My Job Search

Since I'm finishing up my degree, I am about to be buried in student loan payments.  I have to find a job.  Honestly, I'm looking but I have a little time so I'm not in too big of a rush.  Ideally, I'd like to find something that starts in August when the kiddos return to school.  It would be great if I could spend the summer hanging out with them and avoid having to pay daycare for a few months.

Anyways, I have been watching the classifieds in the local paper, the employment postings for the local school districts and postings on Craigslist.  I have discovered that I am grossly unqualified for many of the jobs on Craigslist.  You see, I am not a Spanish speaking cleaning lady fresh over the border from Mexico.  That disqualifies me from approximately half of the jobs.  I am also not a male stripper.  So that means I don't qualify for another quarter of the jobs listed.  The remaining quarter of the jobs just don't pay enough to meet my needs.

Searching for a job is quite an adventure.  I'm sure I will eventually find something.  Honestly, I'm not that picky.  As long as the job pays enough to cover my student loans and daycare, I'm good with it.  There are quite a few companies that give preference to military spouses, so I'm looking into those.  I'd love to find a job that actually makes use of my degree.  But I went to school for me and for the sense of accomplishment.  I also wanted to set that example for my kiddos.  So, if I end up working a job that has nothing to do with my degree, that doesn't bother me.  For now, I'm looking and kind of enjoying the adventure of it.

Family Pictures

While we were in AR, my sister and I decided that we needed to do some family pics for the grandparents.  Plus we just like torturing the hubbies like that.  They turned out super cute!  My sis is sending me the CD with all the pictures, but here's a little preview...

I am sure I will post more when I get the CD, but that's it for now.

These fabulous pics were taken by Aubrey Hammer. 

Please Excuse My Lack of Blogging

Yeah, I know...I've been the worst blogger lately.  If there's an award for that, please feel free to bestow it upon me.

Anyways, I am finally getting most of the boxes unpacked.  It is absolutely freakin' unbelievable what movers will pack.  Seriously, I found a bag of trash from the boys' room, a box of cereal (even though they said they wouldn't pack any food and I had to give away all of my spices) and my grocery list.  I am also astounded by the amount of crap we have.  However, I am convinced that our stuff reproduced in storage.

I have also been worrying over the school the boys are in now.  Change is an inevitable part of our lifestyle.  The average military child attends six schools during their life.  (I'm thinking this statistic refers to school districts, but not entirely sure.)  Oldest kiddo is on his third school...he's in second grade.  Middle kiddo is on his second school...he's in kindergarten.  So, this new school is supposedly a really good one.  I'm sure it is better than some.  However, I disagree with some of their methods.  Oldest kiddo is an excellent reader.  Currently, he reads at a fourth or fifth grade level.  Yesterday, the librarian wouldn't let him check out a book he was interested in because it was too thick.  Really?!  Instead of encouraging the kids to read books, they send them home with these crazy little "fluency folders" full of short paragraphs.  I can see the theory they are working with, but the fact is that I don't believe it works.  Middle kiddo brings home a kindergarten version of the folder and it is equally ridiculous.  My main concern is that this school is spending every minute preparing my kids to take a standardized test in the third grade.  I'm already on a soap box so I will refrain from going into all my objections but let me just say that teaching to a test is not the sort of education that will benefit these kids in the long run.

Ok, I'll stop with that now.  I do have to tell you about the uniform situation though...This school requires the kids to wear a uniform.  My kids think it's stupid.  When I look out my window and see a bunch of high school girls were skirts that barely cover their asses and shirts that don't contain the girls at all, I have to agree with my kids.  If my elementary school kids are going to be wearing uniforms, then the scantily dressed high school kids should be wearing them too.  Middle kiddo has developed his own way of giving the uniform policy the bird though.  He wears wild socks.  You know, kind of like Booth on Bones.  Oldest kiddo is just like whatever about the whole thing because he's still very concerned about the whole library situation.

Baby girl has been teething since the beginning of the move.  It's nightmarish.  Seriously.  She's getting four molars in at once.  Her mouth hurts.  She got that nasty diaper rash that goes along with teething.  Thankfully, she is getting over all that now though.  Baby girl has also gotten more steady on her feet which means that she is super helpful with the unpacking process.

Oh, and I have to tell you about the crazy mail situation!  We finally got our mailbox keys.  The mailman dropped off all the mail that has been accumulating in the box.  Apparently, no one has been getting the mail for our house since about November.  So, hubby and I sorted through it all.  There were about 60 pieces of mail (not including junk mail) for 7 different families!  Yeah, I have no idea exactly how many people were living in this house before us.  In addition to all the Christmas cards they missed out on, there were billing notices from law offices, a bunch of water bills and no less than three notices that warrants for arrest had been issued.  Apparently, the previous occupants were quite a colorful bunch.  I just hope no one shows up looking for them because Baby Girl does not react well to people interrupting her sleep.

I am finishing up my school work for the semester and then hopefully I will be better about my blogging.  I have also been catching up on laundry in my handy dandy, super spectacular new front loading washer and dryer.  I totally heart them!  But, I didn't realize that I would get so behind during this move.  But that's just life, I suppose.  Hope life is treating you all well.

We Made It!!

Well, we have finally arrived at our final destination....about five minutes west of Lucifer in Hell.  Just kidding...kinda...well, have you ever been to West Texas?  It's hot here.  But, it's a dry heat so my hair loves it!

