It will be two weeks tomorrow that my world was completely altered. On one hand, losing my job is nothing horrible. It happens to people everyday, everywhere. But on the other hand, that job was a big part of how I defined myself.
In the two weeks that I've been home with the Heathens full time, I have:
reseeded the yard
watered the grass seed a zillion times
made two WalMart trips
made one Giant Eagle trip
several bank runs
one trip for ice cream
planted two flower beds
made stepping stones
picked up the living room a zillion times
gone to the laundromat
purchased a dryer
AND...
I've actually woken up in the mornings and felt like I truly slept. No waking up and feeling like I've been up all night. No lying in bed and running through "to do" list for tomorrow. Just blissful sleep.
Needless to say, I've spent A LOT of time with my Heathens. The last two weeks is the most solid time that I've spent with them in the past four years when I left teaching and started at JAHA.
On one hand, it's been agonizing. The fighting. The bickering. The whining. The complaining. I'm constantly refereeing arguments and stopping one of them from doing something they KNOW they are not to do. By the time the Asst. Zookeeper leaves for work at 9pm, I'm just as tired as I was after working a full day at the office.
But, I've also just gotten to watch the kids play and interact with each other. I've gotten a million kisses and hugs that I would have otherwise missed. I've gotten to watch them enjoy making the stepping stones for the yard today. I've watched them be regular, old "boys" and dig in the dirt and slop in the mud and laugh while they were doing it.
I was really worried when I let the Asst. Zookeeper talk me into staying home with the Heathens this summer. I wasn't sure if I would maintain my sanity. And I don't know that I necessarily will. But I do know that this will always be a summer that I will remember. It's the last summer before Heathen #1 goes to the middle school. It's the last summer before Heathen #2 goes to school all day long. And it's the last summer of Heathen #3 being a "little" kid. They are all on the verge of making big steps in their lives - and I get to take the time to watch and enjoy.
Thanks to the Asst. Zookeeper.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Redefining My Life
Sometimes, when you wake up in the mornings, you know exactly what you will be doing every minute of the day. Every thing is planned and prepared. Everything is scheduled. There will be no surprises. You know you will go to bed really tired, but that you will be content and satisfied with the day. That's how I felt when I got out of bed last Tuesday (May 27). I couldn't have been more wrong.
Around 2pm that afternoon, I was called to my executive director's office and told my position had been "terminated." Immediately. Hand in your keys. Clean out your office. Go home.
I'll readily admit to ending up in tears rapidly. I had put almost four years into the organization and I LOVED my job and I loved a lot of the people I worked with like family. I had left a teaching position for this job.
So instead of my day going as I had assumed, it was suddenly turned upside-down. Maybe "blown-up" would be a more accurate description of the feeling. I called the Asst. Zookeeper to come help me clean out my office - after four years, I had accumulated quite a bit.
The Asst. Zookeeper did exactly what I needed him to do that day. He walked into my office and gave me a huge hug and immediately told me that we would be okay with just his income. God, I love that man. We packed everything up and headed back to the Zoo. We had a regular evening of grocery shopping. it seemed very surreal to me - almost like I wasn't really in my body.
I made it through the rest of last week without too much trouble. I found myself sort of walking around the house and not doing a whole lot. But I'm getting better.
This summer, I'll be attempting something that I've always said I never wanted to do, something that I was incapable of enjoying, something that would drive me insane. I'm going to be a "stay at home mom" for the summer.
My fear has nothing to do with not loving my children. I wasn't raised to stay home. I was raised that I would have a job, a career, and that I would be out of the house and working. In my brain, I've always associated "stay at home mom" with "unambitios" or "unsuccessful." And I know that's not true. Now I'll be attempting to do it. And keep my sanity at the same time.
Around 2pm that afternoon, I was called to my executive director's office and told my position had been "terminated." Immediately. Hand in your keys. Clean out your office. Go home.
I'll readily admit to ending up in tears rapidly. I had put almost four years into the organization and I LOVED my job and I loved a lot of the people I worked with like family. I had left a teaching position for this job.
So instead of my day going as I had assumed, it was suddenly turned upside-down. Maybe "blown-up" would be a more accurate description of the feeling. I called the Asst. Zookeeper to come help me clean out my office - after four years, I had accumulated quite a bit.
The Asst. Zookeeper did exactly what I needed him to do that day. He walked into my office and gave me a huge hug and immediately told me that we would be okay with just his income. God, I love that man. We packed everything up and headed back to the Zoo. We had a regular evening of grocery shopping. it seemed very surreal to me - almost like I wasn't really in my body.
I made it through the rest of last week without too much trouble. I found myself sort of walking around the house and not doing a whole lot. But I'm getting better.
