Well, I haven't done this for about 16 years

I've thought about it off and on. Years ago, I was sure one day I'd be ready for it. As time went by, I wanted it more and more, but at the same time I was afraid to do it.

I wasn't sure my body could handle it. I worried that I wouldn't have the mental stamina for it.

I worried it wouldn't be fair to my kids. I wondered if Mike would be jealous and or feel insecure in any way.

But I did it and I like it (so far)...besides it would be pretty hard to turn back now.

I took a full-time job.

It's actually a great situation. I'm still working at the 30-hour/week job I've been at for almost 8 years -- the job where I love my co-workers and where I believe in the work we do. Now, I've added another 10 hours each week working for another department at the university. (For the record, neither of my bosses is in any way like Dabney Coleman or his alter ego, Frank Hart.)

I've been part of the my new department since early August. So far, all the people I've met have been welcoming and seem like they will be fun to work with. There have been tales of lively practical jokes and lots of offers to tell stories on the boss I've worked for since day one.

I did make one, non-fatal, we-can-laugh-about-it mistake on the first day, so I'm glad to have gotten that one out of the way: I updated the cover photo of the department's Facebook page with a picture of a student who recently left the program involuntarily. Luckily, it was caught quickly and the director had a good chuckle over it.

By the end of the first day, my head was aching and my mind was swimming with new facts, images of faces I could finally put with names, and ideas for how to get started on the task at hand. Today was just as busy, maybe more so because students arrive on campus tomorrow, but I had more of the hang of things. Tomorrow, I go back to the familiarity of my "old" job until next week, when I spend my one day down on campus.

Since I became a mom and had my own freelance writing business and then went back to work 20 hours a week, I've said working part-time is ideal. I still think it probably is. However, working full-time will obviously bring in some much needed money -- hello Dave Ramsey's debt snowball. Bonus: Working full-time at a university opens a whole world of free college tuition, perfect timing since Annie just started her junior year of high school.

I'm sure there will be some things to get used to, like working on Fridays. Wow. People really do that? And getting haircuts in the evening instead of mid-day when the salon is quiet. Oh, there are probably a zillion things I haven't even thought of yet. I'll just deal with them as they come.

If I won mega millions in the lottery, would I still work? Hmmm...maybe part-time. But until then (which will be quite a while, since I don't play the lottery), I'll happily take the full-time gig I've been lucky enough to get.

Could Sarah Jessica Parker play me in a movie?

Ok, so maybe I'm not your typical "Sex & the City" type. But SJP's latest movie is "I Don't Know How She Does It," a comedy about a working mother.  That could be me. Well, the much skinnier, longer haired version of me. Or you, if you find yourself with a to-do list longer than the line at the ladies room at the movie theater.

Let me just say right now that this post will probably make someone angry. Men for one. My husband probably. I know. They work hard, they take care of kids, blah blah blah. But in most situations, we wives do more. More laundry. More cooking. More grocery shopping. More calendar finessing. I know it. You know it. The American people know it. (That's a quote from a movie I don't have time to Google right now.)

The other people who might get mad at this post are stay-at-home-moms, affectionately known on message boards across the internet as SAHMs. I've been a SAHM and I've been (am now) a working mom. And I'm here to tell you that working moms have the harder job. For realz.

I'll spare you the details on my to-do list; you probably have a similar one. But suffice it to say I've entered one of those periods of time where when my body gives out at night, my brain keeps on churning.

Where the heck is life's PAUSE button? All moms (all women!) need one from time to time.

When Annie was a baby and I was a SAHM, my PAUSE button came in the form of donating platelets at the local blood center. At the time, the process took about two hours and you could pick a movie to watch while laying there. Now they've sped up the process, so you can't count on as much relaxation time. Besides, some people don't consider being stuck with a needle relaxing.

So now what? Now, enter Eversave and its "Back to Beauty" promotion. Eversave surveyed over 700 moms and 35% said they find time for themselves once a month and their preferred way to spend that time is pampering themselves with manicures, pedicures, facials and other spa treatments.