Anyways, we are here...let's see what else is going on... 

I have internet again.  Now if only the people would deliver my household goods, I'd be all set.  Hopefully, I will be back on track with my blogging...I know ya'll have missed me :)

The boys are in school.  Oldest kiddo has a "whatever" kind of attitude about it.  Middle kiddo hates change and has, so far, cried both days.  It kills me when he cries.  He gets that super red face and does that gasping for air thing that kids do.  Heartwrenching, I tell ya.

I live 15 minutes from a Super Target.  Yay me!

I still need a job.  And I'm getting a bit nervous about it because the Sunday paper only had 2 pages of help wanted ads.  Seriously.  Used to be that the Sunday paper had at least 5 or 6 pages of help wanted ads.  Times are tough, I suppose.

Not having stuff means I don't have my washer and dryer.  Um, I have a 1 year old.  I need to do laundry because I don't care how cute she is, the child is a mess.  I just gave her a banana for breakfast and now I have to change her shirt.  Seriously.  She made that big of a mess out of a banana.  You should see what she can do with mac and cheese...let's just say a pressure washer is needed.

Alrighty, well, I have to drop some stuff off to the property manager, figure out where the hell to get my mailbox key and find a laundry mat that isn't full of bugs and creepy people...as you can see, I have quite the busy day ahead of me.
 

Yay for Tuesday!!

Yes, I'm still in the middle of moving.  I cannot wait to say that I am finished with the whole mess.  We will be heading down to Texas later this week and finishing up the move.  Yay!  Anyhoo, it is Tuesday and that means I get to be totally random...

**Moving sucks.

**My FIL has a rule that dogs aren't allowed on the couches.  Our dogs don't understand that so they keep getting in trouble.  He's not here right now so they are napping on the couch.  Honestly, I don't have the energy or desire to move them.

**I have come to the conclusion that I will never again do a major family event with both sides of our family.  From now on, birthday parties, holidays and whatever else will be divided.  Yes, I know that means that I'll have to do two of each.  But I just can't take the freakin' drama of it all anymore.  If you haven't figured it out, certain members of the family got a little bent out of shape at Baby Girl's birthday party.  Oh well.

**I think my iPhone may be the greatest thing ever.  I love it!

**Hubby and I are going to have another nephew.  Pretty exciting!

**We stayed last week at my parents' house.  Ever since we left, I keep trying to find things, then freak out that I left it at their house and text my dad to find it.  Of course, thrity seconds after I send the text, I find whatever I was looking for.  I kinda feel bad that my dad has to deal with my ditziness.

**It is really windy here today.  I'm not impressed.  I just hope the wind isn't blowing too hard on Friday when we're driving across west Texas because that really sucks.

**I cannot wait to see the house we're going to be living in.  Well, part of me is super excited and the other part of me is hoping that it lives up to the expectations I have of it.  But still, I can't wait to see it.

**Only in Arkansas will you here the following on a radio ad: "We're gonna be having a four man scramble out there at the golf course this weekend.  Come on out and join us."  Uh, yeah, I'll get right on that just as soon as I figure out where "out there at the golf course" is.  Give me a hint: which golf course you talking about?  It's not like there is only one in the area.  I love my hometown!

**I really do love it here, but I'm not ready to be back here permanently.  Maybe by the time hubby retires, I'll be ready for the whole live-in-the-same-place-for-more-than-three-years commitment...

**Middle kiddo has no filter on his mouth.  He informed my mom that she is a "dangerous driver" and my FIL that his driving isn't too great either.  Yeah, I love him.

Well, I really ought to get back to catching up on my homework.  Hopefully by next week, things will be settled down and I can get back to my regular blogging.  I miss my bloggy peeps (you know, the normal people in my life, even if you do live in my computer)!

Random Catch-Up

I am so far behind on the my blogging.  Sorry.  I have been busy hanging out with the family and being fed constantly.  I thought I'd throw out some random bits for your reading enjoyment.

**The trip from Kentucky to my parents' house is about nine hours.  It took me 12.  There was rain and wind all the way across two states.  Then there was thick-as-pea-soup fog for the last couple of hours.  The fog freaked me out.  Seriously, there were moments that I wanted to pull over but I couldn't see the side of the road.  Luckily, my kiddos were good on the trip.

**Baby girl's first birthday is only days away!  I've got her party all planned out.  I can't wait for the cake :)

**I am gonna need bigger pants when I leave here.  My family has been feeding me constantly.  However, I didn't get the last cupcake...I even stuck my finger in the frosting to mark it as mine...my mom ate it anyways.

**I'm still half-heartedly looking for a job.  I'll step up the search when we actually get down to Texas and settle in.

**Ever notice how people on House Hunters complain about everything?  It drives me crazy.  Where do they find so many whiney-ass people?!

**Ha ha ha....the guy on tv just said "do-able"...yes, I giggled...yes, I might have the maturity level of a twelve year old...but, I am exhausted.

**I'm going to get a pedicure with my sis tomorrow.  Yay!  Pedis are the most amazing way to spend kid-free time ever.

**I haven't gotten much school work done here...I'm so behind...not cool.

**I have the most adorable neice and nephew ever.  Seriously.

I will try to post more again soon.  Please tolerate my moving madness and rest assured that it will end soon :)

Oh...and has anyone tried the Blogium app on the iPhone?  I'm thinkng about getting it, but it's not free so I'm not sure...