Summer (almost) fun and BIG NEWS!

Long overdue for a post, I know. It has been a busy couple of weeks but also a lot of fun. I actually had 3 days off over Memorial Day and Mari and I just chilled. We had great weather and were able to try out our little swimming pool, just all around fun.

I've mentioned before about a "light bulb switching on." I guess you could call them developmental growth spurts. This past week has been great. First Mari got her top two teeth a couple weeks ago, just out of the blue and this week another one popped through on the bottom left (absolutely no signs of teething, just pop! Sorry to all those parents with bad teethers, Mari again impresses me with how easy-going she is). She is a little lopsided with 3 on the bottom and 2 on the top, oh so cute in a jack-o-lantern way! She never stops chattering (that's NOT new) but has added a whole host of new sounds...it almost seems like she is stringing different sounds together. She has finally taken an interest in books and will actually pull them off the shelf and try to open them (yea!!). And yesterday, she stood up all by herself!! Now she is really trying to do a lot of solo standing; three days ago she wanted nothing to do with it!

So the BIG NEWS! I got a new job. I have been struggling with my current one because of the schedule, compounded by the physical exhaustion of 12 hours on my feet constantly moving, and then throw in the ever-constant threat of some very dangerous communicable diseases that I deal with and could potentially bring home to Mari (had a little scare over the weekend, all's well though). It was just too much at this point in our lives. I love emergency nursing and will greatly miss my job but it was time to move on. I landed an awesome job (and I say landed because the timing was perfect and everything fell into place easily) at a local plant as an occupational health nurse. It will be Monday through Friday, daylight only (no nights, no holidays, no weekends!!!). The hours are somewhat flexible, the benefits comparable, the salary much better. They will pay for more education and will also help me get my certification as an occupational health nurse which could include a large raise (it will take me a little while to get there, though). So it looks great. I turned in my notice at work earlier this week and, as of today, I have 5 shifts left. I have worked at this hospital for 11 years and it will be sad to leave behind a lot of my coworkers but just being able to pick my daughter up from daycare every day and have the energy to play with her and nurture her will be worth it. And just knowing that I will have Thanksgiving AND Christmas off to spend with my family is a luxury I haven't had in a long time. So, as of next Friday, I will be jobless for 2 weeks until I start my new one. Two weeks of bonding time. Oh yeah, and to catch up on all the cleaning, paperwork, prep for new job, tie up loose ends, etc. that I have not been able to do for several months!

Well, on to pix!! Everyone's favorite part.

Hey, it's a book!

First day in the pool!

Second day in the pool...finally leaving the hat on!

Here is what playing in the pool does to me....zzzzzzz!
Playing in the pool. Took a little while to warm up to the idea. Be patient while watching, there are some great giggles near the end.