Early To Bed, Early To Rise

Wow, it has been awhile since I have blogged. I had plans to post pics of our spring break trip to Arkansas to visit my sister-in-law and family, but I lost my camera cord and my memory card doesn't fit in our laptop for some reason. So until my cord comes in, no pics!

I have had all kinds of things come to my mind to blog about as I make my long drive to work everyday, but then I get home and it is just insane until I get settled into a good schedule. Instead, I'll just write about my new job, which I L-O-V-E!

My first day started last Wednesday. My amazing, selfless, giving, thoughtful mom came up with the idea to stay with us my first week to shuttle Sammi to and from school while watching Joshua. One, so we can get a handle on what our mornings and nights will be like and two, to save some dinero on daycare. Sounded great to me! Added bonus: home cooked dinner every night! It worked out perfect and the kids had a ball with her. I cried when she went back home. Not as bad as when she left after staying with us the first week after having Sammi, but almost. :) I just really enjoyed seeing her everyday.

My new boss and team mates are amazing. Everyone is just so laid back and nice. Another great thing, I get to wear business casual clothes M-Th and then jeans on Friday. Woo-hoo! I now have a closet full of suits to find a new home. I did like wearing suits, I just didn't like the dry cleaning bill. So now I am slowly buying more casual clothes to wear, I just don't have enough.

The world of insurance is so different than the world of pharmaceuticals. But I love learning something new. I am a recruiter to bring on new insurance agents for a supplemental insurance company. We pretty much corner the market and have little to no competition and there is no cold calling. For those of you that have done recruiting, that is great. I never had to cold call at Pfizer and am thankful I still don't have to do it. But now I am dealing with those that have their insurance license and for those that do not, I have to learn what each state requires so that I know what to tell them to do to obtain it. After my first day, my brain was just swelling and tired from taking in so much information and trying to process everything. I crashed at 9 o'clock that night. I can't remember the last time I went to sleep that early!

I am able to work flex hours and get to work at 7 and leave at 4. For me, driving to Dallas, that is as huge plus. I miss the traffic! Granted, I have to get up at the crack of dawn (5ish) and drive to work in the dark, but it sure beats sitting in traffic while white-knuckling the steering wheel in hopes of getting to work on time. Jason takes the kids to school (a whole new world for him) and I am able to pick them up at 4:45. Plus, I get an extra hour or so with the kids. I didn't get home until 6:40 my first day when I got off work at 5 and then they go to bed at 8. Again, no traffic at 4:00.

My kids are going to a christian academy/daycare that I love. I am just so happy and excited that I found this place. It is real close to our home and I love their structure and curriculum. Today was their first day there and they kept asking when they get to go back. Good sign!

All of this sounds so great and wonderful and like all of the pieces are fitting together. But I do miss several things from being home. #1, the obvious, seeing my kids so much more during the day. #2 Getting to take random cat naps during the day if I need one #3 Not having to put on makeup daily #4 Getting to sleep in until 7 (see a common sleep trend?) #5 Getting to browse online whenever the urge hit me. I had many days that I didn't feel cut out to be a stay at home mom, but I will forever be thankful for the 8 months I was home with my two precious kids.

Ok, I need to wrap this up, 5 AM comes really early and I have to force myself to go to bed by 10. I am used to staying up until 11 or 12. Not anymore! But I am SO blessed to have a wonderful job to get up early in the morning for.

Happy Monday!

New Job, New Memories

I accepted a new job last Friday! I am just beside myself STILL after a week. I might have to back track a bit, so bear with me.
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Everyone knows that I was laid off from Pfizer last summer. In the beginning, I completely relished my time at him with the kids, cramming in all kinds of things during the week that I always wished I could, but couldn't. Such as story time at the library. I also checked off several big things for me like repainting my kitchen cabinets, replacing the kitchen counter, re tile the kids bathroom, etc. Ok, I didn't do the counter and bathroom, but I had to pick out tile, color of grout, etc. That's a lot of work! :) I organized a lot around my house that had been ignored. Volunteered at Sammi's school. I also was able to help my dad out greatly for 2 months after he had major back surgery. I was so glad I was home to help. It felt great to get things done while being home. But I felt an urgency to complete those things just in case I got a job soon. I mean, I had a great resume...11 years at Pfizer in HR/Recruiting. Who wouldn't hire me?
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Wow, was I in for a rude awakening! Not long after I was laid off, the bottom of the economy seemed to fall out. I was now one in thousands that all had great backgrounds, looking for the same thing. Great. But I had to stay positive and not let it beat me down. I prayed a lot and knew that God would take care of me. He already had with so many other things. But as my mom said, it isn't on MY time table but His. Great reminder.

