Why I can't stay home for the holidays

I am opposed to staying at my house for the holidays for many reasons.  One, we have no family here.  Two, it's too crazy hot here especially for Christmas.

For example:

My niece and nephew have come to stay with us for 2 days.  Being the completely cool aunt that I am, our first activity consists of assisting me prune the front bushes for the winter.  Surprisingly, my niece and Wingman loved the activity so much they were fighting over who got to use the rake.  We are so hip at our house!

As we work along the warmth starts to hit me and her.  My niece starts to take off her jacket.  Then she looks at me quite exasperated, "It's 3 days until Christmas and it's supposed to snow and I AM SWEATING!"

I feel your pain.  It's just wrong on many levels.  It was 81 degrees at the time.  It's Dec. 21 and our air conditioning is on.  Crazy.

So glad to be home

I can not describe how good it feels to be home as a full time mom and wife and a very part time physical therapist.  Life just seems "right" with me here and the Captain back to some kind of work.

The older boys did pretty well through the months of upheaval.  Wingman definitely took it the hardest.  The first few months he was decidedly ticked off with me.  He would greet me when I came home, but that was about the last of our interactions.  Only daddy could feed him, bathe him, or read to him.  He would throw a fit if I tried to do it.  I kept just convincing myself that it was his way of dealing with "it" all.

Then came months of him crying when I left and being exceedingly clingy to me when I came home.  I could not go the bathroom alone without his presence.  He asked me where I was going every time I simply walked out of a room for fear I was going to work.

Things are getting somewhat back to normal.  We are getting back into a normal routine with homeschooling and other mom/kid stuff.  Wingman is less emotionally unstable.  I have been cooking and cleaning and enjoying every moment of it.  I have missed my old life so much.  I keep trying to remind myself how good this feels on one of "those days" where I just need to escape from my dirty house, loads of laundry, and needy children.  I know that will come.

I am so blessed to be home where I belong.  I am thankful for a husband who whole heartily agrees.  I am thankful that I do have an education that allowed me to earn a good paycheck for our family in a time of need.    I am thankful that time was short where I needed to work full-time. (I know people whose husbands who have been out of work for much longer.)  I am thankful that for my sweet precious boys that I get to be with everyday.

Human resources

We have had some interesting interactions with multiple human resources departments as we wade through this job hunting experience.

I am sure most of them are just doing their job as prescribed, but they can be so frustrating.  They can be so evasive, never giving you a clear answer.  We are pretty sure one of them  flat out lied to him for about 2 months.  I guess that their practices are for a good reason, but when you are the guy and the family on the other end it's not so much fun.

For example...

Today, the Captain receives a phone call from a company that he applied to over a month ago.  (They are all so slow.)  The gist of the conversation from this sweet HR lady was to tell him that they would be calling him some time next month to schedule an interview.  They called him to tell him they would call again.  Thanks.

At least he knows someone looked at his resume.  Pardon me, if I don't hold my breath while waiting on this phone call.  If I had a nickel for every time I have heard that in the last 6 months...

That boy loves to read

As the test pilot gets older, we have been trying to find movies and books that are on his level, that would interest him, and be glorifying to God.  That has not been an easy task.

Over the weekend, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" came on TV.  We had not read the books to him. (That's what I planned to do last summer, but that did not happen.)  We decided to let him stay up late and watch with us.  He LOVED the movie.  He was asking all sorts of questions.

Then I told him that is a book in a series.  The test pilot loves series books.  I got them out just to show him.  First, (he is so my kid) he is a little confused and a little irritated that they would make "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" as the first movie when it's really the 2nd book.  I tried to explain Hollywood but that did not really satisfy him.

He decided to fix that problem by reading "The Magician's Nephew" (the first book) in 2 days.  Then he moved on to "The Lion, the witch, and the Wardrobe."  He offered to read to his brothers yesterday afternoon.  It was so sweet to watch. He should finish that book today.  He'll probably finish the whole series before Christmas.

He doesn't understand all of it especially, the allegory but for 7 years old he is doing very good.

What is really amazing is that he chooses to read after his school reading.  He has assigned 20-30 minutes of individual reading a day plus other read aloud times with mom.

If you needed a gift idea, books please.  Just make sure they are in order.

Thanksgiving a little late.

These are pictures of our recent Thanksgiving trip to see my parents.  My sister and her family were also there.  I thought this group photo turned out pretty well for that many little people.

Here's my parents.  Mom looks lovely in her sparkly outfit.

My sister's clan.

Here's all of us.  Wingman always has some sort of deer in the headlights look with photos.  Lovely.

Here's all the grandkids on my side of the family.

Grandave had bought a Wii so you can imagine what the 6 kids did for 3 days.  Grandave is the coolest.  My kids are dying to go back and play the Wii.

We had a fun time eating, visiting, shopping, and just hanging out.

Status change

It's been so long since I blogged that I had a hard time logging in.

Yesterday, was my last official day as a full time physical therapist. I am back to really, really part time (a couple Saturdays a month) physical therapist and full time mommy.

The Captain received some contract work that should keep him busy until the end of February. He continues to look for full time employment. In fact, he has an in person interview in the Midwest right after the first of the year. Or the contract work might be a good thing. It's still too early to tell. We will see what happens.

I have missed being home. I miss my kids. I miss cooking. The cleaning supplies miss me. It's pretty pathetic looking around here. The dust bunnies are taking over.

It was very stressful and difficult moving over to outpatient but I felt like I was getting in the groove by the time I left. It was a good learning experience and stretched me way out of my comfort zone. I am very thankful to have flexible bosses and co-workers who have allowed me to work as little or as much as my family has needed during the past 2 years.

I was sad to leave some of my patients. I get attached sometimes. I know they will have great care when I leave, but I always wonder how they turn out. I really like being a physical therapist, but now it's time to be a mommy.

Keep praying for wisdom in job hunting decisions. There will be some difficult decisions to make in the next few months.

Pray for peace for us (mostly me) with this uncertain income during the next few months. I don't like uncertain. He has and will be paid but it's not a regular paycheck. As certain projects are completed you get a check and that has to last to the next completion date and you don't really know when that will be. Not my favorite scenario.

I will catch up on more blogging this week.