20 posts tagged “working”
I've come back to work to two surprises. One I knew was coming but didn't really think I'd see it... a vending machine in the staff room. This will good. And bad. The second I also knew was coming but didn't think I'd see it so soon... the director is resigning. Crazy days at the library.
I know I'm pretty strict about our sleep schedule. I let the kids stay up for the wedding but that's it. No 4th of July or New Year's Eve. No staying up late because we're out at a friends or at dinner or something like that. Which is why it constantly amazes me when I see people bringing their little kids in at 8:30. Dude! And you wonder why your kids are having a tantrum now? Could it be that they are supposed to be in bed? Hmmm....
I called the doc today to schedule the deflux for the Princess. Hopefully we'll get a call with the date soon. Hopefully it will not be on a day I work or my boss will hate me forever. I think he does things on Tuesdays though, so it should be okay.
I cannot wait until I am just working one night a week. I may actually see my husband during the week! Woo-hoo!
I think my brain might be officially fried.
I came home from work last night and ripped the wallpaper behind the fridge and above the cabinets on the last wall that needed to be done. I finished up at 10:30ish. And then I saw this:
We've been doing pretty crappy with our letters of the week. Partly because I've been doing the wallpaper. But I've also been focusing more on his social development and playdates and things like that. And he's been spelling a lot each time he insists on checking his e-mail. He's doing a lot of things on his own now--playdough, making cards for people with happy face balloons and scribbles that say "Hi Dear [name] I love you." So he's still learning.
I've been presented with an opportunity at work. To do less of it. It would be easier for the schedule if I worked less. And we know it would be easier for me... originally I thought I would need the money of two nights a week. But how many nights have I missed??? And I haven't made any of that time up so clearly I can do without it. I'm sure Vader would appreciate having another night to stay late at work. I need to talk to him tonight but I think I can sell him on it particularly when he realizes how much time I've had to take off since I started back here. It's been A LOT.
I have been helping people all night long. Reading list books. SRP questions. There is a karaoke program going on down the hall. I missed last summer because I was having that baby. So this is the first summer for me of teen programming that I'm not a part of. Feels kind of weird.... and relaxing. :-)
I have a crapload of cleaning to do before our playdate tomorrow. I'm not going crazy though since everything is going to be covered in dust next week anyway. It'll be more of a straightening up than a cleaning. We have to get everything out of the kitchen and living room this weekend. Won't that be fun? I also have to pack for the 3 of us.
Just for fun:
Holy crapcakes it's busy. I leave you with this-- a little boy who used to come in a long time ago and is a bit off his rocker just told me all about Dale Earnhardt and then asked me how the husband was. I said good. He said "And the kid?" I said, "I have two now." He said "Two? Adoption?" I said no, He said "both born?" (What the hell??) I said "yup." He says "That husband is one lucky sonofagun, If it wasn't for him I would have gotten to you!" and proceeds to tell me how he will strangle god when he "gets up there" because of this. Good times, yo.
The hideous wallpaper in the kitchen (if you look closely you can see the blue counters):
Before & After:
Even without being painted the walls look so much better without that wallpaper!! I am nowhere near being done in the kitchen though. My goal is to finish that and then have someone else do the rest:
Who puts wallpaper in the shower? Who DOES that kind of thing??
I had to laugh at how many people suggested yellow for our kitchen... When Vader first laughed at light green he said "Well, it's not as bad as yellow." It's going to be fun in my house when we have to make a decision.
