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A Few Things We’ve Done to Make Business Travel Easier

Regardless of how much I prepare, being away from Katie is always tough. At ten months old, it feels like she’s growing leaps and bounds each day.  When I accepted my new role, following 4.5 months of maternity leave, I knew that it would involve some travel but, my manager, who is also a mom, told me that she would do her best to work with me to manage the travel schedule and help me prioritize. Since returning to work on November 1st, I’ve traveled six times – two times to San Francisco, one time to Cincinnati and three times to Arkansas. Since taking my first business trip, back in November, Bo and I have learned quite a few things that help make the time away more manageable for all of us. It’s important to note that my travel isn’t just tough on me but it also puts a strain on Bo, as it requires more of him while I’m away since he is responsible for all of the tasks that we typically share each day.

Here are a few things we’ve done to make business travel easier for our family.

  • Realize it’s okay to ask for help. We are so lucky to have two sets of very supportive parents. When I was considering whether or not to accept this position, both sets of grandparents offered to help when I traveled. While we know it isn’t realistic for them to travel up from Savannah, Georgia every time I travel, we’ve enrolled their help for the two longer, four-day trips. Since I leave early on Monday and return after Katie goes to bed on Thursday, it’s very helpful to have them here to help Bo. It has also provided an opportunity for them to have special bonding time with Katie since they typically choose to keep her home from nanny share when they are here. For my shorter trips, which are typically two nights, we make sure that our nanny knows that I’m out of town as well as our close friends who live three blocks away. That way, if anything comes up for Bo, he has a local support system.

  • Stay in touch leveraging Facetime and a video monitor. The first trip, Bo and I struggled with the time change and found each other constantly missing the other when we called or tried to Facetime. Since that trip, we’ve talked in advance and scheduled a time to connect via video each day. Most trips, we Facetime at 7:30 AM EST when Katie is finishing her bottle and then again around 6:30 PM right before bath time. It can mean an early wake up depending on where I’m traveling but that quality time with her is worth it. I also “check in” on her each night before I go to bed using the Nest app on the phone that allows me to see her nursery since we have a Nest cam set up above her crib. A few readers have recommended sending videos back and forth as this helps avoid time zone complications and then children can watch the video over and over.
  • Preparing for the week can help minimize stress. It took three trips for me to realize that the easiest way for me to minimize my anxiety about Katie was to take matters into my own hands and prepare ahead. Instead of worrying whether Bo would remember to take her foods to nanny share, find her outfits, or figure out her breakfast food I now devote about an hour the day before I leave for travel preparing everything. I lay her outfits out in the nursery so he can easily grab them, I restock the diaper bag and the diaper drawers upstairs and downstairs, I check to make sure we have plenty of formula and Camilia (our teething lifesaver) and I prepare her meals for the week so we can easily take it to the nanny share at the beginning of the week instead of daily. Don’t get me wrong, Bo is a great partner and a supportive parent who could most likely do all of this on his own. But, why make him worry about it when it’s easy to plan ahead?

  • Stay busy and try to enjoy the alone time.  Many moms quickly recommended that the best thing I could do during business travel was to stay busy and focus on ME. At first, I didn’t know what they meant but then, the first evening in Arkansas that I finished work and realized I didn’t have any evening plans, I felt lonely. Instead of focusing on Katie and Bo, I made a quick list in my mind of all the things I rarely have time to do back home – manicure, working out, relaxing, going to dinner with friends. Now, before leaving for a business trip I review my schedule and anytime I have large gaps of time outside working hours, I try to take advantage of it by scheduling dinner with friends who live in that town, looking up local nail salons on Yelp and booking a manicure or having a good book or show on my iPad to enjoy. This week in Arkansas I spent one evening reading for two hours in bed while sipping wine and eating Whole Foods hot bar for dinner. It was wonderful to just relax by myself for a bit.  Since I don’t have the extra responsibility of getting Katie fed and ready for the day when I’m traveling I set my alarm for a nice, long workout session every morning. Sometimes I’ll try a local studio and others I’ll head down to the hotel gym for a run or strength session. It feels so nice to have this uninterrupted workout time and is truly a treat and privilege.
  • Ask for extra pictures. When I travel, I ask Bo and our nanny to send me extra pictures during the day since I know I’ll be missing Katie and these little surprises light up my day. My parents were so adorable when they came this week and sent me at least two or three pictures each day in addition to a few videos and Facetime dates. It seems silly but I promise it helps, especially when they show up unexpectedly.

