He’s doing laundry. Cooking. Getting it done. And, he’s the designated driver of the carpool to camp, no less!

I am hooked to the computer working. I should be outside in nature…my husband found the above baby deer one morning this summer. It seems as though there are not enough hours in the day right now to get it done. To get everything done. To get anything done. At this point I would settle for crossing a few items of my to do list each day. Many days I sit and move from one project to the next with nothing to show for myself.

Today I tackled a mini crisis that I should have tackled a month ago. I’m just letting everything pile up.

Winners need to be chosen. Packages need to be shipped. Products have to be reviewed. Posts need to be written. And BlogHer!

BlogHer is two weeks from today. Yikes! I need to get my regular work done so that I can go to BlogHer to enjoy the fun and festivities.

Anyone else totally stressed right now??

My children are still in school, but today all three might as well not be. Today is Convergence Day. One of those days when all three children have a scheduled activity for school requiring my help.

The 1st grader has his end-of-the-year picnic. I’m running a few games. My husband is joining him and bringing lunch. I would stay for lunch, but I have to go to a state park over an hour away. Why?

I have to go to a state park as the 8th grader has HER end-of-the-year picnic at Greenbrier State Park. She’s riding the school bus to the park, but wants to stay later to swim. I initially said that she had to ride the bus back to school, to get the bus home, but she desperately wants to stay at the park, So…I have arranged my day so that she can stay. Nice mom, right?

But, what about my 6th grader? She has her end-of-the-year picnic as well. What to do about this? I knew I couldn’t chaperone due to the 1st grade picnic. The school did not need chaperones.  I’m thankful for small mercies. I will try to do a fly by before driving to the state park with the 8th grader.

Convergence Day is given with three children in two different schools. Why don’t the schools coordinate their calendars?

I remember how excited I was when I got to read the blue airmail letters from my grandmother in England. My family lived in the U.S. — New Jersey to be precise. We returned to England most summers. Staying in contact with my grandmother plus our other relatives was important. Phone calls were prohibitively expensive. Once my English family recorded a message on a cassette tape. We returned the tape to them with a message from our family. I still have that tape.

I want to write a letter to each of my children, so that they know they are loved beyond measure despite the fast, frenetic pace of our family life. In a nod to my blogging and online writing roots, I will write letter on this blog.

I am writing this letter to my children as part of the Baltimore Sun’s Mother’s Day Letters project. Note: For reasons of safety and security, I don’t refer to my children by name on my blog, but rather refer to them as “the teen,” “the preteen,” and the “the kid.”

___

Dear Teen:

You have never been shy about letting me know what you feel.

As a baby you only took a bottle on the 3rd try. You refused to be fed with a spoon to the point where I had to make your oatmeal super thick so that it would stick to your fingers. You insisted on dressing yourself even though putting on pantyhose is impossible for a 2-year-old. You walked out of your preschool classroom because you wanted to go to kindergarten NOW. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Last year when you became a teen, I was secretly worried. You have always been so determined to do what you wanted to do. What would you be like as a teen I wondered?

You emerged in to your teen years as a young lady full of dreams and ambitions for the future. Gone was the petulant and pouty tween. In her place, I found a young woman who was able to have a discussion about an issue even if the outcome was not what you wanted.

You have always done well in school with prodding from us. This past year you have taken the helm with school projects. On a number of occasions you have reminded me of homework assignments!

I am excited about what the future holds for you!

Love, Mommy

___

Dear Preteen:

When you were an infant, I recall that you would scream and fuss at bedtime. I geared up for a battle of wills at bedtime. I fed you and changed you and rocked you — all to no avail. One night it occurred to me to put you in your crib. I stood beside your crib amazed that you fell fast asleep. What?? You let me know in a nonverbal way that you needed an early bedtime. The early bedtime is just one of the gifts you have given this family.

Your sense of humor is a true joy to me. As a child I was a joker…ask Grandma and Grandad! You and I have fun reciting lines from The Simpson’s Movie and Shrek while your Dad, sister, and brother stand by bemused. I know, I know…I laugh at the lines far longer than you do.

As the younger sister to one and the older to another, you have much responsibility. Your older sister can be stand-offish with you or she can be your best buddy — what can I say she’s has an independent streak. Your little brother looks up to you, which I know is both charming and annoying. You handle both of your siblings with grace.

I am thrilled that you have found two sports that you love dearly. While I may not know what a librero does or what your time is in the breaststroke…I love cheering for you on the sidelines or poolside.

I will hang on for the ride to see where life takes you.

