My Pilot and Me (and Kiddies, too!)

What, with the warmer weather, all this ‘together’ time (hubby isn’t very busy lately), baby getting older, and only 2 months left of my time away from work….I just can’t seem to find the time to sit at the computer!  There are too many fun things to do!  We’ve absolutely been enjoying the spring weather and all that comes with it…bike riding, swimming, basketball, gardening…the list goes on!

This is a definite perk to being with a pilot.  Maternity leave + slack pilot schedule = opportunity to do lots of things as a family.   Lots of time for date nights, too!

I’ve also been thinking of moving blog sites.  Will look into that when the weather is rainy or cold.  Gotta run!

We’re back from our lovely vacation down south.  It was wonderful to go to the beach everyday.  Except that one day where we were all throwing up.  And the rental car got smashed while unoccupied in the parking lot.  Which one of the kiddies threw up in on the way back to the rental car place (to get a new car).  The other kiddie waited until being behind the counter of the rental car company to throw up- twice.  Back to the hotel and had to call housekeeping 4 times to change the beds due to soiled lines (there were 4 more throw-ups from the 4 year old!).  Ah, what fun! At least 9 days were lovely!

Now we’re home and re-settled back into our routine.  And after 8 years of marriage, I’ve finally figured something out about my pilot.  Working a total of 9 days this month (4 of those days are commuting days) leaves a whole lot of time at home.  A bit too much, maybe.  Yesterday I had enough.  I never wanted to do it, but I had to.  Over breakfast I gave him a list of things I wanted him to do that day.  Not ‘I’d like you to do’-things.  The ‘Have these done by the end of today’- things.  It’s all about the phrasing.  And these things were actually all on his own to do list.  I didn’t get into the things I wanted done (that will come).  Well, it worked like a charm. Kind of reminds me of my 4 year old.  Give him a ‘job’ and he’ll ‘work’ for an hour.  Give my pilot a ‘job’ and he’ll work for 4 hours!

At lunchtime I noticed how good his mood was and couldn’t resist asking,  “So you enjoy being told what to do, eh?” He ensured me that keeping occupied was important to him., however he thought that doing his things would take away from ‘us’ time.   Seems that he thought I wanted him to hang out with me all day.  Maybe when I’m back to work and our time together is limited, but not when we are together 24 hours a day for, uummmm 21 days this month!!

So now I think we’ve finally found some sort of balance between us.  I go about my day as if he wasn’t home and he works on his projects around the house.  The kiddies watch (help) dad do his work, so I get a bit of free time to work on my projects (which are never as interesting as dad’s).

Best part of it all- I finally have my basketball net up over our garage!  That’s my mommy-zen time.  Speaking of basketball, NCAA- I had Memphis and Kansas in my bracket with Memphis winning.  In one of the best final games in a longtime, Kansas won in OT. I didn’t mind one bit losing my bracket when the game was that exciting!

Got the Cockpit Carnival Playboy issue. Not surprisingly the 3 women are gorgeous! Very tasteful photos, in my humble opinion. They are Brazilian FAs and do not seem fake in the least bit, which I absolutely admire. In the background of one of the pictures you can see the FO with a huge smile on his face which is kinda cute!

In the short article the authors mention the sexualization of the flying industry in the ’70s. I have to say, I’m glad that it isn’t like that today. Or maybe it is and it just depends on the specific personalities of different crews. Could I handle E working with those particular FAs? I think I could handle it as long as everyone kept their clothes on and alcohol was not involved! Not that I think E would actually do anything to hurt our relationship. Just that it would make me more comfortable. However, I would have to somehow arrange for myself to go overnight somewhere sexy with 3 gorgeous guys. Just to keep the playing field even…

On another note, I’ve concluded the Brain Formula is working! Don’t know about the whole flying thing, but E has been totally impressing me with his twinkle toes. You see, for one of my Christmas presents, E surprised me with dancing lessons for the 2 of us (I had always wanted to go with him). He not only manages to keep up with all the new steps, but he goes beyond what is asked each class- always asking to learn something ‘extra’. It has been a lot of fun! A weekly date night for us (so far we only missed 1 class in 9 due to his schedule) does wonders for our relationship. Keeps those fires buring HOT!

