I hope I don't have...

Hopefully I'm okay.

I got a call yesterday about the blood work that I had done. It turns out that one of the tests was for hormones and mine were out of whack. They asked if I could come back on Wed. after 8:30 and said that I could walk in and that would be fine. I planned to go right at 8:30 so that I could hop over to work as soon as I was done.

Then they called and said that the Dr. wants to see me and that I'd need an appointment. They said that she wants me to have another test and recheck my blood work and that she'll talk to me tomorrow at 10:30. I asked for an earlier appointment because I have to be at work at ten, but unfortunately we're having a blizzard tonight and they're not starting appointments until 10.

I asked T if it was okay if I stepped out and he was really nice about it and told me that I could put a note on the door and close the store while I went. After talking to him I got really scared that I wouldn't be able to get back in an hour. I mean, what if it took two hours and I left the store by itself for that long? I just know that I'd feel sick leaving, but I'd be an anxious mess about being away for so long. So, I called the office back (they must love me) and asked for some assurance that I could be back at work (it's only two blocks away) by 11:30. The receptionist said that generally she thought that an hour would be an appropriate time allotment but that because they were shuffling so many appointments and because of the snow... she couldn't promise me that it would work out. So, I canceled.

But then I was telling L about it and he told me to call J and see if he could just work from open to close. Which I did. And he agreed to.

Don't I work with an incredible bunch of people? Every single person who I talked to about this bent over backwards to make it happen so that I can put my health first.

Jay is going to go to work and then (because school will definitely be canceled) will come home to watch the girls (who are not allowed in the dr's office- WEIRD) and then he'll have to go back to work.

By the way, I am sure that there's nothing truly wrong with me. My Hashimotos disease causes all sorts of problems and it's likely related to that. Of course, it's a little bit freaky when you have some blood work done and a dr. wants to see you immediately...

Here's what I tend to jump to:

a.) OHMYGODIHAVEAIDS

b.) OHMYGODIHAVECANCER

c.) OHMYGODTHEY'REGOINGTOTRYTOFORCEMETOHAVEINVITROFERTILIZATION

...to be continued.

Back to Work

After three days off, I'm going back to work today.

There's lots to do.

I'm going back with a clear mind and I'm going to enjoy myself... UNLESS it snows. I just need a week or two without a lot of snow or complications to my routine. Why oh why won't the universe cooperate?

Things went well at the big appointment yesterday, but I had some wonky bloodwork so I have to go in before work tomorrow so that they can repeat it. They took A LOT of blood. So much so that I felt dizzy and couldn't get up right away (which has never happened to me before).

I'm off to start my day!

Work Week

Guess what I did yesterday?

I started my very own bank account with the money from my paycheck. We're just going to put all of my pay in savings from this point forward. Now that we're finally back on our feet and mostly through recovery from the financial hit that we took from the bb's, we're able to start saving without changing too much about our lifestyle.

It's another snowy day in Philadelphia! Hopefully, the snow won't prevent Jay and I from taking the girls to their Oma's house for an overnight visit so that he and I can head out to Hoboken to see Particle Zoo play at Maxwell's.

The girls had a snow day from school yesterday. Jay actually called the school phone line and it said that it was cancelled and we later found out that it wasn't cancelled (but it was too late at that point) so the girls and I went to work together. It was a little bit hectic to have them there. They don't really understand that there are times when they can't be my number one priority. Like, when a customer is there and talking to me, I can't have them interrupting my conversation to open a marker case or paint tub. Truthfully, I'm glad that they don't understand that. They are ALWAYS my number one priority and I am happy to know that they realize how valuable they are to me. But, working with them is a little bit stressful. I am going to have them with me on Martin Luther King day as well. I think that it will be easier the second time. Yesterday Lila did a lot of ringing up and Bunny did a lot of greeting people at the door. Luckily, J came in an hour early so that I could get the girls out of there.

Which brings me to this: I had a really off week at work. I was PMSie and grouchy and forgetful and tired... like EXHAUSTED. Then Bunny got sick and I had the girls at work... all in all it was a big fail for me. I'll have to work harder next week.

I have Monday off for the big appointment, so I'll need to go back on Tuesday in full force.

