Parenting

You know that thing they call the “corporate ladder”?  Well, I just stepped off of it and got onto the “Mommy Ladder”.  I resigned from my job on Thursday.  After six months of working myself to the point of utter physical and mental exhaustion I decided I had had enough.

Most people would probably think it’s a non-profit so how stressful could it be?  Just add a micro-managing, power hungry, overly-demanding volunteer to the mix and you’ve got your answer.  I was expected to work nights and weekends and the stress was unmanageable.  No one there had kids and they were not understanding about daycare pick-ups and doctor’s appointments.  That is unacceptable.

Does anyone else have major trouble dealing with change? I remember back in 2003 when I decided to leave my safe job to try my hand as a wedding coordinator at a local venue. I was so nervous about it that I broke out in hives for a week!

I usually get very anxious about the future. But lately I’ve been feeling excited and hopeful. We’ve got some major changes in the works right now and this time next year our lives might look very different than they do now. In a good way, of course.

Something scary happened on Wednesday. I went to the bathroom, which I do every 10 minutes it seems, only this time there was blood. I was at work so I tried to stay calm but everything in my brain was screaming “OH MY GOD, NO!” I called Naaman who told me to call the doctor. The doctor was very nice and squeezed me in for an emergency ultrasound that same hour. Naaman rushed to get me from work and we headed in. I was so worried and nervous.

Let me go back a little in order to tell this story. My 29th birthday was December 6th. It was a nice day. My parents came over to our house around 8:00 p.m. when Naaman got off work to have cake. For as long as I can remember, my parents have sung happy birthday to me and I’ve usually had a cake with Santa on it or the like due to the fact that I’m a December baby. We only had one candle so I put it on there, lit it, they all sang to me while I made a wish and then I blew out the candle. I looked right into Naaman’s eyes when I blew out the flame. You see, little did my parents know that Naaman and I had been trying for a baby since September. And that’s exactly what I wished for . . . a baby for Naaman and I.

Roxie’s two week post-op check up was yesterday. Naaman and I were both worried that the vet would say that her pins had come out of place. I prayed last night that they hadn’t because I didn’t want Roxie to have to go through another surgery. The vet was encouraged when he realized they hadn’t come out of place. He said for as young and active as she is, and as bad of shape as her knee was in, it’s a miracle that they are healing properly. He did recommend two more weeks in the playpen with little movement or playtime. We can take her out for very short walks in order to start building up the muscle again.

We recently had a round of the sickies go through our house. First, Sawyer started vomiting. Then it hit Brigham. And last, Landon got it. With low-grade fevers and a quick recovery, I am thankful we were able to manage it at home.

It’s always disheartening to see your children sick. We can feel so helpless when they are in pain and we can’t take it away with the snap of our fingers! The only thing we can do is try to comfort them as best we can. And provide hugs. Lots and lots of hugs!

Summer is definitely our favorite time of year. School is out for the boys and everything feels much more relaxed. We try not to over-schedule ourselves and leave plenty of room for our favorite summer activity – swimming!

We are very lucky that my parents have a pool. And since we only live about 15 minutes from them we are there quite a bit letting the kids do their thing.