December 13: Reconnecting with my little ones

December 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Chocolate Tuesday! Last night I arrived late and was not able to spend much time with Big Bro and Red (and no time with Twin Crazy and Twin Husky). So this morning was great for me and I spent a lot of time re-connecting with the kids — I also feel like I have a lot more to say about my morning with them since I missed them last night.

HIghlights of the Morning and Commute:

  • Twins got up, “Mommy, mommy, mommy!!” I gently kissed their heads, touched their faces, said good-morning to them and that I missed them last night – we didn’t get to see each other last night….. they both seemed to be in an EXCELLENT mood.
  • We all went into Big Bro and Red’s room — Twin Crazy and Twin Husky were having a great time running around while Big Bro and Red were still stretching and waking up. Somehow we got on the conversation of things the kids used to say when they were toddlers. For Big Bro, it was, “OK? OK.” and we were laughing. Then Big Bro got excited to tell me about a story. “Remember when [Red] used to say, “I love play, I love play.”? [She used to say it in a sing-song voice with inflection, so cute]. “Well remember that time when she was saying “I love play, I love play” and you said: “[Red], I know that you like to play. But it’s not time to play right now. Now it’s time to go to bed.” And he started laughing. Both were laughing. I guess it was amusing to him that night long ago as well. How does he remember that? I certainly don’t. But I do recognize how she would have said that, and how that would have been my response to her given that same situation. I had him record the story so I could post it here, but I’m having technical difficulty UGGGGH — I’d like to figure this out so he can start doing more voice recordings… I suspect it would help his story-telling and boost his self-confidence.
  • Big Bro and Red had their clothes all ready for the AM….

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  • Red made her bed and ran into my room to tell me. So of course I had to go and check her work and make a big deal about it….

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  • Downstairs, Big Bro and Red fought over the bar-stool at the corner of the counter. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Twin Husky and Twin Crazy were busy eating breakfast right on top of each other. They really are inseperable.

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  • I made a mistake about referring to Twin Crazy and Twin Husky as “the babies”. And then I immediately looked at everyone and said “wait a minute…. you are not BABIES…. why did I say that???!?!??! You [Twin Crazy] are a little GIRL….. and you [Twin Husky] are a little BOY. Why did I call you babies????!?!!? That is so silly.” And everyone was laughing and then Twin Crazy and Twin Husky in their own little way were participating in the story — Twin Husky by uttering one or two one-word phrases (baby, boy), and Twin Crazy by mumbling something and using inflection and long sentences that are not understandable by anyone (well, except maybe by her twin brother).
  • Twin Crazy told me that Twin Husky’s animal (tiger) had suffered a spill, in her own way….. mumbling, inflecting, “spill”, pointing. I understood and repeated what I thought she was saying and told them that “it’s OK, its just a spill, I will clean it up”…. and then “there, I’m cleaning it up, and that seems better. Is that better?” And both Twin Husky and Twin Crazy agreed. “Better” they both said. I love that we are having “conversations” at this point. I just have to be careful not to make it too easy for them to just mumble something. I want them to try to get the words out. But this stage is honestly a lot of fun. Their development as individuals and hearing and understanding what they are thinking about.
  • We decided to make the drop-offs all together today, but it was going to be tight. I dropped of Red and it went very smoothly. She knew I was in a rush so she went to her teacher with open arms very quickly. We hit traffic on the way to drop offs #2 and #3 so I decided to take Big Bro off at a stop sign and continue with the Big Bro drop off while Hubby took the Twins. Hubby then picked me up and we made it just in time to the ferry.

The commute on the ferry was interesting today. I’m getting to know the people who make this trip daily. Today I sat with “Joe” who is probably in his 60s but is on his 3rd masters degree – he is a New Yorker who relocated to the West Coast in 1992. He was complaining about his class – something about applied mathematics in physics or astronomy or something – and how it was so over-the-top. I love people like this. Still with energy. Still going for his dreams. Talking with people and interacting and living life. I am automatically drawn to people like this. I love people who LIVE their lives versus those that just go day-by-day. You only get one life in my opinion and you have to make the most of it. It seems like Joe is.

We couldn’t help but talk about New York City – and how I used to live there and miss it there and how I feel comfort in hearing his voice and hearing his accent. I told him my story about how I knew I would someday live where I am now – and how after my MBA I just picked up and moved cross-country by myself to fulfill that dream. But also how now, 10+ years and four children later, I believe this city is not the best place anymore for me or my family. Joe agrees. He says “Yes, well if you put your children first, there are a lot of other places that you should be looking at to live.” Yes. I agree. 100%. But some things I cannot change. No matter how much reason and logic and communication goes into the effort. Hoooooo hummm. What to do? Go to work and make the best of the situation.

Highlights of my Working Day:

  • I had the bulk of my day as quiet time. No meetings scheduled. So I used this time to focus on completing / refining my client deliverable. It was good to get that part done. Once we get feedback from the client I will have an analyst complete the work based upon the structure that I developed today.
  • I also spent some time preparing for my day tomorrow (my work-from-home day). I gathered documents that I will need to reference for some work I plan to do.

It was a quiet day. It was a relatively productive day. I am on the ferry home now and thinking about dinner. I think we’ll have flat-meat steak tonight. I miss the kids. I miss them from not being there with them last night. I hope to reconnect with EACH of them tonight. And maybe get some more voice recordings out of Big Bro.

Dinner and Bedtime:

  • I had all pick-ups tonight and got Red first. She was excited to show me Christmas confetti. She told me all about it – how it is smooth, and shiny, and how the pieces are hard to pick up when they fall on the floor. She struck me as such a big girl then – how she was talking, the words she was using, and how she was teaching me something “new”.