I was offered a job really early on after being unemployed, then that position was put on hold indefinitely. So back to the job boards I went. I had lots of phone interviews, then they abruptly ended when we talked salary and location. It made no sense to drive to downtown Dallas for half my salary, even to do the same thing I did before. I equated the salaries offered to me to paying for just daycare and gas. Why work if that was all my paycheck would go to? It was hard. Then I felt I had a scarlet letter on my resume. As if employers saw my tenure and at Pfizer as a bad thing or they can't afford me.

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I'll be honest with you, I really had my low days where I felt as if my unemployment would never end. I couldn't watch the news anymore. It was filled with bad news daily of the unemployment rate going up, more companies laying off, etc. It just ate at me. After the holidays, it really hit me and I was obsessed with checking my email first thing in the morning to see if I got any hits or updates from Monster/CareerBuilder. Then I would just scour the job boards. It got where I lost my drive and motivation to do anything else. I felt I NEEDED to be looking everyday. My poor kids would say "you are on the computer again?" or Josh would just want to sit in my lap while I was on the computer. I felt awful that it was affecting my kids. I had many times just crying on the phone to my mom, Meredith, and Julie. I felt so helpless. My faith in God was really tested, and that bothered me more than anything else.

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Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I saw a recruiter position online and applied for it in the morning. I got a call that afternoon about it and had a phone interview. He asked what I made at Pfizer, then when I gave him the amount he said "that is in our range". Whew! I always hated that question because it seemed to always end the call. He asked me to come in the next day and interview with him. The interview the next day went great! After talking with him and him telling me about their process, work environment, etc I wanted more than anything to work for their company. It turned into not just needing a job, it turned into WANTING the job. I wanted it so much I could taste it. He called me the following week asking me to come in on Thursday to meet with 3 more people. You bet! Last Thursday I met with the CFO, Dir of Marketing, and Dir of Training. It went really well and I prayed that I was able to impress them. The job was between me and 1 other person by then. At then end of the interview, I was told I would hear something the next day or Monday. All I could do then was pray that it would work out because it was the right fit. He called me the next day and offered me the job! After I got off the phone with him I was jumping up and down, screaming. I even woke up Josh from his nap. Whoops!

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I am just thrilled beyond words for this blessing. I not only will be doing what I loved, but I will be a recruiter, which at Pfizer would have been a promotion for me. More money and I get quarterly bonuses for those I screen/interview and end up getting hired. That was a huge surprise for me. The company has continued growth and a great outlook for this year. The only downside is my commute. I will be driving to Dallas in traffic. Yuck. I was so spoiled living so close to where I worked before. But in this job market, I just cannot be picky.

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So, there you go. There is my great news!

Night With Old Friends

Ok so "old" wasn't a great word to describe my friends I saw last night, but I have been friends with them since elementary school and high school. But we did have lots of jokes about how we know we are getting old....one is you know you are getting old when you offer your glasses to someone to help them read the menu. We are only 33/34, but hey, we feel it when it is 10:00 at night and we are tired and ready to go home. But we made it to after midnight!

My great, wonderful friend Amy's birthday was what got us to get out Saturday night. Her amazing husband Stan (I went to HS with him) planned a night out for her birthday and I am so glad he did! We started out the night at a great authentic Mexican restaurant in Deep Ellum called Monica's. I highly recommend it! Several other friends I went to high school with were there, which I loved seeing and catching up with. After that, we went to a bar to see a band, which Stan's cousin plays in. They were great! It was soooooo very cold that night, but absolutely worth getting out in to see my dear friend Amy.

Me and Amy. I think this picture was take 6. Seriously, we were so picky because either I didn't like how I looked (still don't like me here) or Amy didn't like it. Jason was so patient trying and trying for the right one for us. Thanks babe! Amy and I went to HS together, but we didn't hang out in the same groups, but a whole other long story later, we became friends the summer after we graduated. Have been best friends ever since, roommates in college for a year, and she was in my wedding. Love her dearly!

Amy and her man, Stan. Ok I will admit here, I had a crush on Stan my freshman year in HS. He knows this, but I think it's funny years later that my friend married him. And what is even more neat is Amy and Stan NEVER talked or hung out in HS. He was the jock, she was in a completely different crowd than him. Several years after HS, she met him and the rest is marital bliss history.

This picture cracks me up. There was a Latin band that played and the lead guitarist walked the restaurant and played to people, like a mariachi band does. I made sure not to make eye contact so he didn't sing to me or shake his hips at me. But poor Christopher wasn't so lucky. This guy stood there for what felt like forever just playing to him. Christopher was a good sport and just smiled at him. We could read it on his face that he was saying "dude, go away!" I couldn't resist getting a picture of it.

The Forney HS gang at the bar. L to R: (can't remember the first girl's name), Christopher, me, Amy, Jeremy, Stan, and Jay. All of us graduated together, Jeremy was a year behind us and grew up down the street from me. His family and mine did a ton together.

