Ever feel like you need a vacation so bad you can taste it? Yea, that’s me right now.
Maternity leave — while a wonderful 11 weeks — was no picnic and certainly no vacation. And while I’ve had a day or half-day off here and there over the past six months since returning to work, I’ve yet to disconnect and truly be “off.” Like off work, off social obligations, off anything.
Which brings me to next week. Continue reading “desperate for r&r”
The past six months in particular — since our house went on the market in April and we moved to our new house in May — have been really challenging, made only more challenging by the fact that I have been pregnant this whole time and couldn’t help Luis with a lot of the burden: maintaining the physical and financial aspects of two homes (and dealing with problems at both), mowing the lawn/landscaping two homes, moving (out of the old and into the new), unpacking, fixing things … I did what I could to pitch in but realistically I ended up keeping an eye on Maya far more than making a dent in unpacking. Continue reading “Waiting (and Exhaling)”
Tomorrow our little peanut has surgery to put tubes in her ears.
This was not a decision we came to easily, but in the end, we think it’s the best decision for her. After ten ear infections in twelve months — and a good 18 months ahead where she is going to be highly prone to ear infections — it was a no-brainer. Tubes surgery (aka myringotomy) is a super-common procedure and has the potential to eliminate her streak of ear infections — or, at the very least, reduce the frequency enormously. As chronic ear infections can lead to hearing loss and speech issues, it’s our hope that doing this while she is so young will only have positive results.Only time will tell.
That doesn’t mean as her mama I’m not petrified. Continue reading “Tubes Tomorrow …”
My husband is an engineer during the day and an MBA student at night who regularly travels 90 miles to and from Ann Arbor twice a week for class.
It’s kind of insane, but totally worth it. We’re hoping his MBA will give us new opportunities to explore as a family — but I’m not gonna lie … it’s a sacrifice on many levels.
He misses a lot of fun social events and spends a lot of time studying, on group conference calls, and preparing presentations. It’s been hard on me not having him around as much as I’d have liked the past few years, but he graduates this December so we can finally see the light.
We knew having a baby while he’s still in school would not be easy. So without me even suggesting it, he opted to just take one course this semester (so he could be home more with me and Maya) and then do this week-long class in Washington, D.C. that would be the same amount of credits as a usual class. This sounded like a genius idea at the time.
Until this week, when it wasn’t. Continue reading “Flying Solo”
Anyone who has been reading my blog for the past two years knows that the annual visit from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law each summer is usually a giant source of anxiety for me.
Without going into the details out of respect to my husband, let me just say that while I love them both very much, it’s very challenging for me when they are here. They don’t come for a weekend — because they live in El Salvador, they come for 3-5 weeks (though we’ve put the kibosh on those long visits the past few years). There’s a language barrier — my Spanish isn’t very good anymore and is about as good as my mother-in-law’s English, which means a lot of communication gaffes and a lot of me tuning out the situation around me once I lose the train of the conversation (even with my husband translating, it’s hard to keep up). My mother-in-law is a lot older than my own parents, and far more traditional so culturally there are some major differences. And finally, my sister-in-law is sweet as can be, but 37 and severely mentally challenged, which just adds to the complexity of the situation for a variety of reasons. Continue reading “On Anxiety”
No, not THAT “Situation” who makes me totally embarrassed to be from Jersey … I’m talking about a much different one.
I realize I haven’t been the best blogger or even a completely honest blogger the past month, but trust me — it’s not for lack of wanting.
Some of you who have been reading my blog for a long time or know me in real life may have guessed …
In high school I was a Varsity cheerleader (more on that here).
Each year we got our nicknames printed on our pep-rally T-shirts and added the acronym “TCW” to the sleeve.
Since we’d never divulge what it meant, everyone at school knew was an inside joke for our squad and ideas began to fly about what it meant.
Our classmates assumed it was something sordid and racy … but in actuality, it was anything but. Continue reading ““Takes Criticism Well””
(Note: no photo/image on purpose … must avoid this crack at all costs!)
Chex mix and I have a VERY abusive relationship.
The past few weeks, for reasons unbeknown to me, I’ve been ridiculously buying Chex mix (cheddar, honey nut, or most recently — the special edition cocoa!).
Chex mix which doesn’t fill me, is a waste of calories/Points, and leaves me always wanting more. I think it should be called Crack mix. Continue reading “Me & Chex Mix = :(“
Click this link to read my latest blog post over at WeAretheRealDeal.com, or you can read it here, after the jump.
Continue reading “Making “You” A Priority Doesn’t Make You Selfish”
Today, the big event I’ve been planning for the past six months will finally happen here in Chicago.
As is typical with any event, there have been plenty of hiccups along the way, but now I’ve planned all I can at this point and the only thing left is for the event to start.
For as much as I love event planning, there’s always some degree of anxiety when putting an event together–especially when it’s for work.
I try to adapt the carefree “it is what it is” attitude, but it’s not very easy for me to do. It’s definitely counter-intuitive to my “hardware.”
But I am trying. Continue reading “Coping Mechanisms for Anxiety”
Let There Be Light 