This summer, I'll be attempting something that I've always said I never wanted to do, something that I was incapable of enjoying, something that would drive me insane. I'm going to be a "stay at home mom" for the summer.
My fear has nothing to do with not loving my children. I wasn't raised to stay home. I was raised that I would have a job, a career, and that I would be out of the house and working. In my brain, I've always associated "stay at home mom" with "unambitios" or "unsuccessful." And I know that's not true. Now I'll be attempting to do it. And keep my sanity at the same time.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
In Memory of Memorial Day 2008
What a wonderful long weekend at the zoo!
I took off from work Thursday and Friday afternoons heading into the weekend and just laid around the house reading. I think I read a total of 7 or 8 books between Thursday and yesterday afternoon. What a delight!
Friday afternoon, the Asst. Zookeeper and I took a quick road trip to Ebensburg to take care of some errands at the scout shop. It was really nice to be able to hold a conversation in the car without the Heathens screaming at each other in the background.
Friday evening, the Asst. Zookeeper had to go out to work at 2am, but he was back home by 8am. We both laid around the house all morning and part of the early afternoon. Around 3pm, the Asst. Zookeeper's father and younger brother brought the backhoe down to the zoo so that we could finish regrading the back yard. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the dirt, then cleaned up the Heathens and went to run errands for the evening. Saturday we spent the day playing in the dirt again - it's amazing how much work goes into moving it around!
Sunday, we slept through church (oops - we had every intention of going). After we finally got moving, we ran to the dollar store to get decorations for the Heathens bicycles. Every Memorial Day, our township has a parade and has a bicycle decorating contests for the kids. Our boys LOVE it. Sunday afternoon was spent decorating the bicycles with BIL#2 and his wife.
Monday morning - bright and early at 7:15am, we were up and packing up bicycles to get to the parade. They start off by judging the kids' decorations and they give $50 savings bonds to the winners in each age group. None of my Heathens got a prize this year, but both my niece and nephew did!
Then the parade started. It goes about a mile from our middle school and ending at the flag circle in Grandview Cemetery. It is a very slow mile that is spent dodging little kids who don't know how to ride a bicycle. Some of them need more help that training wheels can provide!
After we arrived at the flag circle, we rode another mile back to where we had parked the cars to un-decorate our bikes. Then it was back on and another mile of pedaling to our local Eat N' Park for the breakfast buffet. And then ANOTHER mile back to the cars. The Heathens love to go for bicycle rides and really do a great job (they only whined when they were hungry - which is understandable!).
The rest of Monday, I spent raking dirt and removing rocks from my newly leveled yard. And I removed 10 or 11 wheelbarrows FULL of rocks. It was really hot and sunny - and it was WONDERFUL! I even got a bit of a sunburn. Then the Asst. Zookeeper spread the grass seed and we covered it with hay. By 5pm, we were done! And at 5:01pm it started to rain - perfect!
We had a really great weekend and so did the Heathens. It was a fantastic start to summer!
I took off from work Thursday and Friday afternoons heading into the weekend and just laid around the house reading. I think I read a total of 7 or 8 books between Thursday and yesterday afternoon. What a delight!
Friday afternoon, the Asst. Zookeeper and I took a quick road trip to Ebensburg to take care of some errands at the scout shop. It was really nice to be able to hold a conversation in the car without the Heathens screaming at each other in the background.
Friday evening, the Asst. Zookeeper had to go out to work at 2am, but he was back home by 8am. We both laid around the house all morning and part of the early afternoon. Around 3pm, the Asst. Zookeeper's father and younger brother brought the backhoe down to the zoo so that we could finish regrading the back yard. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the dirt, then cleaned up the Heathens and went to run errands for the evening. Saturday we spent the day playing in the dirt again - it's amazing how much work goes into moving it around!
Sunday, we slept through church (oops - we had every intention of going). After we finally got moving, we ran to the dollar store to get decorations for the Heathens bicycles. Every Memorial Day, our township has a parade and has a bicycle decorating contests for the kids. Our boys LOVE it. Sunday afternoon was spent decorating the bicycles with BIL#2 and his wife.
Monday morning - bright and early at 7:15am, we were up and packing up bicycles to get to the parade. They start off by judging the kids' decorations and they give $50 savings bonds to the winners in each age group. None of my Heathens got a prize this year, but both my niece and nephew did!
Then the parade started. It goes about a mile from our middle school and ending at the flag circle in Grandview Cemetery. It is a very slow mile that is spent dodging little kids who don't know how to ride a bicycle. Some of them need more help that training wheels can provide!
After we arrived at the flag circle, we rode another mile back to where we had parked the cars to un-decorate our bikes. Then it was back on and another mile of pedaling to our local Eat N' Park for the breakfast buffet. And then ANOTHER mile back to the cars. The Heathens love to go for bicycle rides and really do a great job (they only whined when they were hungry - which is understandable!).
