What I am thankful for...

Since Thanksgiving is almost here I wanted to share what I am thankful for...there is a lot:

1. My incredible family ~ my amazing husband, two beautiful daughters & two big dogs :)


2. My husband, Patrick, who works everyday, all day in all kinds of weather/conditions. I love you!


3. Our house/home - even though it never can manage to stay clean!


4. My parents ~ who love, support, offer advice & would do anything for me
   
5. My family & I are all healthy & happy
   
6. I am in love with a wonderful man...and he loves me more than anything too :)
   
7. That Destin just loves to learn, smile, laugh, sing & is always on the go - she wears me out, but I know that its worth it. Every sleepless night is definitely worth it for her.
   
8. Arwen's smile & laughter - it just melts my heart everyday.
   
9. My ability to multitask - I can breastfeed, eat, drink, entertain Destin, read a book/magazine, talk on the phone, watch a tv show, share a great conversation with a loved one, and more - all at the same time :) Well, maybe not all of those things - but I am learning that I can do more than 1 thing at a time and its okay to do so.
   
10. Reading a great book - I wish I had more time to do this...I usually read at night after everyone is asleep or during the occasional naptime. I miss reading and I hope to read more as Destin gets older. Maybe her & I could read to each other someday :)
    
11. Being able to stay home with the girls everyday...its probably the greatest gift Patrick gives me everyday. I love knowing that I can see them meet every milestone in front of me.
    
12. I am thankful for all of Destin's favorite shows...because not only are they helping me educate her, but they also give me that ten or fifteen minutes of 'me' time :)

I am sure there are many many more things that I am thankful for, but I just wanted to share these. I hope you all have as many things to be thankful for in your life. Don't be afraid to share what you are thankful for - especially to your loved ones. Take care!

Making money from home

I have been a stay at home mom for almost 2 years now...before then I was a teacher. I substitute taught grades K thru 6 in Blue Springs & Lee's Summit. I graduated from UCM in 2006 with my BS in Early Childhood/Elementary Education, but was never able to find a job with it. So I subbed...the money was decent, the timing was great, and I could work as much or as little as I wanted. I did this upon graduating all the way up until Destin was born in Feb 2009. I also taught for a short while in Belton - this is something I don't like to discuss; so I did manage to find a job, but not a great one. I also want to note that I have applied to work at all the local school districts as a teacher, and in the past four years I have had maybe four interviews. Pretty sad. I decided to go into education because I thought the need for teachers was very high. But now, due to the economy/government/education system, there are more teachers laid off than being hired.

Since staying at home, I have always been on the look out for working from home, or making money from home. There are lots of things out there - selling products like Makeup, tupperware, children's books, health products, etc. Doing parties - Pampered Chef, pleasure parties (for adults). Being a telemarketer from home. Delivering papers. And all sorts of other misc. things on monster, craigslist and career builder.

My dream is to find a job working from home teaching online. I have my Bachelors and Masters in Education - I could teach anything from early childhood, elementary, technology, math (my fav subject) or I could even tutor. I have looked just about everywhere I can think of to find a job online - colleges, the job sites, tutoring sites and believe me, I have applied for several jobs.

I love being a stay at home mom. I have never missed anything - I have seen Destin acheive every milestone (rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, running, talking and more!). And now I will get to see Arwen meet all those milestones as well. Being a mom is the best thing I have ever done and I don't want to miss anything. I love my daughters more than anything and I would do absolutely anything for them. Its crazy to think that I am a mommy of two under two!

I just hope that someday in the near future, I can find something to help support our family. I know that I provide support by taking care of our house - cooking, cleaning, paying the bills, running errands, and most importantly taking care of our children. But I would like to help Patrick, financially as well. I feel so guilty sometimes because he knows we depend on him for everything. If he did not work we would have nothing. I am so thankful for him and what he does for us each and everyday.