We had lunch at the park again. We're enjoying it so much. SkyWalker doesn't really talk to anyone, but he laughs at the other kids and he's not running away from them. He felt comfortable enough to pull his pants down and pee in front of everyone. Twice. The second time his little train buddy stood right next to him and was fascinated with his progress. They looked like they were standing at urinals... in the middle of the grassy park. Good times. We're getting used to going to the park every week. I don't know what we'll do in the winter... I guess go to the library. ;-)
Speaking of which... I try not to talk too much about work because that's not who I am anymore but this just is so overwhelmingly ridiculous... instead of hiring another children's librarian to help do programs and improve services to the town, the board has decided to pay a "guard" to deal with the teenagers who hang out here after school. I'm assuming that's what his responsibilities are but I'm not sure since there still has been NO memo notifying us of who this person is and why he's here. That's another post. Anyway, the town taxpayers are paying this man (a hall monitor from the school) to sit outside the building and sun himself for a few hours. Is that not a colossal waste of money?? A librarian would be working! I am so glad I am not a taxpayer in this town. This in addition to the unnecessary 9-5 hours on Saturdays in the summer... at a time when taxes are going up and up, gas is going up, everything is going up, to be wasting taxpayer money is just so wrong.
We have another playdate at our house tomorrow. I didn't even attempt to clean today since I know it will all be a mess again. I'll do the guest bathroom tonight or tomorrow morning and try to get the kitchen organized, but with two little tornadoes throwing toys around the living room there was no point in doing anything today!
But we all knew that right?
The jedi and I went to the foot doctor yesterday. He could not replicate the pain there (no surprise. I can't either. It just happens). So I had an x-ray done and will go back in 2 weeks and hopefully the x-ray will give us a clue as to what is wrong with my foot. I am at the point that I can deal with being in pain. Most of being a mom is being in a pain in one way or another, but I don't want to find out 2 years from now that I've been walking around with something really wrong and then I have to get my foot replaced with a robotic one. Actually, that would be cool.
We also went to the state park 5 minutes from my house yesterday for a picnic lunch. They are now on summer hours so it cost us $6 to park! I had planned weekly picnics for my meetup, but I canceled half of them. That's a lot to expect people to pay every week, especially with gas being so high. We still have our weekly lunches at the town park (that draws more people anyway).
We picked up my dress from the tailor today. After I paid I noticed a safety pin at the bottom. I said, "What's the safety pin for?" She looked at it. Looked at her paperwork and then started making one excuse after the other.... she forgot to hem the dress! I could have worked with a loose top, but the floor length dress needed to be knee-length!! We went to the library and wasted an hour while she hemmed it and then picked it. She did not get a tip.
Either Bagel is going to love me or The Nice Librarian is going to hate me. It's a good thing there are 5 weeks in July because I need 3 of them off. We're getting the floors refinished the first week so the kids and I will have to stay on LI. The next week my sister is getting married. And then the last week Shinesalot is coming for a visit and staying at my house. I'm just part-time. It doesn't cost anything to have someone else work for me. I still just feel guilty though. I have to remember all the times the part-timers didn't work when I was full-time.
I just had the loveliest conversation with a friend I usually only talk to online. She actually stayed here way past her leaving time. It reminded me how nice it is to talk to a friend (albeit at work) without interruptions. Well, there were interruptions but they were easily resolved and not of the "I need to poop" or "I want to watch Dora" nature.
I've been working on a potty training bookmark for the new parenting section. I'm prettifying it now. Who would have thought a couple of years ago that I would be doing this? I was THE teen librarian for quite a while. It's so funny how things change.
I had more but I lost it. I need a snacky-snack.
Mothers are no strangers to sacrifice. We sacrifice everyday to make sure our children's needs are met. I have recently switched to whole-grain pasta and bread so the kids and I eat the same things. Sigh. I sacrifice sleep and brain power on a regular basis. Today I sacrificed a box of tissues:
My kitchen counters are now clean. The floor? Not so much. Those are the fridge letters that the little Princess thought would be really funny thrown around the room.
Apparently in my house clean and straightened up are mutually exclusive properties. If I clean something you can bet there are toys all over the place in the living room. If the toys are straightened up you can beg there's piss on the bathroom floor. This also works between the different levels of my house. If the first floor living room is okay, the basement "office" that is quickly becoming a playroom is a mess. If the office is okay the kids' upstairs bedrooms are a mess. My house is proof of entropy. I think. I'm not sure if I remember what entropy means.
