Plans

Hi everyone. Big things happening here in the Barr household...lots of decisions being made.

BIG DECISION #1:
When we first got married, we couldn't both afford to finish out our degrees. My wonderful husband worked his tail off while I finished my education degree. He hasn't made it back to finish. After leaving the wonderful Volkswagen position, he has been feeling more and more that now is the time to get his degree, and get into a job that he really enjoys...a stable job that brings home a stable paycheck as well. Nissan was a disaster, and while Mueller's is okay, it really isn't Michael's thing. His pay is less than great, and he spends the majority of his day on his own. For those of you who know Michael...he is a talker...he is a people person. So...in a few short weeks Michael will be going back to school. He is only taking 2 classes, hopefully in the evenings during the week. He is going to stay on Mueller's for now working 3rd shift...Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 12 hours shifts. This is great because then he will be home during the day on the weekdays so I can sub a few days a week. Next January, if all goes according to plan, he will try to get a job at the hospital, probably working crazy hours, and go into the nursing program full time at OTC. Nursing? When did that happen? Actually he has been thinking about it for a long time. He has always wanted to maybe do something in the medical field and after talking to several male Rn's he learned that being a male in the nursing field definitely has benefits...they usually have NO problem being hired. He will actually be starting out just getting his LPN...it is only a year program. Then, when I go back to work when the girls are older, he can finish out and get his RN or whatever he decides to do.

BIG DECISION #2
Selling the house. We love our little house...our neighborhood, our neighbors, etc. However, we aren't loving our house payment so much. Since we know things are going to be extremely tight, we are trying to make the best financial decision even though it really isn't our first choice. We figure we have 2 options:
a) Keep the house resulting in dipping into our savings a little more every month and running up our credit cards
b) Sell
We have looked at every possible angle and just feel that option (b) is the best possible one for us.
So we are currently looking at small houses in town, close to St. Johns. Little 2 bedroom older homes. The area we are looking in is safe...not like our first little home in the Campbell Ghetto. The neighborhoods are just a little dated. We have found several cute houses that we are interested in so we are going with our realtor Sunday to look at them. This is a decision that we have made with an incredible amount of prayer. Do we like the idea of leaving our house? No, but is it the smartest thing we can do? Yes. We are hoping to only be in our "new" house for 1-3 years, and planning on moving back towards one of the surrounding areas on Springfield in time for Gracie to start school.

So, although we had planned to have our next baby in the next year or so...those plans are on hold until Michael gets through school and we get settled again. Which, after reading a blog of a girl who just had quads, I am in no hurry! She was on Clomid...the same LOW dose fertility treatment we used to get pregnant with both of the girls. Low dose??!! Quads??!! Can you imagine?

So anyways, that is the plan as of right now...you know us, it could always change, but this is it for now.

The girls are doing good. Gracie is officially 2 1/2 years old today! Can you believe it? And Michaela turned 7 months old a few days ago? Oh, my heart! Where is the time going?

Hope you all are great! Amanda