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  • I then picked up Big Bro, and Twin Crazy and Twin Husky. There was one house on the cul-de-sac at the Twins’ daycare that was completely drenched in lights. So we went further down the road to check it out. I heard “ohhs” and “ahhhs” and we talked about all of the lights, the trees, the reindeer, how they ran the lights up the driveway, etc. On our way out Twin Husky started the song of “bye-bye lights”.
  • I cooked dinner while the kids entertained themselves. Red shared her confetti with Big Bro after Big Bro asked her politely (and with my guidance and prompting). I am proud of both of them.
  • Twin Crazy kept standing on the stool and turning on and off the kitchen lights.
  • Kids ate well – steak, string beans, cous-cous. Hubby came in and everyone was well behaved and eating great.
  • After dinner was bathtime. I had fun playing with Twin Crazy about “bath, book, night-night”. She was so excited for a bath. She was literally jumping up and down dancing. Imagine each week cutting 80 fingernails and toenails. Yes, I do it.
  • Bedtime was easy for the Twins, but was really rough for Red and Big Bro. Red was cranky when I got to her. I helped her brush her teeth but sat her in water. So we changed. Then I made the mistake of making her laugh while she was rinsing, so she spit the water all over herself. We both cracked up and then got changed again.
  • Now Big Bro is STILL crying outside of my door because of his “owie” skinned knee. I already went in there once to talk about his feelings and how its normal for owies to hurt like this, and that there really isn’t that much that I can do except to tell him that I understand, to tell him that I know it hurts, to tell him that I know he must be mad and frustrated, but to also know that his body is doing its work by healing itself — and the best thing he could do is to get some sleep so his body can be strong enough to heal itself better, faster. Now I know it hurts him, but there’s something more to this… I personally think he needs more “mommy time” – looking back on tonight, I spent a lot of time with the Twins and then with Red since she was cranky. The most he got out of me tonight was the time I had with him cutting his nails! He didn’t get booktime with me or individual time with me… I really need to fix this tomorrow. I’ll pick him up early tomorrow afternoon.

So today was a long day; filled of things that I am reflecting on. I feel like Tuesdays in particular are intense for me since I’m trying to reconnect with everyone and sometimes I fall short on a child. In this case it’s Big Bro. I need to better figure out how to divide my time and make it seem more equitable – if at all possible…

Till tomorrow –
– Mama K

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December 12: Keeping up with the Joneses

December 12, 2011 by 5 Comments

Another Monday. This one cold and gray. I’m coming off a great weekend with the kids. We went to the library (quite a treat, even for the 2 yr olds), toured closeby neighborhoods looking at lights, and went on another steam train ride.

We started doing the “responsibility boards” with the kids again where you put little magnet “jobs” on the board and the kids and you evaluate their performance on those jobs – if they did well, they get a happy face magnet for that job on that day. Some of the jobs include making the bed, getting dressed, brushing teeth, etc. and we find that these boards really do make a difference in their behavior, at least in the short term while there is still novelty to it.

So this morning the kids were way ahead of me:

Highlights of the Morning and My Commute:

  • Big Bro and I were getting dressed and he came into our room and said he wanted to do a getting dressed race. We’re on! He won, of course.
  • He then came in and proudly said, “Mommy, I already woke up, went pee, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and even made my bed all by myself.” I made a big deal of this and then walked into the room to check his work. He was so proud. I looked over and then also saw that Red did the same with her bed – and also arranged her dolls and put her favorite sleep animal on her pillow. I made a big deal about this too and later when she decided she wanted the animal I walked up with her and noticed her proud smile creeping across her face with each step upwards. By the time we reached her room and her bed, her face was alight with pride and she had to cover her face in her bed with her smiles and her laughter. I both love and hate how these kids are getting so big so fast – on one hand I love to see the people they are becoming but on another hand they are growing out of the age of innocence.

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  • Twin Husky was busy downstairs rolling things. Luggage bags, shopping carts, play strollers. He was just busy busy busy strolling and rolling all over the place and around the downstairs.

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  • Twin Crazy was walking around looking mad. Her eyebrows were furrowed since Hubby reprimanded her for something. She holds a grudge. Her face looked so cute all mad. I talked with her about how she looked mad and how that feels. I’m talking a lot with these younger kids about their feelings and what they are feeling and how even I have those feelings. After spending so much time with the little ones, I think I need to be spending the same amount of time with the 3 and 5 year old too. Sometimes I just assume that they “get it” since they are older but it’s probably good to spend the time on this subject with them too.
  • I took Red to school today and sat with her while she traced a candy cane. I asked her to save it for me so I can see it tonight. She asked me to write her name on it and I said each letter as I wrote it. She also wanted my name on it so again, M, O, M, M, Y. She seemed satisfied with this so she continued her art and smiled at me as I walked away.

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I’m feeling a bit down today. Folks on the ferry are talking about how this area is over-priced and how their going to buy for an investment but only stay 4 or so years until they have kids and find another place to live. This has been such an issue in our family and it is hard for me to accept. What started this funk that I’m in today?? I think I know what it is…

Over the weekend we received a holiday card where the whole card was an array of pictures during a private-blimp tour of the city. Yes, a blimp.  Three generations of the family each with beaming smiles while they were on their own private blimp-ride.  Yes, there are pictures of the grandchildren wearing headphones and pictures of the windows overlooking the city and everyone with big smiles. Yes, it was just them, in the blimp. A blimp.   Did I say a blimp????!?!?!?

