My family and I have absolutely HAD it with the cold and flu season this year.  We have all been on antibiotics at least twice and had lingering colds that seem to last for decades!  It's hard enough to slow down long enough to heal yourself, but trying to take care of your little one's while you are sick AND they are sick, is nearly impossible.  

Just last month we landed in the ER three times with my daughter in the same week that resulted in her being admitted on our last minute because she had been wrongly diagnosed (again) and by this point required IV antibiotics and fluid to re-hydrate her.  While all this fun was going on -- my hubby was home with the stomach bug that lasted a good 36 - 48 hours rendering him useless.  The night prior I was double teaming taking care of them both.  This was also my due date.  The doc sent me to triage to make sure that the baby wasn't too stressed out with the lack of sleep, etc... FML.  

Anyhow, this lovely cycle seemed endless to us and seem to be endless to many this season.  We're exhausted as I assume many of you reading this are too.  

Stumbled upon this little remedy today and wanted to see what you all thought of it as I plan on asking our pediatrician today what her thoughts are too.  

I have heard many pediatricians recommend that you don't give your child any OTC meds such as this (other than acetaminophen and ibuprofen) until they are at least six.  I've also hear many, many moms swear by natural, and other effective remedies such as these pictured here.  

Just for discussion sake, I'd love your opinion.  I will also follow-up later and let you know what our ped says.  

Be well and stay healthy, friends!  

I was once married.   
I was 26 years old.  
I was hopeful.  
I was foolish.  
I chose divorce.  

I don't share much with people about my past relationship(s) for a multitude of reasons.  I specifically don't share a lot about my divorce with many people because of one reason.  Since I was the one that "CHOSE" the divorce, no matter my explanation or circumstances, I am the one to be shamed.  For the first few months after my separation, I attempted to explain to inquiring minds exactly WHY I was getting a divorce to which I was met with these typical responses... 

"What could have happened?" 
"Aren't you going to try counseling?"  
"Don't the vows you took mean something to you?"
"You should give it some time."
and my all time favorite...
"It's much easier to leave than it is to stay and work through it"

If you happen to fall into this category and have dished out this mainly unsolicited advice, please take mine and shut the fuck up.  Oh, and let me answer these questions for you.

What could have happened?
The man that promised to take care of me, love and respect me CHOSE to do the opposite and suck me dry of all things good left inside of me.  I spent days upon days trying to "motivate" my partner to be an active participant in our relationship and contribute.  One day, after years of attempts, I finally realized that is not my job and definitely not my responsibility.  

Aren't you going to try counseling?
No.  No I am not.  I have communicated my needs and desire for change for years.  All of which had been ignored.  It was his CHOICE to ignore my very simple needs.  Now it's simply too late.  You had 183 opportunities to make it right over the past 4 years, or at least make a minimal effort in attempt to make it right.  Now that I made my CHOICE to put an end to the ongoing saga -- I don't have to acknowledge your requests any longer.  Shame on you.  

Don't the vows you took mean something to you?
When you bought your house/car you intended to pay for it, right?  So when you lost your job you should have hit up the corner and whore'd yourself out to make your payment -- why didn't you?  I'll tell you why -- because once you see a tornado on the horizon, you don't jump into the eye of the storm and hope for the best,  you run like hell.   

My promises mean a great deal to me but no promise is worth keeping at the cost of my dignity, self-respect and happiness.  Sorry if you don't agree.  

You should give it some time.  
Do you know how much time I've given it already?  Yes, my marriage was incredibly short lived (we separated after 5 months), but our relationship had existed for over 4 years.  Yes, I made a mistake thinking someone would or could change and when I finally realized they weren't going to happen, it didn't fall into the socially acceptable time-table.  Millions of people live in denial and stay in unhappy and unhealthy relationships simply because of societal pressures like this.  Not me, I enjoy being happy.  

