2006 for the O'Brien's

As 2006 is winding to an end, I've been able to look back at the year and reminisce about the great things that happened in our life this year. As always, adding a new addition to our family is the highlight, with many others following on the list. Cathy's job has been going great as her company was extremely supportive of her time off to bring Carsen into the world. My job has been treating me well and my clients have been very supportive of my family life requirements.

One of the best parts of this year has been the result of coping with the challenges of day care and the struggles around dropping Carsen off at a place other than his home. After deciding that it was just not working at the current day care provider, we opted to keep him home with us, sharing the time required to take care of him during the day. For the past 30 days or so, we've had the pleasure of keeping him around the house every day and seeing him change before our eyes. Both Cathy and I have been able to manage our workloads, including conference calls, phone calls and an occasional webinar. In fact, I have decided to schedule my activities around days other than Monday so that Carsen and I can hang out and make it a weekly boys day. Either way, he's been able to stay at home and take advantage of frequent 'pajama days'!

If it continues to pan out, we will be able to keep our careers in tact and raise him with the absence of day care.