The city where I live is essentially comprised of people that “have”, and “have not”. There really isn’t an in-between. And folks/families like ours have to work our asses off just to get by – and not even live lavishly. Mind you, I don’t need or want fancy clothes or a fancy car or decadent vacations. But I would like to be able to afford a house of my own to shelter my kids with a yard where they can play, and not have to feel like I have to work like mad to get there. At 41 and with an MBA, shouldn’t I be able to do this??? So I looked at that holiday card and became less hopeful of the area in which we live and my feeling of just “not belonging.” Mmmmm. That’s a bit deep for now. So not to dwell on things I cannot change, I should focus my energy on what I can change. I can play a pivotal role in how my children develop as people. So I guess it that is where I should focus my energy going forward, right??!!? Right.

Today at work I have some clean up items to begin with my client deliverable but honestly the rest of the day is a bit scattered. I will take this time to clean up some loose ends from our last forums and set myself up to start the planning for the next forums happening in April.

Highlights of My Working Day:

  • We had an hour team sales meeting; during this time I updated the team on the sales efforts I am leading. I spent time talking about how I am trying to generate incremental revenues from the forums I am managing — the two forums are very different in nature and I am using different strategies to generate sales for each (selling new services to existing members, versus gaining new clients to grow membership). I speak with authority during these discussions since I own the forums and associated sales efforts. What needs to happen in the next 4 – 6 months though is to actually CONVERT these efforts to revenue. I need to make this happen so that this reduced work arrangement can be safe.
  • We also had a team lunch meeting where we did a White Elephant holiday exchange. I wrapped up two big stuffed animal dolls that neither Red or Twin Crazy have EVER played with and it was selected by my firm’s CEO. Too funny. I walked away with a pair of comfy wool socks. Especially made for a left foot vs. right foot! I never owned a pair so am looking forward to busting into them tonight (its the simple pleasures in life, right?).
  • I had a conference call with an ex-colleague of mine from 10+ years ago. I’ve managed to stay in touch pretty well with the people I have personally worked with through the years. This has been paying off for me lately. I am able to leverage them to get closer to business opportunities and now this friend/ex-colleague has come to us with a very interesting idea for another forum we can possibly create. It is an interesting idea, and potentially one that could change the industry over time if it works and works well. My Director is pretty excited by it, and we have the right contacts at other organizations to help push this idea further. This could be something big… and something that came about for our Firm because of my network. I want to see this happen and if it does, it can be big for me and my credibility within the company and maybe even the industry. DREAM BIG!!!

I spent the rest of the day doing admin-related items; tomorrow my day looks very free so I will be able to put my head down and actually do some work.

The Rest of My Day:

I’m on my way now to an appointment. So I’ll be late seeing the older kids tonight. Again, I’m not in a great mood. At any rate, I’ll close out this day with a Guinness for my dinner and hopefully will be able to talk to Big Bro and Red tonight before they go to bed. And then I’ll put on my new socks and join their slumber in my own room.

Till tomorrow –
– Mama K

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Staying Sane: Easy things to do with your kids during the Holidays

December 11, 2011 by 1 Comment

OK, it’s Sunday. I usually post a “Staying Sane” piece but this week I’m going to cheat and “borrow” someone else’s terrific idea and add to it. I came across this blog entry and shared it on the Mama In Motion Facebook page. But I think it’s worthy of posting here as well – since we have 2 weeks to go until Christmas, and tensions at this point may be running high for you as a working mother. We all can use any ideas to help stay sane.

Try to take it easy on yourself. Outsource the shopping to your computer and/or Amazon. Do your cards through USPS and they can put them in envelops and stamp and send them for you. If you are like me, we try too hard to do everything for everybody; BUT, I don’t think we need to put pressures on ourselves to be super-women when it comes to providing a good, memorable experience for our children.

I saw the below list (Source: http://www.domesticsimplicity.com; http://wp.me/pfg42-N) and so much resonated with me — there a lots of fun things to do with the kids that aren’t huge projects but could create memorable traditions. Take a look and maybe you’ll see something new; I’ve added my thoughts at the bottom. Add yours too!

Thanks for listening –

– Mama K

Source: http://www.domesticsimplicity.com; http://wp.me/pfg42-N

50 Things To Do With Kids in December:

  1. Go out and look at Christmas lights
  2. Bake cookies
  3. Pick out and put up the Christmas Tree
  4. Decorate the Christmas Tree
  5. Make an Ice Wreath
  6. Make Cinnamon Applesauce and/or Salt Dough ornaments
  7. Make and decorate gingerbread houses
  8. Sing Christmas Songs
  9. Visit Santa
  10. Buy and donate toys for Toys For Tots
  11. Help to wrap presents for friends and family
  12. Act out the Christmas story
  13. Make Reindeer Food
  14. Make homemade Christmas color/glitter play dough (and scent it with peppermint) to give to friends
  15. Make and decorate gingerbread people
  16. Make popcorn and cranberry garland
  17. Go on a sleigh ride
  18. Make paper chains for the Christmas tree
  19. Write a letter to Santa
  20. Watch a holiday movie
  21. Check out holiday books at the library
  22. Leave out shoes for St. Nicholas
  23. Eat Candy Canes
  24. Hang stockings on the mantle or banister
  25. Put out the Nativity Scene
  26. Address and Mail holiday cards
  27. Pick a special family ornament for the year
  28. Make a special plate for Santa’s cookies and the reindeer’s carrots
  29. Go to see The Nutcracker
  30. Go to a holiday parade
  31. Go to a candy store for a holiday treat
  32. Tie bells with ribbons and hang them around the house
  33. Make cards and gifts for teachers
  34. Go to the dollar store and pick gifts for family
  35. Make special cards to send to cousins
  36. Have a Random Acts of Kindness Day(s)
  37. Make cards to send to troops or to bring to a nursing home
  38. Grocery shop just to take to a food bank or donation boxes
  39. Learn a Christmas song on the guitar or piano
  40. Make a present for Santa
  41. Celebrate the Winter Solstice
  42. Make Winter Tea
  43. Make/Put out food for birds and squirrels
  44. Make orange and clove pomanders
  45. Look through favorite Christmas Cards from friends and family from years past
  46. Start a garland or photo album with your own family holiday cards from years past
  47. Prep and freeze a special breakfast for Christmas morning
  48. Make hot chocolate balls
  49. Make snow globes
  50. Do research on holiday traditions around the world and choose one to add to family traditions

