Being Sara

Zach and I agreed to hold off on name negotiations until after we learned the sex of the baby.  Now that we know, we’ve started talking.  With Xander, I started looking at names by week 12.  Zach rejected everything I suggested until sometime around my 6th month, I gave up.  I think about my 8th month, he finally suggested Alexander with a nickname of Xander and that was something we both liked.  The same pattern seems to be playing itself out again.  I’ve scoured countless baby name websites and created a list of potential names.  Zach has shot down all the names I’ve suggested, and we’ve begun our name negotiation dance all over again.  I’m not sure how quickly I’ll give up this time, but as the planner in the family, I like to get these sorts of things figured out sooner rather than later.  I don’t want to be going into the hospital still debating names.

Of course, Zach is of the opinion that we should keep the name quiet until after the baby is born.  He doesn’t like the comments and faces people make when you tell them the name you picked prior to it being on a birth certificate.  People think they can still have some influence over the name before the baby is born, and some tend to spout horror stories of some person they knew with the same name, etc.  Or, they say, “you’re really going to name him that?”  I don’t disagree with the philosophy.  Though, other’s opinions of my kid’s names doesn’t bother me all that much.  If Zach prefers to keep this little detail quiet, that’s fine - I can keep the secret for a few months, and at the rate we’re going, I’ll only have to keep quiet for a few weeks

Update: I turned down the job offer from the high school. After a lot of thought, discussion, and even some helpful comments from some faithful readers, I decided that I didn’t really want to work there. Ultimately it came down to money, and the degree to which our lifestyle would have to change if I took that job. On top of that, I really do enjoy the job that I have, so the incentive to move wasn’t really there. I’m comfortable with my decision, and thank you to those who helped me decide!

First, I apologize for neglecting the blog for the past few weeks. Mostly it’s because we haven’t uploaded any new pictures of Xander since Christmas, and I’m tired of reusing old ones. I’m hoping by this weekend we’ll have a huge batch up, and I’ve got a few posts ready and waiting once we do.

Right now though, I’m having a career dilemma. Currently I work in a University library. I supervise about 30 student employees, do tech support and library support and I love my job. Unfortunately, it’s an un-benefited position. This means that I get paid when I’m here, and I don’t get paid when I’m not here. I work 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. 8am-4:30pm. I like my students and I like my colleagues. Zach and I have one car. I drop him off at work, drop Xander off at day care, and then drive myself to work. We also both work at the same university for the same department, so I interact with him professionally on a regular basis, which I enjoy. In 5 years or so when Xander is in school, I could likely shift my hours to 7am-3pm, and then be home with Xander after school. We would have to figure out some sort of day camp or something, because I don’t have summers off.

Today I got offered a job at the local high school. Working in their library and doing some technical support for students. The pay is a little less, and it’s only for 186 days out of the year. This means I would likely have to find some sort of seasonal employment for the summer. But, it’s a benefited position. Medical, dental, retirement, life insurance, 2 paid weeks off during the school year, and summers off. So when Xander is in school, I could have summers off with him. The hours are from 10am-6pm, so I wouldn’t be able to pick Xander up from day care anymore. We would need to find another car.

So now I’m stuck. Do I take the job with less pay and benefits with slightly more challenging hours that will eventually coincide with my kid’s schedule? Or, do I stay in the job that I have and continue on without benefits? I’m on Zach’s medical plan, so that isn’t a huge concern. But, I can’t take sick days with Xander. We can’t take any family vacations, I’m almost 30 and I don’t have any retirement money invested, and I certainly can’t rely on social security to help me out in 50 years.

I have to let the high school know by Friday what I’m going to do, and I don’t know how to decide. So, if anyone out there has any thoughts or suggestions that might help me make my decision, I’d love to hear them!

This is a little off the topic of babies, but I had a rotten experience, and I need to rant a little. For those of you who don’t know, I live near Plymouth, NH. For five years I have used Dr. Rosen as my primary care physician. I have never actually met Dr. Rosen, I simply picked him out of a list of available doctors from my insurance company.

The office that Dr. Rosen works in has grown and changed its name to Mid-State Health Center. I don’t need their services very often, but occasionally I get a sinus infection, or some other mild ailment that requires the attention of an expert. At Mid-State Health I have never met with the same doctor twice. The don’t remember me from visit to visit, and even the support staff seems to change every time I go in there.

I visited Mid-State Health in May to talk about my allergies. I met with a doctor who spoke exactly 10 words in English. He brought in his laptop, checked off my symptoms, and then wrote me a prescription. We did not talk about how allergies affected me, or why I thought I had allergies and not a cold. He didn’t even explain to me why he had written two prescriptions (one for Allegra and one for Floanase). The nasal spray is still unopened in my medicine cabinet. I thought overall this visit was pretty terrible, and could have potentially turned out poorly, if this physician who didn’t speak English misunderstood something I said, or if I had an allergy to something, etc. I left there completely unsatisfied, thought at least my allergies would hopefully calm down with the prescription medication.

Today, I needed their help again. I somehow injured my thumb on my right hand over the weekend. It aches all the time, and I’ve lost strength in it - I can’t even pick up a glass of water, let alone my 22 lb. baby. So, I started calling Mid-State Health Center at 8:30 this morning. With each attempt, I was told that the receptionist was on the phone, and that I could leave a message - they wouldn’t even let me wait on hold! Finally I got through and made an appointment for 11:15. I just started a new job, where I am paid by the hour. So, I got there for my appointment, and waited for 25 minutes. I finally asked the receptionist how much longer I would need to wait. The receptionist located the assistant for my doctor for the day, and found out that I would have to wait for another hour, on top of the nearly 1/2 hour I had already waited. Panicked, I rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon, got my co-pay refunded, and left in tears.

I can hardly pick up my son, and I just needed someone to tell me what is wrong, and how I can fix it, and this place not only failed me, but also damaged my work schedule two days in a row. Mid-State Health Center is an overly large medical office with clearly too many patients and not enough time to give anyone the attention they deserve. As soon as I possibly can, I will be switching away from Mid-State Health Center, and I will strongly encourage anyone thinking of using them to find a different doctor!

My family’s neighbors recently turned me on to this fun new toy where you feed squirrels ears of corn attached to a bungee cord. I cannot think of many things more entertaining than a squirrel bouncing up and down clutching corn. Check out the video on the website - you’ll get a chuckle out of it! http://www.squngee.com

squirrel, squirrels, bungee, corn, feeder, bird feeder, bounce, entertainment, squngee

So, Marcia sent me the info on this project - it’s pretty cool. In New York City the annual Design and Build Competition brings together architects and engineers to compete using little more than cans of food. At the end of the exhibit (which is open to the public), over 130,000 cans used are donated to the Food Bank of New York City. Check out the competition page on their website to see pictures of the favorites. http://www.canstruction.org
CANstruction, can construction, New York Competition, food pantry, can, cans, design, build, architect, engineer, food bank, exhibit