Working Mom

I am a working mom, once again. Mixed feelings. I actually got the new job! It's been pretty good but SO busy. The learning curve is steep and I barely have time to take a lunch everyday. The change of work and work environment is good and I'm so happy that I decided to take that leap. I went from public practice into education; I am a business manager at a school. Going back to school has been interesting. It's kind of funny seeing the students and reminiscing about how I was like when I was their age.

I actually went back to work a month early before my mat leave ended since that was when the job was required to start. The trade off is that I don't have to worry about working crazy overtime hours any more. I mean, I still put in extra hours every day, but nothing like working in a firm. 

But anyway, Son #2 turned 1 last week! The time has flown by and of course it always makes me wonder if I made the right choice to go back to work. Son #1 really likes his dayhome and has a buddy to play with. His colouring skills have improved vastly (from uninterested dots/sparse lines to actually scribbling somewhat within the lines - yay!) and he plays so hard that he sleeps in his own room for nearly the whole night. Son #2 is with Grandma and Grandpa during the day so he's being loved but it's really hard to leave him when he's still so young. I'm still nursing him a few times a day and make sure to do so before I leave to work and then I give him a nice cuddle before putting him back in his crib. I'm grateful that I could spend at least eleven months at home with maternity pay from the government, compared to the three months that my friends get in the US. I think if we could, I would stay home with the boys until they were both in school but for now, I need to work.

I hope I can update on a more regular basis but the pace of my new job has left me exhausted! I love to cook and bake but even those are becoming somewhat cumbersome tasks. We've been eating far too much pizza and the odd McDonald's (there's one too close to our house). I should really start doing some more meal planning. Now that the weather is becoming cooler, maybe I should pull out the slow cooker more often!

Not Being Wasteful

With so many blogs on the Internet, I find it hard to come up with an original idea. I mean, I come up with an idea that I think it so brilliant, say, a recipe, only to do a quick Google search and find that many other people have already thought of it!

I thought of Cookinotti with pretzels. Already done. Cookinotti mixed in with Rice Krispies squares. Already done. Fine. So I made Cookinotti Rice Krispies squares topped with crushed peanut butter filled pretzels and then drizzled them with chocolates. Muhaha. I showed them. Dialing wand to continue typing on my laptop has been ordered

I often look for new recipes or try to think of things to bake if I have an overabundance of an ingredient or two. Last week I had a carton of whipping cream to use up so I was thinking of making Japanese style spaghetti carbonara but then decided to make some apple cinnamon scones topped with maple sugar. I hate throwing out food throwing out food that's gone bad so I always try to make sure that I use it up while it's still good.

One thing that was starting to accumulate was those garlic butter sauce discs from Papa John's pizza. The first time I tried it, I thought it was pretty disgusting but if I limit the amount that I dip with my crust, it's not too bad. But we always end up with a lot of unopened ones leftover. So I added some to mashed potatoes instead of using butter. Mmmmm. Then I added it to some stir fried seafood (squid, prawns, scallops, mussels). Mmmmm. I mean, it's not the best thing for you but it makes a nice addition to a dish once in a while.

I went for a second interview last week. This time it started off with a 30 minute test followed by a 30 minute interview with FIVE people. Well, it was supposed to be a 30 minute interview. I think the adrenaline, nervousness, crazies induced by sleep deprivation, caffeine all kicked in and the question and answer period was done in 15 minutes. Ummm is that a good thing or a bad thing? I guess I talk fast when I'm nervous. Dang. I wasn't even going to apply for this job in the first place but the competitive side of me wants it so bad now that I've gone through the second round. I'm still hoping to talk to the partners at my current work about being able to go back to work with reduced hours but I'll hold off until after I find out if I get this new job or not. I still technically have over three months left in my maternity leave so I have some time. The bad thing about the new job is that it starts mid August so I would be cutting my maternity leave short by a month, meaning one less month to spend at home with my boys. I guess it would be better to go back a month early than to potentially have to go back to my old job full time plus super overtime during tax season. Ugh. I can't go back to my old job.

Unclean Eating

So I was checking out unadvertised Costco Canada deals when I noticed two jars of Cookinotti on clearance for $4.97. Cookinotti? What's that? Could it finally be that we could purchase something that might be like Trader Joe's Cookie Butter? I gave a list to Husband of things to buy. When he brought it home, I immediately opened the jar and ate a spoonful. Mmmm just like I remembered. Then I remembered that I still had a jar of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter in my cupboard with only a little bit left. I think I was trying to ration it in case I had a Cookie Butter emergency. I had purchased it in December and forgot about it. Luckily it wasn't expired. Who am I kidding though? I would have still ate it if it was expired. I had to do a taste test. One spoon of Cookinotti followed by a spoon of Cookie Butter. I couldn't tell the difference. I mean, I'm not a Speculoos cookie connoisseur or anything but it tasted the same to me. I can't remember how much I paid for the Cookie Butter from the Trader Joe's in Seattle, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't two jars for $4.97.

Now I'm trying to fight the urge and stock up. I'm already thinking that I should give the other jar away. If you Google Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, you can read all sorts of things about how addicting it is. To be honest, I didn't even think it was THAT great the first time I ate it. I still think it's just okay but for some reason it's so addicting. I tried it on ice cream and on bread, but I think the best way to have it is straight up on a spoon. I even had it spread on a Speculoos cookie. Speculoos with Speculoos Cookie Butter. Why? I don't know, I thought the Butter needed some crunch?

So now I'm going to Costco tomorrow to buy some other things that I missed and will have to fight the urge to buy more Cookinotti for myself and for my cousin who is just as addicted as I am but doesn't think I should buy it either.

On a side note, Husband and I went on our first date in a looooong time and I noticed that some of my clothes were a bit looser thanks to the two spin classes and one Group Power (weights) class that I took in the last week. Oh and the weather has finally warmed up so we've been going on a few evening walks. Okay, no Cookinotti. Maybe.