More free stuff

So, I joined a new My Magazine Sharing mission. This time was red, white and barbecue. I got a great box of barbecue related items with lots of coupons to share.  The Ranch Dressing and paper towels were the most useful in my house.  We go through those quickly. I'm still trying to figure out a good use for the Ritz Crackers. But, we're hitting the beach this weekend, so I think I might make some snacks with those and see how the kids take to them.  Wish me luck.

Dairy Free Greek Yogurt

So, I got another coupon for free dairy-free yogurt, Ripple, the other day, and with my adventures in trying to be dairy-free due to RA, I thought, great!  Finally a high-protein option.  I can't wait to give it a try.

Well, my first impression was not good, because normal plain greek yogurt has about 6g of sugars ... this one had 14g of sugars. So, it isn't starting out that great.

Then, sadly, just like all of the non-dairy protein powders (and I've tried pea, soy, and hemp) it was gritty and had a very harsh taste to it.  It tasted just like adding pea-protein powder to water and mixing it up.  It didn't taste anything like greek yogurt.

I was so disappointed.

Trying food and loving it

So, about a month ago, I decided that the poisons the doctors were giving me as medicine for RA wasn't going to cut it for me, and I am trying more natural options to see if anything will help.  I read that dairy causes inflammation, so I've cut dairy out of my diet.

So, here's where it gets worse.  I like to try out new things and write about it.  I got a coupon for free DEVOUR Buffalo Mac n Cheese.  It sounded so good. So, I bought it, knowing my family would love it while I was working late one night.

They tried it this week. And I was right. They loved it.

My husband added some microwaved broccoli to it and they all devoured it!  The added bonus that it was spicy so the kids drank all of their milk too!

I definitely recommend this one!  I just wish I could have tried it.

Returning to the job market is hard

So, the last I wrote about me, I was studying my behind off to try to get up to speed on all the new things that have come out in the development world in the last 6 years, since I've been home with the kids.  I worked every night, every nap time and twice a week while both kids were in school.  I studied my behind off (really, I have no butt now).  And, last week, I re-interviewed.  I think I did pretty well.  There was only one question that I answered incorrectly (and it was just there to trick me  [or teach me] anyways) and a couple that I fumbled a little bit with, but got it in the end.  My mock teaching, I think I did pretty well.  I did a lesson on the CSS box model and a lesson on SSL (that I wrote myself).  I didn't get flustered when I was asked questions and I think I handled myself very well.

But, after all that hard work, taking time away from my children so that I could nail this re-interview. They decided that they wouldn't be making me an offer.  They said I'm just not a good fit for their company.

I'm sitting here devastated.  I went down there and interacted with the staff. I thought we all got along well.  I thought I was a great fit for their company.  I want to teach, and they need instructors.  They need a woman instructor, and I'm a woman.  I just don't get it.  I don't know what I could have done different to change the outcome.  They didn't say I wasn't strong enough technically, or that I wasn't good as an instructor.  They said it was about ME as a person.  So, all that hard work, and they just didn't like ME.  I'm hurt. What is it that they didn't like about me?  How can I fix what I don't know is wrong?

So, my readers ... tell me.  What about my personality makes you not want to hire me?  Really?  I'm trying to make myself a better person, but I can't fix what I don't know is wrong.  Please help me.

Jade's 6th Birthday Party

So, a week after Maxwell's party, we were back at the YMCA for Jade's 6th birthday!  She wanted an adventure party, so I had a little bit more work to get this one right for her, but in the end, she loved it, her friends seemed to have a good time, so I think it was a success.

We again used the local YMCA and decided to follow a similar schedule as last weekend, since it went so well. So, we had the pizza, cheese ball and drinks ready when everyone arrived.  Everyone came in and chatted and ate pizza for a little while.  Then, it was scavenger hunt time.  I did 6 clues and tried to make them easy enough where kindergarteners wouldn't have to ask for too much help.  The first clue I just handed them.    On the bottom of each clue there was a letter or two to be used later.

"If you’re in a hungry mood, go here first and find some food."

The next clue was found next to the pizza boxes.  "Go to the place that doesn’t match."  Underneath the words there was a picture of a tennis court, a garden, a forest path and a desert.  

The next clue was found on the tennis court.  "Solve the puzzle to find the next clue."  Underneath the words were pictures of a basket and a beach ball.  

The next clue was found on the basketball court.  "Cross off all the letters in the word GUM.  The remaining word will be the location of the next clue."  Below that was a grid of letters.  When all instances of G-U-M were removed, it spelled "STAIRS TO POOL".

The next clue was found on the stairs. "Your next clue can be found on the door to a place where you wash your hands. " 

The next clue was found on the door to the bathroom.  "Use the letters from your clues to determine where the treasure is."  When they gathered up all of their clues and set them out in a row, it spelled "UPSTAIRS".  They all ran upstairs to find the treasure!  