Sales have been a tiny bit better for me. Mostly this is because our store sells a whole line of natural cleaning products called Sun and Earth. They are local to Philadelphia and are definitely the best quality of cleaning product that I've ever used. They just clean about 1000 times better than Ecover or Seventh Generation. In our store we also have a refill station where people can bring in any bottle and we'll refill laundry detergent, dish washing liquid, dish washer pellets, fabric softener, hand soap and all purpose cleaner. You can also pre-pay for 10 refills (which is only $45 and never expires). Right now we have a deal going on where people can pay $45 dollars, get 10 refills on laundry soap, one free all purpose cleaner, one free dish washing liquid and one free hand soap. It's a GREAT DEAL. And because it's such a great deal, people really want to buy them and they makes sales all the better. I had one woman come in yesterday and buy two cards... that's 1000 oz. of laundry detergent.

It's really coming down outside. Looks like it might be a night in for Jay and I.

Each day on my way to work I pass two little stores that are owned by the same person. One is called "Loop" (and is where I buy my yarn) and the other is called "Spool" and sells fabric. I haven't gotten out my sewing machine in a long, long time (it is currently housed in a black plastic trash bag and living in my backyard, sitting against the side of my house). So anyway, I've never had a reason to go into spool before. But each day I admire an infinity scarf that is featured in the window.

Yesterday, I went to work to one of the most disastrous days that I've had. It was the sort of day when everyone I encountered just seemed mean and by the time L came in I started telling her about it and literally broke into a giant explosion of tears (please note that I might have PMS too). By the time I got home I was completely exhausted.

I decided to call Spool and ask how much the infinity scarf in their window costs. I thought that it was safer to call rather than to stop in because if it was crazily expensive I'd be less likely to buy it on impulse if I had to walk there and think about how much it costs and had to give myself a few minutes to try to justify it and fail.

The very friendly girl on the phone told me that it's not for sale, which I had suspected because I once asked if the yarn examples at Loop were for sale and was told that they aren't. But, she said, they could sell me everything that it takes to make it for $25. I explained to her that I didn't want to make it. I wanted to BUY the exact one from the window. But, her sugar exterior couldn't be cracked and several hours later I found myself heading home with a few yards of fabric and these figure 8 scarf instructions by Anna Marie Horner. It's such a simple pattern that I decided to use a straight pin and sew it by hand. After one night of sewing I'm almost done with the project.

Expect pictures tomorrow and wish me a better day at work today.

I love this time of year! I can't believe that Christmas is less than a week away! All of our shopping is done. All of our gifts are wrapped. I have granola to make all week and cute little boxes to put it in!

This week should be very busy at work, so I expect for the hours to really blow past while I'm there. Yesterday went by really quickly.

After the holidays I get my own BGES email that I can use to contact companies. T has had me doing a little bit of the buying here and there and he says that he's going to teach me everything about the store. He's put me in charge of contacting the company for the Orbit Baby Stroller and ordering them for our store. Now I've been doing all of the mail orders (both phone and internet), the purchasing and receiving vouchers, merchandising and the store newsletter. I'm excited to learn more so that I can apply it to my own little business someday.

Things are good. I'm feeling settled in. I wish that our house was a little bit more festive for the holiday... but we didn't take any Christmas decorations with us when we moved and it seemed like a waste to go out and buy a house full of decoration when we could be using the money in so many other ways. That said, we have the necessities. We have a little tree, stockings, Charlie and a little Santa.

By the way, this year I'm cutting corners. I'm giving Santa those instant cookies from a mix and the reindeer are getting baby carrots. I work on Christmas Eve and have lots to do that night. I'm making jalapeno poppers, 7 layer dip, a meat and cheese tray, a veggie plate, a lemon meringue pie, a banana split pie, a cheesecake and peanut butter cups when I get home from work. At noon the following day CK, the girls, Jay and I are heading to JD's for Christmas... which is something that she and I used to dream of when we were young. Long friendships warm my heart. This is particularly true because my family is so far away.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Our Holiday was a success!

Everything (especially the poppers and the sangria) were delicious. Our company was good. Everyone was happy and laughing...

I meant to take lots of pictures of the food I made as it came out. But, of course, I forgot everything past the jalapeno poppers (which are featured to the left) so here's what was consumed! Poppers, artichoke dip and chips and meat and cheese plate. Turkey, gravy (which wasn't very good. It's always hit or miss with me), stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, turnips, peas, corn and hot buns with butter. For dessert we had cheesecake (which, much to my pleasure, Jack made a big deal about) with strawberries.