Mama K’s additions:

51. Have the kids draw a picture for Santa to leave out on Christmas Eve

52. Have the kids dress in red and/or green on several days leading up to Christmas

53. Make Christmas socks (simpler than shirts) — white socks with red and green dye; who cares what they’ll look like, the kids will probably love them anyway

54. Have your kids draw the present they would like Santa to bring to them

55. Have your kids make cards for their teachers

56. Make home-made hot chocolate and put a candy-cane on the top for them

57. Get red and green ice-cream — strawberry or vanilla (and add food colooring) and mint or vanilla with food coloring)

58. Go to a downtown area where you live and visit office building lobbies and look at their decorations

59. Go ice-skating

60. Get Santa hats and wear yours after work until they go to bed…. while cooking, eating dinner, helping them get ready for bed, etc

61. Get clown “red ball” noses and put them on so you all can be Rudolph; buy headband “antlers” and do the same…

62. Find a picture of you as a child sitting on Santa’s lap and see what kind of reaction you get

63. Get some string and some clips and have the kids help you string up the holiday cards you receive from others

64. Buy some jingle bells and have your kids wear them in their jean pocket

65. Dress up your pet

66. Use those big Amazon boxes and let your kids decorate them as Santa’s sleigh

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And what else can you think of to add to the list????

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December 9: Tantrums, sickness, lack of sleep X FOUR

December 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Happy Friday! Today is a “stay-at-home” day with me and the Twins. It has been a bit of a rough day so far…

Highlights of the Morning and Early Afternoon:

  • I woke up a big hungover to three kids in my bed – Red, and the Twins. What was absolutely adorable was Red was reading to each of them.

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  • Big Bro put on a t-shirt and shorts. Mind you, it’s 37 degrees outside. I pleaded with him to think about the cold outside and think about pants. The problem is that it does actually warm up during the day, and he is very hot-blooded. So my pleading went ignored – but I left it up to him to make his own decision.
  • Everyone was a bit cranky this morning. The Twins both are sick. Sneezing and big red rashes all over the place. Roseola? Not sure. But they are cranky and clingy. Big Bro is whining about everything. Red starts her whining when it came to her socks. By the time we were on her jacket, she was in full-fledged tantrum. I think the Twins’ bad moods for being sick kindof rubbed off on the older two who maybe didn’t get enough sleep last night. Anyway, all four of them were not very enjoyable this morning. Or, maybe was it the wine I drank last night??!?!?!?
  • Big Bro scootered to school while I strollered the Twins. We were extremely late. By the time we got there he was the last one in but at least we caught up with the group. He then runs outside to me in tears because he forgot his library book. I said I would go back and get it. I looked into his eyes and he looked terrible. I’m putting these kids to bed early tonight.
  • On the stroller ride home with the Twins, I took it slow. We talked about things that we saw. I miss this with them. When Big Bro and later Red were small and we were living in the city, I would stroller them to daycare which was in my office building. So at that time, I had the opportunity to talk about so many things with them – it was city living so there was just a lot to look at and teach. Water fountains, big buildings, lights (and counting the lights), going into building lobbies and talking about the holiday decorations, pointing out the flags, etc. Now with the Twins, we commute primarily by mini-van. On days that I stroll with them, particularly on Thursday and Fridays when we are coming back home, I really want to take it slow with them. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do with these two. We talked about the crows and how they fly away and how big their wings are. We saw two dogs playing so we pulled over to watch them play and we talked about how funny it is to see dogs and how they play and wrestle and run around in circles. We talked about the holiday decorations that we saw. Twin Husky initiated conversation about the playground and the slides. Twin Husky is still pointing out all of the basketball nets. We talked about the busier road and how cars drive fast on that road. We talked about flowers and spent some time looking at them. I talked with them the whole way home and felt better that I am doing more now to teach them about the world around them.

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  • I started looking for Big Bro’s library book and found it. I threw 2 diapers and a small package of wipes in my handbag. Also two little cars to keep the kids entertained. I’m taking them out to breakfast! I went to drop off the book, and Big Bro’s class was not there – so I left a present for him….

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  • Then we headed out for breakfast. I parked and decided NOT to stroller them, but to walk the two blocks. The kids had a great time and Twin Crazy almost looked proud to be walking with me, holding my hand, and crossing the street like a big girl. While at breakfast, our table was close to all of these holiday decorations and the board underneath a HUGE penguin kept getting pushed in by Twin Husky, therefore leading the penguin to almost coming crashing down on us twice. He is such a boy. He needs to touch everything. The penguin incident happened TWO times so he didn’t even learn from the first time. We had a good breakfast nonetheless, and the twins had lots of fun things to look at in this greasy spoon of a diner.

