This post is a part of a blog series of stories of working moms. I’m excited to share 13 stories from real working mothers including this story about a marketing coordinator and mother of one. I also really would like to hear YOUR story and I’d love to hear it. Keep the conversation going in the comments & on social media using #wellcraftedworkingmoms. A huge thank you to the women who volunteered to share their stories, Mary Boyden of Mamma Bear Magazine for her photography and Madeline Roosevelt for hair and makeup!

I keep trying to remember the exact moment that I met Kate, but it is a little fuzzy. I met her nearly three years ago at one blogger event or another. She is quiet, kind and genuine. I was excited to get to hear her talk about her engagement,  wedding and then watch along via social media and occasional meet-ups as she became a mother. She is a true delight to know and I’m so excited to share her story today.

Meet Kate, a working mom

Kate Laubernds and her husband Will have one daughter, Colette, who is 20 months old.

“[She is] as strong willed, independent and precocious as one toddler could be— I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Kate.

Kate had Colette just two weeks after she turned thirty years old. Before, during and after her pregnancy Kate worked as the Media and Communications Specialist for an Oregon/Washington based winery. She just recently moved jobs.

Right around the same time that I was asking for volunteers for this project Kate applied for, interviewed and was selected for her current job as a Marketing Coordinator for Powell’s Books. She moved into her new career after seven years in the wine industry.

“My studies were in Creative Writing and Journalism so I am happy to be returning to a field that encompasses my love of the written word,” said Kate of her new career.

In her role at Powell’s Books she creates marketing campaigns, assists with the implementation of various promotions and is the project manager for Indiespensable. (In case you didn’t know… Indiespensable is a subscription service which releases every six to eight weeks and includes a signed book packaged in a custom slip-case that was designed in-house, gifts and a booklet with an exclusive interview with the author. So cool!) Due to the nature of her job she spends a considerable amount of her time outside of work reading advanced copy, new and classic books.

A typical work day in the life of a Marketing Coordinator and Mother of One

Kate and her husband both work and have crafted their schedules so that they may work together in getting their daughter to and from care. Her husband Will leaves for work quite early in the morning so that he is able to pick her up from daycare so Kate has morning routines to take care of for both herself and her daughter. She takes Colette to daycare at 8:30 in the morning.

“Right now it is a challenge to get out the door on time because she is potty training so we spend much of our morning in the bathroom. I will be so relieved when this phase is past us…as for now we spend LOTS of time talking about the potty, going potty and cleaning up from going potty. It is really exhausting,” explained Kate.

Kate has a flex schedule with her work but generally starts at nine in the morning. During lunch she catches up on reading or fits in some of her freelance work. Occasionally she gets in a walk.

Will picks up Colette from daycare four of five days and Kate works past 5 PM most days. Some days they go to the park as a family while others Kate takes in some yoga or meets up with friends to get in some personal care time. When the family has dinner together Kate and Will tend to split the cooking duties.

Colette goes down for bed around 7:30 PM which affords Will and Kate time together before going to bed.

“My husband also has a small business in addition to working full-time so we often both spend our time working in the evening,” said Kate.

When free from work the couple usually watches a show together before Kate retires to bed with her latest book.

When my kids are adults and look back at their childhood, I want them to know…

“I hope that my child looks back on my life as I look back on my mother‘s. My mother is and was always striving to enrich her life through schooling, work and personally. She achieved her bachelor degree in my first year of birth (and with a toddler in tow!) and continued later with her education, gaining her masters when I was in middle school,” said Kate.

She continued, “I am so proud of her and when I think about how can I ever take something else on, I ask myself: What would Mom do? Mom takes on any challenge and rolls with it. I hope that my daughter says the same about me and holds the same esteem and boastfulness I have about my own mother.”

Maternity Leave, Childcare & Mom Guilt… oh MY!

I absolutely had to ask a few questions about some of the topics that often come up for the working mom such as maternity leave, childcare, and the challenges & joys of working. I love the answers so much that I felt it was best to just put it in their own words. Read on to learn about the ups, downs, ins and outs of Erin’s working mom experience!

This post is a part of a blog series of stories of working moms. I’m excited to share 13 stories from real working mothers. I also really would like to hear YOUR story and I’d love to hear it. Keep the conversation going in the comments & on social media using #wellcraftedworkingmoms. A huge thank you to the women who volunteered to share their stories, Mary Boyden of Mamma Bear Magazine for her photography and Madeline Roosevelt for hair and makeup!

I’m very excited to share this story today. I met Tina the day we did the photoshoot for this story. She radiates happiness—or, at least she did that day and in her words below. She tells her story in such a beautiful way. She shares about a song in part of the interview, I linked to the song, I’d highly recommend playing the song in the background as you are reading her words. Get a good cry out today.

Meet Tina, a working mom

Tina Lee and her husband of six years were high school sweethearts who started dating nearly 15 years ago. Tina had the couple’s first child, Austin, is almost three years old when she was 27 years of age. She is currently expecting another child (“girl?boy?Your guess is as good as mine!”) by the end of June. She plans on working up to the last week of her pregnancy as she did the first time around.

Four days a week Tina works as an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist for a large healthcare system here in Portland. She isn’t the kind of pharmacist that you see behind the counter at your local neighborhood drugstore, instead you’ll find her stationed at a primary care doctor’s office. She generally works with diabetic adults and those who are at high risk for heart attack or stroke. She helps patience optimize their medication regimens to reach their goals.

