Name: Danielle Rodenkirchen
Location: Highlands Ranch, CO
Professional Industry: Eco-preneur
Company: GREENsimplified (also on Twitter)
Job Title: Owner
WIXII-ISM™ FROM DANIELLE RODENKIRCHEN:
“It has not been an easy transition from committed career path to stay-at-home mom and I am trying to figure out the next step. But, I know that I am not alone. Sometimes just reading it, hearing it, or talking to others is all the support you need to know you can “survive” whatever life throws at you, and possibly even THRIVE.”
“Though you may not know what lays ahead and what kind of sacrifices you’ll have to make, you need to understand that things will change and stay positive that those changes are for a better you and a better life.”
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION:
Meet our featured Wixii™, Danielle Rodenkirchen. She is in her mid-30s and mother to 2 young daughters, ages 5 and 3. She and her husband, Derek, were married 2 years before they welcomed their first daughter into the world. She has her GED and 17.5 years of hands-on job experience with Cirque du Soleil. Her primary responsibilities now are in managing her family and home, and with her passion and knowledge on all things green and earth-friendly, she recently launched a new business venture, GREENsimplified. Her husband works for Deloitte Consulting.
As primary caregiver/homemaker, she devotes less than 10 hours per week to her career and is actively striving to improve her job satisfaction and overall work-life satisfaction levels. She describes her current work-life arrangement as one that could be improved with more time and ability to separate work from family. She credits her supportive husband for enabling her to have some time for herself and 15-hours per week of preschool to allow her to get some things done. In a typical week, she spends: 65 hours caregiving, 14 hours cooking, 5-7 hours on children’s extracurriculars, 2 hours teaching fitness, 1-3 hours shopping, 1-2 hours doing laundry, and 1 hour cleaning.
To maintain her own well-being, she exercises and eats well daily and spends time with friends weekly. On a monthly basis, she finds time for hobbies and connecting with loved ones. She tries to travel and enjoy pampering on an annual basis. She also mobilizes others and makes charitable donations to Earthlink, a local non-profit that provides a work program for people who are homeless and low-income to learn skills and create Earth-friendly products that sustain the people and the planet. She raises those charitable donations through Terracycle’s upcycling collection brigades.
WORK-LIFE MIX:
Describe your career path and any choices you have made in arriving at your current work-life mix. If applicable, in what ways did your work-life mix change after having children?
Both my parents worked when I was growing up. My mother was the primary breadwinner and my dad was/is a small-business owner. I’ve grown to appreciate the position my mother took financially but always knew that I wanted to work for myself.
In my previous career in entertainment/theatre management, I was a work-a-holic. It was intense but also rewarding, and I still managed quality “me” time. At the time our first child was born, my husband traveled every week, and I had a wonderful nanny to help me out. I worked afternoon/evenings, so even though my sleep suffered, I was able to spend most of my day with my kids. I actually applied the concept of “leaning in” to my own life and career and wanted to, in some way, prove that having children would not hold me back from climbing the corporate ladder. I was lucky to have support at home, but it was more from my wonderful nanny taking on additional housekeeping responsibilities, than my husband, who traveled all week for his job. And it was actually “working.” Still, I believe, you pay a price somewhere else in your life for “leaning in” at work…mine was sleep (I was a work-a-holic that worked nights, still tried to get it all done and then some, while raising two kids under two) and my personal/social life was taking a back seat.
Although my work-life mix worked for me personally, it was not ideal for my family unit. My husband’s work-life mix suffered as his job was based in a different state, which is why I made the decision to leave my career and move so we could have him around and involved more. It was a huge decision leaving the company after 17.5 years and working my way up from 16 year-old performer to Assistant Company Manager on a multi-million dollar Vegas production. This decision is one that both my husband and I are still struggling with emotionally because my job truly defined me and most of what I’m passionate about.
What has surprised you most about juggling work and family?
The lack of sleep and how it affects every aspect of your life.
Describe a current “day in your life” from wake time to bedtime:
Not an easy question to answer, as I needed to create a spreadsheet just to keep myself organized with all the different things that go on in our lives on a daily basis…
5:45am: Wake up first to fit in at least 30 minutes of exercises, while my husband showers, gets ready and eats a peaceful breakfast (my goal is to do exercise five days a week, but sometimes sleeps wins over exercise).
6:30am: Shower while my husband wakes and dresses the girls.
7:00am: Feed the girls and get them ready for school in an attempt to get out the door by 7:40am.
8:00-11:00am: While my older daughter is in school, I run errands and take my younger daughter to her activities (gymnastics, dance, swimming, play dates, etc.) as well as get thing “done” around the house. Tuesdays I teach fitness to other moms, through Stroller Strides. Whatever time is left in the morning on Tuesdays and Thursdays I attempt to squeeze in GREENsimplified related work, which usually loses out to household management items.
11:00am-1:00pm: Pick up my older daughter from school and take her to her activities (gymnastics, dance, swimming, etc. while my younger daughter is in school). I can sometimes squeeze in “personal” things while watching and waiting for my older daughter to be done.
