We’re making it on a tight budget right now due to the fact that Hubby has been out of work a lot because of the weather this winter, but we’re making it.  I know that we don’t have to worry about him being out of work 2-3 days a week now that the snow has pretty much moved out, and that’s a big relief.

With that said, I know we wouldn’t have to worry about a budget if I did go back to work.  We wouldn’t have to be quite so tight with our money, and we could make some of those purchases we’ve been wanting without having to wait for tax time to roll around. I know it would be tight for a little longer, but I could go back to school. Then I could eventually get a better job than anything I can find right now. I could go back full time to finish my biology degree, I could take some classes related to my love of computers and design, or I could even go to medical assistant training school. The 3rd choice would probably get me a job in a field that I’m interested in a lot quicker than the other 2, but I find myself still saying “I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up.”

This is one of those battles I deal with mentally a lot.  I’ve mentioned to Hubby that I might like to go back to school, but I’d probably start with some online classes for now.  That way I can go to school and not have to leave my baby girl as often.  Plus I’d still have the same outcome in the end.  It’s definitely a lot to think about!

My friend, on the other hand, has always wanted to be a working mom.   She isn’t working because she has to, but she chooses to work because she wants to.  Unfortunately she’s finding herself in a position where she is almost certain she’s about to be laid off from her job.  I’m sure she could search for sales jobs similar to the one she has now, but lately she’s been thinking about what it might be like to stay home with her little one (who is now 1) for awhile.

It kind of made me giggle when she was asking me questions about what it’s like to be a SAHM.  She asked me if I get bored often, and what do I do during nap times to keep myself from going stir crazy?  I just laughed and assured her there is no such thing as boredom during my day.  If I’m lucky enough the baby will sleep long enough for me to take a shower, do a load of laundry, clean something, or even allow me to get some work done!  I reminded her that most of my work is done after Elliana finally goes down for the night, and I tend to have to stay up really late if I want to give the house a good scrubbing.

To me going back to work would actually be like a vacation, but it’s one I wouldn’t want to take.  I love every minute of being a SAHM, and I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to be at home with my little girl watching her grow up.

We’ve had some beautiful Spring-like weather, so we’ve spent as much time as we can outside.  That weather has disappeared again today for what I’m hoping is our last snow storm of the year.  At least the bad weather is giving me a chance to catch up on some of the cleaning I haven’t done during the nice weather.  I’m going to start by sorting the mail while Hubby and I watch a movie together during Ellie’s nap. I’m tired of seeing the pamphlet laying on the top of the stack telling me I need to start thinking about funeral planning. I know things like that should be planned out in advance in case anything ever happens, but I just don’t want to think about it right now.

Anywho, this has definitely been a very wet winter, and we’ve seen more snow that usual.  I’m not complaining as I love snow, but it has caused Hubby to miss quite a bit of work.  It will be nice when Spring arrives, and he can start getting full paychecks again.  We’ve been struggling a little, but we’ll be able to start building the savings again come Spring.

Of course, our tax check will help with that, too.   We did our taxes Friday, and I was totally shocked at what we’re getting back.  I did factor in the fact that we have a dependent now, but it’s still way more than expected.  I was hoping we’d break even since we normally pay in a couple thousand and maybe have a few hundred to catch bills up.  To my surprise I’ll be throwing a large chunk in savings, finally replacing my broken stove top, taking care of bills, and I’ll still have enough to get some decent flooring down before Ellie starts to crawl.

The floors have been a major concern for me because I feel like our old floors are icky.  Then again this entire house is covered with old linoleum from the 70s, and no matter how much you clean the floors they don’t look clean.  I didn’t want Ellie crawling around on that.  Lowe’s has some laminate hardwood exactly like I want on sale right now for .78/sq ft, so I’m not passing that up!

We walked down to the pasture to see the cows, and she made her little bird lips and ooh sounds when one walked up to the fence. Then we went next door and walked up and down my grandparents’ driveway a few times. I think last summer we figured it up and found out 18 trips down the driveway equal roughly a mile. Elliana giggled and grinned every time we passed one of the cows that had wandered up to that side of the pasture. I’d say she had a pretty good time.

Now she’s sitting in her swing playing with the frog my aunt gave her for Valentine’s Day, and I’m off to get myself dressed. My mother-in-law offered to babysit tonight so we can have a little bit of alone time. We took Elliana with us to our Valentine’s Day and Hubby’s Birthday festivities, so it will be nice to have a little Mommy/Daddy alone time.

Top that with all the stress of trying to make sure the bills get paid this week.  It’s time to deal with that outrageous power bill we got last month.  I just hope the next one isn’t as outrageous because I don’t know how we’re going to afford two huge ones. Sigh. Maybe I should get a job that has something to do with power so I can get something back out of what I’m putting in! Hmm. I could get a energy auditor certification.

All we’re hearing is how we’ve all used so much extra power with the cold snaps we’ve been having, but it still doesn’t make since to me how Blue Ridge is charging $300-700 on most power bills while Duke Power raised their bills $30 making the average bill $100-150.  Just why is Blue Ridge so much more expensive?  You’d think with all this money they’re making from us someone has to be banking! If only we had a choice over which company to use, but we know that’s impossible.