Day 22

It is day 22 of me being a stay at home mom. Is it absolutely fabulous to not dread every day knowing it brings me closer to having to go back to work?

Yes.

I remember being home with Logan and every new landmark, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, etc., meant I was that much closer to leaving him every day. I am SO thankful for this opportunity to try out being a SAHM - for however long I get to have it.

BUT, it is not without its, um, not so finer points? I feel like all I do all day is run behind Logan picking up his stuff so I don't want to lock myself the bathroom and cry because of the clutter OR hold Tess while she struggles to learn how to poop without screaming for 10 minutes beforehand.

Here's a stillshot of my day - and I can only stay "still"shot because Logan finally took a nap today!

(click to enlarge my friends...)














No worries, the only thing still on the floor now is the cute baby but my tornado should be awake again in an hour...

DOC - AP&P

So this last Thursday was my last official day with the Department of Corrections Adult Probation and Parole. I started there almost three years ago when Dave and I were moving back to Cedar after spending our first summer working for the Forest Service in Panguitch. When my boss called me to set up the interview she said she was calling from AP&P and I honestly had no clue what she was talking about and couldn't remember even applying for the job! Then during my interview one of the questions they asked went kind of like this:

"Would you mind taking urine samples for drug tests?"

Now, it was probably just my nervousness but I assumed they meant would I mind taking a drug test which of course the answer to that was no. Turns out after I got the job that the question meant, would I mind watching others give urine samples for drug tests. Yeah, eye opener.

It's been a crazy 2 years and 9 months and I wouldn't give up the experiences I had there for anything. I started at the front window and while I was there I made an offender cry my first day on the job (she was crazy anyway), watched countless women pee, listened to innumerable sob stories from offenders, and got over my fear of answering phones.

When I moved from the front window I was able to move into a position where I edited and sent every report that went anywhere from our office. Reports that went to the court and to the Board of Pardons went through me first and I took a lot of pride knowing that I was doing my best to make our office look professional.

Last February I got the Agent Assistant job which has by far been my favorite position. I was able to work more closely with the agents making sure they had what they needed from court and helping them with reports. I was able to spend up to 3 days a week in court and I gained a new appreciation um, knowledge of how the system works um, functions. I think every single person in our country should be required to attend at least one full law & motion and sentencing day in a local courthouse. It is incredibly entertaining at times, but more importantly I think it would open the eyes of the average citizen.

DOC is an interesting family, we work with a lot of scumbags, and then there are the offenders... ;) Seriously though I "worked" with a lot of people through email that I never met who were very helpful, but I had to post this email so I won't forget it in the years to come...

I was irritated to receive this email in the first place because I had put a note in the computer on this guy that I had sent his packet out the day before...

Anonymous Clerical Staff from up North: Could you have the ^ fill out his PSI packet and send it up to us as soon as you can?
Me: It's in the mail. (I'm not usually this rude, but I was bugged.)
Anonymouse Clerical Staff from up North: Okay so it is getting sent up here?

I didn't write back. If you can't figure out that "It's in the mail" means the same thing as "it's getting sent up" then you don't deserve a response. Then she CALLED me and asked if it was getting sent up to them. Seriously, the offenders aren't the only people who are short a brain cell or two.

To my friends at AP&P who read my blog and laugh (you know who you are), I don't lie when I say I will miss you guys. There are people in that office that I hope I will continue to be friends with for years to come. The agents there became my big brothers and my good friends. The girls up front were my sounding board and probably listened to a lot more of my problems than they ever wanted to. I'll miss you guys as well as the offenders, they can be pretty good comic relief when you need it most. It will probably take a long time before I quit checking the Iron County Bookings page and looking at the court calendars to see who is doing what. Thanks for putting up with me through two pregnancies and a lot of whining - I enjoyed most every minute of it and will miss you all!

24 Months - Happy Terrible Twos!

Two years ago at this time I was having contractions and... just kidding. I won't go into details about how you came into the world again this year - I tend to believe I would eventually scar you for life if I keep bringing it up.

I don't know how good this newsletter will be today, seeing as how I am at home and will be more interrupted than I would if I was at work. That's one perk of having your new sister here - I get to stay home with you every day now! I'm glad to be home with you even if every time someone comes over you ask if you can go home with them - I'm trying not to take it personally and that you are, in fact, not sick of me already.

This last month had quite a few laughs and I was smart enough to put them in the 'draft' section of my text messages on my phone so I would remember them - I'm brain dead because of you remember? I got pregnancy brain with you and never got it back. So the first one I have in my phone was a night when we were here in Kanab with your dad before Tessa was born. You were playing with your tape measure and you couldn't get the tape to wind back up. You tried for about 20 seconds or so before you stopped, looked at it , threw it to the floor in front of you and said "Damn it tape measure!" Holy cow kid I didn't think I was going to catch my breath I was laughing so hard. I looked right at your dad and he knew he would have been in trouble if I hadn't been about to fall on the floor. You are the spitting image of him. And even if you might not think that right now in your life (assuming you eventually read this nonsense years down the road), that is a VERY good thing.

We've had some thunderstorms this month and you have informed us that you are scared of the "Thumber". I'll add this to the list of things that you are afraid of at the moment along with toads, car baths (automatic car washes), and scarecrows.

We went for a walk the last weekend we were in Kanab before Tessa was born trying to get her to come a little early and you walked the whole way which was pretty impressive. It would have been more impressive if we had gone for a walk longer than just around the block but hey, I was big and fat and not that into walking. Your dad asked you if your feet were tired and you answered "no (big surprise), shoes are tired". I look forward to your teenage years.

If you make it that far that is, I just took my tweezers away from you because you were trying to stick them in an electrical outlet. If you are reading this and are over the age of 10 I think I deserve a medal for keeping you alive. And as of today I'm 1/5 of the way there. I sent your dad a text this morning that said:

Our boy is two. Do you know how fast the next sixteen years will go? Holy cow.

You are in your terrible twos, there is no doubt about it in my mind but you are still a great kid. The tantrums in public are still minimal, you "love" your sister too much, and you still ask for milk and cuddles every night. It might get annoying to me at times now but I am thankful for these things and all the other silly/funny/irritating/cute things you do and I hope I remember how soon they will go from being annoying toddler behavior to being full on obnoxious behavior from a teenage boy. You might feel a little left out at times now that you have a sibling, but little sister aside - you are still my best little boy and just like I expected would happen I don't love you less now that she's here - I love you more.

Happy Birthday Chubs,
Mom

And just to reminisce a little...

She's Here!

Well, after a somewhat tense drive to Cedar in the middle of the night (thanks dad!) and just a few easy hours of labor (except for the 15 minutes or so the epidural wasn't working AT ALL, thanks Dave!), Tessa Lindsay Veater arrived. Except for the bout of jaundice that seems to be pretty much typical she is doing exceptionally well and I wonder why I was ever so worried or stressed with Logan - she is EASY! My recovery has been great too, I already feel about 98% back to normal (I shouldn't say that too soon though...I'm enjoying Dave's help). Logan is doing pretty well, just a few minor fits that Dave and I think are related to his world being invaded.

As I type both kids are sleeping and Dave is on his way to pick up dinner from the Mexican restaurant - we are doing pretty well! I will post a few pictures now and will post again soon. Thanks to everyone who brought gifts/meals/best wishes to us - we greatly appreciate everything you've done and continue to do for our family!

Getting ready for the lights at the hospital.

Enjoying her in-home tanning bed.