I realized today that my children are perfect counterparts. I make a turkey sandwich. SkyWalker removes the turkey and eats the bread. The Princess removes the turkey, eats it, and throws the bread on the floor. Perhaps I should just let them share one sandwich.
I have been attempting to work tonight. I have music CDs I need to buy for the department. I finally got an account to do so... and the vendor sucks ass. The searching is horrible. They don't have anything on my list. I am very discouraged. I'm going to eat some string cheese and try again.
We've pretty much decided we're all going to North Carolina at the end of April. I do not want to be left alone for such a long time, particularly since Vader will have gone to Buffalo at least TWICE between now and then, leaving me alone with the kids and the dogs. His trial is in April and I just don't think him being gone so much would be good for the kids. Or for me. So I am picking my anti-traveling ass up and we're going. We'll be driving so we can have our stuff and set our own time table. It'll take 2 days to get there and then another 2 days back, and that will suck, but what are you going to do? I'll need to get off work and that will also suck but I have to keep reminding myself that I am part-time now. If I'm not here I don't get paid so a sub can. I am not full-time. It is not a big deal for me to not be here as long as I give enough notice so someone else can get the hours.
Now I need to decide what to do with the Princess and breastfeeding.... when we take our trip she will be 2 weeks shy of 1 year. I can't even believe that. But anyway, she's been doing 4 feedings a day since she was 4 or 5 months old. I can't remember. Instead of every 4 hours (SkyWalker was always every 3) she is now feeding at 7, 11:30 (because I wake her/make her), 4:30 and bedtime which is usually 7:30. She doesn't take much at 7:30 and I have a feeling that the middle 2 feedings will start to merge... Where was I going with this? Oh, the trip! So who knows how often she will be breastfeeding by then. I'm wondering if I should just plan on switching her to cow's milk earlier than her birthday to make the trip easier? It's not like there's a magic button that says "she is now 12 months and can have cow's milk". 2 weeks will not be the end of the world. You know my problem right? I like following rules. But I've been giving her finger foods much sooner than her pediatrician recommended... It would be so much easier to just feed her in the morning and then at bedtime (which she might actually do more of if she's down to 2 feedings) and then do cow's milk during the day. I managed to keep breastfeeding another 3 months doing that with SkyWalker. I can do it with her too...
I had a bunch more to say but it is now 8 and I am done pumping and need to get back to work. I expect numerous comments telling me what to do by tomorrow. By all 3 of you that read my blog.
There is no one in the children's room. Not one single person, since I am now in the office. It is snowing and freezing rain and people are not leaving their houses. The director was here and is driving home and will call us to tell us how the roads are and whether we should close early. Since it is now 7:46 I'm not sure what "early" means. We close at 9. We can't close at 8. So what? 8:30? Half an hour? If that.
The pipes have been replaced. The plumber(s) are almost done--they just have the laundry room to connect and then that's it. Well, except for the huge holes in my walls and ceiling. We took pictures. I'll have to post them later.
The Princess will be 9 months old on Friday. She is standing up holding on to the ottoman and trying to take little baby steps. FSM help me.
Back to the silence of the children's room. Which is actually kind of lovely. ;-)
The jedi and I went to a meetup at an indoor play area that we haven't been to since his birthday--with his little best bud who is now a Texan. It was jam-packed with kids. He ran away from me and climbed on things and said "hi" and "peekaboo" to other kids and their moms (!) and smiled at people and had a wonderful time. He didn't play with anyone for real, but he climbed next to kids and didn't let them stop him from doing things. The Princess lured many a mama my way with her amazing beauty. For reals, yo. I know I'm biased, but every single mom was drawn to her and said the same thing "Wow, she's so beautiful." She sat and looked at people and smiled and crawled toward me and was perfectly fine. I made the obligatory small talk and tried to not be myself. On the way home SkyWalker said he had fun and "we makin' friends. I say hi."
