Our First Day!

Today, my friends, was a success.  The morning went smoothly, all three of us were ready to go on time, I remembered everything that the kids were supposed to have at daycare...it was great.  Well, it was great until I actually had to leave the babies at daycare.  Khloe was excited to see other kids.  She sat on the couch with Juan and bounced up and down, smiling the whole time.  Kaden broke down and clung to my leg in tears.  I felt horrible leaving my sweet boy, but I knew he was in good hands.  The other kids came up to him and introduced themselves and told him that they were happy and that they wanted him to play with them.  They were all very sweet.

Here's my happy girl!

And here's my baby boy, stuck on my leg instead

of sitting with his sister for a picture.

I finally tore myself away from Kaden's pleading sobs with Khloe happily waving bye-bye to me.

My first day of work went pretty well, except that I had a horrible headache all day from reading and staring at PowerPoint presentations.  My supervisor is awesome - she also has two kids, a boy and a girl, and she's a Diet Dr Pepper fan.  All the people I trained with and met were really nice.  My whole day was basically just filling out paperwork and learning all about company policies, safety, and perks. Speaking of perks, this job comes with lots of them.  Here's a list I'll call:

10 Sweet Things About My New Job:

1.  My insurance pays 90/10 and it's only like $140/month for me and both kids.

2.  I get life insurance, dental, vision, accidental death and dismemberment, and a 401K.

3.  If I put 6% of my paycheck into my 401K each month, the company will match that.

4.  Since the mother company is in Denmark and they want us to feel like we're all part of the same     family, we get cool European perks, like 12 paid holidays each year and an exercise room.

5.  I can pick my hours and change them pretty much whenever I want to in order to better accommodate my needs.

6.  If I need something for my workspace, I can just order it.

7.  I can carry my cell phone all day long if I want to.

8.  Someone makes photocopies of the two crosswords in the paper every morning and leaves them on the tables in the lunchroom for our word-gaming pleasure.

9.  It's really clean.

10.  I can wear comfy shoes.

They also gave me quality schwag - no pens or keychains for these employees!

Yeah, yeah, I know it's a cell-phone-in-the-mirror picture, which I despise, but look at my comfy new sweatshirt.  The inside of the hood is really cute plaid, too.  I got a stainless steel water bottle, too, but Kaden absconded with that as soon as he saw it.

And, as promised, the conclusion to the Shoe Dilemma:

I wore my everyday, worn-out Keens with my nice work clothes.  No one said a word, and when I asked my supervisor about "building-dedicated shoes", she said I wouldn't be in areas where I'd need them frequently enough to worry about it.  She said to wear whatever shoes I want.  I think I'll get a new pair after my first paycheck - I've about walked the bottoms off of these shoes.

Toward the end of the day, I had time scheduled specifically for reading a bunch of SOPs, which sounded dreadfully dull.  One of the Development Engineers that I interviewed with stopped by my cubicle and asked if I'd rather go help him with an experiment.  Of course I jumped at the chance, so I went with him for about an hour.  I'm not sure what details I can and can't give about the research at ALK, but I'd rather err on the side of secrecy.  I don't think it would be crossing any lines to say that it's an experiment to further purify one of the pollens we're working with, and that I thought it was very fun.

I'm not entirely sure what my job is yet, which sounds weird, but really, the description I read was one thing, and what people kept telling me today was another, so I think I'm going to be doing mostly technical write-ups for the experiments that are currently underway, and assisting as needed.  I met the QC (quality control) girls today and they're like microbiology chicks, so now I see why I was asked during my interview if I had ever thought about working in QC.  That's another nice thing about this company though...I can move up or even side to side if I feel like I would be a good fit for a job in a different area.  I really think I'm going to like working for this place.

And for those of you worried about my darling little boy, he calmed down after I left and had a great day.  He loved going to "school" with his little class, and they learned about colors today.  He proudly brought me this when I picked him up:

He also showed me his classroom and the cubby where he hangs his coat and leaves his boots.  They said it takes most kids about a week to adjust to the routine, but that Kaden and Khloe were fine and are both very good kids.  Yay for a decent first day!

Working Girl

So I have awesome news (and no, it's not that I'm actually blogging again...although that's pretty cool too).  I have a job!  I just got hired as a Product Development Technician at ALK-Abello Source Materials, Inc. in Post Falls.  Even though the job has been explained to me, I'm certain I won't actually know what I do until I start training, but I know I'll love it.  I think it's a sort of research and development position.  I know that it requires me to use my science-y skills, and I know that it involves a lot of writing, so both of the things I love the most will be incorporated into my job.  Isn't that the dream?

I also get to work with these guys:

It's a dust mite.  Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus for my fellow science geeks.  I don't care what you're thinking because I'm excited about it.  During my interview, my interviewers had all closed their notes and we were just talking about a few random things.  One supervisor told me that the job gets kind of gross sometimes.  I said, "I love gross!  Gross is my forte."  It made them all laugh and one of them even opened his notes again to quote me on that.  I'd like to think this is how they chose me over the other candidates.

