Relieving Gas Pains

So with gas ranging anywhere between 3.25 and 3.40/gallon here in town, I will be taking some extra steps to alleviate my gas pains--for the price of 1 1/2 weeks worth of gas in my car, I can ride the bus for an entire month. SOOO...beginning next month, I will be riding the Metro 5 days a week. Believe it or not, there is an Express Commuter Bus that leaves from the Forest here and goes all the way downtown to the main station. (which is only 2 blocks from where the County Parking Garage is at that I normally drive to and then walk). The bummer? My work schedule just jumped an extra 3hrs a day doing this; not because of driving times, but because of pickup & drop off schedules when it runs back and forth. Is it worth it? Well, I will let you all know!

To Be, or Not To Be?

So, I have quite the serious thoughts to post this evening. And, I will be asking for input and thoughts at the end.

It has been quite the busy few weeks as it's been more than I can do to just barely survive with work. I have been so exhausted that I come home and crash and when I'm on the road it's all I can do to smile and be polite with those I'm speaking to. lol. I actually spent the last few weekends in bed because I get to the end of the week and my body rebels -- I was spotting consistenly too much. Basically, I have a hard time slowing down and letting my body develop this tiny life inside of me. I'd forgotten that it's no longer just about me, but that I have a life inside that is dependent on me taking care of my own self so he/she can thrive and grow. So what did I do this week? Only was out 1 night this week and spent the entire day today resting -- even got a massage!! Now I have the fireplace on and will be watching a movie -- my husband gets back into town tonight and I can't wait! I'm sure I'll be asleep on the couch when he arrives, but nonetheless, there will be someone home tomorrow to watch the Super Bowl with!

Ok, for my serious thoughts:

Greg and I were talking last week about what my routine will look like once Baby Davis is here -- do I continue to work full time and hire a nanny, do I work part time and do part time nanny, or do I not work at all for one whole entire year and then re-evaluate about going back? These are the questions we talked about, and funny because before we both thought, "hey, keep working, hire the nanny, and do both." Well, there are mixed emotions for us on all these thoughts. If I continue full time, I'd be home 1 day a week and travel about 2x a month to DC or NY, but I'd be gone for a full 10hr day all week. We'd have a full time nanny to be here at the home so that during bball season, for example, there is 24/7 care when we're not around. On the other hand, even though we'd trust and love this nanny, do I really want to spend that much time away from a newborn? Or do I want to take that 12 months and begin to write on our child's blank slate the things that we want to see in our child? Am I willing to give up what I see for myself as pleasure and fulfillment and replace it with another, and if I do, will it be fulfilling? And most importantly in all this -- what does God want us to do as parents in our situation? My job is purely just for me -- the income is great, don't get me wrong -- but if I were not working, it would not hinder us. Then there is just me scarred because in the midst of all this change, I will have no "known" to return to. Everything for me will change and if I didn't return to work , that would be the one common, or known, factor that would not be existent. And for the first time, I had to be honest and ask myself this question, "Do I know who I am without my occupation? Do I put value in what I do instead of who I truly am?" Ah yes...that tis a humbling question! But yes, I can answer yes in that. I do know who I am outside of my occupation, but then why is it so hard to think of having to give up?

So, I want to hear from you all who are moms--or not :). I want to hear from you if you're a working or home mother. I want to hear what your pros and cons are and I want to know if I'm the only one that feels the way I do right now. I want your input and thoughts! Please feel free to post instead of email. Looking forward to reading your thoughts and stories!

Ready, Set, Go!

So, I began the New Year with my job taking a job 'switch' with my co-worker. My boss has officially ‘switched’ my co-worker and I for this year. We will be cross-training, so I will be doing her position and she will be doing mine. I will have more focus with the actual Mentor Teams from the churches with the clients, as opposed to just working specifically with the clients. And I will be getting much more hands-on in Legislative Reform! That really is my passion and where I want to be in the Welfare area, so I am really excited with the new challenge that I will be attempting for 2007. It also will allow me (believe it or not) more flex time and ability to work from home. I’ll have a bit more travel for the legislative stuff, but it will be more balanced. Thus far it is keeping me rather busy -- hence the lack in posting since December!