In cities all over the United States, Eversave is offering great "me time" deals. The deal in my area is $29 for a mani-pedi from The Spa at Salon D’Va in Avon ($76 value). Eversave was nice enough to give me one for myself and one to give away to a blog reader. Plus, the lucky reader who wins this Save will also get $20 in Save Rewards added to her Eversave account.

If you don't live in Indianapolis, check out the blog carnival hosted at Mom Generations for other participating cities. Trust me. Winning this Save will be more fun than donating blood. (Though that's a totally worthwhile activity and one you should definitely put on your to-do list.)

Geesh...I suppose you want to know how you can win. Because we're all too busy for our own good, I'll make this simple. Paypal me $25 Leave a comment below and tell me what is your own personal PAUSE button?

Ahead of my time

Yesterday the kids were just about dressed for school when I remembered that it was "Teamwork Tuesday" and they could wear the bright yellow "teamwork" t-shirts instead of their uniform shirts.

I quickly gathered up the three t-shirts and the kids changed shirts before the carpool arrived. I was pretty proud of myself for remembering (and actually having the shirts clean). Usually, I'm the mom who forgets things like Teamwork Tuesday and "please send in more Kleenex." Yep, since I've started working more hours, I'm one of "those" moms.

But not yesterday. Yesterday, I was ON it and quite pleased with myself for being so. That is until I got home from work to face this:

Apparently Teamwork Tuesday is NEXT week. Robbie was oblivious and Charlie just wore his sweatshirt all day. But Annie didn't have a sweatshirt with her, so she stuck out like a daffodil in a sea of kids wearing poppy-red uniform shirts. Oops.

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Thanks to Joanie at Joanie's Random Ramblings, I'm also ahead of the game when it comes to Easter candy. A few weeks ago, Joanie blogged about marshmallow Peeps and I suggested she do a Peeps giveaway. She did and not only sent a Peeps package to one lucky winner, but also to me for making the suggestion!

When the box arrived on Monday, I was in Peeps heaven:

I opened two packages to share with the kids after school. (Our verdict -- orange creme Peeps taste like marshmallows rolled in baby aspirin.) I hid one package in my pajama drawer so I didn't have to share. I cut a slit in the cellophane so they could get just a little stale, exactly the way I like them, and have been treating myself to one at a time. The rest -- including the cute little plush Peep -- I put away in my closet for Easter.

Thanks Joanie!

Going green

Green with envy, that is. All this booger-freezin' cold weather has me longing for the days when I was a stay-at-home mom and being envious of those people who still are.

Way back then, I would have entered hibernation mode about Tuesday night when the snow started falling and the temps began their nosedive. I would have let Mike drive the kids to school on Wednesday and again today. Yes, a little more than three years ago, I wouldn't have emerged until this Saturday when the temp is expected to reach a balmy 29 degrees.

But that was then and this is now. And now I have a job that I enjoy, but that requires me to haul my hinder (as my Wisconsonite boss refers to the rear end) out of bed, get dressed and actually cross the threshold of my front door morning and late afternoon.

And today while I was at work, I missed all the excitement that happened on my back porch. I called home to let Mike and the kids know what time I would be at home. Annie answered.

"Mom -- there's a hawk on the back porch and it's chest is open and it has guts hanging out. Dad's going to get it off the porch."

"Is it dead?"

"No, it's alive and it's trying to get out, but it keeps running into the screen and Dad's afraid it's going to shred the new screen, so he's putting on big gloves and going out to get it."

"Tell Dad to call Animal Control." Which she did and which Mike immediately casted off as a bad idea because our screen porch would be ruined by the time Animal Control can get there. I told Annie I would be home soon and then hung up.

And then I thought -- this will make a great blog! So I called back to tell Annie to grab the camera and take pictures. Except Mike answered. And seeing as he was ready to do battle with a chicken hawk on the back porch, he wasn't exactly in any mood to be photographed or conversational.

So no pics of "Man vs. Beast." I do have a ton of feathers and rodent guts on the back porch -- turns out the bird wasn't injured. It had snagged some small animal and intended to use our porch as a dining room.

In the end, the prey lost its life, the bird gained release and Mike was left with a couple of scratches on his gloved hand and a great story to tell. And I find myself thinking, "I am glad I was work today!"

Check out Mike's haiku about the incident.

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