We picked a preschool for Lauren. It is, indeed, the snooty-sounding one, but was not at all snooty. They really seem to have their act together, far more than the others we looked at. The chain itself is not new, but this facility is, so the building and all the equipment is only a few months old -- so clean! The directors and teachers seem very nice and dedicated to the kids. In Lauren's room there are only 5 kids now, with space for a maximum of 12, in a nice, big room. (At another center we looked at, they had 17 toddlers in a room that looked too small for half that many kids. There was nowhere to walk, let alone run around and play.) I think what sold me on the place was the tiny toilets -- each classroom has its own bathroom and the toddler room has a real, honest-to-goodness, porcelain, toddler-sized flush toilet. How cool is that?

Anyway, I now have a pile of paperwork to fill out and I need to talk Lauren's doctor into writing a note saying she has to have organic milk. I don't obsess about giving her an all-organic diet, but I am a freak about the organic dairy products. The connection between growth hormones given to cows to make them produce more milk and early-onset puberty in girls (not to mention the antibiotics issue) means that I'm not giving Lauren non-organic milk if I can help it. But I digress.

I'm so excited for Lauren to go to a wonderful school a couple of days a week where she'll learn so much and make new friends. (Maybe I'll make some, too. I could use more working-mom friends. People who "get it.") I know the transition will be tough for her, though. I already warned the assistant director that she's not going to be one of those kids who cries for 5 minutes and then stops when she gets wrapped up in an activity -- she's going to be the 2-hour sobber, I fear. Better now than in kindergarten, though, right?

Memorial Day Weekend

Here are some photos from Memorial Day weekend. It was my nephew Caleb's second birthday and he had a (slightly) smaller party than last year when there were close to 50 people there. The weather was great, and Lauren had a blast. She's decided that she REALLY likes Caleb and she REALLY likes holding hands with him whenever possible.

The birthday boy:

His cutie-cute little brother Colin:

Riding off into the sunset:

Do Your Research

We have been searching for a preschool-type situation for Lauren. She will still go to grandma and grandpa's house three days a week but we (especially I) think it's important for her to be around other adults, but mostly other kids, at least a couple of days a week. No one has watched her besides us and my in-laws and now that she's a year and a half old, I really think it's important for her to start learning to be more flexible, adaptable and comfortable with people outside the little family bubble we've created for her. Plus, she is crazy about other kids, including my nephew who she used to run away from (I will post pictures later of the two of them walking hand-in-hand over the weekend -- and Lauren was the one who grabbed hands first!) so I know she will have fun and I know it will be good for her development.

We've looked at three preschools and will visit one more next week. All have been fine and if I had to pick one, I'd go with the last one we visited, but I've got my hopes up for the one next week. It's one of those pricey places with a good reputation and an East Coast boarding school sounding name. I'm more afraid that it'll be too snooty for the likes of us, but we'll see.

Anyway, I was remembering way back when during my reporter days when I helped with a story on child care violations. I had to spend the day in Columbus in a file room going through hundreds and hundreds of child care center inspection reports. It occurred to me today that maybe these are now online -- and I was right. If you have a child in an Ohio child care center, preschool or private licensed caregiver's home, or are looking for care, go to this link (http://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/cdc/query.asp) to do a search by county, center name, city or ZIP code. I spent the better part of the afternoon reading all kinds of interesting (and some shocking) things. You can read about the area(s) a center is or was out of compliance and how it was corrected. I really think more parents should know that they have the right to this information, so please pass along the link.

I think maybe I’ve go post-job-change depression. After the satisfaction of getting out from under a mean boss wore off, and after enjoying my week of freedom, I am now finishing up week three at the new job and the bloom is already off the rose.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with this job or the people. I don’t like my commute situation or the fact that I have to dress up, but that’s not it either. It’s just that…it’s work. I’ve sunk back down into a “time to make the doughnuts” mentality, dragging myself out of bed in the morning, doing what I need to do to get three people out the door, facing my slightly stinky office (what IS that?) and to-do list and piles of paper and list of e-mails.

I have felt this way at every job I’ve ever had…maybe not all the time, but it’s kind of my default setting. Sure, I can be productive and every once in a while even proactive, but when it comes down to it, it’s work. It’s not (usually) fun and I wouldn’t exactly call it fulfilling, even if I truly like most everything about my job. Some people love their jobs so much they say they’d do it even if they weren’t getting paid. Would I choose to do this job if I weren’t being paid? No. Any other job I’ve ever had? No. There are very few things I can think of I’d do for a living for free – read books or float in a pool are the two that come to mind (even better – read books WHILE floating in the pool). And since I haven’t seen that particular job on Monster, I’m guessing they shall remain hobbies (or fantasies). I used to buy books with titles like “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow.” But I’m not sure I believe that anymore. Sometimes you just do what you can tolerate instead.

However, I’ve decided that for every downer thing I write about, I have to write about something positive. So here goes. Um…I’m getting my hair cut and highlighted tomorrow. That’s always a good thing. I’m feeling rather dark and shaggy so I desperately need the lift in the hair department. Bret graduated last week and I was so proud of him I teared up three times. I didn’t even cry at any of my own graduations. When it was fairly quiet in the arena where graduation was taking place, Lauren yelled out “DA-DAAAAA!” and people around us smiled. I got a kick-ass new laptop for Mother’s Day (that Lauren sure knows what Mommy likes!). And finally, I’ve decided to have an 80s party for my 40th birthday (nearly 7 months away). I’m already planning my wardrobe and the music. I wonder if Jake Ryan will show up with a birthday cake?

