The New and Improved Life of the Texas Blakes

All of us PGY1 wives were sad to see our husbands go back to work (well, me less than you all, I think, because mine was driving me crazy), but how are you all handling it a few weeks in?

Dare I report?

Ben has finished his two weeks of training and has started in the ER.  Granted, they are still doing training of sorts, but his schedule this month is WAY cushier than I expected it to be.  Most days he is home by 3:30, except Thursdays when he is home by noon, and he has 3 weekends off for the month of July.  When he starts his "real" ER schedule next week, he only works 4 days a week, ten hours each through the end of July.  Wha...!?

This is not what I expected.  I know that when he does MICU and NICU his schedule will be insane, but so far, in looking at his Fall schedule, it is not too bad.  Okay, and he IS studying for Step III at the end of this month, so when he does get home, he spends several hours in his office, but he always eats dinner with us, plays with the boys some, and is even in the middle of helping me with a HUGE home improvement project.  (We are ripping out the preschool carpet - all carpet downstairs - and staining our concrete.)

We looked at our 18 month budget tonight, and things aren't too shabby at all.  I mean, now that I am not working, we definitely have a stricter budget, but there is still plenty of room for a little fun here and there. 

Right now we are still on food stamps, and I'm not sure how long we will still qualify, so that may put a damper on things.  I can't relate to not being able to buy whatever I want at the store because the government still carries us there and I cook a lot, so we always have plenty.  Plus, we have a substantial food storage for just in cases.

As for me, bitter Colleen has left the building.  I am loving life.  So many things that had gone by the wayside because I was too busy and too stressed to deal while running the preschool have started to work themselves out.  Things I needed to work on with the boys are progressing well.  (Jackson, age 3 years, 10 mos, is FINALLY pooping regularly in the potty and my barely 2 year old, Sam, seeing us make a big deal out of Jackson's progres, has decided he wants to potty train, too.  He has peed on the potty every day at least once of his own accord for the last 8 days.  Dare I hope to have them BOTH out of pull-ups by the time Baby #3 (Ally) gets here!?  Hmmm...maybe we'll get to send more than one kid to college after all!)

I have been able to enjoy such a relaxing day with JUST my boys.  One time, I was in the middle of folding some laundry and Jackson came up to me and asked me to play a game with him, and I dropped what I was doing and played!  Do you know how satisfying that was as a mom!?

I am 25 weeks along now in this pregnancy, and one of the best parts of the day is naptime because if I need to, I can nap, too!!  When I was pregnant with Jackson, I taught third grade.  I got pregnant with Sam in October of the first year I had just started my prechool.  It has been so nice to just be able to relax and take things easy with this pregnancy.  And wow!  When she gets here, I won't have to try to nurse multiple times a day AND keep track of 12 kids at the same time!

So, to sum up, I have been spending my days sleeping, taking the boys on fun outings, playing with them, working on home improvement projects, potty training, and just being domesticated.  I LOVE it!!  And Ben loves it, too, because he comes home to a cheerful wife, happy to see him, and ready to be at his beck and call while he is here.  He gets yummy meals every night, and gets to be the cool guy whose wife sends homemade cookies and cinnamon rolls to work with him regularly.  None of the extra stuff rolls over onto his plate that used to before, such as having to help with bathtime or the bedtime routine.  I take care of it all and it works for both of us.  YAY!

Have any of you PGY1 wives met your husband's co-workers yet?  We have had the opportunity to hang out with our group several times.  Once at a hospital-comped get-to-know-you dinner, and then several members of the group watched a fireworks show together on the 4th.  A few of the guys have families like we do, and those that don't are still really down to earth, good guys.  The whole group really gets along well, always cracking jokes and giving each other a hard time, like high school buddies.  I am glad because Ben was not focused on making friends while in med school, and so didn't really fit in well with any groups there.  I am encouraging him to bond with these guys.  Without me, he has gone to play poker with them and is going with them to a Rangers baseball game (and taking Jackson) this weekend.  I have lots of friends through church, but he needs that outlet, so this has been really good for him.

So that's where we are at right now.  If it gets worse, I am prepared, but right now, all the changes have been for the better for our little family.  I hope you are all faring the same...