What a weekend! In addition to a sunburn and $1 flip flops from Old Navy, the past two days were filled with a whole lot of nostalgia. Here's why: It seemed as though everything we did, I was reminded of my days as a kid. You know those warm and fuzzies you get when you think about the good times of your childhood? That was this weekend for me.

Exhibit A: Last week Rob and I had the front walk to our house put in as well as a slab of concrete on the side of our house for Sadie's kennel. We decided to write Sam and Claire's names in the cement along with the year as a little reminder of where we are today. My mom and dad did the same thing with us - except we did handprints in addition to the names. It is still so cool to see our names in the cement and know that we were so young and carefree. Even at two-years-old Sam thinks its so cool.

Exhibit B: The smell of a summer morning in the country. Wildflowers, muggy breezes, fresh-cut grass. If you know me personally, you know that my husband and I just moved into a house that's located in my old neighborhood. More specifically, roughly 250 yards away from my old house. Yesterday morning I took the girls on a walk while Rob was doing some work outside and it was amazing! When we were young my sisters and brothers and I would wake up early and get outside as soon as we could to re-start our games from the day before. I'll always remember the smells of those summers.

Exhibit C: Bon fires. In my neighborhood, my family is known for our large bon fires in the summer. More noteably, when we were in high school. Last night was the perfect night for one and that's exactly what happened. My brother, Alex,  invited several of his friends over and we just hung out, drank some cocktails and chatted.

These are just three of the things that I love so much about summer and where I live. I am so happy that my girls get to experience the same things I did when I was young and I hope they look back and appreciate them like I am now.
If you want to know how the weekend ended, Rob and I took the girls to Menomonee Park and ate lunch, played on the playground and went through the zoo. We stopped back at my parents house and hung out for the rest of the day. I have the horrid sunburn to prove it.

What are your favorite summer memories?

So I had a thought. There are certain types of people in this world that just seem to be more approachable and less threatening than others. In my opinion (and experience) some people find mothers more approachable. Do you think this is true? Have you ever seen a mother in the store with her children and feel no hesitation to tilt your head to the side, smile and ask her how old they are? You just can't help it. On the flip side, mothers are usually never at a loss of words for their children.
This brings me to another point. Are working mothers less of threat to other working women? Looking back at my pre-baby years I remember thinking that working moms had to rush out of work to hang out with their children that they haven't seen all day - which gave me a chance to "catch up" on work after hours. At that time I didn't have to worry about anyone else in the morning and was able to come in early without too much extra stress and stay late without dealing with the guilt.
Now that I am a working mother, I feel that I have to work ten-times harder at my job to prove myself and ensure people take me seriously. What's my priority?Yes, there are days that I don't make it to work at 8 a.m. because I spend a little extra time with the girls but there are also days where I work through my lunch and stay late to make sure I deliver the best performance I can every chance I get.
If you don't have children, do you view working parents/mothers as less of a threat in the workplace? Why? Be honest. I really want to know.  

Although this post is embarrassing, it's the truth and I know there are plenty of parents out there that have experienced this. If you don't know what I'm talking about then this post will serve as a train wreck for you because you won't be able to stop reading it. Here we go:
In an attempt to get the grocery shopping done and spend quality time with our two-year-old, Sam, Rob and I decided to divide and conquer. He took Claire to the grocery store and I took Sam to the library. Rob dropped us off and told me he'd be back in 45 minutes. If you've been to the Oshkosh Public Library you know that the kids area is pretty awesome. They have fun furniture, puzzles, and a colorful rug where kids can hang out and read their books. Sam always associates the comfortable atmosphere with "home" so she immediately takes off her jacket and shoes and gets settled in. We literally were there for just enough time to take her shoes off and her little body tensed up and she started crying, "Poopy, mommy, poopy!!" Needless to say she is freaking out about
1.) She has to poop.
2.) She is afraid of public restrooms. 
Thank goodness she had her shoes off because as I was trying to lift her onto the toilet she arched her back and swung her legs behind her just in time for me to stick her feet in the toilet. Fabulous. Tights come off and shoes go back on. 
After some quick pleading I finally get her to go just in time for her to unveil to me that she has diarrhea (Oh yes, this is gonna get ugly). At this point, Rob is gone and I'm stuck. After singing the ABC's and washing our hands we go back out to the children's area and begin to look at the DVD's while I quietly pray for her next bout to hold off. No such luck. A minute later she announces to the world that she has to poop again. At this point I picked her up and ran so fast that I'm pretty sure I looked like a linebacker holding a football as I raced to the bathroom. When she started saying, "I can't do it mommy, I can't do it." I knew the worst had happened. Oh Pumpernickel. I now have a two-year-old going commando while wearing a dress. So, I called Rob to have him pick up some Pull-Ups and we camped out by the bathroom until he came to my rescue. In the meantime, I occupied Sam by reading her Dora and Scooby-Doo books. After I finished one of the books she looks at me with her sneaky little eyes (check out the picture below to see what I'm talking about) and says, "Mom, my butt is naked on the carpet."
After composing myself I realized that this is the stuff that makes life something you can laugh at. Anyone who interacts with young children knows what I'm talking about. If you have a good story, feel free to share it so I don't feel like the only one.