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  • Once we got back I had to care for sick twins. Both were extremely cranky. I had snot to deal with, red skin to deal with, sore noses to deal with, and medicine to give. It took about 15 minutes for the caregiving to kick in and after that they were much more pleasant.
  • We headed upstairs and I read them books. I love how they get so excited over the books. They each run for a book for me to read. Sometimes I read to them, and sometimes they read picture books to me. They love it. They love turning the pages. They love making the sounds that animals make. They love talking with me about what they see on the page. Once I say that the books are done and its time for their nap, they don’t even fight it. They welcome it. I kiss them and they grab hold of their stuffed animals and blankets and begin to doze.
  • They’re down for a nap now and I am getting some things done around the house. I enjoy this quiet time where I can focus on things that I normally would not be able to. The sun is out and I’m feeling good. The twins are quiet so it seems like they are busy sleeping.

      • The Rest of the Day:

    • The twins both woke up in foul moods. Twin Crazy was having a hard time sleeping the entire time because of her stuffed up nose. They’re both sick and struggling. I packed them up, picked up Big Bro, and headed out to a friends house who had a HUGE hand-me-down dollhouse and lots of hand-me-down clothes for all of the kids.
    • The dollhouse was bigger than expected. I thought I’d be able to slip it in the back and cover it up quickly before Big Bro would see it, that way it could be from Santa. No such luck. This thing was HUGE. Four feet tall, at least. I think 4 floors. It wouldn’t fit in the trunk of the mini-van. I tried over and over to shove it in. Of course Big Bro saw it. So I tried to get one of the seats to fold under to give more room. It was stuck. Me and Big Bro were trying to figure it out. He noticed that his car seat was in the way. I eventually got it. Both of us were excited and proud. What a team!!! The thing took up a big part of the van on the way home. Too funny.

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    • Hubby picked up Red while I cooked dinner; Flat Meat with chicken and I did a marinade with mango jelly and basil. Big Bro was throwing tantrums left and right. He was really, really difficult to deal with tonight. The dinner was very good. The kids ate well but it took them awhile to get started — again, their crankiness was a bit too much to bear. I started to drink a Guinness..
    • After dinner we brought out the dollhouse and Big Bro, Red, and Twin Crazy had fun cleaning it. The three of them seem really excited about it. I would have loved it if I had it when I was a kid. Maybe Santa can get Red some proper dolls to play with it, and maybe some more furniture.

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    • There were huge tantrums tonight with the older kids about graham crackers, going to the potty, etc. I just think that both of them were way too tired.

      • So, today was great in that we have all of this new “loot” in the house – clothes, dollhouse, etc. But honestly ALL of the kids were so hard today. All the result of too little sleep and being sick. I really need for Big Bro to nap this weekend. And I hope the kids sleep in a bit tomorrow. Because I know I’ll be moving slowly…

      Have a great weekend everyone –
      Til next week –
      – Mama K

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      December 8: All day keeping me on my toes…

      December 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

      Today was a bit of a strange day. I am normally off from work on Thursdays. But when I started my “new” work arrangement with my company, one of their conditions was that I would/could be flexible if push came to shove, particularly supporting client projects. So of course I granted them that wish. After all, this is management consulting, and flexibility to meet your client need is an absolute minimum requirement for the job. So, I worked today since I had a client meeting scheduled for today.

      But, Hubby had a meeting at 7:45 AM, and I had a conference call at 8:30 AM, which complicated things a bit… I would be on my own for all drop offs and we also had to leave earlier so I could be back in time for my conference call….

      Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

    • Older kids were up and excited to get dressed by themselves, since their piles were already out and they were looking for positive reinforcement. Big Bro was excited to wear a new spiderman shirt I got him yesterday.

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    • We were talking about the need for everyone to be ready to leave early, and for Big Bro to have his backpack ready (as an example). The next thing we knew, Twin Husky came walking into the kitchen dragging Big Bro’s backpack and using all of his body strength to lift it up and hand it over to Big Bro to help. That was just so cute I couldn’t stand it.
    • Honestly, the rest of the morning was a bit of a blur. I can’t think of anything else that stood out…there were the diaper changes, the lunches to pack, the shoes to put on, the jackets to put on, loading the kids in the car…..
    • I did all the drop offs; Red first, then Twins, then Big Bro. I made it back home with 10 minutes to spare to prepare for my conference call. I re-filled my coffee mug and booted up my computer.

      • Highlights of My Working Day:

    • I had the conference call and got some good feedback from one of the participants of the forum that we are trying to sell a membership to. He liked the forum but their business may not be big enough to be relevant for the group. I would not take “no” for an answer so I invited him again as a guest for the next meeting in April in hopes that he wants to become a member.
    • I jumped in the van, and drove into the city. I was starved. I was contemplating a McDonald’s run, but feared I would be late. This was a good call, since there was traffic on the highway. So I blasted loud music and enjoyed my drive into the city, yes, with a minivan. uggh.
    • I made it to the office just in time to shove some graham crackers in my mouth and then start at 10 AM conference call with a Director and another new member to one of our forums. I lead the meeting and focused more on how this particular person could help us drive additional members. I’m in sales mode. He has contacts at great companies and he is really easy to collaborate with – I’m enjoying working with him to build this forum and grow it to something much bigger than it currently is….
    • I grabbed lunch. Grilled cheese. Comfort food. I’m starved and it is cold outside.
    • We then had our client meeting. We’ve done good work for them, but this is a kind of project where you just want to shake some sense into your client. Their business idea doesn’t make sense given the risk and reward and they are very naive about some obvious aspects of the business. So I’m hoping things go well with them, but we’ve raised the issues so we’ve done what we can do to provide our advice.
    • I did some admin items afterwards and then headed home. I picked up take out dinner (BBQ) and picked up the Twins.

      • Dinner and Bedtime:

    • Dinner was BBQ. It was delicious. Kids ate well. Twin Husky was eating ribs like they were going out of style and I was calling them “dinosaur bones”. He is such a boy. Almost reminds me of a pint-sized man.

