Warning: Big bad ugly pity me post in progress

Howdy ya'll.  I want to warn anyone that seems to be having anything resembling a good day - TURN BACK NOW!!!  Honestly.  This is going to be one of those posts that I will write, read with mirth and post.  Then in a while, I will look back on it, roll my eyes and say to myself  "gah, what a baby!"

You're still here?  Well, you've been warned.

And awaaaaaaay we go!

I have some complaints.  Just your general run of the mill complaints of being a wife, mother and a full time job holder in a middle management position.

Complaint number one:

My job right now sucks eggs.  Now, normally I am one of those people who is all about going to work.  I happen to like my job very much.  I work in a mental health group home.  It is transitional living where we show the folks that move in how to cook, clean, do their laundry, take their meds, socialize, etc.  Then when the time is right we help them get housing and hopefully they are productive members of society.  We also have another program called Independent Living Services that services folks in their own homes to help them maintain their current living situation so that they don't end up in the hospital, evicted or living in a group home.  I supervise both of these things for my county of residence.  And I supervise the staff of these programs.  My problem is that we are currently short staffed.  I am short on second shift staff.  Truth be told I have been short this position for a long time as the former staff person who worked it was an idiot.  It was so bad that she wasn't even allowed to get her company car test certification ( to drive clients) because she was so air headed.  She was hired when I was on maternity leave.  I didn't have a say.  What I did have was a huge mess to clean up when she up and left her position.  Not that I minded her leaving, mind you.  There was just a mess.  Missing paperwork, stuff not documented properly, pill counts very obviously fudged, and she couldn't even spell the client's names right!  I mean, geez.  How hard is it?  You work with the same person 8 hours straight for months at a time and you would think you could at least get the name of the person right. Right?!

Soo, I do have fill in staff, but they are all pretty new themselves and can't drive the company car for a certain amount of time.  They also can't do the paperwork assigned to the second shift staff because they aren't here on a regular enough basis to go over all the weekly reviews needed to do with the clients.  That leaves me.  And I have an outstanding staff member whose primary jobn is supposed to be working with Independent Living Serives ( ILS).  Now she is working with her 12 people on her ILS caseload in addition to coming back into the office and taking people to the grocery store or to appointments ( in addition to my help).  Short breakdown:  I am doing supervisory stuff for 2 programs which includes people moving in and out of the group home, managing staff, finding coverage for staff shortages, doing interviews and intakes for people who want IL services and all the paperwork involved in that and now I am doing the second shift's primary paperwork too.  My ILS staffer is doing all the ILS client work, coming back to the house, packing medications, taking them grocery shopping and doing whatever other errands need to be done because I don't have another staffer that can drive the clients around.  Oh, I have a few, but they are part timers with other jobs, school schedules and social lives.  I am freaking tired.  I have tried to talk to my boss, but was met with "set your priorities and if you get the priority for the day done, everything else is a bonus."  Well, in theory that is great.  I am all for getting the priorities done.  But when I get a phone call saying the county wants us to do an emergency intake for someone that day, the priorities kinda get pushed to the side.  And then when I get another call saying that someone is about o be homeless and we need to interview them and get them into the group home ASAP, again, where do the priorities land?  By the way, do you have time to train these 2 new staff persons?  Great, thanks.  Oh, AND I am a CPR and First Aid instructor for the Red Cross and do a bunch of classes for the company.

Complaint number 2:

This is just a complaint.  It is petty and I know it is petty.  I have a teething baby.  He is cutting what seems to be a whole mouth full of teeth and he is a wretch.  A complete and utter miserable wretch.  At night.  During the day, he doesn't seem to be so bad.  Possibly because he is busy intgeracting with his little friends at daycare.  But at night he is evil.  PURE EVIL.  I think he even sprouts horns.  If I were to take a picture of him in the dark, his eyes would glow red.  Todd tries to help, but honestly, he just can't.  He can't stay up all night with 20 minute catnaps that you get when you have a hurting baby. He usually makes it til about 3 or 4 am and then he has to wake me bacause he just can't keep up.  I rarely ask him to do night duty because then the next day he is a complete zombie.  He can barely function.  I throw it in his face, too and I know I shouldn't.  It isn't his fault he can't do it.  It just isn't the way he is wired.  I think it is just a mom's skill that she can deal with the catnaps and still be able to work the next day.  Todd had duty last night.  I just needed to have that night of refreshing sleep - even if it did come in 3 hour bursts ( hey it was 3 hours straight and any mom can envy me for that).  At 5am he came in and asked if I could take over because he "needed at least half an hour's sleep before work".  I wanted to look at him and say, yeah,  I would like that most days.  And he only had to get himself around.  I have to get me and 2 kids around and out the door and I have to be able to do my job and all it entails.  Before I get too far into my pity, let me just say that I feel like i am the luckiest woman alive.  I have a husband who loves that I have "curves"...though I see them more as mounds of flesh.  He tries his hardest to help out when I have about had my limit.  I have a job.  In this day and age people would kill to have a job like mine.  I get paid to teach people how to live.  How cool is that?  I have 2 kids that I love and adore and I am reasonably sure they feel the same way about me.  I know there are lots of women out there who would give anything they could to have to stay up all night with a screaming child but they can't concieve.  To those that read this, I am sorry for taking for granted something you would love to have.

