And so, our lives change again...

...and so the story goes. :) I've written before about how miserable Mike's new engineering job was. He was working long hours, and from day to day, we never knew what his schedule would even be. He would only find out the evening prior what his start time was the next day, and late in the afternoon what time he could leave. That just didn't work for us with 2 small kids. His job also required a lot of driving to different construction sites and he arrived home each day covered with mud and other greasy substances and with a lot of additional mileage on his car. It just wasn't what we had anticipated. He applied for some other engineering positions, and was interviewed for one, but didn't end up getting the job.

We did a lot of talking about it, and 2 weeks ago he put his notice in. As of this morning, he's home full time with Anne. He's also dropping off and picking up Henry from school, doing all of the household cleaning and starting dinner each night. I'm pretty sure I have the easier job in all this. :) He teaches a philosophy course one evening per week right now at a local Catholic college, and in the spring will teach 2 courses. Between that and what we're saving in daycare/after school care costs, our monthly net income isn't down for a number large enough to affect us too terribly much. He's also applying for some additional sections to teach this spring. And ultimately, we'd like for him to pursue getting his state teaching credentials in math, and he could teach middle school/high school. We think that that would provide him with the job satisfaction and lifestyle that is conducive to our close family life.

Even though this is another large change, I feel peaceful about it. The one thing that has been a constant in Mike's professional life is teaching. He's always done it, and loved it. We just chose for him not to pursue a tenure-track college level position because it would entail us moving, and we don't want to move. So, I think that we've come to a good solution.

This morning, he was cutely excited about being home with Anne. I was able to breathe this morning and not rush around like a maniac trying to get ready for work while fielding both children. And I got an extra nursing session in with Anne while Mike took Hank to school. When he got home, I was just putting her down for her morning nap. Everything just worked so much better.

So, we'll see where this newest development takes us. But so far, we're feeling pretty good about it.