Monday, December 30, 2013

Keeping it OUT of the family and coping with missing out on life

Lesson 567 in going back to work: Don't rely on family or friends


I don't mean this in a nasty way. Not by any means. But I do emphasize that if you don't pay you better have a backup plan. This was our first major holiday break from school and a good practice run for life here on out. We had it all arranged. I checked my calendar and verified my schedules with 3 sitters in the family. They would all rotate and everyone was good for their days until their days arrives. Last night at 8 pm I am scrambling for a sitter and stressing. Finally a sweet neighbor girl stepped up at the cheap price of $20 per day and saved my rear. Tonight I get a text begging for babies tomorrow. Well, where were you yesterday or today when I tried to confirm? I make other arrangements and suddenly "your schedule cleared up" but on the days you are needed you are busy again? What is WRONG WITH SOCIETY AND THE CHILDREN THEY ARE RAISING!?!?!?!

Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins....they all have a life.  I get that. I also understand that we, as a general society, are not training our kids to be responsible and to uphold their word like a badge of honor. I am trying to teach my kids that if you commit to something then nothing else is to come in between unless it is just unavoidable. Making dates with friends, shopping, and "I don't feel like it" do NOT fall into that category.  Really it is more like death and dismemberment that actually qualify. People need to be able to trust that if you say something , you mean it, you will stand by it, or at least that you will be respectful if you have to back out on an obligation for the sake of the other person's wine supply. 

As much as I was really wanting to stockpile paychecks and play Dave Ramsey over here this summer I think I have to put the kibosh on that for now. I am realizing that daycare/summer camp sounds like a GREAT and RELIABLE idea. 

So heavy ranting aside...I am seriously missing out this holiday season. I feel like Christmas was shoved into a 2 day time period. We had a mini cookie bake day and rushed around like mad people to finish up "emergency shopping" on Christmas eve then shoved a dinner with part of the family in there somewhere. Christmas day we woke up to open presents, cook while family was arriving, open more presents, send people out with to go plates, get dressed and head out to another dinner. It wasn't until we got where we were going and most of the other people left that we actually settled down to enjoy the kids as they enjoyed their presents. 

Taking all of this in...learning from my mistakes, I have decided that a babysitter list is IMPORTANT. Back up plans are essential and check lists are a MUST!!! 

Happy report for the holidays....I mailed out 87 Christmas cards and they all got there by the 24th!! GO ME


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Making it work with a Cough and Sneeze

This past month has HONESTLY flown by. I have been so busy I can't even breathe. Well, I guess that means I am loving every minute. Even the hard ones. 

The kids have gotten over the guilt trip stage. My sweet little princess even made me cry one night, telling me that I am giving all my time to my job and she never sees me. Mind you I work 30 hours a week and only during school hours. I quickly shut that down. I don't mind ackowledging that her feelings are legit and she has a right to them but I also assured her that she was in no way suffering for me having a job. I am home when she leaves and when she gets home. (Haven't quite explained the whole summer thing yet...eek) 

So, now we are in a dead heat race against the holidays. I do a lot of month end stuff and in this industry people disappear to take the "use it or lose it" vacation because apparently NO ONE takes time off any other time of the year ... WOW!!! I say with all sincerity, I work with some determined, driven, and dedicated people. 

I am personally still trying to keep that homemade feel to my house. Cooked dinners, baked yumminess, and all that jazz. Now, throw a little job into the kitchenaid (that I dont have yet) and a pinch of workaholic as well as a dash of rearrange the house and YOU HAVE MY LIFE all ready to break and bake. 

Last night we were moving furniture around to make me an office downstairs so my wonderful woodman husband can have a mancave all to himself when I noticed my legs were really achy. OH NO!! I told him I was worried. I only get achy legs when I am about to get really sick. Fast forward to 7 am and BAAAAAMMMM!!! The train o' flu blared its horn and announced its pending arrival at the station of my entire body. I shrugged it off and trudged on to work....take some sinus meds I said. I will feel better in a little while i said....yeah OK! 

At 9:41 (yes I looked at the clock) I made a mad dash across the street to the gas station to get some Dayquil. In my lil' ol' mind Dayquil is the determining factor between OOBER sick and sinus infection. 2 caplets and a little over an hour later I was sprawled out face first on my desk. OH SO SICK. Thankfully, my husband told me to get straight to the dr on lunch. I really didnt hesitate. So here is how the first phone call went. "Thank you for calling the doctors office can you hold" "uh" "thanks" mmmmk not a good sign but its worth the wait right? "thanks for holding how can I help you." "I need to make an appointment for asap I think I may have the flu" "okay it will be later tomorrow or Friday" "dont you have anything today?" "no ma'am, we close at noon today" 

Seriously I wanted to scream every bad word that existed...thank you Jesus for making even my tongue to sick to speak today LOL. What doctor closes that early on a wednesday that is NOT a holiday? So, in tears, i messaged my good ol' hubby with my delima. Of course, his logical male response was "call every doctor until you get one to let you in today" my brain was like 'NO' and 'New patients dont get right in' but I decided to try the dr I had thought about switching to anyway. 

