Day 1

Things haven't been so great lately. It's not because of one event, or two or even three, but lately I've been feeling more of the negative and less of the positive. It seems that, in my life, the happy and good things make me feel happy and good for less time than the bad and sad things make me feel bad and sad. I have two amazing kids and I don't want to ever look back on this time in their lives and feel that I missed because I was constantly rushing through it. Every day we seem to be in a rush, but I'm not sure where we're rushing to. I was speaking to a woman the other night who has no kids of her own but she stated a very simple observation, from an "outsider" perspective - parents generally don't seem to enjoy their children. As I thought about it, I realized that it's both sad and true. I had kids because I love them, and although I do truly love my children, I can honestly say that most of the time, I'm not actively enjoying them. Which really sucks.

I also have to say that in many aspects of my life, I am constantly wanting them to be different. It's really a big giant pity party over here. Which also really sucks.

Recently my friend Jen's mom suggested that instead of holding her daily pity parties, she should started a Gratitude Journal. Each day for 75 days, she is going to write one thing that she is thankful for in the hopes that by Thanksgiving, she'll be out of her funk. Ever since I read her first post, I thought that it made sense. Focus on the positive, write it all down and put it in perspective. So this is what I'm going to do. On the happy days, it will be easy, but I hope that even on the sad days I can find one thing, even though it might be something silly.

I'm starting today and going to go through Thanksgiving, which is 52 days away. If it works, I'll continue. Only time will tell, but today is day 1.

Today I am thankful for the fact that the sun is shining and it's quiet. After a rainy Saturday and a weekend of running around, I'm glad that I have an opportunity today where the sun is shining, kids are in school, husband is at work, dog is quiet, phone is not ringing and I can think. I can concentrate on getting work done or do no work at all. I can do the laundry, empty the dishwasher, think about making dinner tonight. Or I can do none of those things and just revel in the quiet for a little while. I think that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I'm back. I hope. Life has gotten totally busy lately and I haven't gotten to be able to do the things I want. Like blogging. And reading. And relaxing. Lately it's been all about working. And making sales. And talking about the site. And meeting with clients. And the kids. And cleaning the house. And laundry. Please don't get me started with the laundry.

It's all good because this is what I have wanted all along.

But somewhere I am losing myself because at the end of the day, there's cleaning to be done, things to be put away, a to-do list longer than when the day started and lots and lots of work to do. And I'm exhausted.

I was never confident that I could be a SAHM. I don't think I ever really wanted to. I have always been a better mom when I could spend time with my kids not worrying about cleaning. And laundry. And work.

Now it's all on me. And I'm not complaining at all, I'm just trying to figure out a way to organize it all. And get it all done. And it's really, really hard.

I started this blog as a way for me to connect with my thoughts on a more personal level than on my business website. Somewhere along the line, I decided that every single post needed to be thought provoking. And witty. And meaningful. But I realized, they are all of those things. To me. And that's really all they ever need to be.

So I'm back. I hope. My posts may not say anything at all sometimes, but to me, that's the point. This is somewhere where I can relax. And unwind. And review my day and my kids and make sure that I don't forget the really, really small things that I always want to remember.

My First Blog Contest!!

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is, of course, the food. It's the one holiday that we're not tied to food with any religious affiliation and year after year, I look forward to all the different foods that we're going to eat. In the past three years, we've taken to hosting our family for Thanksgiving and have a bazillion kids running around and not anywhere near the same number of adults, but it's nice to have everyone in our house.

This year, according to Pillsbury, Home is Calling. And they've asked me to give away a great prize! I'm so excited because this is my first bloggy contest and I'll give one lucky winner * this great Home is Calling basket pictured here.


This gift basket includes

• coupon for a FREE package of Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls,
• magnetic coupon holder,
• house shaped mouse pad,
• pot holders,
• cookie sheet,
• bread basket and
• Pillsbury Doughboy figurine.

Here's how to win. Leave a comment on this blog about what your most favorite Pillsbury product is. Please make sure to leave a valid e-mail address so that I can contact you if you are the winner (you can also leave the address of your blog, if you have one). Winner will be chosen at random and you have until midnight on Friday, November 27, 2008.

*Note that two additional baskets will be given away on LIParentSource.com

What a Treat!

A few weeks back, I was asked by BSM Media to be a panelist on the Mommy Blogger Monologues in NYC, a conference where PR people and companies attend to learn about marketing with, approaching and working with mommy bloggers to market their companies and clients on the internet. Why mommy bloggers? Because we rock, of course! The fabulous women on the panel were Gabrielle (Design Mom & kirtsy), Kim P. (Jogging in Circles), Kim C. (Mom in the City), Amy O. (Filming in Brooklyn & Selfish Mom), Kelcey (mama bird diaries), Alexis (The Intrepid Mompreneur) and Andi (Mama Knows Breast).

Things here got a little nutty over herre and I didn't get a chance to write about the panel (which was totally amazing of course), but you can read all the details here, here and here.

Of course I was totally honored that I would be asked to participate in this event, much less be on the panel of experts, and the honor floated me through the next few days. Being with these women motivated me and I came home with a modified outlook on where I wanted to go with my business, how I wanted to market and what I wanted to market, among so many other things.

That was almost two weeks ago, although comingled with the daily grind, it seems so much further away in my mind.

Yesterday when I got home after a long day, I was surprised to see a box on my doorstep. Seeing the return address said Selma's and underneath that said cookies cookies cookies, I can tell you that even with no husband or kids at home, that box was opened in record time fairly quickly. The note inside said it was from BSM Media, who organized the panel, as a thank you to me for participating. It truly should have been from me thanking them for having me on a panel full of these amazing, amazing women. Anyway, back to the cookies....

Warning: The contents of this box that I am about to show you is not for the faint of heart. You truly may need to look away.


If you can't get the true size of those cookies, they are 3 1/2 inches wide (according to Selma's website).

And there were 6 of them. SIX. Oh, did I mention that on Monday my husband declared that he was on a diet? Good luck with these cookies.

Of course I had to check out Selma's website. Immediately. Here's what I found.

Selma's is a cookie movement with two US bakeries - one in Orlando and Las Vegas, to serve the East and West coasts, respectively. Each cookie is 1/4 pound. Seriously, no joke. I could seriously eat all six of these cookies BY MYSELF and, well, I'll just let you do the math. I did share one with my son (we each had a quarter) and apparently my husband ate a half of another one last night, although he claims that my dog at most of it. Hmmm.....

These cookies were ridiculous. Ridiculously good, of course. I need though to get them out of my house so I don't eat the rest of them! They are now on my list of treats that I love, of that I am absolutely 100% positively sure.

Need a gift? Buy 'em. Okay, you should also buy them even if you don't need a gift. They're that good. I'm just sayin'.....