Yay x4

Spent most of today adding to the decor in my part time classroom, visiting with former-now-new-again collegues, and visiting the local movie theatre, Staples, and toys R us for classroom supplies. I scored a Star Wars Clone poster from Toys R Us, and Toy Story and Ice Age from the cinema. My school is going through a "visit" (code for "evaluation") next week, and everyone is kind of anxious about everything not being completely perfect.

I was out until nearly 9, then went to pick up the boys at PaPa's. Hung out there and had my first bite to eat in more than 8 hours. Got lots of cuddles from my boy. He's my sunshine and blue skies.

Now I'm finally home, but I start work in the morning, so I have to make sure my stuff is ready to go, and that I'm mentally ready to get going in the morning. There are still logistics to be worked out, as I am finding out further duties that were not outlined when I signed the contract. But, it's a job, and that, in and of itself, is a thing I am thankful for. Can't wait to get paid, as I spent Jensen's birthday gift card and my last $20 in cash on school supplies and to put gas in the car.

Things are going to get easier.This Wednesday I have an interview for a second part time job with an after-school program in Harlem doing college prep with 9th and 10th graders.

I am still applying for other part time/flexible work to try and round out my week to close to 40 hours. The best part of doing it this way is that I'll still get to spend most of the day with Jensen, and should be home in time to put him to bed, too. Michael is looking into working night security, so with luck, he may be able to watch him while I'm gone, except for the hour or two when we're both traveling. So, work-yay, money-yay, face time with the Termite-yay, and finally, not having to pay for day care-yay.

Preparations

Already thinking about my move.

Talked to a realtor today, who is going to start an ongoing home search for me, so I have definite options when I'm ready to seriously look for a house.

Emailed a friend who works in mortgages to have her critique my credit report and tell me what I REALLY need to get a loan in the current economy and hopefully enlighten me to any specialty deals for teachers and/or first time homebuyers.

Spoke to a pet moving specialist about how much it's going to cost to get the critters cross-country. (Sheesh-it's a lot...but I've got 5, so what did I expect, right?)

Sent my email plea to another Grad Studies Dept head honcho, hoping to get back into school by Spring...

Accepted a part time teaching job at the school I worked at before. This time I'll be teaching computers. Hmm...facebook, twitter, blogging...have I covered everthing? :)

And finally, applied for 2 more part time jobs that I could do in addition to my new gig.

Whew. I'm tired.

Applications galore...kind of

I have started a real, honest to goodness, no holds barred job search.

It is harder than I thought.

Just the online ap for a part-time gig at Babies R Us took over an hour with their psych eval. No, I don't think all people are annoying, no, I'm not generally rude, and of course, I love working with others. :)

So far, besides that, I'm hoping for answers from Kaplan tutoring and Melissa and Doug, the awesome educational toy company. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but tailoring a cover letter for each company between paying attention to Jensen takes a lot of time.

I also took a little while and am nearly finished writing the thank-yous for his birthday, so at least there I am ahead of the game.

Here's hoping for good news soon!

On a totally different note, I saw the word "galore" spelled "galour" in a catalog I received today. That's someone's job I could have! Sheesh.

Finally, I am watching the new "Omen" tonight. By myself. Why? I. don't. know. Too scary. I normally don't watch anything like that, but tonight it was on and I left it on that channel.

It's over in a bit, then I'll go put on my favorite nearly ancient sleeping shirt that I love, then snuggle in next to my angelic boy so I don't have bad dreams. :)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

The boy turned 2 as of 11:11 this morning!

I ventured out of my comfort zone and made a half homemade birthday cake (meaning I made a mix). Yay for Momma!

Of course, that one is his 3rd birthday cake so far this week. We went upstate for the long weekend, where he was positively spoiled by all involved. Sandy made him a from-scratch carrot cake. He thought it was fantastic! She and Dawn and the boys got him a remote control car. That was great, because "car" is one of his favorite words!

Then, the next day, we met Gramma and Susan at a restaurant, where we had pizza, then went to the park for presents and another cake! He got a ton of puzzles, a great set of pretend food, and enough Black and Decker play tools to fill a whole tool box!

So far, it has been a great birthday week. It concludes with his NYC party this Sunday. My little boy is so big already. I can hardly believe it's been 2 years. He's such a little man, with so many bright ideas and opinons. I am so excited to see what he's going to do next!

Running fast

Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of redirection for me. I have been thinking about what I want, what I need, and the same things in regards to Jensen.

So today, we did things he wanted and needed. Not that we hadn't done them before, but today I really put myself in the thoughtful place of making him the most happy without just needing to focus on when class was over or whether he was going to crawl under the table at the restaurant and sprint for the door (hey, it's happened....)

We had a fantastic momma/son day. We went to gym class, where he ran, and ran, and ran. He loves the rock climbing slope, and is so agile. It's hard for me to force him to wait his turn because, well, the other kids are....slow. But he does, and I know that eventually the simple habit of being patient will be a blessing for him.

Then we walked around the shopping center, with the intention of just taking a walk. Then we passed the diner where we've eaten many times. He took my hand and pulled me in the door as he shouted, "Nom!NOM!" (He speaks LOLcat....just so you know.) So I figured we should eat. He was such a gentleman. There was french toast, scrambled eggs and OJ, and he ate using his fork without any help. We were able to expertly time the meal so when he had finally decided it was time to slide down the bench and under the table, it actually WAS.

We continued our walk to the dollar store, where you can find Hot Wheels (normally 5 or 6 dollars-no, really) helium balloons, and birthday cards all for a mere dollar. After much shopping, and several sprints to keep him with me, he chose a balloon and....ahem, a fairy princess wand with lights and sound. That, instead of a SpiderMan pull n' go car. Well, okay then. It's not hurting anybody, so why not?

After we got home there was a great nap with me getting to watch a movie while he slept with my arm around him, then little boy nekkid time, and then pee on the floor, which led to the best reason to be nekkid...a great bubble bath.

He is now upstairs pounding away on his wooden tool bench, having a fantastic time. We have had a lot of great days, but it was really nice being able to be with him, just us, and not be stressing about him being grumpy or having to eat as fast as possible to make sure I actually got a bite. Today was a perfect combination of him becoming a bigger boy and me being able to simply enjoy that.