–by Carla

Time To Say Goodbye. It’s a great song. I love how Bocelli does it, but that’s not where I’m headed with this. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted and I’m thinking I’m done. I’ve got nothing crafty to add these days. It’s just little old me, a stay at home mom with two tiny little boys who occupy my time from 7am until 7pm and then I’m on call from 7pm until 7am. Nothing new there. It’s been done a million times. I’ve now been a stay at home mom exactly as long as I was a working mom. But I was never really a “working mom” like one would think. We didn’t do day care. I worked from 4am-12pm and came home each day to my husband handing off the baby and heading to work. But you know that already.

I’m pretty sure there’s nothing to add. My story is the same now as millions of other women all over the world. The story of a mom.

I’ve decided I’m not one of those moms who can zap a million pics at every event my kids are at and in an instant, upload them to facebook, twitter and my blog all at once, then come home and blog about it all. It’s just not who I am. My brain is not wired to go in that many directions. I bow down to the moms out there who do these things, but I gotta tell ya, STOP because you’re making the rest of us look like slackers.

So I’m thinking RecessionMamas is going away. We’re not who we were in the beginning and that’s fine. We’re all pretty different women these days.

That’s where I am. If I were more computer savvy, I might have already clicked the “poof!” button and made it all go away, but I’m too tired to figure that out right now.

If you read our little stories along the way, thank you! But for some reason, I have the feeling that this little project is simply collecting dust out there far, far away in cyberspace. And if you know me, you know that I do not like things to linger.  And I hate dust.

By Katy

April 15th is right around the corner.  Do you have your taxes done yet?  Throughout the years, I’ve fallen into many camps.  In my early years of working, I would file my taxes as soon as I received my W-2 in the mail.  Of course, back then, I was earning about $10/hour so I just filed a 1040EZ.  Last year, I think I came the closest to the deadline, filing on April 14th or maybe it was midnight on the 15th.

This year, I filed super early like I did when I was younger.  I knew I would be traveling for work, so I didn’t want to forget or run out of time.  I am so glad I did that since I received a refund months ago!  What a relief!

Now, how many of you received a refund this year?  How many of you had to pay?  I know the best is to balance it and not really get a refund, but it’s hard for me to do that.  I never really know what I’ll be making in a given year, so it’s hard for me to determine how much I should be putting down as deductions.  Anyone out there with a good way to calculate it?

Also, how many people do their own taxes?  Or do you have an accountant?  I do my own taxes pretty much every year.  It’s a lot easier now with Turbo Tax or Tax Act.  I just buy the extra tools/help/legal service when needed.  I guess it would be good to have a real accountant check things over, but I never seem to have the time to find a really good one.  A friend of mine is a CPA, but he’s busy helping companies during this time of the year so I try not to bother him with my taxes.  My brother goes to H&R Block every year, but I feel like those people are just like you and me, except with a few training courses under their belt.  Not sure what’s best at this point.  All I know is my taxes are done for the year, and I’m so happy about it.

—by Carla

We live on a small street (about 10 houses) in a small sub-development in a suburb of a suburb of a suburb of Dallas. And on our small street roughly half of us were laid off in the early stages of the recession. Just like the news stories told us, most of them were men, and then there was me. A bunch of new “stay at home dads” and me. Um…nice to meet ya?

Most of us had never met but since we had all this “free” time on our hands (time not spent at the office…because working at home, as we all know, consists of a brutal amount of work), we’d wander out into our front yards and catch a conversation every now and then. That’s how I became closer with our next door neighbors. He was laid off the same week I was. Since his 2 boys were about the same age as mine, we’d swap stories about how staying at home with our kids was boggling our minds a little and how money was tight.

When we started trimming the budget back, one of the first things to go, along with my beloved housekeeper…were our team of lawn guys. They’d quietly show up in the early morning hours of a Saturday or maybe a Sunday, do their thing and be gone in a flash. All we did was stick a check on the front door. But when that perk went out the window, it meant the husband would take over that task and buy the lawn equipment needed to do the job. And guess who was taking notes? Yup, our next door neighbor. Granted, he’s since found a job…not making as much as he did before, but they’re in pretty good shape. Even still, he recently asked the husband’s advice on how to work his new lawn equipment. That’s right…he fired his lawn guys (our old lawn guys) and bought the tools of the trade for himself. His words, something like, “Well if you guys are doing your own lawn, I think I should too.”