The rest of Monday, I spent raking dirt and removing rocks from my newly leveled yard. And I removed 10 or 11 wheelbarrows FULL of rocks. It was really hot and sunny - and it was WONDERFUL! I even got a bit of a sunburn. Then the Asst. Zookeeper spread the grass seed and we covered it with hay. By 5pm, we were done! And at 5:01pm it started to rain - perfect!
We had a really great weekend and so did the Heathens. It was a fantastic start to summer!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Adventure Around the World
This past Friday was the black-tie fundraiser at the my organization. Adventure Around the World visited Japan, Mexico, Ireland, and France and covered four floors of our Broad Street building. The decorations were absolutely gorgeous and it was fantastic.
Granted, we put HOURS into the event. I know that last week alone, I put in just shy of 60 hours in five days. And there were people I work with who did more than that. It was quite labor intensive to get that much of the building prepared and decorated for the event. But we did it and it went off really well.
One of the best things about our annual Gala is that I can bring along the Asst. Zookeeper and we can socialize with other adults that we're not connected to through our children. No other soccer moms or cub scout dads. Just us as adults. It is heavenly.
And it is the one time a year that I get to see my husband in his tux = which is wonderful. Although I may have a biased opinion, I think he looks fantastic in formal wear. He has the build and the stature and the presence to make the tux look good. Here's a great example from Friday night:
This photo was taken on our third floor terraces around 7 or 7:30 that evening. I wasn't ready for the photo obviously. I don't even remember what I was saying to him. But I love this photo. You can see the double steeples of St. Stephen's over Dan's right shoulder. Behind us is Cambria City.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Momma's Day
Another Mother's Day has come and gone. And with it, the Heathens and I made another whirlwind tour of the mothers in our lives.
First thing in the morning, Heathen #2 presented me with a handful of items that he had made for me. Some were from school, some from Youth Club, and others he had made on his own. He had hidden them in the one basket that I keep gloves and hats in - and he had expressly told me not to peek (and I didn't). He was so proud of himself that he was practically floating.
The day started out with going to Sunday School and then church with the Heathens. Sunday School was a little wild as it was the last class of the year. Needless to say, the boys in my class were a little wild. But we survived.
During church, I was the nursery attendant and the Asst. Zookeeper was to meet us there to sit in church with Heathen #2. When he didn't arrive on time, I assumed he had fallen back to sleep. And that would have been understandable since he had worked Friday night and been up all day on Saturday. But he arrived after about 20 minutes - with a cup of coffee for me, God bless his heart!
After hurrying home to change, we headed to the IN LAWS house for lunch. Every year on Mother's Day, the men in my husband's family cook lunch for all of the mothers. Usually we have steak - but this year we had a choice of steak or chicken. Hurray! I'm not much for steak.
The boys presented their grandmother and great-grandmother with their cards and the sun catchers they had painted for them. It was a nice afternoon.
Afterwards, we headed to the other hill to do some shopping and errands. The Asst. Zookeeper's cell phone was finally on its last legs, and he finally decided to trade it in. He could have traded it in at the end of February. We also stopped at Dunham's and the boys let me pick out a hammock for my present. It's red with white flowers - I can't wait to take it camping this summer!
Next we drove out to Seward to see my parents. And the boys presented her with her card and sun catchers. After staying and chatting for a bit, we headed back to the zoo so that we had a bit of downtime before the Asst. Zookeeper had to leave for work.
Once he left at 6pm, the Heathens and I were back on the road, this time to my grandmother's apartment in Richland. She got her sun catchers - we had mailed her card previously. We invited her to dinner with us, but she had already eaten. I wasn't thinking very far ahead by this point in the day.
After that, it was on to my other grandmother's house in Windber. Again, we had a presentation of sun catchers (thank goodness for craft kits!). We only stayed there for a short amount of time. It was already going on 8pm by that point and I still hadn't fed the Heathens their dinner.
On the way home, we stopped at Valley Dairy for dinner. And the boys really were good, in retrospect. That evening though, I was convinced that they were deliberately being loud. But as I was paying, the manager commented on how good my boys had been. It was the perfect end to Mother's Day.
I didn't get any expensive presents or showers of cards (like I'd know what to do with either of those). I didn't necessarily do what I wanted - which I'm not sure what that would have been any way. But it was still a great "Momma's Day" for me. I got to spend the day with my Heathens. The Asst. Zookeeper really touched me with his cup of coffee in the morning. And I got to see all the mothers in my life - both the ones from my life and the ones that shaped the Asst. Zookeeper. It doesn't get much better than that.
