New Job

You're looking at the new Assistant Superintendent for Nilson Homes.  (Along with his new office.)

Zack wasn't seriously searching for a new job yet but this opportunity happened to presented itself.  His boss at Out of the Woods made a tempting counter-offer which made it a tough decision because he really did like his job there.  In the end we decided that the new job would make him more well-rounded in the construction industry and would give him the experience he needs to get his General Contractors License. 

He started in June and they gave him a little Ford Ranger for his work vehicle.  Just this week they traded it for this sweet full-sized van.  Pretty awesome huh?

While I Was Working...

Berkley was having fun!
Grandma Lisa brought her to the park and the library and taught her lots of fun songs!
Aunt Rylee taught her how to flex her muscles and say "strong!"  She also taught her the joy of being dragged around the wood floor while sitting on a blanket.
Great Grandpa Toolson made lots of funny sounds.
Grandma Leann took her some fun places including her first trip to the zoo!  She also let her eat treats that she doesn't get from Mom.
All in all, she got non-stop attention and had non-stop fun!

Trying on an awesome hat

Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of her Valentine's Day outfit.

Having fun with "Bampa"

Eating yummy treats

She got to play with a balloon and her hair stuck straight up.  When she sees a balloon she says "pop!"

Swinging at the park.

On one of the first really nice days this year I got a text from my Mom that said, "Can we take Berkley to the zoo?"  Sure, why not?  So this was her first zoo trip.

She stared at the animals inquisitively, trying to figure it out.  She has seen plenty of animals in books but these ones were moving!  After looking at an animal for a little while she'd say "All done." And they'd move on to the next one. 

Making animal noises.

She loves the monkeys and says "ah ah."

Thanks to everyone for taking such good care of her!

My Excuse

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed that I've been getting further and further behind in my blog posting.  There's a reason for it I promise.  It's because I got a J.O.B.  A real one.  Shocking, right?  Yeah, I've been working in registration at a local hospital and I really like it.  I started February 7th and the training has been full-time for the past 10 weeks or so.  Talk about exhausting!  Luckily both mine and Zack's families have been wonderful to watch Berkley for us.

Now that I'm done with my training I can go down to part-time work and get some balance back in my life.  I just don't see how it's possible to work full-time, cook, keep the house clean, do the laundry, grocery shop and run other errands, pay the bills and do the budget, and take care of a child.  Not to mention have time to relax or have fun.  It's not possible. 

Here are my thoughts on the past couple of months:
I thought it would be so hard to be working all the time when I'm used to being home all day.  However, I quickly found that working all day long is much less exhausting than taking care of Berkley all day!  Not that I don't like taking care of Berkley, it just takes a lot out of me. And I only have one kid!  Stay-at-home moms truly have the most difficult job of all.

Things I like:
I love "contributing" to the family income, having a reason to get ready for the day (besides going to the grocery store), having the adult interaction and making friends, and sort of putting my college degree to use. 

Things I don't like:
Being away from Berkley so much.  After a couple weeks of working I started to really miss her but now that I'm going down to part-time it will be a lot better. (I really do like having an occasional break from mommy-land though.) 
The commute.  Let me clarify.  I don't really mind it because I listen to books on tape and it goes by pretty quickly for me (it's about a half hour drive.)  What I hate about it is putting tons of miles on our newer car and paying tons of money for gas.  My solution for this was I recently started riding the frontrunner.  We get a UTA pass through my work for super cheap and it has been really nice to take the train to work.  I can only take it about half the time but it makes a difference!

That's about it.  I think overall it has been a really great thing for our family.  I really enjoy my work, the extra money is nice, and Berkley really loves spending time with her Grandparents, Aunts, and even Great-Grandparents. (Mom gets boring day after day.)