Packing

So, we've been back from Texas for 3 days now and I've spent this time mostly packing and getting ready for the rummage sale on Saturday.  It's amazing how much stuff a couple can accumulate in 6 years.  Wow, 6 years ago tomorrow is the day John closed on this house.  Time sure does fly!

I do have an economical proud moment to share.  Like most people we have plenty of breakable items that are not in regular use so I'm packing those items first.  Instead of using bubble wrap for these items I started using clothes that I won't be needing for a while.  When I ran out of those I was stumped as to what I should use to keep these items safe.  And then it occured to me.  I have so many infant towels, swaddle blankets, receiving blankets and burp clothes from when Henry was younger and smaller that are not being used.  I just saved myself at least $15-30 in bubble wrap!  John will be so happy!!!

The nice thing about moving onto my father in law's farm down the street from us is that we are able to move things a little bit at a time.  So, when we move during the month of December in the cold and snowy weather we won't have nearly as much to move!

Our Plate is FULL

* The previous posts from July are from a blog that I had started to document life as a stay at home mom.  I didn't really keep up with that blog other than those 2 posts, so I decided to simplify things and import those posts to this blog.  Who needs so many blogs?  Not me.

We have so much going on in our lives right now, here's a little recap:

We're still happy with our decision that I stay at home with Henry, which is good.  Unfortunately since I had already signed up for all 4 sections of the CPA exam, and those fees are nonrefundable, I am committed to taking them (although I'm getting tired of studying, when I'd rather be doing something else).  I've already taken 2 of the 4 exams, but I don't know my scores yet...hopefully by the end of September they will post them.  I will be done with the other 2 exams by the end of November, and I think after that I may take a little break from all of the studying.  Not to mention it will be Christmas time, and I will want to focus on the holidays with familly!

John has been busy with work and going out of town on a regular basis.  Thankfully he is usually only gone for 2-3 days at a time, but it can still be pretty tiring. 

Something awful happened at one of his company's jobsites last week.  A crane operator was moving across a spillway and the crane tipped over crushing him.  He was alive during the rescue, but unfortunately passed away just as the emergency responders were able to pull him out.  It is so sad, and I'm sure will be affecting the company for a while.  Not to mention the grief that this man's family is going through.  From what I've read about him, he sounds like a wonderful man who I'm sure will be missed so much. 

In other news, we will be moving by the end of the year!  I know, it's somewhat sudden but we're excited about the opportunity.  We're actually buying John's Dad's house (which he built in 1972, I believe).  His Dad and wife don't need such a big house anymore (and I'm sure she's tired of cleaning it for just the 2 of them), so they're downsizing.  They won't be moving far, just the field next to their current house.  John's Dad owns about 60 acres, and we will be getting about 58.5 acres while his Dad uses the rest for his house.  Our house will be sold back to our neighbors (their Mother lived here, and they want to purchase it so they can rent it to their daughter and then retire here).  So, FIL's (Father In Law) house will be ready mid-December.

We're not quite sure how this is all going to play out just yet, so at this point we don't know if we'll still be in our house for Christmas or if we will have moved down to our new house (which is only .5 mile away). 

We will have a lot of work into the new house because it is somewhat outdated (don't tell FIL I said that, though), but we love to renovate so we're looking forward to making some changes!  I will post before/after pictures here to document our progress.

Henry is doing really great!  He is almost 16 months old and is finally starting to walk around.  He still mostly crawls to get from Point A to Point B, but he is getting more confident!  He is also still waking during the night, but we're working on getting him out of that habit.  Then we need to work on getting him to fall asleep on his own.  I know, he should probably already be doing that, but it's hard to get out of the habit of rocking him to sleep every night.  Not to mention it's extra time spent with him...but, he does need to learn.

I'll try to keep up with this more often.  I was thinking about making this a private blog, but I know how annoying that can be to have yet another site that you have to log in to.  So, it will stay public for now. 

The Silver Lining

Well, I am officially back to being a stay at home mom/wife (SAHMW).  I went into the office on Monday morning, called HR to tell them our decision, then spoke to one of the partners of the firm to tell him, told a few coworkers that I've known for a while, packed my stuff, then left.  I went in at 8 am and was back home at 10 am.

The firm was very understanding (well, not so much the HR lady, but whatever), which I am so thankful for.  I was so confident in my decision, but the only thing bothering me was that I would be burning the bridges that I had formed with some of the people at the firm.  I mean, I'm sure they'll never hire me back (at least for a very long time, and even if I wanted to come back), but at least if I see them on the street somewhere I won't feel like I have to avoid them.  And I guess I should say that I wasn't 100% confident in our decision, just because it was such a great opportunity and I was afraid that I was shooting myself in the foot by walking away.

There are at least two positives that are coming out of this situation:
1.  For starters, now we KNOW that having two full time working parents is not an option for us.  If I found something in my field that was part-time with A LOT of flexibility I would definitely consider it.  But we really realized last week that at this time in our lives it is more important for somebody to stay home with the kid(s). 

