It was a Wednesday.

Wednesday meant I had a 9:00 class and 9:00 classes make for rushed mornings—with showers, breakfast, lunches, and school for the kiddo—and little time to do anything before class in an effort to get there with a few minutes to spare. So I was off to a difficult start.

When I opened my laptop to take attendance during my morning class it was was completely unresponsive. Just a black screen and a refusal to greet me with its warm comforting glow despite my efforts to revive it.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Turns out I had a blown graphics processor and while I was able to retrieve my hard drive and get all of my holycrapIdidn’tbackthoseupyet files, my laptop was inoperable. Spectacular.

And because I now had no laptop, I missed an email regarding a meeting I needed to be at that afternoon.

A meeting that would make my broken laptop look like a broken fingernail.

I ended up in that meeting 2 hours after it was scheduled and it was there that I found out I was losing the job I had been at for nearly 13 years.

Fuck.

Needless to say my emotionally unstable self cried hard in that meeting. And after that meeting. And in front of my students at the class I had that evening.

It was ugly.

I was stunned. I had a feeling the meeting wasn’t going to be necessarily sunshine and unicorns but I was not expecting to lose my job and all that came with it like insurance for the kids, Josh, and myself.

I needed to process what just happened.

There was no way I could teach my class that night.

I’m so thankful that class was an upper-level course comprised of a small group of women that had me as an instructor multiple times in the past. When they saw me cry as I told them I would get them started in the lab but had to go due to a personal issue, they that didn’t look at me like I was some sort of freak. Instead they stood up one after another and hugged me.

That may have made it even harder.

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been finishing out the quarter knowing I would soon be unemployed from a job that was so much more than just a job. It was my career and the people within that institution had become family. I kept that my notice of unemployment to myself with the exception of a few family and friends. Sure, people knew—I was not the only one to find out that day they were getting laid off—and word travels fast but I chose not to publicly share my fate. I didn’t tell my students since finals week was just days away and I wanted them to keep their minds focused on the their present task at hand not my future.

May 3rd was my official last day.

I have no idea what is next.

I’m both exhilarated and terrified.

The ham to my cheese.

Dear Josh,

Ten years ago today we exchanged vows and started our life together as husband and wife. I’m in awe that it has been a decade already. It hardly seems possible. And yet, here we are celebrating 10 years of marriage together.

Thank you for saying I do.

Our life has not been perfect—and some days it has been a real bitch—but having my best friend by my side through the bad as well as the good has made those rough times easier.

Thank you for laughing and crying with me.

So many of my favorite moments involve you.

 Our trip to Myrtle Beach in ’97 long before “intimate” was part of the vocabulary of “us”.

Our wedding. It was magical and amazing and personal and perfect. Right down to the very last song.

 Jamaica. Sunrises. Rum drinks. Beaches. So much food. Some day we will do it again.

Buying and fixing up our first home. It may not be our forever home but is our home of so many firsts. Moving will be bittersweet.

Becoming parents. The first time and the second. I cannot even put in to words how amazing this has been. Being a mom to our two boys is really my favorite thing in the world. Having you as their father? Perfection.

These are the big ones. The forever in my heart ones. But they are far from the only ones. The tiny everyday memories that make up our life together are just as important to me.

Making sushi together.

Waking up each morning with you, me, both the kids, and the cat in the same bed.

Trips to the zoo, the museum, the parks.

Sitting in the backyard with a cup of coffee on a chilly spring morning. Or with a beer on a warm summer night.

Road trips. Bike rides. Family walks.

No matter what we do together or where life takes us, you will always be the one I want to do it with.

Happy tenth anniversary, Josh. You mean the world to me.

Love,

Holly

]]> http://artistmotherteacher.com/ten/feed/ 3 http://artistmotherteacher.com/dark-chocolate-chip-cheesecake-cupcakes/ http://artistmotherteacher.com/dark-chocolate-chip-cheesecake-cupcakes/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2013 02:51:13 +0000 Holly {Artist Mother Teacher} http://artistmotherteacher.com/?p=3534

You guys,  these cupcakes are ridiculous. Just sitting here writing about them makes me want to run to the kitchen and whip up another batch. They may be one of the best treats I’ve ever made. And I’ve made a lot of treats.   For this recipe I used a dark chocolate fudge cake mix and cream cheese frosting but you could mix flavors up to your liking. The star of this show is the cheesecake center. Creamy. Speckled with dark chocolate chips. Divine.

How can you say no to this?

And the best part is that they look really fancy but they aren’t hard to make at all. I promise.

Enjoy!

It’s not uncommon to find a box or two of cake mix sitting on our pantry shelves any time of year. Cake mixes often go on sale for about a dollar each at the grocery store we shop at and in my opinion you don’t need a special occasion to eat cake.

