Resolution #1...

So sorry I've been out of the blogging loop the last week or so. Remember my New Years' Resolutions? One of them was to get into a new job situation that would allow for more flexibility to pick up my kids earlier from homecare, be home with them a little more, but still use my degree and work part time.

A couple of weeks ago, a part time position fell into my lap. It's as a part time area director for a ministry organization Greg and I use to volunteer for, and the best part is that the work is primarily from home. I struggled with the decision because I have a Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy and don't want to neglect that; I'm not ready to give up on that field! However, after much prayer and consideration, Greg and I decided that during these early years while the kids are so young and impressionable, I'd like to be home with them more and I can therefore sacrifice a little to do so. The ministry is a great opportunity, is very flexible, and I can always return to health care in a couple of years.

God answered my prayers! When I talked to my boss at the therapy clinic and told her of my intentions to leave so I can work part time and be home more with my kids, she pretty much wouldn't let me quit. She asked that since the clinic has been getting so busy lately, would I be interested in working PRN with patients and doing some marketing to doctors each week. She said that if I could do maybe 5 hours/week, she'd pay he a pretty nice hourly rate--good for the clinic to keep business up, good for me to stay in patient care, and good for my wallet. I never expected her to offer this, and the best thing is that the marketing part would be on my own time.

I'm going to keep the kids in homecare but decrease their time there from three 10-hour days down to two 6 or 7 hour days.

Things keep getting better, too. The ministry gave me a brand new laptop, a printer/scanner/fax/copier machine, and $500 towards setting up a comfy home office (can be used for a desk, a chair, paint, decor, picture frames, whatever!), and additional money each month for office expenses such as printer cartridges, paper, a daytimer, WiFi at Starbucks, etc. Furthermore, I get a "Starbucks" allowance so I can hold meetings with my teams there each week.

Also, the graduate school here asked me to teach again this Fall for their weekend casting and splinting course. It's only 6 or 7 Sunday afternoons all semester, so the kids can be with Greg and I can stay even more in the healthcare realm.

One of my parents' favorite hymns was always Great is Thy Faithfulness. I've definitely seen it this week!

One of those days

The day started out fine; Noah slept until about 7, then crawled in bed with me and cuddled for 15 minutes before watching a few cartoons (all the while I am still sleeping, FYI). Then Lauren got up and everyone ate, played, etc. Normal "day-off" stuff.

Then Noah climbed on his stool and pulled all the fridge magnets off, along with any photos they may have been holding up.

Then he ate a yellow crayon.

Then he took a drink of a travel-sized bottle of shampoo.

Then he pulled all the floss out of the little container. By the way, do you realize how much floss is in that little teensy container? It's actually uncanny.

The Lauren pooped through her outfit and spit up on my bare arm.

Then Greg called and said he had to work late--like 3 hours late.

Furthermore, Kona developed a sore on her back (I think it's from a fence splinter) and she kept licking and messing with it all day so I had to put an Elizabethan collar on her. Noah thought that was hilarious and kept chasing after her b/c he liked when she'd run into furniture. I had to monitor that situation for the better part of the afternoon.

It's amazing I'm showered. Here's to tomorrow... :)

The Grand Finale

You must go check out this post, and read about the end to my friend's 30th Birthday. Although we went to Cheryl's birthday party (my favorite part was that she wore a tiara--wish I'd thought of that on my 30th), we apparently left before the exciting finale. Hilarious and so wrong at the same time...

Just One Question...

If I just gave birth to Lauren like yesterday, how is it she is old enough to support herself in a Johnny Jump-up and laugh about it?

Consistency, please!

Okay, so Saturday night Lauren slept 8 hours. Sunday night she slept 8 1/2 hours. Monday night was a record 11 hours! She's been sleeping until about 8:30am too, so I've been able to get things done in the morning before putting on the "mom" hat. Woo-hoo! Greg and I were happy and rested, and looking forward to more full nights of sleep as our little 3-month old appeared to be sleeping through the night regularly.

Last night she woke up at 3am and 5am , then at 7am for the day. Huh? We did nothing differently, so what the heck? Does she not know that she is the easy child and is therefore not supposed to do such things? The high-maintenance stuff is reserved for Noah.

So just as the bags under my eyes finally disappeared, they resurfaced. I'm hooked up to a caffeine IV and am open to suggestions...