Changes are coming

This summer and fall are full of changes for us, and they are all good!

Jon has a new job- hurray! He has been teaching 8th grade science for five years now at an inner city school. He has been wanting to get out of this school system, he was getting a little burnt out from the student's attitude towards learning. He started job searching a the end of the 2008-09 school year but was not able to find anything then. This year he was able to find another job in a nicer town. He will continue to teach 8th grade science, which is something he loves doing, but he will be doing it in a (hopefully) more rewarding setting.

Madeline is starting preschool in a month. My oldest baby will be going to school two days a week. We bought her uniforms, backpack and lunchbox. I am excited and sad at the same time. I think she will really love school and meeting new friends and it will be good for her since kindergarten is five full days the following year.

Ben is obviously a new addition to the house! We are all adjusting well to life as a family of five. It takes a lot longer to get anywhere when we are working with the non-existant schedule of a newborn, so some days we just stay at home and take it easy.

I am planning to start tot school with Owen at home on the days that Madeline is at school. I will continue to do some preschool work with Madeline on the three days she is home and will do some tot school with Owen during that time as well.

I am trying to be healthier. I have started walking in the evening, by myself! I take the dog and we go for about 40 minutes. Walking is free (my favorite price) and helps clear my mind. I want to start running but am not sure where to begin with that. Any suggestions where I can find a good running plan? I have NEVER run before but I feel like it would help me get into better shape much quicker than walking will (I just need to find a REALLY good sports bra). I don't want to get frusterated (which I have a tendancy to do) so I am taking it slow with a good, long walk each day to start with. I am also watching what I eat more. I can't diet too much due to nursing Ben, but I can be careful about what I eat and make healthier choices. I am trying to do that, although I cannot live without pepsi (and I really don't like diet pepsi).

And if that wasn't enough change I may be changing jobs. I love my tutoring job but it is about a 40 minute drive to get there. I only work 10 hours a week and I create my schedule each semester with a lot of flexibility, but with the drive I need to get those ten hours into two days. I need to leave before Jon gets home so we rely on my parents to help us, which they do, but it will be a lot harder with three children. So I applied to teach at a local community college. It is less hours (and possibly more pay) and it starts later in the evening (if I teach a night class). Because it is closer it makes work easier. I don't know if the new job will work out, and there are some negatives (correcting and planning to do at home, less flexibility in the job, possibly working during the day), but it is a possibility I am open to.

Our financial situation is not changing (even if I get the new job I only have a slight pay increase) but that is okay because we are doing fine. I continue to juggle our budget trying to find the best balance between earning money and spending money. I would really like to increase our savings and since Madeline's tuition is payed (from our tax returns) I do not need to factor that into our monthly budget. Our medical bills will be less than last year since I no longer have diabetic supplies to purchase. Our insurance is changing which means higher co-pays but, except for Ben, most of us only go to the doctor once a year so that doesn't effect us too much. It is a balancing act living on one income, but it is still working for us even with all of the recent changes.