And....

These are some flowers that we cut from our yard on Saturday. They died on Sunday. At least we got to enjoy them for the afternoon/evening, and L managed to get some photos for his class. Ah well.

Well I found out that I got the job. This is good news, since I was expecting an offer. :) This seems to be a "God thing". A month or two ago, I decided to start looking for something part time - to get out of the house, etc. Found hospital job. Interviewed hospital job. Hated hospital job. Didn't find anything else, so I took it as a sign that staying home was for me unless a social work job that I would enjoy opened up. There aren't many social work jobs at all, let alone part time ones.

So I go to the garden I volunteer at once a week (it's amazing they let me around plants, but that's another story). M, the gardener, asks me how family life is, and if I was planning on working outside the home or not. I tell him that yes, I had just re-entered the job hunt, but it was unlikely to find anything social work related. He asks me if I've ever heard of Early On. Yes, that's where most of my experience is. He says, well my girlfriend is the coordinator of Early On, and they have a position opening up. I ask if it's part time, he says he doesn't know. Later that day, we check out the website, and find out that it's part time. And the pay is good. And the hours are flexible. And the staff is laid back.

So I took the job. And it just so happens that the wife of one of L's co-workers runs a daycare.
And she's a Christian, and has been running a daycare for 28 years, and just recently had a part time slot open up. So I'm hoping that this will pan out and be the "perfect" place.

Enough prattling on with my overabundance of "ands". I'm excited, nervous, scared, but looking forward to the challenge. Thanks for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray as we hunt for a daycare and that I'll deal with the guilt I'm already feeling.

Biking

A couple of months ago, A (my sis-in-law), R (friend), and I took part in a non competitive triathlon. My reasoning for doing the triathlon was to get back into exercising, and it really worked... for about two months. I either biked or ran every night... and I felt good. Of course, after the race ended, I took some "time off", and well... it's been quite a long holiday.

So over the past month or so, we've started doing some lengthy walks downtown (we're a little further away than what we were in our last rental). These would generally be "fun" walks - just to get outside and have family time. Well, in an effort to exercise more and use my car less, I've decided to use the bike for practical reasons too. The kiddo and I have biked to the beach a couple of times, and most recently, I've biked E to her doctor's appt. It was a 4 1/2 mile ride total, but it was a little tricky with the amount of foot traffic there was to deal with (tourists), and then there was "the" hill. Of course, I am still getting over my cold, so I felt a little dizzy after my ride. Still we made it back in one piece, and it encouraged me to keep on "keeping on". So, let's hope the trend continues until the snow flies (which is hopefully a long time from now).

In other news, my interview was yesterday. It went okay - it's been a while, so I definitely wasn't at the top of my game. The staff seemed really laid back and fun, so I felt comfortable. Some positives: the pay is A LOT better than I was making downstate, I make my own schedule and can do a little work from home, good mileage reimbursement. Negatives: putting E in daycare, having to drive on wintry roads, wear and tear on my car.

I'm not going to think about the position unless it's offered to me. Then it'll be a mad dash of decision making and daycare finding. :) L was suddenly more interested when he heard the pay, and to be honest, I was too. So, we'll see. Thanks for all of the prayers. :)

Ugh.

I think I'm over complicating the decision to go back to work. Part of me is just ready to get out and back into the professional field for a little while, even if this position isn't related to social work at all. Another part of me wonders if this is the best way to spend my time. I've been thinking a lot about precious time is, and if this is how I want mine to be spent... My reasoning isn't financially driven, so in some ways, I'm having a difficult time justifying the decision to go back. Of course sanity is important, too, sooo...

Seriously. I think TOO much at times. Maybe I should wait until I actually get the job before I stress out, right?

In more interesting news, E loves to water her flowers, and so that's been fun for her to do. Granted, she loves to just play with water, in whatever capacity she can get it. It's so fun getting her involved in projects now - from cleaning to planting flowers to art projects. This is such a great age.