Hints to Keep Your Sanity When You Start a New Job

I have started a new job.  I took a part-time 20 hour a week or so job, but right now they need a little more of my time so I have been working about 30 hours which certainly makes life a little tight with all of my other volunteering, homeschooling, and trying to continue to visit our former foster child and help my father (who lives about 1.5 hours away).  So far I have found a few things has really helped keep me on track:

1. Lay out your clothes the night before.
2. Update the kids' chore chart and make sure that they keep up their end of the bargain.
3. Don't add any more responsibilities until you acclimate to the new schedule.
4. Be regimented when you are getting  ready then you won't forget anything and the family will know what to expect.
5. Write out homeschool plans and set a scheduled time aside to review their work or go over new ideas.
6. Take advantage of mail order medications, direct deposit, etc.  The more you can limit running around the more time you will have at home and prevent yourself from feeling like a spinning top.
7. Plan to share your child driving / responsibilities with your spouse.
8. Plan dinner before you leave in the morning.  Take out any foods that need to defrost etc.  Use the crock pot wisely.
9. Write your calendar out for the rest of the family so they know what to work around.
10. Use your time wisely.  Plan out your trips to include several stops. Pre-post your blog. Multi-task i.e. review homework and wash dishes at the same time.

As I continue with this job, I'm sure that I will come by even more hint that I will pass along and if you have any, I would love to hear them.

Feast or Famine Job Hunting

Why can I look, look, look for a job, not get anything, and then suddenly get called in for two interiews in the same week.  I was mortified to tell the second caller that I had already accepted a position at the first and I'm still not sure that I made the right decision.  It is so hard to marry family needs with work needs. And the question is am I looking for a job or a career.  Of course, how do you hold of one offer to find out about the other and if you do are you putting at risk the first.  Unfortunately or fortunately, I am a very conservative person and believe in that old saying that "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".



So think of me tomorrow morning as I start a new job and pray that I made the right choice.

CMT prep

At work today, one of the instructors gave out an article called, “CMT Preparations: What’s your School Doing?” The article was written by Laurel Kilough on February 25, 2010 for the Ct Education Association Blog. And while the ideas seemed interesting, fun, and inventive, I was left be thankful that I homeschool my children. (As many of you know we homeschool our two biological children and our foster son attends public school due to legal requirements) For those of you who do not know what CMT’s are, they are the CT Mastery Tests. While the CMT’s are specific to CT, many other states have similar type tests. The article talks about rigorous academic preparation, involving parents, pep rallies, and ideas to enliven the actual days of the test. As I said the article does put out some interesting ideas like poetry contests to encourage students on the CMT’s, sprinkling fairy dust in the form of reading strategies, or giving encouraging notes, but the whole idea left me with a queasy feeling. Why do we have to focus on rigorous academic preparation? Shouldn’t that be the standard? Why do we need to “send a letter home to parents asking them to limit absences and make sure their children get a good night’s sleep and proper nutrition”? Shouldn’t that be a consistent expectation? I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around holding a pep rally to “get ready” for the test. Isn’t the focus a bit array? Shouldn’t we be excited about learning itself and not about proving our knowledge on a test? As for “fairy godmothers”, Captain Writing, raffles, and incentives, I just ask why? Is the way we are teaching so horrible that we must bribe our students to perform?

The last sentence in the article says “What has your school been doing to prepare for the CMT or CAPT?” Fortunately, we are exempt as homeschoolers so I don’t have to answer this seriously, but my answer is learning. We are learning every day. We are learning for the sake of learning and not so that we can spew out our knowledge on a contrived test to be compared to others, but so that we can be engaged citizens, active community members, and generally better individuals. What are we doing to prepare? We are learning, acting, making changes, reviewing, discussing, interacting, discovering, creating and we don’t even need pep rallies, “fairy dust”, or Smarties to make it fun.