But sometimes baking a cake—even with a mix—is more effort than I feel like making. So on a recent quest for something chocolate I decided to try something a little different with the box of Devil’s Food cake mix we had on the shelf. Cupcakes be damned. We’re making cookies.

Cookies.

Chewy, easy,  4-ingredient, chocolate cookies.

They didn’t last long.

Some might call it an addiction.

I cannot deny that logic.

I kind of—okay definitely—addicted to wearing my baby. So much so that I regret not discovering the wonders of babywearing when G-tot was a baby. Thankfully I discovered how much I love it while Huggy Baby is still small. Even better is that Huggy Baby loves to be worn.

Double Hammock in a Hoppediz Chicago woven wrap

What I love so much about babywearing is the sense of closeness and security I feel with having my baby so close to me. Chest-to-chest and close enough to kiss is perfect for sweet baby snuggles. High on my back in a double hammock and he can see the world from my point of view and still snuggle up against me. Plus, when you wear your baby you don’t have to worry about finagling a stroller through crowds and tight spots or up and down stairs. At the park a few weeks ago Huggy Baby and I would have been stuck on the shore instead of skipping stones and exploring the dried up spots of the Maumee River with Josh and G-tot had we not been babywearing.

Exploring the Metroparks

At the zoo

See, babywearing brings families together. Plus, the different carriers seem to come with sleepy dust. Huggy Baby is so comfy when he is worn that he falls asleep almost every single time. It’s magical.

Sleepy Dust in woven wraps

It started with the Moby wrap which I wore sporadically for the first six months or so of Huggy Baby’s life. It was great but I knew I was barely scratching the surface of babywearing with it. Little did I know just how many options were out there when it comes to babywearing. Mei Tais. Woven wraps. Podageis. Wrap conversions. Ring Slings. Soft structured carriers.

WAHM WC Mei Tai (left) & GMBB gauze wrap (right)

And then there are all the different types of carries you can do depending on the type/size/length of carrier you are using. Front cross carry. Poppins hip carry. Double hammock back carry. It goes on and on.

Like I said, I LOVE it.

I even belong to a handful of babywearing groups on Facebook (and on the internet in general) these days. These groups have been a valuable resource when it comes to learning about babywearing. Sure, it takes a minute or two to learn all the different acronyms for the carriers and carries I mentioned above. But no worries, the ladies in these groups are fabulous. So many of them are fiercely passionate about babywearing and are more than willing to share their knowledge with newbies and seasoned babywearers alike.

Front wrap cross carry (left) & Rucking the big guy (right) in Girasol's Fire Rainbow woven wrap

And although I’m far from a seasoned baby wearer, I even made a little YouTube video on how to do a FWCC for a colleague who babywearing curious thanks to the influx of photos I’ve posted on Facebook.

Do you have any experience babywearing? Do you have questions about babywearing? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

There must be fifty filets to leave your lover…

Yes I know it’s coy. And 50 ways. It’s a pun folks. A very bad pun.

I just wanted to share the photo and figured I should write something.

I feel like I owe my boobs an apology.

They have been work horses for years and I’ve provided them with very little support.

Literally.

When I was nursing my first son I knew nothing about good quality nursing bras. All I really knew was that my boobs were bigger and I needed something that would allow easy access for my sweet nursing baby. Regular bras were not going to cut it for very long. It is really awkward to try to get your breast out of a regular bra in an attempt to nurse your child. And not wearing a bra at all is definitely not an option for me. So weeks after G-tot was born—with breastfeeding firmly happening and working out well for the two of us—I went to buy nursing bras.

I was completely clueless. I had no idea what size I really needed. My budget was limited. I was a tired and probably a bit overwhelmed by the fact that I was a first time mom. Somehow I ended up with were two nursing bras that came in an ultra-generic size “large”.

They were the worst bras ever.

But I wore them for 17 long months.

My poor boobs.

When I had Huggy Baby I was determined to get better bras and burn the unsupportive rags I had with G-tot. Months went by and I still had nothing. At home I would wear my maternity tank tops just to avoid having to wear one of those bras already in my possession.

Then the marvelous folks at Leading Lady swooped in and saved my poor unsupported hard-working boobs with their fantastic bras. With their Find Your Fit assistant I was able to get a few nursing bras in my size with underwires, good shoulder straps and glorious support!

Not only are they supportive and in MY size—I mean seriously, what was I thinking buying a bra in a large?—they are pretty. The Black Lace-cup is totally sexy which is a huge bonus in a nursing bra. The square neck nursing bra cami would be perfect for summer. And I absolutely love the little printed pattern on the Baby Sees It bra.