We had so much fun and I'm glad Stan arranged for all of us to get out together for Amy's birthday! Amy, I hope you had a fun night! You are an amazing friend to me and I love you!

Friend Makin' Monday (or Tuesday!)

Friend Makin' Mondays is a fun new way to get to know other bloggers created by Kasey at http://kaseyhelder.blogspot.com/. My friend Rebecca is the one that found this and passed it on and I love it! I love reading other blogs, even if I don't know them. Today's task is to share 10 of your favorite things. It was hard for me to narrow it down to just 10!

Alli's List of Favorites:

1. My handsome husband and beautiful kids. Most of all, I love watching them play together. I call him "Fun Daddy" because he gets down on the floor and just plays and plays with them,making them laugh until they hurt.

2. U2. Any song at any time brings a smile to my face. I got into them when I was in 7th grade on a summer vacation driving to Colorado with my dad and sister. Haven't stopped listening to them since. I was 7 months pregnant with Joshua at one of their concerts...nothing will keep me from seeing them!
3. Stationery. I can look for hours online or at gift stores just drooling over stationery. I have way too much, but I love it and I love most of all writing letters to friends just to say hi. Nothing beats getting a card in the mail between bills. :)

4. Scrapbooking. My amazing sister-in-law Julie got me into it after I had Samantha and I just love it. Some layouts are great, some not so great. But I have fun going through my pictures and putting them on paper to put in an album. I scrapbook with friends and the laughing and talking we do while working on them is the best! Most of all, I love that I have found a hobby that gives me something to do that preserves our family memories.

5. People magazine. It is my escape from reality. I have had a subscription since high school....I have been subscriber for so long that I get it dirt cheap. Jason knows that when I get it in the mail to just leave me along while I look at every page. And yes, I DO read all of the articles. There are amazing stories about just regular people.

6. Mercedes. I am a car lover. Love all kinds. But I have loved Mercedes for the longest and hope someday to drive one.

7. Margaritas. mmmm.....writing about it is making me want one now! But frozen, no salt, please!

8. Laying in my comfy bed catching up on shows on my DVR....alone! I look forward to 9ish at night to go into my bedroom and just lounge. Sometimes I read, work crossword puzzles, all while the TV is on. Jason knows this is my unwinding time and is respectful of it. I love you honey!

9. Mountains in Colorado. My most favorite place to be. I grew up going there almost every summer with my family. My most favorite time was when I had to be in CO for work and went early so I could mix business with pleasure. I rented a car and drove and drove around in the mountains, stopping in neat towns along the way. Mine and Jason's dream retirement is a cabin in Colorado.

10. God. 'Nuff said.

Are any of your favorites on my list?

Amazing Weekend

Let me start this post by letting you know in advance that I do not have any pictures posted. I know, me, no pictures posted. We had such an amazing weekend, but I got not a single picture in. I am sick about it!

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It started out with Friday night having my amazing sister-in-law, Julie and her family driving in from Arkansas. They just moved there from VA, so this is a MUCH shorter drive than they are used to. They had a get together with old friends, so I got the chance to see my 3 nephews and 1 niece. I had not seen them since August, so I could not wait to give them all a big hug. The kids played so well together and I got to hang out with just Noel. She is now 2 and they moved to VA when she was a newborn. I just don't know her like the rest and I just loved how she loved to snuggle with me! Joshua and Easton (4) played surprisingly well. They are two peas in a pod with head-strong personalities. But they only fought over a toy once the entire weekend. Amazing! Then Sammi, Carter (7), and Aiden (6) played and played non-stop together. It took so long to get them to calm down for bed. I can't count how many times I had to go in and tell them to stop talking. Joshua and Easton were the worst! I think Joshua was just not used to having someone in his room, which he loved. Carter and Sammi slept on the trundle part of her bed together while Aiden slept on Sammi's bed. Easton slept in Joshua's room and Noel was in my room. Six kids under one roof in a 3 bedroom house. I made it work and it worked out perfectly! Jason was out of town so I gave up my bed to Julie and Rudy. I LOVE sleeping on my couch, it is so comfy! Plus, Joshua is an early riser, so he was able to watch cartoons quietly in the living room while everyone kept sleeping. Perfect!

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While Julie and her family went to see other family members on Saturday, we went to two of Sammi's soccer game. It was the first outdoor game for the spring season. It was SO cold and windy! The girls were just miserable, mainly complaining about their cold hands. I never thought to bring gloves! Then right after that game was her indoor game. Looks like there will be at least 5 or 6 games of both leagues that will overlap. I'm not too thrilled about that and wouldn't have signed Sammi up for the 2nd winter session of indoor soccer if I had known that. Oh well, you live and you learn! The 3 of us had a great nap/quiet time after those two games. I was whooped! Julie and her family got to our place around bedtime. Then me, Julie, and Rudy stayed up talking for hours and watching home shows on HGTV. I loved getting to just talk with them face to face instead of over the phone, which we are so used to these days.

