It's official....

My siblings and I are currently deciding just WHO will finish up the last of the gifts for our parents (we go in together, which we all love, but this year we're challenged to finish up my mom, because she doesn't want anything!) The 2 young, single siblings are 'too busy.' Hmmm.... ask them what they're too busy doing and it's something like this: work, ski trips, get togethers, etc. Stuff they're doing for their own self. No doubt they're busy. But no doubt we all are, right?

Just got off the phone with my other sibling (full time working mommy of 2).... and she's in the same boat as me. I haven't gotten to pee all day and probably won't when I get home tonight either (which won't be until 8). It's official... I've given up sleeping AND peeing (which is difficult to do when you're surviving on massive doses of caffeine!)... and sometimes even breathing. ;)

Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is an extra few hours in each day. ;) Kisses, Elaine

Anyone else? :)

Happiness is....

~~ Going thru your baby's bag (can I please still call him a baby?) after (another) long, hard, stressful day at work.... and finding this:

I love G-man's teachers....I have a million thoughtful pieces of 'art' like this - so many that I could build several scrapbooks. If I had that kind of time. Maybe instead I'll scan the good ones and make a photobook online... hmmm....

~~ having your boss's boss stop by your desk at 6pm... knowing you'd still be at work... to tell you that he knows the special 'situation' you're dealing with at work...that the time and effort you're putting in is not going unnoticed.... that your presence on the team is changing everything... and that he's proud of you. (WOW!!! This is huge! And went a long way in easing my exhaustion/frustraton/anger/sadness over what's been going on at work!)

~~ coming home late from work to find that Mr. Fix-It has gotten crafty and made a yummy dinner that smells like comfort....

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~~ finally finishing a work project before 10pm! Tomorrow night will likely be a later night... but at least it's a day from Friday, right? And - I've said this a million times before, but - I really think that if I can make it thru this work week, it's going to get better....

The art of saying no.....

Just how does one go about saying "no?" I just never seem to be able to do it, and I know that's a super uncommon trait of moms. ;)

But why is it on my mind now? Maybe because.... even though I told myself I wasn't going to participate in the bake sale at the kiddos' school this time..... I found myself making homemade cookies with Big Sis yesterday evening, after getting the email plea from school that they hadn't received enough baked goods for their fund raiser... So I baked a batch of those yummy oatmeal choc chip cookies.

And maybe because I'm so exhausted right now that I'm wondering how I can attend my 3:00 mtg, much less lead it. Because we've traveled 3 of the last 4 weekends and the whole Semi-Homemade fam is beyond worn out. Because I didn't say no. We haven't had a spare couple of hours since the first of February. Because I didn't say no. And there has been more than one occasion where we've forgotten show & tell, someone has not had clean clothes to wear, there has been nothing for dinner, and the house is embarassingly chaotic. Because at some point, I didn't say no.

I am looking forward to this weekend more than Christmas. We have NOTHING! I've been craving it. Being alone with just my hubby and 2 cutie kiddos. We're going to have family movie night one night (any suggestions, fellow mommies?).... We're going to have a Puerto Rican Staycation Sat night.... complete with a Puerto Rican dinner that we're cooking ourselves (I've GOT to start looking for recipes!) and fun, festive music. Who knows, maybe we'll throw on our swimsuits for fun (it DID hit 90 here yesterday, okay?) Ahhhhhh...... and did I mention we'll have a totally helmet-free G-man for all this fun? I could cry, I'm so excited. Or tired. Whichever.

Working Momma has Big News!

So, for some big news and one of the reasons I was feeling stressed/whiney yesterday..... I'VE BEEN PROMOTED!!

And while I'm really trying hard to see only the good in it, the truth is, this is less than the great news it would seem to be. Now, before I sound like one of those 'glass half empty' types, let me explain....

The good: I'll now have a Senior in front of my title. Honestly, I've never been a title whore, especially not since I became a working momma, so it's not that important to me. But nice, I guess, especially for the recognition. I also got a raise! And we all know how hard that is to come by in this economy. Especially in retail. Geez.

Now, the less than good.... (See, I didn't say 'the bad'.... that has to count for something, right?)
So, let me explain a little.... each 'team' is set up with 3 different organizations, all which are a system of checks and balances. Each team has 2 leaders, but when it comes down to it, the ultimate responsibility is on one person. Let's call her the President. That makes me - the other leader - the Vice Pres. We should keep the team working towards a common goal, working a strategy within our finanical boundaries, etc, etc.
The new Pres I'm going to work with has a reputation for being hard to work with - it's no secret. Her people will say upfront that they don't feel valued. I'll be her 3rd VP in less than 2 years - and both the girls before me left because of her. I'm being put on this team because I have a way of being direct, of instilling discipline and process, all the while being friendly and easy to get along with. I'm influential. At least this is what the higher ups (both mine and the boss of this new Pres) have told me.

Do you feel the pressure? The stress? Did I mention that this is a highly visible business with lots of (bigwig) eyes watching it? OMG, somebody take my blood pressure....

Oh, and the team complains there is no work/life balance. This is probably #1 on my list of most sensitive topics as a working mommy. I must have work/life balance; I insist on it. I know I'll have to put in long hours at first, but then 50 hrs/wk is my absolute limit. That doesn't even take into account the 7 hrs/wk commute I have. But again, this is another reason I've been put on this team. My time is valuable. I will not waste it. Being efficient, finding faster ways to do things, cutting out things that aren't working - that is what I do. But it'll take some time to get the ball rolling...

