SAHD

About a month and a half ago, Clayton decided to start staying home with Aaron. Since he accumulated all the hours he needed to get his electrical license, he wasn't as eager to be driving over an hour each way to work everyday.

Clayton being a stay at home dad was one of the best decisions we've made for Aaron. Although he's been sleeping through the night since last September, he never had a predictable bedtime or feeding routine. He was always thrown off when we would pick him up from my parents' house and bring him home. He'd just want to hang out with us since he wasn't with us all day. Now, he was in the same environment all day and could just focus on a routine. Within a few days, he was consistently sleeping and waking up at the same time. Even if we were out of the house (at dinner, a weekend trip to NJ, etc), he'd still stick to his schedule. And, there were so many improvements in his therapy. He no longer had to fight wanting to play with his cousins during therapy at my parents' house. He was home and all was quite. Aaron could focus and he did!

Clayton also took the time to start some home projects. He installed an over the stove microwave/hood (we had a regular hood and counter microwave which took up too much room). In addition, he painted a wall in Aaron's room chalkboard black (for vision therapy) and hid all the wires from the wall mounted TV to the wii/dvd player/satellite receiver/stereo system behind the wall so it's all neat. Clayton also got a gym membership and started taking Aaron to the pool 2-3 times a week. Most importantly, he passed his licensing exam and officially became a licensed electrician!

Clayton stayed home up until last week when he got a call for a job 5-10 minutes away. It's a company that does residential solar installation. Clayton's never done residential professionally or solar installation so he couldn't pass it up. Besides, this was the shortest commute he's ever had. So, now I'm staying home with Aaron for a bit while I find something closer. God will work something out, he always does.

No Longer a SAHM

Part of the reason I've been super bad at updating is that I am no longer a stay-at-home-mom. I will be starting my 3rd week at a full time job tomorrow! I recently changed offices because the dentist I was previously working for wasn't as ready to retire as he thought he was, so he couldn't offer me more days. Working one day a week was really nice at first while we got adjusted to VT life and any appointments that Aaron may have needed. But, 4.5 months into it, it became really dreadful to go to work. That one day would haunt me all week long. Besides, since the other doctor was still working, there weren't really enough patients to keep me busy. So, I started looking for another job. There were a few offices that offered me part time positions. But, considering my experience with the previous office, I decided to take a job an hour away that was full time. Despite the drive, the job is pretty great. I'm making over 42% more per day compared to the other job and seeing a full schedule of patients 4 days/week! The staff is really great, too, as is the other doctor I'm working with. He loves oral surgery and endodontics so he's been showing me a lot of stuff I wouldn't normally be doing. I actually look forward to going to work and doing what I love doing and have been trained to do. And, working full time is really great for keeping Aaron on a schedule.

I hope this video makes up for the lack of posts. It's Aaron trying to feed himself. He's actually doing a pretty good job!