One Month Later...

One month ago today Craig started his new job.  I think that over the last month he has adjusted fairly well.  He has complained about the commute far less than I expected, and he seems genuinely excited about going to work.  His hours obviously changed with the job move;  it's a little longer, with a lot more driving thrown in.  We have since discovered that he was replaced with 3 new additions in his old department.  It's pretty crazy that they needed 3 new guys to fill his shoes.  Let's just say his head was a little bigger after that little update!  He/we/everyone is completely at peace with his decision to move on, and it appears that his picked a quite opportune time to get out!

The adjustment period for me is still on-going.  I knew he'd be gone more, but I never took into consideration all the little things that would be up to me now.  The biggest of these is making dinner.  I know this sounds completely trivial in the grand scheme of things, but for the previous 5ish years Craig made dinner almost every night.  It was almost always in progress if not done by the time I walked in the door.  Boy, did I take this for granted!  Now, it's on me, which if you know us at all you know this is a problem.  Craig HATES my cooking, and because of that I have no confidence in my cooking abilities.  I love to bake, and will attempt most baking tasks but sometimes cooking freaks me out!  I have since implemented a weekly meal plan/grocery trip to help keep me sane.  This has definitely helped, but I still have to execute it on a daily basis.  I have also started making an effort to take full advantage of my crock pot...it's the perfect time of year for that thankfully!

Another issue with this new task of mine is that the dinner prep hour-ish is Delaney's toughest time of day!  She is super clingy during this time, which isn't good when I'm working at a hot stove.  She's starving and demands snacks as soon as we walk in the door.  (I think I've mentioned that we have created a snacking monster...yep...still having that issue!  I have the cabinet latches, we just need to get them installed so she can't help herself so much!)  If she's not singing her "Up, Mama, UP, UP, UP!" song, she's tormenting the dog, who is also at my feet trying to catch any little morsel of food that drops.  Craig can't understand why I'm so crabby when he walks in the door...I'm working on patience!  This hour of the day makes me wish (as horrible as it sounds) that Delaney had some interest in TV.  She won't sit and color or read a book for more than a minute or to, but to be able to sit her down to watch a video while I got dinner ready sounds like heaven.  I may need to figure out a way to rig the laptop up with a Baby Einstein so she can see it but not touch it.  She shows little to no interest in TV any of the time, so I don't know if this would even be worth the trouble.  I digress...

I'm trying to adjust, but it's a lot harder than I expected.  I think I was so worried about what this change would do to Craig, and I didn't think about what it actually meant for me.  Nevertheless, he's taking it all in stride and I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water some days.  Don't get me wrong, this job change is exactly what we needed to do right now.  Sure different circumstances would make it easier, but it is what it is and for now we have to learn to deal with it.  We still get reminders almost every day that this was the right move for us!  Now, it I could just get those "SuperMom" powers that I keep dreaming about...we'll be set!

On to bigger & better things...

After 5+ years, Craig has decided to move on to bigger & better things.  He turned in his two weeks notice last Friday, and a week from Monday he will begin a new venture working with his brother, Brent.  This is a big change for all of us, but it will be good for everyone.  Initially, Craig will have to commute to Omaha, but he long-term plan is to open a branch in Lincoln so it's not forever.  His daily commute to the office in Omaha will be about 50 minutes one-way, so it about doubles his current drive.  

This will give Craig a change of pace, opportunities for upward movement, full benefits, and hopefully more respect!  He was getting more and more frustrated with his current job, so this couldn't have come at a better time.  Brent & Craig have wanted to work together for years, so now it is finally happening.  It will be fun to see what these two can do together! 

Delaney & I are excited for him, and cautiously optimistic the commute won't take away too much of his time with us.  We keep telling ourselves that it won't be forever!  We have no immediate plans to move to Omaha.  If anything, maybe we'll move to the other side of Lincoln in a couple years, as right now we are in the complete opposite corner from Omaha and a move to East Lincoln could cut his commute in half.  We shall see...this housing market isn't conducive to us trying to sell our house anytime soon without losing some serious dough, so we'll (Craig will) have to tough it out for a while!

Five Years...a little late

So I should have posted this about a week ago, but you know life got in the way. On June 14th, I have been at my job for 5 years! 5 YEARS! I think that is insane. I'm 25 and have been at the same job for 5 years...that's pretty rare. Granted 2 of those years were part time while I was in college, but still 5 years is a long time. 20% of my life...ouch!

So much has changed in my life since I started here...I have graduated college, bought a car, got married, vacationed out of the country, bought a house, and gotten a dog. Also, my family has expanded with a niece & a nephew (on Craig's side), and lost two family members to cancer (great aunt & uncle). I have watched both siblings graduate high school and my sister graduate college too! I have moved twice and gone of various trips...Vegas, Colorado, Okoboji, Mexico, etc. I can't believe it's really been that long. It's been a wild ride!

I love my job. I like what I do, and I think I'm pretty good at it. Now, if I could only figure out a way to make more money...I'd be set for life!