Getting myself back into the workforce has been tough. After applying for 7 positions, and being accepted for interviews at only 2 of them, I was beginning to worry that it was just not be meant to be. When I graduated from nursing school, there were millions of nursing positions waiting there for me to pick from, mostly because I was planning to work full-time. Going back to work, wanting only part-time hours.....not so easy. But finally, it happened. I got hired back at OSF for a part-time pediatric nursing position.
Then, I thought the hard part was over. I was sorely mistaken. Now comes all of the following: 2-step TB test (4 visits to the health department), CPR certification, hunting down my nursing license, college diploma, marriage license & immunization records, going to "parking services" at St. Francis to get my parking sticker, Occupational Health Physical, visiting HR to fill out all employment paperwork and getting my badge, 6 full 8-hour days of "hospital orientation". And this is all before I start my unit-specific orientation, which will take God knows how long since I'm only planning to work 1-2 shifts per week.
Add all of this to the stress of finding similar documentation for my daughter to begin preschool next month and you've got one, crazy person on your hands! I'm sure we'll get into a rhythm with preschool and my work schedule this fall, but right now I'm a bit nervous. Praying for wisdom and a lot of grace as we dive into this new chapter.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Our Night in Review
Since my kids think that 6:00 is an appropriate time to wake up in the morning, I've decided on a new plan of action for bedtime. They typically are in bed anywhere from 7-7:30 on a normal night......so, probably the reason they are so ready to greet the day so early. We are pushing bedtime back to 8:00 pm for awhile. Just to see if we get any early-morning relief. I am a firm believer in the saying "Early to Bed, Late to Rise" for children, but I'm also a believer in the fact that a body can only sleep for so long. I can't put my kids to bed at 7:00 pm and expect them to sleep until 9 in the morning....I could hope, but never expect. I'm getting ready to start a new job next month for which I will not be getting to bed until after midnight a couple nights per week, so getting out of bed at 6:00 the following day could lead to a very grouchy day for all involved.
Last night was day 1 of 8:00 bedtime. The kids both went to bed beautifully. We'd had a fun-filled day with my little sister and her family including lots of outside time and lunch at The Burger Barge. They were definitely "more ready" for bed at 8:00 than they are at 7:00--bonus. Jude could seriously care less and probably go to bed at 5:30 pm if I wanted him to, but this new routine seemed great for Maya since she still naps in the afternoon.
1:15 am- Jude cries out in his bed. Only for a second and then he's quiet. I keep sleeping. 1:25 am- Jude cries out again and then quiets down. I fall back asleep thinking, oh he's working it out on his own. This happens about 4 more times, all about 10-15 minutes apart, so I decide maybe I'll go in and see what's going on. He's sitting in the corner of his crib holding his "Blue Doggy" and he bursts into tears when he spots me come in. I picked him up and he instantly snuggled up to me ready to be rocked back to sleep (which I never do), so I relished it for awhile. He laid so close to me, breathing slowly and falling back to sleep. He sneezed and then he laughed at himself. I sand him a couple songs quietly and actually enjoyed the fact that I had to get up to spend this time with him. I wasn't missing my sleep at all. Just when I think he's getting so big these days, this one night makes me realize how small and vulnerable he still is. Still such a baby. I lay him back down and he fusses, but I leave to see if he will just go back to sleep.
2:40 am- Back in Jude's room for the same reason I had been there before. Same routine....songs, rocking, etc. only this time I added in some Tylenol/Orajel for the "just in cases" and soothed him back to sleep as he laid back down in his crib. This time he made it the rest of the night and it is now 3:25 when I crawl back into bed.
6:30 am- A little 3 year old, blondie comes crawling into our bed ready to get up for the day. Aaron and I are not ready to start the day quite yet, so she laid quietly with us until Jude woke up at 7:15 and we got up.
I know this may not be an interesting story, but I think it's therapeutic to put this into text to remind me of how great my kids are at sleeping most nights. Most nights, when they sleep through the night.....and even get up at 6:00 AM.
Last night was day 1 of 8:00 bedtime. The kids both went to bed beautifully. We'd had a fun-filled day with my little sister and her family including lots of outside time and lunch at The Burger Barge. They were definitely "more ready" for bed at 8:00 than they are at 7:00--bonus. Jude could seriously care less and probably go to bed at 5:30 pm if I wanted him to, but this new routine seemed great for Maya since she still naps in the afternoon.
