Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Adjusting and Keeping Up

A year ago I gave my notice to the company I had worked for, for nearly 8 years. It was terrifying. But I had a goal to be home with my girls, get a part time job and go back to school to become a teacher. I ended up taking nearly a year off from "traditional" work. I started a business. Tried another business. Developed my craft of crocheting. The time came where it was time to get that part time job.

I started my new job last week. I am working at a big box store as a cashier, in the evenings. This allows me to be with my girls during the day and not have to pay daycare. It throws off our schedule a bit, because they (along with my husband) were used to me being home at night. In the end, we decided it was the way to go though.

Adjusting to a new schedule:

I originally wanted to work only 20-25 hours, but after meeting with my new manager, we discussed working more hours. Knowing that I have a strict amount I have to come up with by September, this seemed like a good thing. I will now be working a set schedule of 4 nights a week from 5pm to midnight. Then on Sunday afternoons/evenings.

This means that instead of two-three nights a week of hubby having to hold down the fort, he has only one night a week where he doesn't have to "do it all". He works a full time job during the day. So he is having to wrangle the kids instead of being able to decompress. But honestly, there are so many single parents out there that have to do it, so I know he can handle it.

Our youngest is having a hard time adjusting to the new schedule with sleep. I usually put her to bed and she is wanting to stay up until I get home. This is not going to work. So Hubby is going to have to work on it while I am not home.

Keeping Up:

Normally I do all the housework during the day. I have dinner started by the time hubby comes home. Then after we eat, he supervises the girls bath time, while I put away dinner and have some down time. This schedule is changing and I am relying on hubby more to help "keep up" with the house. There is nothing worse than coming home at midnight and having the house trashed and everyone in bed.

In the end this is going to be a good thing for our family. We will be able to save the money we need to move into a house. We will have the money to replace Hubby's car. We will be able to get back on track and accomplish our goals. In the mean time...it is and adjustment keeping up.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Will it be a tough week? Or smooth as silk?

This is the first full week of me working part time. Is it going to go smoothly? Will it be filled with happiness? Or will things fall apart?

Hubby has to take over some of the cooking and night time activities. He already does baths, so that is not an issue, but cooking and homework often throws him for a loop.

In the past, when I worked through dinner, he would just get fast food. This is not an option for us anymore. He has to cook. I am going to work to save money, not have it all go back out the "drive-thru window."

To try to make things run smoothly, I am creating a family chore list for the refrigerator. They are things that need to get done every night. Things like: unload dishwasher, scoop litter box, Sarah's homework, brush kids teeth, empty trash, etc.  Hubby likes lists, so I hope this one works.

I have menu planned things that are easy for him to cook. When I am able, I will prep all the food before leaving for work, as I will usually start at 5pm. Tomorrow is different, because I have to go to work earlier for training.

I am so grateful for having part time work. Hopefully it will be the answer to our prayers. We just have to stay focused on the end goal.

Wish Hubby luck this week. Hee hee.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

What a roller coaster it has been.

This year started out tough, as I was finally coming to terms with my Grandmother's death. In doing so, I sunk into a depression. I was making bad decisions and we got behind on bills. It is now April and things are slowly coming together.

We started a new business, actually two under the same umbrella. We are doing a historical re-enactor garb and costumer resale store. We purchase garb and costumes that people are not wearing anymore and then we fix it up a bit, to be resold to someone else who wants it. So far we are doing pretty well in our first month. (see http://www.thesensibleviking.com) We actually had three separate sales of a decent amount in our first week of opening. Now we just have to keep up with supply.

I have also started selling my crochet work. I have a portion on the website dedicated to it, called ToCrochetIsToLove. I also have an etsy store under the same name. The crochet work I am doing, is working well as a therapy for me. I sold my first commission and am working on some more. So it is nice to be busy. Hopefully the money from the crochet will allow me to save up to go back to school and get my alternative teacher certification.

As I mentioned, we got behind on the bills. My husband and I stopped communicating and we ended up doing some stupid things. It is taking us awhile to get back on track, but we ARE doing it. We are doing everything we can to make up for the mistakes. We have sold a bunch of stuff, like books, DVDs, CDs, etc. I am even going to go through all of the girls stuff and see what we can purge. It is actually a good thing, so that we don't have to move it all when we are able to move into a house.

Along with the two businesses, I have gone back to work part time. I will be working about 20-25 hours a week in the evenings and one weekend day. This will bring in much needed money to get back on track and to put into savings so that we can move when our lease is up in October. We still plan to get into a house, but it will be a rental or a lease to own. Not a full out purchase. Either way, our kids will have a nice yard to play in.

My weight is in the downward spiral, which is good. But I do not think it is really from any hard work. I am just not eating as much, because our budget is so tight. Don't worry, I am eating, the kids are eating, hubby is eating. But we are all snacking less and making do with less. It was a horrible adjustment for our oldest, the snack queen. She still has her moments, but she is getting better. My weight is down to 257, down from 278 at my highest. This is awesome!

I am proud of us recently. We figured out we were going in the wrong direction and then worked out how to get back on track. It is a process, but one that is worth it. I am so proud that my husband and I and the kids pulled together this week to come up with the couple hundred we needed to pay a bill. It had to be paid or there would have been major consequences. We sold a bunch of stuff and paid the bill. There is no better feeling.

So that is the roller coaster we have been on. Tough times, filled with good times. Hope and faith that it is all going to work out. I am happy to be back at work, but mostly that it is a job that works around my need and desire to be home with the girls during the day. I am eternally grateful for it.

Until next time...