Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Where did my baby go?

Just under 3 yrs ago, I brought home this beautiful helpless baby girl from the hospital. She was sweet and cuddly and depending on us so for everything. All she did was eat, sleep, poop, and cry.

I'm pretty sure aliens have come down and replaced that adorable helpless little baby with this full grown Diva that is now residing in my house. She has come complete with temper tantrums, sassiness, independence, and a love for fashion that the tomboy in me will never understand.

Yes, she is cute as can be when she wants to be, but boy, does she know how to push my buttons. It seems she's throwing a tantrum for everything these days... I took her nightgown off, I put her pretzels in a bowl instead of a plate, I wouldn't get her a band-aid for a bruise she's had for 3 days... is there anything that doesn't upset her? hmmmm... cupcakes?

There seems to also be this little grown up inside of her. She amazes me with the way she talks: "It's cold in this house", "I don't want chicken for dinner, can I have peanut butter sandwich please?" or when she comes into the bedroom first thing in the morning "Hey guys, let's go in the living room." Whatever happened to "Good morning?" Or how about the time that Virgil found her in the corner pouting and he asked her what was wrong and she said "I'm mad at Mommy" and when he asked why, the response was "Because... well... humph..." because she knew if she told him the true answer, he'd just tell her she was being a bad girl.

Of course, there are always those oh so precious moments, like today, we were at Costco and as I'm pushing the cart with her in it through the aisles she's just happily singing "Jesus loves me, this I know..." She didn't miss a word of the song and she got plenty of looks from other customers. You know, those "oh, she's so cute" looks that a mother beams about. I just wish she'd be that cute all the time, but I guess we have to enjoy the good moments when we can!

Time to focus on preparing to find work in the Fall...

I've been working closely with a recruiter to get an interview with what feels like the perfect position for me. It's close to home, it's what I want to do, and the environment seems like a great one. Complications with unethical recruiters has made it tough to get an interview, but I was finally able to get a phone interview yesterday.

I feel like the interview went really well and there was mention of the possibility of an in-person interview at the end of it.

Well, I got a call today from the recruiter, and I can't say I'm surprised by the outcome, but I'm disappointed. The hiring manager really liked me and he says he can see a great benefit in a long term fit with me in the company. But my technical skills just aren't quit up to par to be able to jump in and work for 2 months without them having to take some time and effort to train me and get me up to speed with their environment first. By the time 2 mo. is up, I'll be on leave and then have to start over when I got back, so it's just not worth it to bring in until Fall.

The good news is that if I didn't need the few months off, I probably would have this position, which gives me hope that I could find something in the fall. But I really felt like this was a good fit for me and I'm sad to have to move on from it. There is a small chance that if they don't fill the position by Sept/Oct, they'll reconsider me as a candidate, but that's such a long way off. Although they have had the position open for 4 mo.

I guess with just 2 mo. of working time to go, there isn't much hope of finding something now. I miss working and having the mental challenge of being a Programmer. I've decided to spend my time more focused on keeping my skills up to par and learning new things by working on some personal projects at home before the baby comes. Maybe that will help me feel like I'm accomplishing something and will help me be prepared again in the fall.

The timing of this whole situation is just bad all around and I feel completely helpless to be able to do anything about it. The next 2-3 mo. before the baby comes are going to be the hardest I think, but I have to push through it and try my best to focus on learning the technologies that are in demand during those times that Delaney is in school.