Complaint number 3:

My house is a wreck.  A complete and utter wreck.  And Todd and I are so tired by the end of the day we just can't clean more than the surface.  Things are starting to stack up.  We have piles.  Everywhere.  I don't want to live like that.  But when I do have a day off ( and they are few and far between) all I can do is sleep or sit.  Sitting is sooooo nice.  Zoning out is sooo nice.  I do have plans to clean, I really honestly do.  I just get something done and then I sit.  And maybe doze.  I have 2 days of paid time off until July 1st.  Let me tell you, I am not sure what day July 1st is, but I am taking that day off, I am staying home and I am cleaning the beejeezus out of my house.  I will be calling th trash man to do an extra pickup or 2 because dammit, I am throwing things away while Todd is at work ( he can be a packrat).  I am calling the Salvation Army to come over to my house and take away bags upon bags of clothing that have accumulated through 4 years of living in our house.  I will store things in the basement.  Todd doesn't like storing things down there.  I don't know why. 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading.  I really needed to get that off my chest.  Now, back to work!

And we're off!

Soren was up and walking with the aid of a little walker thingy that Nana got for him.  I really didn't think he would go for it, but I put him there anyway.  And the little stinker took off!  Gah!  What have I done?  I promoted mobility...of my own volition!  What was I thinking?  Well, I'll tell you what I was thinking.  I was thinking "Gee, if Soren can walk, it would open up a whole new world of play ability with his big brother.  Yeah, I should get crackin' on that."  Obviously I am a fool.  Had I thought longer, I would have seen the error of my ways.  If Soren walks, then he will have a better relationship with his big brother.  He will ALSO be able to scamper after our ever nervous cats.  He will be able to run away from me when I try to get him dressed...he will be able to RUN!!!  I. am. an. idiot.

Ah well.  He has tasted of the mobility and he has liked it.  I will never learn.  I think I shall fuel up on coffee.  I think I will buy stock, as I am going to need a lot of it to keep up with 2 kids.

Someone give me a full course of antibiotics, STAT!

Okay, so it isn't THAT bad.  Soren has been sick with something nearly all winter.  We FINALLY got the doc to prescribe an antibiotic.  Two days later he was spiking a fever and pulling his ears.  Now, I have gone to the doc several times with this same complaint to be told "he is just discovering his ears".  Riiiiight lady.  Have you met my kid?  He has known about those things hanging off the side of his head for the past 6 months thankyouverymuch.  So, the umpteenth time he went to the doc - same clinic different doc- we were told he had "dull" ears and was given a stronger antibiotic.  And guess what?!  He seems so much better!  Even his acid reflux cough is nearly non existant, which makes me wonder if he has reflux at all.  I will continue his Zantac to see if it makes a difference and then probably taper him off later and see how he does. 

Now, if I could just stop getting sick.  Every time Soren or Jonas gets something they cling to me like flies on sugar.  Then I get sick...but I never get a chance to heal because I am always working, taking care of them or working at home on stuff there that has been neglected.  Todd has the best ever intentions of letting me rest and sleep, but I don't think he gets it, you know?  For one, the guy can't multitask to save his life.  He can't start dinner and then work on doing up some dishes while the water is working on boiling.  He can't let Soren crawl up his leg while he folds laundry, and he most certainly cannot keep track of when Soren had a bottle last or when Jonas had a snack.  This results in a very cranky baby, who then gets a bottle late and throws his whole night out the door, and a 4.5 year old who is ridiculously hungry and wants a snack but it is just too close to dinner to hand one over ( prompting a breakdown).  And how can I not hear it?  The crying, the whining, the absolute misery.  So, up I go to fix things...and yet he complains when I say that I am tired.  "Hey, I offered to let you sleep.  It isn't my fault you are tired.  You didn't have to come out of the room and see the kids."