We also, on top of my job transition, have begun to work on transitioning our home lives as well. As of January 1st, it has been official -- we will be parents by August! That's right...I'm pregnant! No wonder I didn't have a whole lot of "umph" over the Holiday. lol. The doctor was backed up, so by the time I actually go in and have my appointment and get a due date, I will be a little over 2 months. The last 6wks have been crazy, and we are both looking forward to this new phase of life. My plan(at this time) will be to travel through June for work, work a few months in the office, and then take a break and return in October. Thankfully Greg will not be in basketball season yet, so the timing of Baby Davis was perfect! I'm already working from home 2dys a week when I'm not traveling, and I am sleeping a lot. Really feeling great considering everything! We'll be finishing our basement this summer and getting the upstairs ready for our new little family addition. So, now you -- Micah and Josh -- really have your work cut out with Greg since I'll be MIA for all household finishing and landscaping completion projects. :)

On a side note, I'll be going full swing next week as there were many new Initiatives that were introduced into Congress this month, so I will be getting my feet wet immediately with work!

Hopefully I am back now in full swing here in Blogland, but who knows. :)

Weddings, Adoption, & Other Random Thoughts

Here is my handsome husband at his brother's wedding! I love weddings now. I mean, I've always enjoyed weddings, but since I've been married, I've loved the ceremony so much more. I love listening to the vows, sermon, & the rituals. Maybe it's because they all have so much more meaning to me. I just have to say this evening that I love my husband so very much. He is my completer and protector. He makes me laugh and he comforts me. I love you babe!

Augh...it has been a VERY LONG WEEK. I will not discuss or process at this time on the blog, but I am so very thankful for 24hrs off before I go 100% again.

I am finally on my weekend now as of this afternoon! I have tomorrow off before I head back into a busy week -- I'll only be in the office on Tuesday this week, while I'll be out the remainder of the week travelling for classes and also attending activities for the National Adoption Initiative. Just a few stats to throw out for those in Colorado: 777 children are free to adopt(parental rights have been terminated) currently in the State. There are 37 of those kids in my home county. At any rate, the link above is worth checking out. I have a wonderful opportunity to go to a fundraiser for a local Adoption Agency next week and am excited to see how Faith Partners will get involved even more at the local level.

Now, since I'm home & have had some dinner, I get to watch my favorite (and yes, somewhat cheesy) tv show, 7th Heaven.

Feast or Famine

Wow! It has been too long since I've posted -- so much for my "once a week". I've decided that it will be feast or famine for me when it comes to blogging. I tend to do more when traveling and by myself(and when I'm not tired!). It has been busy here! I've been adjusting to a new work schedule with much more travel, and we're gearing up for a huge Adoption&Foster Care Rally in about 3wks that will be with all of the Adoption Agencies here in the city.

I've, for the first time, hit true exhaustion with my job. I'm still loving it to no end, but I am realizing that there are certain seasons that this job will be taxing and pull me to the limits. I also was starting to feel guilty that I wasn't "compassionate" enough for our clients because I wouldn't just sit and listen to everything that's going on with them. Then I realized that there is nothing wrong! I am amazed that I've been blessed with the "ability" to be so objective on this job. Yes I have compassion, but I'm also able to maintain my boundaries. So many times I see people who aren't able to do this and get burnt. I still encourage them, but I am always providing an option to their complaint or dilemma.

I've got a great group of clients right now that are learning in the 10wk class and are eager for their Mentor Families. I've got a whole new slew of home visits and assessments that will need to be done before the end of the month and then I will put a hold on our referral lists until the First of the New Year. I will be spending a week in San Diego to get more training through Aha!Process and then I will finish a few other engagements and get ready for the holidays.

Once I'm able to get the pics to upload, I will post pics of my "home away from home" too.

