Life, or something like it..

Life choices

Funny how life works.  I always thought I would be one of those career is first kind of gals, but after working for almost 20 years, and with the little darlin' on the scene I find it particularly hard to get myself motivated to charge into the thick of things again.  Of course, being a single income family kind of makes that impossible (I make 3 times as much as my DH - economics dictates that I am the one that works).

So of course, now that I am back into the job market, and looking around, I get offered two really amazing positions.

The first is a career amazing position with a large internation firm, where the pay is high, the visibility is high, it is for a fairly senior position, and the possibility for advancement is almost guarenteed, since they are looking for me to help establish the group.  However, the hours will be particularly long, and almost all at the office, since I would need to be interacting with the team on almost an hourly basis.

The second position has limited potential for advancement, is a smaller organization so the "perks" would be limited, the salary is less (although there are some cool bonuses if you make your targets), BUT, the organization was established specifically with the philosophy of flexibility, so I would work from home as many days of the week as I want, and I can set my own hours within the month (say, so a 65hr week one week, then a 10hr week the next).  And I know more than half the company since they are collegues from different companies that I've worked for, so there wouldn't  be any of that trying to get people to know you and what you can do kind of junk the first few months.

I love being with my son, so I am of course leaning towards the latter, but it is just so ironic that the fates would through the other job at mean right now just to tease me, knowing that I would have jumped at the chance for it a mere two years ago. 

Bah.

I just want to know how that happened?  In what seems to be a blink of an eye, I've become a "family" person.  We even went out and bought a minivan. Arrhhh!

I could get used to this

I just realised that I have actually had 3 of the last 5 summers off.. I could really get used to this... maybe I need to train as a teacher. (smile)  This has been such a good summer... good enough that the prospect of a new job doesn't bring the normal joy that one feels.  It is kinda funny - I am looking forward to getting back to work and to be able to spend money willy nilly again, on such incidentals like food and bills, but in some ways I am really not looking forward to it. 

The little darlin' is a such a fun stage right now - he's 15 months, and running all over.  He loves being outside, and we have a yard large enought that I could give him a five minute head start and still not have to worry about getting him to our typically deserted dirt road. 

We've been able to go on a few road trips, and to lounge around at home with friends, all of which has been a blast.  In the last few weeks, I think we have had people over - you know, the "its a gorgeous day, and the pool is warm, so why don't you pop over, and heck while your here why don't you stick around for a bbq" lounging around in the sun and the pools (yes, pools, we have three of them for my little water fiend - the baby pool, the kids pool, and then our pool), doing just about nothing since there are all sorts of things in the backyard for the kids to keep themselves amused with kind of day.  The one where you feel totally baked at the end of the day since you've relaxed into liquid kind of days. 

And now they want me to go back to work.. sigh.  I guess fall really is in the air.  At least I still have a few more weeks!

Has it really been two weeks?

Erg.  Has it really been two weeks since my last post? (grimace) Sorry about that folks..So I guess  I am apparently a "work" blogger.  Hmm.. big surprise.. I am guessing work is like homework - you always just *need* to clean your room just before a big paper or exam; unfortunately there are only a limited number of distractions at work, and those pesky cleaners seem to come every night.

Of course, it could be because of those limited number of distractions that I have time at work to blog (heaven forbid I do actual real work at the office).  At home I am spending whatever time I have trying desperately to keep up with all of the things we need to do, and to carve out some "fun time" with the little darlin' to leave much time for anything else.

Sigh.  And now that it looks like I will be taking a job where I work from home primarily, I think I am really going to have to look into that cloning option in order to be able to still have "me" time to feed my blogging habit.  Either that or figure out how to cyber implant an email interface into my brain so that I can post whilly nilly while doing unimporant things like grocery shopping, or shouting at the dumb ass that cut me off.

So how do I get paid to stay at home?

I don't know what I am going to do when I get back to work (of course, at this rate, it could be awhile). If at all possible, I think I am even busier now that when I was working full time. Of course, I am better rested, less stressed, and more tanned, but that is besides the point. I was so thankful that today we actually had a day where we really did not have anyone over (okay, FIL was here, but that was because he was babysitting last night and crashed over, but he left early, so that doesn't count) and that we could have some down time. The little darlin' took three - count 'em - three naps today. But at least his eyes are no long so red. You know your little darling is a little behind on his sleep when your pediatrician is sure that he has pink eye because they are so red. Sigh. But what are we supposed to do - he is getting five teeth in right now - 3 wisdom teeth and two front ones - so he isn't sleeping at night, and he keeps resisting taking an afternoon nap. Yes, we have even tried the crying it out method with no luck. He just sits quietly in his bed playing until we come get him. Now isn't *that* a guilt trip?

Summer Haze

Don't you just love that warm, cozy feeling you get after a great summer day? The one you get from a day's worth of sun doing absolutely nothing? Where you are awake, but just too relax to stress about chores, bills, work, whatever?

