Weather Widow

My husband is a meteorologist for the National Weather Service (NWS), a federal agency under NOAA. Before you ask, because I know many of you will, he is NOT on T.V. He is NOT a T.V. meteorologist. He works for the government. The meteorologists for the NWS are the ones that many T.V. meteorologists go to for their forecasts.  The NWS puts out all the weather watches and warnings too. There are many NWS offices across the country. These offices operate 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They never close.

Before my DH and I got married, I learned that his job as a meteorologist meant that he worked strange hours. In his current position, he works one of three different shifts on a rotating basis: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 8 to 4:30 p.m., or 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.  He does not work your typical Monday through Friday shift. Sometimes he may have to work seven shifts in a row, other times only three before having a day off. I knew what I was getting into when we got married, and I was prepared for it. When we were first married, it was not a big deal. It has become more of a challenge since having two children. There have been days where I have felt like a single parent, but I make do, and my DH is fabulous about helping out when he does have time off. 

Soon after we married, I was friended by another wife of a meteorologist at my husband's office. She welcomed me to the club of the Weather Widows. We are a special "club" of spouses who know that our lives revolve around the weather. If there is severe weather, it is likely that my husband will get called into work or have to put in overtime. Severe weather includes blizzards as well as thunderstorms.

My baby girl in the middle of her crying fit.

Over the last couple of days, we have had a lot of severe storms coming through. My DH, and those he with whom he works, have been quite busy at their office. They have been putting out watches and warnings, as well as working on forecasts and processing observations. Yesterday was a particularly busy day. My husband had taken the morning off to go to our daughter's two-year doctor appointment. He headed to the office right after, reporting for work around noon. He didn't get home until 12:45 a.m.  A long day. 

Not only was it a long day for him, it was a long day for me. Our toddler behaved great, although she did have a temper tantrum while I was trying to feed the baby. The biggest challenge came when the baby, Grace, wouldn't settle to sleep.  Instead, she screamed and cried for 25 minutes straight, waking her sister, until she wore herself out. It is times like that when I miss my husband the most when there is severe weather.  However, it is part of his job and part of mine as a Weather Widow that I have come to accept. Besides, I know that the work my DH does helps the general public. He takes that of his job most seriously. And, honestly, in the grand scheme it is a minor sacrifice I make in comparison to the spouses of military serving overseas.  

Wordless Wednesday: Terrible Two Tantrum

Last night, my newly two year old toddler noticed a couple of pacifiers on the kitchen cabinet. They were there so they could get washed. She wanted one. We said no because she only gets the paci at nap or bed time. She was not happy with our answer. Dinner started soon after and here are some pictures to show the tantrum that lasted a good 20 minutes.

A pause in tears because I pulled out the camera to document the tantrum.

Working herself up again.

Fully blown tears and fit.

She is too upset to eat.

Well, she was too upset until she realized it was one of her faves, ravioli,
and stopped crying in order to eat.

Dinner done and paci forgotten, she wanted Mommy to take a picture of her. :)

Happy Birthday, Virginia!

The artiste!

Today is my beautiful toddler's second birthday, and I find it hard to believe. How is it possible that she can be 2 already? Time has really started flying since I gave birth to her. My life has changed quite a bit. I am a better person because of her. And to add another cliche to the mix, I can't imagine my life without her. Since it is her birthday, I want it to be a fabulous day for her.

The canvas is ready to go! Notice the little hand reaching for it.

I baked a cake first thing today. It is cooling and waiting for icing, which I intend to put on during Ginny's nap. Then, this morning, after breakfast, Ginny and I worked on an art project for her birthday. We have done a variation of this before. We basically did some finger painting. She has finger painted a few times and seems to enjoy it.

Ginny was eating her breakfast when I started bringing the art supplies into the kitchen to work on. She pointed to the paint and said "colors." I had a heck of a time getting her to finish eating because she was so focused on the colors. She knew we were going to finger paint. Because it is her birthday and I want her to have a more permanent reminder, I planned to have her finger paint on canvas. As she finished her breakfast, I wrote the word "two" in blue tape on the canvas. The plan is to pull off the tape once the painting is dry and see the result.

Ginny happily begins to paint.

Once she was done eating, I put a paint smock on her (basically one of her daddy's old shirts), and prepped the table with newspaper. It was time to paint! Ginny lit up. She couldn't wait. She had so much fun. She was even humming to herself as she painted. Luckily, I got that video taped. Of course, the biggest problem was ending the project. She didn't want to stop. However, we needed to stop at some point. So, we did. She wasn't thrilled.

The birthday girl's reaction to painting time ending.

Now, she is happily watching Little Einsteins, and has forgotten how mean mommy was to stop her painting. Hopefully the rest of her day is enjoyable! I want her to have a fabulous, happy 2nd birthday!