It's much easier to leave than it is to stay.  
Oh really?  Have YOU tried it?  
I find most people with this advice are those that would never, under any circumstance what-so-ever (including abuse), leave their spouse.  Simply because they haven't left their miserable relationships, how do they know just how easy it is for me to leave mine?  You're right though -- it would be terribly hard for me to stay in this unhealthy and miserable relationship but attempting to work through it while beating my head against a concrete wall for another 4 years just doesn't sound EASY to me either.  Do you know what I sacrificed to enter this relationship in the first place and then what I ended up losing while leaving?

My decision in sharing this story with you all is because I know it's an unfortunate truth that many people face when making the touch choice to stay or to go.  I have chosen to leave out all personal details as I didn't want to get away from the main point and purpose.  Nothing about this process is easy, as it shouldn't be.  I am baffled at how many people find it appropriate to share their two (unsolicited) cents on this topic.  It would be like me walking up to every nipped and tucked woman telling them they chose the wrong plastic surgeon when they didn't even admit to me they had work done.  What gives me or you the right to judge someone or their circumstances?  

I don't have a crystal ball to tell you what life would have been like to stay and it may have ended up just fine and manageable -- who knows.  However, I can tell you with 100% that I would have never found and felt the unimaginable love I am lucky enough to experience on a daily basis now.   I am more than blessed today and believe it's partially because I made the hard (not easy) CHOICES that I did. 

 It may not be what you choose for yourself, but I chose divorce -- and that is why.  

I have been looking for a customized growth chart for my daughter for what seems like FOREVER!  So excited to get this offer in my inbox the other day with a discount attached.  If you have done any searching for growth charts, you'll know that for some reason they aren't easy to find.  Furthermore, you can't find ANY that can be customized for under $100.  

So excited that now I can chart their growth in adorable fashion!  

Offer good through March 10, 2013.  Just enter code GROW at checkout to save 40% off of $29, leaving them to cost you $17.  

This is the kind of shit that makes me cringe.  To make matters worse, this load was instituted by a WOMAN!  Seriously?

As reported by many news sources, it has been stated that Marissa Mayer, the infamous Yahoo CEO that returned to work less than a week after having her baby, has instituted the new "anti-working remotely" rules at Yahoo.  In this -- what they call BOLD, but I call RIDICULOUS move, several hundred employees could face mandatory relocation should they not want to get fired.  

While I agree with Marissa's reasoning that being a part of the physical workplace creates unique "interactions and experiences".  However, she also states that people are "more productive working side-by-side" - to which I completely 100% disagree with.  

First and foremost, I couldn't stand 96% of my co-workers that I worked with on a daily basis.  I didn't dread the jobs, I dreaded the assholes that worked beside me.  I could care less about the "water-cooler" discussions and being a part of the 8,734 weekly "touch-point" sessions.  I just wanted to get my work done and be left alone.  Truth be told, I could have gotten all of my daily work done in 4 hours a day if I had been left alone!  I shared this info with HR on my exit-interview as well letting them know they wasted half my salary on bullshit meetings and should consider consolidating my job with another to save them $.  YOU'RE WELCOME!  

To me, this brings us back in time to when we didn't have the computers, cell phones and all around amazing technology that allows such flexibility today.  Furthermore, it automatically positions women lower on the totem pole when interviewing for a potential job as it's common practice for women to require more time off or "at-home work time" to tend to the needs of their children.  Just because I'm being a good mother, doesn't mean I should be punished professionally, ESPECIALLY when I'm meeting all expectations and reaching any benchmarks that may be set forth.  

Working from home can actually allow you to be more productive.  Yes, this requires prioritizing, self-control and designation of time to specific task, but it happens all the time!  Here's my train of thought... 

