Mygirlsmom: over and above all else, through the Grace of God, it's who I am and what I do (with the loving help and lifelong partnership of Mygirlsdad, affectionately known as MGD ;o) Proud parents of three, including a set of fraternal twins.

"B.C." (Before Children): In spite of the fact that I hadn't completed college (left in my second year), I was being groomed for management at one of the top-rated life insurance companies in the country. It was a great place to work, but the women I worked with who had families seemed to be one step above "walking dead", and I swore I would do whatever it took not to be one of them. So when our first daughter was born, I walked away from corporate life with no real plan in mind but to do what I had to to be with her as much as possible.

Full time mom, weekend worker, home-based businesswoman, second shift, third shift - you name it - been there, done that (and the T-shirt's in the wash!), but I saw every first step, nursed every fever, chaperoned lots of field trips, and let my girls have glorious do-nothing-but-swim summers. We've had our financial struggles (lots of them), but I wouldn't trade my time with my family for anything in the world. And on those days when the checkbook is hopelessly out of balance, my oldest is complaining that we're the only people on the face of the earth without cable T.V., and I am mending a pair of jeans (again) hoping they'll last just a bit longer, I need only think of this (true) story to remind me that I made the right decision:

A family I know has all the rewards of hard work - a large, beautifully furnished home, new cars in the driveway, frequent vacations. Their children have every game and toy imaginable. One day, when the oldest child was about 7, he approached his mother with his piggy bank in hand. "Mom, are we poor?" the child asked. The mother was astounded. Here was a child surrounded by every good thing thinking he was poor! "Why would you ask such a question?" wondered the mother. He replied, "Well, you and Dad are always gone, so I figure we must be so poor that you HAVE TO work - even during the time we're supposed to be spending together." He then held out the piggy bank saying, "Here's the money in my bank. You take it to help pay the bills, and then you can spend more time with me."

Mygirlsmom: over and above all else, through the Grace of God, it's who I am and what I do, and we're richer for it.

In 2008, after two years of searching for a job to replace the one I loved and lost, I returned to school to gain some "credentials". I was short on time, so I chose a 6-18 month Microsoft certification program, despite knowing only enough about computers to "be dangerous". It was a little intimidating sitting there with so many young guys who had grown up building computers in their basements, but I took to it like a duck to water, and was the first one in my class of 53 to complete the program. I now hold MCDST and MCSA certifications, and have officially become "a professional". I know this because, just as a doctor hears about everyone's ills in all situations, I am told of computer woes wherever I go. Update: The girls are grown and on their own. Now proud Grandma of two Waiting impatiently for more.