Lemons...

So, we've been brutally abused by life's lemons lately. Pulverized, it feels. I'm sick of making lemonade...I continue to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze these lemons til my knuckles are white, day-in and day-out....maybe it's this dragging gloomy gray wintry blah going on outside that has us feeling hung out to dry and not interested in tackling more lemons...

What in the world are you talking about, Liz??? Here goes....

Lemon #1: Recently, Eric was told by his work that because of this dreaded economy and slow business lately, he & the rest of the employees working for his company may have to cut back to 4 days a week instead of 5. Not cool...not at all...a matter totally out of our control.

Lemon #2: Our babysitter might be leaving us way sooner than we wanted!! Her husband lost his job just before Christmas and while he has since found a new job, it isn't as providing as his old job. Since our sitter will also be losing one of the little guys that she babysits and we will be her only "income" then she may have to go back to being a teacher. A serious bummer there....

Lemon #3: I need to start working every weekend to make up for these predicaments that we "may" be in sooner than later...not only for the increase in money, but also because we may be losing our sitter. Uugghh...working every weekend is sooooooooo un-appealing to me...but, I have to do what I have to do.

Lemon #4: Apparently, working every weekend is a problem on my current floor. Who would have guessed that working only weekends would be a matter for discussion. Seriously, I am not even going to mess around with more lemons... if I have to leave L&D just to work weekends then I guess that's what I will have to do...family matters come first, ya know?

Lemon #5: We've come to the conclusion that we need to sell our house...and that's one big fat lemon right there. Luckily, houses in our area hold their value very well...however, we bought our home 3 years ago without much of a down payment...uugghh...I just have a feeling that this is going to be ugly, but our current financial situation doesn't allow for too many other options. With Eric's hours being cut, costly childcare that is finally catching up with us, and our need for a bigger bang for our buck (meaning more house or a bigger chunk of land at least) we must sell. I do love our house...but as first time home buyers 3 years ago and with me fresh out of college and finally making money we rushed into buying the first house we laid eyes on...and didn't put much thought into where we wanted to be in another 3-5 years. Our home is just barely 1500 sq ft, 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, and the basement is 1/2 crawl space 1/2 finished. It's the perfect size now, but for a growing family it would get tight quickly. We could afford it perfectly fine 3 years ago without children and without paying back my school loans...but our costs seem to keep increasing...ah-hem, costs such as child-care, diapers, organic groceries (hehe!), preschool (omg...that's a 2nd mortgage right there!) and all those other costs that come with babies. Not to mention we'd  I'd like another baby in a couple years :o) --which means twice the child care costs, twice the groceries, hopefully not twice the diapers though...oh please let Ava be out of diapers by that time! Plus, I would loooove to work less and be home more with my munchkins...at least until my babies are all in school. Granted, I work 36 hours a week as it is, but I would like to work 30 or so...and that isn't possible with our current situation. I hate being on a tight budget...really, I would rather have a cheaper mortgage and have plenty of extra money to use elsewhere--like to put Ava in various classes like swimming, ballet, gymnastics, or whatever, put away a plump sum of money each year for her college and not think twice about it, buy rec-center memberships, go on lots of family vacations, be able to visit one of my best friends in Colorado and our family members across the country more often, have a huge swingset and slide so we can get outta this house and play outside! You know what I mean? And I want some signs of wildlife in my back-yard--and those pesky squirrels who steal strawberries off my strawberry plant do not count!! I'm just sacked-out on worrying about things...they say money isn't everything, but when you're content with where your hard-earned cash is being spent it's much easier to relax. I'm dreaming up fabulous things for our next house and we won't be doing any rushing into that one!!!!!!  That is, if we ever break free from this one...ugh, my stomach flip-flops just thinking about it.


Lemon #6: Okay, not a big one, but it adds to the cocktail of thoughts already running through our minds--Miss Ava has been in rare form lately. I'm talking about these ugly  t-a-n-t-r-u-m-s  that have been appearing more frequently. They really test my patience...and sometimes I don't even worry about patience...sometimes I just sit down and join her pity party. We both cry, and she confusingly looks at me like, "what in the world are you doing, mom? I'm supposed to be the only one crying." And then it's over. She's happy, I'm happy, we're all happy and we continue to go about our day. :o) We both feel much better...we bond...that's the way I'm looking at it!! Ha!

Lemon #7: Kitty used our spare bedroom as her litter box last week. Diarrhea. All. Over. The. Bedspread. The final, and most annoying lemon of all. I seriously want to accidently leave the door open and let her little kitty-butt walk right outside and then slam the door behind her!!! Good riddens kitty!! Now, I would never do such a thing...but, I want to, and if I didn't have a conscience then I would in a heartbeat!!!

I'm trying to remember that as crappy as these lemons seem, most of them are totally out of my control and it's my response to the lemons that matters most. Ultimately, the outcome of our predicaments is not up to Eric or me. I also remind myself that He will never give me more lemons than I can handle. So, on that note, I'm rolling up my sleeves, splashing my face with cold water, and preparing for lots of praying, hoping, and relaxing (well, I can't guarantee that last one:).

P.S. Any advice on home-buying, home-selling, and financial planning is welcomed here. Feel free to enlighten us! We need all your financial smarts!