“I noticed you haven’t been writing,” my mom said. “What’s going on?”

“With my new job and a long commute I feel brain dead at the end of the day,” I told her. “It’s like I have nothing to write about. Or maybe it’s that I have nothing to write about that’s OK to write about. If that makes any sense.”

Mom and I talked about the fact that I have a big girl job now. I am no longer my own boss. I don’t have the ability to say “no” to things I don’t want to work on. Gone are the days of picking and choosing projects. Gone are the afternoons I could whittle away surfing the Internet, reading other blogs, commenting, engaging in Twitter conversations and the like.

Instead my days are filled with meetings, getting to know people and culling through dozens and dozens of emails. College campuses, I have discovered, are hotbeds of email. Doesn’t anyone want to talk over the phone anymore? When you are new to the department there is so much to learn. Why do we do this? What’s the thinking behind that? Can anyone tell me where this is or who to call about that?

A good friend described it as “Dumb new girl syndrome.” And in fact, that’s how I feel some days.

On the homefront, things are equally out of whack. Our fabulous, wonderful, amazing babysitter is student teaching this semester and while we’re trying to work with her schedule, it’s not coming together. She can’t get here until after 4pm most days and the kids get home from school before that. Mike is on conference calls most afternoons and is therefore unable to monitor the consumption of snacks, whether or not homework is getting done or the dog has been let out. When I walk in at 6 or 6:15pm, the last thing I want to do is help with homework. Sad but true, that’s just the way it is.

So I’ve interviewed two new babysitters–a male and a female who happen to be be boyfriend and girlfriend, former camp counselors, and seniors in college–and they’ve proposed a job share. How progressive! One will be here two days a week after school, the other three days. The young man plays baseball and I know my boys will love that come spring. While it’s not the traditional or typical arrangement, I think it will work out for us.

Finally, there’s the emotional adjustment that’s taking place. As working moms everywhere know, this is hard stuff. On the one hand it feels great to be back in an office, working with a team, and feeling part of something that’s bigger and more important than myself. On the other hand there’s the loss of freedom, the flexibility of self-employment, the ability to feel total control over my life and my schedule.

And that’s when it becomes crystal clear that motherhood is a series of phases. Nothing is forever and opportunities are what you make of them. At the end of the day, this is just another chapter in my life’s book.

Playing video games, oblivious to the squalor in the kitchen.

What? What did you think I was going to say?

On the drive back to the office I stewed, not about the video games (it was his lunch break) but about the kitchen. I felt my temperature start to rise as I recalled the crusty patches of dried oatmeal, the crumbs, the dirty dishes. I thought about all the times and ways I’ve tried to explain why a clean kitchen is important to me. I pictured my kids coming home to same said kitchen and sitting down at that disgusting countertop to do their homework.

Oh how I stewed.

But then, I read the status updates of friends, all mentioning prayers and thoughts for our friend Audrey McClelland and her husband Matt who was admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery last night. And I watched the video she posted this morning, giving us all an update on Matt’s surgery, and got a lot of perspective.

Last night, while I was watching my son and husband perform “Whip My Hair” on Dance Central 2, Audrey was sitting in a hospital worrying about her husband. And today, while I’m at work and my husband is happily playing video games or doing who knows what around my house, she’s probably back at the hospital by her husband’s side.

Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

So to my husband I say – I know you didn’t see it, but sorry I got a little crazy. But please try to keep the kitchen cleaner.

And to Audrey I say, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Thank you for the perspective, and the reminder to appreciate every moment. I will be sending healing thoughts Matt’s way.

While I haven’t had a lot of time for blogging, I have been taking a lot of pictures. And, I’m determined in 2012 to take more, especially with my new camera. (Have I mentioned that I love my new camera?). Because busy or not, a girl has to have an interest that isn’t her work, and isn’t her family.

I’m not trying to “be” a photographer – I just want to “be” a girl (yes, I said girl, sometimes that’s just how I feel) who can take a decent picture that captures the moment. But to keep me honest, I thought I’d share some of my favorite pics through something I’m going to call “Sunday Snapshots.” My goal will be to post a photo that captured the week, or at least a moment I want to remember.

I’d like to say the photos will always be great – the teacher from my Nikon class said “great photographers take plenty of bad photos. They just don’t share them.” But let’s face it, sometimes it’s a photo, like the one below, taken on your iPhone that captures the moment best.

I took this picture at a red light on our drive to school. The moment may not seem like much, until you remember that  last year our son was diagnosed with dyslexia. Since then we’ve put together a team of teachers, tutors and others to help him not only learn how to read, but to learn how to love reading.

On this morning, he jumped out of the car to get a book he forgot in our other vehicle, and then sat quietly.

Reading. Voluntarily. Happily.

