I May be Possessed, but at Least I Made Cookies

After a long sabbatical, I am back. After my lovely post mentioning how glad I was to actually have a job in this horrible economy-I was laid off. That was January 16. So where have I been and what have I been doing for the past month? That is what I am wondering. A brief synopsis of what has occurred since that day.

I managed to make over 30 cupcakes twice to be taken to preschool to celebrate Alexis’ 4th birthday, and Nathan’s 3rd birthday. This means that Nathan is officially potty trained now and is also attending preschool with Alexis. I also managed to prepare a 101 Dalmatians cake as well as Bob the Builder for their birthday party. I still have them share one large party on a day between their actual birthdays because they are still young enough that we only invite family members. I also managed to plan this party and prepare food for it-30 people in attendance, a nice little soiree. Also during this time Scottie had a birthday and I managed to whip up some nice cakes that looked like boobies. Needless to say everyone was thrilled with that dessert.

In and among all of this birthday extravaganza, I managed to clean carpets in my house, wash curtains, scrub tile floors, clean bathrooms, and if I do say so myself- there is no longer any dirty laundry in my house. I have devised a plan that enables me to wash clothes every night before bed and throw them in the dryer in the morning. This plan of which I speak pretty much means I spent 2 weeks washing, drying, folding, and hanging clothes in order to get to this laundry-free point in my life and damn it feels good.

I have cleaned out the kids’ closets and given away old clothes and toys. Strangely- they have not missed a thing that was given or thrown away. I have also gotten rid of some other random junk in my house- Freecycle loves me.

I am a temporary stay at home mom now and despite the fact that I never desired this, I love it. I manage to prepare my children hot meals every day, 3 times a day, my kitchen is clean and my house smells of freshly baked homemade chocolate chip cookies on a regular basis. I am the person who takes the kids to school and I pick them up in the afternoon. We make fun things like finger paints and play dough and then we cover the dining room table with art paper and make wonderful masterpieces. It is almost as if June Cleaver has possessed my body.

I am sure all of this fun will come to an end eventually. I am looking for a new job. But there isn’t very much here in my area that is able to pay what I am worth. I am not trying to sound prissy, but I have two degrees, and am very qualified for a variety of positions and believe that I need to earn enough money at a job in order to maintain my family.

An Update of Sorts

I know that you are all sitting here waiting patiently for those really cute kid pictures that I promised back at Halloween. You know, of Cinderella and the horse riding cowboy? Well, not only has that all passed, but so have the times for pictures of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the glorious ringing in of the New Year. We even went away for a nice little weekend trip this past weekend, and I didn’t even bother to take any pictures until we were getting ready to leave. I am such a slacker. I can explain though-honest I can.

Right before Thanksgiving, I was made a full time employee at the great job I had mentioned a few times that I had begun through a temporary service. Along with this full-time/permanent employment status came many things. One of those things was that it came just in time to be paid for the Thanksgiving Holiday. (Sweet!) And along with this salaried position comes the reality of no real definitive start and stop times to my work day. This was the biggest adjustment because despite the fact that I was a salaried employee at my last job- I was there for over 10 years, had a system and could get done what I needed in a few short hours most days. So now I am in a nice swing and being in the accounting department-this is the busiest time of the year for us and I am now working 6 days each week for another month at least and still getting that same pay. Of course, I am pleased to have a job to bitch about instead of bitching about not having a job. It is a nice set up I must admit during these economic hard times. I am also feeling rather secure in the fact that my job will be ok for a while. See this company I am working for builds apartment buildings. And although it sucks for those people losing their homes they have to move somewhere and an apartment is usually the first stop. So although I feel pretty safe, I am still watching my back and doing my best because I am the newest employee and could easily be the first to go.
As I may have also mentioned, my computer at home has a virus of some sort. I have not taken the time to get it fixed yet, so my computer time is while I am at work- but since I am watching my back- I do not have very much time to update the blog. I have still been reading yours though. I will try to get a recap up of my Christmas holiday soon.

If Only You had Helped

Yes, I remember when you told me you did not like the pasta that is shaped like spirals, or the kind shaped like flowers. You should also remember that I said I was making pasta for dinner. Would it have been too much for you to get up off the couch and boil some damn water? Apparently it was, so eat the damn flower-shaped noodle and be quiet.

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Turkey Day. I will be spending the day having breakfast at my parents’ house (a Christmas tradition that we are moving to Thanksgiving this year) and then we will drive down the road a bit to have lunch with Scottie’s side of the family. It should be pretty low stress except that lunch is scheduled right at Nathan must have a nap now tine. We will see how that goes.

