Welcome to the Party!

Let's get this party started!







I decided to join the ultimate blog party over at 5 Minutes for Mom. If you want to join, here's your personal invite! Head on over and start jumping from blog to blog to check out everyone's party post. I can't wait to meet some new bloggers. Yeah, that's just what I need, something more to distract me from all the stuff I have to do!


If you are visiting for the first time - welcome! I recently spruced up the place, redecorating the template and adding lots of new page elements. I had somehow missed when Blogger changed the way you can revise your template, but now that I figured out how simple it is, I feel like I'm adding new links or buttons every other day. Hope you like it. As for this post, I had so much fu putting in links to past posts I've written. Click on any you want to get more info about ANY topic I've written. Feel free to ask about any aspect of my life. If it is too personal, I'll just let you know, but you will probably figure out soon that not too much is off-limits!

Let me introduce myself to anyone who is visiting. My name starts with an R. I started this blog when I was a full-time SAHM, hence the title, and even though I work a lot more outside of the home now, I still view myself as a part-time teacher and part-time SAHM, so I have not changed the name of my blog even though SOME people suggest it to me every time I see them. I use this blog because it's cheaper and easier than therapy. I find that I do better when I keep a journal and write in it every day. Every time I have tried to do that in a paper journal I've only been able to keep it up for a few weeks at most. Using this blog as my journal inspires me to use it every day (well, at least more often than if it had been a book for me to write in). Be sure to look on my sidebar for a description of my "cast of characters."

I met my DH in high school. We were good friends, nothing more, for about three years before we ended up dancing together at a friend's party the summer after my first year of college. The sparks started flying; we've been together ever since.


During our first seven years of marriage I taught elementary school. As much as I loved teaching, we both LOVED the idea of having our own kids, so for five of those years we tried everything we could to conceive. Eventually our 2nd attempt of IVF was successful and I became pregnant with my two beautiful boys. My pregnancy with them turned out to be a little more complicated than I expected, but all's well that ends well. And fifteen months later we were amazed to discover that my body actually worked on its own - I became pregnant with J. The kids are two years apart. It's so hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the boys just turned six last week and that J will be four on St. Patrick's Day.

When the boys were born, I couldn't do much of anything besides nurse and change their diapers, but as they got a little older, I needed to find alternative ways to bring in more money. Basically I started doing everything I could to use my teaching experience and still stay home with the boys. I started watching my nephew full-time and running a Moms Morning Out out of the house. I also taught part-time at the synagogue. Things got more complicated when I got pg with J, so I took a break with all that then, but once she was born we started things up again. Eventually my sister gave birth to my niece so I added her to the mix.

When A was finally diagnosed with Asperger's I told my sister I couldn't watch my niece and nephew anymore. I just needed more time to focus on him. But I kept up with all my part-time teaching at the synagogue so I could still bring in more money. This year I started teachig preschool at the synagogue 5 mornings a week as well as all the other part-time teaching I've been doing. I also started my own business providing entertainment at kids' birthday parties. And I'm STILL a SAHM for the most part when my kids are home.

Writing this post has been so much fun. I got to look through so many past posts that I have written. I know it may not have been that funny or exciting for all of you reading, but with three kids running around trying to get my attention I had to spread the writing of it over two days and it was the best I could do. For those of you visiting for the first time, I gave you a small explanation and description of my life. Hope you enjoyed it. PLEASE leave a comment to let me know you've been here - I promise to return the favor!

EDITED TO ADD:
Just read some of the fine print at 5 Minutes for Mom and realized if I wanted to win one of the incredible prizes, I needed to post which ones I like! So here are the prizes that look great to me:

1) A new blog design by Sweet 'n' Simple Design
2) A new blog design by Summer
3) A blog makeover by Shauna

Notice a theme?

Of course, if these are already taken, I would love a couple others, like #8 Fifty Nights of Family Fun or #58 a 6 week custom fitness plan (because you KNOW that's why I haven't been exercising, I just didn't have a plan).