In the meantime, with all the attention on Paula, we decided to look back into our recipe archives for a Paula Deen makeover recipe that we created last year.  The original recipe for Chicken Empanadas call for full-fat cream cheese and Colby cheese and a refrigerated pie crust. For our new recipe, we lighted things up and added two veggies: corn and red bell pepper. We also turned the recipe into kid-friendly hot pockets.

Chicken Empanada Hot Pockets
Makes 6 Servings

Paula’s original recipe has 610 calories, 40 grams total fat, and 20 grams of the bad saturated fat (about a day’s worth). It also has no fiber. We kept the flavors BIG, because after all, Paula Deen inspired the recipe! Serve our pockets with something green: Romaine lettuce salad, green beans, broccoli, asparagus.

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken (8 to 10 ounces cooked)
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (half a bell pepper)
3 ounces light cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons canned diced green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
One 16-ounce whole wheat pizza dough

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a large, rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place the chicken, Cheddar cheese, corn kernels, bell pepper, cream cheese, green chiles, cumin, and pepper in a large bowl and stir until well combined.

3. Place the oil in the center of the baking sheet. Roll the dough in the oil until it’s completely coated. Use your fingers to gently stretch the dough until it covers the entire baking sheet. Your pizza dough should resemble a large rectangle at this point. Use your fingers to pinch together any tears in the dough.

4. Spread the chicken mixture evenly over the wider bottom half of the crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Carefully fold the top part of the dough over the filling. Use a fork (tines facing towards you and away from the pizza) to press the edges together. Make three 1-inch cuts across the top to allow steam to escape.

5. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Slice into 6 stuffed pizza pocket pieces and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving (1 pocket): 410 calories, 13g fat (3.5g saturated), 480mg sodium, 41g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 36g protein, 15% calcium, 35% vitamin C, 15% vitamin A, 10% iron

Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RD and Liz Weiss, MS, RD are The Meal Makeover Moms, and together, they’re on a mission to help busy families eat better. For more recipes, check out their new cookbook, No Whine with Dinner. You can also read their blog, Meal Makeover Moms’ Kitchen or listen to their weekly podcast, Cooking with the Moms.

(I think the quest for tips is because you know you are about to spend a good amount of money, and you don’t want to miss a thing.)

Now, there is no question, that on all things Disney I am not an expert. And there are many sites, books, podcasts and videos dedicated to giving you the inside scoop on the house of mouse. But my husband and I did discover a few things we thought were worth recommending:

Shoes & Bags
As the saying goes – you can never have too many shoes . . . except in Disney. I brought four pairs – sneakers, heels, nice sandals and Tevas. Given the cool temperatures and the many, many, many miles walked, I could have lightened my load by packing just my sneakers and nice sandals (which are super comfortable).

Of course sneakers don’t have to mean athletic shoes – I wore a cute pair of plaid Airwalk sneakers from Payless.

With the heels, you can also leave your pocketbook and wallet at home. Instead, pack light (license and one or two credit cards) and bring a good backpack you are willing to wear everyday, because you’ll need it to carry hats, sweaters, wipes, camera. . . you get the idea. I’m always on the hunt for the “perfect” bag, and for this trip I may have found it in the Xhilaration® Grey Neon Backpack from Target. I used it as both my carry on, and for the parks.

"Smooshed" pennies

Collections
From pins and lanyards to “Vinylnation” characters, there are lots of things your kids are going to want to collect. May I suggest two inexpensive options – autographs and pressed pennies.

Our 6 year old filled her Disney autograph book ($14.95) with signatures from characters as well as various cast members (including the waiter from our Princess Dinner and the Pirate League make up artist). It took us a couple of days to realize the Disney app on Steve’s phone (more on that below) showed which characters were appearing at each park, allowing Sophie to maximize her efforts.

While our 9 year old wasn’t interested in collecting autographs, they were both hot to collect pressed pennies. Hidden in corners and secret spaces, each machine has a different selection of designs available, based on their location. To help us find the machines, which are not marked on the official Disney maps, I downloaded pdfs from ParkPennies.com. Each “smooshed coin” costs 51¢, so their collection of 20 coins was something I could happily sponsor.

As I said on the show, my plan is to have Steve make Sophie a pressed penny charm bracelet.

(You should know that I have a “no coins” rules, and never allow the kids to put coins into rides or vending machines, so the idea that I was letting them put coins into machines was a treat).

One of several family photos we had taken

Pictures & Disney PhotoPass
There are official Disney photographers throughout the park, which is helpful for families like ours where, as the family photographer, I am rarely seen in photos.

The first time you have your photo taken, you will be handed a Disney PhotoPass which you can give to other photographers each time they snap your picture. But don’t worry about rushing to the photo center before leaving the park – instead, open a free account at DisneyPhotoPass.com. With this account you can register each of the PhotoPass cards you receive, and review all photos that have been taken.