I am also celebrating my 34th birthday on Turkey Day. Hopefully it will be better than last year. There was way too much drama for me to enjoy it, and in fact, that is why I have chosen not to have a party or any other type of celebration this year.

Have fun with your families; enjoy your turkey and football. Travel safely and enjoy your naps.

It's All In Who You Know

I am not someone who is impressed by the stardom or wealth of others. I am pleased with my life and understand that some people have and others do not. I am not envious of others for the things they have that I do not. In fact desire to achieve more is what keeps me motivated. But here is the thing- I work in Franklin, Tn. There are several people I work with who just so happen to have connections in the Country Music Industry. These people have the opportunity to go to the CMA Awards tonight. I would love to go to this event because you must admit it is sure to be a great concert. Well the person who is in the office next to mine could not only go, but could sit in the really good seats. She is not going. Do you want to know why? I am sure you do. Care to take a guess? Here are some hints: not because she doesn’t have anything to wear, not because she doesn’t have a sitter for her kids, not because she can’t find anyone to go with her. She is not going because she “doesn’t feel like it this year.” Yes, that is right she doesn’t feel like going to one of the biggest events of the year (in this town anyway). Needless to say I may be a bit jaded but it sucks that I don’t have those kinds of connections.

The happenings

Lots of exciting things are happening around my house. Alexis started preschool last week. It is only 3 days a week for 3.5 hours each day but she likes it and I am sure that she has needed this socialization for some time now. The preschool is a program at our local high school so there are teenagers caring for her under the supervision of a classroom teacher. I am nervous about this, but I am ok with the arrangement so far. My mom went to check it out prior to her enrollment. She took Alexis and Nathan in to see everything and meet the teacher and students. Of course Nathan being the player he is had all of the girls wanting him to go to the school too. He is not potty trained yet so he cannot attend. Strangely some of those girls said that they would change his diapers if he could stay because “he is just so cute”. Yeah- he is cute, and I love him, but they have no idea what they are getting into with that. So he is not enrolled yet. I am hoping he will be able to go by Christmas.

Alexis has found a Humpty Dumpty doll that my grandmother made for me. I have always felt that Humpty Dumpty was a boy, but the doll has eyelashes and according to Alexis- eyelashes are for girls. So that doll is a girl. Boy will she be disappointed when she realizes her brother has the longest eyelashes ever and he is most definitely a boy.

The Things You Miss

Right after Alexis was born my parents had the opportunity to spend a lot of those early months with her, they also had the same chance with Nathan. My mom had retired early and my dad was finally at a point with his business that he was comfortable to leave the jobsite for a few hours or days at a time. So they were both witness to many of those early milestones such as rolling over, crawling, talking, and walking. I was thrilled to have the chance to see these things with both of my children, and also happy that my parents were enjoying this special time with their grandchildren.

The other night the kids had spent the night with my parents and I went by the next morning to pick them up. My mom had picked up a small bicycle with training wheels on it at an auction some months back. I remember when she got it, but I was starting my new job and I really hadn’t thought much about it, until this morning when I witnessed both of my kids cruising around the garage at breakneck speed on their bike. It was so funny to see this skill that I was unaware they had. With any other riding toys I had seen them on before, the pedaling was too difficult. They now had this down pat and were having a great time. When my dad realized my shock he explained to me that this was one of those milestones that he had missed when my sister and I were growing up, just like the rolling over and the crawling.

After a while the sadness had set in about not knowing what my kids were doing when I was away from them. They often come home singing a new song, or reciting a new nursery rhyme, but the bicycle got to me. It then occurred the true sacrifice I made by taking this job that is farther away from home. I know it is a good choice for the financial stability of my family. The compensation is good, the perks are fantastic, and I am finally with a company that offers health insurance. I am actually pleased with the work I am doing and I can see myself with this company for a long time. I know deep down that everything will be fine. I know from my own experience the times I spent with my own grandmother while my parents worked was wonderful. It was in her home that I learned to read and write and I was prepared for kindergarten when the time came. I know my own children will have those same types of memories with their Grandma. I guess it is just a little bittersweet to know that I am missing those important stages in the lives of my children, but it is nice to know that my parents are getting the opportunity to make up for that lost time they had. Maybe this is all just part of the cycle, and I am just another spoke in the wheel. I guess that I know Alexis and Nathan will grow up to be well-adjusted adults despite the fact that they are away from me more often. I turned out pretty good, and I had the same type of experience as a child.