Dinner Time!

This week was the official kick off to my new job. I only worked Monday and Tuesday because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, but it was a great glimpse into what my job is going to entail. When I was talking about it to Ted I came up with three main 'duties' that I have.

1. Crowd control (this is my least favorite, but when you have 26 second graders in a classroom it is inevitable.)

2. Small Groups (This is my favorite!) I love working with children (obviously) and R. (the lead teacher) is going to give me a couple groups to work with. One will be during reading, with the on-level readers, to start a book club. The other will be different students each day depending on who needs help with writing, math, etc.

and (just for laughs)

3. Coordinating...mmm-hmm...pumping schedules. R. is the mother of a 6 and a half month old and I am the mother of a 5 and a half month old. (We were in the same baby classes at the hospital!!) And, we both nurse. So...yea. Let's just say there aren't that many private places in an elementary school.

Needless to say, I have been so busy these past couple weeks. With the library on the weekend and school during the week. Whew.

Luckily, Ted and I still made time for some quality dinners on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. (Tonight, we will be eating late because I work till 8.) And, the dinner on Monday night was especially delicious...so I wanted to take the time to share it.

We had Grilled Chicken and Spinach Quesadillas.

You will need:

1 2- to 2 1/2-pound rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
4 cups baby spinach (about 3 ounces)
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack (6 ounces)
4 large flour tortillas
1 avocado, diced
1/2 cup store-bought fresh salsa
1/4 cup sour cream

First, heat grill (or a grilling skillet) to medium. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, spinach, and cheese. Dividing evenly, place the mixture on one half of each tortilla. Fold the other half over to cover.
Then, grill the quesadillas until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with the avocado, salsa, and sour cream.

Ta-da! So easy! And, so, so tasty. In the words of my husband, "Seriously, these are restaurant quality. This is awesome."

My avocado/salsa/sour cream placement preference is above. Ted's is below.

(Thanks Real Simple. You've done it again!)

And of course, Eloise was there to witness it all!

Day 8

So, I have been working for 8 days straight.

4 more work days to go! Then it's Thanksgiving!

When I think about it, it is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. Last Sunday I was worrying like crazy about Eloise.

What of she doesn't have enough to eat?
What if she hates daycare?
What if she cries all day?
What if she gets sick?
What if I can't physically let go of her when trying to drop her off at daycare?

What if I cry all day?

Ted was amazing at reassuring me, and so was Eloise. She was all smiles whenever I went to pick her up from daycare, and she didn't seem to hold anything against us for leaving her all day. :)

Nevertheless, I broke down once.

It was Tuesday night. After my second day of subbing (I didn't actually start my "real" job this week because I was subbing for the teacher I was supposed to be working with because her daughter was sick) in Boyne City, and my second day of picking up Eloise from daycare and seeing her fall asleep at 5pm (for the night!) because she was so worn out (all the extra kids around at daycare, playing outside, new environment, etc.)....I started to cry.

"I don't think I am ever going to see Squeezy ever again. We get home, I feed her and she falls asleep till morning!" (Except to eat.)

"I miss her! I feel like all I'm ever going to do is wash bottles, make more food, and wash dirty diapers."

As I was being a slobbery mess into Ted's shoulder, he told me it was going to be okay and that the next week would be better, because I would only work 5 hours instead of seven. (and it was Thanksgiving!)

I knew he was right. But, I still missed my baby.

Ted offered to wake her up so we could play. But, we had a dilemma. If we woke her up, she would want to eat sooner. If she wanted to eat sooner, I would not have enough time (or milk) to pump for the next day. I was forced to keep Eloise sleeping so she would have food for the next day. :(

Happily, I now have the whole food thing worked out. It takes a couple days to get the supply kicked up for the extra demand. And, now I am always a couple of bottles ahead. :)

Next week will be better. Plus, I got to hang out with Chewy (Eloise) all morning before I went to work today at noon. We had the best time just laying and looking at each other...and occasionally making conversation.

Also, in my defense, Ted said he almost lost it when he dropped off Eloise to daycare for the 1st time, too. So, I am not crazy and/or overreacting!

Sunday..Monday..Tuesday..Wednesday...then a whole day with The Cheese!

Mama got a J-O-B

Right now I am sitting in a living room with a contently full-bellied Eloise sleeping peacefully on my lap. I just told her that I am extremely sorry, but mornings like these are soon going to come to an end.

Why?

Because I just took a job that will pull me from Eloise's little clutches for 6 hours a day. I may be sounding sad, but trust me, I am not. If anything, it is bittersweet. I have had 5 solid months at home with my little sweet baby...more than a lot of mom's can get. And, my new job will only leave me away from Eloise from 9:00 to 3:00. That's less than a whole school day. No sweat. She will be perfectly fine. The real question is: will I?

:) Yes, I think I can handle it. Millions of moms do it, so I can too. I have been blessed to be able to stay home this long. God brought me this job opportunity at the exactly right time; just when we were hitting a breaking point finance-wise. 24 hours after Ted and I had a very long conversation about his career options and my lack of anything in the immediate area, I had a job offer in my lap. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!

25 hours a week I will be assisting a 2nd grade teacher in a team teaching style. It is a couple less dollars an hour than the library, but I will be working three times as much. (I am keeping the library job as well... at least through the holidays.) I also got vision insurance at n0 cost to me, so that will supplement the vision we already have through Ted. I also have retirement benefits...although it is minuscule.

Ted and I can barely comprehend what an extra $800 dollars a month is going to do for us! We feel as though we are going to rolling in money (if that doesn't tell you how tight it has been around here, I don't know what will).

So, now on to the plans for Cheesy:

2 days a week she will ride to Boyne City with me, and I will drop her off at Nana Polleys'.

1.5 days a week she will stay home with her Daddy (he doesn't work Fridays or Wednesday morning.

and...

1.5 days a week she will go to a day care.

I have called about 5 in-home day cares in Charlevoix and they range from $20 to $35 a day. All of them said they would have to get back to me (today hopefully) because of infant limits and timing issues, etc. So, hopefully, God will help us get this part figured out too!

I start Monday!! Yay!