Reality

Well... this isn't good news at all, but it's reality for a lot of people right now. Kyle got laid off from his job on Monday! Horrible, I know. He came home around 11am on Monday and I was just thinking he was coming home for an early lunch so when he walked in and said he was laid off I thought he was kidding. I finally believed him when he showed me the paperwork stuff they gave him. I was pretty devastated and had my fair share of crying and being emotional for the next couple of hours. Kyle had a really good attitude about it. He kept telling me it will work out and be fine. His main concern was health insurance for the kids since our insurance was now ending at the end of January. He even handled it well when they told him. When they told him he said, "well, it's no one's fault." I would have been more upset, but then again it's really not their fault, it's the housing market. He even made it past several lay-offs over the last 15 months at his work. (He worked for a home builder as a project manager.) They even paid him a compliment by saying they would like to hire him back when the market turns around, but they know he will be taken b/c he's smart and a good guy. Hmpf. He better be hired by someone else by then. :) There's another guy in our ward that is out of work and watches his two kids and I joked that Kyle and him can start a daddy daycare or do playdates together. Ha! Gotta have some humor in this mess, right?

So now I am the sugar mama. I'm only working 2x/month right now, but today the dentist's wife, who is a hygienist in the office, offered to give me her 4 days that she was scheduled to work next month! She is happy to have a break, but that was so nice of her. I will probably look into temp hygiene work as well. Thank goodness for my education!!! The Church encourages us to get an education and this is exactly why- to get through times like this.

We will get through this and we just have to have faith that all will work out fine. It's the unknown that is scary and always wondering "how long will it take to get a job?" If we knew that answer I think we'd enjoy Kyle's time off a bit more. Maybe take a road trip... do lots of fun things... you know, the stuff you do with time off. :)

Back to Work

I ended up deciding to go back to work one day a month. I posted before how I decided not too, but I found someone that is willing to come to our house to watch the kids the one day I work. It will work out better that way. (Plus, we are refinancing our house and we need the extra money now.) I even had patients of mine call me and offer to watch the kids so I could "further my talent" and work once a month! I thought that was so nice of them.

So yesterday I went to work and of course, Preston was sick. He started coughing last week and through the night Monday night he would cough so much and gag on his phlegm he would throw up after every time I fed him. It was annoying, but Kyle stayed home from work (he had to use a vacation day) and watched the kids. Darbi was going to watch the kids because the lady that we set up to watch him was gone this week visiting family. Darbi was kind enough to even be willing to watch Preston even though he had a cough. But when he was having a hard time Monday night I decided it would be better for Kyle to stay home. Kate went to Darbi's all morning and played with her girls and had a blast. Preston took a 2 hour nap so it was a "piece of cake" morning for Kyle! I told Kyle I don't get a good break like that in the morning. :) He teased me and said staying home was easy. HA!

The best thing about work is that everyone there treats me so well. It's like I'm royalty. Not really, but that's how they make me feel. They tell me they are glad I'm there and so how can you not feel good being there with all those good comments?! I'm lucky to have such great co-workers. We talk about eveything you're not supposed to talk about at work; religion, politics and other hot topics. :)

But really, I told Kyle I'm so glad that I get to stay home with our kids. I like it. It's not easy at times, but I can't imagine working full-time and being a Mom. I admire those that have to do it.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

We had beautiful weather this weekend and so we took advantage of that and went to the zoo Saturday morning. It was a fun family outing. We have a membership to the zoo so we try to go often. It's nice to have a membership because there's no pressure if you don't or can't see everything. Kate rode the carousal and talked about "riding a horse" the rest of the day. She loved seeing the giraffes, elephants, monkeys and lions. Preston was good and hung out in the stroller.

Then that night we went to some friends house and had a yummy dinner followed by playing the Farming Game. Kyle and I both grew up playing that game and it's so fun. The couple we played with liked it too so we had fun playing for a few hours. It was a late night for everyone! We kind of payed for it the next day with tired kids (and parents!). :)

I am a dental hygienist and worked full time for 2 years and then only one day a week for almost 2 years after Kate was born. It was great to get out of the house and nice to earn extra money. My coworkers are great and even though I quit working last September before having Preston, they still invite me to things. They are too nice. Well, last week they gave me the option of filling in whenever I want or working one day a month. I thought about this long and hard. It would be nice to keep up my skills a little, get out of the house and bring home some extra cash! (This job pays well so even one day a month is good!) So I talked to my family, Kyle and I prayed about it. Kyle wasn't sold on the idea and I was giving him the pros and cons. I asked my friend, Kati, who used to watch Kate one day a week if she'd be willing to watch the kids. (She has two of her own the same ages as my kids so it would be like watching two sets of twins!) She said yes, but then thought about the craziness of it all and decided against it. After getting her answer I talked to Kyle again and we decided that I would not work. I can always fill in if I really want, but I feel good about my decision. I figure why add more stress to my life (like if the kids are sick that one day I need to work and trying to find someone to watch them is tricky). Kyle said I could work the one day a month if I would feel more fulfilled, but he said "we only raise these kids once and it's worth it for you to be home with them". I have a good husband. I should be grateful he's not pressuring me to work and that he appreciates and values a stay at home mom! So onto the next poopy diaper and load of laundry!!! ha! :)