Recharging the batteries

PJO and I returned Friday night from a three night getaway to Cabo to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. The kids stayed home with my mom and PJO and I enjoyed the best vacation we've ever been on.
Even the two hour flight getting down there was a luxury because we got to sit in the emergency row and read books with worrying about entertaining little ones.
Each day involved pretty much the same things: sitting by the pool, going to the beach, working out, eating fish tacos and guacamole, drinking jalapeño margaritas and sex. I am not one for naps but I fell asleep in the sun mid-day both of our full days there.
We didn't leave the resort once, although we did try out every bar and restaurant on site (and EVERYTHING was absolutely delicious). I got to do a semi-private yoga session on the beach at sunrise. I started out the other two mornings with decaf espresso on our patio overlooking the crashing surf. For once in my life, I wasn't planning ahead or worried about logistics...my mind was empty. I haven't felt so stress free at any point in recent memory. The resort was flawless and the service was impeccable. PJO and I kept marveling at how fun it is to just hang out and have fun without worrying about getting back home to take care of kids or clean or work. Good for the soul, that trip was.
We were gone Tuesday through Friday, so we had a weekend with the kids on either side. I won't go so far as to say that I am ready or excited to go back to work tomorrow, but I do feel refreshed and reenergized.
Luckily, I only have to make it through 3 work days because all four of us leave Thursday to head to Iowa for my cousin's wedding. Not quite the same type of vacation but it will be fun nonetheless.

Finding Home

Does anyone else out there find themselves asking where to put down roots? I want to live in one house from the time Timmy starts kindergarten until our last child graduates high school if possible. I want to feel settled in a house so we can get furniture without worrying about whether it will work in our next house. I want to feel settled in a neighborhood so that we're invested enough to make friends out of neighbors and find our favorite local restaurants and coffee shops. After 4 moves in the past 7 years, I just want to be settled. Only problem is, we have almost no idea where. I am living in the place I grew up in and I am not convinced I want to stay here forever or raise my kids here. It's also extremely limiting to PJO's career to stay... There is pretty much no other employer besides his current one that he could really move to in our area and he doesn't think the place he is at is where he'll spend his career. I love a lot of things about this part of the country but there are downsides too. We could go almost anywhere, but have no real ties to any particular place. Trying to narrow it down to a short list seems impossible. We aren't ready to look for jobs elsewhere but I think we probably would start in a year or so. Did anyone else put there mo e somewhere without family and for no specific job?

The Flip Side

My work-life balance did a complete 180 in July. As in I billed 85 hours for the entire month. It was wonderful. I didn't even bring my computer home most nights. I didn't check my blackberry on weekends. I worked out in the morning and ate breakfast at home with my kids. I left by 4 or 4:30 every day and had time to run errands or play with my kids at night. I took lunches during the day instead of eating at my desk. I went to mid-day appointments without worry. I slept. Life was good and I didn't even miss having work to do very much. Like clockwork, August 1st I was back to billing normal hours. I have work to do at night and on weekends. The timing, of course, is terrible because PJO is in Tennessee for 4 days for a wedding, so I'm also on my own with both kids and trying to squeeze in work wherever I can. And this, I think, is a text book example of "peaks and valleys" when people talk about work-flow at a law firm. It isn't always terrible, but it sure as hell is unpredictable. And never being able to plan anything in advance wears on you after a while. There are so many benefits to working at a firm. One that people always talk about is flexibility, especially to be able to work from home or to leave for appointments or school events during the day and make up that time at night. I'm pretty sure that "flexibility" wouldn't be necessary if you could reliably plan a day (sick, vacation, whatever) where you could be out of the office and no one would bother you with work stuff. And no matter what anyone tells me, I refuse to feel grateful for the fact that I often work from home at night after my kids go to bed. Sure, I'd rather work in my PJs at home than at the office, but more than that, I'd rather not work at night. Period. I really do like many aspects of working at a big firm, namely the quality of the clients/work, the ability to work with and for many different people and not have one "Boss" and, of course, the salary. But none of that is worth the years this job is taking off of my life and the precious time I should be spending with my kids while they're little. I have no idea what's next for me or when, although I'm pretty sure I'll stay put for at least a year. I think I need a guidance counselor and maybe a life coach.