Routines By All Means

As much as I might not like to admit it, being a parent has turned me into a creature of habit. With routines. Who doesn’t like to change things up at all much. Every weekend I work my weekends to the fullest—so I can get as much family time in as possible while also cramming in a week’s worth of cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping into two days. It’s a far cry from my pre-child weekends, where I’d sleep till whenever I wanted and go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

I realized just how much I depended on my routines and habits when I got news my neighborhood Kroger was going to be closed for four months. I’m still reeling. What am I going to do? I LOVE that Kroger. It’s small, which most people might not like, but I love. I can get in and out quickly—whether I’m doing my weekly shopping or quick mid-week trip. I also don’t have to walk a half-marathon if I want to run in and grab a gallon of milk and some bread.

Plus, it’s close—practically down the street. I depend on that Kroger so much that I talked at length with multiple store employees (the deli lady, the shelf stocker, and the checkout lady) about what exactly was going to happen—“You aren’t going to make it bigger, are you? Switch things around too much? There’s no way it will be done sooner?” HOW OLD AM I? I’m 33, not 73!

I really don’t like the next nearest Kroger, so it seems this creature of habit is going to have to change up her routine—whether she likes it or not. Maybe it’s just the nudge I need to finally join a CSA or sign up for Farm Fresh Delivery.

Friday Finds - March 12, 2010

-- Did your city make the list? Mint.com just published this really cool infographic map (yes, I'm a nerd) of The Best Cities for Working Mothers. Click the icons at the bottom of the map to reveal cities with the highest incomes, lowest unemployment, best childcare, best parks and more. I was happy to see Cincinnati on several of the lists.

-- Retreat, retreat! File this one under "I Wish I Had Done This!": Work. Life. Me! A Balancing Retreat for Working Mothers. It's the brainchild of working moms Karen Renzi, co-owner of Beyondus Design & Marketing, and Denuelle Meyer, life coach and owner of A Balancing Act Coaching. The retreat will be held March 27-28 at Center of Renewal Retreat and Conference Center near Niagara Falls, NY. Sounds woooonderful. And at $159 per person, a great deal, too.

-- It's almost St. Patty's Day--speak like the Irish do. You can brush up on your brogue for free with Rosetta Stone. They're offering a free trial of Irish Gaelic March 11-18. It's so easy and fun to use, you might even get the kids interested. Discover their heritage and all that jazz. Erin Go Bragh!

Back Seat Working

When you started back to work after baby, did your job take a back seat? Because a online survey done by ForbesWomen and TheBump.com says that for 59% of women, it sure did. (Check out the second page of that link for the results about working moms.)

Normally I don't pay too much mind to these studies--there is always a study out there saying one thing or another. But for this survey, a reporter from Canada's The Globe & Mail reached out for a WMAG opinion--and I offered one up.

Read the article here to see what I said--and what some other mamas said, too. A lot people also had something to say in the comments--but I stopped reading after a few. What is WITH the commenters of online publications? It's like, troll city up in their comment sections.

Anyway, what do you think? Did you care a little bit--or a lot--less about your job after maternity leave?

Like the Jeffersons, We're Movin' On Up

Something about adding a fourth member to your family makes your house feel a lot smaller, doesn't it? Since we carved out space for baby James last summer, our modest (read: tiny) Cape Cod home has seemed so crowded and tight. Like we're constantly running into and over each other as we make our separate ways through the house.


I'm sure my shift to working exclusively from home didn't help these matters, either.

And so, we're joining the crazy race to sell our house before the often-touted home buyer tax credit (extended to April 30) expires.


Ack!!!

We're hoping to move into our new house before we sell our own (it's a long story -- too boring to blog about), so right now we're packing like crazy. As difficult as I recall moving was seven years ago when we moved into this, our first, house, that ain't nothing compared to packing and moving with young kids underfoot. Is anything?

As I sort through seemingly endless piles of our crap, I'm trying to keep my eyes on the prize: a home with more room to breathe, dance, crawl, play, cook, work. It will be so nice. But for now, I'm up to here in cardboard boxes and trash bags. I can't wait to be all unpacked, moved in and -- just maybe -- living in an organized, uncluttered home. At least for a few minutes, please?

Ready for the Circus?

We don't often talk about local events on WMAG, but I just wanted to post this quick note about the circus coming to Cincinnati and Dayton. Click over to our WMAG Reviews blog to learn more and get details about a special offer for our readers.

Listen Up: Talking Mom Guilt on Live Radio Tonight

If you're just sitting around tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern (or whatever that translates to in your time zone), you might want to tune in via the Internet to a new weekly radio show called "The Sanity Hour." (Or if you're busy, you can listen to "The Sanity Hour" podcast at your leisure.)

I'll be a guest on this show for moms in search of sanity, spilling my guilty guts to Dr. Ann Dunnewold, a psychologist who's been nationally recognized for her expertise in women's mental health issues. Sweet! I could totally use a little public therapy session. But then, what mom couldn't?

Seriously, I'm thrilled to be featured on Ann's show. After talking with her on the phone (she's based in Texas) and listening to last week's show (starring my dear friend Amy in Ohio), I am very impressed. She has all the credentials a good shrink needs, plus she's an actual experienced mom. Ann just sounds empathetic and kind, with a healthy touch of pragmatism. Oprah, I urge you to consider replacing Dr. Phil with Dr. Ann. She is sooo much better!

Also, if you are interested in being a guest on "The Sanity Hour," either as a mom in need of sanity or as a blogger/author/etc. who offers a resource for such moms, please get in touch with Ann. You'll be glad you did.

WMAG Gets on the Social Bandwagon

We know a lot of you like to spend your time on Facebook and/or Twitter. How do we know that? Well, we spend a good bit of time on those sites ourselves. And we talk to many of you, individually, as friends and followers.

So we figured it was about dang time we got a Working Moms Against Guilt presence on the places where our peeps waste time at work spend valuable moments connecting with friends during their free time.

Want to join us? Get extra goodies and special access to cool stuff? Be our best friends? All you have to do (besides read our blog, of course) is:

Follow Working Moms Against Guilt on Twitter
Collectively, we're @WMAGBlog. That's the new one. You can also follow our personal tweets: Susan is @SusanWJackson, Tela is @WMAGTela and Sara is @sbennettwealer.

Fan Working Moms Against Guilt on Facebook
Visit us at Facebook.com/WorkingMomsAgainstGuilt and click "Become a Fan." Then all of our updates will appear in your news feed, and you can chime in the conversation!

Thanks for your support and participation in our community. We love you!

Friday Finds - Feb. 26

Calling all would-be authors!

Are you polishing a manuscript, hoping to get your novel published someday? Could you use some feedback from a (soon-to-be) published author and her rock-star agent? If so, you won't want to miss the auction I'll be holding in March to raise money for my sister-in-law, a breast cancer survivor who's participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure 60-mile walk. The highest bidder will get a full manuscript critique from me and a query critique from my agent. Interested? You can get more details at my author's blog. Bidding starts Monday. Spread the word!