Now, in a few minutes I need to hop into the shower because J will be here to babysit until 1:30. Today is the first black friday that I am working in retail EVER. Last year I shopped it. This year I'll work it. But, it's also a payday for me, so hopefully I'll shop it after five too!

I'll let you know how it goes!

I don't have time for this

I'm sick.

Just a little bit sick.

But, still.

My throat is killing and I went to bed last night at 7:30.

I was so pleased because yesterday morning I was supposed to go into work to learn how to process receiving vouchers. I was only supposed to stay for two hours but was able to stay for five hours. This means that it's as if I never missed Veteran's Day!

Also, I made my first Santa 2010 purchase of the season. I got my first paycheck and picked this up for B and L. It's one of two "big gifts." The other being the Barbie Dream House. These will be the presents that Elf Jay and Elf Christian stay up into the wee hours assembling. I'll never forget the Christmas when Bunny was 1 and a half. She barely understood the concept of Christmas. I think that she just regarded the whole thing as a fun story that we kept telling her. On Christmas morning she peaked down stairs at the Christmas tree and let out a little toddler sized gasp. Her tiny footsteps quickened and she yelled, "It HAPPENED!!!!!!"

But, anyway... I can't be sick because I can not miss work. Every penny that I do not earn is another gift that I am not able to buy for my children. And though I realize that Christmas is about lots of thing, not just gifts... I will be damned if my children have to feel our financial strain on Christmas morning. OVER. MY. DEAD. BODY.

So, this morning I've already showered and instead of coming home to do my morning stuff, after dropping the girls off at school, I'm going to get a flu shot (something that I haven't done before and am only doing now because Jay almost died when he got the flu last year). I'm also picking up Dayquill and Nightquill and I'm taking some right away. Tonight I'm going to bed at 7:30 again.

Please let me feel better soon. I need a healthy year.

Veterans Day/ incredibly boring post about the mundane details of my day to day

I spent the day at home with the girls yesterday. It was my first day back at home since settling in at my new job.

Here is what I have learned:

In my life, being a stay-at-home mom is much harder than being a work-away-from-home mom. I also have a brand-new appreciation for mom's who work from home. This used to seem perfect to me and now it seems like a crazy impossibility that I can't fathom how people manage!

Here's a small breakdown. On days that I work I:

Wake up at 6:15, make breakfasts, get my girls up, check my email, write a blog (exactly where and when I am now), get everyone dressed, do hair, make beds, fill water bottles and get out the door.

Then I drop the kids off, come home I clean up breakfast stuff and sweep the house, unload/reload the dishwasher, prep dinner, put a load of laundry in, prep jammies and clothes for the next day, shower quickly and walk to work.

Get to work and spend five hours relaxing. I mean, everything I do there is very easy. Everyone I work with or around is very pleasant, everything is pretty much fun.

Leave work, walk to pick the girls up, get home, immediately do homework, immediately start dinner, cook, prep snack and Jay's food/girls lunches for the following day, try to keep an eye on my children, eat dinner, flip laundry, do dishes, clean kitchen (Jay is doing bath while I do this), sit down for the first time since I had coffee in the morning!!!!! (usually more than 12 hours later), read stories, put girls to bed, hang out with Jay or just go to sleep.

Yesterday I had the most exhausting day. I woke up at 6:30, made breakfast, stripped the beds, got all of the sheets in the washer, cleaned the bathrooms and swept the whole house. Went around floor boards of the house with the skinny vacuum to suck up any thing gross that might be sitting there waiting to hatch or suck our blood in the night the dust. I got a pot roast started with veggies. I got the girls dressed and made an early lunch. We headed out to the grocery for baking ingredients, picked J up at 3rd and Lombard, headed home to make 60 peanut butter cups and 3 dozen chocolate dipped, orange macaroons for ICS 365. The girls were struggling and board yesterday. I really wanted to do something fun on my day off with them, but unfortunately, there wasn't time to go anywhere so I trusted them to play independently and nicely. I was asking for too much. For whatever reason, everyone was very grouchy all day. I prepped clothes for the next day, got pretzel money ready, did bath, got pj's out, J had prepped mashed potatoes, so I mashed them and made gravy. We had dinner, I cleaned up, Jay to J home and I read stories and got the girls to sleep.

