I've Moved!

Multitasking Mommy has moved from Blogger to Wordpress! My URL remains the same http://www.multitaskingmommy.com, but if you are following this blog through Google, you won't see any new posts.

See you over at the new site!

I Should Know Better...

I should know better. I'm a self-proclaimed finance and personal budgeting expert, and yet I made a rookie mistake. I stopped at Circuit City during the liquidation sale, bought more than I needed, and didn't even really get a deal.

I love technology. Love it. I could spend all day at Best Buy and the Apple Store. My husband needed a GPS (yes, NEEDED - despite growing up outside of Boston and living here almost his whole life, he regularly gets lost), and we figured it would be the best place to go. I also wanted to try to get a deal on a headphone/microphone set for using Skype on my Mac, since I was participating in a roundtable during Lou's WDW Radio Show.

A few weeks ago, we headed to a very crowded Circuit City. As an aside, my local Circuit City smells like BO. It isn't a liquidation sale thing, it's always smelled like BO. You know, the kind of BO that causes everyone who walks through the doors to discretely sniff their own armpits.

Anyway, once we entered the front doors, my husband and I split up to shop. As I entered the front door, I was already bored with looking for my Skype headset, as I saw the shiny new technology with huge 20%/30%/40% off signs. Right away, my no spend challenge was out the door. Then, I saw a Sony voice recorder. And, I needed it. Because interviews! I conduct interviews and I should record them! And OMGpodcastsIshouldtotallydoapodcastifonlyIhadavoicerecorder! So I scooped it up. Then, I headed to the PC peripherals to find the one headset that was actually labeled compatable with a Mac.

My husband found a GPS, and we headed to the front entrance. After buying everything, we should have stopped there. But my husband HAD to see what a great deal we'd gotten. So, he looked up the items online to see what they were selling for elsewhere. And???
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The GPS? Cheaper at Best Buy.

The Voice Recorder? Same price at Amazon.

The headset? A good deal, about 40% off the lowest price we could find.

I should know better...

Driving Away My Dislike

I hate driving. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Have I mentioned I hate it? People who know me in real life know that I will never volunteer to drive if I can avoid it, and I'd rather take public transportation than drive any day, anywhere. My hatred of driving borders on phobia.

There are some people who've told me it's the car I'm driving -- if I had a fun car to drive, than I might enjoy driving. But I think -- why waste money on a car when I hate driving?? I have a functional car, one is reliable, fairly new (a 2004), and as fun to drive as I can imagine. Oh, and since I'm 4'11'' I need one that has a seat that moves up quite a bit. My car, a Toyota Matrix, is 4WD, essential in our endless New England winters.

So I have to know, do other moms hate driving? Am I the only one?

Shred Day 3: By the Numbers

Day: 3
Level: 2
Number of times I was already resting when Jillian yelled "no resting": 3
Number of illegal sips of water I sneaked: 3
Number of times I thought I was going to die: 15

Is it April yet?

Is Facebook Changing the Definition of Friend?

Okay, Facebook has gotten out of control! Here's how my hierarchy of Facebook friends has progressed:

• Close friends (aka, people I talk to in Real Life) and family members (my sister, cousin)
  
• New friends (people I meet up with and want to stay in touch with)
• Online friends (people I met through message boards, twitter, and blogs and am friendly with)
• Old high school and college friends (wow, doesn't everyone look different? What a fun way to catch up with people I have talked to in a while)
• Every single person who I went to high school and college with (hmmm.... I didn't really have much in common with them 15 years ago, but why not!)
• People I kind of know... or look familiar?
• People who went to High School with a Jodi
• People who notice we have a lot of friends in common
  
• My mother (!!!)
  
• Friends of my mother
  
• People who friend me because I like Disney
• People who friend me because I'm a brunette (okay, that one I'm making up -- but only that one)
  

..... when will it end?

I'd love to know, how do you handle your Facebook account? Do you friend only people you know in real life? Or are you finding that Facebook is changing the definition of friend?

Shredheads Day 2 -- Just Keep Doing Those Jumping Jacks

So, as I mentioned in a prior post, I have been doing Jillian Michael's 30-day shred since my 35th birthday - January 15th. However, after my trip to Houston last week, and the cold that I had before, during, and after, I kind of fell out of it. So, when Kristen Chase started up the #shredheads, I was in!

Today, I jumped to level three, a level I'd done before, but never easily. And, it wasn't easy today either. I had full intentions to also do Turbo Jam Abs, but those intentions quickly slipped away.

To be truthful, I do sometimes follow Anita (aka the beginner) but occasionally I can also do the harder moves. And, I stop. A Lot. To rest, to get water, to take a breath. Jillian tells you not to stop, but otherwise I'll keel over and pass out. So, I rest.

Level two tomorrow...

Shredding My Fake Pregnancy Away

Well, as most of you know, since I couldn't stop talking, tweeting, and writing about it -- last week, a blind clueless well-meaning gymnastics teacher from my kids' gym asked me if I am pregnant. As is, my stomach is so big, it looks like another life form is being incubated in there. Great.

So, I'm joining the #shredheads in an effort to tone up and eliminate any potential confusion. While I love the idea of getting a seat on the crowded T, I'd prefer to be shredded.

Here's my deets:

Code Name: So Not Pregnant

Tag line: Eliminating the pregnancy ambiguity one shred at a time

Diet Plan: Only eat until I'm full, SlimFast at lunch

Rules: None really

Before pictures: No freaking way

Shred plan: Mix it up, primarily levels 2 & 3, combine with Turbo Jam abs a few days a week

The Allergic Reaction

I had alluded to this event in one of my Jodi 411 posts, but never gave the whole story.

Several weeks ago, I had a hair appointment in Boston, and decided to take my 4-year old daughter with me. I figured we could take the T in, go to the appointment, grab lunch, and head back home -- it would be some quality time with just the two of us.

The first half of the trip was perfect. My daughter was so excited to take the train, and enjoyed watching me get my hair done. We took lots of fun pictures with my iPhone, and were planning lunch when it was time for me to get my hair washed.

My daughter stood in front of me as my hair was being washed. My hair stylist, who I have known for many years, quietly whispered to me that they had banana chocolate chip muffins with walnuts, and could he offer her one. I said yes, she's not allergic to any of those things.

She started eating the muffin, and then asked me for her water. I handed it to her. Then she told me her lip was itchy. Within 15 minutes (thankfully my hair stylist is FAST) she had a few hives. I didn't have Benadryl with me, so we headed off to find some.

By the time I made it to a drugstore (a Rite Aid) we had already called daddy to pick us up, rather than take the train. She had hives down her back and stomach. I gave her Benadryl immediately, and then we hung out in the pharmacy section while waiting for my husband. My daughter was crying how she wanted daddy, and the kind pharmacist gave her a "feel better" bear and a lollipop which immediately made her feel better. By the time she woke up from a nap (Benadryl definitely tires her out), the hives were gone.

We have a follow-up appointment with an allergist. While she has had walnuts before, I have heard of other children developing walnut allergies later. I really hope this was a one-off thing, although I'm being very cautious.