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    • After dinner, Hubby took out a “Santa train” that essentially goes around the Christmas tree. All kids were going nuts. Twin Crazy wanted to dance with me to the Chrismas music. Big Bro was all over the tracks, the trains, and the controls. He was observing everything and figured out why the train wouldn’t work at any given time. He loved controlling the thing. Red was being such a big sister/mother to Twin Husky and to Twin Crazy. It was really too cute to witness. She was instructing them on where to sit (far away from the tracks) and how it works, and hugging them and holding their hands. It really was too much for me to watch. They are so sweet with each other it is almost crazy.

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    • Bedtime with the Twins was great. They grabbed their animals/blankets and walked upstairs, blew kisses to folks below, brushed teeth, read books, sang a song, and willingly went to bed in their cribs.
    • Bedtime for the older ones were a different story. Whining, crying, defiance, more crying, etc. etc. I finally had to leave. I said I would not read books if they did not cooperate. I gave them a chance to cooperate. They did not. So I left. I left Hubby up there dealing with two cranky crazy kids because I want to teach them to understand that I follow through with what I say. If they don’t follow instructions and are defiant even if I’m trying to understand the issue, I warn them what will happen and then I need to follow through. So I left. They’re quiet now so I guess they were just super-tired.

      • I had two glasses of wine tonight. I am not working tomorrow. I may take the Twins to the doctor if they have room in their schedule for us. If not, I want to take them to a museum. I’m sure I’ll figure something out over a big pot of coffee….

      And now Red is screaming upstairs so I guess I’d better go and see what’s wrong…

      Until tomorrow –
      – Mama K

      Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

      Recipe: Cherry Tomato Croustades

      December 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

      It’s Thursday — that means you get a quick and easy recipe from Mama K!!!

      Last week my office had a holiday party and we usually do a “cooking” theme where we rent out a cooking school for the evening and prepare our own meal, over lots and lots of wine.   There was one appetizer that I thought was so simply amazing and also soooooooo versitle that it could actually work really well with kids, since you could experiment with different topings that they like.   And, the kids can help make the dish.

      The beauty of it is that it’s a toasted “shell” and you fill it with cheese, and basically anything else that you want.   The recipe below features cherry tomatoes.  I did it over the weekend with cheddar cheese and leftover chicken.    Try it out!  Very easy and very yummy!   Let me know what fillings you would like to try or have tried!!!   Also great as appetizers for entertaining.  Hey, adults have to have fun too.

      Have fun!!

      Ingredients:

      • 12 slices of thin bread
      • 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped
      • 3 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
      • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
      • freshly ground pepper
      • 1/4 cup Gruyère cheese, grated

      Directions:

      Cut rounds from the bread using a 3-inch round cookie cutter (I used a drinking glass).  Fit the rounds into muffin tins, molding them gently to form little cups.  Bake them in the middle of a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until golden.  Watch that they do not burn.

      Combine the tomatoes with the basil, salt, and pepper.  Taste for seasoning.  Fill each croustade with 1 teaspoon of the cheese and spread about 1/2 teaspoon of the tomato mixture on top.  Arrange the croustades on a baking dish or baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes.

      Prep time:  15 min

      Cook time:  20 min (10 min for croustade, 10 min to heat filled croustade)

      This recipe was created by Tante Marie’s Cooking School.   http://www.tantemarie.com

      Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

      December 7: Learning more about my kids every day

      December 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

      I get to work from home today! YEAH!

      Highlights of My Morning and “Commute”:

        • I went into Big Bro’s room to gather clothes, and he was just waking up. He was stretching, saw me, and then said: “Mommy, today is going to be special for TWO reasons.” Me: “Yes sweetie? What are those reasons?” Big Bro: “Today I get to go on a scooter ride to school with you, and later today you are going to pick me up early so we can buy new sneakers.” I just stood there. Speechless. Then I reached over to him and gave him a very gentle good morning kiss on his head. He does not know how happy he made me at that moment, and even now as I type this. I asked him if he likes it now that I get to work from home and also not work everyday and he said yes, he likes it alot. We both agreed that I should have done this alot sooner… 🙂
        • Kids were eating breakfast at the counter again this AM – the only problem is that we only have three bar-stools. Big Bro did not want to kneel on a chair or use a step-stool. So does that mean I have to buy another bar-stool???? Uhhh, yeah, with four kids that require EVERYTHING to be the same, ummm, yes I should probably bite the bullet and get one. UGHHHGHGHHG. Hopefully I can find one that matches the other three.

      20111207-205757.jpg

        • Red was funny today – she put a stuffed animal under her shirt and said she had a baby in there. It was funny and everyone was poking her belly saying “baby”. Then we realized that it was Big Bro’s stuffed animal in there and then some fights/tantrums started. Ugggh. Can’t a cute moment just STAY a cute moment??@??!?!?
        • I was running around upstairs getting things and running from room to room but all the doors mysteriously were closing on me. Seriously. I’d turn around an the door would be shut. It was like Poltergeist or something. I opened a door and there was Twin Husky laughing at me. So now I guess he knows how to open and close doors.
        • We gathered our things and set out for our scooter ride. Twins were in the stroller. It was cold. We were late. I was hustling. My heart was thumping. Nose running. I am OUT OF SHAPE. Big Bro couldn’t help but scooter through a big pile of leaves when he saw it. So cute.