Yesterday was far more exhausting than a typical day at work. Maybe this is because I had company on top of my normal activities and the girls weren't feeling agreeable.

What I'm wondering is how it's possible to be a work-from-home mom? How do people do it. Both my friend LB and LS do this. And LB does it on her own (lots of the time) and with a toddler. How?

new crafting idea

I noticed that T has a giant bag of old wine corks on his desk and asked if I could have them to make something.

I'm going in with the girls later today so that they can "feed the worms" in the composting worm farms that we keep there (we have four of them and they eat up to a half a pound of food each day). I'm going to pick up the corks while I'm there.

I think that I can grab some straight pins and build a little table to use for displays. A quick google search proved to me that I'm not the first person to contemplate how I could turn my corks into something useful, functional and beautiful. I found both of these articles on the subject. I'm deliriously excited to work on this little project tonight!

Things in the house are moving along. I think that the bb's are finally gone. Considering that some people struggle with this for a year or more before they can solve the problem, we've done really well. Being rid of them was completely worth the loss of all of our possessions. There is no thing that is more precious than our peace of mind. From this we have learned a lot about the nature of our happiness. It was a hard lesson, but one that we are going to embrace.

Last night we hosted our first dinner here. Hill and Pail came over and I made a chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, a chunky pink sauce, Italian sausage and veggies, rolls and yellow squash. It was okay. Not my best creation, but it was fine. I used a lot of extra cheese in the sauce and it made it too greasy. I need to be more careful of the type and quality of the cheese I use to cook with. Hill and Jay relocated our little yellow love seat to B's bedroom (bit excitement) and I'm shocked by how much room remains there! It's interesting how you don't realize how big a room is until you see it furnished. After the girls went to sleep we played the Worst Scenario board game and drank a few beers. All in all it was a fun night!

Big Green Mama

I continue to love my new job!

I really like everything about it. I like the hours. I like that when the store is empty I can sing and dance and beebop around, switching up displays and trying to find ways to show off the merchandise. I like the people I work for and the other people who work there as well. In general, I really like the customers too. I like the products and the concept. I can honestly say that I looked forward to going in every day last week and I had a good, productive time while I was there.

I'm going to do a lot of my holiday shopping there. If you're interested in doing the same, this is the website! Also, I'm in charge to wrapping and sending out the packages this season, so it'll all come directly through me! Some of my thoughts are the Klean Kanteens, the mighty wallets, starlights (the picture really doesn't do them justice! ) And then lots and lots of stocking stuffers. There are these adorable kid friendly staplers that I'd like to put in B and L's stockings! Also, there are rainbow makers that use a prism and solar power to rotate and create a rainbow throughout the room. So cute!

Also, I'm going to make a huge effort to purchase a good amount of my gifts from local small businesses. There will be some Target toy purchases, of course. But, I'd like to support the community.

I've been a little bit of a monster lately.

But I'm not sorry.

Things have been very stressful lately and it all comes down on me. I have to take Bunny crying to school every day. I have to pull her from the car. I have to force her to walk in. EVERY DAY. On Wednesdays I will have to leave the girls in aftercare at the school from 2:30-3:15 (Wed. is their early day out). Yesterday both of my children sat there sobbing hysterically, petrified that I wasn't coming for them. I don't know why this happened being that we talked about it every day for a week before it happened. But, I had to deal with it. Then, I had to to walk my screaming child a mile home, immediately work on homework, immediately scramble to make dinner, clean dinner up and do dishes, get jays food ready for the next day (which he didn't bring), prep breakfasts, do laundry, stories and clean up the little disasters that happen as I'm making dinner.

It's too much. And I resent Jay when I see him sitting there with his socks and shoes off, feet propped up, relaxing on his computer just the way he always would.

So, last night, after a conversation with Bunny about school I totally exploded.

And I have no guilt or remorse for my explosion. I feel that it was well deserved.

Also, we've got to do something about Bunny. I have been waiting for Jay to tell me what therapists will accept our insurance, but I think I'll have to just open the yellow pages and start calling around. I'll bet that our pediatrician could refer us to someone. I hadn't thought of that previously.

