Stealing a phrase from Paul for the Title of this post ("What's good, y'all?"). Ahhh. If you haven't done so already, take a moment for a quick pause, deep sigh, ahhhhh. The holidays are over! Don't get me wrong, I lovelovelove Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it naturally brings stress over lack of time and of course, the money factor! (Lucky for me, I love my family and in-laws and we all get along so I don't have to worry about the family stress.)
I feel like I have reached a pivotal milestone. I find myself with "down time". Gosh I almost feel like I am jinxing myself to actually put that out there, but it's been a trend. At least for January (so far!). Now that I am working from home 2-3 days a week, I have plenty of time between answering emails and taking conference calls to do laundry, pick up the rec room, make the beds, do more laundry, pay bills, and take care of other miscellaneous household chores. That leaves a lot more free time in the evenings and on the weekends.
Paul has started a new job with ProTech, a pest control company, as a sales rep. He actually has a normal Monday-Friday 9-5 job. (For the first time in the 7 years I have known him.) He just started last week but he's been coming home anywhere inbetween 5:30 and 7:30pm so him being home to help with the boys in the evening has been such a treat as well. Using tonight as an example, we had eaten dinner, done the dishes, and had Josh in his PJ's by 6:30pm. Whoah. When I am coming home from work at Booz Allen in Tysons Corner, I don't even get in the door with the boys until 6:30!
So what am I thinking about doing with this newfound "spare time"? I must admit that I have been spoiling myself by doing nothing. Yes, nothing. Just sitting on the couch, drinking a cup of hot tea, and watching whatever mindless TV show is on (or waiting for me to watch on the DVR). Eventually I know I must do something more productive. Another baby? Perhaps. Still working on trying for #3 (a girl) with Paul. I promised we'd wait another year. Until then, I have decided to do a little "going back to school". I'm not ready to commit to an entire graduate program but I have enrolled in a graduate certificate program at Georgetown University. At the end of the courses, I will have my Change Management Advanced Practitioners (CMAP) certification. (Four more letters to add to the end of my name, after the PMP). I'm excited to do something different, get back into the school routine, and the topic is very much of interest to me as well. I deal with change management in my role at Booz Allen every single day so I will have a lot of real life application of the course work and case studies. (Oh and maybe one of the best parts? Booz Allen pays for the entire thing, to include travel expenses and books. The classes take place during the day, during the week, and I get paid for attending, so it's a win-win situation.)
The boys? Oh the boys are terrific. Whenever anyone asks, my typical response is, "oh they're great, so sweet, and growing up so fast". That doesn't really even begin to cover it. Bursting with pride, love, and devotion is probably more like it. As they get older and their little personalities start to shine through, I love both of them, and enjoy time with both of them, for different reasons. I know 99% of all parents love their kids more than words describe (obviously I am one of them), because there is something so special and magical about that first smile when they wake up in the morning, their hugs when you pick them up from school, and glimpses of their unconditional love and dependence on you.
Jake fully carries on entire conversations and immerses himself in "pretend play". The things that come out of his mouth are hyterical. "Mama, don't wash your face, you take too long!". "Just five more minutes." "Daddy, I need to take my bear to school today and put it in my cubby." "C'mon, Josh, let's use this chair to jump on the couch. We can climb this wall!" Whoah, wait, what?!? Have I mentioned how he insits on dressing himself now? Yes, sir. Every day. Shirt, underwear, pants, socks, boots, jacket, the whole nine yards. It takes a little extra time but he's pretty darn good at it. One day he went to school with his pants on backwards, but hey, that's okay for a 3 1/2 year old. He attends speech therapy twice a week at the local elementary school. He gets to take the big yellow school bus from preschool to speech and back to preschool. He thinks that is just about the coolest thing that has ever happened to him (well maybe since Handy Manny came into his life).
Josh is my chubby cheeked little bruiser. He is going through a bit of a "hitting phase". I think its his only mechanism for defending himself against his brother. He's not a "mean hitter" so to speak, but he has a little defiance in him. Right now he's battling a bout of bronchitis and an ear infection. Comes with the territory of being 1 1/2 and in daycare. At least he's building his immunity now; Jake went through the same cycles. He's even sweet and laid back when he is sick. Josh absolutely adores his big brother. He wants to do, eat, and play with anything that Jake is doing/ has. This means that there are frequent battles over tools but they are both learning the fine art of sharing, and usually we help to negotiate a compromise between them. Josh talks. A LOT. I don't know exactly how many words he says but I'd say he is upwards of 50-75 or so. Mama, Daddy, Jake, Joshy, BoBo, Bailey, yes, no, wawa, cup, juice, cheese, bread, straw, bye bye, thank you, please, cow, cat, dog, book, night night, help, up, down, light, etc, etc. His attempt at communicating in full sentences is comical. He's trying so hard but it sounds like he is speaking a foreign language.
So that's all that is good for us for now. I must include a big congratulations to our good friends, Trevin and Rachael, who welcomed their second child (daughter Kendall) to the world yesterday -- on 1/11/11 at 11pm! Amazing timing by Rachael! (And reminds me about getting back on my quest to have a little girl!)
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