On the Job

Lately I've been asked a lot how the new job is going. That is, I get asked when the people in my life actually see me, which is a lot less than I would like... as evidenced by the half hour traffic blockage that took place in the deodorant aisle of Target on Saturday after I ran into my bestie.

That's the downside of working. I miss my kids. I miss my friends. I miss the opportunities that I have to encounter my pals at storytime or the mall or the Children's garden. But mainly, I miss being at these places with my kids in the first place. There's always Saturday, which we try to make count as much as possible, but it's not every day anymore. Sometimes at 10:30 on a Wednesday morning I think that Carrie the librarian is just getting around to singing Slippery Fish... and Jane and I are missing it.

I miss doing the little things for my kids. Like reading before naptime or making lunch or walking home with Emily at the end of the day. Those little things seem to be the hardest to come to terms with.

The job itself? It's going well. I'm figuring things out and I'm realizing that everything seems to be coming back - kind of like riding the proverbial bike. It's good to feel smart again. It's good to be recognized for what I know.  It's good to feel like I can provide for my family should the need arise.

It's also good to know my kids are in good hands. Kerry and her family and staff have been great with my kids and I have never once worried if they were happy or safe during the day. We are blessed to have such great child care.

I am also very fortunate to be able to work in the same building as my husband. We work in different programs  but he is just down the hall from me. That means we get to eat lunch together every day in addition to taking two breaks together. It has been great for us to be able to see each other during the day and has brought us closer. Most couples get less time together when a wife goes back to work. We are lucky to have more time together.

I know going back was the right decision at the right time. I know I was blessed to be able to find a job in such difficult economic times. I know my kids will be fine. But for now I'm still struggling. Everyone tells me I will get used to it. That it will become normal. That I will find a rhythm. I believe that will happen. However, when someone asks me how my job is going, the answer will probably always be, "The job is going well, but I miss my kids".

Who wouldn't miss these guys?

Putting on the Ritz

This past weekend Chris and I wanted to do something really fun to celebrate our anniversary... like a week long trip to a tropical destination. There were a couple things standing in our way. 1) Inevitably, every single year, our anniversary falls 4 days before Christmas. I have yet to figure out why that is. 2) I just started working on December 1st and I have no vacation time. None.

Despite these obstacles, my fabulous parents to whom I am eternally grateful volunteered to take the kids so we could have one night to celebrate. I had to work on Friday ALL day long (Technically my boss let me go 7 minutes early. I am proportionately grateful) and we wanted to be back early on Saturday. That didn't give us much time, so we decided to make the most of it.

As soon as I got off work, we headed down to D-town and checked into the Ritz-Carlton. I'm blogging now because I absolutely have to document this experience. You folks who are used to staying in luxury hotels all the time may be blase about this sort of thing but to me it was a life changing event. From the moment we arrived, I felt like a kid seeing Disneyland for the first time.

The lobby was so amazingly beautiful. I wanted to take a picture, but I figured the ear-to-ear grin already made me look enough like a hick visiting the big city for the first time so I refrained.


You know how sometimes you get to a hotel and the lobby is amazing but then when you get to your room, it doesn't seem to match the lobby? Well, this was not the case. We arrived in our room and waiting for us was a lovely anniversary gift from the hotel staff.

The room was spectacular. The bathroom was all natural stone. And (the true mark of luxury) we had been provided with a total of 6 towels, two robes and 8 pillows.

See? 8 pillows. And you didn't believe me. I almost felt a little guilty seeing as how we were only two people. I could hardly tear myself away from all those pillows and towels, but I did.

We had a lovely trip through the botanic gardens' light display.

And then a fabulous dinner at the hotel's restaurant.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we realized we had both forgotten to pack a razor. A call to the front desk brought a knock to our door within 60 seconds (Yes! 60 seconds! And we were on the 10th floor). The staff member was holding this

and she politely asked if it would do. Of course it would!

Saturday morning we were able to use the hotel's gym (not a fitness area - a real gym!) to have a fabulous run. And then came the sad part. We had to leave. In particular, I had a hard time parting with this incredibly luxurious robe, which was the loveliest piece of clothing I have ever worn.

Someday, when I'm able to sell one of my amazing inventions for billions of dollars, I'll think nothing of a weekend like this. But for now, this small town girl was pretty impressed.

Thanks for a great weekend, Chris!

A Christmas Story

Wow... Christmas. What can I say? Christmas with small children is never very organized or fancy. It's littered with tantrums and threats of taking presents away (or burning them on the front lawn while the children watch), but in the end it is more fun than seems humanly  possible. Because every kid waits all year for Christmas and it always seems to live up to their expectations.

We started out this year, as usual with a real Christmas tree. Nothing beats a real Christmas tree.

