Big Changes

So, mommy is returning to work. I am very sad. Don't misunderstand, I feel completely blessed that I was able to stay at home for 4 crucial years with my little boy, something I know not everyone is lucky enough to do. I really am appreciative of it. It has been wonderful. And, if I could, I would not work while Jack is still at home, but I need to return to work for financial reasons. We need to do better at saving for our future, and I won't sit at home and watch my husband struggle when I can help. We're a family. We're a team. But, know that I will miss Jackson every second that I am away from him.

So, let me fill you in. I've been looking for a job for a little bit now and luckily, we have been able to wait and be selective about finding the right position. This job has a lot of good things to it. I'm going to manage training for a company's west zone offices (7 zones, each with many offices.) I get to do a lot of consulting, which I love. Down side is the zones are in Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, and California, so that means a little bit of travel. (Oh, and my boss is in Dallas, so add Texas to the travel list.) I'm more than a little nervous about that. Stuart and I talked about the fact that any position that paid enough to be worth my going back to work would require some travel, so that was a lot to consider. Luckily, I only have to take 1-2 trips per month, and they will generally just be Tuesday-Wednesday, or Tuesday-Thursday. Although, I think it will be a little more than that in the beginning as I go to meet all of my clients. But, this is better than a lot of other options out there. Besides, my boss agreed that days I am not travelling can be worked from my home...so no commute. Gotta love that.

So, where does that leave Jack? He was scheduled to start preschool, attending M-W-F mornings. I called the school and moved him to the junior kindergarten class, which is M-F, 8:30am-2:30pm. I'm a little worried that he hasn't been to preschool before and this may be a bit much, but the director really helped me feel good about the class. It is small and we can always change this later if it isn't working for him. Stuart is going to adjust his schedule to spend more time with Jack, and will pick him up at 2:30pm each day.

I am so excited that Jack will get some extra time with his dad. But, I'm still jealous. I'd like to be the one. I know that sounds selfish, I don't care. I don't want to miss a thing. And, what's going to happen when he has a nightmare at 1am while I'm out of town and he only wants me? I cry when I think about that...like now.

I did negotiate a start date with my new company that will allow me to take Jack to preschool the first 2 days. So, I hope the transition goes well. And, this week we went to meet the teacher night at Jack's new preschool. Although his school uniform hadn't arrived yet, he did dress up for the event.

He is so cute I can't believe it sometimes!

Unfortunately, there were some changes at the school and we didn't get to meet his new teacher, which made me really concerned. I think I am more nervous than Jack. I didn't take many pics at the school, but here is the indoor playground.


And, Jack got to do a little self-portrait project...a present for his new teacher. Stuart cut out pants for Jack to put on it, but Jack insisted he needed underpants first. YEA Jack! So, we did give him underpants too.

His first day of school is Tuesday, and my first day of work is Thursday. Wish us all luck because this will be a big transition in our house. It's a good thing, I know it is, but I just wasn't ready for this day to come so soon.