2.  I am finally preparing (and have scheduled) to take the CPA exam.  It's one of those things that I was putting off because the process was so intimidating.  In fact, I take my first section tomorrow.  I should be studying right now for it, but I have been studying all week and need a little breather.  Once I post this I will get back to it, but I just needed a break, ya know? 

Henry will still be going to daycare for the next two weeks since we prepaid, so I'm going to use that time to study for the next section of the exam and get back into "home" mode instead of "returning to work" mode.  Because we've spent the whole summer preparing for me to return to work we really haven't enjoyed too much of our summer.  We did have a nice family vacation over the 4th, but I still brought my books to study for the CPA exam.  So, this Sunday is going to be Family Fun Day.  I wonder what we'll do?

The shortest career ever!

*This was actually written on Friday, July 22nd.

I've been a stay at home wife (SAHW) off and on for the last 5 years.  I've worked some, but most of the time other things have been going on in our life that didn't really allow me to work (i.e. school full time, temporarily moved out of state, etc.).  Fourteen months ago we were blessed to add the role of Mom to the stay at home function (SAHM). 

Since our son was born I have loved every minute of being at home with him.  Sure, we had our frustrating days and nights, but I always loved the quality time that I've been able to spend with him.

I do have a degree in accounting, so from time to time I would search for employment.  Most of the time my searches would come up empty handed, but occasionally I would find something that would peak my interest and I would pursue those avenues.  I've had some interviews and even two job offers.

The first job offer I turned down after giving it some thought.  The salary they were offering just wasn't worth being away from our son.  Not to mention the position seemed a little shady.

I took the second job offer that I received.  The position was for a full-time accountant, and the salary was much more than I had asked for.  How could I possibly turn it down? 

So, once I accepted their offer I spent the next 6 weeks preparing our family for this huge change in our lives.  Our son would need to attend daycare, so I got that lined up.  I would need a more professional looking wardrobe (i.e. suits, etc.), bought those (at a discount, of course).  We would need a checklist of sorts to stay on top of all of the household chores, so I created a spreadsheet and used it (I was the ONLY one who used it).  Oh yea, had to apply to take the CPA exam and buy study materials.  Check and check!

While we were preparing for this change in our lives we failed to really consider a few things.  First off, did we really want this change?  If so, then at what cost?  How would this new job really affect our home and family?

I just finished my first week at this new job, and let me tell you, it was an eye opener!  Aside from the events of the week, my husband and I had many lengthy conversations about whether or not this was all worth it.  As an accountant, typically January - April are the busiest months of the year with the longest hours.  At this particular firm they established set hours for the employees.  Mon - Thurs (8am - 7 pm), Friday (8-5) and Saturdays (a minimum of 4 hours).  With these hours I would never see our son!  Obviously I knew going into this that I would be required to work awful hours, but I thought that I had some sort of control or flexibility as to what those hours might be.  When our children are older we could never take them anywhere on Spring Break, because the firm doesn't allow anyone to take vacation during the tax season. 

Long story short, there are so many reasons that this just isn't going to work out.  I talked to HR about this on Thursday morning and she wanted  me to take the weekend to think about it. 

After much careful consideration, I will be telling them tomorrow that this just isn't the right time in our lives for me to be working full time.  I know there are going to be some people who think that I'm crazy, and others will be supportive.  Either way this is the right decision for our family, and that's all that I'm really concerned about!

*If this doesn't totally make sense it's because I left some details out because this post was getting super long.  So, ask me if you're wondering about something!

A Sneak Peak: Haystacks & Pastures

Some of you may already know that I plan on making the cake for Henry's 1st birthday party.  We're doing a barnyard theme.  Here is the sample haystack:

And the sample pasture:

OH, and here's something extra for my mom:

Finally, a railing going down the stairs into our basement!

Progress: Bedroom Project & Weight Loss

So, today we have been painting our bedroom.  Since we still had a lot left over from the kitchen remodel we decided to use the same paint color for our room.  It's a blue/gray that is really soft and calming.  Now all we need to do is let the new trim boards dry so that John can put them in.  Then my favorite part: decorating!!!

Well, back in January I posted about starting the weight loss journey again.  I've tried this so many times and it's never stuck, so I was reluctant to even blog about it for fear that I'd give up the next week or so. 

This time is SO different!  I have been totally committed (with a few setbacks here and there) to my goals, and have really made exercising and eating healthy part of my lifestyle.  Not to mention I see no end to this change in my life anytime soon. 

So, as of this morning I have lost 12 pounds.  TWELVE!!!  POUNDS!!!  My goal is 14 and I will definitely achieve that goal, and probably more!  I can't wait to write again in another month or so and see how much more I've lost!



Closet: Before & After

Last weekend we spent some time cleaning out and reorganizing our closet.  John got rid of a lot of clothes that he is going to donate, which really helped declutter our closet.  (And now I have more room for my clothes/shoes/purses!)  :)

Here is the after picture:

And the before:

Now we just need to keep it this way!

House Project # 237,655

This is our bedroom.  Please forgive the mess, and the dog on the bed.  We just got back from a mini-vacation yesterday.  Anyway, our room is the only non-updated room in our house.  Every other room has recently been updated in the last 2 years or less. 