I think I've reassessed what I want out of these things. I don't want friends for me. I don't even necessarily want friends for him--not real ones anyway. He'll make his friends once he gets to school. Right now what I want to do is just expose him to a bunch of different kids so that he's comfortable in social settings (unlike his parents). I don't want him to hide--physically or mentally--when he gets in with a group of kids. We're not looking for best friends. I think we're just looking for acquaintances really. We have our weekly playdates with our old friends and that's going well. It doesn't even matter if the boys become friends--each will have a familiar face on that first day of kindergarten.
The Princess is officially crawling. No more belly flopping halfway there... let the games begin! Maybe now Vader will do something about a real gate at the bottom of the stairs. One that SkyWalker can open but the Princess cannot.
It is wicked busy at the library tonight. I got blindsided when Bee went on dinner and now I'm in here pumping. I hope it has slowed down some and she's not overwhelmed. I'm actually been working in addition to the reference! So there, it happens people. Sometimes I work.
LOST starts in one hour. Sigh. I hope the DVR doesn't mess up.
The tap is dry. I'm running out of milk. The Princess is more interested in waffles and peas (what the dilly-o?) and everything but mama. Either that or she is just wicked efficient... which could be the case. She was always quicker. In the beginning she would nurse for 10 minutes but she was awake and actively nursing the entire time. Now she's down to 3-4 minutes. 5 if I'm lucky. I know she's getting something because I can feel it and she's swallowing... but can she really get what she needs in 5 minutes? She hasn't been finishing her bedtime bottle when I'm at work but I've been feeding her more often because she's so quick... so maybe she's just snacking now. Taking 2 or 3 ounces here and there instead of the 5-7 she used to do. She is getting 6 ounces mixed in with her cereal everyday... as much as I love breastfeeding I hate the insecurity and doubt that goes along with it.
SkyWalker came in the bathroom today as I was taking care of some ahem, feminine issues... He looked at the maxipad and said "what that is?" I decided to bombard him with information to make him go away so I started by saying "Well, Mommy has her period..." and I kid you not, his "I'm a male and don't want to hear it DNA" kicked in and he said "Okay" and ran out saying "I'm a piggy bank" and hitting the top of his head like he was putting a penny in it.
And now... back to work.
This has been the longest Saturday ever. Probably not *ever*, but you know what I mean. If I were home right now I would be saying, "I can't believe it's after 3 already! I have so much more to do!" But alas, I am working and I am saying "I can't believe it's only 3!"
I just love parents who think the library is free daycare. And that I am a secretary who will go looking for a kid... if you're that concerned how about you come to the library with him? Instead of dumping him for HOURS?
Our playdate yesterday went well. We enjoyed ourselves and SkyWalker said he wanted to go back, so that's good. It's funny though, whenever I say "we're going to go play with [whoever it may be]" he says "okay. and littleman?". Sigh.
I've fixed the Princess's sleeping problem (eating at night... not eating during the day... then eating at night), but now she likes to wake up at 5:30, roll over to her tummy and SCREAM until Vader goes upstairs to roll her back over. Once she's rolled over she's usually okay to go back to sleep. I hope she remembers how to roll over to her back soon... she did that first but once she started rolling to her tummy there was no stopping her and she just forgot how to fix herself. Vader has to go up though because if she sees me she'll only want one thing. At least that's what I'm telling him...
We've gotten SkyWalker to say "Bada Bing Bada Boom." It is HILARIOUS.
We are leaving at 7 am on Wednesday morning. I think I might be crazy. But it works better for the kids to travel in the morning. We have 10:30 ferry reservations and hopefully we'll make them. SkyWalker did okay last time, not needing to stop and pee so it should be okay. If it's early enough he hasn't had a full day of drinking...
Pumping break is over... back to "work."
This is my first weekend at work.
Besides the fact that I no longer actually enjoy working or care at all, this is also the first day that I will be away from the Princess for more than a couple of hours. It will be 8 1/2 hours by the time I get home (and she will hopefully be napping when I do get home). I'm not quite sure how I am still breathing.
It did not help that she was up TWICE last night. She's been up since she got her shots. I hope it hasn't turned into a habit. I am *so* tired.
It's only 9:30.
