Tomorrow is the big day

Tomorrow is my first day at my new job.

It doesn't really count, since I have 3 days of orientation, so I don't actually do anything related to my job until Wednesday.

But today is the last day of my stay-at-home stint.

I'm quite sad about it.

I need to focus and finish off today in a productive manner. But I'm lingering over everything kid-related. I'm just sad.

This will take time for me to adjust.

Dessert party

Last week we celebrated my parents' wedding anniversary and I threw them a dessert party. All items had to be parve because my niece and nephew are allergic to dairy. I am a decent baker and I have my standards but I decided to up the wow factor and try out recipes that I've never done before. I wanted to do something different!

So here is the spread as it looked right before everyone dug in:

Gold tablecloth, funky napkins from IKEA, and of course dessert and champagne.


This is my tray of chocolate dipped everything. I started with strawberries, but I had so much melted chocolate that I didn't want it to go to waste so I had to come up with other items to dip, so you see chocolate dipped apricots, cherries, and Kedem tea biscuits (chocolate and vanilla flavors). This was VERY tasty.

This is everything else. In the back is lemon poppy seed muffins. We are poppy seed lovers. In the front on the left are pineapple truffles. These were very tasty but they didn't quite harden as a truffle should, but oh well, hopefully next time! On the platter in the front right of the photo are pumpkin doodles, a variation of snickerdoodles. These are REALLY tasty. The truffles and the doodles are from Susie Fishbein's Kosher by Design Entertains and they are totally party worthy. And easy to make! I had fun making this (and eating it).

It was fun to get out of the comfort zone. I should do this more often...

Yay for me!

Sept. 1, 2009 was my official final day at my last employer.

Yesterday, Feb. 1, 2010, I received an offer of employment which I accepted today.

It's been a full 5 months of unemployment. I have a new job to look forward to, new colleagues, new skills, a new facility to learn. It's been over a year since I've done the "morning rush", although now I will have a kid to drop off at school and another one at home to worry about, and I also need to figure out how to get kid #1 back home from school!

So many things to think about, but first, lets focus on my wardrobe. It needs a major update!! I will have to do a considerable amount of shopping the next couple of weeks until I begin.

This is bittersweet. I think the kids will adjust faster than I will.

Paradigm shift

I was chatting with a friend recently and saying that I have so much respect now for stay-at-home moms because there really is a lot that goes into household management, and it doesn't really end at 5 pm like a professional job does (rather, 5 pm is just the start of the second shift - when the kids/husband come home!) but continues on through the night. There is always something more to do. I was talking about how "they" [stay-at-home moms] do it and was just going on and on about "them". At which point, my friend interrupted me and said, "You know, you are one right now." Which totally caught me off guard. I paused. I was thinking. Hm. I've been home since mid-December 2008 when I had to go on leave with my pregnancy. Haven't worked since (the one week in between maternity leave and being laid off doesn't count). Hm. I have been at home this whole time.

I suppose....that makes me....a stay-at-home mom...???

Wow. A total paradigm shift. I really wasn't expecting that one. You would think, after more than a year of this (hello 2010!), I would get it. Hey - I live it every day! And yet, I did not identify with that label. Never did I think that label would apply to me. Wow. This made me stop and think. Granted, I am looking for a job so being at home 24/7 should be temporary, but still, by now you would think I would get it. I even did a Mommy and Me session last summer!

Funny how an ingrained paradigm would be so....ingrained. As in, I always thought "other" people can be stay-at-home moms, not me. Wow. It's time to embrace who I am today.

It's official!

I have officially formed my own business! Meckley Consulting, LLC is officially open for business! I received the paperwork today and it was exciting to read that the Secretary of State for Texas made it official, with the Secretary's letterhead and all. Now I have to figure out all of the taxes and related stuff, but this is very exciting. I have been helping a friend with his project and I have been networking and trying to drum up more business (no luck yet, but it takes time!), but I think this is a positive step!

AWOL again

I apologize for not being around lately. The end of the year brought winter break from preschool and a wonderful visit with my husband's sister and her family. We had an awesome three days together and my daughter was on top of the world with her cousins and aunt and uncle. Now I am focusing all of my energies on my synagogue's gala which takes place two Sundays from now (ack!) so any free time I have is devoted to this gala.

Will write more in a couple of weeks.

A tip: the micro-clean

You're probably wondering what the heck a "micro-clean" is. It has nothing to do with a microwave. It's my new method to cleaning happiness!

I like to keep my house clean (as opposed to the person who doesn't?) and I like to set goals like, "Today I will clean the bathrooms" or something like that. However, what I've noticed is that I will get all motivated, pull out the cleaning supplies bucket, and be halfway through a project when a child will wake up from a nap or there will be some other distraction that makes me stop. Then I get all frustrated that I didn't finish and then it's just a downward spiral.

One day as I whipped out the cleaning bucket to clean some jolly area of the house, I told myself that it would be great if I cleaned just this one shelf. And when that was done, I told myself that it would be great if I cleaned just the next shelf. And so on. And eventually a child did wake up from a nap, but instead of feeling irritated that I couldn't finish another cleaning task, I actually felt great! Because I accomplished those little goals that I set for myself! And it wasn't a one-time feel-good moment. I tried this method when I mopped the floor. Usually, I want to "mop the floor" which includes the entire kitchen/living room/dining room/front entry way floor. This time, I told myself it would be great if I did the living room. Children still asleep. It would be great if I did the entry way. Children still asleep. And so on. I didn't get to reach the kitchen, but no matter - I did what I set out to do with the micro-cleans! And I felt great!

So that's my tip. You may actually have the time to accomplish the micro-clean instead of a big, comprehensive clean. Each accomplishment makes you motivated to complete the next task - if time permits - but if time runs out, no worries! You completed your goal!