Welcome....Heir to Blair!

I am super excited today.  I have a new friend guest posting for me!  

I met Blair on the "mommy" message boards a couple years back, and we were instantly NOT friends.  Then we both had our sons, and I think, both grew up a little.  Being a mom changes you in so many different ways, and this was one of them.  Blair and I are now "blog friends", and I like that.

What I like even better is her blog. (If you've never heard of it, you must be living under a rock!)  I have been reading Heir to Blair, since the day her son Harrison was born, which is exactly one week before Jack was born.  It's nice to see someone else go through what I go through; struggles with weight, time, a full-of-energy boy, and juggling work and mommy-hood.  Which brings me to Blair's guest post.  I think she speaks for MANY working moms out there.

 It's not THAT bad.

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When my son was 13 weeks old, I slipped back into a black pencil skirt & three-inch stilletos to take my place in the coporate world once more.   Every day for the next year, I tearfully kissed my little boy goodbye & bitterly plowed through paperwork & client calls.   I hated being a working mother.  I was wracked with jealousy over my stay-at-home-mom friends when they held playdates & lunches.  I struggled with finding balance between work, marriage, motherhood, home, & myself.  News articles hounded home that the children of working mothers were fatter, sicker, & worse off than children of mothers who stayed home.  & it didn't matter if Charlie Sheen himself wrote the study, I believed that I was failing my child by working.
Slowly, that cloud of despair has lifted as my postpartum depression healed & my little family settled into a comfortable routine.  I met a few fellow working momma friends that helped me feel less alone as we shared tips for managing it all.  & you know what?  I realized that it doesn't suck.  Sure, being a working momma is HARD.  You're "on" 24/7, not only meeting the demands of a family & toddler tyrant, but also the demands of clients, bosses, products, & everything in between.  But it definitely has it's perks.
Reasons Being A Working Mom is the Hot Jam

• The paycheck.  Money pretty much rocks & whether you're using it to put a roof over your head (like me) or buy pretty things from Anthropologie (occasionally me), it's a good feeling to see the bank account swell & know that I earned some of the cash that keeps us full.
• Lunch breaks that don't include peanut butter & jelly unless I'm lazy & pack that for myself.  They also don't include being pelted in the face with mushy banana.  I can sit down with a good friend in a restaurant or eat quietly at my desk.  Sometimes in the fall & spring when the weather's nice, I take a walk around my office or eat outside in the sunshine while reading a book.  It's a rare moment that I get to myself.
• Running errands by myself. Lunch isn't all bon-bons, though.  Most of the time, I'm running errands - grocery shopping, dry cleaning, buying dog food & diapers.  It's the only time I can get my teeth cleaned or my hair cut or my lady-bits examined, so I'm that gal laying on the exam table, eating a taco while the gynecologist...you know what? I'm not even going to go there. But I do get to do the mundane things in life by myself without hauling a screaming toddler in & out of a carseat, which makes them easier & faster.
• The look on his face when I pick him up at the end of the day. I open the front door & he's there, running towards me with a big smile on his face.  He cannot wait to see me & it's reassurance that I'm still his favorite person.
• Cute clothes. Okay, I'm actually torn on this one because some days I could really do without the tights & three-inch heels.  But when I'm at home, I tend to slave away in jeans & crummy tshirts.  Working ensures that I'm put-together with curled hair & make-up...at least 75% of the time.
• Adult conversation. Granted, chatting about budgets with a coworker that has horrible breath isn't necessarily my idea of a good time, but sometimes I think it beats listening to Wonder Pets on repeat.
• Living for the weekends. By the time Saturday & Sunday roll around, our entire little family is haggard & in need of rest.  But it's also a time to celebrate being together, so we cook a hot breakfast every morning & spend as much time in the sunshine as possible, after being cooped up in offices.  Nate & I trade off getting time alone - both to ourselves & time alone with Harrison.
• Things are 100% equal on the parenting front. Like all parents, we're both equally exhausted.  But since we both log 40+ hours in the office, neither can point fingers at who worked harder.  That means that chores, parenting, & responsibilities are split 50/50.   I have just as much time to cook & clean as he does, so when we're almost falling over dead on Friday night, we're both folding size 18 month onesies & pants.

Like I said, it doesn't suck all the time.  There's some bummer parts about being a working momma, but honestly?  I'm not going to go into those.  There's enough negativity out there about those of us with mommas that hold down a nine to five.  We know the benefits of staying home, but it's time to recognize that working can also benefit the family.  At the end of the day, I may prefer to be with my son & dream of a day full of playdough & Little People & yes, even tantrums.  But when I'm sitting in my quiet office at 8am on Monday morning while quietly sipping fresh coffee & checking email, I smile.  Because that moment certainly doesn't suck.

New friends and a great meal!