Now THAT’s the kind of “Keepin’ Up With The Joneses” that I’m talkin’ about.

—by Carla

At this stage of the game: the “been laid off and still trying to cut corners without ending up totally losing my mind” game, you’d think I’d be all done trying to save money. I mean, it’s been over a year, so you’re probably thinking that I’ve got it all squared away…this saving money thing. Wrong.

Just this week, I called the good, decent people at DISH and told them that I was cutting my Top 250 plan and switching to the Give Me The Cheapest Thing You’ve Got plan. They were bummed to lose me, then they charged me $5 to downgrade the plan, but at the end of the day…we’re saving $40 month. That’s what I probably would have referred to as chump change back when I was pulling in a nearly six-figure income, but these days, I see that as a luxury. Paying nearly $70 a month for TV was just wrong on so many levels.

I may only slightly miss seeing the outcome of The Real World, season 55; The Real Housewives of New York City, and the outcome of several other of my embarrassing reality show addictions, but the only thing that did weigh heavily on me was what my oldest son was going to miss. And I say “miss”, not him, not like he’d ever know the difference…he’s 3… but it did make me sad. So for about a week after we decided to downgrade, I recorded all of his favorite shows..all of the shows I knew we’d be losing. I made sure we would have plenty of Little Bear, Little Bill, Handy Manny, Dora the Explorer, Yo Gabba Gabba and his beloved Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on tap so that he’d never know the difference. And during that time, I had him watch more PBS than normal. He does ADORE his Curious George and Clifford The Big Red Dog, but that was about it. See, we didn’t let Donald watch television until he was 2. ANY TV. Nothing. That was just one year ago. And now he’s allowed a maximum of 2 hours per day. I was worried that us downsizing the collection of cable clutter would somehow bother him, but so far, so good. For cryin’ out loud, we have DVDs, coloring books, toys, the outdoors, friends, play-doh, play dates, crafts, and so on, but part of me just wept a little knowing that we weren’t going to be getting fresh, new episodes of Little Bear every afternoon.

In the downgrade, we also lost our music lineup. That included the Kids Music Station. It was on every minute of every single day…so I was worried how I’d fill that time…panicked about switching countless CDs or trying to keep my iTouch juiced up all day as it cranked out endless (and sometimes annoying) kids songs.

One very cool thing that really touched me, though, was that the kids music channel was the only music channel that was included in the Give Me The Cheapest Thing You’ve Got plan. Seeing that pop up was bittersweet. Thanks for not punishing my kids because I got laid off. That was pretty cool.

Well, I just got done showing these floors who’s boss (remind me to buy a house with more carpet in it next time, would ya?) and my eyes are starting to glaze over a little.

But I will toss this bit of advice in: If your Mom lives in a pretty cool “Active Senior Apartment Community” and they have a hair salon in there and your Mom tells you that the lady is really sweet and nice and only charges $18 for a trim…run. And then keep running.

–by Carla

Ah the joys of finding a job that you love. I had one of those for…well, for my entire career. Never once did I complain about “having” to go to work. The way I looked at it, I couldn’t believe those people were PAYING me to talk on the radio and have so much fun. And now, another position has fallen into my lap, one which I do love, but now I’m wondering if I’ve perhaps nibbled off a hair more than I can chew at this moment in time. Maybe not. I am part of 3 lovely Moms groups. Play groups. I love them all and have met really wonderful women and kids because of them, and it is that love that forced me to take on my latest position. One of the groups was on the brink of shutting down because the organizer could no longer take on the task. And since I didn’t want it to go away, I offered to take over. It pays nothing. And it cost me $72 to take over the web fee, which I do hope to recover via yearly dues.

That’s my latest gig. I’m thrilled. And I’m pooped. Trying to come up with fun and creative things for 100 women and kids can be exhausting. But I’m working on finding a balance. And I do now have a few awesome moms helping out as assistants.