Bunny is falling apart. She tells us daily that she hates herself. She writes "Kaitlyn is a Loser" over and over on paper. It's the most heartbreaking thing ever. She's so petrified of her teacher that she can't function in class... and her teacher has been entirely uncommunicative with me. So far as I can tell, she's a giant stone wall. I have emailed and received no response and then I have followed up in person and gotten attitude. I have sent notes in Bunny's folder and gotten promised to email later (which she didn't do). Soooooooo...

I'm sure that she's a nice lady and everything... but it's time to switch teachers.

I opened the store all by myself yesterday.

I did not have to turn off the alarm, which after setting it off on Friday has been the sole source of my anxiety. My fear, of course, is of my technology busting superpower. I am petrified that I will never be able to turn off the alarm and the police will always come until the business is fined and I am eventually fired.

But T was in early in the morning and the alarm had already been turned off.

He left me a note with a list of things to do in order to stay busy. I got to remerchandise the store. It's nice being able to work by myself and rearrange and tidy things. I put on my favorite cd's. When the store is empty I sing and I dance. I made a little window display with brown paper and plants.

Oh, and I got my first paycheck!

So far, so good. I am finding it a little bit taxing to be on my feet all the time. But nothing I'm doing is hard. My home-mama things are all squished into a new time frame which makes me tired and while I'm out of the house I'm on my feet and hurrying somewhere. The half an hour I have while the girls are eating breakfast and I'm drinking coffee has become my most cherished time.

We have a bakery opening up three door down. My friend J mentioned that I should work there because I love to bake so much and the convenience of a business so close to home is unbeatable. Here's the thing, I can't take two jobs and I will never quit my BGES job. I have to be miserable to walk away from something. I'm just not a person who always wants more. Contentment is my objective. I don't need THE BEST JOB EVER and I don't need to make tons of money. I just need to feel safe and happy. I'm proud of myself for getting to this place. Some people never do and are always unhappy where they are because they are sure that there is something better out there.

Big Green Earth Job- First Week in a Wrapper

I finished my first week as a work-outside-the-home mama.

I have to say, I feel great. I worked by myself all day and the hours raced past me. By the end of my afternoon I felt pretty good. There were a few things that I felt uncertain about and got a lot of experience in today. We have a refill center for Sun and Earth cleaning products. People can bring any bottles and we'll fill them for a lesser charge with whatever product that they want. I was pretty shaky about how to ring the refills in when they were weird sizes. I got tons of refills and lots of experience with it today! Also, I just felt more comfortable talking to people about the shop and the different products that we carry. All of our artists are local and most of the companies that we use are small and family owned. For this reason it's important to know about the companies, not just the products. You want to be able to tell people where the companies are and a few things about them.

My favorite products that we sell are by a company out of Queens, New York called First World Trash. They take old billboards and reclaimed seat belts from the junkyard and turn them into beautiful accessories.

Also, I got my store keys today and I'll be opening the shop from now on! Exciting, exciting! I'd feel a little bit better about it if I hadn't set the alarm off this morning when I was trying to turn it off. Yikes!

In an effort to be responsible, I put my phone on vibrate and left it in my purse while I was at work today.

Just before noon the shop phone rang and I saw Jay on the caller id.

I was like, "Hi. I can't talk." And just in case he didn't realize where he was calling, I added, "I'm at work."

I'm not sure why I did this. Jay's not really a social call kinda guy. In retrospect I can't imagine him calling me while I was working if it wasn't urgent. At the time I was taken off guard.

So he was like, "Lila puked. The school called. I just picked her up and we're at home now."

I felt like the worst mom ever.

Of course, the ONE time one of my children gets sent home from school, it's on day three of my new working mom status.

I felt worse when I saw Lila and she was like, "I told the doctor at my school to call you at the Big Green Earth Store and she did but you didn't answer."

Hopefully Lila will be able to go back to school tomorrow.

And hopefully it's just the power of suggestion that is making me feel green. I can't get sick now!

Big Green Earth Job- Day 2

Admittedly, I'm exhausted.

It's only day two and the drain of keeping up all of my normal momming around combined with my part-time job has got me yawning a few hours earlier each day. I'm sure that this is exasperated by the fact that I'm walking 17 blocks to work and then 17 blocks home.

Here's the thing about me: I stick with things for long periods of time because I HATE the feeling of not knowing what I"m doing and I REALLY HATE making mistakes. It's so humiliating.

