Work!!??

Big news over here--guess who rejoined the working world??? It's not really even recent news anymore--I started about a month ago, but I've been so busy and putting in so many hours at work that blogging unfortunately gets pushed to the bottom of the list (behind semi-important things like making sure we have underwear that's clean and food on our shelves!)

Guidance counseling again, you ask? Perhaps tutoring after school? Oh no, not even close. I have joined the ranks of the minimum wage workers. That's right. I am making $8.oo/hour at the local DSW. Woo hoo! Pretty crazy, huh? But perhaps the craziest part is that I'm loving it!! Who knew??

It all started about 2 months ago when we sat down to do our budget for the (school) year and had a collective panic attack. Fast forward 2 months and here I am the newest associate at DSW. I encountered a little (read: hardly any) resistance from Brad about working a minimum wage job, especially when he can pick up an extra kid or two tutoring for 5 times (literally) the amount of money I'm making per hour, but hey, money is money, and we need it, no matter how little! And, believe me, the irony is not lost on me that I worked my butt off (ok, not really, my grad program was a joke) at grad school while working full-time and also paid a small fortune for my undergrad education (just ask my parents!), to now find myself slaving away at a minimum wage job. But hey, I'm not a snob, I'm a good worker no matter how menial the task, and plus, who can resist a 30% employee discount (!!) on shoes??!! Plus, I like to think my experience at the uber-diverse Wesleyan University prepared me well for this job--it's me and a bunch of Latinas on the staff. :)

In all seriousness, though, I find myself really enjoying it. I'm not even really a shoe person (as opposed to one of my co-workers who said she lost count of her shoes after 130 pairs). But you know what it is? It's getting out of the house, away from the kids, doing my own thing, having a job and directive, and learning something new. It's striving to do the best I can at something (that isn't mommyhood!) and setting little goals and working hard to achieve them. And it's doing my part to help us financially. It sounds totally cheesy, but it's true.

The hard part is that it cuts pretty heavily into time with Brad and the kids. Since October is the busiest month of the year in the shoe world (think boots), they have been scheduling me for 20-25 hours a week--way more than I originally had in mind. But you want to know the crazy part? I'm bringing home more than I was when I was working full-time as a guidance counselor and paying for 2 kids in daycare. Scary, huh? It also means Brad and I pass in the driveway as he's coming and I'm going and I don't get home until late at night, but we still manage to squeeze some alone time in at night before we both fall asleep. Other cons? My Monday night volleyball league is pretty much out, family dinners are pretty much out, and any weekend event (unless it's significant enough, like a wedding for example, that I can request time off) is pretty much out.

But we're making ends meet and it's not for forever so we're surviving. And I have to say that Brad has been a total rock star with handling the kids by himself 4 or 5 evenings a week. It's not an easy job, that's for sure!

Oh, and I forgot one last benefit--our wardrobe is improving!!

For me:
($17, normally $50-$60)


For Brad:
($25, normally $60-$70)
http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/catalog/product.jsp?index=64&category=&prodId=174736&brand=300222

And because this is such a verbose post, here are some pictures of the kids. :)


Showing off his new Dora slippers (he insisted on getting them, despite the fact that a) they are girls slippers, and b) they are hideous)


Wearing daddy's work boots


Bearing a strong resemblance to Auntie Stacey (which I've been noticing more and more lately)


Bearing a strong resemblance to daddy (as usual)


Wearing one of my fave shirts--"Sometimes crabby, but always cute!" from the NE Aquarium


I put a movie on briefly while I was making lunch for them the other day and I turned around to find them both snuggling each other and her sound asleep. Too cute.

--C.