Other big news. HUGE NEWS, I mean:

WBAP 820 AM in Dallas-Ft. Worth will begin simulcasting on 96.7 FM on Monday: WBAP Operations Manager TYLER COX said, “WBAP made history in 1922 when it signed on the air. WBAP is making history again as it becomes the first news/talk radio station in North Texas to offer its programming on both the AM and FM dial.

Ah yes and I’m scheduled to fill in on the anchor desk during the morning news show two days this week. Doesn’t get any better than that.

And finally, this economically related movie review: Don’t waste even a penny of your money on Motherhood. Uma and the old bald doctor from ER managed to ruin for me what would have otherwise been a lovely evening. It really hacked me off to see moms portrayed as messy, disheveled, sweaty pack-mules who complain about everything in their lives and long to work “real jobs” so that they can finally be happy. Honestly, I was so mad at the end, I was up half the night.

So there. I’ve saved you $1.

–by Carla

My birthday gift came early this year, and it will forever be the greatest early birthday gift in the world. We found out today that my (totally awesome) Mom does not have (and let me do that in my best radio news voice, “Again, does NOT have”) lung cancer. WOOOOOO HOO BABY! To everyone who prayed and supported Mom and our family, thank you!!! Prayers rock, y’all.

So now a little background on all this, because it has been a bumpy, confusing ride for the past month and a half. And keep in mind, I’m not a doctor, but here goes: Mom’s doctors have been keeping an eye on her heart for about the past year after she complained of shortness of breath. They ran X-Rays and CT scans, then followed up 6 months later and that’s when they noticed changes. They did discover a hole in her heart which they said she likely had since birth…no biggie. But they also stumbled upon these little nodules in her lungs. And since Mom is a (nearly 20 year) breast cancer survivor, they followed it closely. The follow-up scans indicated growth and changes. They tried a needle biopsy, but it failed. That was about a month and a half ago. A few weeks passed and they did a PET scan, where they looked at the cells. That doctor said at that point, it was too early to tell if it was cancer. “Dr. 50/50″ as I like to call him, seemed pretty bored with us and we quickly hit the door looking for someone with a little fire under their swively round doctor chair. That next doctor took a look at the same exact test that Dr. 50/50 looked at and told Mom that it was, in fact, cancer. Was. Cancer. But he said, “Prove me wrong with the open lung biopsy”. That was the test she had done today and she did prove him wrong! I asked the surgeon 100 times, “So, you’re positive it’s not cancer…?”, and he’d reply, “correct, it is not cancer”. I told him that I didn’t know if I should puke or cry, I was so excited…at which point he asked me to refrain from doing either. Ahhhhhhhhhh….it feels good.

I don’t know if I’m more ticked off at Dr. 50/50 or at Dr. FalsePoz, but I’m over it because the world is a happy place once again. My (totally awesome) Mom is resting comfortably at Medical City Dallas this evening, taking it all in and hoping to be released tomorrow.

If I haven’t personally returned your call or email, I will. It’s been a bit of a crazy day…with spreading the joyous news not only here, but to our family in Mexico City.

Now go hug someone you love…and MEAN IT! (do it…or you get a time-out)

–by Carla

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well, it looks like I’m a single parent right now. This little baby only has 1 Mama and she’s pretty darn busy these days. Katy and Heather are swamped these days with new twists and turns in their careers, which is so awesome. I, however, am only swamped with twists and turns in my personal life.

Don’t know how much I’ll be able to post in the coming days/weeks because I just found out a few days ago that my Mom (my best friend) has lung cancer. It’s mind-blowing at this point. She’s 64 and a nearly 20-year breast cancer survivor. I cannot imagine life without her. If you believe in the power of prayer, and I do, please pray.

As for me, I can honestly say that for the first time since my layoff just over a year ago, I finally feel like an honest-to-goodness stay-at-home-mom. I cook, clean, chase around two boys under age 3 all day and love every minute of it. I’m finding new interests in life…and finding new “Me’s”. It’s pretty cool. (For example, for my upcoming birthday I want a food dehydrator and a bird book. I used to be way cool. Honest)

But things aren’t 100% peachy around here, so don’t be fooled. (I’ll leave it at that for now.)

I’ve missed writing. Often, and mainly at night once the boys are down, I find myself thinking about all sorts of things to blog about. Then I drift off to sleep..only to forget everything by morning. D’Oh!