The problem with our room is that all of our bedroom furniture does not fit in there, and we have a small closet.  We are definitely going to be painting our room and doing some rearranging.  We will most likely need to get another bed and put our current bed in the basement storage.  It is just too big for our room and taking up valuable space.  So, consider these the before pictures.  And now that I've blogged about this hopefully we'll get a move on it because we've been talking about this for a while now. 

I hope to be posting some "during" pictures soon!  :)

I'm a loser...

;)

Well, I feel like I'm at a point in this journey to blog about it now. I didn't do it earlier because I was afraid that I would jinx myself, but now that I'm about a month in I feel like I'm in the clear and committed to my goal.

I've been eating right and working out...and, here's the kicker, it's actually working!!! I have lost 5 pounds thus far. I am now under my pre-pregnancy weight!

Back in November I signed up at Spark People. I didn't reallly stick with the program then, but just randomly tracked my calories and exercised on the rare occasion. I was not serious about my goals (the holidays may have had something to do with that).

Then right around Christmas and New Years something clicked. I can't pinpoint what that was, but whatever happened it really made a difference. I'm tracking all of my meals and snacks and I workout 30 minutes 4 or more times a week (this week it was 6 times). I weigh myself daily to keep myself focused. If my weight stays the same or is lower than the previous day I know I'm doing something right and to keep going. If my weight is up I know that I've let myself slack a little and need to refocus.

I'm very proud of myself because I have been struggling with this for about 7 years (since I left Texas), and now I feel like I'm really making a difference. My goal isn't to only lose weight and look great. I also want to set a good example for Henry, and any other future children we may have. John also seems to be encouraged by the example that I'm setting as he had me set up his own Spark People account today.

For those of you who have never heard of Spark People, it is a FREE online service that helps you set your weight loss goals and gives you guidelines on how to achieve them. It's really great, and there's also tons of online support in the community message boards.

Kitchen Windows

Since our kitchen has been completed our windows have been bare. Meaning that when we're walking around in our pj's at night or in the morning people driving by can see us. So, a couple of weeks ago we bought some window coverings. Per my mom's request, here are pictures of the new coverings in our kitchen:

A new experience in the job hunt...

Well, I've never done that before. Turn down a job, that is.

It all started last Tuesday when I got a random call from a company looking for tax season help. First of all, I did not contact this company prior to this phone call. They had found my resume on an online job database. So, we set up an interview for the next morning.

Wednesday comes and I'm early to the interview. No big deal, I can wait and it shows that I'm on time. I end up waiting 10-15 minutes for the interviewer to arrive. Again, no big deal it's January in Michigan the roads aren't exactly clear. Interview starts and this guy (who is maybe 1-2 years older than me) proceeds to talk about the job (normal) and then outlines his career (maybe normal?). He says "Ass" a lot, "Kick-Ass" and when he says "Shit" he apologizes for his language (????? Maybe the other words he used aren't bad?).

Anyway, he talks about having a lot of pull in the office and that he can do pretty much anything he wants, blah, blah, blah...works really hard during tax season but in May you can find him in Vegas or in Kentucky at the Derby. He's not sure what kind of money I want to make one day, but if I think $100k is a lot of money then I could be really happy there.

So, I leave thinking that the interview went pretty well (aside from the cussing and the superior opinion he has of himself). Later that day I start to replay the interview. Hmmm, he hardly asked me any questions. The only question that he seemed really concerned with was whether or not I would feel comfortable meeting with clients to go over their tax return. Apparently last years assistant would get the shakes anytime they wanted him to talk to a client.

I get the call on Friday that the job is mine if I want it. A bittersweet feeling sets in. First I'm happy that after a year out of college I finally got a job offer, but then I see Henry and I am quickly saddened. Ugh, do I really have to make this decision?

The rest of Friday I spend talking to my Mom, John, John's sister and my step sister in law (who is a CPA). Overall conclusion: They gave me a low-ball offer and the guy seems like an ass (oops, forgive my language!).

Saturday I do some online research and the company doesn't have the best reputation. It was founded in 1998, and in 2003 one of the co-founders began embezzling money from their clients. Awesome. Found another online source about how an employee was treated very poorly. Again, awesome. Found a comment somewhere else about their "scam jobs". Woohoo, where do I sign up?

By this time, I've made up my mind. But to be sure I give it the rest of the weekend to sink in and do some more thinking/research. Everyone I have asked has either never heard of this company, heard bad things about the company or had a bad experience themselves with the company.

Anyway, long story short is that I turned them down and the job search continues. It all worked out anyway because I just found out that the daycare we wanted to send Henry to is full.

Kitchen Follow Up!

Now that we've been using our kitchen for a couple of months I thought it was time to add some artwork to our blank walls. I happened to find some great deals at Kohls (buy one get one free) and ended up with the two pieces currently hanging in the kitchen.

We also just bought some blinds for our bare windows, but I will take and post pictures after I've had a chance to clean the kitchen up. :)