A boy and his dad.

I really appreciate all that Hubby does for me.  And Little Guy adores Hubby.  Right now, Little Guy prefers Hubby over mommy.  No one in this house is complaining!

Yesterday we went to the local transportation museum, and they had free train rides.  We rode in the caboose, and I think Little Guy and Hubby really enjoyed it.  I managed to catch a pic of them in the back of the caboose.  They both look like they are having a great time.

Just had to share the pic with you all!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Oh Happy Day!

Hubby comes home today!  And it is Friday!  And we have a sitter for our date night on Saturday!

Things are looking up.

I really missed Hubby while he was gone.  I think Little Guy missed Hubby, too.

The only wrinkle in the happiness is that Hubby was up all night last night, and traveling all day today.  Which means that he is going to be exhausted when he gets home.  Hopefully, we will be able to put the baby to bed and get Hubby to bed soon after Hubby gets home, so that Saturday can be a good day with everyone.

But overall, I have a fairly good feeling about today, despite the hot weather.

I get my husband back!

Happy day!

Touchy-feely Tuesday

Finally doing one on time this week!

Hubby is out of town this week, and I have a friend staying with me to help with the baby.  It is so nice to have an extra set of hands!  Really helps save my sanity.  (Hubby should be back on Friday by dinner, so he is really only gone for a few days.)

Little Guy really still needs the morning nap.  He can skip it occasionally, but he does so much better on the 2-3-4 schedule.  He is not feeling that great right now, as he has a cold and is doing a little teething.  So his sleep is still out of whack.  And probably will be for a while.

My college reunion was fantastic.  Though I was the only science person there.  It was great seeing other people from my class.  I probably ought to think about actually giving money to the college, and not just showing up for reunion.  It is sort of cool living right around the corner from my alma mater.  I keep thinking I should try to get over there more often.

At this point, I am trying to recover from staying out too late at reunion.  Getting my house back in order, attempting to catch up on sleep, and get over this small cold I picked up from somewhere.  I have a couple of mother's group activities I want to do this month, which should be fun.  I will probably also try to meet my local classmate this month. 

Right now, I think I am doing all right and holding it together. 

Friday!

I am exhausted after working two days in a row.  That is not something I want to do on a regular basis.  It does not help that I have a sore throat and feel the start of a cold.  I really hope I am not coming down with something.  I started taking vitamin C and I am drinking echinacea tea.  Hoping that will keep away the worst of it.

The other reason I am hoping that I am not coming down with a cold is that my college reunion is this weekend.  I am really only going today and tomorrow, and I do not have to travel anywhere because I live right around the corner.  But I want to be able to enjoy seeing my classmates.  Keeping fingers crossed that this cold will not get too bad.

I am trying to get the baby down for a nap before I start my day.  So far, he is doing a lot of playing and not a lot of sleeping.  I will give it another 15 minutes, but I think we are not going to get a nap in this morning.  At least I tried.  I suspect that he will nap very well this afternoon because there is no nap this morning.  Sigh.  Really beginning to hate the nap battles.  He is not crying yet, but he could use a nap and he will not take one.  The jumping up and down in the crib does not bode well for a nap.

If he does not nap, I think I can make it to the gym this morning.  At least that is something.

Touchy-Feely Tuesday, on a Wednesday

Because I have been distracted by psychic detective romance novels.  Sad, but true.  I just want to read and not think about stuff.

That does not mean that nothing is happening, it just means that I need an escape, at least temporarily.

I had a nice Memorial Day weekend.  I did not do much, and we tried to stay out of the heat as much as possible.  This becomes difficult with a toddler who wants to be outside all the damn time.  Then he gets cranky because he is too hot.  I have not figured out a solution to this. 

My college reunion is next weekend.  I am pretty excited to see some of my college classmates.  I think  it will be a great time.  Hubby and my mother are doing childcare for me for the weekend.  I figure it will all work out in the end, as he is going out of town for most of the week next week.

Thinking about starting an et.sy shop, now that I have more time.  I think I may do baby swaddling blankets and zippered pouches/pod bags.  Both of these things I had a hard time finding, and both of these things I really needed. 

I have been doing really crappy with drinking water and recording food.  Behavior modification has not worked, because I have not used it.  I really need to get off my but and do something.  I have the stickers, I really ought to use them.