Shaken Baby Syndrome

Last week, I was treated to a seminar about Shaken Baby Syndrome, otherwise known as non-accidental head trauma. At first I questioned how such a seminar was relevant to my life, but as a self-titled nerd, I knew that I could find some piece of information that I would find useful (Please note I think disseminating information about SBS is critical, but I was already aware of the syndrome and not likely to be having any new babies in my life for a long time). As I listened intently, my take away message became clear.

I learned that the majority of perpetrators of SBS are male. They are most likely between the ages of 17-27. They often are inexperienced caretakers and are often alone when the shaking takes place. Our speakers were very quick to clarify the intensity that a baby must be shaken to cause SBS. SBS does not happen as an accident. It is not a mistake. SBS is a violent, intensive, continued shaking of a baby. The speaker’s demonstration on a gym bag brought gasps from the audience.

These facts and the speaker’s discussion of these facts brought my lesson to light. While I was not likely to be the caretaker of an infant anytime soon and given my background I personally was unlikely to commit such an act, I am the caretaker of two boys who will one day possibly fit this profile unless I change my parenting. The speaker pointed out that the age and inexperience of the men who perpetrate is very relevant. One, boy’s brains do not fully develop until their later 20’s and therefore impulsivity can be an issue past the traditional teenage years; two, our culture discourages boys from taking the care giving role. How can we use these facts to enact a change? We can decrease men’s inexperience as caregivers by increasing their care giving roles as they themselves are raised. The speaker noted that many times not only does our society marginalize men as care givers, they actually demonize it and look on men’s / boy’s interest in care giving with suspicion. These points, I took to heart. This was something that I could work with. I needed to think further about how to encourage my boys in caretaking roles. I needed to make sure that my husband modeled good and involved care giving. I needed to give them the opportunity to develop as care givers and I needed to continue to work with them in thinking about options when impulses are crying for you to do something else.

Ironically due to my attendance at this seminar, my husband at that very moment was taking one of our sons to the pediatrician for the first time ever alone (that particular son is 13). DH had been with me at the pediatrician when the kids were very young, but I don’t believe he had ever actually done it on his own completely. Sometimes, we carry on stereotypes without even meaning to.

If I homeschool will my child be able to get a job?

One of the biggest fears of the general public is how does homeschooling prepare children for their future? Will they be employable or just end up on the public rolls? What they don't realize is that many homeschooling parents worry about the same thing. We know that we only have one chance at this. Unlike in a public school, where children fail, quit, or expelled every day, and then they still have a crowd of children still to educate; the children that we teach are our own. If homeschooling fails, the repurcussions have a direct impact. We worry every moment if we have made the right choices and are properly equiping our children for their future. Yesterday, part of my answer came as it relates to my family. DD received her sub-professional librarianship certificate. It is almost like an apprenticeship certificate for librarians. Whether this becomes her permanent career path will remain to be seen, but at least it gives her an option. I am so proud of her hard work and look forward to continue to see her develop in this area.

Opportunity Knocks - Saco, ME

When my sister visited from out west, we said goodbye pledging to see each other as soon as possible. Oh, how I wish I was infinitely wealthy or had a Star Trek transporter. There are so many places that I wish to see and people I wish to visit, but alas there are taxes, house repairs, car maintenance, cable bills, etc., etc. All I could promise is that if opportunity knocked, I surely would take advantage of it. Our family has been very lucky in that respect and has done most of our traveling that way. We have tacked many a personal trip onto business trips or taken business trips and added in a few hours of personal time. This was one of the many reasons we actually chose to homeschool. The freedom of a homeschooling schedule allowed us to go if the opportunity arose.

Last week DH mentioned an arising opportunity, a trip to Maine; granted it isn’t for very long – just overnight, but I am truly excited. I have never been to Maine. Ok, let me adjust that, I have driven into and out of Maine twice. But this would be a verifiable, actual overnight in the Pine Tree State. We will be in the Saco, ME area. The best part of these kind of trips is the limited cost on our part. DH would have to reserve a hotel room anyway, so we are just stowaways. The gas is covered too as he would be driving regardless. We just pay for food and extra activities. What is the difference between buying food here or buying food there? So opportunity has knocked and I am answering that door. Maine here we come.

