Written on Sunday morning, July 28.
Back on March 10th, I wrote an entry about how I have chosen to lean in to motherhood and take a 1 year unpaid maternity leave. The last time I did not have a full time job was 14 years ago in college and even those were part-time. So, for this career women, taking this time away from work was going to be a big change. If you did not get a chance to read that past blog entry here it is: When do you lean in and when do you lean back
About the Author
cafevic
Family Circus Twin Fun from my Mom
Last week, I got this great Family Circus cartoon in the mail. My mom has always been good at finding things in the newspaper and mailing it to us kids. I hope to do the same with mine.
Checking in
Reading: Loved!“Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail†by Cheryl Strayed, paperback. Still searching for the next book. Going to see it if the library has a copy of “Sisterland”..keep reading reviews about this book.
Watching: Anytime now, the Royal Baby will be here.
Listening to:Â Sam playing his Nintendo DS.
Thankful for: Â everything. I’m learning every day.
Looking forward to:Â more blog writing. Have some new categories going to be launching soon.
Sam Update: Potty trained, check!
Twin lesson:Â Girls are 2 months old! Latest lesson, invest in 2 Graco Swings! We have one from Sam when he was a baby and now I am in search of another one. They are life savers!
Twin Mom Morning Must Haves
After spending the first two hours of each morning feeding, changing, rocking, and smoothing two crying babies back to sleep while getting a toddler and husband out the door, I must have the following breakfast treats to bring me back to normal 
*Green tea served in one of my many coffee mugs I’ve picked up traveling. These mugs are great for triggering happy memories. This morning, I’m using my mug from our honeymoon at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai.
*Soft boiled egg. 7 minutes in bowling water = perfect egg I’ve got this down!
*Wheat toast with butter and grape jelly.
*Homemade fruit smoothie: frozen mangoes, bananas, pineapple, and apple juice.
*Glass of water.
*And by the time I sit down to enjoy my breakfast it is about 8:30am. Just in time to catch the last 30 minutes of the CBS Morning Show with Charlie Rose, Gayle King and fellow mother of three/twim mom Norah O’Donnell.
Checking in on Motherhood (after a good night sleep)
Reading: “Wild From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed, paperback. Love the mini break it gives me.
Watching: The girls eyes move when they hear things such as our birds chirping or Sam laughing.
Listening to: Always for those baby cries. Right now they are sleeping 2 to three hours at time, but you just never know..
Thankful for: All the help we are getting from our night nanny, to my student, family, and our neighbors. Help matters.
Looking forward to: So happy to be off bed rest!! Now looking forward to being able to lift the car seats in another month so I can take the girls on walks.
Sam Update: Compared to the twins, he is so big now. He wants to help yet he also wants extra hugs reminding me he too was a baby once.
Twin lesson: As I finish my third week with the twins I have to say, I really enjoy the quite time before help arrives or when they both are sleeping. I don’t feel lonely just a sense of peace. Our lives are pretty full right now and I am happy to say, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Successful Teams = Life-Long Friendships Made
Growing up, my parents sent my sister and I to a small Catholic elementary school called Mount St. Mary’s. I pretty much had the same classmates from 1st to 8th grade. What they didn’t realize they were doing by sending me to MSM was that I would experience the magic of forming life long friends. When high school arrived, majority of them went to the a different high school and myself and one other classmate went to the other local high school. As I moved through high school, I yearn to experience that close-knit group feeling. It wasn’t until I went to college and joined the Associated Students Productions Programming board and living on campus that I would meet a group of people who would then become life long friends.
I tell this story because it hit me today, as I looked out on to the college soccer fields, that it was just last May, I lead a group of student leaders who formed a bond that will forever give them life-long friends. It was on the same soccer field that Jose Mayen (AS VP) and Doris Vargas (PTK VP) started a tradition of Student Government vs Phi Theta Kappa Honors “end of the year” soccer game. I was looking out onto the soccer fields because a week ago, we lost Jose to a car accident. In my 12 years of advising student leaders, he was the first student leader I ever lost. His leadership, he willingness to include everyone, and his ability to be there for his team made last year’s student government team bond so well, they all became life long friends. As they all learned about Jose’s passing, it hit me how much they had grown to appreciate each other. Something that comes not too often. It makes me really proud that I was part of it.