First of all welcome everyone from New Friend Friday! I love making new friends, and I hope you like what you see.

Speaking of new friends, I have another new friend, Jen from Beantown Baker.  She has graciously agreed to guest blog for me.  She has an excellent summer chicken recipe I am making this weekend.  I know my husband will LOVE it.  Even better, is it's super easy for you busy moms!  Have a great weekend, and please make Jen feel welcome! 

So Hello Just Another Manic Momday Readers! My name is Jen from Beantown Baker. I am an engineer by day and a baker at night. I live with my Hubby and two cats in a tiny Boston condo. Hubby serves as my official taste tester for all the treats that I make in the kitchen. While I mostly blog about delicious baked goods, you'll also find savory meals, occasion travel or Boston posts, and even giveaways! The number one all time favorite thing I've made since I started blogging would have to be these Oreo Cupcakes. They're awesome. Enough about me, let's get on to this chicken recipe.



This recipe comes from Cooking Light. It uses fresh melon and cucumber to create a perfectly summery meal. The chicken can be cooked however you prefer. If we had a grill, I definitely would have just grilled the chicken breasts. If you have leftover salsa, it's great served with plain or cinnamon pita chips.

Chicken with Melon Salsa - from Cooking Light
Printable Recipe
Salsa
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed honeydew melon
1 cup (1/2-inch) cubed cantaloupe
1/2 cup diced peeled cucumber
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 tsp grated lime rind
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp minced jalapeño pepper
1 tsp light agave nectar (or 1/2 tsp sugar)

Chicken
3/4 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

Combine first 10 ingredients; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, tossing well to combine.

Sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Coat chicken with cooking spray.

If grilling: Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done.

If broiling: Set the chicken on a metal cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and place it about 10-12 inches below a broiler for 5-7 minutes per side.

Serve with salsa; garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Guest Post: Alissa from Mommy and Molly

I never thought starting a blog would become such an outlet for me.  Or that I would meet so many great "mom blog" friends.  I love that there are so many other moms out there that I can relate to, get ideas from and just vent to.  One of my first friends, Alissa from Mommy and Molly, is one of the first girls I got to know.  I met her on a mommy message board and it went from there.  What amazes me about her is that she is such a go-getter.  She is able to stay at home with her daughter, Molly, and also work from home.  I thought it would be great if she posted about how she does it all, and thankfully she agreed to guest blog for me!

Without further adieu...please welcome Alissa,  from the blog, Mommy and Molly:
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Time management is a skill that is necessary as a mother. It is also a skill I lack (along with money management, but that's a topic for another post).

I run two websites, my personal blog and the "D-List", both of which have become way more successful than I ever imagined they would be.  A lot of people ask me how I find the time with an 8 month old and to be quite honest, it's not easy. Molly crawls (really fast, I refer to it as run crawling) and I am constantly chasing her when she is awake. The other day she learned how to open drawers and pull everything out of them, she also "cruises" which allows her to cause more trouble than I ever could have imagined.

As cliche as it sounds, I get my website work done when she is doing one of three things:

1. Sleeping (although she does not sleep all night yet, so I sometimes nap when she does)

2. Eating (I give her a biter biscuit and it keeps her entertained for twenty minutes)

3. Otherwise engaged in mischievous behavior (such as ripping a magazine to shreds) but not endangering herself (IE She's right in front of me)

Did I mention I am a single stay at home mom? So, I do everything by myself. Some days I don't even shower because I have a screaming child who does not want to be put down. I make lists of things that do not get done and I feel like sometimes I need a horse tranquilizer and a case of beer to get through my day (kidding).

The key to managing an online network and a maniac child is enjoying every second of it. I visit every blog that joins the D-List (319 members and counting!). I love meeting new mom bloggers and their children. I love finding blogs that make me laugh (my favorite humorous blog is: http://whisperingwriter.blogspot.com/).  I also try to relate to what others write about and find things that can help me in my everyday life. I found an awesome craft blog the other day and I cannot wait to try some of the things she has made.

Another problem of mine is that I have a child that LOVES the laptop. She finds hitting the keys on the keyboard to be one of the most fascinating experiences ever. I try not to let her do it too often, as she has already pulled the space bar off a couple times.  She has also jammed biscuit in my cd drive and pulled the closed laptop down on herself more times than I can count.  I am hoping I can one day use her already advanced computer skills and put her to work for me. It's not child labor when it's your own child, right?

All kidding aside, I love what I do. I'm marketing my blogs and using technology in ways that I never have before, I am using my brain and my expensive MBA (that still is not paid for...I don't even want to think about it) to network and bond with people from all over the world.  I may not make much of an income, but the friendships I have made are more valuable than gold. 

To be able to stay at home with my daughter and have instant access to people who I can talk to about anything is a lifesaver for me.  I love every single person I have met thus far and I cannot wait to add more people to my network .