Summer Time

Summer has arrived! We are settling into our summer routine nicely.

But, first some catch up on the past month. It was busy!

All school year long I had worked as a substitute teacher one day a week. Very occasionally I worked two days in a week. Then the end of the school year approached and teachers were asking me left and right if I could sub for the. The end of the year brings testing and report card prep so the need for subs is high. I decided to be brave and just go for it. I ended up working nearly every day for the last five weeks of the year. Some were half days which allowed me to get Tuba off the bus on the days that Cam worked. It was a little crazy to work so much but we all pushed through knowing it would be short lived.

Turns out it went great! Cam was a huge help and picked up a few extra chores around the house. The biggest help came in the form of making lunches and breakfast! Cam was awesome! The kids were great too. On the mornings that Cam was gone they helped us get out the door on time. I kept telling them the extra money I made would be for our vacation so they had good incentive to help out.

There were a few crazy moments too. One morning Moses told me he had no clean shorts. Well, he did have clean pants but he didn't want to wear pants. I informed him that he would have to wear pants. In the car I noticed that he had on shorts. He told me he got them out of the washing machine. The load had just finished and he pulled them out....and wore them wet. Oh!! Good thing they were quick drying fabric....but ewwww!

Now summer is here and we are in full relax mode. Lots of playing and reading and summer fun going on.

In the past week we have gone camping (pics coming soon), begun swim lessons, deep cleaned bedrooms (my favorite way to start summer), celebrated a bday (more pics to come soon), caught up on yard work and paperwork and household chores, slept in and even watched several movies.

We are ready for more fun!

A few pics from Cam's sister's visit in early June.

Working Again

Big change for me. BIG! Over the summer I talked with Cam about the possibility of me going back to work. Since Cam's schedule is so great and he is home about half of the week now I could start substitute teaching again. 

I waffled and went back and forth for several months. It has been thirteen years since I worked...and by that I mean since I earned a paycheck.

I had a hard time deciding what to do. I truly LOVE working hard at home for my family. I LOVE being a mom. I LOVE taking care of my house. LOVE! There is NOTHING I'd rather do. 

So....I made a good old pro/con list which always helps me sort things out. 

Pros: 

Money....ie a paycheck

Exercise my professional skills

Add to my Social Security fund. Truthfully this was the biggest factor. After looking online at my SS statement it realized that I needed to earn some credits toward disability. Now of course I don't plan to become disabled but if I did our family would need the financial support. 

Cons:

It could make my life chaotic.

I might hate it.

My wonderful hubby informed me that if I hated it, I could quit. And he reminded me that I always worry about change creating chaos. It's a process for me. 

So I went ahead and decided to fill out the application. THAT WAS A HUGE PAIN!! Seriously! I did not have a resume. I couldn't remember when I went to college...I'm talking exact dates. I didn't know what years I worked at which schools. I couldn't remember what my degree minor was in. I'm serious. It was a total pain to gather and make phone calls, "hi, I worked for you once upon a time, can you please tell me the dates". Yep. Several of those calls. 

Then there was the fact that the application required letters of reference. Profession references ONLY. Hmmmm....since I didn't have a job for thirteen years that was difficult. I ended up asking the amazing teachers at my kids' school to write letters for me. These are teachers that I have volunteered in their classrooms. Perfect! They actually wrote me the most wonderful letters!! They made me sound terrific and I was humbled...and I was inspired that I might actually be a good candidate. 

After working on my resume and letter of intent I had Cam take a look at it. He told me to go for a walk and he'd spiff it up for me. Whoa!! He took my stale, dry, boring data and turned it into a real resume!! I love him! And in case the medical gig gets old he can open up a business doing resumes. 

So after a VERY long couple of weeks gathering papers I was able to send off my application. Then another VERY long wait time while they processed it. VERY long. 

But finally I was cleared and ready. 

And guess what?!!! It's been amazingly fun. Seriously fun!

I am only subbing at my kids' schools. I only sub the days Cam is home. He gets Tuba off of the bus while I'm gone. I take the kids to work with me and they love it. They sit quietly and play on the computers while I read the sub notes and get ready to teach.

The best part is that because I've spent so many years as a volunteer I know all the kids. That makes the job fun and much easier. I know many of the teacher's routines and I know the way the school works. It's great! 

I am working only one or two days a week so I still have plenty of time for my favorite job taking care of my family and home. It's a perfect balance.