I welcome any ideas of what we should do on this brief trip. If you have a favorite restaurant or destination near Saco, ME, please let me know.

What Not to do in a Job Interview

Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be. I went to a job interview and sent out yet another resume today. While I was sitting in the interview, I noticed that my resume seemed very full, much more than the two pages it consisted of. I knew immediately what I had done. When I was running for tax collector about 1 ½ years ago, I had made notes after the resume to forward to my campaign manager. Apparently, I had never deleted them. So you know all those questions that employers can’t ask like how old you are, if you are married, or if you had children, all of those questions were right in front of them. Needless to say, I had to send a retraction email to both.

Then to top it off in the retraction email that I send to the employer I emailed today, I hit the wrong button on the computer and “corrected” my middle initial from “M.” to “ME.” I really, really am not this inept, but I’m thinking that I can count both of those jobs goodbye. Oppps.

You sell Firetrucks?

I think that I have failed to tell you about one of the most interesting facts about our family. We sell firetrucks.

Yes, the big red ones (actually they can be yellow, black, blue, green, or any color you spec, but generally we all think of red). Actually, specifically my husband sells them, but our family has been in the industry since I was old enough to see over a counter. I used to love the reaction when people asked what you do for a living or their eyes as we would drive by and wave. Now I get to see my children enjoy the same reaction.

My husband's favorite part of the job is that he makes people's dreams come true. There is not a more passionate group of people out there than the firefighters. They love their trucks and spend countless hours taking care of them. He loves working with them to make their dreams come true and their job just a little easier.

What unique jobs do you all have?

Leaf Blower For Hire

It snowed yesterday. Not a pile of snow, but a few flakes. Winter is coming. DH called to say in was snowing in MA and then DS called me outside to see that it was snowing here too. Of course, my reaction was a little different than most . . . I took my son’s boots, fired up the leaf blower, and blew the leaves. I know this seems like an odd reaction, but one year we got caught with the leaves on the ground when it began snowing and we didn’t see the ground again until spring. What a mess!

So I have now become a leaf blower professional. I have now done it three times this year. I am quite proud of this new talent, so I’m thinking I may add it to my resume – educator, office manager, & leaf blower. Ok, maybe not, but if the economy continues perhaps I could use it for a couple extra dollars (let’s hope not ; ) ).


My prior favorite one to add was hot dog cooker. Each year we would have an open house at my father’s company and I always got stuck in the refreshment area which meant that I was in charge of the hot dogs. The hot dogs cooked on a Ferris wheel type rotator. Now, one would think that this would be an easy job, but it was actually quite complex. You had to figure out proper loads, because the machine could not be off balanced or it would start throwing hot dogs out the front as the baskets that the hot dogs sat in started to sway. And you better have tip top reflexes because you had to get the hot dogs off the wheel while it was moving, but without disturbing the flow of the machine. I think had this been a paid job, I may have been fired, but after several years of practice, I am now an official hot dog cooker too.

What cool talents can you add to your resume?

New Job, An update on the Squirrel, and a question

I started my new job officially. Last night was the orientation for the new students. Work was actually a very good excuse not to go to the fair which was a virtual wash out, but apparently I was missed at the fair. DD and DH said that everyone was asking for me. DD said that she was going to put on a t-shirt that said “My Mom is not here. She is at her new job. I can’t explain it so just ask her when you see her”

I have a ton of reading to learn more about the program so that I can answer any questions. I also learned two important things:

1. Wear flats – My feet hurt. They were ok when I was there but after driving home, I could barely walk from the car to the house.

2. I need to get my eyes checked – my task last night was to get the students’ pictures so that I can make their badges (the job is in a state building so everyone must have clearance). I’m just telling you that those numbers on the camera could not have been made any smaller. Plus, the numbers were white on a white background. The 6’s, 8’s, and 9’s were virtually indistinguishable. I started tracking the number counting down and the number of each picture just so that I could cross reference. I did not want to fail at my first task at my new job.


