Category Archives: work

Hubby Time

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Today, I had an awesome yet supremely rare opportunity to spend the entire day with my hubster. It was fantastic. :)

While thinking about how wonderful it was to be spending quality time together, it occurred to me that today was the first day he took off of work since we were visiting family during the holidays. I’m so proud and appreciative of him and how hard he works to provide for our growing family. While he’s extremely dedicated to excelling in school and his job, I’m going to start encouraging him to take more time to relax for both his own sanity and for us. I mean, one day off in two months?! The man needs a break!

Next weekend we’re taking our last mini-vacation before the baby is born, and I cannot wait. It will be so nice to get away and have a whole weekend just to be together without any work, school, or daily routines getting in the way. I think the hardest part about his job is that even when he comes home, he’s still AT work (his field is Residential Life). Getting out of town will be splendid. :)

What a fabulous day. Looking forward to some more “us” time tonight when we cuddle up at home and watch a movie.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Discrimination

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An Oklahoma official recently questioned a board’s choice to hire a pregnant woman.  The poor woman in question, due in April, left the room in tears.  Outraged, people are calling for his resignation.  I hope he does resign; his words were certainly misogynistic.

Unfortunately, it’s just a very publicized example of why it’s so difficult for a visibly pregnant woman to get hired in an economy filled with job-seekers.  It’s the biggest reason why I haven’t even bothered to seek work after losing my job when I was around 14 weeks.  Have you had any success stories about being hired while pregnant?  Have you faced any discrimination in the workplace?

Weekly Update

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26 weeks

Size of baby: Cucumber (approx. 15 in., 2.2 lbs)

Newly craved food: I indulged in some Cold Stone this week and it was fantastic!

Food aversions: Beef, fried foods

What do you miss: This week I started to miss working in a full-time job, mostly because of the constant social interactions that come along with it.  It’s weird being home all of the time, and I’m looking forward to having our baby to keep me busy!

What are you looking forward to: My three pregnancy workout DVDs just arrived and I am excited to try them out!  Look for reviews in the upcoming weeks ;)

What was the BEST part of last week? We moved around our furniture in our living room and bedroom.  The pack and play is now set up in the bedroom, which is nice but also a little strange since the baby won’t be coming until April!  Our living room rearrangement provides for some more floor space and we’re enjoying how much bigger it feels now.

What was the WORST part of last week? Even since taking this picture on Tuesday, I feel like my belly has taken on a life of its own because it looks so huge now.  My belly feels so heavy by the end of the day and I am becoming more and more aware of how much my lap is starting to disappear.  It’s so strange!  But I suppose that may be the reason for my discomfort the past several days.

Daycare Costs

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Yesterday I did some research that many moms-to-be likely do: how much will daycare cost if I go back to work once the baby is born?

Unlike some moms-to-be, I don’t currently have a job that I can go back to after maternity leave.  I lost my job as a by-product of my miserable morning sickness for the first 14 weeks of my pregnancy.  As a graduate assistant, I had to keep six credits of classes in order to keep my job.  Too sick with the dry heaves and intense nausea to sit through class, I had to drop two of my three classes due to attendance policies.  I couldn’t keep my job.  It was a very tough thing to have to withdraw from school and lose my job, but I’m so relieved now in retrospect.  There was no way I could have kept up with it all.  Trying to stay healthy during that period of time was a job in itself.  Looking forward to my third trimester, I can’t imagine having to waddle across campus to my old office.  It was really far away.

I feel well enough at the moment that I could probably work.  The problem is that, in this economy, no one would hire a visibly pregnant woman when they would have numerous other candidates that could  fulfill those same job responsibilities.

The hubster and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to go back to work before having the baby, but it was still up for debate whether I would go back afterward.  The average costs of daycare, however, are so high and the job market in our area so poor that I would probably end up working full time only to bring home about $50-100 per week.  That would be just enough to pay for gas, work clothes, etc.  Not worth it!

While I would love to go back to work to earn money for our family to live more comfortably, I can’t imagine leaving my little boy in the care of strangers to work in a job that I would possibly hate in order to bring home $50 or less (after expenses) per week.  I guess I’ll be staying home with him for at least the first year.  After that, the hubster will be finished with graduate school and we’ll be moving to a different area where he’ll be starting a full-time position.  At that point in time, maybe going to work would be worth it.  I just can’t believe that daycare is so expensive compared to wages – and how poor the local economy is!