Right now, I am as happy as a kid in a candy store, except this is my virtual world so it would be more like an online candy store!
Right before we moved into our new home, Alex and I had a long talk. For the past 5 years, Alex has worked 3rd shift, Sunday-Thursday nights from 10pm-6am. In those 5 years, we added to more children to the mix which has left me with A LOT of sleepless nights. I have been the sole caretaker of all 4 kids for the last 5 years from 9:30pm to about 3/4pm the following day.
It has been exhausting to say the least.
For 5 years, I have either slept alone or shared the bed with whichever child couldn’t sleep that night or with a baby who just felt the need to nurse around the clock.
Again, I repeat, it has been exhausting.
So, right before the move, we discussed Alex moving to 2nd shift which would mean he works 2pm-10pm. We thought this would work better for all of us because we would both be able to get some sleep and we would get to sleep next to each other, he would have more time to spend with the little ones in prior to going in to work and he would still be able to see the older kids, because lets face it, teenagers rarely go to sleep before 10! We also thought it would be better for our relationship as well because we would be able to spend more time together.
Yes, 2nd shift would mean he wouldn’t be able to attend after school activities and programs and I would be the lone parent attending but he could take PTO or vacation when it came to the really important events the kids would have throughout the year.
Needless to say, after all of the talking and contemplating, he contacted his employer to let them know that he was interested in moving to 2nd shift.
And we’ve been waiting, not so patiently, for an opening to be posted.
Then tonight, when he got to work, he sent me a text….
“They posted second and third shift batchmaker positions!”
Needless to say….I was elated!
He put in his application and gave it to his supervisor.
Now we just have to wait for it to get approved and find out when he will make the move.
I.CANNOT.WAIT.
5 years of 3rd shift is just too much when you have little kids.
I am looking forward to being the wife of a 2nd shift batchmaker!
All posts by Anne Younger
Live Your Best Life #CloroxLounge
As a mom, I have always tried to encourage my kids to do their best and be themselves in every aspect of life. I want my kids to try new things, be fearless, and have fun. I want them to play sports and participate in activities just for the experience, not to be competitive. No matter what, I always want my kids to live the best life they can. I admit, when it comes to myself…..I have my faults. I am capable of living a better life, however it is something that I have definitely struggled with over the years. I always put my family first and often leave myself out of the equation. I know that I need to take more time for myself and do more for myself, but it is a constant struggle. I need to commit to living my best life every day, in all aspects of life! I have so many goals that I hope to achieve someday and I would like to accomplish them sooner, rather than later. Right now, the only thing holding me back is that I have 2 little kids that are at home with me and they devour a great deal of my time and I also have 2 older children who steal as much time with me as they can too. Any suggestions for what I can do in the short term?
How would you like to join all of your O, The Oprah Magazine favorites for a day dedicated to you and living your best life? Clorox is sponsoring the O You!, The Oprah Magazine even in Los Angeles and you can enter for a chance to win tickets to the event! All you have to do to enter is play games and enter the sweepstakes at The Clorox Lounge. Every time you play one of the Games for Thrones, you will be entered to win one of 10 Kindle Fires with an ), The Oprah Magazine subscription AND the grand prize of round trip airfare to Los Angeles complete with two nights hotel accommodations, airport transfers and admission to O You! You can enter up to 12 entries a day!
On October 20, 2012, O will take over the Los Angeles Convention Center at L.A. Live, located in downtown Los Angeles. Join all of your O, The Oprah Magazine favorites, including Gayle King, Suze Orman, Martha Beck, Peter Walsh and more, for a truly memorable day of learning, inspiration and fun!
Disclosure: I was compensated for writing this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and The Clorox Lounge blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.
The Big Layaway Giveaway from KMart
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kmart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Tis the season to start procuring those holiday gifts, and if you are like our family, you might shop on a budget and do you best to curb those big expenses. One of my favorite things to do when shoping for friends and family for all those gifts we give at Christmas, it to start early and take advantage of free layaway programs.
The nice thing for us, is that we live a hop, skip, and a jump away from the only KMart store in town and also one of the only retailers left these days that offers layaway YEAR ROUND!
Right now at KMart, you also have the chance to win Kmart’s Big Layaway Giveaway!!
What does that mean?
Simple, if you put your purchases on layaway, and you are automatically entered and have a chance to win your remaining balance paid off!!!
I am planning to start our holiday shopping next weekend and I know that I will definitely be taking advantage of the layaway program and am keeping my fingers crossed that I will win the BIG layaway giveaway so we can make this Christmas, our first in our new home, a truly special one for all of us!
Weekend Projects: House Update
Over the weekend, we finally had the chance to get some backyard projects completed. The first project was to create something that our little Alexander desperately needed, a sandbox. On Saturday afternoon, Pa the Great showed up with the needed materials to craft the sandbox, including Alexander’s hammer and together (with some extra help from Daddy too) a sandbox was built!
I cannot wait!
Once the sandbox project was complete, the Alex finally had the time to dig our (much needed) fire pit! When we lived in the rental home, our landlord put a stop to our backyard fires because she feared a hot ash would land on the roof and burn the house down. We had so much fun when we were able to have fires. It is something the whole family enjoys and is also something we enjoyed doing with our friends. So, a fire pit in our new (huge) backyard was definitely a top priority.
Of course, once it was done, the kids couldn’t wait to start burning stuff so we found ourselves sitting around the fire about 10pm getting ready to light up the neighborhood and have some fun. I just wish we would have had the makings for S’mores!
We spent just over an hour snuggled up around our new fire pit, minus one sleeping Alexander. Little Miss Ellie was snuggled up on me under a blanket fast asleep. It was great to see the kids have so much fun! We are already looking forward to having a fire again this coming weekend, but I will be sure that we have everything we need for S’mores and other snacks!
I am also hoping that over this coming weekend, we can move a swingset that a family friend is giving us, and get it set up!
Hope you and yours had a great weekend as well!
Make Fall Beautiful with Miracle-Gro
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Now that we have a home and are able to make the decisions on what to do with the yard, we are ready to grab the bull by the horns. We already have great ideas for spring, which include plant a huge garden so we can start growing our own vegetables and herbs! The only downfall is that we have to wait until spring to start that project. So for now, we are focusing on some fall projects.
Right now our yard is filled with A LOT of shrubs and miscellaneous bushes and for me, there just is not enough color going on so I am really looking forward to doing some Fall gardening and planting some different bulbs for the spring, and also add some much needed color! One thing the Alex wants to add to our yard are some pansies, and I would love some daisies! I have great plans to create some beautiful flower beds using cinder blocks based on a garden idea I found on Pinterest. Of course when I do start this project, I plan on using Miracle-Gro products because that it was my dad has always used!
My husband and I got married in the fall of 2007 because I love all of the fall colors and Find beauty in the Fall. I loved that we got married in a park, leaves were on the ground, and all of our flowers were beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. Being in love with the fall colors and knowing how beautiful this project will make our yard in the end is why I chose this particular project.
Be sure to like the Miracle-Gro Facebook page so you can chat with other gardeners and share your stories as well.
