Three More Days

We still haven't heard from the job in Ch.icago. What's ironic is that it will be a year this week since we were there celebrating R's 30th birthday. It would be kind of cool if he got some good news this week since his birthday is on Saturday, but as our luck would have it, bad news would be more likely. What would be really nice is if the other 60+ jobs he's applied for would call to schedule interviews! I have three more days of subbing this week and then on Thursday I'm going to start babysitting the neighbor's baby. There is a possibility that I'll be able to pick up one more day subbing but most likely this will be my last week since next week is the last week of school.

Little man had his end of the year preschool program on Friday night so my mom came for the weekend. We went out to dinner before the program and that was so yummy. I miss going out to dinner! The program was really cute. They sang three songs and then they each got a certificate. We had cake and punch afterwards and a good time was had by all :)

We did some major gardening this weekend! My mom bought me some more flowers and R prepared the garden spots because we're actually going to have quite a large garden since we love to each home grown veggies. My mom and I replanted several different plants that had gotten out of control and then I spent the majority of today weeding. I have no idea why anyone would plant landscaping and not put down the special tarp plastic type stuff to prevent weeds. We lost a tree over the winter that was in the landscaping in the back so R cut that down today and dug out the stump. It only took 4 hours but he did it so now we're ready to plant the garden tomorrow. I still have more weeding to do tomorrow evening!!!

Well let's home for some freaking good news this week. I'm cashing in the rest of my retirement so that we can hopefully stay afloat for the summer.

More Money Saving Ideas

So yeah I know this is like 6 months late but I'm finally getting around to posting more of my money saving ideas. It's been almost 9 months so I've been perfecting my skills on saving money, hope you'll find some of these helpful.

• Cancel satellite/cable TV- summer is right around the corner and the weather is getting so enjoyable. We did this last year and it worked out great so we'll be cancelling our satellite again this summer, not only to save a few bucks but also to take advantage of the glorious weather. It stays light so late and we're outside so much, we don't even miss T.V.
• Cheap Wine- Through a friend I heard about this cheap wine that tastes good, so I just had to try it out. I know it's a splurge but at $2.97 a bottle I figured we could scrape up some coins and afford a bottle or two. It does actually taste good and better than some $5 or $6 bottles that I've had before. So if you are looking for cheap date night drinks I would recommend this.
• Make Your Own Take Out- We have perfected making pizzas that taste like we picked them up from out local pizzeria. I have a great whole wheat crust recipe and it's so much cheaper than ordering out.
• Have a Garage Sale- If you find yourself with things that you just don't need or need to raise a few bucks organize a garage sale and make some money while you get rid of junk you just don't use. We made over $100 last weekend and though it's not a ton it will cover a couple bills that you have. You can also utilize Craig.slist or E-b.ay to make some money on items that you don't need anymore or could live without.
• Clip Coupons- I know I had this on my last list but I can't stress this enough. I have gotten salad dressing (Kra.ft brand) for 8 and 9 cents the past two times I have bought them because I clipped a coupon for $1.50 off and I found them on sale.
• Check Out Local Free Family Events- The local Y..M.C.A. camp had a family event that had a huge lunch (hot dogs, veggies, macaroni salad, chips, and cookies) and fun kids activities (bounce house, reptile house, zip line, face painting, smores making, car racing, etc..) for three hours on a Sunday afternoon. We went towards the end and got a free early dinner and fun activities for Little man and it was literally a 5 minute drive. One of the green houses near us is having a kids day where they are giving away free tomato plants to the kids and having other fun activities. Just look in your local paper to find these fun, free events.

I'm sure I'll be able to write another post about more ideas in the future because no one is beating down our door to offer R a job. At least I'm able to share these ideas with people who may also be in our same situation and help others :) Always look on the positive side!

Still Waiting

We still haven't heard anything about R's job, maybe tomorrow. I really wish that some of the other jobs he's applied for would call for interviews so that we'd have more options on the table. R has been working his butt off applying for jobs. He had a color coded spread sheet with nearly 100 jobs he's applied for, the date he applied, the follow up date, etc... Yesterday alone he applied for over 20 jobs. I had the opinion that if he applied for tons and tons of jobs that probability would be in his favor and at least one would work out. So far, we're still waiting for that one out of a hundred and I'm praying it comes soon.

Subbing is nearly over and my babysitting job is going to begin. Our income is going to go from around $1200 per month down to about $600. I'm really not sure how that's going to work but we're hoping things will just work out. Up until now times have been really tough but we've made it, hopefully things will continue to work out. We're cancelling our satellite T.V. tomorrow to save some money and I've been walking to work to save gas. Today I even took a soda can out of the trash because a person threw it away because it was easier than taking it to the pop can bin. I'm of the opinion that every little bit counts. Last week we had a garage sale and made over $100. I've babysat twice for the neighbors and made $70. We're really trying to live a greener lifestyle and save money in the process.