Love, Mommy

___

Dear Kid:

You are a bundle of joy wrapped up in a little boy package. You cuddle up for a bear hug or headbutt me — I never know which one I will get! You love your dad and would rather hang out with him. But, from the moment we brought you home from the hospital you have always been my little buddy.

As the only little boy in the family, you are relentless at trying to convert your sisters to the world of Cars and Thomas and Geotrax and Iron Man. You haven’t changed their minds yet, but you never stop trying.

I love that you adore school. From the moment I picked up a book to read to you, your eyes sparkled. Books hold your attention. You love being read to…when persuaded you will read to one of us. I love it when your preteen sister comes in to the room to listen to the Junie B. Jones books Daddy is reading to you. We are a book family!

I am excited to see where life will take you.

Love, Mommy

The graphic design and writing class taught me two very important lessons:

1. I don’t want to be a designer. I never felt comfortable with the programs I was required to use. I made great strides in the class, but knew that graphic design was not my chosen field.
2. I discovered a love for writing. Who knew? After 35 years of writing letters, memos, and work documents, I finally found my writer’s voice. It was freeing. I was invigorated. The feedback I received from the graphic design professor was minimal and unhelpful, while the feedback from the writing professor was golden.

The class ended in May. After many months of focusing on the assignments for the graphic design and writing class, I fell head first in to the end-of-the-school year activities for all three children. My son “graduated” from preschool, while my daughters finished 6th and 4th grades. School is busiest in May and June. I let my blog lie dormant for months.

The new school year was a milestone for me. For 12 years, I had dreamed of the day when all 3 kids would be in full-day school. I said goodbye to a patchwork quilt of preschool pickups and dropoffs, classes, storytimes at the library, spotty babysitting, and carting an unwilling 4-year-old to Jiffy Lube, Costco, and the DMV. I said hello to peace and quiet from 8:30 until 3 p.m.

Blogging is now what I do. Is it a job? Well, it would depend on your definition of job. My job of blogging, writing, and product reviewing fully engages my attention. While it may not be very well paid, my job is the most fulfilling job I have ever had.

Lolli wrote about her takeaway from blogging here. She listed a Top 10 list of What Blogging Has taught her in response to Mama Kat’s Writing Workshop.

My Top 10 List would have to include:

1. It is possible to discover you have a calling even if you come to it late in the game. Writing is what I love.
2. Blogging about my kids is difficult as I have no stories of pee, puke, and poo to fall back on.
3. Blogging about tweens and teens is a minefield of what I cannot mention…their names (of course), friend’s names, schools, sports teams, grades, and anything else that might be embarrassing to them. Read: EVERYTHING is embarrassing to them!
4. A supportive husband is hard to find. Who knew that my “you really should go back to work at least part time once the youngest starts school” husband would become my “let’s see where the blogging, freelancing, and consulting takes you” husband. Go Coach Dad!
5. While I can’t blog about the specifics of the lives of my kid, preteen, and teen, I can find more that enough fodder from the logistics of our daily trials and tribulations of managing our crazy schedule of activities. Have minivan? Will travel.
6. The effort required to get two sleepy headed girls and one bouncing of the walls boy as well as one resigned to getting ready for what the day has to bring husband out door makes me want to go back to bed, but I don’t…usually.
7. I have not cracked the HTML code…it’s on my list of things I should really learn.
8. Twitter is amazing. I found Mariana and her mad design skills. Thanks to Mariana I have a domain name and a header. I would still be hanging out over at Blogger!
9. While I am not a Top 10 blog, I have found a niche in hosting giveaways. I have a loyal following of people who enter my giveaways. Now if I could draw readers to my posts that are not giveaways, I would be set.
10. Speaking of giveaways, I enjoy working with brands. By reviewing products/hosting giveaways, I can combine my two loves: writing and finding out about new products.

Are you a brand or do you represent a brand? I would love to work with you. I can be reached at JillAnneBerry @ msn . com

What’s on your Top 10 list of what blogging has taught you! Leave a comment or a post on your blog with a link here in the comments. I’ll stop by and read it!

I had two ominous deadlines looming…

Taxes — Are you like us? Did you leave your taxes til the last minute? I must admit that if it were left to me the taxes would still not be done. I have some block when it comes to the taxes. I have an “I will get to it next week” attitude towards them.

Suddenly, it was “next week.” My husband was waiting on my data. As a worker bee I knew what I needed to hand my husband for taxes…my W-2 form. As a freelancer worker bee, I handed him my W-2, my mileage log, and any receipts for business expenses. As a SAHM, I handed my husband absolutely nothing. He’s a good guy…he appreciates what I do for the family whether working or not.