At the end of your vacation, you can review your photos and purchase any you may want. You can also choose to buy all the photos as a download for $149.95 (I went with this option because we had at least 10 photos  we wanted to purchase, at a cost of $14.95 each).

Before you buy all the photos, make sure EVERYTHING is loaded into your account. Right after I hit “purchase” I realized I hadn’t added the codes listed on the receipt from our daughter’s Princess Dinner. Good thing I had prints which I could scan at work. Oh, and make your purchase within 30 days, otherwise you can kiss the pictures goodbye.

Update: In a comment below someone mentioned they were given the wrong PhotoPass and lost some of their pictures. One way I kept track of our cards was to register them immediately through the site’s mobile-formatted interface. If I didn’t see our pictures appear within a timely manner (a few hours), I stopped at one of the photo spots to have our account checked. (Turns out sometimes the photos appear on the full site before they appear on the mobile site). Taking a picture of the card (as suggested below) is also a great idea.

Sophie doesn't seem so excited about the Tower of Terror

Ride Photos
After watching my family plummet down the Everest rollercoaster, we wanted to buy the photo as evidence of our daughter’s first big roller coaster.

Just as I was about to buy a 5×7 photo, which I didn’t really want because I load all our photos into iPhoto for our album, I noticed a small sign next to the cash register. Turned out I could save $2 and some space in my luggage, by ordering an electronic copy of my ride photo. And, it would be added to my same Disney PhotoPass account.

Food
I have good news – the food at Disney World does not suck. Which is a big change from the last time I visited. Selections at the walk up restaurants ranged from hamburgers and hot dogs to grilled veggie sandwiches and salads. The kid meals all came with bags of grapes and yogurt crush cups.

As for dinner – make reservations. Even on days when traffic in the parks was light, it seemed there was a line at every restaurant we went to at night. You can look for availability and make meal reservations online. The site is also mobile formatted so you can plan from your cellphone.

I want to be this Jedi when I grow up.

Free stuff
While we joked that we could hear a faint sucking sound throughout our vacation (that would be the sound of money leaving our wallet), there are several great activities available for free.

During the Jedi Training Academy, children ages 4 to 12 are invited to participate in the live show and learn how to “use the Force.” You need to get to Hollywood Studios early to sign your kids up (first come first serve), and don’t make the mistake we did – dad cannot run ahead. The kids need to be present when you sign them up. Details about show times and  where to sign up are on the daily schedule.

Sophie gets her orders from Kim Possible

While Anders rode rollercoasters with my brother, Sophie took charge of our group, leading us through several challenges as part of the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. Each adventure takes 30-45 minutes to complete, so you have to have some patience with the process, but Sophie loved it and tried to take the “Kimmunicator” home.

Speaking of free stuff  – After our first day, I noticed several people wearing “1st visit to Disney” buttons. Visiting the concierge at our hotel I was able to secure a button for Sophie, as well as “I’m celebrating” buttons for the rest of us. A few days later I returned to get “Family Reunion” buttons which I forced everyone to wear because, well, they were free.

Technology
Finally, technology was our best friend on this trip to Disney. Steve downloaded the Disney Mobile Magic app (it was free for Verizon Wireless customers) which helped us keep track of ride wait times, character appearances and dining options.

Update: There were some apps available for purchase through iTunes. If you aren’t in a “mixed marriage” (Verizon and AT&T) like I am, I would suggest spending a few dollars to get an app. We found it really helped.

While it was tempting to leave the cell phones at the hotel, text messaging was the easiest way to keep track of each other when we went our separate ways. Rather than making 4 phone calls, I would send one text to each member of our group with any plan changes or updates.

When you get home
My final tip is get the vacation photo album done right away. I started organizing the photos on the flight home (yes, I brought my Macbook Air with me) and ordered the album four days after we returned.

I’m sure if you are an experienced Disney go-er, I’m sure these tips may seem obvious. But honestly, I wish someone had told me some of these things.

(Readers – feel free to share your tips. Betcha’ you’ve got some good ones).

I told you it was cold in Florida! Remember on our podcast when you were confusing Disneyland with Disney World? I’ll never forget the year we went to Disney World in February for the Social Media Moms Celebration and it was 40 degrees and raining the entire time.

I still have the $70 fleece I purchased in some gift shop (we didn’t rent a car that year). What’s worse, I did not bring appropriate shoes. My feet, I remember, were freezing. There’s only one shoe to wear to Disney: sneakers. And the best time to go, in my humble opinion, is early April.

It’s true, I was snowed in for a day last week, but when I boarded my flight to NYC yesterday morning, it was pouring rain and 40. (Hmm, sounds strangely similar to that February trip to Orlando!). I’m here for a few days for work and must say, I just love this city.

