Monthly Archives: April 2012

All The Things About Motherhood That Other Mothers Don’t Tell You Whether Spiteful or Unintentional When You Tell Them You Are Planning to Start a Family

Posted in Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

Yes, friends.  This post is back.  Today I am adding another chapter to my imaginary book called, All The Things About Motherhood That Other Mothers Don’t Tell You Whether Spiteful or Unintentional When You Tell Them You Are Planning to Start a Family – Chapter 2 – Freaking Laundry.

Late last night, after folding what I believe was basket number three of laundry (mind you, I “did” laundry on Friday), I debated with Hubby the possibility of imposing a uniform rule on “those” living under our roof.   There would be the uniform for school, after school uniform when there are no after school activities and a weekend uniform.  One outfit for each, try not to get it dirty and wear it until it becomes too tight.

Ok. Ok. Ok.   I realize that is completely unrealistic, but my children alone create one load of laundry every two days.  Their obsession with layering has me doing double duty with laundry.

Then there is Hubby.  He stayed silent during my single sided debate about uniforms.  He comes home from work and changes out of his suit into his T-shirt and pants.  At the end of the night, the clothes find their way to what he “thinks” is the closet, but is really just a chair and there they remain untouched.  Why untouched?  Because the next night he wears another T-shirt and pants who happen to greet the outfit from the previous night at bedtime.

Surprisingly, do you know what is absent from the laundry?  My clothes.  Subconsciously, I believe I have cut down on my own changes of clothes to cope with this issue.

And don’t get me started on towels and sheets.

Why didn’t anyone tell me I would be in charge of laundry for everyone in my home?  Of course it’s very natural for mothers to handle the laundry, but it certainly needs reminding when you are planning for baby.  Just a simple reminder would suffice, really!

So to all those couples who are planning a family.  I assume right now you can manage your laundry.  Send what needs to be pressed to the cleaners and the rest can wait until “laundry day”.  Enjoy it now, because when children arrive, Laundry Day is every day.

Now back to this uniform idea……..let me work on the details…….

Finally Friday

Posted in Finally Friday, Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

Finally Friday is all about breathing a sigh of relief that the week is over with a photo and it’s “short” quote.  Yes – similar to Wordless Wednesday but created for those who have no capacity to be wordless such as myself.   I’m Italian and I am just getting over trying to say things in 140 characters or less on Twitter.

So beginning today (and hopefully every Friday I can remember to do this) I share you with you my Finally Friday.

This is the status of my Hubby’s flight.  He has been away on business and it has been one hell of a week!   I was main chauffeur, butler, chef, chief of police, doctor and entertainment to two children under the age of seven.

The status reads ON SCHEDULE which translates to AMEN!

Do you have a Finally Friday?  If so (and you have a blog) click on the link below and share your Finally Friday.  If you don’t have a blog, share your Finally Friday on Facebook.

 

There is Always Time for the Grill-More Girls – Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad

Posted in Grill-More Girls, Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

There is not a scent that I love more than the scent of basil.  It brings me back to Sundays in my Nonna’s house circa 1980.  In fact, Nonno grew the softest, sweetest basil I have yet to see anywhere else.  Even the basil we grow in our garden does not compare.  Why so much talk about basil?  Well it’s the key ingredient in this week’s Grill-More Girls.  The basil serves as both the marinade and sauce of the chicken and the pasta.  So here we go….

This week I made Chicken Pesto Pasta and this is seriously, very easy to make and delicious.  I normally use all homemade ingredients, but I will share some easy shortcuts for those of you who are pressed for time.

First and foremost, the Pesto

3 cups of clean basil leaves (stems removed)

3 gloves of garlic

2 cups of Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup of Parmesan grated cheese

option – 2 tablespoons of pignoli nuts

Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and that is about it!  No time to make the pesto, here is a quick tip: Buitoni makes an excellent pesto sauce that can be found in the refrigerated aisle next to the cheeses. One container will suffice for this recipe.

Second, the Chicken

1 heaping tablespoon of pesto sauce

1/4 cup of olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Mix the ingredients together and pour over the chicken.  Marinate for up to 24 hours.

Lastly, the Pasta

1 box of Ditalini pasta

2 cups of feta

2 cups of cherry tomatoes sliced in half

2 cups of already sliced olives

2 cups of sliced roasted peppers (see last week’s post on how to make these)

remaining pesto sauce

Boil pasta according to instructions and once cooked and drained, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.

