Growing and changing

Perspective is a funny thing. I think it is amazing how we grow in relationships. When we had Haven, I knew nothing! I needed to go back to work for financial reasons, but wanted to be home with her. She had so many issues as a baby, and really felt awful most of the time, crying,, screaming and vomiting! I was lucky that the first few months she was at my boss's house around the corner from the office where I could go and nurse her during the day. Then we moved and she went to stay with another mom who took great care of her, but she was far away. Thankfully I was laid off when she was nine months old...yes THANKFULLY! That gave me the swift kick in the pants to try new things and not hide behind my undergrad degree as my only way to make money. After getting laid off, I began babysitting for a friend of a friend's two kids, a four year old and a newborn. It was ok, but not really what I wanted. Then I got I began working part time for a local newspaper doing layout and got pregnant with Brittan. The job was also OK, but I didn't like the schedule and there were crummy office politics....no fun. After Brittan was born, I decided to start my Masters, and did when she was just a few weeks old. Stayed home until she was about 9 months old, then went back to full time work but closer to the house. I liked that job, didn't like teh travel part of it, or the boss :) Stayed there until Grayson was born, then quit to stay home. Then it happened, I found what I was looking for....ONLINE TEACHING!! Yes, I snagged my first part time online gig and first on ground adjunct spot within a few months of finishing my Masters. While it is hard to juggle the two jobs, the house, the kids and my own school, the alternative is to have to leave them every day and go to work. Now that is tempting sometimes, especially on rough days, but I cannot believe how lucky I have been as I have grown and changed in my career and motherhood. When I was pregnant with Teagan we tossed around the idea of us moving on me, with me getting the full time gig and Ryan staying home. We have decided that no one would be happy then! Ryan will keep working outside the home, and I will work inside it. I like making dinner and cleaning the house, I have an intimate relationship with my vacuum and know how to whip up a dinner in a half hour that s nutritious and tasty, Ryan does not and is not interested in learning. He likes leaving and seeing people at work and having that "other" place, I don't want to have to get dressed and be somewhere at a certain time, trust me, the adjuncting two days a week makes me complain about "real" clothes! We have found an great balance for our family and I really hope it lasts until we choose to change things up!