The kids were extremely helpful this year and although we used a minimalist design on our exterior lighting, it was still enough to make them happy.

Emily contributed to the Christmas spirit with a lively school program. We're still unsure of the plot associated with this play, but that didn't matter to us or to the kindergarteners.

Finally Christmas Eve arrived. The kids were incredibly attentive to the reading of the Christmas story. They seem to feel very strongly about the true meaning of this season.

I can't blame them. They just couldn't wait to see the crazy Christmas lights. We are very thankful for those who make up for our pathetic lighting efforts.

Finally it was time to go to bed and for mom and dad to get Christmas ready.

Next morning, the great loot fest began.

Everyone seemed satisfied. Emily even surprised mom and dad with gifts. 

We finished out the evening with a lovely dinner which one of our kids actually ate. (Hint: it wasn't Emily)

And then for a rousing game of Kinect Disneyland Adventures. Almost as good as the real thing. In some ways better considering there are no crowds and you can wear your pajamas.

All in all, a great day. Now we all need a nice long break so we can do it again next year.

Crank it up to Eleven

Today is our eleventh anniversary (insert LOTR joke about it being our eleventy first anniversary). Lately things have been pretty stressful. But you know what? I still love this guy more than anything in the world.

Eleven years and we still can't get enough of each other. I would call that a great success.

The Rule of Three

Three years ago today, Jane came to join our family. At first, she was pretty tiny and didn't have much to say. But since then, she's become one of the most entertaining members of our family. (Chris is the most entertaining. If you don't believe me, just ask him to do his Justin Beiber impersonation). 

We celebrated Jane's birthday today NOT by having a kid party (yay for me!) but by doing something the whole family could enjoy. 

My fantastic brother in law managed to score tickets to Toy Story 3 on Ice through his work. Since they know my kids are fans, they decided to invite us to come along. 

Jane loved it. 

Afterward, we had lunch with cousins, which Jane loved as well.

It's impossible to get too much cousin time.

Tonight we came home and possibly made a large mistake by letting Emily decorate Jane's birthday cake (yes, that's just a crapload of sprinkles). 

Jane liked it anyway. 

She was also a fan of presents. 

We're so happy Jane came to live with our family. I'm pretty sure Emily would be bored to tears without her. Thanks, Jane, for taking some of the pressure off of us when it comes to keeping your big sister entertained. Happy Birthday, big girl!

The Annual Giving of Thanks Ceremony

This year we were able to host Thanksgiving for the first time. It was so nice to be able to see our family and to cook my little heart out. I love cooking and it was nice to have an excuse to do it.

Our Thanksgiving started with a pre-Thanksgiving visit from Ryan and his family, to whom Emily tried to transfer her love of Kinect.

For Thanksgiving proper, we were able to have my sister's family as well as my parents, Chris' brother and his dad. Chris' mom was under the weather and she was greatly missed. Nonetheless, we had a lovely time.

Black Friday was a perfect time to christen my parents' new house with a birthday party for Simon and Jane. The kids had a great time playing with cousins and we are so happy they live close enough that we can see them so often.

We topped off the weekend with our town's Christmas parade.

And we remembered how cold it gets sitting on the sidewalk waiting for a parade that starts late. We'll probably forget by next year and go again.

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, it's Back to Work I Go

Yes, that's right, as of December 1st, I will once again be a member of the paid workforce. You may be saying, "But I thought she was going to wait another year". You would be correct in saying that. That was my plan. But things changed and my plans changed with them. The right time to go back became now and I was blessed enough to be able to get a job with the bridge program at the DOT.

What will I be doing? Well, I'll let you know when I get there, but rumor has it I'll be analyzing existing bridges to determine safe carrying loads as well as working with oversize loads permits. Rumor also has it that if I'm a fast talker I'll be doing the occasional design.

How do I feel about this? Kind of sad and disappointed that my time as a stay-at-home mom is over. Kind of nervous and excited about using that ol' degree again. But mainly I just feel like it's the right decision.

What do I not have mixed feelings about? The fact that I had a lovely talk with a maid service today. That's right, I'm not ashamed to admit that I am no longer going to clean my own house. I want to glean every second of time to spend with my husband and kids. They're only young once (both my husband and my kids) and an extra few hours with them every week is absolutely priceless. I'm proud to admit that my priorities are just where the should be. Also, I'm doing a happy dance just thinking about coming home to a clean house.

My reasons for going back to work are very pressing and very personal, but right now I am just very thankful that I can. I'm thankful for my education and my career history (are you listening Emily and Jane?) and for the circumstances that allowed me to find a job in a tough economy.

P.S. I have a feeling that being a super mom won't feel very super (at least at first) so my friends may be subjected to multiple sobbing phone calls before I get this thing figured out. Thanks and I love you in advance.