In the meantime, grill your chicken and place cooked slices over pesto pasta.  This meal is great cold or hot and perfect for summer dining.  Accompany this dish with a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio and …..well let’s just say “bella vita”!

So now its your turn.  Hop on over to The Harried Mom and see what she is cooking this week.  Share with us your grilling recipes by either hopping onto the link or placing your recipe in the comment section.

My Hardship? This Hand.

Posted in Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

About two months or so ago, I received a Jury Duty summons.  To say I was annoyed is an understatement.  Just a little over three years ago, I was playing the waiting game for one full week waiting for my jury number to be called.  By the end of the week and about a dozen moved meetings and schedule re-arrangements, my number was never called and I was thanked for fulfilling my civic duty.   And believe me, I respect that we have a justice system where everyone can fulfill their civic duty but seriously, not every three years!  It has literally been three years and two month since my last summons.

There are various ways to “get out” of jury duty, but apparently being a mother who happens to work full-time outside of her home is not one of them.  I could have postponed the summons, but that would only prolong the inevitable.  So I returned the form, placed the summons on my bulletin board, logged in the information into Google Calendar and forgot about it.

Forgot about it until Little Man came home with his invitation for Mother’s Day Tea.  Excitedly, I went to place the event in my schedule, but was “greeted” with my Jury Duty schedule.  Excuse my French…..But Shit! Shit! Shit!

This will be our last year celebrating this uber adorable event at his school.  All the children greet the Moms and serve us cookies and tea on the porch.  They sing us a song or two and we complete a craft together.  My Little Man loves this event as much as I do and I can’t bare the thought of missing it.

Part of being a mother who works full-time outside the home is missing an event or school function from time to time and I have learned over the years to deal with this matter. But I have also learned to revise my schedule and juggle various tasks so that I what I do miss is minimal.  Now, am I not only being made to miss an event for my son, but I potentially may have to take off several days of my own time –  which inadvertently are days I am taking away from spending time with my family to serve on a jury.

You guessed it….I am not happy.

So mark my words, if my number is called, I will produce my hardship by way of this invitation.  I will gladly serve my civic duty every year – once a year, once my children are over the age of 12.  My son’s hand is not going be to this size forever.

Turn Another Corner

Posted in Life Lessons, Time Management, Work Mom Balance by

Just this past weekend, I witnessed my daughter wrestle her little “bother” to the ground as not only their friends, but our adult friends watched on.  I could have stopped the struggle, but quite frankly, I am tired of repeating myself.  I apologized to my guests who are all too familiar with the scene thanks to their own children and proceeded to try to enjoy the evening.

And just when I thought all hope was lost, my children literally turned the proverbial corner yesterday at 5:02pm.  Working from home yesterday allowed me to get started on dinner as soon as I walked away from my laptop.  No, I don’t turn off the computer because there is always work to be done – but that, of course, is fodder for another post.

Anyway, I began pulling my ingredients together al la Rachel Ray and realized I heard nothing.  No screaming.  No fighting.  No yelling.  The clock read 5:02pm.  My initial inclination was that something was off…….and boy was it off!

I cautiously walked upstairs to find them both playing with Lego.  Mind you, we have had Lego in our home for almost two years and they never “played” with them.  Mommy and Daddy (mostly Daddy) would put them together only to get smashed minutes later.  As I asked what was going on, my youngest looked up at me and said, “We are just playing.”

I kid you not – I left the room walking backwards in utter shock.  As I made my way to the stairs, I turned and walked back to the kitchen stunned.  For the remaining hour I prepared dinner and attended to some emails in utter bliss.  From time to time, I would hear them laugh and giggle.  When dinner was plated and Hubby was home, it took three calls to get these two fast friends to come to the table.  And when dinner was complete, back upstairs they went to continue where they left off.

As I lay in bed last night, Hubby and I figured this could not last forever and we were sure the following morning would bring our “old” children back.

I kid you not again! - this morning, my youngest woke first and proceeded to wake up his sister to play.  They played until it was time to get ready for school.  They played until it was time to eat breakfast.  They played until it was time to get my daughter on the bus……

AND…..AND…..AND……they hugged!  I nearly spat out my coffee.  As my oldest walked to the bus stop with my youngest tagging along, they made plans on how to proceed with their storyline when they returned from school.

I am not sure if this peace will last between them, but I hugged them both longer and tighter today because as they left for school and I drove off to work, I saw my babies turn another corner.