If you follow my blog, you'll know that I spent the last four months training for the Oshkosh Half Marathon. Finally, this past Sunday all the sweat, sore muscles and throbbing feet paid off. It felt so good to complete something most people view moderately difficult.
Now I'm a people-watcher to begin with but hanging out at the start line at 6:45 a.m. on Sunday morning was pretty interesting. I could go on and on about the array of characters I saw but I want to cut right to the point: Did you know that running in an organized race is an amazing opportunity to get a message out to a large audience by advertising on your back!? I wish I would've taken photos of these people. I had my phone with me but was having some difficulty with my new arm band and didn't want to take it out of its case for fear that the race was going to start while I was trying to take the picture and it would throw off my chi.
 Anyway, you name it and I saw it. Call me naive but I thought my sister and I were the only ones smart enough to put messages on our backs! Vicki is one of the coaches for a new all-star cheerleading team, the Elite Oshkosh Knights (@EliteOK) and she used her back to promote her team. I was raising awareness of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), specifically for a young family in Fond du Lac who has a nine-month-old named Lucy with type 1 SMA. Barb Zahn, the mother, is running a campaign to raise $10,000 by Lucy's first birthday in July.
I met the Zahn's through a Facebook friend and just happened to click on a video link about Lucy from my friend's status update. Words cannot describe how this video affected me. Lucy is about five weeks older than my Claire and struggling with a disease that no child or adult for that matter should have to struggle with. Although I've never met the Zahn's personally, I am compelled to do whatever I can to help them. 
So, you guessed it. My husband and I trotted out to the starting line on Sunday morning with a message pinned to our backs: We love Lucy Zahn! Help fight SMA. www.toshaveornottoshave.com. Although we weren't original, we were hopeful. Hopeful that someone might see our message, remember it and take action. For Lucy.

 

Today I spent the afternoon in Dempsey Hall at UW Oshkosh interviewing seniors in the Journalism Department for a mock interview session. It was extremely interesting for me to chat with them about their thoughts on social media, how they use it to help brand themeselves and what they're doing to network in the community.
Surprisingly, only one out of the four students really utilized Twitter to benefit her personal brand. Overall, I'm learning that not many students use Twitter. Most don't understand what it is or what the point of it even is. My goal is to help change that on campus. 
I think Twitter is a great networking tool and much more effective than email. Since you only have 140 characters to work with, your message is strategic, short and to the point. It's great! 
I'm looking forward to seeing what the Journalism Department will bring to the table to aid students in social networking etiquette and the basics on how to use networking sites.
I also noticed that each of them were knowledgeable in graphic design, photography, writing and marketing. I was impressed by this because it definitely will give them a cutting edge against their competitor who only knows how to write. 
My goal in my job is to become a trusted resource for current students and help them get answers, critique resumes and educate them on the proper ways to use social media for professional purposes. I'm looking forward to meeting new students and collaborating with others on campus to help make this happen.

