Declaration.

I declare that I will not spend another Fall term in Financial Aid. [period emphasized]

I have learned so much as the Director of Financial Aid, but oh have I suffered. My family suffers every day I work 9 or 10 hours with no additional pay. They suffer with my constant mood swings because of drama and chaos. I don't want to be this person, and I'm harshly reminded again of this person because the fall term is so intense.

What will I do? Well I have no idea. There are no jobs in Coos County to speak of that would allow us to continue to pay our bills. I don't know where to even start. I love our home here and the area. We don't want to move. If the economy didn't suck so bad, I'd try and find a position that offers a work from home potential. Who knew Obama would ruin that opportunity for me. Turned down an interview with a guarantee agency for a remote position earlier this year for fear of losing my job....which was obviously a good decision.

So again I am declaring that I will not drag my family through another fall term. That gives me a year to figure it out.

Let's see what the future holds...

First day....knitting

So today was my first day knitting, and I really like it. I remember trying to learn crocheting from my mom, but I just didn't have any interest at all. My friend Megan referred me to a fantastic website (ravelry.com) where you can save projects and search for free patterns. There are so many awesome patterns available for FREE!

My friend Jen is teaching me, and she is so incredibly patient. It makes it much more fun of course. I've obviously had some rough spots but am working right along now. I got to borrow her "Stitch and Bitch" book....cracks me up. I am very thankful for her.

I figured out that this could be an awesome thing to get me to actually take breaks at work. I rarely get a real break. I also know now that I need to leave my office if I'm taking a knitting break. Today a student just walked in and expected me to get up but I was in the middle of learning how to knit. It was too weird, so I'll go to another room to take a break in the future.

The knitting community is so much bigger than I realized. I met 2 more knitters in my building and learned that nearly every woman in my office learned to knit as a young person. I guess it wasn't my time yet. I don't know why people don't do this all the time!! Who wants to buy a hat when you can pick your own colors and make your own hat.

I'm working on Aayush's beanie hat which is different shades of blue. I think it will turn out really nice when I'm done. He chose the yarn himself, so that was cool. I'm hoping to get one made for each of my immediate family for Christmas. My extended family will probably get some photography this year since I've also been working hard on that.

Next step is to rewrite my inspiredesigns.com site to be photography (and maybe some knitting too!).

The throne

Rishabh, at only 23 months, has graced our porcelain throne with not only business #1 one but also business #2. I am so incredibly excited, as I've been buying diapers for 4 years. Aayush did #2 just after he turned 2, which I was very happy about. I don't know anyone who wouldn't rather a pee diaper over a poo diaper any day. It took him until about 2 1/2 before he would potty regularly in the toilet and then had to master the potty technique moving from sitting to standing (I taught him that too you know....Yashveer was away at training in Denver.)

So I consider Rishabh's goal to use the toilet as his Christmas gift to me. He never even moved on to size 4 diapers. I can move him on to any left over pull-ups I might have stashed (must keep as they cost twice as much as diapers!)

I have been blessed, and I am such a proud mama.

The day that was meant to be

So my mom came to visit yesterday. She was in need of some healing time with family and friends. After spending time at her friends' house in Green Acres, we were beat. So it was pizza for dinner and straight to bed.

In the morning, we all tip-toed around the house as not to wake Nani. We sat in the living room chatting quietly until around 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. Aayush decided to look out the window and noticed that Nani's car was missing! So he ran to her room to find her, and she was gone! Apparently my mom woke up at 2:00 a.m. and couldn't sleep so drove home to Sutherlin at 4:00 a.m. She closed the door to the room she was in, so we had no idea she wasn't even there. Well I had called in to work so that I could spend time with her, without knowing she wasn't even home.

We have had little time together as a family the last several weeks. I go to work all day (9-10 hours) and then Yashveer goes out the door to work until later in the evening. So Yashveer wanted to go to Bandon and do some surf fishing while the kids ran around on the beach and I took photos. It was an amazing morning on the beach in Bandon. There were three separate driftwood "houses" that the kids ran in and out of off and on when they weren't jumping in the surf.

I took photos of an old couple sitting on driftwood searching for agates. I found gorgeous angles in the driftwood and played with sepia and black and white filters. I think the photos turned out quite nicely.

My plan is to turn InspireDesigns.com into a photography site since I don't make websites any longer. I just need to completely redesign the site and install the photo gallery. So our day was awesome (minus the usual migraine), and I even got some quilting in this afternoon.

"I am a Gentleman and you are my Queen"

Aayush has a new facination with the plastic bags in the Huggies box. Each time we open a new bag of diapers, Aayush makes himself a new outfit. The outfit pictured left was his alien invader suit. Rishabh's alien invader suit is below.

Today Aayush has created the "Gentleman's Shirt." He has taken the bag and opened it both ends. He then had me poke a hole on each side for his arms. I was able to tie it a little in the back to finalize the design. It looks a bit like Rishabh's outfit below but more refined.

The best part was him coming to me and letting me know (very matter-o-factly) that HE was a gentleman and that I am his queen.

And yeah, I know kids aren't supposed to play with plastic bags, but the entertainment factor is far worth the supposed danger.

Maybe Aayush will be a fashion designer some day. Don't want to squelch the creativity.

Self sufficiency

I've decided lately that I need to learn the trades of a self-sufficient human. So I am on a mission to learn new...well rather old actually...techniques to enhance my skillset.

For my first task, I am learning to quilt. I am quilting blankets for my boys (John Deere for Aayush and Cars for Rishabh) for Christmas. I thought it would be a cheaper option before I went to the fabric store. Upon leaving the fabric store, I discovered it is not a cheap option, but they will be really nice and last a long time.

I'm also going to learn knitting from my friend Jen so I can make some beanies for Christmas too. Pretty ambitous tasks for me, but I am determined to learn.

I'm suddenly interested in lost trades I suppose. And I want my boys to understand that there is a world that isn't all fast food, credit cards, and factory-made items. I want them to know how to be self-sufficient and not expect everything to just be there in a store to take home with the swipe of a card.

So I'll post pics when I finally finish the quilts, and I'm sure the beanies will be hilarious since I'm 100% clueless on knitting. It will all be an adventure.