Deciding to return to work after having my first child was the easy part. Sticking to that decision over the past six years hasn't always been.

My head understands things in ways my heart sometimes doesn't. I've quit my job -- in my mind, at least -- several times.

When my youngest son was battling rotavirus for months and couldn't stay healthy, I so desperately wanted to be home with him all the time and not trying to balance motherhood and work responsibilities while sleep deprivation and stress ravaged my body.

When the hectic holiday season hits and trying to figure out how to get all the shopping, baking, merry-making, card-writing, gift-wrapping and party-planning takes all the organizational skills of Martha Stewart.

When the forecast calls for a cloud-free 80-degree day in July and I long to stay home with my three kids and hang out in the backyard by our plastic pool.

But my husband and I decided before our son was born in 2001 that we rely on two incomes. I also still wanted to work.

My staying home and depending on one income would mean that we'd have to downsize our house, our plans for annual family vacations, our contributions to our children's education funds and our savings.

It would have been an even harder resolution to keep if I had a job that I don't like. But I do. While most working moms would love to have more time with their kids or a more equal balance between office and home, it's also difficult to give up a job you appreciate and worked your entire adulthood to achieve. I've found that I look forward to the challenges that a day at the newspaper brings and enjoy participating in conversation among adults.

In weighing our decision, though, I also wanted to make sure that going back to work still would allow me to do all the extracurriculars I like to do -- throw special birthday parties, keep scrapbooks and photo albums for each of my children, read, provide home-cooked meals -- and what my kids like to do. We've been able to do just that, although my children have to sign up for swimming lessons and sports that are held at night or on weekends. I don't get to volunteer at day care, preschool or elementary school as much as I'd like to. And I sometimes feel guilty about all that and more.

But I'm grateful I've never had any of my kids question why I work, why they've gone to day care, why they just can't stay home instead.

The holidays inevitably pass, the colds do, too, and we are back to our routine. And I'm comfortable with that. My kids seem to be, too, and that's really what matters.

After years of being a working mom and figuring out what works for our family and what doesn't, I've gained confidence in my decision, know how to adapt better to change and understand now that the kids will be OK.

I'm learning this. One day at a time.

My husband and I were married in a beautiful 19th-century Catholic church in Fond du Lac.

It was the church I grew up in, enjoyed seeing classmates and neighbors at and introduced my own family to. It gave me a feeling of familiarity, and I felt comfortable there.

But that same church is now closed and up for sale, the victim of a priest shortage and church consolidation, an increasingly common occurrence within the Catholic Church.

Consolidation means change, and change can be difficult. I was anticipating that when my own family and my parents and siblings gathered at the newly built replacement church for the first time together on Christmas Eve. But my mom, a devoted and regular churchgoer who might have been resentful over the whole situation but instead choose to be bigger than that, was eager to show off the new church to us. She liked it.

The massive church looked different with its modern touches, but the design gave it a centralized and inclusive feeling. The crowd gathered was just as friendly; I recognized a few faces gathered in the pews, and the message from my favorite hometown priest was as good as ever.

My children, especially, felt immediately comfortable with the surroundings. Familiarity, I know, will come.

These things aren't always easy. Matters of the heart never are.

In my days before children I certainly didn't long to get sick, but I didn't dread it like I do now.

If I were hit with a cold, I would comfort myself by sipping on chicken noodle soup and 7Up. I would lounge all day wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, taking turns between watching a movie and reading a book. I'd take care of myself.

Now, when I get sick, I continue with my day pretty much like I would if I were healthy. It's true — there is no rest for the weary.

A former co-worker of mine and a mother of four used to say that anyone in the house is allowed to get sick but mom. We've got too much to do and are responsible for too much to be sidelined for a day.

Children must be cared for, picked up, dropped off, fed and played with. Sometimes you even have to take care of vomiting, feverish or sniffling kids when you yourself are sick. It's also not easy to call in sick to work when I've either just used some time off for taking care of sick ones at home or I'm saving it for emergencies.

When my youngest, Lucas, was only a few weeks old, I was diagnosed with strep throat after a couple days of suffering. There was no choice but to keep going. There was round-the-clock breastfeeding, little sleep and constant care. But there was no choice.

You do what you have to do to get through it, but sometimes that couch looks awfully inviting.

Snow days in Wisconsin require a little creativity when you are a working mom.

I can kind of figured Tuesday night that schools might be closed on Wednesday because of the icy road conditions and the severe wind gusts. And I was right. I figured I would bring Benjamin, a kindergartener, into work with me because he does well here. But what I hadn't counted on was my day care closing. That caught me off guard. Wednesdays are a busy page production day at the paper and being gone the entire day wouldn't work. It also was the end of the month for my sales-rep husband so he needed to go into the office to get his month in.

Thankfully, my wonderful friend, Gina, who also has three kids and is a teacher in Appleton, called to see what my plans were for the kids. Not wanting to take advantage of her being home all day, I decided I would stay home with my kids until 12:30 or so and then I'd drop them off for three hours of play before my husband would come and pick them up.

I was able to get all my work done and get home in time for a late dinner with my family.

Thank God for a flexible employer and for friends like Gina who offer to help!