Tag Archives: Money

February Seed Starting

Jaspenelle
by Jaspenelle
Wed
17
Feb
2010
1:29pm
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Seedlings
We have encountered some kinks this gardening season. Northwest Seed & Pet (my gardening store) does not have pea and bean inoculant in yet. More so though, we were intending on using part of our tax return to built a second raised bed, tomato cages and a couple trellises but instead we are waiting on Ivy’s January emergency room visit bills to work their way through our insurance. It may chew up the rest of our return. Amazing how expensive me sitting around for hours holding a gauze pad on my daughter costs. Before anyone gets any ideas, I’m not angry at Ivy. It is not her fault she has a hemangioma. I might be a little more then annoyed at “health care” (what an oxymoron) in the USA but there’s nothing I can do about that. Really anyone who thinks it is even remotely function in this country needs a serious reality check.

If anything, the second raised bed will have to wait till next year and I’ll downsize the garden plan to fit in the one bed. The trellis is the current priority since my snap peas are waiting but if all else fails I have some long branches that I can build a tepee with (which will leave less space in that one bed, so I’m trying to be patient.) We will see how things go.

It’s not all bad though, we can rise to the challenge. In much brighter news, I started some lettuce, spinach and kale indoors last week as well as a pot of dwarf peas (Tom Thumb.) With the exception of the peas, the rest will be planted out under hoops once they are large enough. I’m excited about the heirloom dwarf peas, they are suppose to do really well in containers, so I can’t wait to see how they do.

I have my seedlings (and a couple other houseplants) on the desk in the dinning room under a shop lamp that was in the basement when we moved in (frugal score!) I should replace the lights with full spectrum ones, but I am hoping they will do fine with what I have in combination with the south facing windows in that room. If not I have a small full spectrum light (that I use for SAD) that I can install over there.

So far the peas, lettuce and kale have sprouted, still waiting on the spinach. I’m the first to admit I am impatient, I want to see those beautiful little sprouts! Little green dots of pure happiness for me.

Have you started anything for your garden yet?

A Year as a Stay-at-Home Mom

Jaspenelle
by Jaspenelle
Tue
2
Jun
2009
1:33pm
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4 Comments

us
Why did I decide to become a stay at home mother? I almost feel a post about this topic needs some kind of disclaimer. Something along the lines of:

Warning: Do Not Get Your Panties In A Knot If You Are A Working Mother. I Have Nothing Against You, Your Child(ren), Or Your Decision. I Am Sure You Are A Wonderful Mother. The Following Post Are Simply MY PERSONAL Reasons For Making A Different (not wrong, but different!) Choice.

Seriously, to be or not to be a SAHM (stay-at-home mother) is a hot topic in the mommy communities, sometimes the debate gets downright vulgar. I have been told more then once that I am a disgrace to the feminist movement and setting “the cause” back decades by being a stay-at-home mother. I hope that most working mothers do not feel this way, I definitely don’t think that working women are inferior. Can’t we all just get along? Anyhow…

Several factors contributed to my choice to be a stay-at-home mother. What was my husband’s opinion? Was it financially feasible? What did I want from my life?

Michael would have supported me either way but in the end, I feel he is content with my decision. Both his an my mother stayed at home, some one could argue it was only a natural decision for us to make. I think it is more then that though. As far as some are concerned, staying at home makes me a doormat. I am certainly not a doormat at the beck and call of some man who lords over me as though I am property. Michael and I make a great team, we are lord and lady of this household and share in it duties. Sure, I do more housework, but then he goes to work everyday and does money generating work. I say it is a fair trade-off. My mother or my mother-in-law fall into the doormat category for that matter.

Financially, it actually made more sense for me not to be employed. Since I lack a college education, my entire wage would have gone towards childcare anyways, which seemed pretty pointless. Besides, to be honest, I really do not like working for someone else. At home, I am mistress of my domain, which is really pretty sweet. Sometimes I do miss the social interaction that comes with service industry jobs, but then I remember the enormous amount of people who were rude to me. At least I only have one person throwing food at me now, and he is a heck of a lot cuter (and doesn’t drink hot coffee…) In the end I could always join a parenting group or walk to the park if I need to find someone to chat with, or call one of my friends of course.

