Working, Daycare, and Commuting

So, at long last, we have both landed jobs, and while mine is only promised to be a temporary position, it feels good to be back to work.  Declan, however, would prefer it if I hung out with him and watched The Wiggles and took him to the park and played with him all day.  I guess, back in Napa, he didn't really ever know there was any other option than going to daycare every day, so he never minded.  And even now, once I leave, he seems to enjoy his time, but in the mornings he begs me to "No Work" and asks to stay "Home... Home..." as he tears up when I start to put his shoes on.  It's a bit flattering, as well as heart-wrenching, that he gets so upset just at the thought of going.   I'm sure he'll get used to it soon.  I got his first piece of art from school this morning.   They did a finger painting of 'red and white make pink'.  It's adorable.  Not frame-worthy, but I'm sure it won't be long until he brings home the first piece I'll have to hang on the wall.

As for me....I am excited to be working at a place that has meant so much to me, and my family, over the years.  I attended Camp Kanuga from the time I was 9 until 15, then worked at the Conference Center on summer staff when I was 16, attended middle and high school conferences all through school, and even worked on staff for those events during college.  I was amazed at how much I had missed the place when I was back visiting with my parents a few weeks ago.  It is a place that I definitely want to share with my children and I am excited to be beginning a new chapter of involvement with Kanuga.  Hopefully my ability to learn quickly and pick up anything I need to learn will help me to prove that they can't live without me and will want to hire me on a more permanent basis.  The only problem with it right now is the commute.  In order to get Declan dropped at daycare and be at work in time to have a full day at work, we have to leave the house by 7, which means I've been getting up between 5:15 and 5:30.... I've NEVER been on this early of a schedule, and it's definitely taking some getting used to.  This morning, though, I actually woke up and only hit snooze once.  YAY!

Joshua seems to be enjoying work as well.  Unfortunately, this new schedule kind of has us running at opposite ends of the day, but we'll work it out at least for the short term.  It's strange to spend so much time together for the past few months, and then switch to only seeing each other for a few hours, if that, while we're both awake and at home.

While I very much miss all of our friends in Napa, especially around celebrations like Declan's birthday, and Thanksgiving... I think we made a good decision, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the beautiful area we've moved to.  This weekend, Declan and I went hiking and saw waterfalls, walked around a lake and through sticks and leaves in both.  We have an amazing park right up the road, and there is so much free stuff for us to do together.  We'll see what the next weekend holds for us if the weather stays nice!

And since I can't seem to post anything on here without at least one picture, I'll leave you all with an old one, in remembrance of where we were 2 years ago....