While doing my daily news reading I came across this article about Elizabeth Vargas' interview with Sheryl Sandberg. Sheryl is the COO at Facebook, a director at the Walt Disney Company, and  author of the book 'Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.' I haven't read it yet, but might will be buying it on my Nook tonight!

It got me to thinking about the best advice I've received over the years about career, and life. While it may not have been advice received, actions speak louder than words, and I was very observant!

My mom was a working mom, my grandma was a working mom, and they both set a great example for me. When my mom was a girl, and my grandma worked they lived with family. There was always someone to help watch and tote mom to and from activities and school while grandma was at work. When I was little, we went to a sitter, and our Great Aunt pitched in during the week when mom and dad had to work too. I learned a lot from both of them (and still do) about being a working mom. It takes a village. Really. Being a working mom is not easy, and all I want to do is be home, but right now it can't be that way. Maybe one day it will.

This taught me that it's ok to lean on others. It's ok to ask people for help. We have been lucky enough to find a nanny for Noelle that we are so happy and comfortable with as our caregiver while we are working.

When my sister and I were little my mom said we would say "we love Linda" (our sitter), and they would then say something along the lines of "doesn't that bother you?" My mom would reply with "No, I'm glad they love her. I leave them with her every day." I'm sure it was hard for my mom to hear us say that, and be away from us every day, but she's very strong, did what she had to, and made it work. Being a kid with working parents I learned to be independent, and I'm very happy for this experience. My mom set a great example for me, and I admire her very much for it.

My favorite piece of advice in this article comes from Elizabeth Vargas. "Slow and steady wins the race." In today's world, it is very hard to not want more, and wish that you had what your colleagues and peers have. It's very easy to get caught up in the race, but her story is one that I'm going to try to remember. And, you can ask David, sometimes I do not have much patience, I get "excited" easily, but I'm working on it.

To get more information on the Lean In movement you can check out their blog or follow them on Facebook.

Continuing my quest to cook most of our meals during the week I found another recipe in my Food Network magazine that I will definitely be using in the future. This Skillet Chicken Parmesan is amazing.

It is very rare that I cook something and Dave and I think it's just right the first time. This one was a huge success, and I'll definitely be making it again soon. The sauce was simple and delicious. The chicken cooked perfectly in the cast iron skillet, and with a quick shot under the broiler we had a crispy melty top!

*apologies for the crummy cell phone pic!

I did make a couple changes to the recipe. I did not use baguette to make the breadcrumb topping. Instead I used panko breadcrumbs. This was much simpler. I just mixed some shredded parmesan (instead of mozzarella because I already had that in my fridge) with the panko before putting it under the broiler. Dave doesn't like so much cheese, so I only put it on half when it went into the oven.

If you're interested in how I prepared the broccoli, here's the run down.

Broccoli (trimmed into manageable pieces if you buy if fresh, we get ours frozen in portions from Costco) - enough for the family
Olive Oil - enough to coat your pan
Red pepper flakes - to taste
Garlic powder (you could probably use fresh if you prefer, 1 or 2 cloves smashed) - to taste
S & P

Sorry that my "recipe" doesn't really have exact measurements, but it's more about how you like it. If you don't like things so spicy go easy on (or eliminate) the red pepper. I saute my broccoli until it starts getting a bit brown (the color adds flavor, promise). This usually only takes about 15 to 20 minutes if your working from frozen (I throw it in the pan frozen), fresh will be much faster.

Ta-da! A 30-minute dinner is served!

Ok, hand has been slapped ...

I made the mistake of going on Baby Gap's website yesterday. I almost died. gah. Thankfully I got out of there without any damage being done, but oh.my.gosh was that hard. There is just too much cute baby girl summer clothes on there right now. Here are a couple of the outfits I just about snatched off of the "shelf."

All the neon, the adorable aquarium line ... I mean, come on! "Turtle-y Adorable." I almost died again! However, their new sugar rush line is my favorite by far.