I feel like these bras were kind of an “I’m Sorry/Thank You” gift to my boobs from me. They have been nothing but amazing when it comes to me having the opportunity to breastfeed my children. My boobs deserved better nursing bras .

And they finally have them.

Now I just need to grab some lighter fluid and burn those old bras.

*Disclosure: Leading Lady provided me with nursing bra samples. All opinions are mine.

I made a third batch last night.

I cannot stop eating these cookies. The fact that they take less than 10 minutes to make doesn’t help the situation.

There are tons of variations on this basic recipe for No Bakes and this is no exception. My brother-in-law passed his recipe along to me with a follow-up message of modifications. I started with that recipe and altered it slightly in the three batches I’ve made to suit my needs. I use old fashioned oatmeal and natural peanut butter—both affect the consistency and timing of the recipe. The key is finding the right amount of oats so your cookie is not too dry or too wet to hold its shape. Humidity levels will affect this so keep that in mind when making these tasty treats. You may need a few more or less tablespoons of oats depending on your climate.

The recipe below is my current incarnation and is ridiculously delicious. I should probably padlock the Tupperware dish so I don’t eat them all in one sitting.

Oh, and make sure you eat the last bite out of the pan with a spoon while it is still warm. Trust me, you will not be sorry.

No Bake Cookies
makes 24–30 cookies

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup cocoa
4 tablespoons butter (heavy 1/4 cup—probably an extra TB full of PB)
2 1/4 cup oatmeal*
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup peanut butter
pinch of salt

Directions

1. Combine sugar, milk, cocoa, and butter in a medium saucepan and bring to a rolling boil stirring often.
2. Boil for one minute.
3. Turn off the heat and add oatmeal, vanilla, peanut butter, and salt. Mix well.*
4. Drop teaspoonful size cookies onto wax paper and cool.

Enjoy!

*You can use quick cook oats or old-fashioned oats. I use old-fashioned oats and allow the mixture to sit in the pan for 3 minutes before dropping the cookies onto the wax paper. If using quick cook oats you and mix and drop right away.

When I think of Busytown, I always think book pages filled with animals driving crazy cars throughout a town flanked with words describing what we are seeing.

Inhabited by anthropomorphic animal characters including Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, Hilda Hippo, Bananas Gorilla and many others, Busytown is world full of learning opportunities.

Library.
Table.
Chair.
Book.
Paper.
Pencil.

From large to small it is there in Busytown, a fictional town created by long time children’s author Richard Scarry.

My husband and I grew up reading and learning with Richard Scarry’s animal friends. When G-tot turned two, we bought him a huge Richard Scarry book so he could have that same great experience of discovering new words and learning new things in Busytown.

Needless to say, we are big fans of Busytown in this house. We read the books. We watch the shows. We play with the toys.

And YOU have a chance to win a great prize pack and play with Richard Scarry’s Busytown toys too!

Richard Scarry’s Busytown Toys – Great Easter Basket stuffers.
Welcome to Richard Scarry’s Busytown!  It’s the liveliest, funniest, busiest town around!  Based on Richard Scarry’s classic books enjoyed by generations of families, children would love to be surprised by an Easter basket filled with a Richard Scarry’s Busytown vehicle pack, figure pack or mini plush.  These vehicle and figure packs are compatible with most wooden railway track play systems.  A comprehensive Richard Scarry’s Busytown play system is available, too, so kids can collect them all or build a Busytown all their own!  These toys are available at Toys”R”Us stores nationwide or online at ToysRUs.com.
Ages 3+

One (1) winner will receive:
An Easter Basket filled with a surprise selection of 8 products from the Busytown Easter Gift Picks including:

• 1 Busytown Small Vehicle Pack
• 1 Busytown 2-pack Figure
• 1 Busytown Mini Plush
• 1 Roadway Starter Kit

Want a chance to win?

Of course you do.

Leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win this fantastic Busytown prize pack.
Let me know which Richard Scarry character holds a place near and dear to your heart.
Pontificate about why Mr. Frumble drives a pickle car.
Or just tell me you want to win.

Want a second chance to win? ‘Like’ Richard Scarry’s Busytown on Facebook (leave a separate comment on this post to let me know you did).

Giveaway will run until 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, April 4th. Winner will be chosen by random number generator and notified via email.

Disclosure: I was provided a set of Richard Scarry Busytown toys to review and offer a giveaway on my site. Opinions are my own.

UPDATE, 4.5.12: Winner by random number generator (and excluding my replies) is comment #15—Nanette. Congrats, Nanette!

Seriously.

This face.

I can hardly stand it.

The cute. It burns.