1:00-3:00pm: Pick up my younger daughter from school (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and go home for quiet/nap time (thankfully my younger daughter still naps while my older daughter somewhat entertains herself). Sometimes I can squeeze in household chores, dinner prep, household management items and maybe, if I’m lucky some GREENsimplified-related work. Oh ya and maybe some lunch for me…
3:00/3:30pm: Wake my younger daughter and personally “hit the wall”. This usually ends up being snack/tv time while Mom takes a moment to regroup.
4:30/5:00pm: Play time/craft time for my kids while I start the dinner making process.
6:00pm: Dinner time for us girls (occasionally my husband makes it home to eat with us).
7:00pm: Clean up and “homework”/play time.
7:30pm: Bath time (Tuesdays and Thursdays – this is my husband’s responsibility) while I finish cleaning up and preparing lunches for the next day.
8:30/9:00pm: Get the girls ready for bed (my husband and I trade off girls each night, so they can get some focused one on one time with each of us).
9:00-10:30pm: Personal time. Usually my husband has work he brought home and I’m really too beat to do anything besides catch up on my TV shows while doing laundry or letting my Pinterest addiction take over. Get last minute things together for the next day before finally going to bed.
On a daily basis…:
I am energized by being organized, checking things off my to-do list, squeezing in something for myself (taking on a new “green” challenge, coffee with a friend, cruising a thrift store, creating something crafty at home), talking to other moms and learning their tips and tricks, venting, and getting supportive perspective on how I’m “managing” life. Plus, those rare moments when my girls are super cuddly and loving remind me that it’s all worth it.
I am frustrated by my lack of sleep and how quickly I lose my patience with my kids. And, even though I check items off my to-do list, I never feel like I got enough done or that I’m ever caught up.
WIXII™ WISDOM:
Share your key(s) to maintaining order (“managing it all”) and any tools you highly recommend:
I manage my household like it’s a job, with calendars, and to-do lists. I could not live without having everything scheduled (activities, appointments, cleaning tasks, recycling pick-up, free local events, etc.) in both our shared family electronic calendar (my husband and I have access to it and can add an change anything we need to) and my paper weekly/monthly calendar (there’s nothing like seeing things in “black and white”, plus I just don’t trust technology 100%). I add to the calendar daily, but cross reference it once a week to make sure everything is in it. I also carry a notebook with me everywhere for to-do lists and other things to get out of my forgetful mommy brain.
On Sundays, I plan our meals for the week, along with the shopping list to go with it. I try to make only one grocery run a week (this helps save time and keeps me on budget). I pull together lunches/snacks, along with “activity bags” the night before so I’m not racing around in the morning trying to get out the door. I clean my house the first weekend of the month (yes only once; I secretly wish for a housekeeper) and then on an as needed basis. I wash the linens on a bi-weekly schedule and clean the floors on the in-between weeks (all of this is in our family calendar). I always have my “mom” bag with me (an updated version of a diaper bag, now that my kids are out of diapers). This bag has water bottles and snacks for everyone, along with a special treat for those essential moments, wipes, a change of clothes for both girls, allergy kit for my older daughter, my everything notebook, my file of to-do items, reusable shopping bags, basic personal items for me, the girl’s iPods (another life saving device) and anything else I might need for that errand or day.
I could not live without my iPhone and the access it gives me to everything anytime, such as email, calendar, GPS, social media, apps for tracking my kids growth, you name it. I also use it as our primary camera for tracking all our memorable moments and sharing them with our family and friends (I created a family email distribution list to quickly share pictures and updates with everyone). My latest favorite is iCloud photo stream for shared photo folders that you can easily create to give other iPhone users access to specific photo albums. I also love our Google calendars, which include our shared family calendar, my personal calendar, and an on-going local events calendar. You can give access to whomever you like. You can view one calendar at a time or all the calendars at the same time and they are color-coded to distinguish which is which. I also love the book Organized Simplicity and attempt to apply a number of her philosophies to simplifying our home and our lives.
What advice would you give an earlier version of yourself?
Sleep, sleep, sleep!!! I’m very happy that I was the age I was when I got married and had kids. I enjoyed having my career as my focus and getting the opportunity to travel all over the world. My other advice would be to make sure you are ready to make sacrifices. Though you may not know what lays ahead and what kind of sacrifices you’ll have to make, you need to understand that things will change and stay positive that those changes are for a better you and a better life.
Is there anything else you would like to share regarding your work-life mix?
I have been reflecting a lot lately on where I am in my life and where I want to go with it. Family decisions that we made have forced me make major changes/sacrifices regarding ambition and career changes. It has not been an easy transition from committed career path to stay-at-home mom and trying to figure out the next step, with everything I know now about taking care of my family, it is proving to be very difficult. I’m still on my path to running my own business, even if it’s slow and steady, but like everything in my life it tends to take a back seat to my family and their day-to-day needs. Women in the Mix is a great resource for women to see that they are not “alone.” Sometimes just reading it, hearing it, or talking to others is all the support you need to know you can “survive” whatever life throws at you, and possibly even THRIVE.
