Busy little bee.....

For those who know me, you know that I love to stay busy. For the past 11 years I have been doing everything I could for the local schools. I've been on several parent teacher boards as well as a few years as trustee and President for the local Education Foundation.

With all of this, I have realized that I don't want to go back to my career as a pharmacist, but continue on the path of working with Non-profits and making a difference in the lives of others.

A few years back a good friend of mine, Scott Clinton of Scott Clinton Photography, told me about an organization that he was helping The Sandbox.

I had reached out to the Executive Director, Mara Campolungo, awhile back and we just recently hooked up again and I'm happy to say that we are working on bringing The Sandbox here to the New Jersey.

This organization helps put a smile on the faces of children with cancer and life altering diseases and it is an honor to have the opportunity to help them make a difference in the lives of others. I will keep you posted as to how things are going. In the meantime, check out the video below to see what they are about.

Dig deep and join us in The Sandbox!

If you would like to get involved, please contact me! We can truly help make a difference.

Why can't I say NO?!?!

This is a question that I ask myself time and time again when I can't find time to blog, cook, clean or sleep.

Why do i say this? Well, before I dive into that conversation, let me just say how lucky I am. Really! I'm lucky that family hasn't disowned me yet and that my husband hasn't asked for a divorce.

You see, I just can't say no when asked to help out at the school. I'm not talking about the occasional lunch duty or library mom.....I'm talking about starting this school year by saying:

"Yes, I will be willing to be the PTA president."

"Oh, it's a two year commitment? No problem."

"Yes, I can definitely do the monthly newsletter for the high school."

"Yes, I can easily build a whole new website for the PTA."

"Oh and the constant contact thing? I can totally set that up and get it running for two different school districts. No problem!"

"Yes, I will be willing to do the 80+ page playbill/ad journal for the high school musical."

Piece of cake......

Really? What in the world am I smoking? Actually, I don't smoke, but seriously..... what's wrong with me? 

You would think that after spending fours years on the Education Foundation (two of which I was co-president) I would high tail it and run for the hills when approached to help the schools, but in all honesty......I actually enjoy it. 

Ugh! Yes!

I. Enjoy. It.

There, I said it. grumble....grumble....

I enjoy working 80-100 hours a week and not collect a single penny.

I enjoy having one meal a day and have it be a frozen dinner because I'm busy working on PTA stuff.

I enjoy being the only nut who is awake at 4am working on a flier because I can't find the perfect font. Can you say font freak? That's me! The end all be all of font freakism.

No, but seriously, I really do enjoy it. It all makes it worth while when I see the children benefit from something that I was a part of.

And it gives me a way to be creative.....

We had a teacher breakfast the week before the kids came back and I think they really liked it. I put together a little gift from me to them as a small token of my appreciation, with my phone number on it. (That may prove to be a mistake, but so far so good!)

We welcomed the teachers with French toast, bacon, sausages, eggs, Coffee, juice, and fresh fruit.....and of course, French Cafe Music.

Welcome set up for Teacher Breakfast.....

I got this idea from Pinterest....

The feedback I got was amazing! The teachers were so happy to get a warm breakfast and they loved the whole set up.....one teacher asked if they could have this everyday - she felt as if she were in France.

So, although I may complain and not get any sleep these next two years......it will be worth it. I love to see the smiles and know that I had a hand in it!

So, to all the PTAs, PPOs and all the other acronyms I can't think of right now....ask me to help, why not...... I'm in a giving mood and here is a little tip.....I can't say no. 

Mom - Overloaded

Please tell me that I am not alone.  How many of you are like me? Overextended, spread too thin and at wit’s end, with no one to blame but yourself.

I feel that I’m in a constant state of craze. I always have 1,001 things hanging over my head, my scheduling is so tight that my “cushion” is a 10 second window and my typical grocery shopping trip is literally a pitstop to the local Market Basket to grab some eggs, fruit and perhaps a pot pie to throw in the oven (my kids love their pot pies…the Shepherd’s pie is also very tasty).

My family has since learned that dinner can range from home-cooked Chinese fare to cereal out of a box, but usually it’s something in between that's slightly decent and barely warm.  Due to extra-curricular activities, homework and work itself, it is rare that we all get to sit down and enjoy a family dinner together. Is this how it is in your home?

Life used to be so different. I used to sit back and relax, chat with friends, enjoy some tea while I writing poetry in my notebook. My daughter would play with her toys while baby Mozart played in the background. Now, I tell my friends we’ll try to get together when things calm down (which will never happen), I’m frantically scooting across Bergen County, scribbling in my calendar so I don’t forget a meeting or a task, while listening to my kids tease each other in the back of the car.

So, how did this all start? Well, eight years ago, when we moved into town, I did not know a soul. I wanted to meet people, so, once my daughter started her first year at Colonial Road School, I decided to get involved.

I signed up for anything and everything (this is what a newbie mom does). Crafts? Sure, I’ll do it. Help out with Brownies? No problem, I have the time.  Party decorations? I can go and get them, don’t worry. Library? Pizza? PTA? Ok, sign me up. Whatever you need…I can help.  (Did you do this too or was I the only crazy one?)

So, here I was, my first year as a district mom, walking up to the school in my Medusa costume carrying  a haunted house, a cauldron and trying to balance a medley of other stuff for a class party, and thinking to myself… “This is what the other mom’s do, so suck it up.”

By the end of the school year I signed my life away…a new trustee to the Education Foundation, class mom, PTA assembly coordinator, part-time Pharmacist, cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring and a baby on the way…no problem at all, easy as pie, right? Talk about being delusional. Good thing I’m a pharmacist.

My calendar was soon filled. The monthly pages were splattered with a dizzying array of colored ink, each representing a meeting or an event that I had volunteered to help out at. My calendar was and still is my life, and if it’s not in there, then it’s not happening.

All the volunteer work, team practices, homework, play dates, continuing education courses, housework and the fact that the kids are getting older can be — and has been — overwhelming at times.

My house looks like a battlefield, despite my efforts to keep it clean. As for the children, lately, I find myself running to pick them up, only to realize (after waiting in a horrendously long pickup line) that they are supposed to stay after school for art. I take them home when they are supposed to be at Karate or Ballet. I schedule meetings forgetting that I need to drive my oldest to Washington Township (something I do practically every day) and I agree to play dates when they are supposed to be home for their weekly Chinese or guitar lessons.

What is wrong with me? Am I getting older? Perhaps senility is setting in….Nah, I still have a few more years before that happens. I really think that it’s because I have much too much on my plate.  Am I the only one?

This inability to say “no” has definitely prolonged my retirement from the volunteering track, and it’s not getting any better.  Even with the warning signs of forgotten activities and wrong pick up times, I am still heavily involved with the schools and I have now successfully volunteered what little time I have left to making the world greener and to helping those most in need in rural China.

Hello, my name if Jules and I am a Volunteer Junkie…why can’t I say “NO!” Can you?

* This is an article that I wrote for an online news site