The Life of a Working Mom

Here is where I get to show off what I actually accomplished this past week…really I am quite proud of it!!  If you want to see what other bloggers have accomplished this week past, go to 5 Minutes for Mom and check out their wonderful Tackle It Tuesday carnival, really its loads of fun!!

I took advantage of the empty house today and untrimmed my tree.  Actually I practically shook the poor thing naked!!  We had one night where we were garunteed no children and I wanted to take advantage of it while I could.  I will say, as much as I liked how nice the lights looked stuck deep into the branches, it was a major pain getting them back out again!!!

There is the lovely tree trimmed and in its glory (sorry bad camera couldn’t get a good nighttime shot!!)

Here it is all sans ornaments:

Poor thing had its needles wrung off by the time I got the lights off of it.  I guess nothing left to do but burn it this summer

I’m just so proud of myself for actually getting this done before February!!!

 I have decided to take a stab at menu planning once again.  Before we had kids I faithfully planned out our meals for the week and shopped accordingly - I have realized that I need to get back to that sort of planning again.  It is amazing how much more money you will spend when you are unprepared for dinner and need to stop at the store for one thing (you all know what I mean…its never just one!!).  Well now I have some fun motivation.  Every week orgjunkie.com hosts Menu Plan monday and I have decided to play along.

(I am listing the cookbook and page along with the plan so I can easily find it again :))

Mon:  Dinner @ Monday Night Football (at JC’s)
Tue: Chicken & Biscuits (1 dish meals pg 28)
Wed:  Pot Roast, potatoes, carrots, onions (Better Homes & Gardens pg 338)
Thur: Tasty Pork Tenderloin (Fix It and Forget It Light pg 90) 
Fri: Tofu Veggie Lo-Mein (Weight Watchers pg 124)
Sat: Greek Style Lamb (Weight Watchers pg 91)
Sun: Oven Fried Chicken (a recipe of my own creation)

The Shopping List  
After taking stock of what I already have this is what I need for the above menu plan plus any items needed for breakfasts or lunches.  Starred (*) items are on sale
(I figured I’d post this too since I need to make one anyway
Meat/Protein
beef chuck pot roast*
lamb chops*
firm tofu
pork tenderloin*

Produce
onions*
broccoli
peas*
carrots
new potatoes
celery
orange
cucumber
mushrooms
asparagus
scallions
lettuce

Dairy
buttermilk
plain yogurt*

Misc
long grain rice
chicken broth*
chili sauce
spaghetti*

I have been inspired by Michele at the Integrated Mother to start Fighting the Frump!!  (Check out Jessica Knows as well)  This is more than just a goal to lose weight, but also to lose the frump; the messy, stained covered, frizzy haired, sweatpant wearing frump.    What better way to start and stick to this journey than to blog about it.  Be held accountable to anyone who sees my blog fit enough to read.

First off - the starting stats (I can’t believe I am going to admit this), I am 5′3″ and weigh 150 lbs at the moment (pre Christmas I was 147….oops).  Basically I am at my pre Jack weight (born 9 months ago), not too bad, but I would prefer to be at my wedding weight….although I don’t know exactly what that was….so instead I am shooting for 128….that is a 22lb weight loss.

In addition to my weight loss goal I am going to set for myself a series of small goals to decrease my frump-ish-ness.  I am tired of being a sloppy mommy.  I am tired of excusing my appearance as I am a mom of two and lack the time. 

1.  No more dressing under duress:  I have many many clothes, but the current state of my closet makes it difficult to put together a…put together outfit.  I need to take the time to reorganize my closet, purge the items I do not wear, and determine what I have and what I need to be able to be sure I walk out of the house looking polished DAILY!!

2.  Early to bed, Early to rise:  I know I am not alone, I am a mom that does not get enough sleep.  I need to take a look at my current bedtime routine and horrible sleeping habits and make some changes.  Sleep is such an important part to feeling and looking well.  Also as a mom of two young boys, I need to be able to get up before them and give myself some time to get ready and get my day organized.  Currently I am so tired that I sleep until the last moment, and our morning routine has become nothing more than a rush to feed and clothe our little ones and get out the door without being late - it does not make for a good start to our day.

