There is nothing like a two week vacation...

To make me realize how much I miss the comforts if home!  

We had such a blast at the beach and in the pool.  We enjoyed great quality time with family we don't get to see often.  Being out of our environment and our routine was so worth it.

I missed our baby proofed home (read: I miss sitting down for a handful of minutes a day vs chasing babies around corners to ensure little fingers didn't find themselves in electrical outlets).  I missed our grocery store and my record-breaking shopping capabilities- a result of doing it weekly.

I'm grateful to be out of a car...with a one year old.

And most of all, I'm excited to get back on track with our routine (or at least define our summer routine!).  I'm ready to get back to blogging and I'm hoping to continue on my pursuits to find balance in motherhood!

To sun or not to sun

Ok, ok, ok....

I'm a hypocrite.

I go on and on about how important it is to protect your skin from the rays.  But sometimes even I just want to simmer in the summer sun!

There is a balance- and I justify this by telling myself I need to stock up on my Vit D- after the winter we just had in Jersey, I've completely depleted my stock!!

Unlike my husband who can spend all day in the sun and walk away with a golden bronze, I must MUST layer on the screen if I plan to make it through our beach vacation.

Here's what I do...

1. Face- everyday it's a 50 SPF before I head to the beach

2. Body- first few days I slather on the 70 SPF.  I feel like I need to give my skin the opportunity to acclimate to the beach and the sun.

4. Towards the end of the vacation, when my skin has started to pick up some color, then I start to cut back, ending up at a 15 SPF.  

Hopefully I'll walk away from the beach with a glow....and a few freckles :)

It's been too long!

I know I said I was going to take a two week break while on vacation but I've missed blogging a lot!  I've been storing up ideas- who knew that so much parenting AND beauty advice could be found at the beach?!

Stay tuned....

To the beach!

Vacation starts today!  I plan to take a two week break from the blog, but I'll certainly write should the inspiration strike!

The Importance of Home Economics

As you may have read, we've had a dishwasher debacle resulting in way too much old fashion dish washing...by hand.

It made me remember my high school Home Economics class when we were taught how to most effectively wash dishes by hand.  I filled a large bowl with warm soapy water, soaked the utensils and small items, scrubbed, and rinsed.  I acknowledge that this isn't a very complex task, not something that requires an incredible amount of strategy or intellect, but something about it's basic nature and the way that we could get by without the benefit of a dishwasher for a few days comforted me in the sense of sustainability.  Reminding me that we could survive in this looming pre-zombie apocalyptic society when the "inevitable" happens. It actually felt good to have done something the way it had been done for so long before the invention of the dishwasher.

It's important for everyone (men, women, boys, girls) to learn the lost arts of home keeping- the appropriate way to clean and care for a home, how to wash, iron, sew, fold...specifically a fitted sheet.  

No dishwasher!

Doing dishes as a single adult was easy.  Doing the dishes as a stay-at-home mom is a pain in the asspatula...

I'll admit, the first few nights without a dishwasher were kind of "fun"- I thought back to my Home Ec. Days when we were actually taught how to do dishes by hand and found a sense of fulfillment of a dirty job well done.

But now that we are going on a week without a dishwasher....losing my mind!!

Fortunately our new dishwasher is coming today!!  We spent a lot of time researching but when it came right down to it, I didn't care what brand of dishwasher we bought, so long as it wasn't the "Mom" brand.

My Comments in Mom.me!

As promised, here's the link to a slideshow where my "real mom" advice has been featured!  Very excited to have been part if this project!

http://mom.me/mind-body/12811-real-moms-talk-what-i-wish-id-known-about-motherhood/item/dont-underestimate-importance-wardrobe/

Rainy Day Activities Are Different with Kids

Before having kids, I used to love a rainy Sunday- it was an excuse to just lay low, watch a ton of bad television, nap, etc.

With kids, rainy days are tough....and messy.  