“People are surprised when I tell them that much of my work often has little to do with adjusting medications, and more to do with empowering patients to make changes with their diet and lifestyle to become healthier,” Tina says of her job,”I work closely with doctors, nurses, dietitians and others as a team to take care of our patients.”

She continues, “I LOVE my job. It’s the perfect mix of using my left and right brains. This has been my dream job since the day I started pharmacy school.”

(See why I like this gal!?!)

A typical work day in the life of a pharmacist mother of one and one on the way

“I’m a procrastinator, so I refuse to get up a minute earlier than I need to,” says Tina of her day.

She typically gets up at 6:30 AM and takes about ten minutes to throw on her day’s outfit and get cleaned up and ready to go. Her son often wakes at 7 AM and then next half hour is dedicated to getting him ready— “the half hour between 7 and 7:30 becomes a huge blur of teeth-brushing, dressing, and eating breakfast.”

She leaves the house around 7:30 am to go to work and her husband walks their son to daycare as it is close to their home. She usually works eight to five so she gets daycare pick-up duty. She makes dinner while Thomas the Tank Engine or other entertaining character fills her television screen until six. The family eats dinner together and then play until around 8 PM when they begin the bedtime routine with the goal of getting Austin to bed between 8:30 to 9 PM.

After bedtime Tina begins prepping for the following day (meals, laundry, etc.), completes chores, enjoys Netflix and a shower with her bedtime hitting around midnight. Two days a week her mother-in-law comes to her house to watch Austin making those days more relaxed since they don’t have to worry about the drop-off and pick-up schedule.

When my kids are adults and look back at their childhood, I want them to know…

Tina shared a touching story as to what she hoped her kids look back and think about her as a working mother:

A few weeks ago, I took a picture of my new office and sent it to my husband, who was home with my sick child. Being almost three, he immediately launched into questions, which went something like this (according to my husband):
Austin: “What’s mommy need to work right there for?”
Daddy: “Mommy is helping people”
Austin: “What’s mommy helping people for?”
Daddy: “Because she likes it, and that’s her job.”

Maternity Leave, Childcare & Mom Guilt… oh MY!

I absolutely had to ask a few questions about some of the topics that often come up for the working mom such as maternity leave, childcare, and the challenges & joys of working. I love the answers so much that I felt it was best to just put it in their own words. Read on to learn about the ups, downs, ins and outs of Erin’s working mom experience!

This post is a part of a blog series of stories of the working mother. I’m excited to share 13 stories from real working moms. I also really would like to hear YOUR story and I’d love to hear it. Keep the conversation going in the comments & on social media using #wellcraftedworkingmoms. A huge thank you to the women who volunteered to share their stories, Mary Boyden of Mamma Bear Magazine for her photography and Madeline Roosevelt for hair and makeup!

Missy Maki is a force of nature. I met her about two and a half years ago this month at a blogger brunch at a local restaurant. New mother to twins she was seriously just rocking life. I remember being in awe of her… and then she amazed me even more by being so kind and genuine.

Her story resonates with me because I identify with her ambition and drive. I’m very excited to get to introduce her to you today!

Meet Missy, a working mom

Missy Maki is an Advance Maternal Age mommy. She and her husband, a high school teacher and basketball coach, welcomed her 2 1/2 year old twins  (boy & girl) into this world after a five year battle with infertility. She was 42 at the time. She worked before, during and after pregnancy.

Nailing down a single title for Missy would pretty much be impossible. She has several careers. Monday through Friday she is the regional sales director in the hospitality industry where she oversees seven properties, 14 sales people and over 200 employees. She has worked in her field for over twenty years. In addition to her sales director career she is a radio host for KPAM AM 860. “Simple Kitchen with Missy Maki” is a local food and lifestyle show that has been on the air for over four years and is currently one of the top downloaded podcasts in Portland. In addition to her regional sales director career and her radio host career Missy writes a blog (check out her website Mrs. Maki Cooks), emcees and stage hosts events and has been on several panel discussions in the food industry.

She puts her many careers into simple terms, “I love food. I love people. I love being a progressive employer.”

A typical work day in the life of a regional sales director, radio host and mother of twins

A typical work day for Missy isn’t so much typical as in the same thing every day. However, she makes efforts to abide by a schedule when possible and sets in family time.

“Every day is different,”she says.

On Mondays Missy tries to focus on projects at home if possible, while Tuesday through Friday she tries to be downtown by 9 a.m. She has an office in her home, in downtown Portland and a studio in Milwaukee for her radio show. She often attends new restaurant openings, host food related events and attend meetings. After 8 PM and weekends, other than Sunday mornings when she is live on the air, are family time.

When my kids are adults and look back at their childhood, I want them to know…

“This is an old one, and you hear it a lot.  But I want my children to see that women do not have to walk away from their dreams, goals, and position in the marketplace to become a mother,” Missy explains.

” Yes, you CAN do and have it all.  But you have to wake up every day with intention.  Clear and focused intention.”

Maternity Leave, Childcare & Mom Guilt… oh MY!

I absolutely had to ask a few questions about some of the topics that often come up for the working mom such as maternity leave, childcare, and the challenges & joys of working. I love the answers so much that I felt it was best to just put it in their own words. Read on to learn about the ups, downs, ins and outs of Erin’s working mom experience!