I have been totally neglecting this blog for a while now. Lots of things are happening, and you can catch the gist of it all through the Tweets.

I am going to start a full time job next month as the Web Administrator for the Pueblo City-County Library district. For the first time in 9 years, I will get up, get dressed and drive to work. With other people. And I’m excited about it!

During the process, I have to admit that I have had this knot in my stomach about the change this would make to the lives of my children. I have stopped and started job hunting in the last year. And each time, for one reason or another, it never worked out. And it seemed like it was always for the best.

But as I interviewed for *this* position, first on the phone, then in person – by committee, technical interview and the library director, I felt this sense of confidence and accomplishment so different from those same feelings instilled by parenting. Suddenly, I really, REALLY wanted the job.

I’ve always been a big believer that things that when things I thought I wanted don’t happen that it was simply not meant to be, and that something better is on the horizon.

Through each step of the process, I had to work hard to not get too caught up in thinking about how this is a nearly perfect job for me (if the commute were about 20 minutes shorter, it would be perfect), so that if I didn’t get the job, I wouldn’t be devastated.

Luckily the process moved quickly. I sent my application in on January 5th. On the 15th, I got a call to set up a phone interview. After my phone interview on the 20th, they called the next day to set up my onsite interview. After my full interview on January 26, they emailed on the 27th, asking for references.

I scrambled a list of clients together, then prepped them by saying that they might get a call about this job, and reassuring them that I would be able to still do maintenance on their sites, and finish up any current projects, but would not take any more new clients. During that day, three of my clients emailed me to say that they had been contacted.

The next day, I got a call letting me know that an offer was forthcoming. The following day, the offer arrived. And it was exactly what I asked for, with the added benefit of some really great benefits (optional health benefit, 15 days vacation, sick leave, personal days, 401k matching…).

I called Doug first, then ran downstairs to tell the boys. Next, I called May. That knot I was feeling was replaced with excited anticipation.

Zander says he is happy for me, and Zevan says, “I don’t want you to have a job.” But I think he felt a little bit better when I told him that this job would enable us to take actual family vacations again.

The commute will take some getting used to, but the 40 minute drive from driveway to parking lot is actually a peaceful drive with not a lot of traffic. Definitely better than my Denver commute to Navidec.

And the boys will have some adjustments. My dad will be picking the boys up from school, and taking them home with him or to Grandma’s house until Doug or I are done with our work day.

My first day at work is a paid All Staff Development Day which happens to land on President’s Day, and the boys have no school. But I know my mom will be thrilled to have the boys during the day, since her swing shift job prevents her from seeing them as often as she used to.

So, here I go, on the next leg of my life journey.

Yesterday we had parent teacher conferences for both boys.

The first one was with Ms. Paula Strobl, Zevan’s teacher. Clearly she really enjoys having Zevan in her class.

Earlier this year she went out of her way to tell me how wonderful he was with helping introduce the classroom to the new students in his class this year, particularly the 3 year olds.

She said Zevan was very observant, and that is how he learns. He will watch her show another student a particular “work” and then he is able to do it himself, and even instruct others.

He is meticulous in his cutting work, excels in math work (teens board and golden bead work) and can read short vowel words and some sight words. He is much less aggressive than he was at the beginning of the school year All in all, she just raved about him, and thanked us for being good parents. What a wonderful thing to hear from your child’s teacher.

Then we went over to Zander’s class to speak with Ms. Catherine. She just gushed about him. His detailed drawings, his reading level, his math skills, his behavior this year. How he assisted one of the teachers’ aides in logging in the other children to the computer.

When we asked what we need to work on with him, she laughed and asked us what we did to get him at his level. He does need to work on his writing conventions – he uses all capital and one lower case letter when writing his name (ZANdER) and still writes some letters backwards. This was a big change from last year when he was unable to stay focused on task and repeatedly told us school was boring.

And he got his first report card.

Needless to say, we were really happy with the progress reports. I hope that we can continue on this path, and that they both continue to enjoy learning.

So, yay! I feel like a pretty good mom about now. I’ll try not to gloat.

My new nephew, born today June 11, 2006

7 lb 13 oz
20 3/4″
black hair
brown eyes

Super cute!

I’ll try and post pics soon…

    My parents are now residents of Colorado Springs!  Yippee!   

Mom and Dad left NJ on May 22.   I went to all this trouble to plan their itinerary, with my dad’s condition of driving just 8-10 hours per day.  Well, what he didn’t mention was that he was going to start driving at 4:30 AM.  They were at my first planned stop by 1 PM their first day!  Thanks to cell phone coverage, our high speed internet connection and TravMatix, I was able to adjust their itinerary on the fly – their one requirement of a hotel that accomodated parking their U-Haul fulfilled.

The first night they stopped in Indiana, the next night, they were already in Hays, KS!  They arrived a full day earlier than expected.  I heard some vehicle noise outside, and ran out to open the garage door.  As the door lifted, I see my mom standing by their Mercedes, with my dad backing up their 26′ rented UHaul truck.   Right into the rear passenger door of the Mercedes.  My mom and I both screamed for him to stop – unbeknowst to my dad who HAD HIS WINDOW CLOSED and couldn’t hear it.    He punctured the door with a good size hole.  Once we told him what he had done, it was the first time I ever heard my dad drop the F-bomb.   