This week started out with tough deadlines, long hours and ear infections and ended with an amazing day spent with new friends, my intern and experts in my field.
Today I was lucky enough to attend the Public Relations + Social Media Summit put on by Comet Branding and Big Shoes Network at Marquette University. It was filled with amazing speakers, local and regional professionals and, of course, lots of tweeting. I learned so much and was extremely happy that I decided to make the trip down to Milwaukee - even if I had to white-knuckle it the whole way through this morning's wonderful April snow shower.
One reoccuring thought I had throughout the day was, "How the hell do they have time for all this!?" As a fairly new mom of two daughters under the age of 3, I find it a huge accomplishment if I can get to work on time each day let alone tend to my daily duties AND tweet AND stay current with new trends and current events. What's a girl to do?
Amber Naslund (@ambercadabra) from Radian 6 told us that between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. she turns her phone and computer off so her daughter has her undivided attention. She even mentioned that she puts availability hours in her Twitter handlebar to show her Twitter hours. I thought that was pretty smart. I love staying up-to-date and in the fray with what my social networks are doing but let's be real, I have a job and students to tend to during the day. I can't be updating Hootsuite every five minutes!
Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) from Sevans Strategy told us that she sometimes checks Twitter only two to three times a day if she has a deadline or client meetings. It was such a relief to know that the Twilebrities are human, too. 
So, as a result to all this craziness today, I'd like to pose a question to all the successful Public Relations/Social Media experts out there (ehem...Lisa Cruz, Jess Dennis and TommyTRC):
How do you make time for your children and become so successful in your career without driving your spouse crazy? I know there have been plenty of times where my husband has begged me to put the electronic devices down and just watch Open Season with him and the girls. Fill me in! In the meantime, I'll keep the work I do at home to a minimum and heed your advice when it comes in.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I come from a big family. I am the second oldest of six children and there are four of us girls. My two brothers, the poor saps, learned at a very young age to look at the floor and walk swiftly out of the room the second one of our neatly-plucked eyebrows raised at one another.  
Don't get me wrong, my sisters and I love each other very much. I'd do anything for any one of my siblings but there is something to be said about sharing the same DNA with someone - specifically a female - and how they can really get your undies...er...in our case, VS panties in a bunch.
I'm not going to try to generalize this topic because I think my situation is extremely interesting only because my sisters and I are so close in age, we practically do everything together and we have several similarities.
A couple of years ago we issued this "No Sister Left Behind Act" which means if one of us decided to make plans, we had to invite all of the sisters and, of course, our mom - she's the ring leader and the one that keeps us in line when she can. The point of this act is to ensure we spend time together and that no one gets left out. 
There are, however, some unspoken/unwritten rules about this act that still come back to bite us if we don't abide:
1.) Mom is always invited.
2.) Even if we know one of us can't make it, you still have to call that person and tell them about the outing in the event they want to change plans.
3.) If more than half of us are crabby, the remaining have to stay happy to show us how ridiculous we are being.
4.) If #3 doesn't work and we're all bitches: "Houston, we have a problem. Abort mission. I repeat, Abort mission!"
5.) Movie dates and pedicures are always stand-by outings.

So, if you're rolling your eyes and thinking my family is crazy, don't despair (I didn't think you would actually despair about this). We're not always this extreme with our rules nor are we always PMS-ing She-Hulks ready to bust out of our City Pants to wreak havoc on unsuspecting victims.  Half the time we're joking with each other about the "No Sister Left Behind Act" but it is something we do to make sure the girls in our family are spending time together. It's really nice having a built-in network of girlfriends that you don't have to be afraid to be a bitch to every once in a while.

The bigger point here is that I am very lucky to have my mom and my sisters(and my bros and dad for that matter). I know we drive our brothers, dad and husbands absolutely insane but we understand each other and support each other when the need is there.
I pray that my daughters experience this kind of relationship with each other and don't forget about me when they plan their girly trips!
Below are some pictures of my family.
Picture #1 from left: Patti, Me, Mom, Vicki and Liz
Picture #2 from left: Patti, Me, Vicki and Liz
Picture #3 clockwise: Dad, bro Zach, my husband Rob, bro Alex and Liz's husband Steve. My other brother-in-law (Vicki's husband) was not here that summer as he was serving in Iraq.