Student life departments, student leadership programs, student engagement practices in the classroom; they all offer students the opportunity to bond with other students. They get to experience what is feels like to be part of a team either from experiencing an overnight leadership retreat together, weekend conference or simply meeting every week. And maybe, if the timing is right and so is that advisor or teacher, the students will form friendships that will last a lifetime.
In the field of student affairs, you have to ask yourself, do you have the magic, the energy, the desire, to build student teams? Do you know the tools? It can be learned. It for sure comes with practice. And boy, I pray you get to experience it some day. And I pray you also have a student like Jose.
Below is a picture of 2011-2012 ASCC board at their Spring Leadership Retreat. Jose is in the back row, 3rd person from the left.
New Category-Transfer Corner
Been thinking a lot about another use for my blog. I will be away from students for the next year raising my twin girls but I still want to have a connection with my student leaders and other community college students. So, I decided to start a Transfer Corner to support community college students who are making the transition from their local community college to the University. I hope you enjoy and if you know of a student making the jump from community college to University, please feel free to share my blog. Thanks!
Top 3 Transfer Tips I Always Give My Students:
1) Attend Your Transfer Orientation Day:Â Do whatever you can to make it to your Transfer Day orientation. Very important. They usually register you, help you pick the right classes and connect you with other transfer students.
2) Be Ready to Pay Your Fees the Day You Register: The University does not have grace periods like many of our community colleges. If you don’t pay the same day you register you will lose your classes. Period. Sill apply for Financial Aid!
3)Â Sunday night calls:Â For some Transfer students this will be your first time moving away from home. Right now, you probably are worried about your family and how they will handle you being away. I’ve always loved the advice of aim for Sunday night calls. It is a great way to remind yourself to keep connecting with your family and it will help with the home sickness that comes from moving away that first semester. For those of you that close enough to drive home, make it Sunday night dinners. Sometimes, all you need is a home cooked meal and a hug from Mom
When do you Lean In and when do you Lean Back?
This weekend, the hottest topic up for discussion is the launch of Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg new book “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead” and her non-profit LeanIn.org. I was excited to see Sheryl make the cover of Time. The cover story and the essay by Sheryl are excellent reads. I highly recommend you pick up a copy for yourself. After reading the article on Friday night and catching the response from the panel on “This Week” this morning, it got me thinking about my own personal journey.
TESTChecking In
Reading:Â For me, when I have more than one book on my night stand, I end up reading none of them. Then I go out and get a whole different book. Last Sunday, did just that. Picked up “The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain at an independent bookstore in Truckee CA called Bookshelf. The novel is a love story from the point of view of Ernest Hemingway’s wife Hadley Richardson.
Watching: Most Sunday mornings between 8am-9am, you can find me enjoying breakfast, the Sunday paper and watching “ABC News This Week with George Stephanopoulos”. Love the round table discussions. Huge fan of Donna Brazile.
Listening to:Â The Zac Brown Band. As I write this, they are preforming for the pre-show for the Daytona 500 which I might add, has the first female driver ever in the Pole Position. Go Danica Patrick!!
Thankful for: Â Being part of the Redwood city/San Mateo/San Carlos Leadership Class. We meet once a month. Next month’s theme is City Government. I’ve really enjoyed learning about economic development, local housing, and transportation.
Looking forward to: Just saw in March Oprah Magazine there is a new book coming out about Secretary of State Hilary Clinton called “The Secretary: A Journey with Hilary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power” by Kim Ghattas.
Sam Update:Â Sam turned 3 last week and we are soo proud of him. I’m heading into the “final 100 laps” of my twin pregnancy and Sam is doing really well handling what I can and cannot do with him. He already is a great helper.
Checking in
Reading: “When you’re expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads” by Dr. Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlein, “Blue Highways A Journey into America” by William Least Heat Moon , and “Happier at Home” by Gretchen Rubin. (My needs seem to change each night)
Watching:Â Lots of NFL Football. Go S.F. 49ers!! Yo! Don’t forget to organize that Super Bowl pool!
Listening to:Â New Saturday morning tradition, listening to “Wait Wait don’t Tell Me” on NPR Radio.
Thankful for:Â Being able to talk with our son Sam. He can speak full sentences, sing songs, and can tell us what he needs and what is bothering him. He will be 3 next month.
Looking forward to: Today.