I am so very, very lucky to be able to be a mostly stay at home mother. I am also very, very lucky to have a part time seasonal job. I got my Bachelor's in Accounting from the University of Utah but I quit working when Spencer was born. We both agreed that my staying at home with the children would be most beneficial to raising them and thought we could make it financially. Boy was that first year rough. Cutting out an entire salary was really hard. And Brodie started a Masters' Program with BYU at the same time. So we took out a bunch of student loans not only for school but to get by without my previous income. After a year we decided I would try to get a part-time job during tax season. I was lucky to get a job at a CPA firm just a few minutes away from my home who let me choose my hours and with some people I really enjoy working with. I'm on my 7th season there now. Not only is the extra money really helpful in our lives, but I like remembering that I have a brain, socializing with adults, and keeping a foot in the working world in case I ever need to put more than a foot in later in the future.
I arrange for various babysitters in the afternoon until Brodie can get home from work. Over the years I've had a few different neighborhood teenage girls babysit, my mother-in-law, and my sister. So this year I have 3 different neighborhood girls (one is new this year but the other two have watched my kids before) who each take one day a week. One of my problems this year is Spencer being in school all day and his school is a ways away so I have to pick him up and don't get home until close to four. So this is the latest in the day I've started working. My other problem is that Spencer has a play practice once a week following school and I need someone who can drive (and who I trust driving with all my kids) Spencer to play practice, stay while he's there, and drive him home. I never managed to get this one fully worked out. One time my sister pulled her daughter out of school a little early to come out for me. Another time my other sister drove all the way down from Tremonton to watch my kids at play practice and the few hours following that because Brodie was out of town. And a couple other times while my youngest sister's daughter was off track she watched them. Other than that I've blocked off work that day until 6 pm. I also have a friend whose daughter I watched during December who is watching Tessa and Clara for a few hours during the day on Fridays so I can make up some hours I'm missing. And I work on Saturdays while Brodie is home with the kids.
At first I enjoy going into work. And the kids feel like they are just having playdates with these different babysitters every day. After a few weeks I don't enjoy going into work quite as much. And the kids really get to missing me and their usual routine. And Brodie gets tired of trying to get dinner for the kids and get them all to bed 4 times a week. A few weeks later (about where we are now) I am counting down the end of tax season. I'm tired of trying to keep up on the house and kids with about 25 fewer hours a week, trying to have dinner planned and semi-prepped before going to work, being away from my kids so much, and all the other stuff. Which makes me even more grateful for my job and that I am able to only work seasonally and then stay home the rest of the year. This year the date I'm looking forward to is April 17th. Exactly one month from today.
Yesterday I got Spencer to school early for running club, came home to get the girls and myself ready, dropped the girls off for babysitting (they love going to Stacey's for a playdate!), and went to work for a few hours. Then I picked up the girls and was able to come home since Spencer was being picked up from school by a friend's mom. I put Clara down for a nap and played Barbies and princesses with Tessa, who is extra clingy by now and really needs some extra mommy attention. When Brodie came home he was in the mood for The Pie Pizzeria so I ordered and he picked it up. I also reserved The Adventures of Tin Tin from Redbox and picked that movie up. The kids were so excited for a Pizza Movie night where we let them eat pizza down in the TV room while we watch a movie. The kids brought out their foam couches to sit/lay on. After eating pizza Brodie fell asleep on the couch. Clara was wild so I spent a lot of time on the ground with her. Brodie had tried to be helpful by cutting her pizza into bite-size pieces but she didn't want anything to do with them. So she ate some of my pizza and some of Spencer's 2nd slice when he wasn't looking. She also kept trying to dip in the marinara sauce but she refused to sit on my lap while she ate and I didn't trust her otherwise so I hid the sauce.
Spencer seemed to enjoy Tin Tin. It was pretty good, but hard for the kids to follow. And the girls don't have a long attention span anyhow. So Tessa spent a lot of time playing other things--dancing, jumping, running around, etc. And Clara loved standing on my lap and singing and dancing for me. She is such a character! Near the end of the show I took Clara up and put her to bed. When the movie was over I let Tessa and Spencer set up sleeping bags and stuff in Spencer's room. They set their pillows in the doorway so they could hear/see the leprechaun when he came. Then they set a trap for it. They propped up Spencer's Sponge Bob foam couch on the fireplace and stuck a box of Lucky Charms under it--both to lure the leprechaun and to wake them up with the crunching. Then Spencer put his drawing of a leprechaun sticking out so the real one would think it was his friend. Then they planned to stay awake all night. For about half an hour I heard them talking about what they would wish for if they caught him. Spencer said they could each choose one wish and I would choose one for Clara. Tessa was upset because she had heard you could have 3 wishes and she already had her 3 wishes. Spencer had to explain to her they had to share the 3 wishes. So Tessa decided her wish would be that her birthday would be here faster so she could make another wish on her birthday cake.
Brodie and I watched another show I had rented from Redbox before going to bed.
At 6 am Spencer and Tessa were in my room asking if they could get up even though it wasn't 7 yet. I said okay because I knew if I said no they would keep coming back and asking every 5 minutes. Well, Spencer would send Tessa every 5 minutes because he knows better. Spencer said they didn't catch the leprechaun but he left his hat and a note to follow the massive amounts of yarn throughout the house to find the pot of gold. They found the Hershey's "Pot of Gold" box and enjoyed some chocolates. Spencer said he felt the leprechaun's hand on his face and it lifting his pillow up to put the yarn under his pillow. Probably because the leprechaun didn't want the kids to get clothes-lined or to strangle themselves in their sleep as it was setting up the yarn maze. Spencer said at first he thought it was dad but the hand wasn't as big as dad's or as "furry" (he later clarified this as "hairy"). He said it was about as big as my hand though, and he was confused because he thought leprechauns were smaller than kids even. I told him I didn't know how big leprechauns were.
I postponed going into work this morning so we could stop by my sister's to wish her daughter a Happy Birthday and give her a spy watch so she can now join the spy ranks of Spencer and 3 other cousins. We were only able to stay for about half an hour before I had to leave to get to work. Tessa was very sad and crying about having to leave already. Even as I was putting her in bed she was still telling me I should have driven Brodie's truck out there so I could have left to go to work and she could have stayed to play longer. But I talked to my sister about setting up a playdate for Tessa and Afton this week so that got her to stop crying.
For dinner tonight I made a pounded, breaded pork tenderloin that my mom used to make for us and my kids love. I also made asparagus and cut up some kiwi fruit. Brodie sauteed some cabbage and we also served lime jell-o that Brodie made earlier while I was at work. Clara just kept screaming for more Jell-o and kiwi but the other kids ate really well. Spencer ate tons. Tessa tried dipping her pork in the leftover jell-o on her plate and declared it was very good. So Spencer told her to try a bite with everything on her plate mixed together. So she asked me to help her load a piece of pork, kiwi, some cabbage, and some jell-o. She liked it. Brodie even made green milk for them. Then while I was giving Clara a bath Brodie gave the kids some Grasshopper ice cream (cuz it's green and super yummy).
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