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Saturday night was much better with the kids going to bed. Yea! Sammi got up at 2:45 complaining that she was crowded on the bed. She said Aiden came down in the middle of the night and slept with her and Carter....yep, 3 kids on a twin bed. I thought it was sweet that Aiden wanted to sleep with them.

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Sunday morning they all headed out by 8:30 so they could go to their old church when they lived here. We went to our early service too, then I met two friends from school in Dallas for lunch. It was great to get out and have adult conversation! Then that night I watched the Oscars. I stayed up to watch the entire thing and was so glad to see Slumdog Millionaire win Best Picture! But I disagree with the critics, I thought it was a great show!

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Julie, I am so glad you stayed with me this weekend and got to see you all! I am still so mad I didn't take pictures, I will do better next time. :)

Daddy Daughter Dance

Jason and Sammi went to our church's Daddy Daughter Dance on Friday. I'm not sure who was more excited about going, Jason or Sammi? It was so cute to see each of them prepare in their own ways. Sammi was focused on looking like a princess in the perfect dress, finding the right shoes, etc. I can't tell you how many stores we went to to find THE dress she wanted. She is such a daddy's girl that she wanted Jason to help her pick out between 2 she couldn't decide on. Funny girl. Jason was focused on his outfit too, but he did something that totally shocked me. He wanted to get her a corsage. Isn't that sweet? Wait, I'm not saying he isn't sweet, I was just shocked that a corsage for a 6 year old even crossed his mind. He loves to dance and so does Sammi, so I just knew they would have fun. I wish I was a fly on the wall to see them dance together or her with her friends. Kids dancing together cracks me up! I gave Jason my camera with one strict instruction: take plenty of pictures!!

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Aren't they a cute couple?

Right before I took this picture, she said "wait". As I waited, she pulled her hair to the side. I have never seen her do this!

Sammi's friends dancing....not sure if she took this picture?

I love this picture! A friend sent it to me and I can't seem to enlarge it. I have a picture of Jason doing the same thing with Sammi when she was 1 at a friend's wedding. Love it!

Jason is known to be the first one on the dance floor. This time, he said Sammi was the one pulling him onto the dance floor. He has met his match!

The night was fun and I am so glad that they went. Sammi has been talking about it ever since, and so has Jason. I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day with your special someone!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

I know we say this every year our children have a birthday, but really, where does the time go? I feel like it was just yesterday I was anxiously waiting to go to the hospital to deliver him. I was to be induced because it had been over 2 weeks of being dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced. That coupled with having Group B Strep, my doctor wanted me to be at the hospital with plenty of time to get all of my antibiotics in. Fine by me! Then at 6 am as we are heading out the door to go to the hospital, they called that there were not enough beds for me so I had to hold on until they called me to go. They didn't know when that would be. What??? My sister and her family got up at the crack of dawn to be at our house before 6 am so she could go to the hospital with us while her husband, Greg, stayed with Sammi and their kids at our house. Instead we waited several hours while my mom and Meredith tried to keep my mind off things. I kept thinking, where would they put me if I was seriously in labor?

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Several hours later they finally called me to go to the hospital. I will spare you the boring delivery details....but after 6 pm Joshua Barton arrived! I was so relieved to finally get to see his pretty face (ok, as pretty as newborns can be) and meet this creature I grew and carried around for over 9 months.

I love this picture Meredith took of him. She is so talented.

First birthday. He was not one of those kids that dove into the cake and got it everywhere. Nope, he freaked out and wanted nothing to do with it. I even tried to put some icing in his mouth so he would know how sweet it was. Nope. Not gonna happen.

Maybe it was the hat that I made him wear that was making him so angry?

Second birthday. Please ignore my horrible attempt at decorating a cake. Gosh, I wish I didn't have any pictures of that hideous mound of cake and icing.

Now THIS is what I call an amazing cake! My friends Jennifer and Dustin made it. Isn't it incredible? All I told them was a train cake. I didn't care what it looked like. I was not expecting this! It was sooooooo yummy too.

In the last year especially, I have learned more about boys than I ever thought I could. At least for mine, they will make a road or track out of anything for their cars or trains to ride on. Sand being poured over their head and into their mouth is fun! Hands in the pants is a must. Jumping from everything and onto everything is not a big deal anymore. Tools are cool! You MUST imitate the sound of a plane, train, race car, etc several times a day. Boys DO want to be just like their daddy's. Claiming that the toot we just heard was theirs. They like to be tough and never sit still, but love to snuggle with their mommy when they are tired. Only having a sister, I have found myself telling Jason about something that Joshua did with a sound of shock in my voice. 99% of the time Jason's response is "It's ok, that's just what boys do". I am getting more and more used to that and just love being the mommy to my precious son.