call after the doctor’s visit.  Once in the office, the receptionist said that I would have to wait at least 30 minutes. 

Ok, I need to make that call before the doctor’s visit. 

I went back to my car to get the number.  My car was locked and the keys inside.  Ok, lucky for me the number I have to call was visible through the window.  I made the call, while holding my daughter in my arm, (the carriage is in the car).  Luckily, my daughter was quiet.  I made the deal.  I was happy.  Then I went back to the office for the appointment. 

While still waiting in the office, I called roadside assistance.  They promised to come in an hour.  Then my daughter got cranky, she was hungry.  She saw another mother pulling out a banana for her child, she pointed to it.  I felt horrible.  I didn’t have any food.  That mother understood my daughter and offered food in a very pleasant, non-judgmental manner.  My daughter was happily eating and quiet again.  I was grateful. 

As I was about to complete the visit, I got a call from roadside assistance telling me to be by the car.  I explained that I am at my doctor’s with my sick child and asked for a few minutes.  Did they care?  No.  They got a job to do.  “You got five minutes, because I have to be at other places,” he said.  Ok, I took the prescriptions and ran out of the office. 

As I walked out, something was missing on my arm.  The purse!  I ran back inside, grabbed my purse and went back outside.  I made it out in three minutes.  The guy opened the door, I got in my car and drove to pick up my son from school, the time was already 5:30pm.  Thank god, for my husband the pharmacist, I didn’t have to make the trip to the pharmacy. 

Once we were home, thanks to the frozen fish sticks and easy mashed potatoes recipe, dinner was on the table in minutes. 

Right now it’s 9pm and my son is out to the movies with his uncle.  The good thing is that there is no school tomorrow.  My daughter is sleeping.  I am writing to entertain you.

Please share the multitasking segment of your day.

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Entrepreneur Moms are busy individuals and do not always have a set schedule like 9-5.  Sometimes we have to work in the evening,  sometimes in the early morning, sometimes we have to travel overnight.  We would like to know what creative ways you have came up with to resolve your childcare issues? 

Who watches kids after school or when daycare is closed?  Have you made arrangment with family members or do you have a live-in nanny?  We want to know. 

We will also reward you for your answers.  Leave a comment and we will pick one winner for a          $25 VISA gift card.  Only comments that answer the question will qualify.  Winner will be picked in two weeks.  

The winner of this gift card is Carren Wallace Brown, please contact us to claim your prize and to provide us with you mailing address so we could send you the prize.  Thank you.  And for everyone else, stay tuned for more giveaways coming up!

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In my recent post on Yahoo, Shine, many readers called me bitter, because I made an argument that being a parent does not make me an unproductive employee.

After reading the comments, I realized that, there are not only “mommy wars,” but there are also “parents vs. non-parents” wars. The comments tell me that the non-parents label parents as bitter people.

Well as a parent I certainly do envy those who can make more time for themselves. But bitter? Does having children make me bitter?

According to an article in Newsweek, having children makes people less happy. “Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers,” says Florida State University’s Robin Simon, a sociology professor who’s conducted several recent parenting studies.

I never thought of myself as being bitter. In fact, I thought that women who do not have kids by the time they reach 40’s, are bitter. Perhaps the non-parents are happier then I am.

Then I think about my children and while they take a lot out of me by driving me crazy, I certainly enjoy the hugs, the kisses, saying I love you, watching them grow and learn.

Of course, we always question the choices we make in life. Would it be better if I have kids in my 20’s or 30’s. Would it be better if I got married earlier in life or later in life? What would happen if I had children? What would life be like if I didn’t have children?

Could it be that we are just threatened by each other’s choices in life? Why are we passing judgment or labeling people with such mean words as “bitter?”

I admit. I have labeled people, especially childless 40 something women, as “miserable women.”

Then, I read Mommy Wars by Leslie Morgan Steiner and realized that it’s best if we respect each other for the choices we make because they are all very personal. 

What about you?  Do you feel bitter or less happy because you are a parent?

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Do you ever stop and wonder how your money and time spending habits changed after having kids? I do, and here is what I realized.

Before having kids, I shopped at pricy boutiques. I would buy a dress or shoes for $200 to $300. Sales racks were the embarrassing spot of the store for me. After having children, I shop at average-priced boutiques and go straight to the sales rack. I now feel stupid if I buy clothes at full price. Read more

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“I see your website and read all your articles and I am telling you that you need a good partner to do it all,” my husband said. “You accomplished everything you did because of me,” he continued and watched for me to argue back and say something like, “I don’t need anyone, I did it because of me, not you…”

Instead I said, “Yes, you are right. Everything I have is because of you. I ask for your support, you give. I ask for you to believe in me, you do. I ask for you to allow me to invest money in the business, you do. I ask you to do household chores, you do. I ask you to watch the children, wake up in the middle of the night, change the diapers, you do. I ask you to accept me for who I am, you do. I ask you to respect my big dreams, my ambition, you do.”

I have now come to realize that it is possible for women to have professional success and a family if and only if men stop defining women’s roles. Men need to start respecting and accepting ambitious women. Men need to start contributing to caring for children. Men have to start contributing to doing household chores.

We have seen divorce rates rise as women joined the work force. Women became able to support themselves but still had to do most of the household chores and child care. Men continued to identify roles and ignored the fact that women are now working and still expected them to do all the work around the house. What do we need men for? So the divorce rate rose.

But we want a partner in our lives. So now we have to have men contribute equally or more. We need men to acknowledge and respect the capabilities of a woman and allow her to grow whatever way she desires. Perhaps then we will see a change and say, yes, women can have all three — career, husband and children.

Do you think this change is possible?

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