*sigh* Men.

My life is just not that interesting.

The most exciting thing that has happened lately was that our landlord fixed our toilet.  I think we need to get out more...but with gas prices topping 3.60 a gallon, we are stuck here.

Holy Cow!

Jonas is reading!!  Okay, okay...*deep breath*  Gah!!! My little 4 and a half year old boy is a reader!!! 

While this may seem like not a huge thing to a lot of people - it certainly is to Todd and I.  We are huge bibliophiles.  We. Love. Books.  All books.  I am secretly ( okay, not so secretly) hoping that my kids learn to love books as much as Todd and I do.  I can remember reading all day long when I was a kid.  I remember spending all summer tearing through everything the library had to offer ( Nancy Drew rocked!).  So, anyway, this morning I dropped J off at his preschool class and his teacher pulled us aside and pulled out her flashcards and Jonas started reading away!  She said he was one of about 5 kids ( there are about 20 in his class) that can read all the words and if he is unsure he will sound them out.  I love my smartypants kid!  And here is a pic of my little monster!



While we're at it, I wanted to include a picture of my littlest monster.  Here is Soren Jasper.  Love him and adore him!!



And here is Todd.  He's hot.  I know.



And here's me...with Jonas.  I usually tend to stay on the OTHER side of the camera.



Also, I just noticed that the pic of Jonas and I is taken in the bathroom.  I don't know why.  That's just how we roll I guess.

I guess that is it for today.  At some point I have to tell you about this amazing group of women I talk to each and every day...

Well, this is going well

Okay, so obviously I am not going to be able to post each and every day.  Wow!  Hats off to those of you who can do it.  Not me.  I am currently working a gazillion hours a day, fighting with a cold that never seems to leave and I have a 4 year old and an 8 month old that are complete attention guzzlers.

Nothing too new here.  I am just wrapping up a 14 hour day, my first of 2 this week.  Looks like next week I will be having to do a few overnights as well seeing as I have 3 open positions and it is spring break at Lock Haven University.  This means all my college student staff are abandoning me for warmer parts.  It's okay, though.  I rarely ever have to work extra hours and I have some pretty darn good staff out there.  Almost all my part timers and zero scheduled hour staff suck up the hours the minute I put them on the calendar.  I can't complain about having to do the odd overnight.  It does take me away from my family and I really REALLY don't like that.  Especially today.  I came to work at 9am and I am not going to make it home until after 11pm when they are all snuggled up in bed.  *sigh*  Todd did drop by work so I could see them, which makes it better, adn I don't feel as if I have completely abandoned them.

Soren is fighting some sort of cold.  I thought he was finally going to break a tooth through, but nope.  No teeth.  Just a lot of green/yellow boogies and a cough that racks his little body.  I broke down last night and gave him a baby dose of cold medicine.  I don't care what the docs say.  If that were me with all that congestion and coughing and I couldn't sleep because of it I would take something.  Why can't my kiddo?  As for the medicine being "ineffective" for babies...I call a big load of BS.  Obviously they have never had a sick baby that just needs some relief so they can sleep and regenerate.  Jerks.

I guess that is enough for now.  I promise to get some pics on here as soon as I get a free minute at home.

Teething sucks

Soren seems to be teething.  And he's absolutely miserable.  I wish there was something I could do for the kid.  He has a huge gag reflex, so giving him things to chew on really isn't an option.  I have tried teething tablets, baby orajel and teething rings.  Nothing has worked.  I have resorted to giving him tylenol before bed to give the little guy some relief.  I know I can't continue to do that because it isn't healthy.  A friend of mine suggested that I try one of those mesh things and stick an ice cube in it for him to gnaw on.  I will be getting one of those tomorrow.

Jonas is so very wound up and it is 10pm.  I maybe shouldn't have let him have cheesy popcorn, juice and milk and topped it off with tossing him on the bed.  I promised him he could sleep in my bed tonight.  This means I have a very happy boy, but I won't be sleeping because he takes after his father and is a huge bed hog.  I love it, though.  I won't have it too much longer, as he gets too big to want his mama and papa.

Now...if I only knew how to add pictures on this...

Oh!  I figured it out!  Tomorrow I will introduce my family!  Huzzah!