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        • After Big Bro drop off I strolled the Twins to daycare. Along the way Twin Crazy and Twin Husky each started to look up at me and play peek-a-boo. I wasn’t in a rush so I took my time and played with them. One would look up, and I’d smile and laugh and giggle and tickle their neck and touch their cheek. Each time one would look up, that is the routine I would do. We had a great time walking several blocks like this. Twin Husky is also now fixated at pointing to all of the basketball nets along the way (there are lots in the suburbs).

      20111207-205631.jpg

        • My commute home was relaxing. The stroller was light so it was less of a workout. I was thinking about work. I was checking work email on my way home. Getting meetings scheduled and checking to see that we were getting content in to include in our client deliverable.

      Highlights of My Working Day:

        • I set up my computer, phones, blanket, coffee, water, and a candle. I made breakfast for myself.
        • I had several conference calls today debriefing from our forums. Again, received great thoughts on how to improve and provide more value to the group.
        • I spent the rest of my 1/2 day working on my client deliverable. It is in really good shape. It went out to the client in the early afternoon. Now we just have the meeting tomorrow.

      The Rest of the Day:

        • I went to Big Bro’s parent-teacher conference. She is wonderful. So much patience and such a sweet disposition with the kids. I like her a lot. She says that Big Bro is the “reliable guy” but could use more help with self-confidence and being able to describe his opinion and thoughts and how he feels and examples of situations from his own life in the classroom. He has a hard time when his “home” world and “school” worlds collide. There was a bit that was a surprise to me but I’m already thinking of ways to work with him on certain things to help him get better at stating his opinion and offering more of himself during conversation. I guess we all have trouble with that but in his case its a bit harder for him compared to his peers. So I left the meeting a bit scarred, and feeling like I needed to protect my little big boy first born.
        • I grabbed him and we went to buy new shoes. During our one-on-one time I took the opportunity to practice “thought” and “feeling” questions with him. We both have some practicing to do. He loves his shoes. I’m glad I was able to spend the time with him and make him happy.

      20111207-205554.jpg

        • We picked up Red, and Twin Crazy and Twin Husky. All kids were going crazy looking at the holiday lights on all of the houses. We also played a game where we would flubber our lips each time we past a house with lights. All kids were doing this. And me. We had fun.
        • We realized that daycare dressed Twin Husky in a Phillies shirt – the same one that Big Bro was wearing! We laughed that they were twins.

      20111207-205457.jpg

        • During dinner prep I had the music on loud and was dancing with Twin Crazy while holding her. She loves this. She loves to dance in my arms. She loves me jumping and swaying and spinning. She cracks up. Surprisingly, Big Bro joined us for the dancing in the kitchen. He never really has done this before. It was great! We were really dancing hard in the kitchen and thats when Hubby came in. We calmed down after that and ate dinner.
        • After dinner I did horsie-back rides with all of the kids. They each stayed on the 2nd/3rd step and waited their turn while I went around with a kid. They were loving it. Again, I feel like I’m out of shape.
        • Then bathtime. All kids needed it. Twins went to bed early. Bigger kids followed soon thereafter.

      I had a great day. We got a reasonably good piece of work out to the client for discussion tomorrow. I also had time at home and with the kids to play, dance, and laugh. I also learned a little more about my son. I learned a side to him that does not surprise me after thinking about it, but still upsets me a bit since he is a quiet, empathetic, and sensitive little guy. So I feel for him. And I want to work with him to make it better for him. So today was a good day. I’m learning more about my kids and my family with each passing day.

      Til tomorrow –
      – Mama K

      Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

      Repost and Poll: Money vs. Quality of time with your kids????

      December 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

      As some of you may be aware, I have struggled with the notion of “work” and “family” for quite some time now, and have recently made a signficant career transition based upon my energy levels, my happiness, and advice and pleading from many, many people.    I essentially took a 50% cut in hours and pay which also includes some flex-time and the ability to work from home on one of my three working days.   So this has been a monumental change for me and my family:

      • I am happier, less stressed, and able to connect on a more deeper level with my children.  I am able to participate in school events and spend special 1 on 1 time with the kids.  My relationships with my babies have flourished.   I am more effective at work and take my job much more seriously than I have in the past.
      • My kids seem happier, are coming up with ideas for their 1:1 time with Mommy, and hug me harder, longer, and with more intensity.  I feel like I’m being the kind of mother that they need / want me to be.

      But of course this has come at a cost.  A cost that I am willing to make at this point in my life.

      I thought I would redistribute a post/poll that I wrote several months ago when another Mama In Motion was in the middle of her transition.  It just seems right for me to send this out again since I am going through a transition of my own….

      Humor me and please follow the below link to my post, and also respond to the polls within.  If you have already particpated previously, it is possible that you will be unable to answer a second time (sorry).

      http://mamainmotion.com/2011/08/09/random-thought-when-evaluating-new-job-opportunities-would-you-sacrifice-quality-of-time-with-your-kids-for-more-money/

      Thanks so much for following me – have a great day

      Thanks for listening –

      – Mama K

      Filed Under: Random Thoughts Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

      December 6: Morning glory, busy afternoon, unknown evening…

      December 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

      The kids woke up very needy for Mommy this AM since I was not able to see them last night. I took it all in and reveled in it.

      Highlights of the Morning and My Commute:

    • I woke up with Red in the bed. She crawled in, in the middle of the night. I remember A LOT of tossing and turning, so I didn’t sleep well again last night.
    • Big Bro and Red got dressed without a problem. The kids setting out their clothes the night before really seems to help. There are no arguments over clothes and the kids are eager to dress themselves.
    • There was a feather on Red’s leg (pillow?) and I made a joke about “what is THAT doing there? Are you turning into a bird??!??!?” She giggled and Big Bro chuckled.
    • Chocolate Tuesday! All kids were lined up at the kitchen counter. Twin Husky was playing peek-a-boo with his bread. Twin Crazy was double-fisted with spoons, one for each cereal bowl (hers, her brother’s), Big Bro and Red were eagerly eating their chocolate and all were really quiet.