I get to the office and get back into a room pretty quick. Doc doesnt come in for a while. No small talk, no check this and that then come back with results, he actually waits for the results of the flu tests before coming in. Now mind you I do not EVER test positive for the flu until day 5....ya know the day you think you will finally die but wake up the next morning to say "Thank you Lord I made it!" So here comes this guy with my negative results. He looks me over and says "I dont care what the test says, you have the flu." I would have hugged him if my arms didnt weight 100lbs each. YES YES YES!!! Finally a doc that gets that cultures and blood work dont find EVERYTHING!!! Thank you Dr T for actually looking all over your patient and not at your lap top. Oh and did I mention I never saw a pad, tablet, or laptop?  Good ol' pen and paper and old fashion medicine!! I think I found a winner. Then he said the words I dreaded....
BED + REST ---------WWWHHHHAAAATTTT.......NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I was sick to my stomach and not just from the icky sickness. What would my new job say? How could i take the week off? I dont have any time off built up and Christmas is next week. 

I texted the Admin girl and told her and I was so sorry. She told me to rest and I said I would try to come back friday and she said not to push it....WHAT? WOW!!! Then I talked to one of my bosses as I logged into my home pc thinking that she probably wouldnt go for it but she even helped me find shortcuts and log into the network....COULD THIS BE REAL? Could the corporate world be THIS EASY? Its like the whole idea is "we dont care how you get your job done as long as it gets done" 

So as I sit here, achy, shaking, and hacking my brains out in my home office, sitting on my "throne" chair my momma just handed down to me, covered from head to toe in sweats and blankets....I am super blessed and satisfied with my life. 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Transition, Transformation, TRANSFORMERS!!!!

Heaven help I have entered the world of working mothers. I couldn't be more blessed. These people are amazing. My job exercises my brain the way my elliptical would exercise my butt if I would just get on it. The company is awesome. Its a 15 minute commute. Its perfect school hours...I couldn't ask for much more......well I actually could.

I have scoured the internet and mom sites for weeks now. I knew this day was coming. I tried really hard to get ready for it. I actually made lists and more lists .... and MORE lists....none of them ever got done. It's ok though. What's that you say? I should have been prepared. I would have LOVED to have been prepared. As a matter of fact I am sure I could have been if it were not for 4+ nights a week of extra curricular activities for my mini-me's and then there was the stomach virus 9 days before I started working and the LICE struck 7 days before I started. Have you ever dealt with Lice? O-M-G!!! I seriously was NOT prepared for all that laundry (I am really scared to open my water bill this month). Now here we are, day 5 of me having a job, and I am almost caught up with my mom stuff. Not really.

On top of all  that....no one told me how exhausted I would be. I can't even think some days when I get off. Oh and to top it....I am sick...OF COURSE because WHAT could be better than my first weekend off in bed right before a holiday week?!?!?!?

So the long of it is right there for ya....want to know what is killing more than all my personal drama? Not having a clue what I would need to just have an office. YEAH!!! That's right....SUPPLIES!! I have the wardrobe down. New shoes...UM CHECK!! But who would have thought I needed to consider highlighters and lighting and desk blotters and all that other wonderful stuff that is sold in massive chain stores. I am stressing not having my eyebrows waxed yet (on the list before the lice took out my schedule) but I am for REAL itching to get into an Office Max or Staples like NOW!!

So let me run down my list for any of you wonderful SAHMs that may find yourself in my current situation. Here ya go: mini medicine cabinet (tums, motrin, midol *yeah*, dayquil, sudafed, and B12!!), go to lunch and breakfast options because sometimes you are just running behind or you just dont feel like going anywhere, extra drinks (my pick is Monster :), a phone prop thingy for your desk ( I didnt even think about this until my phone kept going off over and over and had I just been able to see who and what I would have never needed to interupt my day to put phone in hand), blanket and extra jacket, space heater, lotion, sanitizer, pens, highlighters, command hooks, and I am DYING for some canvas prints....thinking I might be asking to hang some prints of my babies after christmas.

It really has been a massive adjustment and I am so lucky that my dh has been on the ball. He talked to the kids and told them how stressed Mommy is and how much she is trying to adjust and they just need to help out more around the house so that we can all spend more time together. He is helping me to learn to say no more often. I didn't realize how hard THAT was going to be. I actually tried to make a commitment to go into the school at 7:50 to help with a project until 8:45 to make it to work by 9....WHAT!!!!!????!!!! Yeah, crazy person right there. He lovingly told me I have put in around 2,000 hours since I started volunteering and now it is time to say I have paid my dues and find other ways to contribute.

So the short of this long blurb on my lunch break is that when I decided to go back to work I never realized that the big stuff in my life would be dwindled down to microscopic and the little stuff like highlighters would take over. I can say though, at the end of the day, I am right where God called me to be and I am beyond blessed to have had this amazing opportunity fall into my lap so that it doesnt interfere with my life as a mommy (the kids dont believe that I even work...they think I am tricking them into chores).

Life Is Awesome