3.  I am what I eat:  I cannot expect to lose weight and feel healthy if I continue to neglect my fruits and veggies, and continue to indulge without regard to consequences.  I once again need to take a look at our (the whole family could use a dietary overhaul) eating habits and meal plans and get us all on a better path.  Part of this will be creating weekly meal plans and shopping accordingly, so that we are always prepared to have a well balanced meal and so that there is no last minute smashing together of foods to create a “meal”.  It is more than just keeping the full, but keeping us all nourished.

4.  Never fully dressed without a (white) smile:  short and sweet - finally whiten and brighten a little using the host of products I have purchased, and maintain with proper dental hygeine

So there we go…my plan to Fight the Frump….I might add a couple more things to my to do list, but I figure this is a good starting point.   Wish me luck…and watch for updates (if you are interested that is

Last spring we dropped a hefty chunk of change and spoiled ourselves with a Wii (its for the kids right?).  Having had two kids I am (of course) in need of shedding a few pounds, so when the Wii fit was introduce of course I was interetested…sadly I was never able.  I was surprised at Christmas with a Wii Fit from my Mom (Yay Mom!!!)  Hubby and I wasted no time.

 We love it!!!  It is proving to be the motivational tool that we need to get us back to our pre baby bodies!!   Through the Wii, we have discovered that we both have the same amount of weight to lose (22 pounds) and we have set the same time frame for our goals (3 months = ~1.5lbs per month).    Let the competition begin.   

 Through the Wii Fit we are able to monitor our progress, as well as use the included exercises and programs to help us on our way.   We realize that we cannot depend on this format to get us into shape completely, we need to add in aditional exercise and improve our diets, but it is a start, and a competition is all the motivation we need….so now, my darling husband, be prepared…I will not lose!!! 

 Wish us luck!!!

The Night After Christmas

Twas the night after Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Except for Mom’s Mouse

The stockings were flung
By the chimney sans care
As mom (as St Nick)
Had already been there.

The boys were all snuggled
Upstairs in their beds
New toys and new stuffies
Lay all ’round their heads

Dad on his laptop
Me on my blog
Had just fed the woodstove
another fat log.

When out on the carpet
Arose such a chatter
I hopped up from my laptop
To see what’s the matter.

Away to the living room
I ran with a start
To see what had startled
The beat of my heart.

On the floor I had spied
Something small red and furry
A Tickle Me Elmo
Had awoke with a fury.

I shut the toy off
and picked the thing up
Then back to my chair

To my warm coffee cup

Long days filled with family, love
And joy we’ve been blessed
And now in good need
Of a long winter’s rest.

We turned off the tv
Laptop and the lights
Merry Christmas to all
And to all a good night!!!

A Loving Mom original

I am trying to find ways to supplement my income, but a second/part time job is completely out of the question.  Instead I have decided to put my talent(?) and hobbies to work for me and set up an etsy shop to sell some of the items I love to make.  As I am an all or nothing type of person, I refuse to open shop until I have a sufficient amount of stock/items to fill my shop.   This week’s tackle has been building up my stock of hand made baby bibs.  I am hoping to add on to these other baby items that coordinate.  I have about 8 done, and now I plan on moving on to onsies and burp clothes or tag blankets to match.  Hopefully by next Tuesday I will have tackled even more sewing…

I am still on the look out, checking Monster and other job sites daily, looking for that perfect opportunity.  The biggest problem I am having right now is that in my field there are not many options if I am not willing to move outside of RI or drive great distances to the larger metro areas around me.  I am fortunate that I am not in desperate need of a job, I am still currently employed, but I would like for something to happen sooner rather than later (of course I would). 