This job isn't my dream job.... maybe at some point I'll be able to discuss that later - it would be an entirely New Life Plan and I need to read up on that way of thinking. But for now, I'm happy to be promoted and I'm going to try to roll with the new situation.

And another reason I was so whiney yesterday? I hadn't jogged in 9 DAYS! I only jogged a couple of miles last night, but what a stress reliever! Remind me of that the next time I try to skip my workout. Time will be tight as I'm transitioning into my new job, but I must find the time to jog! Oh, and maybe another reason? As relaxing as our Easter weekend was, that drive to my inlaws is 6 hrs each way! Getting home at 7pm on a Sunday is a quick way to stress a working momma out! Especially this one, who usually uses Sun to do a million loads of laundry, cook 2 dinners, and get everything ready for a busy week!

More on our Easter later. And don't worry, I won't bother you with every little detail. Maybe just a semi-homemade activity or 2. And some fun Easter basket goodies and a couple pics.

Oh, and those file folders at the top of this rambling? I'm just kidding. Kind of. I do like my boss though. I was just looking thru fun office products (at Spoon Sisters, click on the pic if you must have them). ;) And then I found this one and it might just apply....

You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all....

Y'all. I'm grumpy. And I seriously never wake up grumpy. (Now, before you classify me in that group of really annoying women who is perky all the time, please know this... at some point in my day, as early as my commute or even occasionally in the parking lot of daycare, someone makes me grumpy. I just don't wake up that way.)

Anyway, I'm not going to say much because if I did, it would just sound whiney. About how tired I am that I'm so incredibly busy that on some days I literally don't have time to pee. That - even though I know there are tons of other busy moms out there just like me - it seems like there's no way anyone could be as busy as I am. That no one starts their day by 5:30 and doesn't finish til 11 and is at a dead run the whole time. Oops, guess I did say that. Just slipped out.

And that picture? That's from the LAST time Big Sis had strep throat. Which she has again. At least that's my diagnosis.... we're leaving in 5 minutes to have it confirmed by a professional. Mr. Fix-It is attending a big time meeting this morning, then coming home at lunch so I can get some work in and attend an important meeting, too. From 3-5. Sigh.

At least my sickie is being super sweet and has been my reason to smile this morning. She just said.... Momma, I love you SOOO much. You're the best mommy to me. Awww.....

40 hours and counting....

That's how many hours I had already worked by the time I left the office at 2:30 today to take Big Sis to her 3 yr well appt at the pedatrician. Yes, the one I thought I could 'skip.' Turns out that when your daycare is being audited by the state they need all the necessary paperwork. By tomorrow. Sigh. I wonder how much it'll cost us for them to tell us that she's tall (duh), that her BMI is low and that she's hit every developmental milestone for her age and then some.

I had my Big Financial Meeting at work today (the monthly one that I run), and lots of big changes came out of it that I wasn't expecting. So... I'll be leaving my house at 5:30am tomorrow (I don't even want to think about what time I'll be getting up!) so that I can hope to finish up by noon so we can leave town.

Oh, yeah, and that's IF the whole state of Oklahoma hasn't caught fire. Have y'all heard of this? I talked to my mom and sis earlier and it sounds bad. They've been asked to evacuate.... It's all over the news, but if you haven't heard anything, you can click here. Keep them all in your prayers - my family and lots of close friends live across the state and it sounds like this is far reaching. Very scary.


Good thing we have this to make us smile. This picture is from a week or so ago (you can tell because it's pre rocker hair cut) and Gman is getting oh so close to crawling. Which is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. I've GOT to start baby proofing!!

Okay, gotta go. I've got 3 loads of laundry to do AND get us all packed up and ready to go. Mr. Fix-It is having a well deserved break (I say that because he's had the kiddos alone every night this week while I've been working my butt off.) He's at a going away party for one of the guys that was laid off. And all I know is that he walked out the door this evening with his Rock Band. ;) I won't be waiting up.

Stay tuned...

I'm finishing up Big Sister and G-man's semi-homemade valentines tonight and I'll put up pics as soon as I can. They're not nearly exciting as the gifts they did for Christmas, but I'm busy and we all just have to deal with that.

Busy? What? Well, it's partly due to the fact that I'm going to dinner tonight with 2 old friends. This is exciting because:

1. They serve margaritas there
2. I need adult time and miss these girls!
3. This dinner (which was originally to get together for the holidays - as in Christmas!!) has been reschedule no fewer than 3 times. And each of those times was my fault.
- A work deadline...
- Then one of those rare snow/ice days we get in TX which causes schools/daycares to close...
- And most recently, we were going to go on the night that Big Sister took that nasty fall at school and bit thru her lip. I ended up at the after-hours clinic instead of sipping a margarita.

But I'll make up for all of that tonight... those valentines might end up looking pretty interesting...

Someone call the cleaning lady!

And get her here tonight! Because my house is beyond out of control. Wait, I just called me and I'm busy tonight....

Damn, this recession is killing me. You'd think with all the horrible layoffs, people would be lining up at my door wanting to clean my house for practically free. But I looked out there this morning and no one was there.

Blogging? Do I have time for this?

So, I was the last person you know to jump on the myspace craze.... and I STILL don't have a facebook.... and it's not because I resist change or I don't love to keep up with my friends. It's just that I don't have time!
So... I'll try out this blog thing and we'll see if I can stick with it. Keep your fingers crossed! And in the meantime, let's just keep it our little secret...