Real Tech Mom

So I’m not a baker, I never claimed to be. I can cook but I hate baking.  But each year i told myself that I would make a cake for my son, and this year it started out with me thinking to do a character from Monster’s Inc.

I was googleing different options for this cake and found this:

I mean how cool is that? And for a while i fooled myself to think I would want to do this.  But, I chose something else.

My son has a great appetite, and is in love with:

So I decided to make cupcakes of cookie monster, and they turned out well, but OMG i made 48 of them!  Was a bit insane on my part.

Over all he had a great time!  For those of you who’ve thrown birthday parties for your kids, you know how exhausting these things are, and we only had kids/people for 3 hours.. man did i need a big dose of Advil after that.  At least I only have one to worry about!

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I became a mother.   Wow, what did I get myself into, were probably my first thoughts after the first week of coming home but that’s another story.

2 years ago, my water broke at 7:30 P.M. in prenatal class… for that story click here.

Last year I made his creepy elmo cake and this year I intend to make cookie monster cupcakes… i’ll show them if they’re decent on Saturday.

Things that happened in this past year:

• Walking: he was a bigger kid and didn’t walk until May 10th when I was at my hair dresser appointment. go figure he waits until i’m not there to start walking.
• Talking: first words: Dad, Cat and probably the funniest transition to words like Sha for glasses and No for yes, with the recent transition to No, Si .
• TV/Movies him laughing and paying attention to movies.
• Getting dressed: he helps put on his clothes now, and still hates getting his diaper changed.
• Putting words together and having likes and dislikes, it might be as simple as mommy and gome means he wants me to take him home.
• Playing a harmonica
• Saying MOMMY! it only took 18 months

Most of all,  how much of a person he’s turned into. That he laughs and tries to make us happy if we pretend to cry.

While I’ve never been more tired in my life, it’s so worth it. He is such an amazing addition to my life.  I never imagined the rollercoaster of emotions and the intensity of love I could feel for our son.

I’m so blessed to have become a mother, to those of you who are about to be moms. you will learn more then you’ve ever thought possible, you’ll find what works and what doesn’t. To those new moms, the beginning is the hardest thing I’ve ever done but it does get easier and honestly  you will appreciate the good times much more after the hard times

So to Dominic, happy birthday, you are the light and love of my life and you make me a better person. The sky is the limit, I only hope to help you want to reach it.

Love Mom and Dad.

–Please help all those affected by the Chilean earthquake.

www.redcross.ca

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Oh the Olympics. You know I must admit, I love watching our Country win.  Never have I felt more proud to be Canadian-aside from the opening ceremonies.

Here is a shot of the medal standings as of Feb 26 2010:

There has been a big controversy about Canada owning the podium, but honestly looking at the medals. we’ve got the most gold medals. Isn’t that owning the podium?  And if that’s not technical enough,the podiums were made in Canada, so we own them anyways!

I’m so excited to see Canada and the USA battle over hockey this Sunday!

As much as I love a lot of my American friends.If. and I mean if you beat us, we can’t be friends anymore.

This is our sport.He shoots, he scores!!!!

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Breaking up with a significant other is hard, breaking up with your boss when you quit can kind of feel the same.

You know when you try to break up with someone you don’t want to hurt them, lead them on or make them feel bad. At least not in healthy relationships. Recently I left my job at a company I helped start. In every sense of the word, it was a break up. I was breaking up with my boss.  But what I will do is state simply I left for a new opportunity that enables me to grow professionally. How does that sound for impersonal professional?

When I was preparing my “we need to talk” speech in my head, it reminded me much like breaking up with an old boyfriend. Some points I will mention:

• I wanted to go somewhere public in case he had a melt down, that way if he yelled and freaked out, I’d be surrounded by strangers people.
• I didn’t tell him where I was going to, much like you never tell the ex, there is a new little somethin’ somethin’ or if you do, you don’t say who.
• I wanted to not make it an angry goodbye , or point out faults as to why I was leaving but said rather, it’s not you it’s me (remember personal growth right?)
• And lastly, I packed up all of my things before I broke the news, in case I was subject to verbal abuse. Much like you get all of your stuff before you break the news to your soon to be ex-partner.

