Friday and I'm in love!

With what or whom you ask?  The happy bright sky and the sun beaming in my office window.  Thank you Mother Nature for a pretty morning.

In addition to being a pretty day it is housekeeper day so my stairs are going to get a sponsored vacuuming, and the cookie crumbs from yesterdays baking that I couldn't get up off the floor due to my current condition will be zipped away by a tiny woman with amazing skills. 

Turns out, this is Friday of a three day weekend (for me).  I'm already planning on what to do with my free day Monday.  I believe I will make my way to the salon and have my toes professionally painted.  That should be a nice treat for me AND my OB, who is about to spend some time in that area.

I'll also be 'Suzie Homemaker' that day and whip up a yummy meal for whatshisface and me.  I can't use the "I've been hard at work all day" excuse when he knows I had the day off.  Next year, when our vacation plans are more in alignment he'll probably take the day off too and the THREE of us will hang out for the long weekend.  Maybe even visit the eastside family. 

I am looking forward to building up some vacation time.  It is hard being the "new" employee in a situation where your leave accumulates per pay check.  Yes, I get 3 weeks a year but only in 4.92 hour increments.  I have finally built up a little bit of a nest egg in that I actually have over 40 hours in my bank.  The "problem" is that whatshisface has been with his current employer for 10 years now and earns an amazing 4 weeks of leave (in addition to sick leave) and it all pops into his bank on his anniversary date in March.  So, while my little accrual is nice, we're still really out of sync with how much time we can take off together.

I keep trying to get him to take a week off and sort through my closet or detail my car, but he doesn't seem hip to that idea.  Don't me wrong, I'm thankful for a job with any kind of paid vacation, but the accrual factor is tough when you're new.

Also (and this is a bit of a complaint) my 3 weeks includes sick time, so while my vacation time is the same as it was with my previous employer, the former also allowed us to accrue separate hours of sick leave which were used independently of vacation.  In this world, if you need to use leave because you're sick it comes at the expense of a fun day off.  Granted, when you have poop shooting out of your bum, you don't much care.  Additionally, I think folks are less likely to use their sick leave for "mental health days" aka "it's the end of the year and if I don't use it I lose it, so *cough* I'm sick today."  I know that happens, but not at my current employer. 

In my current employers defense, they do have a nice maternity policy - 6 weeks paid.  MegaBank had a policy of if you have VACATION time you can use it.  (You couldn't use your sick leave.)  Most of the banker ladies took unpaid leaves of absence to tend to their new bundles.  That sucked for them. 

The time off accrual for me does increase each year I'm with the company.  This year on my anniversary I'll start to accrue a whole extra day... so instead of getting 4.92 hours added to my bank each pay period I'll get 5.23.  WOO HOO.  Again, not complaining because the other way to look at it is that at five years I'll get 4 weeks a year, but it since it increases each year rather than holding steady and then a big jump in year five.  Doing it this way means that each year is a bit of an incentive and in year five we don't have to wait the whole year to accumulate that extra week.

However at year five, I'll get a 4 week sabbatical in addition to the vacation in my bank.  That year, we will take a fabulous family vacation.  I think taking a 4 year old to Europe for 3 weeks sounds delightful, don't you?  I'm putting money in savings right NOW for such an adventure.  Who knows, maybe you'll be invited, but if you are know that to be included in such an adventure may come at the expense of having to provide some Lucy-care services, while whatshisface and I wander around Roma hand in hand - ALONE (with forty thousand other tourists). 

I am getting a little ahead of myself.  Let's get through year one of Lucy before we start planning an epic vacation.  Maybe she'll be a shit-head and we wont take her on vacation - EVER.  (not likely)