I will be starting full time hours next week at my former school, and in the spring semester these hours will count as practicum hours. My evening part time job already counts towards required hours. I'll just be able to reach required hours twice as fast come January. This is my ultimate goal, to earn this certification before I turn 40. All of my career decisions at this point are based on whether it works for my family and whether it supports my ultimate goal of earning certification.

(When I actually get the certification I will tell you all more about it, I just don't want to jinx myself!)


I'm in a comfortable pattern of child caring, exercise, homework, house care, part-time work, child time, sleep.

Starting next week it will be child caring, full-time work, part-time work or exercise, child time, homework, sleep. Weekends will be family time, exercise, homework, sleep.

So this year will be very busy, I must keep my priorities at the front of my mind to keep motivated. I am fortunate that I will be getting paid from both of my positions. I won't be paid as much as I was making last year, but considering it will all go towards certification, I am more than willing to have a little pay cut for 9 months.

DW prefers to do the cooking so that takes a huge burden off of my shoulders, it's incredible how much work revolves around feeding the family! If we didn't have to eat, wow, we would have so much free time!

Ever since I completed my master's degree I've paid for additional courses out of pocket. Now that I'm getting into this certificate program full time, though, it will be pretty tough to swing tuition just out of savings and cash flow. I completed the FAFSA this evening online, it was way less painful than I expected! I also contacted the military education office at my university and asked to set up an appointment to find out about financial aid options for military spouses. All in all, a productive evening online. One more thing to check off my list that I was procrastinating on!

Yesterday I did a few hours of shadowing as I got to know the practices that my new job follows. 3 hours of supervision complete, 1497 to go!

I learned so much in those 3 hours. It was really cool to see the techniques that I have been reading and learning about put into practice.

Belt tightening is in effect. Our bills are covered, but I won't be able to contribute to savings until I start to bring in paychecks. Discretionary spending will also have to be closely watched since there is less room in the budget for the unexpected.

It's ok, though, because a year from now we will be in a much better place financially because of sacrifices today.

Since I am not working full time this year I am going to volunteer more with my children's schools. I am heading the used book swap events at one school, and I will be secretary of my other child's chorus booster club. I don't want a position involving lots of "limelight", I'm quite the introvert. I realize that both of these positions will require making connections with people, and that part is ok. Its good for me to step out of my comfort zone and do hard things, but I still want to stay true to my strengths and preferences.

Today I start my supervision hours, I will be meeting with 2 clients. I'm eager to get started!

The interview went well on Friday and I was offered the position! I am to start as soon as my background check is complete, should be next week some time. 1500 experience hours to get started on! I'm excited about it because most of the clients will be on the nearby military base, an easy commute.

We took the girls to see the movie If I Stay. The girls had already read the book and wanted to see if they could spot the discrepancies in the movie. I cried during the movie. I knew I would, though, I cried my eyes out when I read Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook, lol.

I also worked out this morning and I'm already sore. Usually I'm not sore until the next morning!

I've been ready for sleep since like 6pm. I thought it was because I worked out, or because we were running errands in the heat. But then I remembered that I only had one cup of caffeinated coffee today. My doctor told me to keep reducing my consumption from 3 cups to 1 cup, sigh. Thankfully I don't have any headaches, though.

This afternoon I have a meeting with a potential supervisor for my credentialing program. She is qualified to provide supervision hours for my program. If I earn my hours through her or another approved supervisor, outside of the university, I save myself the expense of 15 credit hours. On the other hand, if I choose to go that route then I am responsible for tracking all of my supervision hours correctly and will have to go through the credentialing board requirements on my own.

Things are settling down on the home front. It feels so good to be home again! I'm coming to terms with the fact that this is a rental. We have made it into a beautiful home that we all enjoy.

These last few months have been extremely tumultuous in my world. Blogging under another name I had last mentioned that DW and I were going to be in separate households and commute on weekends to see each other. At the last minute (literally, just days before the kids returned to school, which would be the cut off time for any moves), we made the decision to remain under the same roof. We are a family, a blended family, but still a family. We need to prioritize that relationship over all else.

Financially we will take a short-term hit. I do not have a job lined up here, but that is only for this semester. I have been taking courses for my post-graduate certificate and need 1500 supervised hours. It would take me several years to gain these hours in part-time work. Now that I am not working I can do these hours full time in a practicum in the Spring. When I successfully meet the requirements of the certification board and pass the test I can easily double my salary. So it is worth the sacrifice.

The kids are back in school and seem to be blending back into their home after a summer away with dad. I will miss the summer but I am welcoming the new start for all of us.