For the treasure, I used valentine treat bags and put 2 pieces of candy in each one.

After that it was cupcake time!  Jade wanted strawberry, so I made a strawberry angel cupcake with a white frosting.  I made a few extra with chocolate frosting because I knew that would be delicious.

For the favors for this party, I got little notebooks and I decorated each one with the guest's name and some cute star stickers.  And, each guest received a pen to write in their book with.

After cupcake time was finished, we ventured up to the bounce house.  Jade wasn't having much fun in the bounce house, so our awesome staff at the YMCA set up the gymnastics mats in the racquetball court, so there would be some more fun to be had.  In the end, she had a blast and loved every  minute of her party.

For decorations, I again went simple.  I bought a single balloon (that I let her pick out) and made a banner that said "Happy 6th Birthday Jade" with her picture on each end and hung it on the window.

The awesome banner made by my Mom was hung over the present table.

 I survived another year of world-wind birthday parties and I have two very happy kids, so I'm a happy Mom!

Maxwell's 3rd Birthday Party

Well, I did it!  I made it through Christmas and managed to pull off the kids' birthday parties.  First, Let me talk about Maxwell's.  He was turning 3, so we did a "balls" party.  We had it at the local YMCA (which was amazing).

Of course, 3 days before his party, I was notified of a scheduling conflict at the YMCA, so we had to rearrange our schedule.  But, luckily everything worked out great.  Instead of playing first, we ate first and then played once the other group was finished with that area.

The staff at the YMCA was amazing!  They went out of their way to make sure everything was taken care of and we were happy.  I would definitely recommend them, if you live in the San Antonio area.

So, Maxwell loves chocolate, so I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting for him.  They also had a peanut butter filling.  I know that not everyone likes so much chocolate, so I made a few with a white frosting.  Then, I decorated them with a soccer ball ring.  They were delicious.  Unfortunately, the kids were scared by the peanut butter filling, so I've learned for kids parties, skip the filling next time.

For favors, I bought water bottles (sport themed, right?).  And I decorated each one with the name of his friend and some ball stickers!  And, the tag said "Thank you for celebrating Maxwell's 3rd birthday!  We had a ball!"  I also made sure that there were plenty for siblings to take a bottle home too, although siblings didn't get their name on theirs.

For decorations, I bought one birthday balloon to put on Maxwell's chair and then I made a banner that said Happy 3rd Birthday Maxwell, and it had a picture of him on each side.  I hung that one on the window.  And, last minute, my Mom decided to make him one of her famously awesome birthday signs.  That one is picture below and was hung over the present table.  Lastly, I made an "about Maxwell" sign and hung that over the cake/favor table.

When the kids arrived, we had pizza, water, juice boxes, and cheese ball with chips and veggies. We also had coloring pages and crayons so his friends could color him a picture.  After food, coloring and cake, we went up and had a blast in the bounce castle.

Everyone had a wonderful time, most importantly, Maxwell did.  He was so excited to celebrate with all of his friends.

How to make a busy month even busier

Everyone knows that December is one of the busiest months for just about everyone, especially mothers.  Well, I figured out a way to make it even busier.

To start December, I had a job interview for a really promising job ... one that I could see myself enjoy.  Well, the phone interview went well, so they asked me to do a code challenge, using a language and framework that I had never used before, and turn it around in 7-10 days.  This all happened while my husband was out of town for work, so I was single parenting for a week.

So, for the first 2 nights after putting the kids to bed, I taught myself PHP.  Then, the next 2 nights, I reviewed Laravel examples to learn the framework.  Then, the next 2 nights I tried to get an environment set up to start my project. So, 6 days out of the 7-10 gone, and I hadn't even started the project.  But, I got a working environment, and I got to work.  In one day (nap time and then bed time), I got a working project done.  It was perfect, but it worked and did the job, and I turned it in.

The next day, I got a request to come in for a code review.  So, I made arrangements to go down to the office and met with them to go over what I did.  On my way home, I got an email requesting a technical interview (a 5 hour adventure).

So, I made arrangements for me to do that next.  I studied what I could and I went down.  Well, I didn't do very well, but I was given a neat opportunity to re-interview in another month.

So, that was my first 2 weeks of December.  So, Christmas cards hadn't been addressed or sent out yet. Present weren't finished.  And, my children's January birthday parties hadn't been prepared for.  So, over the next week, I scrambled and got all 125 Christmas cards addressed.  I got the birthday invitations made and sent out.  I got all of the Christmas presents bought and mailed.  And, I have started putting together everything I need for their birthday parties.

I still don't have all of the Christmas presents wrapped, but I'm close.  I still have 2 days to get it all done.  I'm freaking out about the birthday parties, but I think they both will understand if they aren't perfect parties.  They will love whatever I put together for them.