A Work at Home Mom’s Blog

Pumpkin has bronchitis again. When she got up this morning she was crying and complaining that her shoulder hurt, so I was scared to death that she had the flu. I went on to work, but called the doctor and got her an appointment for today and left early to take her.

When I went to pick her up from my mother-in-law’s house, my flu fears were banished. I walked in the door to find her eating and playing. She was still coughing though, so I took her to the doc anyway. And they said it was once again bronchitis.

I know part of the reason she’s getting sick so often has to be her allergies. Staying all stuffed up and sniffly surely provides a good environment for germs to take hold. I hope the day comes soon that we can have health insurance again, so that I can try to get something for her allergies that will help her.

I had a decent Christmas. Pumpkin was coughing her poor little head off, so that put a bit of a damper on things. But she didn’t let it get her down too much. She got quite a few presents, thanks to a friend of mine, my coworkers, and family. For them I am thankful- otherwise she wouldn’t have gotten much at all.

I had a stomach bug that started the day before Christmas Eve. The worst was over by yesterday, but my stomach is still a little off-kilter. At least Pumpkin didn’t end up with that on Christmas.

I didn’t get many Christmas pictures. At first I didn’t think I would get any, because my digital camera wasn’t playing nice. I finally took the memory card out and managed to take a few. I’ll be glad when I can get a new one.

That’s my Christmas in a nutshell. All in all it was good, because Pumpkin had a good time and was happy. But I’m still glad it’s over with.

Best wishes for a happy holiday!

I don’t have to go to work today. Instead I have a truckload of stuff to do here at home. There are dishes to be washed, clothes to be washed and put away, tons of cleaning that needs to be done… Maybe I’ll call work and see if they need me there instead.

We got a little bit of Christmas shopping done yesterday. I need to wrap what we got for Pumpkin up and get it under the tree as well. And I really should decorate a little more. All that’s been done so far is putting up the tree and decorating it, and it just kind of got thrown together haphazardly. So I really should get off of this computer and get crackin’!

But I’ve got a mission on here as well: There’s a website that is doing a $1000 puzzle contest, and I’m bound and determined to give it my best shot. That money would go a long way towards catching up on the bills and therefore take a load off of my mind. Someone will probably beat me to it, but I’m not going down without a fight.

So there’s my day in a nutshell. I guess I should leave the computer on and go about my business, and check back periodically for puzzle pieces. Then maybe I’ll actually get half of the things that I need to do accomplished.

Today was my seventh day of an eight day stretch at work. It has been a long time since I did that last. Nevertheless I’m not exhausted. I stay busy at my new job, but I don’t have to stretch myself to the limit or anything. So it’s cool.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind stretching myself to the limit at a job, as long as I’m getting paid enough. But my last job and my current one only pay slightly over minimum wage, so I’m not inclined to jump hurdles over the Great Wall of China for them. My last job required work only a little less demanding than that. The one I’m at now isn’t all that physically demanding.

Suffice it to say that I’m fairly content as far as my job itself. I would like to find a job that pays better, and I plan on looking for something that does. Or ideally get my home business off the ground so that I won’t have to search for jobs any more. We are still struggling financially, but at least I don’t hate my job so much now.

I’ve been hard pressed to get into the Christmas spirit this year. I’ve just had too much on my mind, never mind the lack of funds for Christmas shopping.

One of the things that does seem to get me into the groove is the awesome Christmas lights that some people put up. I love to look at the home of people that can really go all out just to give us something to look at for Christmas. Actually it’s probably more of a keeping up with the Joneses kind of thing, but I still enjoy it.

Wanna get the killer Christmas lights experience without leaving your house? Check out these cool Christmas light show videos. They’re Christmas lights synchronized to great Christmas music. If these little snippets don’t get you in the spirit, you might as well forget about it.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve become somewhat of an expert at keeping warm when the main heat source is out of commission. So I thought I would share some of that knowledge here. You never know when someone might need it.

We have one of those oil-filled electric heaters (similar to this one), and borrowed another one from a friend. They are a godsend for keeping small spaces, such as bedrooms, warm. They’re also inexpensive and safe. Every one I’ve seen has a thermostat on it, so you can leave them on all the time and they only run when needed.

In a pinch, you can always turn on your oven and open the door just enough to let the heat out into the house. Boiling a big pot of water will help as well.

I hate kerosene heaters, but we’ve had to use one for the past week or so. If you use them, always keep safety in mind. Don’t leave them unattended, and if possible get a carbon monoxide detector and use it. It’s also wise to keep a window cracked, or at least open the door every now and then. Place a pot of water on top of it to keep the air from getting too dry. If you have a ceiling fan, reverse it and run it on low to keep all the heat from staying at the ceiling and the heater will do a good job of keeping things comfortable.

If you’re without heat for a long time like we were, run the kerosene heater as late as possible before going to bed, and try to get the house about 10 or 15 degrees warmer than you usually keep it. Run electric heaters in the bedrooms with doors closed when you do go to bed. Then the next morning maybe the rest of the house won’t be freezing when you get up.

Even if your heat is working fine, you should always have some sort of backup, especially if you live somewhere that the weather gets really cold (like the mountains). You never know when something could happen to it.

My Robinhood Fund wish was not granted. I was really hoping it would be, because we needed that money desperately. But there is some good news.

Our neighbor works at a recycling place, and he found us a used motor for the heat pump! He came up last night and spent a couple of hours putting it in. It seems to work fine. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will at the very least get us through this winter.

We still could have used the money from my wish. If I had it I could take Pumpkin back to the doctor and try to get something for her allergies. I’m afraid if we don’t get them under control she’ll end up getting sick a lot more. But if we had gotten the money and not the free motor for the heat pump, the outcome would have been pretty much the same I guess.

At any rate, I’m grateful to have friends that are willing to help us out. Sometimes that’s worth more than money.

There’s one day of voting left for my Robinhood Fund wish. I’ve been getting the word out as best I can, but it’s hard when most of your friends and family are not online. I got my mom in on the act- she said my sister and sister-in-law could probably get access to a computer before tomorrow, and that she would call them with the info. Maybe they’ll come up with some more people that can help me out.

If I do win, I definitely won’t be getting nearly as much as I asked for. But anything will help. If I can get that money, pay what bills can’t wait and see what’s left over, and get a little help from somewhere else, I may have enough to get the whole inside unit replaced. I hate even having to ask for help, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my Pumpkin warm. I think she’s finally over her bronchitis. She’s still sniffly, which is probably due to the allergies, but hopefully allergy meds can wait until we get back on our feet.

If you’ve voted for my wish, thank you very much. If you haven’t, I would be most grateful if you would consider it. Just follow this link, register, and then click “yes” where it asks if you would like to support this wish. It’s free, quick, and easy, and it would help out a family who needs it very badly.

If you would like to support my Robinhood Fund wish, please follow the link to do so. Many thanks!