A change of pace

It was about this time last year that I returned to work after three awesome months of maternity leave. And, when I say work, I not only mean working at REI, but also working at home.  Yes, I'm going to call being at home with Little K "work" because it is.  Or rather, was.

Our schedule used to be crazy. Since B and I both work in retail, we had irregular hours that didn't jive with daycare hours and since we both work in retail, we didn't have paychecks that jived with daycare costs.  So, we adjusted our schedules, took turns staying at home with Kate and never, ever saw each other.  In other words, work.

However, in the past couple of months, two super-awesome-absolutely-wonderful things have happened.  First, our good friend Gail started an in-home daycare.  Someone we know and love who wants to watch Kate for us for a reasonable fee?  Score.  Yes, sign us up.  Kate has been attending A Child's Dream Daycare & Playhouse since August and loves it.  She goes two days a week and B and I were able to adjust our work schedules once again so we had a wee bit more family time.  Things were looking up.

Then, at the beginning of November, B was able to leave his retail job because he picked up some more consistent photography work.  Score #2 for the Hoybooks.  We still take Kate to daycare so B can edit photos from home uninterrupted, but we actually have time together as a family.  Weekend days together as a family.  The entire Thanksgiving weekend together as a family.  

We are thoroughly enjoying this new change of pace.