November already?

I have been waiting for November for awhile, then all the sudden it's here!

This is the month of a fun bonfire night with friends, the month we hope to find our next church and settle down, of course for Remembrance Day. It's the month that the snow will probably start flying in our neck of the woods.

I find November really is the month that feels like the time to start getting cozy, to settle in for the long winter.

I am very happy to say that this is the month that brings me employment. For the past few weeks I have had the good fortune of working for one family whose daughter is good friends with my own, twice a week she comes here after school. This week, I am adding a brother and sister team who will be here part time and after school. And in less than two weeks I will have a sweet little baby girl in my care, also part time.

Somehow, Lady Luck smiled on me again. For the month of November, I have 3 days 'off', I have 4 additional days when I'm just home with my daughter, and a few days that I just have after school care. I have a couple of days that I just have the baby, and a few days with 3 lovely little ladies here. I also get a couple of days where I will have 5 children after school, and one with them here all day! That 5 includes my own. I feel so very fortunate for this schedule. I love all those kinds of days. The days with all the kids here are fun, crazy and full of laughter. The days with my daughter are great, to spend that one on one time with her, usually involving cuddling on the couch. The days with just the baby at home, are quiet and cozy. And of course the days 'off' are serene and very productive. I do have a schedule I keep to when I have children here, but it varies so much depending on who is here. I love, love, love all the aspects of this schedule. I like the challenge of keeping it organized, I love caring for children and spending my days with them. I love being home for my own kids, and when the house if full of kids I feel like I am exactly where I should be.

The part that fits into this blog... without bragging, this crazy little schedule of mine will change our world financially. As we did almost 10 years ago, we built our world on my husband's income. That income *just* covers our life, mostly. The move was incredibly expensive, with the added surprise of the last minute furnace addition. We were as frugal as possible, choosing to sell our house privately, and also using storage containers and doing the lifting and packing ourselves. But when life gets as chaotic as it does during a move, you turn to takeout more than you'd like to admit. And you have lots of times when you 'just do it' in terms of buying little items that you think will make the situation better. Like the $50 worth of scented candles for the Open Houses... things like that. It all adds up. But it's over. We have moved, we are settled, and we couldn't be happier with our decisions. But just at the time when we are settling in, getting a feel for our new life, we are also starting to feel the pinch of the one income. And voila, just in time, I am employed. Deliriously happily self-employed.