This year was different. Was I a worker bee in 2009? Or not? I don’t have any pay stubs to prove that I worked. I do have online payments to PayPal. I did work this year. There is no doubt that I worked! But, much of my work was for free.

I do many free reviews. PR or the brand will contact me with a free item. I will say “Yes!” PR will send me the item. I will use it…test it…review it….think about it. Once my review is done, I will write my post. A giveaway may be associated with the review, which takes work. I’m willing to do free reviews. But, reviews take time. And as they say time is money.

But, back to the taxes… I handed my husband all the documents he needed on April 14. Of course, I was missing a few. I forgot to calculate all my mileage. I handed him a couple of receipts that he didn’t need. He and I sparred back and forth on a couple of items. He is super cautious when it comes to “you know who.”  We slept on it Wednesday night.

Thursday morning appeared bright and early as usual. We’re a family of “love their sleep” people, so mornings are quiet. My little guy can be lively, but given time we will bring him over to the dark side. Once all kids were safely on school buses, my husband got to work. Don’t ask me how, but by noon on April 15…our taxes were filed.

The second deadline was one that I also put off doing anything about. I can’t blog about it. It is not as though I am a completely open book on this blog, but I like to let people in on many aspects of my life. But, with this issue I cannot.

Suffice it to say that our taxes were filed and I made a decision. I’ll leave it at that. I am glad to put last week behind me. On to more challenges this week!

I am on the other side of the spectrum. If Coach Dad is Mr. Consistency, then I am Ms. Change. I like nothing more than to tear apart a room while doing a thorough, in-depth lengthy cleaning. Now, if I kept up with my housework perhaps I might not have such a cleaning nightmare to tackle, see also dust bunnies under the couch. Coach Dad has more than once mentioned that our house resembles the ever-changing staircase in Hogwarts Castle.

But, back to Coach Dad… Last night he tried a new drink. He and I are both Diet Coke drinkers…Diet Pepsi, too. We’re not choosy. We buy what is on offer at Costco. I am a little more open to other drinks. I have been known to have iced tea or a Diet Sprite. He pulled out a Steaz Energy Drink from the garage fridge…and…liked it! I was shocked.

I was introduced to Steaz at Mom 2.0. My swag bag from MomImpact had a Steaz energy drink. I packed the drink in my suitcase to enjoy at home. The energy drink was a little strong for me, but I found the Steaz soda and iced tea I sampled last week to be refreshing and delicious.

Last week, I had a chance to meet Eric from Steaz at a dinner hosted by Steaz at Whole Foods in Silver Spring, Maryland. I chatted at length to Eric, who is one of the founding partners with Steve of Steaz, a Pennsylvania-based company. I asked Eric “Why Steaz?” — he said it was a cross between Soda and Tea.

I must admit that while I don’t search for foods that are fair trade, if a food or drink is fair trade I will buy it. I have a harder time finding fair trade and organic products since I am about 30 minutes from a Whole Foods or similar store.  I left this party with a few bottles of Steaz to try.

Steaz Regular sodas come in Orange, Root Beer, Raspberry, and Lemon Lime. I found the Steaz Orange soda to be reminiscent of biting in to a segment of orange. You know how the orange juice drips down your chin. That’s what Steaz Orange tasted like to me. The Steaz Regular Sodas are about 90 calories per serving. I like that the ingredients are all natural and organic.

Steaz have a line of zero-calorie Soda, too. The zero-calorie soda comes in Raspberry, Orange, Blueberry Pomegranate, and Black Cherry. I’m waiting to try the Raspberry that is in the fridge. Better get it before Coach Dad or my teen find it!

In the time I was snoozing away, he created this:

LEGO Indiana Jones Fighter Plane Attack

That’s right he made one of the planes from this kit. He proudly held it up to show me as I lay looking at him with glazed eyes. I blinked my eyes fully open, checked the clock, and thought “Oh, no!.” It was 11 a.m. I really slept in. My husband will sometimes do the weekend morning shift. But more often than not our middle daughter is the early riser who keeps her little brother company. Let’s just say the boy and I missed his sister on Saturday morning!

Once I was up, I made an early lunch. He breakfasted on Pop Tarts — the breakfast of champions…I know, I know…it is our weekend breakfast food. After lunch, I had a few work tasks to do, so he watched his new Lego movie: LEGO: The Adventures of Clutch Powers. Once the movie was over, I promised him that I would take him to the zoo or the petting farm and to Toys R Us.

The movie kept him engaged. I was engrossed in what I was doing, so much so that I did not look at the clock until nearly 3 p.m. I realized to my horror that the zoo closed at 5 p.m. and was 50 minutes away and the petting closed at 4 p.m. What to do?