Your turn: I’d appreciate any other tips or tricks for making time away from your child more manageable.

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Weekly Workout Recap

I don’t know if it is the sunshine or finally being nine months postpartum but guys, I finally feel like myself again.  I slept soundly each night, my workouts felt strong and physically and emotionally I felt very healthy.  My clothes are also fitting better and it seems like I’ve started to move past the plateau I’d hit the past few weeks. This is the first time I’ve felt comfortable enough in the above tank top to wear it for a workout which makes me SO happy since I have four of these Brooks Pickup Tanks folded in my drawers!  Since I was able to enjoy a number of workouts both here in Brooklyn and in Arkansas while traveling, I wanted to share them with you.

Hopefully the warmer spring weather is helping each of you get outside more and stay active.

  • Saturday – I squeezed in a 20 minute FlyAnywhere spin class and a 1 mile run before we headed to New Jersey for the day.
  • Sunday –  I started the day with a 1-hour Full Body Conditioning class at the YMCA with Laura. The format of this class changes weekly so we never know what to expect accept that we will definitely be dripping sweat by the end and it will be a good mix of cardio and strength.
  • Monday – Rest Day
  • Tuesday – The hotel in Arkansas only has two treadmills so if I don’t wake up early enough it’s almost guaranteed that I won’t get one. I was in the gym by 5:15 and able to snag a treadmill for a 5k run which included a quarter mile of incline each mile.
  • Wednesday – Instead of doing our 1:1 connect in a huddle room, my co-worker asked if I wanted to join her for a 4 mile run instead. We knew that the fresh air and sunshine would make our join-up even more enjoyable and since the purpose of our meeting was to get to know each other better and talk a few topics, we didn’t need access to a computer. While the 75 degree temperatures felt wonderful, by the third mile I could definitely tell that I wasn’t well hydrated nor accustomed to running in the heat. We also had a bit too much fun the first two miles, going out entirely too fast for my current fitness level. We finished the 4 miles in less than 37 minutes, including a few walking breaks during the final mile.
  • Thursday – Our office in Arkansas has THREE gym spaces. Instead of working out at the Courtyard Hotel gym I headed over to the office early and took advantage of the gym access. I felt like a kid in a candy store! There were so many choices based on the array of strength and cardio equipment available as well as lots of fun items like TRX, Jacob’s ladder and more. I decided to do a HIIT workout which was 1/2 mile warm-up, BBG STRONG Full Body workout and a 1 mile run to end.  Just for fun, since I had access to the tools I also did a few box jumps and some TRX arm work in between the BBG routine and the run.

Image result for bbg full body optional week 14 sunday

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Recent Favorites – April 2018

Greetings from somewhere in the sky between New Jersey and Arkansas.  I am traveling for work until Thursday evening and while I am already missing Katie’s sweet giggles, I’m looking forward to spending time with my colleagues. We are spread across New York, San Francisco and Fayetteville so it will be a treat to be in one city for a few days. I am also looking forward to a few warm, outdoor runs while I’m in town as my hotel is adjacent to a running trail and the temperatures are going to be at least 20 degrees warmer than New York! My parents are flying up to New York this afternoon to help Bo with Katie and spend some quality time with her while I’m traveling. Our weekend was filled with a fun date night, sweaty workouts, trip to New Jersey to catch up with good friends and see their new home and lots of prep for the busy week. I dedicated a few hours to helping Bo get ahead of the week by making Katie’s food, organizing her outfits for the week and making sure that her latest schedule was written out for my parents before heading out the door for Newark Airport early this morning.

