Pictures that tell a story

Did I blog about my back last week?  I can't remember but let me tell you my back was AWFUL last week.  It was so bad I ended up in the Emergency Room in the wee morning hours of Saturday morning.  The pain was HORRENDOUS.  I am happy to report I'm fine now but last week, not so much.  Anyway, house work still needed to be done so I enlisted my boys to clean the bathroom.  Nick hit the tub and Jay hit the sink. 

This is just another typical MUD picture although I have to say Nick doesn't hold a candle to how muddy his brother can get but you wouldn't know it by this picture.  Just another day in "paradise" for me, raising my two boys. 

As cute as this picture is I have to admit I wasn't thrilled when I saw Jay had used practically my entire bottle of bubble bath!!!  Just the same it was cute to see my 9 year old covered in bubbles after a dirty summer day. 

My Bike

It's always interesting to me, the things I do for my children.  Since summer began Jay has been bothering me to get a bike.  I've spent many, many summers walking behind the boys as they rode their bikes.  It never occurred to me to get my own bike and ride along with them - DUH!  I always enjoyed riding a bike as a kid.  In fact I have vivid memories of all the bikes I had as a child.  My parents once surprised me on my birthday with a rocking bike - it had a basket and everything!  In fact when I think about, I can't remember the last time I rode a bike or how long it's been since I haven't had one but I can tell you it's been a long time.  It is true what they say, however, you never forget how to ride a bike.  Last week I bought my bike - and I so wish I had a picture of it for this blog.  I injured my back BAD about a week ago so I wasn't able to ride it until tonight.  The boys and I rode to the beach and I loved it.  I loved the feeling of going down the hills and I felt how out of shape I actually was when I had to bike up the hills and where I live, the hills are brutal.  But it was good exercise for me and I was proud of myself.  Now that I have the bike, the boys don't seem to care (go figure) but I'm enjoying it.  I can hardly wait to get back on it tomorrow and feel the wind whip through my hair!  Now there's a picture for you.  Hee, Hee.

Slithers

Nick has ventured out a bit with his animals.  His greatest loves are still penguins and giraffes but recently he suckered his nana into buying him this stuffed snake which Nick affectionately named, "Slithers."  He has really taken a liking to Slithers.  The boys left tonight for a 2 day RV adventure with their grandparents.  Nick insisted on taking Slithers.   As you can see Slithers curled himself around Nick's back-pack and both boy and snake were ready to go!  Although I was questioning whether Slithers would be well enough for the action packed weekend because during the drive to the grandparents Nick was telling us that if we heard any strange noises coming from Slithers it was because he was throwing up??!!!  Apparently Slithers had a pain or an infection - Nick couldn't make a decision as to what it was - near his tail which was making him throw up.  Nick makes me laugh out loud over his love of his stuffed animals and his imagination.  I remember one day about a year ago he told me his beloved Mary penguin was sick because she ate an abomidable snowman.  Really, how does he come with that stuff? 

Transitions

Well here I am week two of my new job.  Technically this is week four but I didn't start working the actual job until last Monday, June 13.  There has been a lot of changes and everyone is transitioning into my new role, including myself.  Week two is going smoother than week one and I know every week that goes by I will feel more and more at ease and comfortable.  The postives I've noticed thus far is the flexibility.  The flexibility is huge.  I really like planning my day around the work I have to do and balancing it with what my family needs.  Sometimes it means I am up and working at 5am but that doesn't bother me.  I was use to getting up at 5am but I had a 35 minute commute which I've now eliminated.  Another positive is seeing my boys in the morning.  I love seeing their sleepy faces and their cuddles when they magically appear in my office every morning.  I have also noticed I don't spend nearly as much money as I did when I worked in an office - WHOA,what a positive thing that is.  I'm also not eating as much but don't ask me why.  I have no idea why that is.  I'm more productive also.  What I've found most challenging is having my kids in the house all day while I'm working.  Kind of contradicts what I just wrote with seeing them in the morning, huh?  But it can get challenging.  Jay is my child who always has a hard time with change, even good ones and he's had a rough time settling into his summer routine, a new babysitter and me working from home.  He doesn't understand why I can't be done working at 3:00.  Sometimes I can be but other days I can't be and he doesn't get that.  He asked me last week if I actually got paid for doing my job.  Clearly, he still needs some time to realize I am doing a job - it's just not in an office anymore.  Ha.  Another challenge is the tech aspect.  I am not good at tech stuff and if something breaks (like computer problems, printer, fax problems) there is no one that sits right next to me to ask or a "maintenance man" to call to fix it.  But that's been good for me.  Folks from my home office are more than willing to help, I just have to pick up the phone and call.  Sure it's time consuming but it's also helped me gain some knowledge as to what I'm doing.  Right before I gave my resignation at my former employer my mom shared a devotional with me and I can't remember it word for word but it was about how some changes produce a really bumpy road and in order to get to the straight road ahead you have to first tackle the bumpy road.  I'm tackling my bumpy road right now but I know there's a straight road ahead.  After working in an office for 16 years I knew there would be an adjustment period.  But all in all, I'm sure glad I'm doing what I'm doing and doing it all at home, even better. 

