Getting through late nights.

I do a lot of work after hours, which is sometime between 8pm-2am. The kids are in bed, neither the home phone nor the business phone should ring, no one will be stopping by the house, etc. So naturally, I can get a lot more done in 2-3 hours in the evening than I ever would during the day. The only downside is the potential boredom.

Sometimes it's nice to have silence, but more often than not I prefer some stimulation while I work. There's the radio, cable tv (yes, I have a small tv mounted in my work room), books on tape, seminars on DVD, etc. However, my favorite thing is watching tv shows on DVD and in particular: Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs.

At one time I was pre-med, but during pre-interviews for a number of medical programs, I was told that I should be an attorney. I've been told that I'm argumentative and (was, maybe still am) a little (or maybe a lot) lacking in patient beside manner. I always had the right answer technically speaking, but apparently failed the portion of the interview relating to patient interaction. (Hey, I was 22-23 and didn't think it was important). For those that are familiar with Grey's Anatomy, I had a little of Christina in me.

Anyway, I became a biomedical engineer and 3 children later, I am working late into the evening quite often. When I'm working alone, the playing DVD is my "co-worker." I've probably seen all episodes of both Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs 2-3 times minimum, but having seen them before allows me not go be glued to the tv. In the beginning I would stop what I was doing (without realizing it) in order to watch, which obviously defeated the purpose.

There's no question Grey's Anatomy is my favorite. If I were a teenager or college student, my room would probably be plastered with Grey's posters, I'd have all existing soundtracks from the show (I've heard they're good) and every other word uttered between my friends and I would be, "Seriously?!"

Minnesota Blizzard

We needed the snow. As snow goes, MN has not received much in the last 5 or so years. It would have been nice to get some of the 2 feet of snow before March so we could enjoy it during what most consider winter, but what can you. So . . . school is closed today as are many government offices, colleges and universities. Although an hour or so late after digging out of the snow this morning, my husband did think it was necessary to go in to work today.

It is days like this that I have learned to lie very low as a WAHP of a 7, 5 & 2 yr old. This weather and school "snow day" is just as much a surprise and/or inconvenience to me as it is to everyone else. Yet, many seem to think I can drop everything and watch their kids, pick up kids from somewhere or generally just be at the "beck and call." In fact, the help I normally have will probably not even be able to make it here today, so not only do I have all of my kids here all day, but I have more work than on a normal Friday.

So, today I am hiding out in my house. Once I am done with what feel I absolutely need to do (which is maybe 20% of what I should do), I will come out of hiding and take my kids outside to enjoy the snow. It is then I turn back into stay at home mommy.