If I'm forced to work in an office, I'm forced to put my infant/toddler/child into day care.  You can guarantee my child will be sick at least once that will require me to miss a day to take them to the doctor and then an additional 3-4 days because they can't go back to day care sick.  Now, off the bat, boss man has lost a week and one quarter of my total productivity contributing to any growth of their business.  You can also guarantee that if I'm taking those days off as part of my "paid time off", not a single email will be responded to, written or drafted while I'm on my "days off".  How happy do you think I will be when I can't take my annual family vacation because all my paid time off was sucked up by doctors visits?   

On the opposite end, when I work from home I have a greater deal of flexibility to accommodate and balance work, school, home, etc.. If I'm having an off day and the little one is ill, I can take him/her to the doc and finish my work through the evening hours.  If this requires me to be up until midnight, so be it!  Likewise, I'm more willing (and more likely to) go above and beyond when requests out of the ordinary are made.  Want me to work through part of my vacation?  Of course, no problem!  Why? Because you give me the opportunity to flourish as a professional while supporting and respecting my other roles and responsibilities in life as a woman and mother.  

I'm dis-heartened by this news that surfaced today and hope people speak out and stand up for themselves.  I do understand it is at the company's discretion and their reasoning behind it, but it's unfair as seen in my eyes as it's likely to punish women three times more than men.  

It's not the 80's folks.  In a time where work is hard to come by as is, don't you think this is a step in the wrong direction and discouraging to many? 

Would love to know your opinion...?

Crazy for Crust has done it again!  They've sucked me into the vortex and sent me to the grocery store to spend my weekend cooking up this fabulous number!!  All-be-it my favorite non-chocolate sweets are typically banana and pumpkin, I do enjoy a dash of lemon now and again.  

Speaking of which, where are the girl scouts schlepping their baked goods this year?  I'm normally always good for at least one box of their lemon numbers that typically lasts about a half day.  Hmmm....  

Please note that this recipe makes two loafs... You can also link here to the full recipe to print it off if you so desire.  Thank you again to Crazy for Crust!  


Ingredients

For the pound cake:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 3/4 cup milk (I used nonfat)
• Zest of 1-2 lemons, finely grated (2 small, 1 large)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 large or 2 small lemons)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs

For the glaze:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (from half to a full lemon, depending on size)

For the drizzle:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two loaf pans. (4 1/2-by-8-inch loaf pans work best, but if you only have the 9x5 size, that’s fine, your loaves will be longer and a little flatter.)
2. In a liquid measuring cup, combine milk with lemon zest and juice. Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture (with the mixer on low) in three parts alternately with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat just until it comes together. Do not overmix!
3. Divide batter evenly between pans; smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 50-60 minutes with the smaller pans, 40-50 minutes with the larger pans. You can tent with foil if they brown too quickly.
4. While the cakes are baking, make the glaze by heating granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small pan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and stir. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and let sit until cakes are done.
5. Once done, cool cakes 15 minutes in pan. Turn out cakes onto a rack. Use a pastry brush to spread the glaze evenly over the tops and sides of both cakes. Let dry and completely cool, at least 2 hours.
6. Make the drizzle by mixing all ingredients with a whisk. Set rack with cakes over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Pour drizzle over cooled cakes, letting it run down the sides; let dry, about 30 minutes.

I just found the coolest website and have to share with you all.  Tagxedo.com allows you to create word collages aka "word clouds" for FREE that you can save, print or do what you choose with!  Simply go to tagxedo.com, click "Start Now" and the journey begins.  You can either choose to enter your own words or create one from your blog, facebook posts, twitter feed or from other news stories.  The picture above was comprised of various Mommy Modern posts that was created in seconds when I was prompted to enter the URL of my choice to auto-populate a collage -- how cool?!  You also have the option to choose your font, color, theme, orientation and shapes!  

This would be a great activity for teachers and their students.  You can easily enter your name, i.e. Mrs. Hayes as well as all your students names, pick a shape to form it around, select your color scheme, print off poster size and use it as your entrance to your room!  

Create adorable keepsakes you can frame for your house too!  Here's a look at one I created for our family that I can be hung anywhere!