Tomorrow I'll be there on my own, which is scary... but I can do it! I'm a little worried about the pricing of refills and I'm still uncertain how to use the refill cards where people are able to purchase refills for their laundry detergent or surface cleaner in advance. That said, I have faith in myself. I'll be able to do it. Everything will be fine.

I continue to love the people who I work for and I'm excited to start the writing portion of this job. I'm going to head up a bit of the online social networking, which will be awesome for my writing portfolio.

Seriously, I feel like this is a place where I will work for years.

Another great thing about my job

Today is the first day that I'm working while the girls are in school.

I was able to drop them off, come home, have a cup of coffee, IM with Jay for a few minutes, load the dishwasher, flip the laundry, take some meat out to defrost for dinner and vacuum my house before hopping in the shower to get ready. It couldn't be more convenient, could it?

I'm really looking forward to going in today! It's going to be a good day!

Lila woke up this morning and said, "My back feels funny. It's pains me."

I said, "Maybe you slept on it funny..."

and she responded, "It's probably because I woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Oh, and in other news, we are 7 days with no bug bites. It doesn't make us free and clear (they say 55 days is the magic number), but it makes us 7 days closer.

Big Green Small World

So, I don't want to toot my own horn or anything, but my manager Larry told me that when he met me he immediately knew that he'd like me. He told the shop owner about me right away and even though there's a new batch of employees, I'm the only one who isn't there on a temporary basis. Hooray! I feel like it's sort of a match made in Heaven.

Also, it looks like I'll be staying at the South Street store, which I love. I don't like Center City. I really love South Philly though.

So anyway, my first day was great! I honestly think that I'm going to be really at home there. I felt a little bit useless because I'm not as familiar with the products as I hoped to be. By the end of the day I was completely comfortable on the register and I enjoyed getting to know my managers and co-workers. There isn't anyone who I don't like a lot. Every person was very warm and welcoming. It was difficult to resist the urge to buy stuff, but that would defeat the purpose of getting a job!

So, my prediction is that I'll work at the Big Green Earth Store for years. Once I get to know the merchandise I imagine that it will be the funnest job ever.

By the way, my manager reminds me a lot of my friend Mathew in Denver. It's probably one of the reasons that I warmed up to him so quickly.

Needless to say, I'm very happy!

I Love My Shop!

I stopped in at the Big Green Earth Store after school pick-up today. I have a few dates that I can't work. One is Lila's birthday party, one is Lila's field trip and the other is a Saturday that Jay has to work. I HATE telling people that I can't work. That said, the people who own this shop are seriously the warmest people on earth. I feel so comfortable there.

The people I'm working for are so nice. They were happy to see me and so friendly and kind to the girls. We bought a little mouse flashlight that Bunny's had her eye on and they even gave me my employee discount!

I just know that I'm going to be so happy with this job. I'm really looking forward to my first day on Sunday. Also, I work Monday and Tuesday as well. I like the schedule because I have time to come home after I drop the girls off at school. I can do things like make the beds, clean a little, take a shower and maybe put dinner in the crock pot (after I replace my crock pot, of course) before leaving the house for work.

Today I learned that Klean Kanteen bottles preferable to Sigg bottles because stainless steel is better than coated aluminum (which is coated and can leak). After I work there for two months I get a free Klean Kanteen bottle. I will probably replace B and L's water bottles before that point though. My discount there is 25%. It should be a very green Christmas for the Holler House.

In other news, I found another dead bed bug today. Dead is good. Dead is good.

My Big Green Earth Job

I'm super excited!

I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I had a job interview this afternoon with the Big Green Earth Store and I got it!

This is a very small business. It's actually a crazy-cute little shop on the hippest strip of South Street. I didn't think that I had any hope of getting a job here because of my crappy resume (which the owner told me he liked a lot)! I'm ridiculously excited and enthusiastic!

They are opening a new shop in the business district of Center City and I'm going to be setting up and working in that shop. I'm also going to be writing for them!!!! It's a small company so the pay isn't great, but I don't honestly care and I doubt that Jay cares either. This isn't our primary income and it looks like a wonderful place to work. I can tell that I'll enjoy going in each day and I'd much rather work for a small business than a large one. The best part is that I will be able to start work after I drop the girls off at school and leave before picking them up each day. I will need to sacrifice some weekends with my family, but themsthebreaks. It will be more time with their dad, which I'm sure they'll all love anyway.

I AM SO EXCITED!

I feel like maybe my luck is turning around!