Important Update from the Crazy Squirrel Post: I found out where my crazy squirrel came from:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Don't Touch That Squirrel's Nuts Movies & TV SPIKE.com

Also, I have to ask why bother saying you are not going to be somewhere unless. When dispite the unless, you show up anyway. I guess pre-conditions don't always work.

calendar to CALENDAR; purse to POCKETBOOK

With the new job, I may have to break out the big calendar again. I had whittled my way back down to the giveaway pocket calendars that you can get at your hairdressers or insurance agents just before the new year, but there is only so much that you can fit in those 1” x 2” blocks (granted I fit more than the average person). The bad part of the larger calendar is that it doesn’t fit in my purse. Maybe I’ll have to pick out a purse more like this . . .




Thank goodness big is in.

From interview to a job offer in 6 hours!

I got the job. I got the job : ) I am so excited. I will go in next Thursday to set up my office. The best thing is that the hours will bend perfectly around my husband’s schedule and homeschooling. I’m sure we will have to make some adjustments, but compared to other possibilities, I don’t think it could work out any better. Add to that the fact that the job is within my skill set, so I can sharpen my skills and begin to network again in my field and not my husband’s.

Now I will have to really focus on the car search. . .I don’t want to start a new job with car problems.

Crazy, Crazy Life - How to survive a real estate showing, an interview, and a book club

I am sorry that I did not get an opportunity to post yesterday. Sometimes days that are supposed to be calm and easy suddenly become frenzied and crazy. I thought that I was going to spend most of my day yesterday finishing Nathanial Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter for my book club last night. DS had to go to an award ceremony at which his troop was receiving an environmental award for their recycling project and our local fair, but DH had made arrangements for another parent to bring him. So in the morning, I got up dressed and brought him over to their house. Upon arriving home, DD and I had just gotten resettled on the couch with a book and I with a cup of coffee, when the phone rang. The realtor had a call for a showing and wanted to know if I wanted to do it today or tomorrow. Knowing that it is never good to put off a showing, I looked around and shuddered. How could I possibly be ready for a showing in 1 ½ hours? But that is what I choose. I put the computer and my book away and ran around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to wipe down the shower, vacuum, hide paperwork, and generally clean up. Thank goodness DD was here to help. We just made it out the door as the real estate agent and the potential buyer arrived. Then of course I had not find DS and keep him from being dropped off at an empty house. So actually I went to their house to pick them up and ended up in a wonderful conversation with the mom. Somehow the coffee I drank with her was like the elixir that Alice in Wonderland drank. Hours slipped away. I arrived back home still having to make dinner and finish the Scarlet Letter. There was no way that I had time to blog.
Fortunately, I had dinner partially prepared because I had caught Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller over the weekend and had planned my weekly meals around her “I feel Like Chicken tonight” episode. So I prepared the Chicken Caesar salad and the Cheesy Garlic Bread and then got back to reading. I finished my book by the slimmest of margins and rushed to the location for the book club. FYI, if anyone has any ideas for our next book club, I am open to ideas. When I got back home, it was bed time. Of course I had to take the dog for his final walk of the day. He was well behaved until we arrived back at the door where he promptly laid down in the front grass and refused to move. I thought, if life were only so easy. How do you think others might respond if we did that?
Today, I’m still running late because I had a job interview in Hartford. In my wisdom, I set the meeting for 9 am – DUH! If you have an option to not travel into a city at rush hour, you perhaps should take advantage of that. Oh, well, I made it there and I think it went well, but we will see. Wish me luck! And since this extra driving will force us to make a car decision, I would love to hear any input that you may have in cars. I want something that gets over 30mph and can fit a busy family and their stuff. I currently drive a minivan and really like the versatility.
I will try to get back on schedule with my posts.

Job Interview

I have an interview! Thursday morning, I have an interview. Thank goodness for friends. One of our friends saw a job come up that he thought I would be perfect for. The schedule would fit around homeschooling, and the location would work whether we were still here or had moved. I was so thrilled when he called. I zapped over my resume and I got a call back this morning. I am excited and nervous all at the same time.