Lots of Drama today

I guess a lot of people will think less of me, but I was asked again to interview for the job. I did and I got it. My justification was that I will be the girls teacher so they will be with me all day long. It is going to be a big job, but it is only temporary. I committed to work through the end of summer. By doing so I can quit every single other job. I actually think I will have lots more time at home since this job will only be worked during the day instead of nights and weekends. There are a lot of hard feelings about me being hired since I don't have a degree or any training, but I am going to rise above and concentrate on making this a wonderful program for the children and do it to God's glory. My first order of business is to institute a prayer and devotional time for the teachers each morning.

I have to get my clothing priced to sell at the consignment sale tomorrow- drop off is tonight. I don't really have much together, but hopefully I can get enough done tonight to pay for what I need to buy.

My heart is still turned towards home, but I think this will solve a lot of problems for dh and I, and after summer I can return home with no bills and a surplus in the savings and focus totally on being a wife, mother and keeper at home. I don't intend to let anything slide in the meantime, except maybe my crafts.

The boy loves shoes!

Last week my nephew was obsessed with wearing the girls' shoes around the house:




We love him so much. He is the next best thing to another baby. Well, him and his brother, now!

More finished objects! (clickable pics)

This was a special order to match some crib bedding from Target. I got to pick the design and the monkey just really caught my attention.

This was also a special order. This woman wanted a banner for her father's birthday party. She said he liked fishing. I liked this design and was almost done before my dh realized I was painting a trout and as he said, "There's no trout fishing in Alabama! That needs to be a bass!" ?? How was I to know? I don't fish! So I tried to bass- it up, but dh said the mouth never did look right. Hopefully her dad wasn't so attentive to detail. Next time I will know to ask and start off with the right fish, because apparently it is hard to turn a trout into a bass.

Valentine's Day

Us girls all got candy and flowers. I wanted to show how sweet the girls looked in their funky outfits:


Tay just got candy, no flowers. Here he is digging into a box of Mardi Gras fun from one of dh's coworkers.

Frugal Friday- Homemade haircuts!

Tay had to have his picture taken for the track team and was in desperate need of a haircut.

I have for years been cutting my and the girls' hair (in all of our cases it is mostly just trimming and shaping since we all favor long hair and are desperate for the girls to get some length). This is the first time since Tay was 2 that I tried cutting his hair. I think I did fantastic! I used a pair of hair cutting scissors that I purchased at CVS. I don't have any training. I think this is a great skill to develop considering the high cost of haircuts. Afterwards, at church, a dad commented how he missed his mom cutting his hair and how he would really appreciate saving the $18 he spends on getting his haircut now. I asked dh if he would buy me clippers and let me practice on him and he said no way!

Before (pics are clickable):
After:



I would have cut more, but poor Tay was too scared to let me go any farther with it. I think I was having too much fun.

Clarity...

I happened upon an essay that moved me in my struggle for contentment without working. How can we possibly sell out our children for any reason?

http://www.mothersmovement.org/essays/05/j_gullion_0504.htm

Marx says that we are being exploited for our labor. It doesn’t matter how much money you make. The money part is irrelevant because no matter how much we make we are being exploited. We are disposable drones, punching in, punching out, selling our time., selling our souls. Agreeing that we would rather make money than be with our families. We would rather make money than care for our kids. We would rather sit at our desks watching our children over the internet.

I got a new nephew!

The handsome nephew (delicious, eh?):My brother:
My sil and I:
Me holding the baby:
My dds were absolutely so jealous! I heard for hours how I loved the new baby more than them...
Ds was there also with little reaction- he is such a teenager:

Tristie's a big girl now and a big snow in January!

Look who lost her first tooth:

This actually happened January 12th, but I wasn't having a very bloggy month. It was huge for her. She got a "gold" dollar under her pillow. Sister was more than a little jealous since she is "older" (by one minute) and therefore supposed to lose the first tooth (according to her).
Also in the month of January, the girls experienced their first snow. It was all of 4 hours long, then it melted but it was long enough to run around and have snowball fights and make their first snowman. Tay actually stayed in his room, expecting it to last longer and he barely got to see it before it melted.

Thad pelting me and laughing:

Tristie pelting me and laughing:
Tabby pelting me and laughing:
The only proof that I was there:
Daddy and sissies collecting snow from the cars for more snowballs:


Our backyard:

The infamous snowman (who lasted for 36 hours):

Our neighbor joined in the fun:

So did the pup in her new winter coat:

Now that I am back...

We had a really rough time for the last month and I just couldn't bring myself to blog. I find that just about every single problem in my life has resulted from my own sin, and this was no exception. However, I am back and ready to move on. I am hopefully changing in such a way that my life will continue to go smoother from here on out.

I am hoping that through God's blessings, I can quit working in May altogether except my painting, bows, and crochet items I sell. Right now my only "jobs" are working in the church nursery one morning and two evenings a week, cleaning my mom's office once a week, and working nursery for a mom's group two mornings a month. I do all of this with my kids so I still consider myself a "sahm". I am also still subbing at preschool on the condition that my dds can stay in the room with me (regardless of what age I am put with). I do keep my nephew (and soon will be keeping #2 as well), but I don't count that as a job even though they pay me because I would do it for free and I give that money straight to dh (it goes in an emergency fund in case Harper breaks or damages something).

My plan involves my bills to be paid off in 3 months so I can concentrate totally on being a "keeper at home". I have been sorely tempted though. The director of the MDO quit and I would be hired to have her job (a HUGE boon in income) if I applied. I almost did and three hours before the interview I withdrew my application. I know I am capable and would do a fantastic job- all the parents want me to do it, but I can't do it without cost to my precious children and right now they need me 100%. This job would be very close to full time (it is 30 hours a week), but I think it would consume so much more from me. It is hard to walk away from an opportunity that I know I would excel at and which would pay my bills off in one month, so I am having angst. I know that just because I would do a fantastic job, doesn't mean that the job would do fantastic things for me. So I am trying very hard to let it go.

Anyhow, here are two finished objects. One is a scarf I made for my sister in law. It is unusual colors but I just liked them together. I finished it back in January but just never got around to posting it.

The other is a birthday banner ordered from a member of the multiples club for her niece. I finished this in January also.

I got an award!

Thank you Nan! Sorry I was so late in seeing it.