Wow! What a difference a Weekend Can Make!

Ok so my last post was a little depressing and I got a lot of phone calls about it. Which I appreciate it more than you will ever know! However, things have taken an interesting turn! On Friday last, Matt called me out of now where saying that he got a raise at his job! It seriously came out of nowhere and it is going to help take some of the pressure off! It was not the promotion he had been hoping for but the company is struggling a little right now and it was what they could do for now and there may be more to come! This was an unbelievable surprise and I cried a lot out of gratitude that day. It doesn't really take us out of situation but it does help. Sooooo then I had a performance this weekend in St. George with this Celtic Choir called Citrine that I am in. It was a lot of fun and a good girls trip with late night talks and fun girly movies! Also, the performance went really well and people went nuts and wanted to buy our CD's and stuff! If we had our CD's yet that would have been great! We will have to get on that.
Anyway, so then I get a text early Sunday morning from Matt that says "Call me!" So since it was Sunday, I wasn't sure what to expect! So I call and he tells me that he has been accepted to the Officer program with the Airforce! I have no idea why they chose to call him on a Sunday but this was huge news!!! He was so excited and I was to but it made me want to throw up. He has no more information than this....just that he is accepted and they will give him more information in the next week. He will have to go to Officer Training School for 12 weeks and then Tech School after that. Unfortunately, we don't get to go with him to OTS. This is that hard part. However, if we can get through that then we can really move on to some good things and a better career! I was sad that I was in St. George and I couldn't scream and jump up and down with him but it was a great thing to come home to! It feels really nice to be accepted!!
So for now this doesn't really change anything. We don't have any idea when he will leave or where we will go after he is done but it gives us something to look forward to and a real path that we are excited about. There are so many benefits to being an officer like officer housing and no house payment (yeah yeah yeah) and food allowance and full health insurance with no copay and life insurance and lots and lots of other benefits! I am sure that we will find it worth it. Moving will be hard but I am also excited to experience new places and the experiences that will come with it!
So I will keep you all updated on when he goes and when I will be a single mother for awhile. We are still dealing with the here and now but it changes everything to know that finally some of the work has paid off!!!!
I love you all!

Jobs Anyone or Babysitting?

So life has handed us a lot of interesting cards in the last few years. Unexpected deaths, sudden changes in career paths, disappointment in many forms.... all surrounded by a really happy marriage and wonderful little girls to make it all ok. However, things are hard for me as I am not able to stay home with my children as much as I would like. With my two degrees, you would think this wouldn't be a problem but if I were to go back to teaching full time then I would pay more for day care then I would be making. It just isn't cost efficient. Also, the commitment is hard for that. As any teacher would tell you, it is really hard to find a sub and any time your kids are sick or anything goes on, it is almost impossible to get out of work. It is hard for me to commit to that again with little kids at home. So what do I do? I work a lot of small teaching jobs and use my other degree - music and dance - to help out and I can usually take the girls with me. Then work part time at night at Prosper so that Matt can take the girls. Well that has recently changed because he has had to help out at his dad's business so that they can stay afloat while his dad is focusing on his health. So now we are looking for babysitters at night as well. I am considering taking on more hours at my night job to help compensate as well but that would mean that I need someone to watch my kids even more. Like from 2 or 3 in the afternoon until 5:30 until Matt can come and pick them up and take them to another babysitter or until about 9pm when Matt could come and pick them up to take them home to bed. What a crazy life it is right now for us! The only reason why I talk about this at all is because I have learned that I am surrounded by very creative and intelligent people who often have wonderful solutions or at least very encouraging words that keep me going for a little bit longer. The more I talk things out with my friends and family, the more I see a pathway. So if anyone has a wonderful epiphany while reading this please let me know. There are a lot of things that could happen that might change our lovely situation but it is always a waiting game. The Airforce might actually step up and offer Matt the position he deserves and has earned, He might find a better civilian job in his job search, I might get a flood of new vocal students and be able to drop the night job, who knows....anything would be a nice change. Heaven knows we are ready for one. Sorry to vent and pour my heart out to all of you but I am feeling like that is what this blog is for sometimes. I really thought that both of us finishing college and doing exactly what we were supposed to do would put us in a different position at 29. But the more I talk to people, the more I realize how many of our lives have taken many turns along the path. I am glad I am not alone.

Elleigh, Elleigh, Elleigh

She is so funny to me. All children come up with the funniest things but I have to share some of Elleigh's latest ones. Whenever she meets a new friend, at the park or at "the inside park" as she calls Carl's Jr. or McDonald's, instead of saying that she made a new friend, she says that she made up a new friend. I could fix her small error but it makes me smile ever time I think about it. I am not ready for it to change.
She has also been obsessed with her birthday lately since it is in a few weeks. She wants to know who can come and what they will be wearing. She is also constantly trying to feed everyone that comes to our house and she loves to "cook" Sophie dinner all of the time. So she is very worried about what people will be eating at her party and if she will have enough food.