Since I haven’t been able to share my weekly Friday Favorites recently, I thought I’d quickly update you guys on a few of my recent favorites and new discoveries.

Every month, Grace’s reading list post helps me discover a few new books to add to my reading list.  She includes books across multiple genres ranging from thrillers to light-hearted novels. I so appreciate the time and effort she puts into these posts as well as the search function on her blog’s reading list section which allows you to search all the books she’s included over the months.

Even though the weather hasn’t been spring like recently, my heavier winter fragrances were ready to be retired in exchange for a lighter scent. I discovered and then purchased a new-to-me Jo Malone scent, London Peony & Blush Suede, last week and have been wearing it ever since! I love that just two spritzes on my wrists last all day without being too strong. The small size I bought will fit perfectly into my luggage next week when I head to Arkansas for work!

It’s been a while since Bo and I enjoyed dinner outside our neighborhood. While we’ve stuck to our once-a-month date night goal, most of these have been within a few blocks of home in case our baby sitter needs us. Friday night we ventured down to Dumbo for a double date with Laura and her husband. The evening gave us the opportunity to try Celestine, a new Middle Eastern restaurant which is quickly becoming known for the incredible views of Manhattan, great atmosphere and delicious food.  The meal was delicious – especially the lamb, Branzino and cauliflower appetizer –  and the only negative feedback I would provide to the restaurant was their very limited wine list.  If you’re looking for a new restaurant to try for a special occasion, date night or just delicious evening I highly recommend Celestine.

While going through some old pictures I discovered a photo from ten years ago. The first thing I noticed was how wonderful my hair looked. Even though it was VERY long it was smooth and sleek without looking flat which is the issue I’ve had recently since cutting my hair. As luck would have it, I remembered that while living in Pennsylvania I went to an Aveda salon and therefore was exclusively using their products. It’s been years since I used the Smooth Infusion line but I bought a small size last week to see how it would work with my hair and was so impressed. I’m able to get a little volume at the roots while the rest of my hair is sleek, shiny and SO smooth. While I know this isn’t a 100% natural brand it gets far better EWG scores than some other products I’ve used historically and is a step in the right direction.

Since I have a more limited wardrobe these days thanks to following the guidelines in A Simplified Life, I’ve rediscovered a few items that historically got lost among the mess. Yesterday I wore this classic outfit that is head to toe J.Crew. I’ve had the belt and blouse for years but, as embarrassing as this is to admit, I can’t remember ever wearing them! As you all know, these loafers have been a Fall and Winter staple and these jeans have been my favorite since having Katie. They are high-waisted and slenderizing with just enough stretch to allow you room to move without stretching out and sagging throughout the day.

Thursday I spent a relaxing 15 minutes perusing the shelves at our neighborhood coffee shop which also has the most wonderful curated shop filled with cookbooks, home goods and perfect gifts. I finally bought Alison Roman’s beautiful cookbook, Dining In, which I’ve been eyeing for months and can’t wait to try the famous chocolate chip shortbread, citrus salmon, anchovy butter chicken and more. The photographs are gorgeous and each recipe reminds me that cooking in doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor or spending all day in the kitchen!

I caved and bought the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter primer last week.  I heard about it from no fewer than six people within the course of last week and then, spent some time reading the reviews where were equally as amazing and convincing. At $44 it isn’t inexpensive but since I’m only using a small amount, paired with my foundation, I imagine it will last a long time. I tried it for the first time on Sunday and was so pleasantly surprised when I glanced at myself in the mirror. My skin looked as if I’d just had a facial – radiant and bright. After the long winter, it is just what my face needed. I went with the Light/Medium and found that it blended perfectly.

What are you loving these days?

 

 

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