I am wife to Greg and mother to Rylie Grace (11/28/07) and Sophie Rose (4/24/09). Greg and I married while in our junior year of college, graduated, found jobs and built our family home. We settled down in our hometown (much to our surprise) and had two babies a mere 16 months apart (oops!). I am thrilled to stay home with my sweet girls during these short preschool years but look forward to someday enjoying a life beyond diapers and potty training. Until then, my girls keep me busy, entertained, and appreciative each and every day.
JOBS! Husband has one but needs a new one. I don’t have one, but need to get one. Along with the rest of the transportation logistics industry, Greg has undergone a 20% pay cut.
It’s rough out there.
So…he is looking for new employment and so am I. I really just want part time, but I can’t seem to find anything. At the very least, I am probably going to start cleaning houses a couple of days a week to bring in some money.
If I seem upbeat about this..well…I’m not.
I’m seriously stressed out.
The pickens are slim as far as available jobs. I have had no luck finding part time employment, which means I may have to get a full time job and frankly I have no desire to leave my kids full time (yet) and I don’t have a clue as to who would be able to keep them.
If Greg can’t find a better job soon, Big Decisions will have to be made. The difficult kind that keep you up at night.
Mixed into this whole job search issue is the question of whether or not I should go back to school now. I would have liked to go back this fall but it appears I have missed the FAFSA deadline. So depending upon how all that turns out, I will definitely be going back soon (maybe spring?). I have been debating what to do with my life when my SAHM days end, which may be sooner than I thought.
My first choice was Art Education, but that will require a minimum of three years (full time) and I would basically need to start from scratch. My Art History minor will not be as much help as I had hoped, as I still need all of the education requirements and several studio classes.
So that brings me to English Education. With my BA in English, I lack only the Education credits, which I should hopefully be able to knock out quickly. Reading Billy Budd essays written by surly teenagers will not be quite as much fun as finger painting with elementary kids, but I can live with it.
And speaking of kids…
They are wearing me out!
In retrospect, I can say that it was a relatively easy transition from one baby to two, after the initial shock dissipated. But those two babies have now graduated to two toddlers and this has rocked the boat a bit.
Gone are the days of long peaceful naps. Now only Sophie will nap so I do not get the break I so depended upon. Rylie is a live wire at all times of day and napping is simply not in the cards for her, try as I might to stack the deck.
This threw me off our routine for a while and our house was utter chaos.
It was a bad time to be Randi’s Husband or Randi’s Child.
Seriously.
But we are back on track and I am learning to accept the new normal. Sharing space with two rambunctious, ever curious, stubborn, highly emotional little people is the life I now live. One takes a nap and one chills out with some toons in lieu of a nap (if I’m lucky).
(Don't judge me.)
By the way, I have a question for moms of toddlers.
Someone please tell me that it is perfectly normal for a 2 ½ year old to be so …ahem…well…terrible?
Awful?
Insufferable?
(Again, don't judge me.)
I feel like I am living with an unmedicated manic depressive. She’s pretty intense. In fact, I may have a promising future as hostage negotiator by the time she is five, as I have become pretty good at talking down irrational and volatile personalities.
Are they all this bad? Are just girls this bad? Or is just (gulp) my girl this bad?
I hear you on the big decisions. I can't believe you are having so much trouble finding a job! And here I was thinking it was just me being in a crappy little town.
Spencer wasn't bad until 3. 3 was hard for us. But they say girls are more mature than boys, so maybe that means they are hard, sooner? I'm going to go with "normal."
I hope it is normal, but I have my doubts. I fear she will be this crazy her whole life! I have heard from many mothers that 3 is the worst. She will be 3 in November. We shall see.
Yes, having lots of trouble finding a job. Even a crappy retail job. No one is hiring. Greg is having trouble, too. The economy just sucks.
You know, back before I had a full time teaching job I applied for loads of retail stuff. I never got a call back until I quit putting my college degree on the applications. So you might try that from this point forward.
I would encourage you NOT to work for Gymboree. I can't remember how much I made per hour there, but they give a 40% employee discount, which makes the clothes reasonably priced. I would spend 75% of my paycheck on clothes for Spencer. I imagine it'd be worse if I had had a girl! But on the bright side, they really last and stay looking good, so Jack will be wearing a lot of them this winter.
So sorry about the job issue! I will be praying about your situation. Sorry about the toddler/girl issue. My kids drove me crazy!!!! So I think it is a normal toddler stage, but I always told my kids discipline was not my strong point. All I can say is they will grow up and life with get easier.
The job issue/school decision must be stressful. :( My kids have gone through phases off and on of being good and being HORRIBLE-at all ages. But the under 5 ages are all tough and exhausting.
That book might be out of print. You might be able to find it by a personal seller off of Amazon or Ebay or something.:)
Taylor, I found that book on Amazon last night for $1.99. It is out of print. All the reviews said the same thing you did: that it saved their SAHM lives. And I am hoping for the same!
6 comments:
I hear you on the big decisions. I can't believe you are having so much trouble finding a job! And here I was thinking it was just me being in a crappy little town.
Spencer wasn't bad until 3. 3 was hard for us. But they say girls are more mature than boys, so maybe that means they are hard, sooner? I'm going to go with "normal."
I hope it is normal, but I have my doubts. I fear she will be this crazy her whole life! I have heard from many mothers that 3 is the worst. She will be 3 in November. We shall see.
Yes, having lots of trouble finding a job. Even a crappy retail job. No one is hiring. Greg is having trouble, too. The economy just sucks.
You know, back before I had a full time teaching job I applied for loads of retail stuff. I never got a call back until I quit putting my college degree on the applications. So you might try that from this point forward.
I would encourage you NOT to work for Gymboree. I can't remember how much I made per hour there, but they give a 40% employee discount, which makes the clothes reasonably priced. I would spend 75% of my paycheck on clothes for Spencer. I imagine it'd be worse if I had had a girl! But on the bright side, they really last and stay looking good, so Jack will be wearing a lot of them this winter.
So sorry about the job issue! I will be praying about your situation.
Sorry about the toddler/girl issue. My kids drove me crazy!!!! So I think it is a normal toddler stage, but I always told my kids discipline was not my strong point. All I can say is they will grow up and life with get easier.
The job issue/school decision must be stressful. :( My kids have gone through phases off and on of being good and being HORRIBLE-at all ages. But the under 5 ages are all tough and exhausting.
That book might be out of print. You might be able to find it by a personal seller off of Amazon or Ebay or something.:)
Taylor, I found that book on Amazon last night for $1.99. It is out of print. All the reviews said the same thing you did: that it saved their SAHM lives. And I am hoping for the same!
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