Seeing the Light at the End of the Tunnel

I can't believe how great August has been to us Lange's. We have SO much to celebrate and SO much to be thankful for!

First of all, Henry and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on the 21st. I can't imagine a more loving, supportive husband than I have with Henry. He is honestly my better half and has really brought out the best in me...yes..even cooking! We had the most perfect anniversary. We spent it at home together as a family. We opened up a bottle of champagne that we have had for 5 years and made a fantastic dinner of "well dressed salmon" (Rachael Ray recipe), mashed potatoes, and brownie sundaes..and of course..champagne. Henry gave me the most wonderful anniversary present of a hand carved wooden globe. It is beautiful...it represents two things: 1) the modern 5 year annivesary traditional gift is wood and 2) to represent when we traveled around the world together. After Alex went to bed we watched a movie together and just talked and reminicsed about the past 5 years.

Earlier in the month we got the wonderful news that Henry got a new job! Henry will be working at Merck in their Research department. This is a job that he has wanted since before we moved back to the NE. He interviewed twice before and was not selected either time. I am glad that he didn't because it seems that he is in a good position to make himself indespensible to the Merck team and be hired full time (soon). Right now he will be contracting, so both good and bad. Good in that he is eligible for overtime and bad that he isn't a full time employee. It really seems as if this was meant to be because not only was he selected, but his current lab has already found a replacement for Henry and the transition is going very smoothly which is making Henry's last two weeks there stress free. It also works for the person taking over for Henry because he was looking for a position in a resturant and this is in his line of study/work. Also, his boss is very happy that the lab won't shut down. I haven't seen Henry this excited in a long time. It is so nice to know that Henry achieved a goal that has been very important to him.

Then this week, another good piece of news. I have been extended and have accepted a full time job offer. I am very excited! I am going to be a Recruiting Coordinator for a trading/securities firm here in the Philly area. It is very similar to the role I did at EY as a Recruiting Coordinator, but the opportunity for advancement is there, so I really don't see it as a "step back". There are so many good things about this role. It is full time, it is in Recruiting, I really like the team, the firm provides so many intangible perks (free parking, free breakfast and lunch, dry cleaning, onsite nurse) that make it a wonderful opportunity. Plus I get to wear jeans! The only negative to this job is the commute. It is going to be long, but that was not enough to turn the job down. Again, it was like this was meant to be...I called around to several different daycares near the vicinity of my new office and they were either all full or were prohibitively expensive. I called another daycare about 5 minutes away from my office and they had one toddler spot available and it is within our budget! I went and visited the facility today and both Alexander and Mommy loved it. So as of 9/14, Alex will be a full time student there. Alex loved the school. I left him in the Toddler room as I toured the rest of the facility and he was completley fine. He didn't cry, he didn't fuss...he just stood there watching the other kids oberserving and playing. I love his new teacher and know he will get great care there. It is more expensive than where we were before, but to have him close by me is priceless.

While I am very excited for both Henry and myself, it is going to be an adjustment. I am both happy and sad to be going back to work. Happy in that Henry and I will be obtaining some financial goals (like keeping our house), that Alex will begin to make friends, that I can further my career...but I have very much enjoyed my time home with Alex. This is going to be a time that I will cherish forever (now that I know we will be OK) and even though it was very hard at times...I got my greatest wish..to be home with Alex and see some of his milestones for the very first time. Like crawling, walking, saying his first word, etc. This is an exciting time, but will be exhausting! Wish us luck!