The schools in my area are closed right now for “ski week”, although I don’t know if it’s officially called that.

I’ve only heard one or two people actually call it “ski week” and that was two years ago. We had just moved here and I was looking at preschools for Scout.

No, you cannot  tour the school next week because it’s Skeeeee Weeeeeek and no one will be here. Not that your son would get in anyway. Registration was last week before everyone left for skeeeeee-ing, but you can send a ginormous check to be put on our waiting list…

The “duh” was implied. We did not choose that school for our son, but the name stuck. Besides, a number of my friends are in Tahoe right now and I would imagine, skiing… so it works, right?

I, on the other hand, am home with my two kids who are begging for attention because I didn’t think ahead to make alternative plans. Gah!

This shouldn’t be that abnormal. For all of our mish-mashed, piecemeal, part-time childcare “solutions”, my children are with me enough that I still consider myself a stay-at-home mom. Just one with conference calls and deadlines…

But there’s just something about being on BREAK… and having been to school, the crazy expectation that every moment be filled with freakin’ circle time and music or elaborate “crafts” involving finger paint, cotton balls, and coffee beans…

There was no craft at my house this morning. Instead, I had to finish an article for tomorrow as my daughter climbed all over me– using my hair as a rope, sticking her head down my shirt, hitting the spacebar as I feverishly typed, hitting me once I put her back down…

Meanwhile, I’m entering Day Four of a “Hug Stand-off” with my son. I ask if I can hug him because “I love him SO much”.

He tilts his head to consider it for a moment, then says, “Hmmm…. not right now. Maybe tomorrow”.

Ah, yes… tomorrow. We’ll be doing this again tomorrow.

Appealing to my mom + tech savoir-faire, a friend from college wrote me earlier this week to get a recommendation on baby monitors.

Umm…

Our first baby monitor was lost in the move, but it wasn’t anything worth raving about. The second time around, we went for inexpensive, basic, and utilitarian and bought  the Safety 1st Go and Glow. I chose it because it has a temperature gauge. That is all.

My cold-natured daughter has zero tolerance for the slightest dip in temp, whereas I hardly notice. It took MONTHS to realize this. Now the cozier, the happier… for mama and baby.

Range, video, etc… I could care less about, but the “Go and Glow” has worked remarkably well. I can’t complain. Not that Lou even slept in her own room until she was almost a year old…

Also, our house is small enough that we know exactly when she’s is ready to get up.  She just bangs on the adjoining wall between her room and mine… or yells.

Not wanting to let my friend down, I did what I do best. Research!  I reread reviews I’d seen in the past, dug up recommendations from other friends, and poured through various mom-tech sites. I sent her links to the baby monitors that I’d heard the most good things about, plus one that was debuted at CES 2011 that works with a smart phone. (Price was not yet disclosed, but I imagine “not cheap”…)

In my internet hopping, I found a baby monitor that plays into every single new parent fear. For instance…

Never miss a moment… ever!

The Lorex Live Snap Video Monitor has night vision and an SD card.

You can snap a thousand and seven photos of your baby sleeping, then post them directly to your Facebook page for all the world to enjoy. Quick! Someone warn, STFU, Parents.

Helicopter Parent, Coming in for a Landing

The sensor pad detects your baby’s slightest movements. The very slightest… it detects and reports to you. (I don’t even want to be aware of my every movement.)  It also sounds an alarm if your baby isn’t moving.

What’s the point of  buying a baby monitor when what you really want to do is stand over your baby’s crib with a hand mirror. For the price of this monitor, you could buy about twenty or thirty of those.

Paranoia, Metanoia

I also found a handful of Wi-Fi enabled, remotely-accessed baby monitors/nanny camera… and I just had to stop for this brief PSA. If you’re that suspicious of your childcare, you don’t need a baby monitor. You need  a new babysitter.

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I know there has to be a legitimate need for these products. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be sold, right?  Yeah… I’m thinking, “No. No there is not.”

Interesting to note. Do you know what there isn’t enough of? A single “reasonably priced” baby monitor for two kids in two different rooms, which is what my friend needs.