More Reading...More Landscaping

So we have been spending the entire summer getting our yard put in -- front and back. Today we FINALLY got the sod started. We will finish tomorrow (with the wonderful help of my family) and have green stuff in our front and back yard! Plus, we will be able to put the fence back up which means that we can FINALLY get Milo off his chain and let him run freely about the backyard.

Inbetween all this landscaping I've been putting off all my reading for my MSW requirements. Yea, no big deal until yesterday when I realized, "I have tests and seminars coming up in less than a month with no breaks till December and I have 3 books to read!" This is now a problem, as I am not too keen on doing homework at 9pm at night, and well, quite frankly I am just tired of school. So, I will be reading Bridges out of Poverty by Ruby Payne(along with the workbooks), finishing up Framework: Understanding Poverty by the same author; along with The Working Poor by Shipler and The Tragedy of American Compassion (and at this point I cant remember anymore authors names! lol) Oh yea, and I will be posting my thoughts from Fridays seminar "Fatherhood in Child Welfare." I honestly thought that was the best simulation and seminar I;ve been to yet with the county for traning. I am learning so much about the American system and enjoying it,. When I went to school to study international cultures, I thought they would be more interesting and challenging. However, I am learning that America is just as challenging to assess with families and class as any other culture. And what a blessing for me to actually be in an occupation that I went to school for! For this I consider myself very blessed. Its been almost 3yrs since I've done Culture Assessment, but it has been like riding a bike -- you never forget!

So the next few months will be lots of thoughts as I complete these books. And hopefully I will have pics to post of our completed yard by the end of this weekend! (and if we're lucky with weather, we'll have trees and shrubs by next weekend!)

Learning on Fatherhood

So on Friday I will be in a seminar all day on Fatherhood and Child welfare. KU (Univ. of Kansas) and DU (Univ of Denver) have partnered in a series of seminars for the Graduate School of Social Work. So far any of their trainings have been excellent and I actually walk away having learned something practical -- not just textbook.(check the link out!) It's supposed to be interactive learning and they emailed me a 132 page "pre training" to read before-hand. I'm really excited, as the better part of my work is landing in on the Child Welfare side of things. But here is what I've spaced to even think about -- there are dads out there who're trying to raise their kids just as much as those single moms. The reason this issue is really facinating me, is that I've currently got a client that is a single dad who's trying to "right" all the wrongs from the past 3 years. And on top of that, the majority of my clients have smaller children who're barely in elementary school -- he's got 2 high-schoolers. This is a different family with specific needs that are just as importantas all my other clients and I really want to have all the best info and "helps" to help this family through our Mentoring Program. A quote that I read in this reading by Gilder said "The unmarried male 'is disposed to criminality, drugs and violence. He is irresponsible about his debts, alcoholic, accident prone, and venereally diseased. Unless he can marry, he is often destined to a Hobbesian life -- solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short'". This is, unfortunately, what our society is more and more looking to when we have a single male walk through our offices vs. a single mom. Then I read from Levine, "The roles of husbands and fathers are clear cut. The role is to maintain a job, to bring in a paycheck, to work as hard as necessary to financially support the family, and visibly be the authoritiarian." (Please see the previous quote!) If we have a group of dads (as my one client) who've never really been taught what it is to be "nurturing" and if he's never been a part of the day to day activities as the mother is, how then are they able to properly parent if there was no example for him to follow? Or if there was an abusive situation taking place so there was already disfunction within the home? How then can we expect these dads to just pick up and do the laundry, the homework projects, the house management, pick the kids up from school, take them to sports/activities, come home cook dinner, do homework, get ready for tomorrow, etc? These are the same things a single mom deals with. At any rate...

I've not yet finished reading all 132 pages, so I will wait to post all my thoughts on this issue after I've read the entire "booklet".

On a side note, having to go through the entire getting a Master's thing again, I'm tired! But it will be good for me to have an MSW, as it really is almost required in this field -- regardless of what other Master's you may have. And what would life be if I couldn't learn anymore!? I'd be bored. :)