I need a break.....

From work that is! And I got one!
Woohoo!
School is out officially (I work summer school the month of June) and now I'm officially off for the next month (well alittle more then 3 weeks now because the first week is almost over). I love this time of year and now I love it even more because I get to spend it with my wonderful family.

We have lots of things planned for this month off and that makes it go by pretty quickly, which is a bummer, but I'm glad we are getting to do things.

And the most important thing.........I get to spend a month with Brielle.

I have had a few people tell me that I'm lucky I'm a working mom because I get a break from my kid. First off, I know how blessed I am to have a job. There are so many out there that don't and I thank my Father in Heaven often for blessing me with a good job. But really....I don't believe my job is a break from Brielle.

Let me explain a little something about the work I do.

I am a paraeducator. We are essentially a care giver to special needs students but we also throw in some goals for them to work on. I work in the 2nd to lowest class. My day is filled with potty trips, which include changing diapers (so baby poop is nothing to me), wiping drool, dealing with seizures,doing the heimlich (which I just did on a student during summer school), pushing wheelchairs, restraining the more violent students, chasing after kids and cleaning up messes. I have been spit on, hit,slapped, scratched, punched, kicked and drooled on (Sean has actually been bit AND thrown up on...I have not had those luxuries yet). We take the kids on trips once a week, which involves lots of planning and making sure no on gets hurt, lost and that we are prepared for possible seizures and other health problems. I love my job. I really do. If I HAVE to work, I'm glad it is with these wonderful kids. I usually come home exhausted, even before I had Brielle. You really put all your energy into these kids. So, when people tell me it's nice that I get a break from Brielle, I just laugh. Because it is not a break. Doing what I do has made parenting seem like a breeze.

BUT...like with anything (work, parenting, marriage) things that are worth it take work. Even though my job can be exhausting, I choose for it to be "good" work and not "bad" work. Its all in your attitude. I get beat up some days.....like LITERALLY! But I still laugh about it and just put it into my "good stories" catagory of life.
Sean and I choose to see parenting the same way. We know there are sleepless nights (we've experienced them!)But we choose to have view parenting as "good" work. I don't need a break from my daughter (I think "me" time is differnt then a break). In the almost 4 years I've been married to Sean, which 3 I've worked with him at the same school, I've NEVER needed a break from him. Yes marriage is work, but it's "good" work.

So, even though I view my work as "good" work, it's the only thing I need a break from. Not my husband or my daughter. They are my joy and my best friends. So if you tell me I'm lucky to be a working mom because I get a break from my daughter and I laugh at you, please don't take offense. It's just silly to me that I would enjoy work more then being a mom. Because even though I do enjoy my "work kids", NO job is as great as being a mommy.


/ My beautiful fourth of July baby! She was so tired but was being such a good sport during our photo shoot.



A 4th of July tea party! And in case you thought I looked differnt, I put some highlights in my hair. I'm actually planning on going a little lighter very soon!