Anyway, it's very late and I should be sleeping, but instead, I'm stressing out about my work attire.  When I interviewed for a previous position at that company, I saw most of the techs wearing these blue scrub/track suit things with tennis shoes.  They have to wear those in the work area, so it wouldn't really matter what I wore to work because I'd just change into that every day.  For this new job, my dress code is "business casual," which means I either need to:

A) Lose 10 pounds over Thanksgiving so that I fit into my old work clothes, or
B) Go buy new work clothes

The first option is ideal but certainly not feasible, so I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll be shopping on Black Friday.  Thankfully, my mom has the day off and can wrangle the babies so I can try on a pair of pants without Kaden opening the door of my fitting room to show the world my cottage cheese thighs.  I really should do a blog post on what it's like to attempt to buy clothes while toting Kaden and Khloe around in a double stroller, but I digress.

My next dilemma is regarding footwear.  I've had my share of jobs where I'm on my feet all day, and the right shoes make a huge difference.  I don't mind paying $80 for a pair of shoes if it's for a good cause, but in this case, I don't really know how much time I'll be standing.  I assume during training that I will stand and move around a lot.  The HR guy told me I would probably want to invest in a pair of building-dedicated shoes, but I don't know what kind.  "Business Casual" would suggest that I need some sort of close-toed, mary-jane flat or something with a low heel, but I completely forgot to see what kind of shoes all of the PDTs were wearing when I was in there.  The Production Techs all wear comfy athletic shoes of their choice.  My choice would be a new pair of Keens because they last a long time, they're comfortable, and I love them.  I just don't know if they're acceptable or not.

My rational side is intervening and telling me that I'm WAY over-thinking this.  I know that whatever shoes I get will probably be fine.  The company is really into keeping up morale and making sure the employees are happy, and if Keens make me happy, I'm sure they're allowed.  I'd just really hate to buy a new pair and find out that they aren't.  I know I could wait and ask on my first day, but what the heck will I wear on my feet during my first day?  I can tell you that all of my business casual shoes are out of the question because none of them are tolerable past the length of an interview.

Stay tuned - I'll post all about my first day and you'll get to see how this shoe conundrum turns out.  Oh, but I signed some huge confidentiality contract or something, and since my friend Elisa just got fired from a job for writing about work in her own blog, I'll need to figure out what I can and can't say. Wish me luck!!

For My Little Brother

I guess starting a post with a title like that makes it look like Matt died or something.  He did not.  He is alive and well, to my knowledge.  In honor of Mattie and our new year, 2010, I considered listing 2010 things I love about my little brother.  However, this would be a herculean task and I bet that no one would finish reading it even if I did manage to complete the list.  Instead, I will shorten "2010 Things I Love About Matt" to just "10 Things I Love About Matt".  Ready?

1. He's super talented.  He's a self-taught musician skilled at several instruments and I'm totally jealous.  I wish his music career would take off because he deserves it more than many of the "artists" already in the music industry today.  I'm so proud of his accomplishments and I listen to his songs all the time, both originals and covers, because it makes me smile.

2. We can just quote for entire conversations.  Whether it's Family Guy, Friends, Empire Records, or Big Bang Theory, we can have a whole conversation basically just quoting lines and phrases from TV shows and movies.  And it's always funny.  Even when it's just done in a random social situation, like at a family gathering for instance.  One of us can throw out a line and make the other laugh; everyone else will roll their eyes and Mom will go, "What?  Are you guys making fun of me?"  I love it because every line is like a private joke between us and it's fun.

3. He's a great uncle.  For someone who has spent virtually no time with infants during his life, he's really good with Kaden.  He may not change diapers or bathe him or anything, but he loves spending time with him.  It's great when he interacts with Kaden, and it's adorable when he tries to impart musical talent in my 4-month-old son.

4. He's fun to play games with.  It seems like a simple thing, but believe it or not, it is not fun to play games with just anyone.  Matt will play board games, card games, video games...it doesn't matter.  He's good at all of them, he catches on quickly, he follows the rules, and he's a formidable opponent.  I love game time when Matt's involved!  Right now, I really want to play Beyond Balderdash...

5. We're buddies.  I think it's really cool that we are mortal-enemies-turned-friends.  I love that we can confide in each other and be honest without worrying the other one is going to get all butt-hurt.  As he mentioned in his post, it's awesome that at a family get-together, we're more than just a face in the room - we are always excited to see each other.

6. He smells good.  The statement stands for itself.

7. He's not afraid to do his own thing.  He didn't go to college and he wants to be a musician.  Many would scoff, but that doesn't bother him.  He's living his life, having fun, working hard, buying the things he wants, and he doesn't care what anyone thinks about that because it works for him and that's all that matters.  He thinks a lot about the future, dreaming big and making plans to help those dreams come true.  What will he be?  A musician?  A screenwriter?  I cannot predict the future, but as a scientist, I can reach a conclusion based on observation: he'll always do what makes him happy, regardless of the pressure applied by family or society in general.  Good for him.

8. He's a good seed.  He stayed away from every evil that high school peer pressure could have introduced him to (but then he went and got those tattoos...(yeah, Mom, I was making fun of you there)) and he doesn't beat the elderly like Paul W did.  Good boy, Mattie.