Happy Father's Day

We had such a nice Father's Day. My in-laws came for dinner and I got this picture.  I think it's so cute.  To make this blog fun the boys and I came up with 10 great things about Mike. 
*He does stuff with me - Jay
*I love him - Jay
*He gives me jobs - Nick
*He lets me shoot with him -Nick
*He's patient, patient, patient - me
*He always stops whatever job he may be doing if the boys want to participate - me
*He's a very reasonable father - me
*He loves, loves, loves his boys - me
*He is a great teacher - me
*He loves spending time with his family - me

Summer relaxing and turtles

This has been a really busy week.  I'm slowly adjusting to my new job.  Everyday I get a little more comfortable.  One of the great things about working from home is having my boys pop into my office throughout the day to say Hi.  And I have to give them credit because they know not to come in when I'm on the phone.  Anyway today Jay came down so excited and said I had to come outside to see what they had found and ta-da, a HUGE turtle.  Needless to say the boys think the turtle is the coolest thing ever.  As for the top two pictures I have no idea who took them.  It had to have been Mike or Jay but I thought it was so cute to see my 5 year old boy lounging in the beach chair.  Hope everyone is having a great summer so far.

WOW

I titled this blog WOW because WOW!  I got home from my trip last night and the office was finally revealed to me and all I can say is WOW!  I was stunned for about 30 minutes.  Mike put so much thought and work into my office.  I was really touched.  I have so much to learn and I'm nervous about that but he's created a calm environment for me!  So, ready or not, I hit the ground running on Monday - even though I can't seem to get my monitor/computer hooked up to my wireless.  Ha.

Love this!  Mike said he did this at the last minute.  He made a shadow box and as you can see my old name tag is it from my former company.  He also put in the wine glasses from our wedding.  As you browse these pictures you will see a common "wine" theme.  My husband knows me so well. 

These are the pictures of the boys Mike framed for me.  They were both exactly 4 1/2 months old and I treasure them.  They are right above my monitor for me to enjoy each and every day.

The reason I love this office so much is all three of my boys added their own special touch.  Jay helped Mike lay a lot of the stone - which Mike pointed out he really has an eye for but Jay picked out the lamp above this table and I LOVE it.  Way to go, Jay!  Mike picked out the flower arrangment - Love that too.

Here is Nick's added touch on my office.  He insisted I have a plant.  Mike said it would be too hard for a plant to grow in an office basement but as usual, Mike being the problem solver that he is came up with a solution.  He bought a special plant light.  It's on a timer to come on during certain times of the day so I never have to worry about it.  The plant is a plant Jay planted at school this year.  I plan to talk to it daily!  It won't be the same as talking to co-workers but it might help it to grow.  Ha.

And here's NIck, sitting at my beautiful desk.  My company provides me with an allowance to purchase furniture but we found this desk used for a bargain!  I love it because it has such character.  Now I just ask for prayers, specifically, for a smooth transition and I pray I pick things up quickly.  I know the job but I have to learn a whole new system and since I'm working from home there are a lot of different "balls" I need to keep in the air.  I am just asking for prayers for patience and a smooth road ahead. 

Missing my family

Here I am day three into my business trip.  I have really enjoyed my orientation and I am so excited to be working for this company and I know I am going to love this job but I have to admit, I am really missing my husband and boys.  This is the longest I've ever been away from them.  Thankfully I was able to have dinner with a friend last night and I've really hit it off with the girl I'm going through orientation with so we went out for dinner tonight.  She is 42 and has two girls and we are the only ones going through orientation this week so we've had lots of laughs and I'm happy to say I've formed a new friendship.  I am praying we wrap thing up tomorrow so I can head home on Friday morning.  Worst case scenerio I will be home early evening on Friday.  I can't wait to wrap all three of my boys in my arms!  And that office of mine has my curiosity peaked.  I can't wait to see it.  Mike has worked really hard on it in my absence. 

For the love of penguins and giraffes

As you can see Nick's obsession with penguins and giraffes has only intensified. He has started to venture out a little - notice "Slithers," the snake and notice his two birds on the top of his pillow case. Jay helped Nick arrange his animals on Friday and because Nick didn't want to mess them up, this is how he's been sleeping for the last two nights. I think it's too cute. He makes me laugh.

Medicore medical

I am in a transition phase in my life right now. During this transition phase my family has about a two to three week time frame where we have no health insurance. I know, it's enough to make one gasp in fear - especially with two very active little boys. I carry the health insurance for my family and it ran out on May 31. Over the weekend Jay got a piece of stone in his eye. It was scary but thankfully Mike got it out. During the 25 minute ordeal all I kept thinking was we were going to have to take Jay to the E.R. and how thankful I was we still had medical coverage. I woke up yesterday morning in panic mode. If there is injuries to be had, my boys will find them. I marched right down to an insurance broker and bought a short term (a month long to be exact) policy on the boys. What a piece of mind that brought me. Tonight I caught Jay about 30 feet high in our pine tree, with Nick trailing right behind his brother. They had taken the wooden ladder from their playground and propped it against the trunk to give them a head start up the tree. Needless to say, the entire event validated my decision to purchase the short term policy. As for the pine tree, the boys made it down safe and sound. Ha.