Whew! It's been a busy few weeks. I started a fantastic new job, which I absolutely love for so many reasons, and I got a new phone that has so many features I'm surprised when it actually rings & I can talk on it too! ;)
My job at The Tenfold Collective is really many different jobs--from answering phones and filing to assisting with marketing and events. So, I get to dabble in many things I enjoy. Most of my time this past few weeks has been spent getting everyone's calendars and projects organized. I love this. I love the details. We're still working on an official title. Today we thought of "Office Genius" and "Genius Coordinator." The "genius" fits with the theme of our "Interactive Genius" and "Marketing Genius."
The people I work with are all exceptionally talented and passionate about what they do, and they're great people--we enjoy working together, which makes such a difference on a workday when you were up all night with your babies. I look forward to being there each day.
The kids are doing well with the transition. O never really likes or accepts change too well, but after nearly 3 weeks he's starting to come around. He still has one or two days where he's a bit clingy when I leave, sometimes tearful, but it's getting better. E is always clingy when I return, but she's a doll when I leave. She blows kisses, waves, and sometimes walks me to the door.
I've been teaching childbirth classes this month too. I really LOVE IT. I plan to have this continue throughout the year, 6 weeks on with maybe 2 weeks off or so. Kristin Holt has partnered with me, and brought her extensive medical knowledge to class. She is a wealth of information, and a really gifted teacher.
In other news--my husband had applied for a wonderful worship ministry position at a local church. We had such high hopes about this job, but we found out today that he won't be getting it. I am really bummed about this. I am earnestly praying for a career for my husband that uses his gifts and passion for music, and also a position that meets all of our financial needs. We'd also like to stay here--we really like our home and our community.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Tidbits
I start my new job on Monday at The Tenfold Collective. It's the weirdest thing--normally I would be overwhelmed with anxiousness and excitement, but I'm very peaceful about it. I am thrilled and looking forward to working, but I don't feel stress. Too cool. (Plus, I was able to schedule a haircut before my first day, so that always makes me feel great!)
Lately I feel that I'm coming into my own skin, becoming much more acceptive of who I am. I announced to Matt a few nights ago that I'm the type of girl who tucks her hair behind her ears and scrunches her sleeves up--and I'm okay with that. Okay, that sounds odd (that's what Matt said), but had you been living in my head the last 28 years you'd know that I argue with myself daily about those things and others. I'm constantly telling myself to stop tucking & scrunching. Why? Somewhere during life I told myself it wasn't okay for whatever reasons. So, if you see me tucking my hair behind my ears and scrunching my sleeves up--just smile.
Speaking of smiling--I got called for jury duty for the first time!! I'm so excited. I hope they pick me! In college I went to trials for my law classes (back in the day when I planned to go to law school). I had such a good time that I kept going FOR FUN! (Yes, I'm a freak. A hair tucking, sleeve scrunching, jury duty loving, FREAK, but hey--I'm okay with that. ;)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
What Not to Say...Part 2
I've thought of more things you shouldn't say to a woman who doesn't have kids:
11. Your (sister/brother/cousin/friend in Iceland) already has [insert # of kids here], when are you going to finally have kids?
12. "By now your mother/I/some other older woman had [insert the number of kids her amazingly fertile womb was able to procreate] babies."
13. "My husband just breathes/walks near me/we just talk about kids and we get pregnant."
14. "If you can't get pregnant the way God intended, then you aren't meant to have children." Whether or not that's true, or whether or not you believe it to be true--HOLY CRAP NEVER SAY THAT!
I think I should also include my list of responses:
- "Kids? We're not even having sex yet."
- “Would you like to see our charts/schedules/temperatures?”
- “Way to be fertile!"
- “Whenever the good Lord gives us one. Thanks for asking.”
I know people mean well, and I'm guilty of saying many of the things I've listed (plus some really lame things to women who've just miscarried). We're human and we make mistakes even when we're trying to do good. Hopefully we'll learn from our mistakes. It's comforting to me to know that my God can heal all wounds, and one day we won't feel this pain. We'll be surrounded by the babies we longed for and the babies we lost.
The Best of Intentions
This is probably the most personal posting I've ever written on this blog. While most folks find me outgoing, extroverted, loud--pick your type A feature--truth be told I'm a private person who worries a lot about what other people think.
The day we learned O's CF test came back positive was traumatic. We had been assured and told over and over that the likelihood that he had CF was near-impossible--after all, he was so big. My husband was working when I got the phone call. I called my husband, who could barely understand me through the crying and blubbering. Of course, he came home. Before he could leave he needed to tell his boss why he was leaving. His boss was a friend, and someone who also attended our church. Who promptly--with the best of intentions--called his wife. He also told another guy on the job--another member of our church, who, I believe, also made a call or two. Within minutes the majority of the church knew. Matt hadn't even made it home before our phone was ringing off the hook.