Instead of New Year’s resolutions, I set out to eliminate “Eleven Things” my life doesn’t need in 2011. I once read that if you set a goal and work at it every single day,  it only takes 21 days (3 weeks) to make it a habit.  So this is my public “check-in” to hold myself accountable.

I know what you’re thinking. “But, Grace, it’s the 31st day of the month, not the 21st!”  To which I respond, “Yes it is.”

Moving on. This post began as a laundry list of what I’ve been working on and what I haven’t. I wrote it, read it, and was bored to tears. I scrapped it and started over. Instead of a boring list, I want to share with you my biggest challenge of the year- the never-ending clutter. Or as I call it, my war against the toys.

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As you’ve probably guessed, my children want for nothing…

Not food. That they petulantly toss on the floor as if we lived in Medieval Times (the restaurant, not the Dark Ages). Not for clothing nor shelter. Not for love nor doting parents. And most definitely NOT for toys!

Moving three times in eighteen months, I thought we had done enough to significantly pare down our “stuff”. Then, as my baby grew into a toddler and my toddler grew into a boy, the toys didn’t necessarily multiply. They just got smaller and more difficult to track…

There’s the yellow game piece in my bathroom and cards on the kitchen counter that never seemed to make it back to the board game in the office. I constantly trip over cars and bath toys as I run around the kitchen making dinner. I’ve been awoken in the dead of night by a “Speak n’ Say” left in my bed.

Yet, it wasn’t until a few weekends ago that I finally DID something about it. I was feeling super guilty about not spending enough time with my kids because I was on my computer working. But the truth is, I probably only spent a total of three hours writing and it was while Mike was with the kids at the park anyway.

The rest of the weekend was spent tracking down the pieces from one puzzle that was mixed in with the Little People and putting the wand back with the magic set and finding a place for it in the hall closet… et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

That night, I declared my bedroom, the bathrooms, the hallways, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and the laundry room NO TOY ZONES!

This is how it works…

Any toy my foot touches in the “no toy zone” goes in a bag. The bag goes in a box in the garage. That box goes to Goodwill.

Hey, don’t call me Cruella just yet. My children each have their own rooms, a play room, and commandeered three-fourths of our home office where they can build, trash, and destroy to their little heart’s content. So long as they get picked up at bedtime…

Also, they can have toys in the “no toy zone”, they just can’t keep them there. And they definitely can’t be on the floor. (I enacted this caveat to prevent my rulesy four-year-old from yanking toys from my unsteady and non-verbal eighteen-month-old.)

The kids get puh-lenty of warnings and reminders. We set aside time before dinner for them to put stuff away, but Mike and I help… a lot actually.

Mostly, I want to them to learn 1. how to be responsible for their things and 2. that keeping the house clean is a TEAM effort.

How is it working?

It’s only been a little over a week, and already my kids scramble whenever they hear the “pop” of a garbage bag. Both of them.

Truthfully, the only toys that have made it to the donation pile are the baby baby toys that no one plays with yet always seem to be everywhere.

Also, I’m too cheap to actually toss part of board games or Lego sets, so that stuff would eventually make it back to their boxes undetected after the kids are in bed. (shhh…)

But don’t think for a second that this isn’t just some elaborate rouse to rid my house of the four thousand and thirteen rubber bouncy balls, whistles, and spider rings that come in every party favor bag. It is.

Oh, and all the “chatty” toys that come alive at night. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Speak n’ Say.

It’s been a busy few months.

I kicked off January in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show. I met an incredible group of women, “ladies who tech”. I saw tech in action that won’t be available until later this year, 2012, and even 2018, yet the BIGGEST thrill of CES… LeVar Burton. I haven’t felt that “in my element” in years.

I got there by being the Tech Columnist for a fabulous site called ShePosts. I started writing about all things tech, social media, gadget, and API related last November. You can find me there three times a week.

I’ve managed to write a parenting post for the Technorati Womens Channel once an month.

I still contribute once a week at Mama Manifesto… most weeks.

I just bought my ticket to BlogHer ’11 and am contemplating Type A Parent. WOOT!

My parents, sisters, and brother-in-law celebrated Christmas with us at our house. Even though both of my kids had a cold, we managed to have a magnificent time. They left shortly before New Year’s Eve, which we rang in with champagne at home (kids had juice)… just the way I like it.

