I Don't Know How She Does It

And by "she" I mean all the amazing moms at Patrick's preschool who work 40+ hours a week. I'm working 15-20 hours a week and it has been a major adjustment for me. I used to work 30+ hours a week when Patrick was Lucy's age and my head didn't seem this jumbled. Why is that?

a) I was muuuuuch younger then
b) My old job was not challenging
c) I now have two kids to wrangle on my days "off"

I'm going with "a" and "c". And as for "b", well, it was challenging most of the time, but it was sooooo different than what I'm doing, and where I am, now. First off, it was handling public relations for a full service agency. Secondly, the management style over my particular department was . . . how do I say this? . . . interesting. Thirdly, I think I was inhaling black mold the entire time I worked there. No joke.

Now I'm doing some public relations projects for a non-profit organization, something that I've always wanted to get into. (I worked at the U's Bennion Community Service Center in college) And I'm really liking it! Yes, I flipped out the first couple of weeks when Lucy started part-time in the Baby Room at P's school, as I equally flipped with him. But I'm finally realizing that after a year of me being home pretty much full time with her, this is a really nice change for both of us. She is learning so much from the kids at school:

• Walking - with assistance of a pushable cart (Go Lu!);
• Sharing - Eva is an excellent play pal; and
• Flirting (followed by Rejection) - she sat in William's lap the other day and he was all like, "Hey, get this cougar off of me!"

And as for how working at an office is benefiting me each week? Well, can I tell you how nice it is to go to the bathroom without someone's hand reaching under the door? Or putting on an outfit that you know won't look like a filthy snotrag by the end of the day? Or, and this is the big one, using my brain to decide something besides what kind of birthday party I should throw for my child that will launch him into being even more obsessed with his current obsession. (Answer: an Angry Birds party)


So, yes, this working part time thing is pretty nice. And when I have a couple of pretty nice days at work I truly feel that I am more able to enjoy the time I spend with the kids on the other days. I mean, the house isn't as clean, Matt may have picked up a pizza on his way home (twice) last month, and my dogs are rather pissed that they are occasionally crated for 9 hours straight (they'll get over it), but generally it's working out rather well for everyone.

Though, I will say that there is one tiny downside of working at a non-profit: When I call my dad from my work phone he admits to almost not answering because he thought it was "some damn fundraiser begging for money." Direct quote.

Chatter: She's only human

Me: Shit! *as Patrick knocks over an entire glass of milk*

Patrick: Sorry, Mom! And . . . bad word . . .

Me: It's okay, accidents happen. And, I'm sorry that I said that word. I am really trying not to use those grown-up words around you, honey.

Patrick: It's okay, Mom. Even Amber says bad words sometimes.

Sabbatical Greatness

Matt's company gives its employees a month-long, paid sabbatical for every five years they are employed. So awesome, right? Last month he took Sabbatical #2. He took his first sabbatical the month after Patrick was born, which you might imagine was kind of a drag, as he spent it taking care of a jaundiced newborn and a severely depressed new mother. Queue Debbie Downer music. *womp womp*

But this one was much more fun for him. He went camping with a college friend one week, took a weekend to visit his brother in Chicago where they caught a Cubs/White Sox game, tackled some outdoor projects that were on his list and got another thing taken care of as well. We also were able to do a few family day trips. One was to the Golden Spike, which is in relatively close proximity to the Spiral Jetty on the Great Salt Lake. Unfortunately, the jetty was submerged underwater, as it often is, but we trekked out as far as we could on an old oil jetty and Matt set up the ol' Canon to take a family photo:

Our version of professional photography. Hey, setting an auto timer is tough!

I promised Matt that I would not post the subsequent photo I took of Patrick's first voluntary outdoor pee, though his little arse looks so adorbs that it seems cruel to not share it with everyone.