Getting ready to pack up for our 10 day vaction down south. Hopefully the kiddies will cooperate! Looking forward to getting away from all this snow! Our driveway has 6 feet of snow on either side and I just can’t stand shovelling anymore (not to mention how difficult it is to throw it up to the top of the snowbank!). Now if it could just be gone when we get back, all would be good!

March schedule seems to pretty great! Assuming no last-minute calls on those reserve days, that is. E has two five-day pairings and out of the 8 nights away, he sleeps at home for 6 of those nights! He seems to have lucked out with getting flights out of our city (not his base).

At the end of the month E leaves for a sim session. So, we finally get to see how the brain formula is going to affect performance!
The sim session is in “the summer” as my son calls it (down south) and my wonderful hubby has booked tickets for myself and the 2 kiddies to go along! We’ll stay at a place that has a lovely pool and is close to the beach! Yeah! Then we’ll stay an extra 5 days where we can all relax together. Seeing how we just received 18 inches of snow, it’s a nice thing to focus on!

E just says that this will be the last time that the kiddies come along. Next time he gets me to himself! I’m starting to think that this whole pilot thing isn’t so bad afterall.

To top it off, March Madness begins later this month and I’m on maternity leave! I’ll get to watch (I say that loosely because I will have 2 little ones to care for) basketball game after basketball game after basketball game!

In light of the recent publicity concerning the French Air Stewardess stripping in the cockpit, I think it’s amusing that  Playboy will have an article entitled “Cockpit Carnival” in the next issue.  Complete with photos of, presumed to be, FA’s/Hosties! 

When E saw that, he said, “Oh no!  This does not help our poor wives!”  Imaginations can run wild and all these visuals certainly don’t help!  I personally can’t wait to check this issue out!  I’ll keep you posted…

Lately I’ve been feeling amorous of the airline career and thought I would take a moment to stop my complaining of all the negative aspects and write about what is good about life with a pilot.  So here’s my list:

-Had the opportunity to move long distances and perfect my moving skills.  I can pack and unpack in no time!

-Worked in 5 different jobs (all in my field) and got to see what I really enjoyed doing.  I would have settled in quite nicely with any of my jobs, but now see that this latest job is where my heart is.

-Met wonderful friends from E’s industry, as well as mine, in several different cities.

-When I’m working with different patients and making small talk it’s a great topic (E hates it!  But people love hearing about a pilot’s life!).  I’m proud of his career. And I only talk when patients specifically ask about my hubby.

-We get to spend lots of quality time together whilst I’m on maternity leave.

-Sometimes we get double holidays!  Christmas on the actual day and then another when E is home!

-It makes me smile to overhear my son talk to people about his dad, the pilot.  It’s just too cute!

-Waiting for E to come back after a trip gives me butterflies!  It’s always like we’re on a date that first night when we are reunited.

-Sometimes it’s nice to have the house to myself (although it’s never just me….me and kiddies).  When the kids go to bed I get pure ‘me’ time.

-I get tasteful gifts from E when he’s gone for an extended time. 

-We flirt via text messages during E’s trips and it’s kinda exciting!

-E can get groceries and clean the house while I am working.  Okay, maybe cleaning the house is a bit of a stretch, but he does tidy up.  He also stocks up the groceries when he’s going away so that I can minimize my trips with 2 kids in tow.

-E looks so hot in his uniform!

So, that’s my list for now.  This will serve me well in a few weeks when I’m totally pissed that E is gone and I’m stuck in the house with 2 sick kiddies!  But for now, I’ll enjoy the career that my hubby has chosen and the benefits that it entails.

Well, I’m going to have to learn to deal with the lovely perks my dear hubby gets while working.  Let me preface this rant by stating that I am a huge basketball fan.  I’ve played from the time I was a wee little girl through high school and university and even in a men’s league.  March is one of my favorite times of the year because it is MARCH MADNESS!!!!  Lots of basketball, blah, blah, blah.  E is a newcomer to the sport.  Just learning about it through me (we met post-university, so he never saw me play competitively).