I suppose in giving up a job I am giving up a certain amount of “Me” time. During a workday (lunch hour, breaks, on the way to and from work) I could grab that haircut or do those little errands that are way more challenging as a stay-at-home mom, but it does all balances it out in the end. Michael gives me little Mommy Time so that I can grab that soaking bath, or weed the garden, or whatever I need to do to center myself. Damian and him had a guys afternoon a month ago so that I could go buy some clothes with my friends which was wonderful. Sometimes I spend Damian’s nap time working on a personal project (like knitting, drawing mandalas or blogging.) Yes, it is harder to find me time, but I have also found that it is less important then I initially anticipated too.

What do I want from life? This is the trickiest question of the lot. I want to be happy of course, but what does that mean for me? Can happiness be found at work, going back to college to learn a new skill, dedicating my entire day and night to the nurturing of a child? Seriously, all of those have their pros and cons, but I chose to stay home because the thought of leaving my child with someone every day was just to heart wrenching for me to contemplate. I don’t want to miss one milestone, not the first smile, the first step, the first word, even the first big bump and bruise. I want to be the one to kiss those young and tender hurts away and cheer on the accomplishments. Is that selfish? Maybe. Does it make me happy? Usually. Is Damian happy? I think so. I feel I am fulfilling his needs the best I can because of my decision to stay home, and that makes me truly happy.

There use to be a commercial on tv that said “having a baby changes everything” and I didn’t realize how true that was until we brought Damian home. No transition that big is easy, choosing to stay at home or not is only one aspect of the many choices that factor into life-after-labor. There have been moments where I have wanted to throw a mommy tantrum and run screaming from the house to find “real people” to talk to, but truly, those moments have been few and far between. I feel really blessed that I have been able to chose this life. I feel like I am where I suppose to be and I think that ultimately that is really what matters.

Financial Obstacles

Jaspenelle
by Jaspenelle
Tue
1
Jul
2008
4:10pm
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5 Comments

Let’s see, in the past three and a half weeks I’ve given birth, got a bladder infection (remember to stay hydrated people!), the van has broken down, Damian and I have gotten thrush and now Windigo has an eye infection, it looks like Aos is getting it too.

Seriously, is financial stress part of parenthood? Why does everything seem to go expensively wrong at the same time.

The gas pump died on our van a week ago and apparently a former owner replaced the fuel line with normal hose so it has to be replaced too (since it was leaking.) $700 for that. We broke down in a parking lot on our way to my two week midwife appointment, that was fun in the blistering heat. Our friend Shannon came and picked up Damian and I though (bless her) while Michael waited for the tow truck.

Damian and I have thrush at the moment (it is basically a yeast infection in his mouth that got transfered to my breasts.) I get chronic yeast infections so it is not too surprising but it is certainly not making the nursing experience pleasant. We are treating it though and it is starting to improve. I feel guilty for giving it to him, though I know it is really not my fault. though I could cut more sugars out of my diet (which hasn’t been the best this past few weeks…) I had forgotten till now how much my physical and mental self suffers when I do not control my diet better. It is more stressful emotionally then financially. It is making Damian’s bowel movements irregular, it is hard to see him struggle. I have been wearing him in the sling most of the day so that he feels secure, it seems to be helping.

I called the vet today and explained that we really couldn’t afford to bring the cats in but that I know what is wrong with them (they get this thing about once a year, it is a reoccurring herpes eye infection. They get it when they get stressed.) I said we would bring them in if we had to though, they are part of our family after all. Luckily the vet was really understanding and though he can’t give us the antibiotic without seeing them, he can give us an anti-viral gel. Michael is picking it up after work. We have never used this treatment on them so fingers crossed that it works.

Does anyone else has this problem with any of their animals? Is there anything preventative you do for it (other then trying to keep them low stress?)

The +90F heat isn’t helping any of this. We don’t have screens so we can’t open the windows to get a breeze going (we only have AC in one room) the cats would get out if I opened them as is. I called the landlady about it today and tried to be as polite as possible. She was also understanding (I am thankful for all these small miracles) and is going to see what she can do about it.

I am wondering what will happen next and how we will get through it. I know we will, we always do, and if anything this makes Michael and my relationship stronger because it shows us how much we need each others support. I am quite an optomistic person but this is even dragging me down I guess.

This will probably be amusing to some, but when I am feeling down I love listening to Walking in Memphis to calm my mind. It is such a beautiful song. Marc Cohn has such and amazing voice. Music is a force more powerful then the darkest mood in my life.