 Things are happening for me though.  As I mentioned the other day I did have an interview on Monday - I am still not sure how that one went for me, I just couldn’t read the guy very well I guess.  Now, just moments ago, I receive a phone call from a recruiter that had contacted me earlier last week (or maybe it was the week before, I’m a sleep deprived mom how can I be sure when it was, anyway…), she has a company that has some interest in me based on my resume and would like to set up a phone interview.  Ideally I would set it up for tomorrow, but there is a rather large storm headed up to the NorthEast tomorrow and there is a good chance that the boys will be home with me.  I don’t know how good of an impression I would give with two screaming kids in the background (not that they scream often, but the moment I am on an important phone call they seem to have the ability to sense it).  So Monday morning, after my conference call, I will have a phone interview.  I am pretty excited about this one - the company in question looks very attractive on paper, and my resume reads as a checklist in response to their job description so, again on paper everything looks good.  Hopefully we all still feel the same way after we speak on Monday.

 I also submitted my resume to another company yesterday.  The job posting, again, matched up very well with my past experiences, and as an added bonus the company is in RI (not a common occurance for my field).  I am hoping that I will hear something from them eventually - its the not knowing that is toturous.

 So in all I am looking into three different positions with three different companies right now, I have two recruiters also looking for me, and I have my resume on monster for any interested parties.  I am trying to keep positive and maintain my confidence, and know that I will find something soon…..like I said….trying.

Found this wonderful tutorial the other day on Maya*made and thought I’d give it a try. Newspaper snowflakes. I am thrilled with the results!! and they were so incredibly easy to make. I actually did all the cutting while the boys played last Thursday - and I finally got around to sewing them this morning.   I am still trying to find places to hang them - and I have a huge stack of them (it was almost therapuetic to cut them - I think I got carried away).  The ones I made this time are around 9 inches in diameter, I think I am going to try to make some itty bitty ones to use as decorations on windows and mirrors around the house, and maybe to decorate some gifts too.

The pictures aren’t the best - it was a little difficult to take clear pictures of them

Go see Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer and find out what works for other bloggers out there!!

Day 1:  Realize I am not happy with my company, seethe about it as  I get ready for work

Days 2-60:  Complain endlessly about my job to anyone that will listen.  Drag my feet on every assignment and be miserable in general.  Knowing all along that being miserable wouldn’t make things any better!!

Day 61: Where is my resume?  I know I had it somewhere at some point last year.  Dig through every digital file on my computer, my laptop, my husbands laptop, my 2 thumb drives, and all of my back up disks.  Finally retrieve it from an old email (from when I applied for my current job).  Have a glass of wine and go to bed

Day 62:  Look at my resume.  Look at my blog.  Visit so many blog friends and run out of time.  Plan to do resume tomorrow.

Day 63:  Lock myself away in the office.  Open up my resume and edit and add.  Consider giving up the search…not that I have actually even started.  Watch in dread as computer crashes…redo all edits once computer is up and running again.

Day 64:  Post resume on Monster.com….realize it is not confidential….remove resume and repost confidentially.

Day 65:  First contact…maybe it has all been worth it.  Go back and forth with a recruiter, discuss salary and optimal commute time.  Find out about a position that fits all my needs…but will I fit theirs?  Feel chipper.

Day 66:  Suck it up and tell boss…We have a good relationship and I am just not able to sneak around.  Over all conversation went great - boss very very supportive…I am very lucky.

Day 67-69:  Wonder what happen to my recruiter…is that job still open?  Did I make the right decision?  Start to worry and doubt myself.

Day 70: Get in touch with recruiter, all is good.  Get in touch with a potential employer…feeling good.

Day 71:  First interview, drop boys off at daycare, rush back home, shower, check blog, iron, check blog, get dressed, check blog and run out the door….things are going good?  Nothing I can do now but wait, and keep up the search.

So that is the current history of my job search.  I have decided to document things this time around (as little or as much detail as I feel like writing).   I have a lot of work to do to find a job that will be the right fit for me, but I am hopeful…lets see what happens!!