Busy Times

It feels like I haven't been here in ages! As I can see from the date of my prior post, my feeling is indeed accurate. That said, if you're ever wondering what I'm up to, just follow me on Twitter. I'm more likely to update there than here these days since it's easier to post 140 characters than a full blog post. I can be so wordy sometimes!!

We've been busy lately. MetaDaddy had to go away for a week on business, which left me to care for the kids...alone. OMG!!! I don't know how single parents do it. I had the two for one week without the stress of having to go to work, and I was run off my feet. Both are at such a different, yet demanding age.

MetaBoy is constantly learning, asking, playing, running, eating, drinking, taking, pushing, reaching, watching...and so on. He just never stops. Which is why I really love nap time and I hope he does, too...for at least another couple of years.

MetaGirl is a completely different challenge. She crawls, cruises, reaches, peaks, wiggles, climbs, escapes, chews, all the while grinning like a Cheshire cat. She is in constant need of attention, and beams with delight when she gets it. The flip side is that she scowls, and might even cry, if she doesn't get it. As for her eating habits, ugh. I could feed MetaBoy anything with a spoon. She will not eat anything off a spoon. In fact, I've had to come up with a completely new food regimen for her because everything I learned with MetaBoy is wasted on her.

Between meals, playing, non-overlapping naps (not by choice, I promise), and the rare errand, I hardly had time to sleep...much less play on my computer. Sad, but true :-(

This past and coming week are busy with other new and exciting things for MetaBoy. He is attending some fun classes and meeting new friends. As such, things are still busy and chaotic for everyone else. And then, MetaDaddy has to go away on business again for another week! Eek!!

At this rate, July is going to fly by. I find that bittersweet. On the one hand, it'll be nice to have stressful things out of the way. But on the other hand, I like savoring the little moments when MB takes me to the kitchen and insists that we dance. Or when MG looks up, sees me, and grins like someone's just made her day. You just don't want to let those little things get tangled and forgotten amongst the dry cleaning and groceries.

Around the Internet

Office Depot Coupons via Dealcatcher - I like the Sharpies on page 3...$2 for a 12 pack. But beware the hands of kids.

Antibiotics do little for inner ear infections - Personally, I hate using antibiotics unless absolutely necessary (e.g., mastitis). The more you take them, the less likely they'll work when you need them. Yes, but you know I'm paranoid. This study found that "antibiotics don't significantly prevent fluid buildup in young children with inner ear infections." However, the article does go on to say:

"'To the best of my knowledge, physicians generally don't prescribe antibiotics for acute otitis media in order to prevent middle-ear effusion; they prescribe them to bring about more prompt resolution of the infection and of its symptoms, especially pain," said Dr. Jack Paradise, a professor of pediatrics and otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and a pediatrician at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh."

A bit of research to think about if you find yourself dealing with your child's ear infection. Though I truly hope you don't.

Employees at this Walgreens Distribution Center Are More Than Disabled - A Walgreens distribution center in Anderson, South Carolina employs 700 people, 40% of whom are disabled. It's an inspirational story, but it really makes you think about why it's a rarity. The workers interviewed for the story love their jobs. They're loyal and devoted. How is it that there are people who are willing and able to work, but can't find an unbiased chance?

Who Gets to Work Early?

Lifehacker asked Do You Get to Work Early to Get Things Done?

I have seldom been early to anything intentionally. I can't remember the last time (if ever) that I showed up to work early. I was always the type to stay late. Like, *after everyone else* late. Even when I was pregnant, wobbling around the office all alone. I usually got into a good groove and was so much more productive. That, and since our office worked with people on the east coast, I'd have had to get there before 4AM to be alone. LOL...ya, that'll be the day.

Accountant vs Stay At Home Parent

I worked as an accountant at various companies over the course of several years. I'm beginning to think that having worked as an accountant makes me appreciate being a stay at home parent today.

Being an accountant is thankless. No one cares about you until you make a mistake. No one wants to validate expenses; we're just a nuisance for requesting backup and information. It's a department usually outside of the realm of generating money for its company. It's just about support and oversight. Overhead. Its work is intangible, and as such not quantifiable.

Now I do things like clean, cook, bake, make baby food, shop, and play with Boogie and keep him safe and happy, all the while relieving my husband of some of the chores and errands he had to do back when we both worked. Yet, I still feel useful and productive. And it is in no way thankless, thanks to my boys, but there isn't the same kind of praise as if I was working in a different environment where everything well-done gets praised or highlighted. Getting that stain out of Boogie's clothes just doesn't elicit the same reaction :-P Someone asked me if i get bored as a SAHM. Are you kidding? Who has time to get bored? Besides, as a curious person, I've always been on the hunt for new information and to learn new things. So if I'm not doing something that *needs* to get done, or playing with my son (which is the whole point of this endeavor), I'm doing something that entertains me. There can be learning and growth in any of the challenges we take on, as long as we work to that end.

Intangible? Usually. Productive? Absolutely.

Making the Grade: Child Care Centers in Los Angeles

While we're not currently in need of child care, we don't know what the future holds. Besides, I'm always on the lookout for interesting and progressive programs that exist to help families in an era when being disconnected from family is so routine. In Los Angeles in particular, so many residents are transplants. A city like this needs as many resources as possible.