Not much else going on here, except that Saturday was the one year anniversary of my ski accident. When I went to the mountain to pick up Tommy from ski brigades, I thought I might feel a pang of loss. I expected to feel a bit sad that I wasn’t skiing myself. Instead, I felt nothing. Not a single bit of regret. When I told that to Mike he looked completely deflated.

“Next year you’ll be back out there with us!” he said.

Like a kid at Disney, I just let him believe.

Enjoy the rest of your trip and safe travels home.

Hugs,
Erin

As my family enjoys a moment of peace before we head back out to the park for dinner in England, I wanted to say. . . Please don’t hate me.

I know it’s cold there and you have received a lot of snow. And the idea of a week away in the “happiest place on earth” sounds like a great way to get away. But to use one of your turns of phrase, “be ye not fooled” – this is no vacation.

The first few days were cold – not freezing, but cold enough that we were all wearing layers of clothing including tights under jeans, scarves and t-shirts – Judging from the attire of our fellow park-goers Disney was making a killing on sweatshirts and hoodies.

My feet are killing me! Despite the new cute sneakers I bought at Payless, my dogs are barking. That could be in part because I have spent the better part of this vacation chasing after my family, as evidenced by all the pictures of my husband’s back.

You won’t be surprised to hear that he is a man who believes in efficiency over experience. (Just think of the things we could apply that phrase to).

Standing on the Monorail platform Saturday night, watching my kids argue with each other and my husband fidget abut the amount of time we’d lost traveling back to the Magic Kingdom for the extended hours, I wanted to turn around and walk home.

Feeling better about your snow day?

Yes? Then you might want to stop here.

Because, of course, we’re having a wonderful time.

Hating. Her.

Seriously, we’ve received so little snow until now that I really can’t complain. And while I planned to do the commute today (and carpool with a colleague) neither of us could get very far as the snow was falling fast and furious during the morning commute, turning the NT Thruway into a parking lot. When the Thruway is bad there’s only one reasonable thing to do. Turn around and go home.

So, on to the subject of this post.

When you listen to this week’s show you’ll hear what happens when Kristin and I are in our most tired of states. I was so tired I couldn’t even lift a glass of wine and she had a long to-do list given it was the night before Sophie’s very first trip to Disney World.

The episode could be called random thoughts. We were all over the place.

At one point, I started explaining more about Odyssey of the Mind–having attended two team practices since last week’s episode–and I had a hilarious story I totally forgot to tell. One of the things they do in OTM is spontaneous problems. It might be as simple as going around the group and each kid provides a unique answer to a question. In one of our practices last week, the team was asked to give examples of things that carry other things. For example, a highway carries cars. Or a backpack carries books.

I could barely hold it together when one of the boys answered, “A fart carries stink!”

Kids will always tell it like it is.

Good thing we have the blog…

Anders: I wish fate hadn’t decided to move Tommy to New York.

Mommy: I don’t think it was fate. I think it was Mike.

Anders: Because he wanted Tommy and Brendan to live near his grandparents, like we do?

Mommy: Yes.

Anders: I can respect that.

Dear readers, you have to know that this is quite an adjustment for me. Not only am I no longer my own boss, but this is the first time since giving birth to Tommy over 9 years ago, that I have a 5-day a week, Monday through Friday job.

After Tommy was born, I returned to work at 80% of my salary in exchange for Fridays off. After Brendan was born I worked from home one day, had Fridays off and I think I left early on Wednesdays. It was a pretty sweet arrangement.

And yet I still quit my job to start my own business and teach at a local college.

I don’t regret that decision for one second. Owning my own business all these years has been incredible for me and my family. Let’s face it, I was able to spend more time with my kids than I would have otherwise. I was able to volunteer at school, make almost all of their important events, silly shows and more. I was also able to invest a lot of time in the care and nurturing of Manic Mommies.

Sparked partially by our move and partially by the realization that I’m not getting any younger, I decided this summer to consider working for someone else again. Running two businesses was getting tiresome and I felt like I was not learning anything new. I discussed all of this with my life coach and while it wasn’t the goal I had set for myself when we started working together, the job I ended up accepting just seemed to be the right opportunity at the right time.

Yes, it means driving quite a distance (66 miles one way on the NY Thruway), but it’s doable when compared to the thought of moving again. I would never even have considered this commute if my husband wasn’t working from home.

(By the way, that’s another reason I started thinking seriously about a new job. Do both parents need to be living and working in the same house all day, every day? How would you do with that long term?)

My new job is in higher ed and it’s an opportunity for me to learn a new industry. What’s more, I really think my skills and experience will be of value. My kids are adjusting just fine and they were absolutely thrilled to attend their first college basketball game this weekend.

So while I will have less time for things like blogging, Twitter and FB (can’t do any of those things while driving) Kristin and I are committed to keeping up the weekly podcast. If nothing else, you can be sure there will be many more manic moments in the weeks and months to come.