What does he get to do last weekend???  Go to see an NBA game!  Aaahhhhh! Lucky bastard!  I’m so jealous.  However the team played so well that they benched most of their star players in the 4th quater, but still….

Such is the life of a pilot’s wife.  I was just learning to deal with the warm weather layovers in the dead of winter and then this….  Why didn’t I become a pilot?  Actually E brought that up the other day.  He said how much he’d love to see me in a uniform on one of his flights.  “You could bring me coffee”, he says.  “Sorry sweetie,  I’d be sitting to your left” was my reply. 

Alas, he’s back home after a long trip.  Nice to have him home although I am struggling to get out of mommy mode.  Finally back to pre-pregancy weight and feeling good.  Might have to pull out some of the lovely lingerie that he’s brought home for me (one of his-and my- favorite gifts for me when he’s away for an extended period of time)!

Oh yeah, the sim session has been post-poned as they need him to fly the line.  Still, February doesn’t look too bad.  E even has a pairing out of our home city!  He’ll be back to our house most nights, although we might pack up the kiddies and go stay at the hotel.  Just for a change in routine.  I guess that’s a perk I can take advantage of…

So E’s been home almost a week now.  He’ll be jetting off again on Friday, however for now I have the pleasure of having him around 24/7.  The first few nights that he is back we put the kiddies to bed and crack open a bottle of wine and just spend time together.  We’re over that now- Day 6 of having every evening together.

Here I am perusing the Internet while he is studying for his upcoming 737-800 series simulator sessions.  I don’t know if it’s just him, or if every pilot has that competitive fever.  You see, he has a nemisis in his ‘class’ (hired at the same time).  They are constantly trying to out-do each other.  So now with this upcoming sim session, E has decided to spend ‘our’ time training, or should I say studying.  Not that I’m complaining.  I’m sure he does need to study.  However, does he really need to take the ‘Brain Formula’ (a well-researched mixture of vitamins/minerals)  in preparation for this sim session?  He seems to think that it will give him the edge over his competition when he goes to Miami for the sim training.  Anything to get the ‘edge’!   

As long as he believes  it  will work, I’m sure it will.  I guess I’ll go along with it.  In the meantime, I will continue to poke fun at this latest strategy to come out on top! 

A New Year!  A new look!  I like to add some spice to the routine.  Christmas and New Years have come and gone and, I must say, we had a wonderful Holiday!  E was home for both occasions.  Christmas was busy with all the visiting we did, but it was fun to at least be together.  E also got me some really thoughtful presents which totally impressed me!

I never really minded E being away on New Years Eve before, so this year it was kinda like, yeah whatever, when he got his schedule saying he’d be home.  We ended up going to a house party which was a lot of fun!  I had to sneak out right around midnight to feed the baby (he came along with us due to the breastfeeding thing), but E joined ‘us’ for the big countdown.  I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but something about the whole thing was exciting, energizing and special.  Maybe because we feel like we finally are in the ’spot’ where we want to be.  E loves his job, I love my job, we have 2 beautiful kiddies a lovely home, wonderful neighbors…..what else could we wish for?

So, now I figure it’s time for the airline to go bust and E be unemployed or have to go away to work.  That’s kind of how the aviation industry has treated us!  It would be so nice to both have worked for only one company through out the year. We have yet to do it and I can tell you that I will not be leaving my job!!! Here’s hoping that 2008 is that year!

Having the whole month on reserve (i.e., at home) turns out to be an eye opener.  Somehow the house seems to get a little crowded with everyone home ALL THE TIME!  So, it was a nice surprise that E had to go in to the airport for some ground training stuff.  Because we live 2.5 hours away, it took the entire day.  Guiltily, I have to admit, I needed that time apart!  It was perfect.  Just long enough for me to get myself organized and refreshed.

Makes me wonder how I would ever survive with a man who was home every night!  It might be too much!  Or do I just psychologically trick myself into thinking I want him away?  Who knows.  Our lifestyle might work for us better than I realized!

I even ran into work for a minute to show off the baby and answered 2 difficult questions from co-workers who seemed so relieved to see me at that moment (’Ah!  Look who’s here, she’ll know what to do!’).  Whether or not they were just padding my ego, it didn’t matter.  Made me feel somewhat intelligent again!