My kids are healthy and happy. My husband is content. My house is tidy (thanks to my cleaning service). I love my friends, both online and off.

Making the leap from SAHM to WAHM has been stressful and tiring but otherwise, I’m doing well. Really, really well.

So, the one thing being neglected is… this blog.

I have a backlog of posts (in my head) that never seem to get written. Some of them are about events that felt too personal at the time. Then when they’re over, they’re over. I don’t want to talk about them anymore. Other stuff I’m too afraid to discuss. Period.

Most of this “fear” seems to stem from the fact that this blog had no higher purpose. I’ve never felt like much of a “mommy blogger”, not in the way that others who are so good at writing the sentimental posts and taking the gauzy photos are.

I love food, but admit that I’m not much of a cook. It takes my all to just get dinner prepped and served in under an hour some nights and it rarely looks photo-ready on the plate.

Until I started writing about tech, I hadn’t felt particularly passionate or an expert about any one thing. I was just… me.

Creating a brand for myself seemed silly, yet I spend endless hours researching and writing my heart out for everyone else. In fact, I think nothing of it. I’m grateful for the opportunity and happy to be part of a community.

But what of me?

I picked up this meme from my dear friend Jessica’s blog.  I too have a mountain of backdated posts in my head, but I wanted to take time to reflect on 2010.

Want to join too? Copy the questions and answer them in your own blog, then link to Jessica’s post… or you can just leave it in the comments below. You don’t have to answer all of them. Feel free to pick and choose as you wish.

Can you sum up your personal 2010 in just one word?

Overcoming.

Best thing you ate in 2010?

Barbecue shrimp and grits and beignets from NOLA in Palo Alto. Just as delicious as the ones I’ve had in South Carolina and Louisiana, respectively.

What do you feel you wasted time on last year?

Complaining rather than appreciating. Getting caught up in the day to day and missing the big picture. Fretting.

One regret from the past year?

Just one? My biggest regret is not documenting my children’s live as closely as I should via photos, videos, or blog posts. As I tried to come up with an end of year wrap-up, I drew a complete blank, and I realized, to my utter horror, how much I’ve let slip by.

The second biggest regret is being so hard on my husband for things that are neither his fault or under his control.

Faced with so many changes-bam, bam, bam- in a row has taken it’s toll on our marriage. There are times when I wish I hadn’t lost my patience and other times I was glad to just put it all out there.

What I don’t regret is the opportunity it’s given us to grow closer. We’ve had to learn what works and what doesn’t. We’ve had to learn how to work together. We’ve had to learn how to cope.

What do you wish you’d spent more time doing in 2010?

Unplugging and leaving the Blackberry in the car.

What’s one thing from 2010 you hope not to relive ever again?

Postpartum. Although we don’t  plan to have any more children, we also know what happens when we make plans. (God laughs.) So if I ever do have another child – and I am not entirely ruling it out- I will ask for help sooner. And not be ashamed of it.

What one accomplishment from 2010 are you proud of?

Towards the end of 2010, I made the leap from SAHM to WAHM. A huge leap!

It’s been a difficult transition as I realize there is NO SUCH THING as work-life balance, but I’m actively making strides towards my dreams and not giving up on my ambitions.

What one dream do you hope to realize in 2011?

Doesn’t everyone say they want to get fit and get healthy in the New Year? Well, at the risk of sounding trite, I want to get fit and get healthy in the New Year.

There. I said it!

My dream is feel good about myself again– healthy, full of energy, the confidence in knowing “I can do this!” I have no illusions (delusions) of reclaiming my former pre-baby self. At least, not within a year. I would, however, like to reduce the excess in my life.

What one extravagance do you want to experience in 2011?

I would like to spend our next Christmas break someplace warm and beachy. I loved having my entire family at our house over Christmas, but we’re overdue for a family vacation. All of us Mom, Dad, sisters, and brother-in-law too.

We’ll have to see if that happens… Considering the fact that everyone came to us because I refused to fly with my two small children, a flight to a tropical destination may be a no go. On the other hand, a lot can happen in a year.