Hopeful day

Today I had an interview.  I think it was a great interview.  I may or may not have be what they are looking for, but either way I think it was successful.  I was confident and knowledgeable and I don't think I said "um" too many times.  I am really trying to be open about this whole situation.  If the job is meant to be mine that it will be.  If it is not, then something else will come along.

And you know, even though I detest the Hoboken traffic, it was good to be back!

updating my blog

So I decided to "monetize" my blog.  I am not sure what that really means at this point.  If it gets annoying for readers please let me know.  My intention is not to turn people away.  I want more people to read my blog, not less!  One of the ways I am doing this is by linking to Amazon if I am discussing something.

For example, instead of linking to the Radio Flyer site when discussing the cool trike that my brother got my daughter for her birthday, I would link it to the Amazon Radio flyer site.

I am going to have to try it out a bit and see what I think of it.  My thought was that if I am writing this blog anyway and I no longer have a job as of June 30th, then I will try to make some money from it.

Comment and let me know your thoughts!

New Day, New Perspective

Just a quick note before I leave for work this morning.  I had a great night of sleep (thank you Lilly!) and was able to wake up refreshed with a new perspective on this whole job situation.  Well, maybe not a brand new perspective, but there are some new thoughts.

I am going to do the best job I can for the remainder of my time there.  My job is to support the teachers, and in that I support the children.  I am going to get the most out of this job - experience wise - as I can in the next 7 weeks.  I am not going to stress over the team dynamics, which are pretty terrible and stress me out many days.  I am going to get great references from my co-workers and my directors for that job that I know is waiting for me.  I am going to be grateful for my experience this year as a working mom because it has changed how I work with parents and has given me more empathy in that area.  I am going to look forward to being a SAHM again for the summer (and perhaps beyond).  I am going to be open to any and all possibilities of being a work-at-home mom, consultant, anything!

And right now I am going to go clean up cat puke before I step in it on my way out the door!

Colliding emotions

Singing Happy Birthday to Lilly with my hubby

Pops throws Lilly "Up, Pop, Up"

Traditionally, May is an extremely busy month for me.  Vinnie's birthday starts off the festivities on April 26th.  Lilly comes next on May 7th followed by my birthday on May 9th.  This year my birthday happened to be on Mother's Day.  Lilly's birthday party was the 8th and then we celebrated Mother's Day and my birthday at my parents' house on the 9th.  I was a little bummed because Vinnie was in immense pain on Mother's Day and was not really able to do for me what he had planned (breakfast in bed and letting me sleep in).  He ended up needing an emergency root canal today - poor guy!  

Watching Lilly grow up is just amazing for me.  I am loving it, even if some moments are more stressful than others.  I really want another baby but I am also making sure I enjoy this time with her.  It is a wonderful journey.  But it is bittersweet, isn't it, to watch our babies grow up before our very eyes?

Coming off the high of a celebratory weekend I was not feeling well this morning and took 1/2 a sick day.  I went into work for noon and remembered that I had a staff meeting.  The atmosphere at work has been so tense as people wait to hear if they will have a job next year or not.  Staff meetings tend to bring out the worst in people during these times.  At the end of today's meeting my director asked me to stay after and that I would be called down when it was time.  It was just myself and one other co-worker who started with me.  We knew what that meant.  I could write on about how the letting go was approached and the insensitivity of the director of HR, but really that does not matter.

What matters is that I will not have this job in this district next year.  Relationships I have carefully cultivated with the preschool center directors, teachers and other staff will no longer be.  My little office space will be cleaned out in June and someone else's pictures will be put up next September.  Or maybe not.  The people I work with tend to keep their personal lives separate from work.  I have never been great with that.  I have pictures of Lilly and Vinnie posted on my bulletin board at eye level.  Because the truth is that my family comes first before anything else.

I knew that this was the most likely scenario for me because of the budget cuts in NJ and the fact that I am a leave replacement.  But you know what?  It really is not helpful when people say, "Oh you knew it was coming."  Yes, I was not taken by complete surprise but it is still sad and still puts me in the position of looking for a job for next year in a very unstable economic climate in education.

I do have an interview later this week and I am SOOO excited about it.  I am also going to look into teaching online college classes.  Vinnie suggested I try to blog more and see what I can do with it.  I know I will be okay and I am grateful for the experience.

My sadness has collided with my excitement and happiness over Lilly's birthday.  I will not let it take away from it, but it will take a bit to recover.

Thanks for all the support...

updating my resume

As fellow New Jerseyans know, the state of affairs in education is a hot mess.  That being said, I believe that I will not be offered a position for the 2010-2011 school year.  The person I am replacing is coming back, as far as anyone knows.  The position that my supervisor had hoped I would be able to fill in September due to a retirement is not going to be posted (meaning they are not replacing the retiree.)

Yesterday one of my former colleagues from Hoboken let me know that they are hiring there.  I had my hubby look online and the postings had closed as of 4/16.  He suggested I email the director and let her know I was interested and that I would email my resume later.

I did so and updated my resume last night.  I emailed an awesome cover letter ( in my opinion) and my resume late last night.  I am cautiously optimistic about the opportunities there.  They are hiring for 3 positions, 2 of which I am definitely qualified and 1 is a maybe.  I have the great advantage of having worked in the district for a preschool provider previously, left to finish grad school and be home with the baby a bit and then gained experience in another, much larger district.  But, I love Hoboken.  It was a great place to work and I would love to work there again.  The commute sucks.  But I am much more organized in the mornings now, by necessity, so leaving early might not be as hard as it was before.

I know I am getting ahead of myself here, but I am excited about the possibility.  It gives me hope, and I really needed that about now.