1:15 am- Jude cries out in his bed. Only for a second and then he's quiet. I keep sleeping. 1:25 am- Jude cries out again and then quiets down. I fall back asleep thinking, oh he's working it out on his own. This happens about 4 more times, all about 10-15 minutes apart, so I decide maybe I'll go in and see what's going on. He's sitting in the corner of his crib holding his "Blue Doggy" and he bursts into tears when he spots me come in. I picked him up and he instantly snuggled up to me ready to be rocked back to sleep (which I never do), so I relished it for awhile. He laid so close to me, breathing slowly and falling back to sleep. He sneezed and then he laughed at himself. I sand him a couple songs quietly and actually enjoyed the fact that I had to get up to spend this time with him. I wasn't missing my sleep at all. Just when I think he's getting so big these days, this one night makes me realize how small and vulnerable he still is. Still such a baby. I lay him back down and he fusses, but I leave to see if he will just go back to sleep.
2:40 am- Back in Jude's room for the same reason I had been there before. Same routine....songs, rocking, etc. only this time I added in some Tylenol/Orajel for the "just in cases" and soothed him back to sleep as he laid back down in his crib. This time he made it the rest of the night and it is now 3:25 when I crawl back into bed.
6:30 am- A little 3 year old, blondie comes crawling into our bed ready to get up for the day. Aaron and I are not ready to start the day quite yet, so she laid quietly with us until Jude woke up at 7:15 and we got up.
I know this may not be an interesting story, but I think it's therapeutic to put this into text to remind me of how great my kids are at sleeping most nights. Most nights, when they sleep through the night.....and even get up at 6:00 AM.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Fondulac Farm Park
Some high school girlfriends and I took our children to the Fondulac Farm Park today. We try to get our families together once every month or two, mostly so us mommies have some adult bonding time, but the kids seem to enjoy it too, so it's truly a win-win. In all, there were 10 kids and 5 adults....quite a crowd. When we started these playdates, there were 6 kids, most of which were not even crawling yet....so needless to say, the "dynamic" of our get-togethers has changed dramatically. For that reason, we have decided that "location playdates" are the best option so that no Mom is stuck cleaning up the tornado-like disaster left behind when this clan is done.
All the kids played at one of the playgrounds while all of us Mommies got caught up on new news. One new pregnancy and one new job in the group. How exciting! So....make that 11 kids, up and coming! We're going to have to start renting out banquet facilities for these playdates! Because believe me, I'm no martyr. I'm not gonna offer to host at my house anytime soon :)
The park at ice cream cones filled with animal feed for all of the kids to feed the animals with. We fed them all....goats, sheep, cows, horses, chickens, pigs, more goats....oh wait, let's go back to the chickens one more time, and I think that goose looks hungry.....I was wishing that I would have only purchased 1 cone of animal feed, but no, I had purchased 3. I didn't want Maya to run out, you know.
So, once the animals were begging us to leave them alone, we all headed to the "Feed Shed" for some lunch. It was truly delicious! BBQ Beef sandwiches, pretzels, hot dogs, chips, applesauce, cookies, juice. Not bad fare for the low, low prices we paid too. We all sat at a couple shaded picnic tables and devoured our lunch, following a very thorough hand washing for all. Then the kids played some hide and seek, tag, and run.....yes, I said run, because seriously, they were just running like it was their job....no reason, just running.....ahhhh to be a kid again.
After lunch, we were all saying our goodbyes and all the kids yelled a big goodbye to Maya in unison. She felt pretty special! We headed to the van to load up two very exhausted park-goers. For having so many kids and babies along, the outing went as smooth as could be and we all left with smiles on our faces......looking forward to next time.
All the kids played at one of the playgrounds while all of us Mommies got caught up on new news. One new pregnancy and one new job in the group. How exciting! So....make that 11 kids, up and coming! We're going to have to start renting out banquet facilities for these playdates! Because believe me, I'm no martyr. I'm not gonna offer to host at my house anytime soon :)
The park at ice cream cones filled with animal feed for all of the kids to feed the animals with. We fed them all....goats, sheep, cows, horses, chickens, pigs, more goats....oh wait, let's go back to the chickens one more time, and I think that goose looks hungry.....I was wishing that I would have only purchased 1 cone of animal feed, but no, I had purchased 3. I didn't want Maya to run out, you know.
So, once the animals were begging us to leave them alone, we all headed to the "Feed Shed" for some lunch. It was truly delicious! BBQ Beef sandwiches, pretzels, hot dogs, chips, applesauce, cookies, juice. Not bad fare for the low, low prices we paid too. We all sat at a couple shaded picnic tables and devoured our lunch, following a very thorough hand washing for all. Then the kids played some hide and seek, tag, and run.....yes, I said run, because seriously, they were just running like it was their job....no reason, just running.....ahhhh to be a kid again.
After lunch, we were all saying our goodbyes and all the kids yelled a big goodbye to Maya in unison. She felt pretty special! We headed to the van to load up two very exhausted park-goers. For having so many kids and babies along, the outing went as smooth as could be and we all left with smiles on our faces......looking forward to next time.
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