Executive Mom of the Month Name: Peggy Garcia Company: Prime Commercial Inc. Title: Independent Contractor Spouse: Dan Children: Daniel, 6, Henry, 4, Samuel 2, and a baby girl born July 2000 Previous Employment: I worked at C.B. Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate company, as a Senior Associate for thirteen years prior to moving to Prime Commercial one year ago. I have been in the commercial real estate field for sixteen years. I changed jobs one year ago because the "timing was right." One of the benefits I have with my new job is I have cut my commute time by about 40 minutes a day. While that was not my reason for changing jobs I really like that benefit. Childcare solution: When I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I made a choice that my husband would stay home with the kids. My kids have never been to daycare or had a babysitter. In my opinion, it seems like people are prioritizing family and I am seeing more of this trend of men staying home. I think, though that it is harder on the man who chooses to stay home than the woman who goes to work. Society does not necessarily accept the concept of a stay-at-home dad although this is changing. My husband and I share all the household duties like laundry and cleaning. He has a full time job also -taking care of three little boys. You're 9 months pregnant with your 4th child. What are you planning to do when the baby is born? I am planning to take off about 2 weeks, and then return to work on a part time basis. My work schedule will really depend on my nursing schedule. I managed to nurse all of my other children for at least one year. Now that I work only 10 minutes from home, I can go home if the baby needs to be fed. With my other children, my husband would drive the baby to me, and we would have lunch in a park, while I nursed or take a drive in the car. My Biggest Challenge of being an Executive Working Mother: Balancing it all! The desire to be home with the children and the love for my career. The constant internal pulling. Sometimes when I go to work, my 4 y ear old says… "Don't go to work today, mommy," and I really wish I could stay home. But, I love my career. I'm lucky that I'm successful. I'm lucky that we have the ability to have one parent at home with the children. Favorite Time Spent with Children Dinnertime with my kids! That's when we talk with the kids about their day. Also, I really like bedtime. I put the kids to bed every night since I'm not there all day. I really enjoy that time. Also, we are very active in the community. We go to a lot of sporting events, take the kids to g-rated movies, visit with relatives, and play a lot of sports. We are also big supporters of the local zoo so we go there a lot, and we are very active in my oldest son's school. What do you do for time for yourself? I don't have a lot of time for myself. I'm not sure I need it. I'd rather have quiet time with my husband. My kids go to bed around 8:30, and we don't go to bed till 11:30-12:30 so we have a lot of time together then. I'd rather to a game with my family then read a book or do something by myself. Are there any services or companies you have found that are of value to an executive working mother? The only thing I can think of that is of real value is shopping online because of all the time it saves. I think that online grocery delivery services are a really big help! My greatest professional accomplishment… I can't really think of any one thing. I do a lot of large deals so I can't really target one as the greatest. I think that overall, my biggest accomplishment is just being able to continue in business at this level. Advice to other executive moms… I think that my success is a function of the partnership between my husband and myself. This is the key to success. It can't be about what's even, fair or traditional. It has to be about having the same objectives as it relates to the kids. Get out of traditional roles and decide what is the most important thing for the children. Is it a spotless house? Or is it sitting down at the dinner table and really listening to your kids? • Submit a nomination for Executive Mom of the Month • July's Mom of the Month: Maria Vidal • June's Mom of the Month: Patricia Campbell