(Little side story about my little chef: At Christmas time we were going to see Santa at the Festival of Trees. She was so excited and was telling me every hour what she was going to say to Santa. She would also ask me over and over how it was going to work. Where would Santa be sitting? How does he know that we want to talk to him? Is he wearing a red suit? All sorts of things. So a few minutes before we were leaving I asked Elleigh what she had in her hands. She had a plastic grocery sack full of things. She showed me that she had put together a lunch for Santa so that he wouldn't go hungry. She had put a piece of bread, a handful of marshmallows, a hand full of raisins, a little pack of fruit snacks and a small orange. She said to me with all of the concern she could muster that she didn't want Santa to go hungry because he would be waiting all day to see all of the kids and he wouldn't have time to eat. I just couldn't tell her that Santa wouldn't want her snack so I let her bring it. When we got there at reached the beginning of the line, I explained to one of the elves the lunch situation. He thought it was sooo cute. He told Santa about it and the cute man couldn't have been cuter! Santa took the lunch from her and expressed his extreme gratitude for her thoughtfulness. He told her that she was the first child all day to think of him in that way. You should have seen her beam at that! When they were taking the picture of Santa and the girls, the elf took the sack from Santa's hand so that it wouldn't be in the picture but Santa told him to make sure that he didn't lose it because he was looking forward to eating it later. Which of course made Elleigh beam all over again! Anyway, sorry about the Christmas story in April but I didn't have a blog at Christmas time)

So Elleigh is always worried about people being hungry....I promise I feed her often. I don't know where the worry comes from. I promised her that everyone would be fed. So lately when I ask her what she wants for her birthday, after makeup she has informed me today that she wants a 5 year old husband. She wants me to give him a ring so that he can ask her to marry him. When I told her she couldn't get married at 5 years old, she came back with, "Yes I can mom, I am old enough now!" and there was no changing her mind! She just wants someone her size to go to the ball with and dance any time she wants. She doesn't understand why this is such a hard request and was a little frustrated when I was laughing. Most of the time I can keep a straight face at the time only to laugh really hard with Matt later but this one was too much.

I Stole This From Sarah - Love It!!

So there's this job, it's supposed to be one of the most sought-after positions in the nation. I looked into it. Here are the details: You go to an orientation for the company. You meet with the directors and they tell you the basics. How many days you work, what effect the job has on your daily life, the demands of the position, etc. They do not mention pay (compensation) at this time.

The most interesting aspect of this job is they have a computer program where you can create your own manager. Once you create your manager, you have no say in how that manager fits with your personality. It can be difficult considering this manager, even if you stand your ground, almost always wins control. You are stuck with this person (or people, depending on how many managers you request) forever and there is no option to change once one is assigned. This job is demanding, and a GOOD day with your new manager consists of 5,000 more tasks than you ever had with previous managers! Job compensation is still not discussed at this time.

After you have agreed to most details, you are then asked to go through a company initiation process. Not all have to do the initiation, but 95% of incoming employees do. This is rigorous, and something that this company is known for! Access to their hiring systems reveal the truth about this process. A new employee is to lay down on her back on a padded table. She is tied with hand and foot restraints. A weight is lowered from the ceiling and gently placed directly on her hip and pelvic area. The weight starts out at 5lbs. Throughout the initiation, more weight is added, until the harness above the pelvis weighs 30lbs. When the process comes to an end is when the initiation takes a painful turn. The weight harness is finally lifted off the pelvic area and then lowered several times in rapid succession until the employee can hardly stand or walk. Welcome to the company! You are given your job task directly after the initiation and expected to perform well.

After you are hired and you meet your manager, you begin to realize that the directors glazed over a lot of details in the orientation! The actual demands of the job are as follows:

7 day work weeks.
3 days off per year maximum (days may NOT be taken off in succession, but are a cumulative of hours and minutes taken for oneself. Many times the job is too demanding to take even 1 day off. Spouses may or may not be understanding of your need for time off).
The job is physically demanding, even after the initiation.
More initiation sessions may be required, some planned, some a total surprise.
You will wear the scars of this job your entire life which include but are not limited to, weight gain, bad skin, saggy boobs, brain malfunction, emotional strain, some psychotic behavior, laughter at all things morose, longing for more, constantly being needed for something and an eternal case of cabin fever.
This job is met by the public with several different reactions including but not limited to, disdain, admiration, jealousy, fascination, pity, disgust, annoyance, judgement and intolerance.

Pay will either be handed out in undetermined and unannounced increments, or in many scenarios, may not be determined until the end of your tenure (up to 60 years later).

Elleigh the dance teacher!

Elleigh the dance teacher. Elleigh has been coming with me to teach the two year old toddler dance classes since October. Well I had laryngitis a few weeks ago and was unable to find a sub for these classes so I went anyway but I was not feeling well at all! The parents were talking to me about upcoming pictures and other events and so I was going to start class a little late because of it. But Elleigh decided to step in and save the day. She had me turn on some music while I finished talking to the parents and then she took control! She got all the girls lined up and stretched them all out almost exactly how I do every week! The girls were so attentive to her! It was hilarious! I came in and took some pictures of the whole thing. Sophie had a little trouble at the end and I had to include that picture cause it was so funny! Elleigh will make a great teacher one day!!

Sophie the Rock Star!

Sophie loves to play her new guitar and act like a rock star! She has recently watched mom and dad play rock band at Aunt Carly's house and she has got the bug for sure! She makes me laugh all the time and I am sure that she will be a star one day!