Job Update

I mentioned earlier that I had a job interview while in Utah. I didn't get that job, but I got two other jobs. I now work two part-time jobs, and life is very crazy.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'm the "office assistant" at a local nursery. In theory, I help with accounts payable and accounts receivable. In reality, I do all kinds of things. I've discovered that working in corporate finance does not translate into being accounting saavy. Fortunately, I am learning slowly but surely.

I also do SAT and ACT prep for a local center. I tutor high school students (in two-hour blocks) for the verbal portion of the SAT or ACT. Being anal about grammar is a big help, and the kids have been great so far.

Going from no jobs to two jobs created challenges at home. I think we're getting into a rhythm at last. When I go to work, Camille just says, "Bye Mom" and gives me a hug.

Halloween Preview

I know it's not Halloween yet, but I already have some pictures of the girls in costume (from a neighbor's birthday party).

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch with the girls and some friends. It was really crowded, but the weather was nice. We went to the same pumpkin patch when we lived here years ago. We rode a boat over to the pumpkins and saw a scary shark and dragon along the way. After picking pumpkins (which get transported and dumped in the field from elsewhere), we rode a little train back to the cashier to pay for our pumpkins.

Finding just the right pumpking was the most difficult part of the outing. Almost as difficult was waiting until Monday night to carve them. The girls thought they would die having to wait so long. Now we just have to see if they rot on our doorstep before the big day.

Teaching Stubborn Kids

We headed off to our annual community/church service project on Saturday morning. We went to one of the local high schools to do yard work. As we got out of the car, the kids said, “I hate to work.” “It’s too cold outside.” On and on and on with the complaints.

We hauled the three girls from the car and checked in. The coordinator assigned us to remove ivy. (Apparently this is a type of ivy that is now outlawed in Oregon.) Russ and I started pulling the stuff out and eventually moved to shovels to attack the incredibly thick roots. And guess what? Madeleine and Elodie worked right along beside us. We’ve never seen them work so long. They spent about one-and-a-half hours uprooting ivy, clipping ivy, and pulling it off the walls. They were almost the only little kids there, but they did a fantastic job. No, we didn’t last the three hours we signed up for, but I was still impressed.