I'm back

I know, I know, it’s been forever since I’ve posted. Quick version of what’s been going on: I left my old job, took a week off to hang out with Lauren and get a few things done around the house. I really enjoyed that week off, which kind of surprised me. I thought I might be bored or irritated playing stay-at-home mom all week, but I really had a good time. Lauren and I had our little routine of watching her PBS shows until about 9:30, then going out to run errands or shop, home for lunch and a nap for her while I did laundry or some other chore, then when she got up we’d play outside or go to the park, back home to actually cook a real dinner, and then do our evening routine when Daddy got home. The weather was fabulous, she had almost no moments of whining or crying, and my stress level completely bottomed out. I could feel the pressure of those last few bad weeks at work (and the previous four and a half years of a less-than-understanding boss) disappear. I had no schedule, no commute, nowhere I needed to be at any particular time. It was great. I know if I were a full-time stay-at-home mom it would not always be that way. Because I knew it was time-limited (and everything else seemed to be working in my favor), it really was like a mini-vacation.

I’m now in week 3 of the new job and it’s going well. It’s a huge, complex place that will probably take me a year or more to even begin to figure out. But the people are nice (including my boss – yea!) so that helps a lot. I was very busy at first but it’s slowed down slightly so now I have time to be lonely. My posse from the old job is coming to visit me at lunch tomorrow, and then I’m joining them for a going-away party for a friend who also decided she’d had it with that place. So, that’ll be good, to have some friend time again, which I had grown so used to having all day, every day. There was always someone fun to talk to while taking a break, strolling to the kitchen or standing at the printer. I’m pretty much on my own here, except for meetings and appointments. It was a good move; it’s just going to take me a while to feel comfortable.

Moving On

Tomorrow is my last day at my current job. I've taken a newly created position at a well-respected hospital in town where I'll still be writing, just doing a different kind of writing. Hopefully a kind that I like better and for a boss who will like me better. That's all I have to say about that, at least until I'm officially out of here.

I have gone from being thrilled about my decision, to a little sad at leaving my friends, to ready to bolt at a moment's notice, to being freaked out. Right now I guess I'm a little bit of all of those. It seems that the older I get, the harder change like this is for me (yeesh, getting stuck in my ways already). And I have always hated starting a new job. I hate that feeling of cluelessness, of not even knowing where the bathroom or the pens are, of having to ask people for every little thing. And then there's the bigger stuff -- trying to figure out personalities, what the new boss's expectations REALLY are, who the crazy people are, who to watch out for, who's the go-to person for info. So, that part I'm dreading.

Now on to the good stuff: first is that I get 4 weeks of vacation in the first year (plus 5 sick days plus 8 or 9 holidays). Four weeks of vacation is like gold to a working mother -- I would clean the bathrooms with my own toothbrush for 4 weeks of vacation (luckily, that's not part of my job description). The other benefits are good, too. For the first time, I'll carry the health insurance in my family because it'll be better than Bret's. And they have a good retirement plan, life insurance, etc. etc.

My commute won't be any better -- in fact it'll be a little worse because I have to park off-site and take a shuttle. Ugh. And I'm back to dressing up, after four and a half years of wearing jeans/sweaters/clogs all winter and jeans/t-shirts/sandals all summer. But both of those things were completely worth the time off, not to mention feeling better about the work I'm doing, and who I'm doing it for.

As for the next two days, I have plenty of work to finish up. And then my buddies are taking me out after work tomorrow for a proper send-off. I will be plaing stay-at-home mom for a week before starting my new job. That should be interesting.

Four Things

I'm totally stealing this idea from this lovely woman's blog but, hey, an unoriginal idea is better than no idea at all, right? (trust me, I'm in advertising) So, here we go:

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. waitress
2. balloon-seller at the Lincoln Park Zoo
3. proofreader
4. bookseller

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Braveheart
2. Animal House
3. Office Space
4. Austin Powers
(good lord, I am a guy)

Four places I've lived:
1. Grand Rapids, MI
2. Columbus, OH
3. Oak Park, IL
4. Delaware, OH

Four TV shows I watch:
1. The Office
2. What Not To Wear
3. The Biggest Loser
4. Jon & Kate Plus 8

Four places I have been:
1. Bar Harbor, ME
2. San Diego, CA
3. Portland, OR
4. Omaha, NE

Four favorite foods:
1. Cereal w/milk (preferably something with very little nutritional value, like Golden Grahams or full-fat granola WITHOUT raisins)
2. Chocolate milkshakes
3. Warm bread with butter
4. Pancakes

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. The beach
2. In my bed napping
3. A spa
4. The movies

Four things I'm looking forward to this year:
1. More sleep
2. Enjoying more time with Bret since he'll soon be done with school
3. Lauren learning to talk
4. Hopefully, a more balanced, less stressful life (more on that later)

Four places I love to shop:
1. Online -- for anything
2. Crate & Barrel
3. Anthropologie
4. Target