If you’re still here and you’re still reading, well then God bless ya…I’ll be around more, I promise.

On the job front, I’m still freelance anchoring at WBAP NewsTalk 820AM from time to time. I think I’ll be heading that way in a few weeks, in fact, and boy does it feel good. I love staying at home, but it feels so amazing to get back into the old groove again every now and then.

Keep those prayers for Mom flowing, please! And I promise to keep you posted.

—c

–by Carla

Howdy and Happy New Year to ya! Sorry I’ve been a little MIA, but it’s been a little nuts around here. The worst of the worst came when my trusty old friend, Super Immunity, failed me. Yes, friends, I got sick. It is a phenomenon that happens only once in a blue moon, but it happened and it took me down hard. I mean, it’s not like I get to call in sick at my job or anything. Those two sweet little boys still need clean diapers, snazzy outfits and yummy food…several times each day. Rain or shine. Sick or not. I’m sort of like the U.S. Postal Service, you could say.

Quick recap since my last post: The holidays were amazing. It snowed on Christmas Eve…in Dallas! I’ve whipped up several batches of homemade chicken soup…it was a snap each time. I colored my own hair and didn’t turn it orange. I made homemade peppermint lip balm for the women in my family and close friends. It was so super fun and easy and very cost effective. $7.91 each. I also started making homemade sugar/lavender body scrub. I used to pay at least $20 for it, now it’s ready in minutes and so stinking inexpensive to make at home, it’s almost funny. Um, let’s see, Baby Boy got sick around the time I did…which really was no fun. Very strange things happened to my facebook page. There was a random charge on one of our credit cards which we got corrected. Ah…that’s about it. Actually, there’s tons more, but Baby Boy is about to break down and I’ve got to wrap things up here.

I’ve missed writing…and glad to be back in the groove! Have a great weekend.

by Heather

Much to your disbelief… I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. I’ve just been busy earning the award for “slacker blogger.”

Did I win? Maybe. Or perhaps you didn’t even notice that I’ve been absent.

It’s been one month since my little fingers tap, tap, tapped on the keyboard and pounded out a post. I’m sorry y’all. As the lamest excuse goes… Life just got in the way.

To be completely honest I was overwhelmed with school (4 A’s and a B+), family, the renovation and the rental. I had plenty of stories in mind to write. I just didn’t have the time or energy to get ‘em done.
So please forgive me. But just for grins let me throw out some of the titles. They are as follows: “Lipo Might be Cheaper”, “The Battle of the Dog” and “Christmas Crud.”

The Lipo story is based on my belief that lipsuction might be cheaper than buying shape wear, a gym membership and using a personal trainer. I’m still working on the math, but I think I may have a point here.

The Battle of the Dog is about my standoff with our dog, “Bella” AKA “Blanco Diablo.” She has “marked her territory” on my dining room rug TWICE. I naturally had a fit and had the rug shipped off to be scoured and scrubbed TWICE. I’ve set up road blocks and even hot wired the thing to keep her off of it. Much to my chagrin… my electrical get-up isn’t working.  So I’ve rigged the house with baby gates and have trained the children to shoo her away from the rug if there’s been a breach in security. Did I mention she’s the white devil?

Case in point. Here are the kids with Santa’s cookies…

Now here’s Bella eating one of those cookies…

 

Caught the damn dog in the act and snapped a picture with my Iphone. Yeah she knows she’s in trouble!

 

Christmas Crud revolved around the whole family getting sick over Christmas and canceling our ski vacation. Thankfully were able to reschedule. Now we’re laid up on the couch, coughing on each other, slurping NyQuil and Mucinex and watching Christmas movies.

Minus the snot and aches and pains it’s been kinda nice. We’re spending quality time together. Today we even managed to scrape ourselves off the sofa and play a little Wii. My 5 year old schooled me in bowling. He got 5 strikes.

I will try to not be such a slacker in the new year or just schedule my time a little better. I suppose I could make it a new year’s resolution… but I must confess I really don’t believe in those things. Let’s just say I’ll try to be a better Recession Mama. And get control of that dog.

 

-Heather 

 

 

by Carla