Christmas Vacation (at least I think so . . .)

So, we're back from the Christmas break, and boy, I am so glad. Is it a universal rule that whenever we travel to Jackson, MS for longer than 48 hours, we have to visit my sister's pediatrician? I think we know him better than our own doc. So, two infected ears on Christmas Eve Eve (for you lay peeps that's the day before Christmas Eve) and one big ol' antibiotic shot later, we are all reasonably okay. That is, if you consider okay to be one snotty baby and one snotty, ear infected big boy that has a serious growing case of sibling rivalry! Christmas was just hard on him - the poor kid. At one point I seriously contemplated getting "Santa" to return all his gifts for a bag of switches.

We then went to my mother's where I ALWAYS manage to find a completely inappropriate book to read! I can't seem to help myself Danielle Steele (which my grandmother says as DAN L Steele) can really write! So, I've had my trashy romance novel fix for this quarter! Just thinking about my grandmother and I reading the same Dan L Steele novels makes me blush!

On the job search front, I've applied for TWO positions for which I feel that I am perfectly suited. Hopefully the people responsible for hiring will too. I've got to make some contacts though because these jobs are more along the lines of program coordinator, and I just don't think that people get that I'm quite capable of such work since I can't change my resume in any way to make myself seem like less of a science geek! People just don't get that my degree in public health makes me such a well rounded employee! I've got to figure out how to change that!

Well, I must end here - I have to go call my husband at his job and try to convince him that it is wise for my to give my two weeks notice at the hospital prior to finding another job!

Happy New Year to all!

The Toughest Job You'll Ever . . . WHAT?

Okay, so while I do have an important job hunt tidbit to update you on (coming later), I have more pressing topics to discuss regarding a difficult day of parenting, which is in fact the toughest job you'll ever love no matter how corny that is. So, within 15 minutes of my 9 month old Charlie awakening from his peaceful sleep, his brother has literally tackled him to the floor in the likeness of Hulk Hogan versus Peewee Herman. Hence visit to the naughty chair #1 of the day. The rest of the morning goes surprisingly smoothly - mainly because it's raining outside and I allow my oldest child to watch Toy Story (new obsession) which is 60 more minutes of TV than we normally get during the course of the morning. Charlie is napping and life is good. I decide to sew for a little while. Little do I know that danger is lurking nearby. I suddenly hear a crash, an "uh oh", and little boy feet running through my house. Jon Thomas has decided to play baseball with a wooden spoon and the Christmas ornaments (the ones that are actually on the tree). Oh boy, he's hit a homerun! There in the floor is the beautiful red Christmas tree ornament in about 300,000 pieces on my CARPET! Oh Holy Night! That was not a fun thing to clean up! So I clean it up and move on. I need to make cookies for Jon Thomas to take to the teachers at his school tomorrow since it's his last day before the big break. Well, I go to the ladies room after having gotten out all the ingredients. I come back and lo and behold there's a mountain of flour from the 1/2 full sack of flour on the counter - underneath I discover a measuring cup. Jon Thomas says, "Mommy, I was doing you a favorite (translation - favor) and helping you measure for the cookies". NO naughty chair for that - hello, how can you not giggle at a kid covered in flour because he's doing a favorite? So, I'm shooting for the big time here people - I was going to have (all in the same day) taken reasonably good care of TWO kids, baked cookies, fixed dinner, monogrammed countless hair bows, put together the family gingerbread house (albeit with the hot glue gun rather than the recommended icing), AND bathed everyone before the Daddy comes in from work. Imagine Jon Thomas playing in the tub. Charlie crawls in sweetly and pulls up to the side. I go for the camera. By the time I get back I'm hearing a little boy say, "wet Charlie" repeatedly. I actually enter the room to see Jon Thomas pouring cup after cupful of water on my little Charlie's head. Charlie is, of course, loving it. Me, not so much! But we finally eat, decorate the house and all are finally asleep! Whew!

Now for the job offer. I've applied at several local museums thinking they could surely use my education expertise (I was a teacher for crying out loud)! Well, I got a call from the Space and Rocket Center. They would like for me to be a team leader for their programs starting in January. This HR woman literally talks to me for a full five minutes about teaching children to think for themselves, shaping their futures, and has me going hook, line and sinker. All I need to do is come down and fill out the paperwork. I am feeling good - getting to be in a quasi-teaching role again, working part-time, and shaping our future leaders - I am definitely in. Then she lays it on me - $7.95/hr. Please explain to me how anyone can really be expected to mold and shape young minds for that kind of cash? I can't even think of a remark sassy enough to describe how the conversation went from there - downhill, quick.

The First Post

So, I've been convinced by a friend to start this lovely (and a little too public) record of my quest for greatness in the world of epidemiologists. Really it isn't a quest so much as me trying to find ANY job that remotely has to do with the field in which I hold two degrees and let me have some time during this life to raise the two sweetest children alive. I probably should also define the term sweetest for you! In my case, sweetest means one boy child that has so much energy that people routinely say things like, "he's so busy" and "you have your hands full" (neither of which are complimentary things to say to a person), and a second boy child who smiles, drools, and spits up (complimentary description of projectile vomiting) at the drop of a hat. All in all, I have a terrific life - I just haven't found exactly what job situation is right for me here in Huntsvile. Yes, HuntsVILE - I still haven't gotten quite used to living here yet, and I miss Atlanta and all the people there so much that I'm even typing in the Georgia font as a way to connect!

I'll be sending out two resumes in a few minutes, so I'm certaint that by the end of the week, I'll have some good job-hunting stories to share with you so stay tuned . . .

If you are questioning whether or not to ever visit this blog again, consider - if you ask anyone who knows me, my life is a lot like a sitcom - there is AT LEAST one embarrassing moment every episode!