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      20111206-175133.jpg

    • I helped with lunches and Twin Crazy helped me put things away. She loves doing that with me. I pick her up to the cabinets and she helps put the packages of stuff away.
    • Red had some breakdowns this AM over drinking cups, her bread being served to her with the crusts on, food containers in her lunch, her forgetting her lunch box at school, etc. I think this was the affect of her interrupted sleep. I understand how she feels and I told her that.
    • I took Twins and Big Bro while Hubby took Red. Big Bro is looking forward to tomorrow, since I told him we would buy sneakers after his school. His soles are coming apart so he is psyched for that. Another trip to Kohl’s!

      • I’m now on the ferry and I’m actually looking forward to work. Today will be the day where my client deliverable takes close-to-final form. I’m looking forward to that. After procrastinating for so long looking at white pages, now there is actual thinking and content and information to work with and refine. Unfortunately, we will be telling our client something that he does NOT want to hear, so we need to think through the delivery of the presentation since it will be a difficult one to give on Thursday.

      Highlights of My Working Day:

    • I spent the majority of the day working on my client deliverable. There is work that still needs to be done — I will likely work after the kiddos go to bed since tomorrow I have meetings during the day and our client meeting is on Thursday! I must get a draft sent to my Partner for his review TONIGHT or else we will not meet our deadline and will not be as prepared as we should be for the meeting. Ugggh. This means that I know I will have this hanging over my head tonight. I will be with the kids but not “with” them 100% – which I hate. I will be anxious as they get ready for bed and will be thinking of this work. I’ve been here so many times in the past over the past 5.5 years of management consulting with kids. It’s hard. It’s very hard. I want to be 100% connected with them tonight but I know it will be hard if not impossible for me to do.
    • I also wanted to share a picture of our office holiday tree. I am the one responsible for the rubber chicken, binder clips, post it note, and blue “flags” (particularly the ones on the breasts of the rubber chicken). A bit of comedy infused in a busy day always helps.

      • 20111206-175053.jpg

      I’m on the ferry now and am solo tonight with the kids. My goal tonight is to be as present as I can possibly be, and not worry about cleanup – rely on the Mother’s Helper as much as I can. I will try not to think about work. I will try to get the kiddos to bed earlier (which benefits them anyway). I will try to get this post out quickly tonight so I can focus on my deliverable and get to sleep by a decent hour. So, I will call it a night from here. You won’t hear from me again until tomorrow.

      Til tomorrow,
      – Mama K

      p.s. at home now making dinner with the kids — having fun, drawing, blogging, and connecting, talking….. so far going GREAT!!!! 🙂

      Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: , , , , , ,

      December 5: A day of Balance!

      December 5, 2011 by 3 Comments

      Another Monday. And it is a cold one. Red woke up screaming in her sleep (nightmare – she never woke up from it) so I did not get a good night’s sleep. I’m headed on the ferry now to work.

      Highlights of the Morning and Commute:

    • I had a race with Big Bro to see who could get dressed first. Big Bro and Red picked out their clothes last night so it was easy for him to pounce on his pile and change. He won.
    • Twin Crazy and Twin Husky started screaming at each other over a roll of wrapping paper. I think Twin Crazy had it first, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I grabbed the paper and put it in the garage to avoid further conflict.
    • Twin Husky has a rash that is progressing across his body. I will call the doctor today and if it does not clear up by Wednesday I might take him in to see her.
    • It is frigid outside but Big Bro insists on wearing shorts and a short sleeve (superhero) shirt. I tried to get him to wear a long sleeved shirt under his spiderman shirt, but he rejected it. The poor kid is going to freeze his ass of this morning – hopefully it warms up in the afternoon.
    • Red was cute climbing from chair to chair today – the floor was “hot lava”
    • Twin Crazy was covered in oatmeal and seemed cranky until I cleaned her off. She is particular with dirt and gets really upset if her hands are dirty.
    • It was a rush to get out this morning; Hubby took Big Bro and Twins, I took Red. Red was clingy but smiling.

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      For work today I have some debrief conference calls and I also want to create a good first draft of the client deliverable. We have a meeting with the client on Thursday so I need to get the first draft done for a detailed review by the Partners. It will be a busy day.

      I’m on the ferry, it is cold outside, and I am tired. And hungry. Maybe I’ll treat myself to a hot breakfast this AM – that way I can fill up and focus on what I need to accomplish for the day.

      Highlights of My Working Day:

    • I led several “debriefing” conference calls related to our forums and we continue to get great feedback and are thinking of ways to change the services and agenda for the forums. So these discussions have not been a waste of time.
    • I also had a good chunk of time to work on the client deliverable for our meeting on Thursday. I have only one meeting scheduled for tomorrow so will have more time to do the finishing touches.
    • Someone brought in a small holiday tree and I promptly began decorating it with office supplies, and a rubber chicken that was handed down to me from a retiring Director several years ago.

      • Work was great today. I like the office environment and people around people, the energy of the rush between meetings, coupled with several hours of “quiet time” where I can devote to getting work done. This was a working day with great balance between meetings and put your head down and work time.

      I’m now waiting for an appointment so will not get to see the kiddos tonight. Well, maybe Big Bro and Red if they are up by the time I get home. I will likely get a beer from an old fishing bar that I love while waiting for the ferry. It will be a Guinness. And I will love it. And will hopefully feel content with my life and how things are going.

      Til tomorrow –
      – Mama K

      Filed Under: Daily Journal Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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