First thing in the morning, Heathen #2 presented me with a handful of items that he had made for me. Some were from school, some from Youth Club, and others he had made on his own. He had hidden them in the one basket that I keep gloves and hats in - and he had expressly told me not to peek (and I didn't). He was so proud of himself that he was practically floating.
The day started out with going to Sunday School and then church with the Heathens. Sunday School was a little wild as it was the last class of the year. Needless to say, the boys in my class were a little wild. But we survived.
During church, I was the nursery attendant and the Asst. Zookeeper was to meet us there to sit in church with Heathen #2. When he didn't arrive on time, I assumed he had fallen back to sleep. And that would have been understandable since he had worked Friday night and been up all day on Saturday. But he arrived after about 20 minutes - with a cup of coffee for me, God bless his heart!
After hurrying home to change, we headed to the IN LAWS house for lunch. Every year on Mother's Day, the men in my husband's family cook lunch for all of the mothers. Usually we have steak - but this year we had a choice of steak or chicken. Hurray! I'm not much for steak.
The boys presented their grandmother and great-grandmother with their cards and the sun catchers they had painted for them. It was a nice afternoon.
Afterwards, we headed to the other hill to do some shopping and errands. The Asst. Zookeeper's cell phone was finally on its last legs, and he finally decided to trade it in. He could have traded it in at the end of February. We also stopped at Dunham's and the boys let me pick out a hammock for my present. It's red with white flowers - I can't wait to take it camping this summer!
Next we drove out to Seward to see my parents. And the boys presented her with her card and sun catchers. After staying and chatting for a bit, we headed back to the zoo so that we had a bit of downtime before the Asst. Zookeeper had to leave for work.
Once he left at 6pm, the Heathens and I were back on the road, this time to my grandmother's apartment in Richland. She got her sun catchers - we had mailed her card previously. We invited her to dinner with us, but she had already eaten. I wasn't thinking very far ahead by this point in the day.
After that, it was on to my other grandmother's house in Windber. Again, we had a presentation of sun catchers (thank goodness for craft kits!). We only stayed there for a short amount of time. It was already going on 8pm by that point and I still hadn't fed the Heathens their dinner.
On the way home, we stopped at Valley Dairy for dinner. And the boys really were good, in retrospect. That evening though, I was convinced that they were deliberately being loud. But as I was paying, the manager commented on how good my boys had been. It was the perfect end to Mother's Day.
I didn't get any expensive presents or showers of cards (like I'd know what to do with either of those). I didn't necessarily do what I wanted - which I'm not sure what that would have been any way. But it was still a great "Momma's Day" for me. I got to spend the day with my Heathens. The Asst. Zookeeper really touched me with his cup of coffee in the morning. And I got to see all the mothers in my life - both the ones from my life and the ones that shaped the Asst. Zookeeper. It doesn't get much better than that.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mud Baths
This past weekend, the Asst. Zookeeper got a start on a home-project that he has been wanting to do since we bought the house five years ago. Our yard is a hill. The children are able to play there and there is room for the playground and the sandbox, but a lot of it is still not usable because of the slope.
Well, the Asst. Zookeeper's father bought a back-hoe. And the Asst. Zookeeper borrowed it to regrade our yard. And the yard turned into a mud pit after it rained the next day. And the Heathens loved the whole process.
Anytime the back-hoe was turned on, all three of my Heathens were on board. The Asst. Zookeeper is always so good about letting the Heathens "help" when he does stuff around the house. I wish I had that kind of patience.
Here's a video clip of the Heathens on the back-hoe:
Well, the Asst. Zookeeper's father bought a back-hoe. And the Asst. Zookeeper borrowed it to regrade our yard. And the yard turned into a mud pit after it rained the next day. And the Heathens loved the whole process.
Anytime the back-hoe was turned on, all three of my Heathens were on board. The Asst. Zookeeper is always so good about letting the Heathens "help" when he does stuff around the house. I wish I had that kind of patience.
Here's a video clip of the Heathens on the back-hoe:
After the yard turned to mud, the Heathens had a great hour slopping in it. Check out the dirt on them! I had to clean them off before I could take them in the house for baths. And did I mention that our hose doesn't work outside? We had to use a bucket that I filled up in the kitchen. They had a blast! I just hope that no one visits my house until I get all the dirt cleaned up that they tracked inside!
Soccer Snapshots
The season of spring soccer has arrived. We now spend Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, and Saturdays at the soccer fields at KidSport. Armed with folding camp chairs, we brave almost any weather to cheer on our Heathens. Luckily, both sets of grandparents come watch the games as well - our Heathens have quite a cheering section!
I finally snapped a picture of each of the boys in their uniforms. We managed to get really good colors this year and by luck, each boy got their favorite color. You can't ask for better than that.
And of course, Heathen #3 loyally attends EVERY soccer game all season. In this photo, he is entertaining himself by biting his father's fingers.
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