Working and What-not

While there are blizzards in the east and tornadoes in the south, there hasn't been much of anything here in our neck of the U.S.  Which scares me about what our summer is going to be like?!

A little over two months ago, I got a job.  It's a part-time position at the library.  I work at a nearby branch of the county system.  When I went looking for a job, I needed something that wasn't retail (hello holidays), food-related (no thank you), and only part-time with hours that would work around our family schedule.  So the library is perfect for all of those things.  I'm discovering it is highly desirable part-time work, so I was very fortunate to get a position.

So why now?  Well, seven years of graduate school took its toll on our finances.  So now it's pay-back time!  In order to not live in a rented townhouse forever, we want to do all that we can to quickly shed student debt and save for a family home (one we like, hopefully).  If I think about how old we are to be dealing with this, it makes me cry - seriously.  But that's the price you pay, and you pay it up front.

Between Ryan's job, my job, school, housework, errands, activities, church, church callings, church activities, etc., it takes a bit of planning to accomplish anything.  So that's how I spend my days - planning.  I'm planning menus, paying bills, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.  I enjoy having the time to do these things, as I know many moms working full-time don't have this luxury.  More on that later.  Lots of plans in store!        

Just about a week ago, my sweet mother-in-law flew home after a week-long visit.  It was a mixed bag of a visit - between work, sickness, household chores, necessary clothes shopping, and a few outings, we stayed busy.  I'm sure she was glad to get back to a quiet household after our craziness here.

However, the day she left, Rose came down with a cold.  Can I just say, Rose and cold medicine do not agree?  This past week, she has been hell-bent on destroying the house and harassing everyone in the process.  It has been a week for the records.  It was like the cold medicine turned her into the crazy (this is a nice word for what I really want to call her) toddler she used to be, except without the physical limitations of a one-year-old body.  In short, there was running across the kitchen counter with an open gallon of milk, climbing to the top closet shelf to pull every board game off creating one giant pile of plastic game pieces, cards, and dice.  There was dumping every bucket of toys out in the basement and then spreading it everywhere into a fine mixture of chaos (all in minutes).  T.P-ing the basement with snot-covered toilet paper, refusing to wear any clothes (and I mean ANY clothes), eating half a bag of marshmallows after pulling them off the top shelf of the pantry, along with several other items.  Painting her own fingernails, all of them with multiple colors.  Getting into everyone's stuff - stuff she usually left alone.  ETC.  You see what I mean.  And then there was the screaming, hollering, and crying (mostly by Rose, but some by me).

Anyhoo - she's on the mend, without the help of anymore devil-juice (cold medicine).

Today has been filled with the typical Monday stuff - cleaning, laundry, more cleaning, planning menus, cooking, baking, etc.  Oh, and some fort-making by Rose.  I'm loving the sunshine: living room in the morning, kitchen in the afternoon.