As I sit here after a day playing with my niece and the little darlin', with the glow of too much sun radiating heat all around me, it makes me thing what would make a day more perfect (I mean, other than having work? [grin])? With this in mind:

Recipe for a Perfect Canadian Summer Day

• 4 parts lounging
• 3 parts swimming (this should, at least in part, be combined with the first part for maximum relaxation)
• 2 parts good food
• 1 part sun
• 1 part shade (preferably by a large, old tree by the water)

Combine above ingredients and allow to sit for at least 5-8hrs. Add 1 part boating only if above seems a little dry. Next, add 1 trip to a hometown ice cream bars (not Dairy Queen - one of those small town ice cream stands with picnic tables out front). Simmer next to an evening bonfire, and mix in 1 part marshmallows. Pour into comfy bed.

Cute moment

Aww... my heart is going to break. The little darling was just *so* cute. Him and DH were getting out of the house so that I could do some job hunting (blah). After I sat on the floor and put on his shoes, the little darlin' went running to the door (he loves going outside) and was trying to push it open.

I said "Wait sweetie, please come give mum a hug before you go", mostly as a lark since he is only 14 months old. Wouldn't you know it, he turned around, came running up to me, put his arms around my neck, and gave me a great big hug! I just sat there stunned as he turn around and went running out the door.

Isn't it just totally amazing how cute they can be when you least expect it?

The Pain of It all

Sigh. Someone really has to remind me how I got the brilliant (drip) idea of a girls night out.. (hands rubbing temples).

Yes, I know it was way overdue, since most of us had not been out (in come cases literally) in 2 or more years, and yes a good time was definitely had by all, but here I sit two days out from our night out, and I still feel like I was hit by a truck. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I got home at 3am, and the little darlin' did his normal 5:30am wake up call.. but I knew that was going to happen, and was prepared or so I though (we were up all of my "recovery" night too, which kinda blew my plans out the window)..

Maybe it had to do with the alcohol.. but nahh.. that couldn't have been it. Alcohol used to be my friend. It loved me. We had fun together. Maybe it was just really, really, really upset that I had been away for so long, so when I finally tried to pay attention to it, it lashed out at me like our cat.. it craved my initial attempts at affection, but after 2 or 3 it got oversensitized and lashed out.. yah, yah, that must have been it.

Of course, you know the solution then is that I must pay it way more attention to it. (smile)

Advice from the flip side

So yesterday at a session of sugar therapy after Babytalk (that would be going to the ice cream shack after) a bunch of us were talking about the best advice we wish we had been given earlier on, and I though isn't it a shame that there isn't a full list of "tips" you could give new mom's.

Some of the ones that we came up with were:

• Getting a bumbo seat
• Using Davis diaper rash cream (it really does clear it up overnight)
• Using a soother to stimulate sucking for a few minutes before swapping in to nurse to prevent bad latches when they are first born
• Using baking powder in the bath water to help clear up diaper rash, eczema, bug bites, etc

Anyone else have any?

Has it been only a week?

God. Why the hell is it when something good is happening, it seems like time goes by in an instant. When things aren't so great, time seems to drag on and on. And time in hindsight seems way longer than time as you are passing through this.

So since my last post:

• it was my last day, but they did not confirm that until 6pm that evening, and thus not giving any time to hand over my work to anyone, or to say goodbye to anyone, thus causing me to have to go back the next day to wrap everything up on my own, being the good professional that I am (yuck).
• I signed all the legal paperwork, thus terminating my relationship fully and permanently with the company only to find out that they used the opportunity to screw me over one last time before my way out, and my lawyer missed that they were doing so (his oops cost me about $3K).
• got to have sugar therapy not once but twice since although I live in a relatively decent sized town they have an old fashioned ice cream stand just like there used to be at my old cottage.
• cooked about a ton of different dishes (marinated motz, potato salad, roasted red pepper dip, chickpea pate, trifle, aloha kabobs) for Canada Day at DH's aunts, and got to visit with about a million of his cousins (did I ever mention they are like rabbits? Right now we are averaging about a new cousin a year, although I figure that will increase soon enough).
• did about a million chores, including getting the pool up finally, weeded several of my gardens, did my banking, did grocery shopping (twice), diagnosed a computer, fixed a friend's modem, set up a badminton net, clothes shopped for the little darlin', organized a girl night for all the mom's at the playgroup, had my SIL, MIL and niece for dinner, went to a goodbye luncheon, went to a we are not hiring but we would like to hire you anyway lunch, went to play group (twice), had kids over to play, went to kids houses to play, and slept at least 5 minutes a night since the little darlin is popping a wisdom and is off.

Phew. Being an adult is rough!

Does anyone have cables to jumpstart my brain?

Is it really bad that its been long enough, and enough has happened, that I have to go look up where I last blogged before I can put up another post? Sigh.