I came clean with my son. He was sad for a minute then perked up at the thought of spending a gift card from his aunt. Yay for consumerism at an early age!

Toys R Us was deserted. He and I strolled the aisles the way I used to when he was about 2 and younger. I would Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and birthday shop for his sisters and him. He would be happy playing with a toy or looking at a book with buttons while I perused the stock and loaded the cart.

He chose a G.I. Joe ninja guy and a Batman for himself. He chose his best buddy a Giants Nerf Vortex Football and a Nerf Bandolier Dart Kit. Super cool choices. We are a Nerf family!

He was happy, but I am determined not to let anything get in the way of taking my child somewhere.

Coming up super awesome rad giveaways from Nerf!!

But, you know what? For us and our marriage, we need to make time…call the grandparents to come babysit…convince the teen to babysit if the grandparents are busy…cancel what is on the calendar…to go on a date night.

And how much funnier would it be to go on a Date Night to a movie called Date Night? It’s funny, right? I know, I know…I don’t get out much. Date Night is a new film to be released on April 9th, 2010. That’s a Friday, by the way…a perfect night for a date with your husband or wife!

Date Night stars stars — Steve Carell and Tina Fey. Both are super funny in my book. Steve Carrell is best known for his portrayal of Michael in The Office. Tina Fey is the force behind ANYTHING remotely funny on Saturday Night Live.

Here’s a funny clip of Date Night — a date night gone wrong type of film:

It’s not often that I giggle while watching a trailer for a movie. I’m more of a drama movie type of movie watcher, but this trailer is funny! So, check the calendar, call the babysitter, and go see Date Night on your date night with your husband or wife!

In “Date Night,” which opens Friday, a bored suburban couple played by Steve Carell and Tina Fey go on their weekly dinner date and find themselves thrown into a night of intrigue: there’s breaking and entering, a car chase, a shootout and a showdown with an underworld boss at a strip club. Husband and wife come out of the adventure with some scratches and also with their ardor renewed.

This post was sponsored by 20th Century Fox. The views expressed in the post are my own.

Coach Dad has played games. The kid has watched DVDs.  The tween helps too. My teen even did a TV interview for one product I reviewed!

However, sometimes a review product comes in that is too delicious…too delectable…too yummy…to share with kids and husband. A product that requires a person with a sophisticated palate. A person who loves all things made with that substance. Simply put…only a person who is a chocaholic could appreciate this treat. If you didn’t know already…chocaholics don’t share.

Once upon a time a package arrived for review. I opened the box. Surveyed the delicate brown silky sack. Stroked the softness of the bag. Sniffed the aroma of chocolate. Spied the Dove label. I stashed that box as quick as a flash! No way was I letting my nosy teen anywhere near this box!

Chocolate is my go-to snack ANYTIME of the day. Let’s see when do I eat chocolate…lunchtime on a day when my kids are not listening to me…homework time when my kids are not putting in enough effort…after dinner when I should do dishes but really would rather do anything else. Before I go to bed…when I should be eating nothing. Chocolate is my go-to pick-me-up snack.

I’m a chocaholic through and through. I once ordered a cookies and cream ice cream cone rather than a chocolate ice cream cone and immediately regretted it. So, it was some degree of interest that I bit in to the Dove Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter. Would I as a confirmed dyed in the wool chocaholic love this new creation?

Ahhhh. I needn’t have feared. The new DOVE Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter combines their signature rich, high-quality chocolate with smooth 100% peanut butter.

I tried one of the Dove Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter bars. There were 5 or 6 pieces…I’m not sure how many exactly since I inhaled the chocolate in an instant…of Dove Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter.

The chocolates are also sold in an 8.5 oz. bag containing enough pieces to share…or not. You wouldn’t want to overwhelm sensitive palates with the mouth-watering taste of Dove Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter, now would you?

Go here to find out more information about the Dove products.

Check out the Dove Chocolate Facebook fan page and Twitter.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of DOVE and received samples DOVE Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter products and a gift certificate to facilitate my review.

She had never participated in Take Your daughter/Son to Work before. Her dad was a high school English teacher who objects strongly to kids (ours or his students) missing school for any reason. Now he taught high school kids for years, so he knows that many high schoolers will say that they are going to work with mom or dad, but probably are spending the day sleeping and playing PS3. 20 years of teaching high school can make you a little cynical.

My daughters and I worked on my husband for weeks a couple of years ago. After much negotiations, Coach Dad will now take each Musings from Me child to work on Take Your Daughter/Son to Work Day in 5th grade. Only in 5th grade but it is a start.