The Same Genes

I sometimes wonder how two children created from exactly the same gene pool can be so different.  There is of course the obvious; one is a boy, the other a girl.  I get this bit, oh yes because this bit I learnt in school. 

It’s funny how we associate the good things we see in our children with ourselves and the not so good things with their other parent!  I will do my best to be honest but I am also biased.   I have tried to assess my children’s' personalities and work out which parent they get certain traits from.  In some cases they get it from both - double whammy!

Son
He is definitely an introvert - this is me!
He sees everything as a competition - Dad.
He is charming - Dad again!
He can be stubborn but as this particular trait is a double whammy he is not too bad.
He is quite unadventurous with food (me) but loves being adventurous in other ways (Dad)
He is very analytical (double whammy!) but it is always fact based analysis which is his Dad.
He is emotionally transparent - me, I can't hide my mood!

He gets on with everyday life with a fun and mild mannered approach.  He will explode emotionally every now and again but generally he is quite calm and happy.  He is the child that always has a practical answer for everything which makes it very hard to argue against.  His little mind is always on the go, mulling something over.  He loves his sister and will even tell us off and put himself in the line of fire if we upset her!


Daughter
She is a complete extrovert in every way possible - 100% Dad.
She is very stubborn and shows all the signs of making full use of this double whammy trait.
She is adventurous and shows no fear - Dad.
She is loving and kind - me of course.
She is also analytical but it is more emotion based.  She can sense the mood and adapt to it easily.  The analytical part is both of us and I would put the emotional bit down to being a women rather than being directly from me!

Food is very important to her.  She will blatantly lie about not having meals to get sympathy and food.  Lying is a new skill to her and one she is perfecting with ease.  She can use emotion like I never imaged a three year old could to get what she wants.  She is a very cheery child but can change her mood in nano seconds and if you saw her having a strop you would think she is the most spoilt child you have ever seen.

Overall it seems they are actually quite similar, they just use their traits in different ways that make them appear different.  That concludes my very scientific assessment of my children's personalities.

Working From Home

Sounds great doesn't being able to work from home but the reality is usually very different let me tell you!

This week due to circumstances beyond my control I have had to work a couple of days from home.  For the company I work for this also happens to be the nastiest week in the whole financial calendar.  Not a great week to not be in the office.

Knowing that I am working from home the first thing I do is check my emails.  That way I know what is coming and what I need to do when I get back from the school run.  Sounds very organised but the truth is it is chaos.

After the school run it is just me and my daughter at home.  She goes to nursery at 12.30pm so until then I have to be worker and entertainer.  This is where I have discovered something about myself.  I had never realised the drive to work was so important to me to be able to function.  It is a 15 minute drive during which my transformation from mummy to worker happens.  The reverse is true on the way home.  Working from home takes this away; suddenly I have three seconds transformation time if that.

I have to switch from typing emails about forecasts and actuals to my boss to appreciating a lovely scribble my daughter has drawn.  When it came to getting her ready for bed that night she told me to wait a minute a she was working and needed to finish this.  Hmm, I wonder where she heard that.

When I am at home my connection to works server is slow.  I can make a cup of tea and put a load of washing in by the time it has managed to open our management pack.  I then click the refresh button and wash up.  I then sit and watch the little green line moving along my screen showing me the progress of saving it.  I watch it in a zombie like mode trying to predict when the next little square will go green.

Communication with the office is via email or telephone and I take full advantage of the fact that they cannot see me if you know what I mean.  I dread the day when work laptops come with built in web cams and we have to use Skype.  I will need to make more of an effort with my appearance when working from home and I need to be aware of what is on the wall behind me!