On a totally cool note, Baby M pulled himself up for the first time today and everyone got to witness it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He pulled himself up to standing using the coffee table because he desperately wanted to grasp the remote. The kid just loves remotes. He's been sick and under the weather this week so I did let him chew on it a little today :) Little man is continually developing his personality and said the funniest thing yesterday. He told R and he wanted mommy to have another baby in her belly and then proceeded to ask R how babies got in mommies bellies, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then he informed him that he wanted another baby brother, not a baby sister :)

I Hate Waiting!

Well we're just waiting to hear now about R's interview. He thought it went well but is rather reserved in making judgements because he's been turned down so many times when he's thought the interview went well. He doesn't know what the time line is, just that there were no internal candidates. He ended up staying that the Ri.tz Car.lton and had a personal car taking him to and from the airport so that was pretty cool. They definitely spent a lot of money on him, hope it turns out to be worth it on their part. They haven't seemed to really dawdle in the process thus far so we're thinking sometime this week he should know something. I'll keep everyone posted, we're praying it's good news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Luck

Tomorrow is the day.....R's interview. He was flown in this evening and interviews tomorrow for a half day and then flies back home tomorrow evening. I'm just praying that it's our turn for a break. This is our absolute last chance at landing something and I feel that we've more than paid our dues. It's been nearly 9 months and we've been on a 9 month roller coaster ride. I'm ready to hop off and start living a "normal" life again. I'm so damn scared because I have no idea what in the hell we are going to do if he doesn't get this job.

I have exactly 9 more days that I can sub before I begin babysitting for my summer job. Yes, I'm going to be making money babysitting but it's peanuts compared to what our monthly bills cost. R has been working his butt off being the greatest stay-at-home dad that any family could ever fathom while also busting his butt applying for tons and tons of jobs and he deserves something to actually work out for once. I'm confident that he's going to do GREAT interviewing tomorrow and I just hope that they make a decision quickly so that we can move forward with whatever path we need to go down.

GOOD LUCK R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We love you more than you can ever imagine, you're the best dad and husband. Keep us in your prayers and I can't thank you enough for taking the time pray for us.

From Phone to In Person

R had his phone interview this morning and the whole time leading up to this interview was really weird. First off, they didn't even bother to call to schedule it, it was done via e-mail. After they set the date/time they never got back to him about whether it was Centr.al or Eas.tern time so he basically had to guess, luckily he guessed correct. The last thing that was weird was that they made him call and it wasn't a toll free number. It was just all really bizarre, things are so impersonal these days, not sure if that's good or bad.

So when I got home from work today I inquired about how it went and he was happy with the interview and said that they are going to talk over the candidates next week and that in person interviews would be set for the week after that. So basically we're talking nearly the last week in May or somewhere around there, sigh. We're running out of time so that's frustrating that all this takes so darn long.....or so we thought. Around 3:30pm an e-mail popped up and it was asking him to come down for an in person interview!!!!!!!!!! So it was a matter of about 6 hours. He got to choose between next Thursday or Friday and they are flying him down and paying for a night in a hotel. We don't live that far away from Chic.ago and if you recall the last time he had an interview down there he just drove and took the train.

So needless to say I'm asking everyone to please pray like you've never prayed before, ask people you know to pray, cross your fingers, keep us in your thoughts, because this is literally our last chance at making it through this mess without getting too beat up. If something doesn't work out by the end of May then we're really in for some horrible times and I just don't think that I can take that.

Online Tutoring

I'm sure I've mentioned that I online tutor in the evenings. It's great money for not having to go anywhere and I schedule my own hours when I am available. It's been rather frustrating though for several years because I'm stuck at one level and seem unable to move up and be promoted. You start out on probation and after 6 months move up to Tutor 1 status if you meet all the requirements. I started tutoring in August of 2005 and made it out of probation without any problems but I've been at the Tutor 1 status since early 2006. That's a long freaking time at one level. I have had several mentors and they all set goals, which I meet, but then there are always new goals, it's a vicious cycle.

It's really hard to be completely perfect 100% of the time. There are always places here and there where you mess up, or should have tried something different, or chosen a different method to teach. It seems like a mentor would look for something to discuss if it's an apparent problem, something that's happening all the time, or something that is violating the tutor handbook. I just feel like it's constant nitpicking. I guess maybe I'm not that great compared to other tutors or whatever but I'm just getting frustrated that I can't get promoted no matter what I do.