You know you're a working mom...

1. When you can power clean your house in 2-3 hours on a weekend (or evening or holiday) because you can't waste more time that that.
 2. When your crockpot is your best friend.
 3. When you have to hide (and sneak to the bathroom!) to actually get work done at home, so the kids believe you've gone to work and will leave you alone.
 4. When you typically spend at least a few minutes of your lunch break planning something else (meal plan, grocery list, birthday party, calendar etc).
 5. When you only have one speed, and that speed is RUSH.
 6. When you can dry your hair, entertain your baby, and eat breakfast all at the same time.
 7. When you reach into your purse for a pen during a meeting and pull out a toy car, play phone, golf ball (!)...
 8. When Your dogs go crazy as soon as you put on your sneakers because it MUST mean they are going for a walk. Mom doesn't wear sneakers for anything else. ;)
 9. When you keep your dress shoes at work (to save your feet) and thus have nothing appropriate to wear for special occasions on the weekend.
 10. When your most common phrase to the doctor's office is, "Do you have anything early in the morning or late in the evening?"
 11. When a good part of your life revolves around keeping your calendar updated and accurate, so that you can fit everything in.
 12. When your able to successfully ask sacrifices of your husband just by uttering the phrase, "I WORK TOO!"
 13. When you find it perfectly natural to be cleaning breast pump parts in the ladies restroom, using hand soap and paper towels.
 14. When you store your breast milk in the public refrigerator.
 15. When you have at least once, had to have an awkward conversation with your (male) boss about your time spent pumping.
 16. When you've taken a conference call, in the mothers room, WHILE pumping.
 17. When you won't even entertain the idea of working for a company that doesn't have flexible work options.
 18. When you've done work from home on many occasions after the kids are in bed or before they wake up, so you can "do it all"
 19. When YOU are the go-to person in the office anyone who needs a bandaid, tylenol, antacid, feminine product, toy car, golf ball etc
 20. When you pretty much are never expected to drive your coworkers to lunch, because your car has car seats, sticky seat belts, random goldfish, crayons and toys all over.

Homemade Vegetable Soup

I watched a random Rachel Ray episode in late fall or early winter, that was directions for making a spur of the moment vegetable soup with whatever veggies you have on hand. The premise of this struck me - I can experiment with making soups! I kind of enjoy having recipes. It's a predictable outcome if you follow directions :) But I have tried the soup idea a few times and I always enjoy my result so I think I'll share with you. Maybe you will feel inspired to give it a shot and adjust it to your tastes. I begin with a little oil in the bottom of my heavy soup pan. I heat the oil over medium heat. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic (I love garlic but not everyone does so if you don't maybe stay on the lower end of this one). a few shakes of crushed red pepper (to give it a little zing and clear out your nose if you have a cold) Heat for a few minutes until the garlic "speaks" in the oil (sizzles) Add a chopped onion and cook until onion becomes translucent. From here - it's really your own tastes. Personally I like: A can of diced tomatoes sliced and peeled carrots (about 2) sliced celery (about 2 stalks) about 2 cups of chicken broth or more to your taste a few shakes of dried basil a shake of black pepper I let this simmer for about 10-15 minutes on medium-low. Then I add: sliced and peeled zucchini (1 big or two smaller) maybe some frozen or canned green beans or any other veggies you like :) Cook for another 5-10 minutes, taste testing and adjusting the flavors as needed. Yesterday I made the above soup and cooked some small frozen tortellini in there with the zucchini step. The tortellini adds something special and makes this a stand-alone meal. I also cheated yesterday and used the canned carrots to speed up the whole process. It still tastes good to me! You can add white beans, Broccoli, cauliflower or any other veggies you like. To make this all vegetarian, you could use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth. Take the plunge and experiment! It's worth it to have a homemade veggie soup. Enjoy