Today started out fairly difficult. I had to bring Claire into the doctor so instead of bringing Samantha to my sister's house in Fond du Lac (that's where she goes for daycare) and coming back to Oshkosh to the doctor and going back to Fondy to drop Claire off, I decided to bring both the girls into the office for a few hours before our 10:30 a.m. appointment. Not the best idea.
Let's be real, the office is not a place for a two-year-old and a six-month-old. I came prepared with the necessary tools: rattles, DVD's, crayons and snacks but that didn't help me when Samantha (my two-year-old) was afraid to go to the potty in the public bathroom. There's nothing like negotiating with your child in front of your co-workers.
Soon we were on our way to the hospital to have Claire checked out and upon our arrival, Sam decided she was "weally, weally scared of the elegator (elevator)". It just seemed like everything was a challenge today. A double ear infection and one bottle of amoxacyllin later, we were on our way to Fond du Lac to drop off the girls and for me to head back to work.

I was thankful to be back in my office by 12:30 p.m. and plugging away at my To Do list. I had much to do today and was supposed to meet some girls from work at 5:30 p.m. for dinner in Appleton. A week or so ago a couple of girls in the office planned a girls night out for a bunch of us and tonight was the night. It was amazing! Great ambiance, half-off martinis and a three course fondue meal for $18/person! Everything was so delicious and the company was fantastic. We chatted about relationships, our love for cheese and chocolate, graduation and how we're spending our Furlough Day tomorrow. It was so nice to get out and talk with adults and have no interruptions.

I'm fully expecting another Reeve Union Ladies night in April and am completely looking forward to it. Next time Lisa, I'll drive. :)

Cat-napping on a beach, bonding with buddy on a road trip, volunteering at a homeless shelter, or just enjoying the deviation of the norm. Spring break can mean different things to many people.

To me, it means empty hallways, cleaning my office and a guaranteed parking spot in the lot across from Reeve Union. One of the many things I love about my job is the fact that you can never get too comfortable before the environment decides to change. Working on a college campus is both unpredictable and rewarding at the same time. I walk around Reeve and campus with my little notebook and constantly update my To Do list because my day-to-day duties are contstantly changing. 

My work life is segmented into four separate chunks of time: fall semester, winter break, spring semester and summer vacation - which is extremely nostalgic of elementary school because you are always looking to the next thing coming up hmmm.....sound familiar?.  Since my job largely rotates around my student employees and their projects, my projects often fall to the wayside until I can pick them up again when I have time - like spring break.

So regardless if you are reading this from your Cabana in Mexico or on your blackberry in your car (which you shouldn't be - it's dangerous!) I hope you think of me this spring break as I attempt to organize myself again before all the students come back.

Hopefully they will be well-rested and refreshed to get stuff done!

Life is chaotic, hectic and unpredictable. When I was in college I used to think, "I can't wait until I graduate. My schedule will be straightforward and I won't have to deal with homework. I can just go to work and come home."
Well, that only lasted for about a year or two. As a non-traditional student I was already married while I was in school so by the time I graduated, I was already thinking about buying a house and having a family.
Do you ever catch yourself forgetting about the moment you're living in and only concentrate on the future? If you do, you're not alone. Although some may not categorize "future planning" as a weakness, I often take it to the next level by antagonizing over the details of what I want to accomplish versus celebrating my accomplishments.
 When I sit down with my student employees and the conversation turns to their future, my goal in the discussion is for them to realize what they are doing now and make the best of it. Work harder, go above and beyond and make the most of their experience in Reeve Marketing. This is the only time in their lives where it is excuseable to make mistakes that won't cost them a boatload of money. Once they get to the real world, it's time and money and no one has sympathy when either one of those are wasted.
With that being said, I'm making a manifesto to continue to be a planner but not go overboard. I'd like to enjoy what my life has to offer right here, right now: a wonderful husband, two amazing little girls, a rewarding and challenging career, family, friends and, of course, shoes. 
Speaking of which, I cannot wait to see Sex and the City 2 coming out this year! Stay tuned on that. In honor of my accomplishments in life, both personal and professional, I posted a few pictures to share - my wedding day, graduation day and the living room of our first home. Enjoy!