When I woke up to the rain I went back to the days of sleeping in.  I snuggled up into my blankets and listened to the rain hitting the skylight.  But behind the veil of tranquil raindrops and rolling thunder, there was a toddler waking up because it was 6:10am and come hell or high water (or in this case, a cozy spring thunder storm), he was waking up.

After allowing a few minutes of iPad time while he ignored his healthy, well-rounded breakfast, it was time to turn off the electronics and actively "play".

This lasted approximately three seconds before he was asking if we could go "owside".  

"No, bubby, it's pouring, we can't go outside", I respond as I opened the front door to reveal the heavy rain beyond our glass storm door thinking, "we can't go outside but maybe staring out the window will buy me some time."

It didn't.

It was time for the messy stuff...

Dotters.
No, not dotters....the baby eats the dotters.

Finger paint.  Yes, finger paint.

Funny that it's called "finger paint".  In our home it should be called "finger, foot, shins, floor, and in between toes" paint.

Or

"Thank God this is washable and non toxic" paint.

So it is messy here today in our home.  Which means there's more clean up than I'd really like to do.   Which makes me wonder....

"Who wants to play with the iPad?!" .....There must be a finger painting App, right?

SAHM Seeking Balance

I spend a good deal of time trying to figure out what I can do to bring balance into my life.  Now that my youngest is one, I dream of going back to work, part-time.  The challenge is finding something that fits a balanced schedule that allows me to be available to my kids while they are still young and at the same time, finding the fulfillment of working outside of the home.  

Last night while talking with my husband, I realized how unrealistic my "ideal" job is, so, for the fun of it, I figured I would write this up to better identify what I'm looking for.  Have any leads? Ha!

Hard working, energetic, and motivated mom of two young boys seeks part-time opportunity in low-stress environment.  

Ideal role includes task-oriented projects to be fulfilled within work hours (unable to commit to after hour contributions).  

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, parenting, beauty, medicine, real estate, travel and healthy living.  The last topic being of utmost importance as I seek a balanced, more well-rounded lifestyle. 

Ideally, time commitment must be fulfilled within two to three work days with the ability to arrive at 9:30am, break from 11:15-12:15 (this allows for drop off and pick up from pre-school) on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays (negotiable in warmer months but essential in winter months when walking is not an option).

Rate/Salary- enough to cover the cost of reliable childcare.  While a positive cash flow would be nice, I'm willing to break even...seriously.

Made it to One year- ready to get into a routine!

My youngest is a year old!!  I can't believe how quickly the year went by!  Now that we are out of the newborn, night waking, neurotic phase, and now that I will begin weaning, I want to start sticking to a morning "get out of the house looking like a human" routine.

My Goal: 

Shower

Sunscreen

Mascara

Lip Gloss

It's summer so "heavy" make up isn't really needed, but just enough to make me feel put together should do!

Preparing for motherhood is like...

Training for a marathon by simply reading books about running marathons.

Mom.me contribution!

If you read my blog often enough you may notice a trend on the topic of returning to work.  I love my kids and I love the exercise of working....I just didn't love my job (gulp...that's hard to write when several colleagues read your blog.  I just want to be clear...I loved you...just not the job.  At least not enough to leave my kids for it.  Ok, I'll stop talking...).

In fact part of the reason this blog exists is because I wanted a challenge outside of the very intense challenges of being a mom.  I trained and ran a half marathon (1:49.41....if you're wondering :), I auditioned (and I'm still hopeful) for a role with QVC, and I do a whole lot of other random "stuff" outside of this mom-ness to maintain dimensionality (is that a word? Well, it is now).

I sometimes struggle with this- it seems like doors, while not necessarily shut, are a lot more narrow when you're a mom.  But I'm plugging along and little by little I'm starting to gain traction.  And wouldn't you know it, just yesterday I received confirmation that my thoughts will be included in an upcoming article on Mom.me!!

It re-energized me!  Provided validation for my efforts (and what mom doesn't love validation?!).

I'll share the link when it launches!!

Dear Email Marketers

The easier it is for me to unsubscribe from your promotions, the more respect I have for your company.  Yes, I'm sure I want to unsubscribe.