While I looked out my window at the snow swirling in the air I dreamed of the spring and summer when Noelle will be able to wear this type of clothing. It makes me miss Florida, and how great it was to not have to bundle her up so much. No sleeves, no socks, no problem!

I thought it was about time for a second edition of mom's must haves. It's been almost five months of learning what works and what doesn't, and I'd have to say, we're getting pretty good at our new roles! It gets easier every day to figure out Noelle's quirks, which is good because she changes just about every day!

In the first edition I talked about my love for our Graco 2-in-1 swing/bouncer, and my Ergobaby carrier. I still fully love these items but, Noelle doesn't use the swing as much anymore, but I detach it all the time to bring her into the kitchen or bathroom with me. We're at a bit of an awkward stage in the carrier currently. She's almost too big to sit with her legs underneath herself, but isn't quite big enough for them to be comfortable around my waist. None the less, I would still highly recommend both of these items.

Noelle has some teeth under her gums starting to make an appearance. While this doesn't seem to bother her too much, she puts almost anything in her mouth. Funny though, she prefers anything cloth over something more firm - besides our fingers and her hand. Noelle loves chewing on knitted, stuffed animals. I'm not talking furry things here, only things that are knit. She will chew on them all day! I recently had to remove plush Sophie because she's getting a hole in her neck, and I need to fix her up with some stitches. She also loves burp cloths, to play with and chew on. I've tried giving her teething rings, teething "keys" and even Sophie, but they don't seem to keep her interest as much as something knit. So strange!

Our other favorite item right now is her walker/dj booth. We love this thing, and Noelle goes crazy for it too! Our favorite feature of this is the keyboard, no doubt. Noelle loves to stand, so the fact that she can be upright by herself if fantastic, but the keyboard is awesome! It gives her some stimulation besides her rattles or squeaky toys, and she gets very excited over the music. To top it off, the keyboard is removable so she can play with it when she's not in the "booth" too. This girl is going to be a music lover just like her dad.

The Boppy has also recently become a favorite of mine. I didn't use it too much for nursing/feeding, but we use it all of the time now. We do tummy time, and sit in the Boppy frequently.

Finally, I'd have to say my last favorite item are her stuffed animal blankets. She has three, and we kinda rotate all of them. We always give her one in the car seat. She also loves chewing on them (duh), and napping with them. Two of them are fleece on one side, and silky on the other. I  think she likes the different textures, because she's always putting them on her face.

Hopefully you can use some of these tips one day, and if not I hope you enjoyed the video of Noelle jamming out in her dj booth!

Updated 5.1.2013

Who doesn't love chicken tenders? Well, we love chicken, and in the tender form was definitely the way to go with this recipe.

I had this chicken for the first time while visiting my parents in Florida. My mom prepared it so quickly, and it was delicious, so I had to have the recipe. Come to find out, she got it out of the Food Network magazine that we both got subscriptions to from Grandma & Grandpa for Christmas. When I got home I pulled out that issue, and lo and behold, I had bookmarked the recipe!

I made some green beans (though definitely not enough), and roasted potatoes to go with it.

For the green beans, I sauteed them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. They almost took on a sort of fried texture in the approx. 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. The seasonings are to your taste. When I cook veggies, I like them on the simpler side with very little seasoning so you can actually taste what you're eating.

My roasted potatoes can be one with any potato you prefer. These were a golden potato, but we often will use red skin potatoes, too. I cubed them, and coated them with olive oil before seasoning them with a rustic italian blend.

The potatoes went into the oven for about 30 minutes at 375 before putting the chicken in with it. When the chicken went in the oven, the temperature goes up to 450 (per Ted's recipe), and cooks for 15-20 minutes.

This was a really easy weeknight meal. We don't like to spend too much time cooking during the week, and I think this meal will definitely be added into our rotation.

Enjoy!