I am happy to report that it went better then expected. Kind of like, “No. No. Really? I’ll give you more money.” But at this point and most of my career at this company it wasn’t about the money.  I have to say, I loved what I did as a recruiter.  I loved helping people find jobs that they wouldn’t have had the chance to find other wise. But nothing can last forever. It was time for me to move on and make a change.

Some points to remember when leaving your job; especially if it’s a small company. When you give notice, it’s not the time to point out faults in the owner and the business, that is what an exit interview is for (if you get one.) Remember the things you’ve learned from the company, and from the job. Remember the person who hired you and who gave you an opportunity to grow with the company. And lastly remember that you should NEVER ever burn any bridges. Even if you never want to cross them again.

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I got this from a friend of mine via email, thanks Daniela!

An Obituary printed in the London Times – Interesting and sadly rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn’t always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone

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Let me keep you up to date as to why i’m writing this.

Almost one year ago I wrote a post questioning what on earth Emo’s and Cutter’s were and I’ve been enlightened, OVER and OVER again.  For some reason my mommy blog has been bombarded by people (each in their own way) telling me the difference between the two. I get it.

Now I understand teenage years are full of angst but suicidebaby69 and hardcoreemo stop trying to comment on how your definition is right.  I’ve approved most of the comments and deleted the plain dumb ones. Your voice has been heard.

I’m not deminishing the pain and angst young people today feel, nor am i condoning cutting yourself. If you feel compelled to cut yourself to feel better, GET HELP.  There is always a better way to deal with your pain.

In saying that, I will NO longer be accepting comments on the previous blog post. Create a blog dedicated to cutting or emo lifestyle if you want your voice heard.

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Well my friends if you’ve missed part one, you might want to check it out. Even if you are not looking for a job you probably know someone who is. So please help them out!

Your email address is dumb

It may have been ok while you were in high school but having an email address like (and these are just made up but I’m sure they exist): hotsexychick, dome69, youknowyouwantit, lovingbaby,babygurl, sexystud6969696969.. is immature and makes you look unprofessional!

I can’t tell you how often you can tell the age of someone who is applying or even more shockingly how often your resume will be BLOCKED and sent to junk and/or spam mail.  Firewalls are hypersensitve these days and will block anything that looks sexual. And come on hotsexychick, do you think the HR person really wants to interview you for a professional position when that is your email address, answer: no.

You have type and handwriting on your resume

Do one or the other, but do not do both!  And really unless you’ve got amazing penmanship and the advertisement is asking you to hand write something, type it up. But really most people want resumes emailed so they can reference them later.

Your cover letter is wrong

There are many things you can do wrong with your cover letter:

1) The name of the company is wrong

2) The name of the hiring manager is wrong

3) You make spelling mistakes

4) You don’t highlight your qualifications if they ask you to

If an ad tells you to specifically explain why you meet the qualifications on your cover letter, then DO IT! If they tell you to put your salary expectations on there DO IT!

You were gender specific

You assume the hiring manager is a man.  I cannot tell you how many resumes I get addressed as Sir all the time in emails, resumes and cover letters. I even get people calling me Eric, when my email address is ErinC.  No better way then to make someone despise you!

Too many big words, not enough results

You can say all you want that you are detail oriented, that you are the number one performer in customer service/sales.  I want to know WHY  you are detail oriented, how can you back that up. I also want to know what made you the number one performer in customer service/sales.  Details really makes me pay attention to you more.

You’re condescending

When you phone into the company do not assume that you are only speaking to the receptionist. AND for that matter if you are rude to the receptionist you need to get an attitude check. She can choose to forward you off to the right or wrong person. She works very hard at the face of the company.  She also talks to many of the hiring managers, and most often they love her.. be nice!  Oh and as a side note the receptionist may be a man, so there is no discrimination from me.

But above all, be sensitive to the situation, proof your resume and cover letter and do not ASSUME… because, and yes I’ll say it you’ll make an ass out of YOU, not me.

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