The Santa Monica Daily Press reported that Los Angeles County will begin a pilot program in 9 select cities in which a trained researcher will assess the quality of service of each provider and make that information available on the Web to parents. Steps to Excellence Program (STEP), similar in concept to the county's restaurant rating system, intends to measure the following 6 areas:

-Regulatory Compliance
-Teacher/Child Relationships
-Learning Environment
-Identification and Inclusion of Children with Special Needs
-Staff Qualifications and Working Conditions
-Family and Community Connections

The county's goals are to:

-Provide parents with clear, concise information on the quality of individual child care settings
-Create incentives and supports for programs to meet and maintain higher program standards
-Distinguish programs that are meeting these higher standards
-Provide benchmarks to determine if the quality of care in individual programs or communities is improving over time

The pilot phase, which began June 22, 2007, will last 3 years and is both free and voluntary. At an estimated annual cost of $500K, the program will begin posting results on their website in January 2008. They hope to recruit 200+ child care centers and 400 family child care homes in the following communities:

-Inglewood
-Palmdale
-Pomona
-Florence/Firestone
-Pacoima/Arleta
-Wilmington
-Long Beach
-Pasadena
-Santa Monica

Locally, Connections for Children, a non-profit resource and referral agency, will pilot the Santa Monica centers. So if you live or work in the area, you should consider contacting them for further information and assistance.

"Could This Be Me?"

Every time we have a decision to make, the hardest part is narrowing down our options. In fact, we're more likely to add options to our list.

What do you want for dinner?
How about Italian?
Ooo...or Thai. I could go for Thai.
Sushi sounds kinda good, too.
O.K. Italian, Thai, or sushi. Or we could BBQ? Won't take any time to grill up something nice.

*sigh*

So any tips to help us streamline our decision-making process are welcome. Steve Pavlina suggests a simple question: "is this me?"

Don't know if this is a catch-all question. Sometimes, you have to push the envelope to grow and develop, which means asking "could this be me?"

Via Lifehacker

Long Work Days

Trying to meet up with some of my co-workers for lunch is like trying to find a pair of cute, comfortable women's shoes.

Sometimes, I forget how much time I actually spent at the office. Work comes in a different bottle these days.

Going Paperless

An article on going paperless caught my eye today. It actually gives a few good reasons for NOT going paperless. How retro.

Personally, we've scanned most of our bulky documents and shredded the evidence. We bought an older model of this scanner. It was pricey, but we had a severe amount of paperwork to scan. This one is fast and reliable and does double-sided as well as color scans. As we scanned initially, and continue to scan, we do frequent backups on a .Mac account, as well as on an off-sight hard drive. Once that's done, we feel safe enough to shred. Overall, we're pretty happy because we're no longer wasting precious space on paper we're probably never going to need (Amex bill from June 2002? Really?). If we ever do need to find something, we're talking minutes instead of days.

That said, the article makes a couple of good points:
-- Viewing multiple pages at once is difficult without multiple monitors.
-- Paper is portable, lightweight, and doesn't require a powersource.

So we're both still glad we went paperless, but it's not for everyone. There's much less clutter though, and that means the world to a neat freak like me.

Dads as Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur.com has an article on the creative side of dads. Being at home with a child makes you re-evaluate all of the little things you never used to care about...laundry detergent, toilet cleaner, toothpaste. Having to change habits and routines to accomodate a little one, a parent can accidentally stumble into brilliance. Mom's have been doing this a lot lately. But now that dads are spending more time raising their kids, they're starting to show off their clever side, too. Furniture, cleaning products, are medicine flavorings are mentioned.
Hey sweetie...got any good ideas yet? Or do you need a few more daddy-baby days?

Whirlpool Contest for Moms

If you're a mom (sorry dads) with a clever concept or idea, consider showing it off by entering Whirlpool's Mother of Invention Grant contest. The winner will receive $20k in seed money, as well as expert advice on making her dream a business reality. Starting your own business and keeping it running is tough, so this kind of support is invaluable. Bohemian Baby, a wonderful organic baby food manufacturer in the area, recently shut its doors due to lack of funding despite a devoted customer base.

There I go being pessimitic again. My point is, go forth and conquer. And if you win, let me know ;-)

Girls at Work

Being a woman in the workplace can be tough. How do you get others to take you seriously? Being a woman with a "youthful" voice in the workplace is taking things to the next level. Marketplace's Ashley Milne-Tyte discussed the difficulties women face in the workplace in being taken seriously when their voices don't reflect authority. In fact, there are programs designed to train women to develop a stronger voice, both in content and intonation. Sounds like a better investment than those authoritative Jimmy Choos :-)

Are School Events Scheduled for Non-Working Parents?

Dani Shapiro, a writer and mother, wrote a piece on the Huffington Post today about having to miss her 8 year old son's school play despite her best efforts to attend. She posed an interesting question that I have to wonder about myself. "Why would a performance of a school play be scheduled for nine o'clock in the morning?"

Since my son isn't of school age, I never think about stuff like this. But it does make me worry about the day I do. I don't plan on being a stay at home parent forever, so what kind of balancing act will my husband and I find ourselves in? And until then, there will surely be days when he will have to miss events because of work. Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but the piece certainly made me pause for thought.