Back to Work

My 15 month maternity leave has come to a close. Well, sort of. I begin work today as a writer/public relations specialist for Gage Publishing. What about teaching? some of you might be thinking. And that answer is quite simple. There are no teaching jobs. So what does one do when they want to work, but can't find a job in their desired field? Find a job in another desired field.

I am really excited about this job for two general reasons. (1) I enjoy writing and being involved in the community and love the idea of being paid to do it. And (2) I'm able to work from home. I have found a job that is providing me the best of both worlds. I'm able to work and start feeling productive again AND Evan is able to stay at home - saving on day care is a victory in itself.

I'm starting out part-time (20 hours a week), but my position will grow into full-time over the next few months. This a great way to slowly transition myself and Evan into a different routine and schedule.

I am downright stoked about this new development. And seriously, would you want any day care to have to deal with this face?

DIYin' It

Project #2. A little something for Evan to encourage his creative side. We would consider a squiggle mark on the chalk board art at this point, but who knows, maybe our encouragement will produce an artist or at least an appreciation for the subject.

My inspiration for this project stemmed from the hundreds of blogs I read raving about chalk board paint. And let me tell you, the rave is absolutely justified. Chalk board paint is the cat's meow. It is so easy to apply and almost magical the way it quickly transforms from a liquid paint to a hard slate-like material. I'm a big fan.

We've had a tv stand in storage for several years now. It's a nice solid piece of furniture that Robert's step-dad, Phil, built over a decade ago. Being in the age of wide screen and flat panel televisions, this tv stand just wasn't functional anymore. But I was determined to find a use for it. *ding, ding, ding* Chalk board paint + tv stand = chalk board/storage unit. I simply painted the tv stand and attached a piece of particle board to the front of the unit that was painted with the chalk board paint. I framed the board with wood pieces that I painted and added the car decorations (that I also painted) to fuel Evan's obsession with all things on wheels. I left the back open because the unit itself is on wheels and can be swiveled. I use that space for storage in addition to the shelf and the drawer.

I was happy with the result. Evan immediately wanted to rip the car decor off the front and take them for a spin...many thanks to Gorilla Glue.

BEFORE

AFTER

We're In The Army Now

The last time I took Evan to have his hair trimmed they charged me the INSANE price of $13. I about gave the lady a "YOU'RE KIDDING ME, RIGHT?" But I just chuckled to myself, paid for it and vowed to never pay for his haircut again. It's amazing how things can backfire on you.

We have trimmed Evan's hair a couple of times since his birth, but nothing too extreme. Over the past 15 months his hair has stayed relatively the same length on top, but has become excessively thick in the back. He was beginning to have this hideous overhang of hair on his shirt collar and we decided we couldn't tolerate it anymore. Staying true to my vow of never paying for a haircut, Robert attempted to give Evan a haircut just to thin out the back a bit...



Robert's attempt left Evan with a Billy Ray Cyrus 'do that was not gonna work for me. I gave in to my unwillingness of wanting to pay for his haircut and took him to a barber.

I explained to the barber that I all I wanted was for him to thin out the back of Evan's hair giving an all over even cut. I wasn't aware that I had to also instruct him on what tools I wanted him to use. I was sitting in the seat with Evan on my lap and all of sudden we were both startled by the loud buzzing of the shears he used to buzz all of Evan's hair off in a matter of seconds. I never even saw it coming. What happened to using scissors? Seeing all those long, fine baby hairs dump into my lap in clumps made me really sad. When the barber was done and I looked at Evan in the mirror all I could think of doing was saluting him...we were already sending him off to bootcamp. Does this mean we have an Army brat? (ha ha) And to really add salt to the wound I had to pay $12 for this insanity!