May 27, 2011

Work, School and a Holiday Weekend

So, I’ve officially worked at my new job for six weeks. My first day feels like it happened so long ago, but as they say, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” I am really having fun. My favorite thing about working at Sentry is that I don’t have even a fraction of the stress I dealt with at Joerns. It is a huge sigh of relief to go to work, do my job, and go home — without worrying about expectations and unfinished work, and co-workers who don’t do a flipping thing all day (and constantly pass their share of the work to others). The fact that I took a $2 an hour pay cut is worth my sanity.

When I got home from work tonight my adoring husband actually said, “Do you realize you haven’t bitched about your job? You haven’t even had one complaint. I’m writing that in the history books.” I laughed so hard because it’s true. I have no complaints. I like what I do. It’s amazing how one change in my life has positively affected everything else.

Last week I got my grades from school and I was so proud to see my GPA of 3.705 (where does this darn .005 come from?). I’m a little miffed about not getting an A in Employment Law, but I did my best. It is so hard to memorize all the legislation we studied. I can’t imagine how lawyers do their jobs without constantly checking reference books or law reviews. Ugh.

Now my summer semester has begun and I’m aiming for the 4.0. Hopefully I can overcome the obstacles I’ll face with Macro/Micro Economics. I’m ready to get this semester done. I’ll graduate in December if I can crammed my last four classes in the fall semester. I’m not going to add any pressure. We’ll see how things go in a couple months. It won’t kill me to graduate next May.

Thank God for 3-day weekends. We don’t have any big Memorial Day plans, but I do hope to get a little yard work done and maybe plant some flowers. The weather hasn’t been the warmest which is sad with June approaching quickly. We’ve had a lot of rain this Spring and even some tornado weather. Bring on the sun and warmth already!

I’m looking forward to hanging out with the boys and having a family cookout. Here’s hoping time slows down just this once.

What are you up to this weekend?

May 22, 2011

Two Little Birds

I have the cutest kids ever.  No really, I do.  They are the joy in my life and I have every right to brag about them, yes?

Here’s some recent photo goodness:

They are growing right before my eyes and every day is special.  It’s so difficult to watch them grow up and become their own personalities.  As much as I love them and understand that this is part of life, in these moments I truly understand what it must have been like for my own mother to “let go” of her four children.

Dawson will be 7 years old in just a few months.  SEVEN.  It seems like yesterday that I was holding him in my arms and rocking him to sleep.  His life is no longer an off-shoot of mine.  He has his own life, separate from me.  He has experiences at school that I know nothing about.  When he gets home he tells me about his friends, what he’s learned, the emotions he feels when things happen during his day.  He is making his own memories and some day this little boy will be a man.  How do I get over the immensity of this fact of life that is staring me in the face every day?  Oh how I wish I cold slow down time.

Owen is almost two years old and I’m now realizing that everything I’ve experienced with Dawson is coming down the pipe with my youngest child.  My baby wants to be like his big brother so much, and it seems like he’s growing up twice as fast as Dawson is.  I don’t know how this is possible.  Owen is so full of energy and is always smiling.  When I look at his face I see how much he loves life.  I see how much he loves Dawson.  He is ready to conquer the world.

I can help but shed some tears.  I’m sad these little birds have to leave the nest some day, but I’m so lucky to be their mother and to watch them take flight right before my eyes.

May 8, 2011

Just Another Day, Only Better

This Mother’s Day wasn’t any different than any other day for me.  Doug worked half the morning.  The boys dragged every toy they own into the living room.  I yelled at the dog for barking at the TV (he has this thing where he barks if he sees animals on the television.  IT IS VERY ANNOYING).

I sometimes wonder what the point of Mother’s Day is when you have small children who don’t understand the holiday.  Dawson awoke bright and early to wish me a happy mother’s day, but I don’t think he really knows what the day is about.  Owen planted slobbery kisses on my cheek only because Dawson did so first.  He loves to do everything Dawson does.  It’s cute for the most part, but it can be dangerous when he tries to run on the sidewalk because Big Bro does it.  I’m afraid he’ll trip and have road rash on his forehead.

Doug brought a small cake home from work today and when he showed me the frosting I was surprised that Dawson had decorated it with sprinkles and the words “Mom, From Dawson & Owen” were written on the top.  When Owen and I took a nap yesterday afternoon, Daddy and Dawson sneaked out of the hosue to go decorate it at the store.  It was so sweet. Doug made steaks and twice-baked potatoes for supper and then we all had a piece of cake.

I guess this day was special after all.