Yes, I'm working full time.

I've had many people express curiosity about my status & it seems to confuse the hell out of them. Yes, I'm working full time. No, that doesn't translate to being in an office 40 hours a week. Here's the deal -- I work about 21 hours a week IN an office. And the rest of the work I need to do, I do from home. The hours vary widely, which works out fine, because it means I'm pretty flexible when it comes to doing stuff with Alexandra.

I have to say I'm pretty close to living the life of Riley. Finances are uncomfortably tight, but we can turn them around in another few months. Having this time with Alexandra is absolutely priceless, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Having flexible hours means I can wander next door, eat lunch with a friend while feeding Alexandra, then come home to watch Alexandra swim!


I could cram more work hours in, and I'd bring in more money, but I already did that all of last year & for the first three months of this year, and it was not what I wanted. I think that we'll just tighten the belt a notch (heck, we need to do that literally anyway & work on our health goals more vigorously) and just be parents. We've got 2 events this fall -- my niece's 9th birthday, about which we'd made many promises over the years, and my DH's twin brother's wedding. Other than those expenditures, I think we'll just be careful with our spending & soak up being parents.

And before anyone says "Yeah, kids are expensive," just hush your mouth. The only "kid" expenses we've had are (1) astronomical adoption costs, which are now all completely paid and (2) diapers & formula. Seriously. Diapers and formula set us back $115/month. So, don't think that we're blaming our financial stressors on Alexandra, 'cause we're not. It's just a function of robbing Peter to pay Paul when we got back from Georgia, and I'm still waiting for things to stabilize. They will. They always do.

So, Alexandra's due to get up from her nap any second ... then it's time for her to eat & I'm off to the doctor for a routine check up. Just ordinary stuff, but it's glorious, with Alexandra around.