We never had a chance. No time to talk, to discuss, to process. I felt exposed and humiliated, and that my child was being attacked. I had a brief few minutes of sadness before it quickly turned to anger. What made this worse--someone from the church called our family members BEFORE we could. Wrong information was shared, and assumptions were made. Our pastor, whom we weren't close with or felt comfortable with, came to our house--without calling just moments after Matt got home. By now, I'm livid--I pounced. Before he could knock I flung the door open, and with fury called him out on the behavior of the so-called "prayer chain" (more like gossip grapevine). His response--they all had good intentions. The pathway to hell my friends.
The only thing Matt and I had decided during our phone call was to NOT tell everyone until we had time to process and understand. We thought we could tell folks on our time--more on a "need to know" basis. I confronted of few of those who instigated the gossip, and I actually received one very heart felt apology. The others told me that it was meant with good intentions, or that it was God's will.
We left this church a couple months later in large part because of this experience. I feel betrayed, and that I could no longer trust this group of people. I know that even though I've denied it to myself and others, I'm still angry. I feel robbed of a moment that I needed to be able to help me accept and deal with what was happening. I need to grieve, and instead I'm filled with anger. Or, maybe I'm using anger to keep myself from grieving.
The day we learned O's CF test came back positive was traumatic. We had been assured and told over and over that the likelihood that he had CF was near-impossible--after all, he was so big. My husband was working when I got the phone call. I called my husband, who could barely understand me through the crying and blubbering. Of course, he came home. Before he could leave he needed to tell his boss why he was leaving. His boss was a friend, and someone who also attended our church. Who promptly--with the best of intentions--called his wife. He also told another guy on the job--another member of our church, who, I believe, also made a call or two. Within minutes the majority of the church knew. Matt hadn't even made it home before our phone was ringing off the hook.
We never had a chance. No time to talk, to discuss, to process. I felt exposed and humiliated, and that my child was being attacked. I had a brief few minutes of sadness before it quickly turned to anger. What made this worse--someone from the church called our family members BEFORE we could. Wrong information was shared, and assumptions were made. Our pastor, whom we weren't close with or felt comfortable with, came to our house--without calling just moments after Matt got home. By now, I'm livid--I pounced. Before he could knock I flung the door open, and with fury called him out on the behavior of the so-called "prayer chain" (more like gossip grapevine). His response--they all had good intentions. The pathway to hell my friends.
The only thing Matt and I had decided during our phone call was to NOT tell everyone until we had time to process and understand. We thought we could tell folks on our time--more on a "need to know" basis. I confronted of few of those who instigated the gossip, and I actually received one very heart felt apology. The others told me that it was meant with good intentions, or that it was God's will.
We left this church a couple months later in large part because of this experience. I feel betrayed, and that I could no longer trust this group of people. I know that even though I've denied it to myself and others, I'm still angry. I feel robbed of a moment that I needed to be able to help me accept and deal with what was happening. I need to grieve, and instead I'm filled with anger. Or, maybe I'm using anger to keep myself from grieving.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Cool Sites, Free Stuff
I really need to tell you about MyPoints.com. I signed up for this in college, and the rewards have been plentiful. Once you sign up you'll start receiving daily emails--warning, sometimes you'll receive SEVERAL in one day. They're ads based on your interests. At the end of the ad there is a link--click it--receive 5-10 points (varies from ad to ad). You get 5-10 points for reading the ad. However, if you take advantage of the ad you'll get LOTS more points (hundred or even thousands).
I have taken advantage of a handful in the past 10 years, but the majority of my accumulated points have come from just reading ads and completing surveys. You also receive points from referring friends too, so if you're interested--please email me!
Okay, so once you have the points, you can redeem them for a plethora of goodies on their site--mostly gift cards to about any store you can think of. We've used our points (my husband is signed up too) to help purchase Christmas gifts, pay for groceries or eating out, and for home improvement. It really doesn't take long to accumulate enough points to start redeeming, and seriously, it doesn't take long to scroll through an ad.
Every so often I get an offer via MyPoints for something really cool, like today: http://www.shop4freebies.com/
Oh. My. Word. Who doesn't like free stuff? We have a motto in this family: cheap is good, FREE IS BETTER. This site links you to hundreds of other sites to get FREE STUFF--free food samples, cleaning supplies, health items, and more. I just completed a few forms for a handful of items, PLUS I got 5 points for MyPoints.
I have taken advantage of a handful in the past 10 years, but the majority of my accumulated points have come from just reading ads and completing surveys. You also receive points from referring friends too, so if you're interested--please email me!
Okay, so once you have the points, you can redeem them for a plethora of goodies on their site--mostly gift cards to about any store you can think of. We've used our points (my husband is signed up too) to help purchase Christmas gifts, pay for groceries or eating out, and for home improvement. It really doesn't take long to accumulate enough points to start redeeming, and seriously, it doesn't take long to scroll through an ad.
Every so often I get an offer via MyPoints for something really cool, like today: http://www.shop4freebies.com/
Oh. My. Word. Who doesn't like free stuff? We have a motto in this family: cheap is good, FREE IS BETTER. This site links you to hundreds of other sites to get FREE STUFF--free food samples, cleaning supplies, health items, and more. I just completed a few forms for a handful of items, PLUS I got 5 points for MyPoints.
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