Friday, July 24, 2009

Welcome Home, Again, Mama!

Yes, so this is the post that should've appeared Wednesday. Where did this week go?

I was sitting down to feed Bobby on Tuesday afternoon, after making it to Kate's new orthodontist appointment. Remember how I failed at the first one? Anyway,... I sat down, got the baby situated on my lap and he went to town on his bottle. Perhaps I was lulled into relaxation with his rhythmic slurp, sigh, slurp, sigh, slurp, sigh -- or my brain was numbed by some ridiculously inane article I found to read online about a Hollywood "wanna-be-somebody." I was instantly snapped back to reality with all the ruckus coming from Bobby's general direction It was the mother of all BMs, which he expelled with such force, it shot out the side of his diaper and into my lap.

Tap, tap, tap. Is this thing on?

Did you hear what I said, people? Shot. Out. The. Diaper. Into. My. Lap.

All the while, Bobby's just sort of got this relaxed, ho-hum, just-another-day-in-my-life look on his face. Slurp, sigh, slurp, sigh, slurp, sigh...

The carnage: one large bath towel, my shorts, baby blanket, romper, wash cloth, diaper, too many wipes to count.

Welcome home, Mama!


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

KA-CHIIIIIING!

What? What was that?

That was the sound of an axe swinging down onto the chopping block. And that would be my job sitting ON the chopping block.

Last Friday, I joined the throngs of folks laid off due to the ugly economic conditions. Not that I ever felt my job was untouchable, but as a part-timer, hourly, no-benefits employee, I did figure I was a bit further down the list. Apparently not.

I spent a good chunk of Sunday afternoon hunched over the computer, trolling for jobs on the Internet. Found a few and applied for them, but have no idea what or who I am up against. In the meantime, I do have a healthy amount of freelance work to keep me busy – although the pay cut will require some major adjustments on the home front. I’m not sure how the kids are going to feel about giving up lunch for a while … oh, I kid.

Since my main responsibilities have now shifted squarely into co-running the household with Jeff, I resigned myself yesterday to doing just that. Donning the “stay-at-home mom” cap once again (although now there are three more children in the mix) felt great yesterday. I made breakfast biscuit sandwiches yesterday, which appeared to be a hit. I cleaned, straightened … got Bobby fed and napping a few times … finished making a fleece IU blanket for Sam (7) and still had time to hop on the computer a few times to check email and see if the business world was crumbling without me. It wasn’t.

With the “Mom” feather tucked firmly in my cap again, I set my sights on today. I woke with a start at 8:20, after having been up with Bobby around 6. Kate had an orthodontist appointment at 8:30. Uh-oh. First assignment for Tuesday? FAIL. Got the appointment rescheduled for later. Now we’ll see if I remember THAT appointment, and the boys’ checkups at the pediatrician later this afternoon.

Having time to really hang out with the family is the definite silver lining on this cloud of corporate/business unemployment. Technically, I still own my own freelance writing business, which is obviously off hiatus now. But not having a daily desk job is already giving me little treasures. Last night, during a time which used to be reserved for attending to household stuff and getting ready for the bedtime routine… I walked out to get the mail. Sam joined me, and we had a lovely walk. On the way back, we did something we’ve never done together before: catching fireflies.

And no matter what, whether you’re employed or not, catching fireflies with a child makes everything OK.