I may join the mother's group I have been looking at.  I want to go to a business meeting before I truly commit.  I have only been to one event, but it feels right.  We will see if I feel the same way after the business meeting.

Hubby and I have been scheduling our arguments.  What that means is that we have a time once a week where we are allowed to voice our grievances.  When we start to argue, we are allowed to just walk away. 

During our scheduled "argument," we use a "talking stick" to determine who has the floor.  The person with the talking stick is allowed to finish talking, and is not interrupted.  Then the talking stick is passed, and the other person can respond, without interruptions. 

Another piece of advice was not to schedule the "arguments" after 8 PM.  No one has the energy to really talk and actively listen after 8 PM.

So far it has worked.  We are able to talk about our grievances without the emotion of the moment.   We are able to put off the argument because we know we have time to hash it out later.  Which actually is rather nice.

Anyway, that is what is going on in my little corner of the world.  I hope everyone is having a great week!

Rolling with it.

I have been thinking about work, and work-life balance. I think it is something that most of us struggle with at some point.

The problem I have is that I am a rather driven person. When I was younger, I wanted to have a “cool” job. That job tended to be in the sciences. Doctor, research scientist, or something along those lines. Teaching did not interest me, and the only reason I got my graduate degree in education is because I was bored and cound not find anything else to do. Teaching was not “cool” enough for me. Turned out I am not too bad at it, but it is not really what excites me. Teaching is not a love for me.

Nursing interested me because it is in the sciences and is part of the medical field. I have been dancing around medicine. When I got my degree and started working in the operating room, I found what I wanted to do. My favorite clinical in nursing school was observing the open heart surgery procedure.

I really enjoyed most of the work I did at the level 1 trauma center, but it was stressful. You never knew what your day would turn out to be. Anything could come through the door, and we had to fit it in the OR somewhere. I loved the people I worked with, too. They are a great group of nurses.

After I had the Little Guy, I really needed less stress. That is how I ended up in my current job at the ambulatory surgery center. It is definitely less stress. And it is another great group of nurses and doctors there. I have opportunities to expand my skills into PACU and outpatient areas. And I only work twice a week. I have plenty of time to spend with my little guy, especially as I am not teaching now. I have more opportunity to get out with the Little Guy and meet other mothers. That is really where I need to be right now.

But... (You knew that was coming, didn't you?)

I feel like something is missing. Maybe it is because I feel like the work I do at the ambulatory surgery center is not as exciting to me. The work consists of a lot of “little” cases and does not feel as challenging to me as the work work at my old job.

The nice thing about my current job is that I have energy to give to raising my son. That is pretty special, and I am lucky to have the opportunity to do that. I do not have to work full time. I have a job I leave at work, and does have any “homework.” I have time to enjoy the child for whom we waited so long.

The current job is also better for me if I decide to go back to number 2. As mentioned above, it is a lower stress job, and they are likely to be more flexible if I need to come in late after monitoring appointments. Hubby is more comfortable with me in the job while I am pregnant with child number 2.

Another reason to stay in this job is that only one person in a couple should have the high stress job. Hubby is the one with the higher stress job, and he has less flexibility about what he can do. He is also the main breadwinner in the family. With me working part time, I have some time to care for him and the house, both of which are important to me.

So, for the time being I need to let go of my inner drive and enjoy what I have. I can go back to a more challenging job later. I have a good job, a lovely supportive Hubby, and a beautiful and happy toddler. Life is good right now. I need to enjoy it.

"Lazy" Sunday with a toddler

After a 2 hour nap this morning.  (I could not believe it!)  He got up and wanted to play with his new shopping cart.

 He loves that shopping cart. He has to carry everywhere.  Which translates to mom or dad carrying it everywhere.

I then got it in my head to go on a picnic at the park.  Sort of a crazy idea with a fearless toddler and no other adult, but I think the heat was getting to me.  He had to play on the playground and go on the slide.  He climbed up there all by himself.  I could not believe it!

 The slide was taller than I was and I could not reach him when he was at the top.  But he loves a slide and he climbs fairly well, so it worked out all right.  After we played on all the equipment, we sat down for a minute (literally) to eat.  I managed to catch the following picture:

I cannot believe that he is big enough to sit at a picnic table!

The best part about the trip to the park was that it wore him out, and he is now napping again.  Hooray for the nap time!