Summer Fun

S and D having fun in the "pool".

Getting Back Into The Swing of Things

This whole SAHM thing is a lot more work than I remember. Either it's the whole grass is always greener thing or there really is a lot more work for me to do these days. Can't I just hire out? Really, I should be spending my days lounging by the pool and taking the kids to the mall.

Reality..... the kitchen is a mess, I have about 10 loads of laundry to accomplish, I'm yet to take a shower today and I'm pretty sure dinner is going to involve the question "Do you want fries with that?".

On the up side, S is taking a nap and was quite happy to do so. Now if I can only get D to start taking naps again. She's not very easily bribed for a four year old. What happened to the power of ice cream? Perhaps it only worked on me... and that's probably why I'm fat.... I like being bribed.

I have to say, I do love having my days back with just me and my girls. Don't get me wrong, I love C. But one can only have so much C in a day. When I'm at home with the girls we have either leftovers or something simple for lunch and breakfast is generally cereal or something super quick (Mama is not a morning person). When C is home, he wants a 4 course meal FOR BREAKFAST, a snack (usually the size of another meal) and then something long and involved for lunch. By the time everything is said and done, I've generally used every pot and pan in the house, done 3 loads of dishes, have way more leftovers in the house than we could possibly eat and now he's asking what I'm planning on making for dinner.... at that point, the only thing I want to make for dinner is reservations.

I don't think it's fully hit me yet that the nightmare of the past year is over. Maybe I should just work on being lazy and forget the whole housework thing for a while. I might be on to something with that whole hiring out thing.

It's About Time

So I'm back. A little older, a little wiser and a little more out of my freaking mind. I suppose I should at least finally spill the beans as to what the heck has been going on and why I was gone for so long.

C lost his job last year, found another job a few months later, got laid off from that, got a job with the union making way less than he was used to and then there were no jobs left with them either. We toughed it out as long as we could. When there didn't appear to be anything on the horizion, I decided it was time to rejoin the corporate world again. C became a terrible Mr. Mom (apparently he doesn't do dishes, laundry, cooking, organizing, dusting, or any other kind of general housework) and I became a working Mom. I will give him credit... terrible Mr. Mom, AWESOME Dad. The kids got way more junk food, TV time, pajama time and building things in the garage time than they would ever get with me. How they got the all clear from the dentist is beyond me. Showing up with a sucker stuck to their shirts should have been her first clue.

First off, to all you working Mom's out there, my hats off to ya. That's a lot of work. I went back to a great company I used to work for before I had D....... OR SO I THOUGHT. In the 3.5 years I was gone, it turned into a mental ward out of some zombie killer horror movie. Only, it wasn't over in two hours and I didn't get to sit back and point out all the holes in the plot line while eating my popcorn. No, I seemed to be the main character targeted by the mindless brain eating zombies. Hopefully there won't be a sequel.

I'll save the bulk of it for another post, but here's one for your pocket.... I got sick, VERY sick in March. They gave me a hard time about taking any time off. I told them I was contagious, and on the brink of going to the hospital, but they needed me. Fine. Took me longer to get better than it would had I taken the extra few days I really needed. But I couldn't afford to lose this stupid job. So I went in. No sooner I get better and my seasonal allergies kick in. Made sure to let all the busy bodies... excuse me, colleagues know I was no longer sick, but had allergies. Next thing I know, Ms. Queen Bee Busybody herself, Ms. I-Don't-Have-An-Ability-To-Self-Edit-Before-I-Speak went to HR and said she was so concerned for her health and well being that she took it upon herself to get a TB test. Really.

You know that scene in Mean Girls where Lyndsay Lohan jumpes across the table and attacks the other girls.... that scene was playing through my head as I sit there listeting to HR tell me I need to get a Dr.'s note to prove I am not contagious. Becasue you know how bad those seasonal allergies get. Once one person in the office gets them, everyone else does too. Of course no one else sniffling or seezing in the office is asked to do the same. Neither is my supervisor who had been genuinly sick for about 3 months and counting.

One chest x-ray and a Dr. shaking his head and laughing at me later.... I'm all clear, along with a new Rx for my allergy meds.

So fast forward to last week..... THANK YOU BABY JESUS! C started his new position with a great company. So far, he loves it. I know its only been a week, but man are we looking to put this whole nightmare of 2008/early 2009 behind us.

I didn't exactly make it out of that *job* unscathed. That's a whole other post... but I'm slowly getting better. The girls are doing great. C is great. We did a big family outing to San Francisco Saturday. D is convinced the city of Berkely is called Broccoli City. It is pretty crunchy there. Mabye she's on to something.

I'll show you some pictures and share some of the lighter sides of the past year in the weeks to come. I look forward to getting back into my routine of lazy housewife who ignores her kids and blogs all day. Speaking of, I better get to Costco and buy an economy size container of Bon-Bons. No self repecting lazy SAHM would dare be caught without a plentiful supply properly hidden.

But here is what I do know. My husband rocks. I love him more than anything in this world, grey hairs and all. My kids love the living bejesuas out of me. Despite the hard times, I've got a great family and I wouldn't trade them for anything.