Despite that, we had a warm welcome all around.  The kids were great – reaffirming my parents decision to move here.    

THURSDAY
On Thursday morning we had a walk-through at the new house, and hired a guy to steam clean the carpets.  We met the current owners, a nice couple.  The husband grew up in the house.  His mother has passed away 2 years ago, he worked on fixing up the house to sell since then.  His wife took care of his mom until the end.  They were thrilled to know that grandkids would be playing in the house. 

My parents went to Denver to visit my sister, who is on bedrest at 35.5 weeks.  That night, Doug, Zander, Zevan and I met up with John, Tiffany and Eli at the zoo for opening night of the Wallaby Walkabout.

FRIDAY
On Friday, we had the closing!  The house buying process, especially the mortgage application, is grueling.  I didn’t do this much work when Doug and I bought either of our homes.     That’s a whole other story.  Thankfully, our realtor/buying agent, John Hauber was a trooper through the whole process.  He nearly always answered the phone when I called, and if he wasn’t available, he called me back right away.

During the closing, while waiting on the call from the bank that the funds were there (another long story), my parents recounted their story of coming to the US and how they had to fight deportation.  Stuff I never even knew.  I think I need to start recording an oral history from my parents.

After the closing, we went over to Colorado Springs Utilities to transfer the services.  I have to admit, their customer service was quick and easy that day.  I was impressed.

After that, we went over to the house to start moving in.  Dad and I picked up the truck while Jeff, Kristi and Kylie waited at the new house.  Doug came and we started unloading around 1 PM.  Dani and Auri came by to help out for a while, too.    After helping with the huge treadmill, Doug had to leave to work at the comic book store. which left dad, Jeff and I to finish unloading.  There were just 4 really BIG pieces, my dad’s treadmill, the dining room hutch and top and the headboard unit of my parents bed.  Thankfully my dad rented the appliance dolly – that’s a back saver!  We only had one near disaster when my dad almost dropped his end of the dining room hutch, but I was right behind him and helped him catch it before it hit the ground.  We took a short break around 3 PM to eat pizza and fruit.  We were done before 4:00 PM.  I couldn’t believe it went by so fast. I thought we’d be unloading for a lot longer!  Especially with such a small crew. 

Side note: Yes, Jeff rescued those kids after 3 hours of heavy lifting!  Even more reason he’s a HERO!

My parents had tons of stuff in storage and furniture that was living at various relative’s homes which they recollected and loaded onto the truck.  It was like a time capsule.  The dining room hutch and top were among the first pieces of furniture they bought, right after my brother was born in 1970.  There WAS a matching table and chair set which my brother threw away (yes, Fran, I think Dad’s a little bitter about that still  ).  I remember eating at that table as a child.   The best was the pictures.  Two huge formal family photos…one from the mid 80s (the hair!) and one from a few years later.

We went back to my house to relieve Vikki and check in with the boys.  My mom cooked us beef sinagang for dinner while dad went back to his new house to unpack – his computer, of course!  We all had dinner together and then my parents went back to their new house to spend the night.

SATURDAY
Saturday morning, after breakfast, the boys and I went to their house.  The boys ran around while we spent some time unpacking.  After lunch, my dad set up the TV and we turned on PBS for the kids.   We went downtown and had lunch at Acacia Park, visited Uncle Wilber’s fountain and stopped by the comic shop where Doug was working.  We ended the day trip with a trip to Coldstone Creamery.  My parents went home so my dad could pack for his trip back (he has to go back to NJ to finish his Diaconate classes until June 17).  Around 8, my mom and I drove him to the Denver airport for his red eye flight to NJ. 

SUNDAY
Mom’s staying the nights at our place until dad gets back.  Mom got up early to go to Sacred Heart Mass at 7:30 AM.  Thankfully, she let me sleep in.  That morning, after breakfast, Mom, Doug, Zander, Zevan and I went to Territory Days.  We ran into Lindsey and her family at Bancroft Park, and met up with Candy & Misha over by Meadow Muffins.  It was a HOT day!  We took in the sights for a couple of hours and then headed home. 

We have been busy!  My house is a wreck, and I’m barely keeping up with laundry, but for now, it’s all worth it.  I’m SO excited and thrilled that my parents live here!   

My name is Maida Carpio Scott, and I created this website, www.TheHealthyMom.com. I’m a work-at-home, semi-crunchy mom to 2 handsome, intelligent boys and wife to a wonderful, loving husband.

I am a first generation Filipina-American, born in Philadelphia, raised in New Jersey. I went to college for two years, served in the Air Force (active duty, then reserves), then finished my BS in Electrical Engineering. I married my soul mate, Doug, in 1996, after a 4 year long courtship. My oldest son is Zander, who is will be 3 in October 2005. His baby brother, Zevan, will be 16 months old on August 18, 2005.

My first internship was at Hewlett Packard, and one of my assignments was to learn how to make web pages. This was 1995, when the internet was “new.” An HP affiliate asked me to create a website for him. And that’s how MaidaNet was born.

I created this site to help with my journey through motherhood, and share my experiences and lessons learned. I also hope to earn money so that I can continue to stay home with my Zboys.

I hope you like it!