9. He said I could be in his movie.  Awesome.  Even if I'm just the Turkey Cashier.

10. He's a romantic.  I guess that might seem like a strange thing to say, but he learned to be such a sweet guy from listening to my sister and I complain about all of our boyfriends to him.  He's kind of like our protege and I think he turned out pretty good.  I like that he treats girls the way that girls should be treated.

This concludes my list.  Matt, you're the best brother anyone could ask for and I hope that I never have to move far away for too long.  Thanks for your blog, thanks for being awesome, and thanks for not posting that piñata picture of me on Facebook...

A Snowy Day

It started snowing yesterday afternoon and continued throughout the evening, so today we had a nice white blanket.  I took Kaden to the park across the street.  He hasn't seen snow yet, and his Grandma Debbie bought him a cute little snow suit that we decided to make use of.  We got all bundled up (though I don't think he quite knew what was going on) and headed out into the cold.  He fell instantly asleep, so I had to wake him back up for pictures!  He didn't mind too much.  He didn't even seem to mind the cold!

With his puffy snow suit on, he was big enough to go in the baby swings all by himself - he really liked it, though you can't tell from the picture...

After we had a little fun, my friend Miah took some pictures of Kaden and I together in the snow.

He was so cute!

I wish we had a saucer so I could pull him around - he loves activities!  Maybe he'll get one for Christmas...

The Mommy-Do

My friend, Casey, and I found out we were pregnant just weeks apart.  Her first question to me was:

"You're not gonna cut your hair, are you?"

I assured her that I was not.  She had seen too many friends trade their long, silky locks for the kid-friendly "Mommy-Do" and she did not want me to be next.  No worries, Case.  I love my hair.

Except that after Kaden was born, I didn't.

All of a sudden, I had a newborn demanding my attention at all times.  I couldn't shower at my leisure anymore.  If I did get to wash my hair, I barely had time to dry it - forget about the straightener or anything else.  The messy bun became my go-to look, everyday.  Now Kaden is three months old and he's starting to grab things.  Dangling toys, glasses, and, yes, hair.  I was just done with it.  It was too long, too thin, too annoying.  It had to go.

I have never had my hair cut in a salon ever.  I don't color my hair, I don't get it styled, and until recently, I didn't even know where a salon was located.  I was driving to Costco the other day though and I passed Moxie on Main Street.  The phone number was on the sign, so I grabbed my cell, dialed, and scheduled an appointment.  Casey my friend, the deed has been done.  And it's not awful, it's adorable.  :)

Your turn!

Gotta Love the Internet

When I was little, my family had a big case of Christmas cassette tapes that surfaced every December.  We listened to Christmas music while we baked cookies with my mom, while we decorated the tree, and while we drifted off to sleep every night.  I knew all the songs, new and old.  My three favorites were the Sesame Street Christmas tape, the Raffi Christmas tape, and A Cabbage Patch Christmas.  I loved the Cabbage Patch Kids.  I even had a Cabbage Patch cassette player to play my Christmas tape in.  I loved Colonel Casey's narration and I knew every song on the tape.  Whether my dad finally couldn't take it anymore and crushed it under his boot or it's lost in the depths of my brother's garage, I will never know, but my tape disappeared for good one year.  It was awful to open up the Christmas cassette case and see an empty slot where my favorite tape used to reside.  "It'll turn up," my mom had said.  It never did.

As an adult, I searched eBay, Amazon, and countless other sites every year for my beloved Christmas album to no avail.  But this year...

Ta-Da!!

Though it was not for sale, someone had expertly uploaded the entire album from their LP and packaged it into a single downloadable file.  Our Lady of Perpetual Obsolescence Vinyl Rescue Mission and Orphanage is "A safe haven for forgotten and downtrodden record albums" and possibly the best gift I will receive this holiday season.  Not only were all ten tracks included in the file, the album cover (front and back) were graciously included.  As a result, I was able to make A Cabbage Patch Christmas CD and place it in a jewel case with the original album cover.  I was so excited!  I am so excited!  Now my little boy can grow up listening to songs about Christmastime in the Cabbage Patch just like it did.  And tell me he doesn't look exactly like Otis Lee (the little bald one in the middle), pictured on the album cover of the other long-lost Cabbage Patch album I was able to download:

So the wonderful world wide web came through for me this year.

Merry Christmas to me!

Let's Stay Healthy!!

Alright, it's obviously cold and flu season, and the media has done its best to instill unnecessary swine flu-related terror in our hearts.  I hope that by now, everyone knows that hand washing is the number one defense against contracting the pathogens other people are putting out into the world.  However, if you want to do your part to keep others healthy, you really need to take five minutes and watch this entertaining (and totally legit) video.

If you were one of the millions of people who sneezed/coughed into your hands, erroneously thinking you were stopping the spread of germs, you were wrong.  The good news is that you now know how to cover your sneeze or cough appropriately.  Unfortunately, if you're already in the habit of doing it into your hands, it can be difficult to switch.  But with a conscious effort and the health of your community in mind, you can do it!!  Let's stay healthy!