a new venture?
Lately I have felt broke. I know, I know, it's not PC to talk about money, but seriously - anybody with a limited budget, little kids and a single income knows what it's like.
I really want to stay home with the kids. Financially, it's kind of difficult to get by on one income, especially since my maternity leave runs out in June. I'm planning on subbing again in the fall part time to avoid having to work full-time and leave the kids in daycare.
Who knew I'd like being with them so much? It's funny - before I had Jordan I was so practical about it. I was going to have the baby in the summer and then in the fall I'd get a babysitter and finish my degree. The next year I'd get a full-time teaching job and secure my employment before we had another baby.
That's all well and good until you actually have the baby. Suddenly, it's not just the baby. Suddenly, she's Jordan. She's here and she's sweet and she smiles at you like she smiles at nobody else, and she looks at you with those big blue eyes that are just like her daddy's and the depth of her love is evident in the way her face lights up when she looks at you.
Suddenly, she's not just the baby.
When she was the baby, it was easy to be practical. It was easy to plan my courses and daycare and my future career. It was easy to feel confident in knowing that I'd be here with her every evening and on the weekends. When she was the baby it was no big deal to know that I'd have to set aside time every night for lesson planning and marking (I have a bachelor of education - high school English/history). It was no big deal to have to devote a certain amount of time to extra-curricular school activities because Steven would be here and the baby would be taken care of.
Now it's not just the baby. It's Jordan, and Tennyson, and Mitchell. They are little tiny people. They are my people. They love and hurt and learn and laugh daily. They share their every thought and emotion with whoever is around. I want that to be me.
Problem is - I don't think we can afford it. Scratch that - I know we can't afford it. When my mat leave runs out I have to do something else.
Solutions? (of course there are always solutions!).
The downside is that these parties are mostly held on evenings and weekends.
The upside is that I could schedule them on nights that worked for me. The other upside is that in the event Steven decided to change jobs (don't freak out, it's just a thought!) and wasn't doing shift work, I wouldn't be able to sub anymore and he'd probably take a pay-cut. I don't want to tell him that he can never think about maybe looking into trades or pursuing something more interesting. We always say that someday when I'm teaching full-time he can figure out what he wants to do. This only makes me feel guilty for staying home.
I'm kind of thinking Epicure is a decent idea.
What do I want? Opinions! And, of course, I'd love to know whether anyone would ever consider hosting a party if I started this. Candice and Lora are totally off the hook - sorry ladies, but I'm not willing to drive quite that far!
******
And thanks everyone for the birthday wishes for Tennyson! It totally pays to ticker!
I really want to stay home with the kids. Financially, it's kind of difficult to get by on one income, especially since my maternity leave runs out in June. I'm planning on subbing again in the fall part time to avoid having to work full-time and leave the kids in daycare.
Who knew I'd like being with them so much? It's funny - before I had Jordan I was so practical about it. I was going to have the baby in the summer and then in the fall I'd get a babysitter and finish my degree. The next year I'd get a full-time teaching job and secure my employment before we had another baby.
That's all well and good until you actually have the baby. Suddenly, it's not just the baby. Suddenly, she's Jordan. She's here and she's sweet and she smiles at you like she smiles at nobody else, and she looks at you with those big blue eyes that are just like her daddy's and the depth of her love is evident in the way her face lights up when she looks at you.
Suddenly, she's not just the baby.
When she was the baby, it was easy to be practical. It was easy to plan my courses and daycare and my future career. It was easy to feel confident in knowing that I'd be here with her every evening and on the weekends. When she was the baby it was no big deal to know that I'd have to set aside time every night for lesson planning and marking (I have a bachelor of education - high school English/history). It was no big deal to have to devote a certain amount of time to extra-curricular school activities because Steven would be here and the baby would be taken care of.
Now it's not just the baby. It's Jordan, and Tennyson, and Mitchell. They are little tiny people. They are my people. They love and hurt and learn and laugh daily. They share their every thought and emotion with whoever is around. I want that to be me.
Problem is - I don't think we can afford it. Scratch that - I know we can't afford it. When my mat leave runs out I have to do something else.
Solutions? (of course there are always solutions!).
- I'm planning on substitute teaching part-time in September. A day or two a week and on Steven's days off. This means no daycare, no marking, no planning, no extra-curricular, no 40 hour week.
- I'm babysitting after Christmas for my sister-in-law's baby when she goes back to work.
The downside is that these parties are mostly held on evenings and weekends.
The upside is that I could schedule them on nights that worked for me. The other upside is that in the event Steven decided to change jobs (don't freak out, it's just a thought!) and wasn't doing shift work, I wouldn't be able to sub anymore and he'd probably take a pay-cut. I don't want to tell him that he can never think about maybe looking into trades or pursuing something more interesting. We always say that someday when I'm teaching full-time he can figure out what he wants to do. This only makes me feel guilty for staying home.
I'm kind of thinking Epicure is a decent idea.
What do I want? Opinions! And, of course, I'd love to know whether anyone would ever consider hosting a party if I started this. Candice and Lora are totally off the hook - sorry ladies, but I'm not willing to drive quite that far!
******
And thanks everyone for the birthday wishes for Tennyson! It totally pays to ticker!
Comments
You know, I do owe you one. :)
And I've been thinking of having an Epicure party for the last year and a half. I went to one a while back and it was fabulous! A friend of mine has been waiting for me to have this party. :) She tried my dilly dip and loved it. I actually ran into another Epicure lady from Portage about a month ago and we discussed having a party. But I haven't committed to anything.
So if you're going to go that route - count me in! Hopefully it works out for you.
I know a lady in Wpg who is a Pampered Chef host and she does really well financially. She has 2 kids, likes to be at home with them. It seems as tho she puts a lot of time and planning into the parties. But I guess if you need to cook for your family anyway, lots of opportunity for experiments.