Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your husband sounds like quite the pampered prince, OP. Never troubled by the realities of having kids (although I’m sure the family photo is a nice accessory on his desk), everyone else runs their lives around getting the five weeks of vacation he “needs” to relax from his job.

Not OP, but have a very similar situation. It's not about being a pampered prince, it's about making concessions for the main bread winner to do their job. My husband works 6 days a week. It is far more important for him to be able to work until 7pm at night then telling his clients who urgently need him that he can't help them because my daughter needs to go to ballet class or swim lesson. We have a great life but I shoulder the responsibilities for our DD, the house, errands, groceries, etc... I work 12 hours a week and I do need flexibility.

Advice to OP, keep the 5 hour a week gig. Find something else that you want to do. I want to start a non profit that donates gently used children's books to underserved communities. Find something with people, pets, environment, etc... that feeds your soul. If you chose to do something, you can choose when, where, etc...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your husband sounds like quite the pampered prince, OP. Never troubled by the realities of having kids (although I’m sure the family photo is a nice accessory on his desk), everyone else runs their lives around getting the five weeks of vacation he “needs” to relax from his job.

Not OP, but have a very similar situation. It's not about being a pampered prince, it's about making concessions for the main bread winner to do their job. My husband works 6 days a week. It is far more important for him to be able to work until 7pm at night then telling his clients who urgently need him that he can't help them because my daughter needs to go to ballet class or swim lesson. We have a great life but I shoulder the responsibilities for our DD, the house, errands, groceries, etc... I work 12 hours a week and I do need flexibility.

Advice to OP, keep the 5 hour a week gig. Find something else that you want to do. I want to start a non profit that donates gently used children's books to underserved communities. Find something with people, pets, environment, etc... that feeds your soul. If you chose to do something, you can choose when, where, etc...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is he taking 5 weeks of vacation a year, and yet unable to watch his kids for any of it?

Many families use before and after care. Or you could get an au pair, and have sick day/snow day coverage.

I think the question is whether you'd like to work.

OP here. All of DH's vacations have to be scheduled in advance and he cannot take any last minute days off from work. In the 15 years he's been in this job, he only took one last minute day off, when he had a bad flu.

It just seems like it would be a waste of money for us to get a full-time nanny or au pair, when we only need one for sick day/snow day coverage, or before and after care. Besides that, we don't need the nanny/au pair because kids are in full-day school. If I worked full-time the most I would make would be around 70 K per year. And I don't feel comfortable with a nanny or au pair for sick days.

The only reason I have such a high-paying 5 hour a week job is because it's a PRN job (no benefits, as needed work) so they have to pay a lot per hour since otherwise no one would be interested in this type of job.

I've been sending out resumes and I've had a few interviews but overall, the part-time jobs in my field pay very poorly ($15 per hour at the most) and I seem to be overqualified for them, because I'm not getting many interviews for these part-time jobs.

Ok now you’re just being cheap.

If you want to work (and you should, you sound bored), here a housekeeper type person. This person can clean and cook dinner during the day and watch your kids in the afternoon while you’re at work.

Be prepared to pay 40-50k plus benefits.

Worth it though for you to use your brain again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is he taking 5 weeks of vacation a year, and yet unable to watch his kids for any of it?

Many families use before and after care. Or you could get an au pair, and have sick day/snow day coverage.

I think the question is whether you'd like to work.

OP here. All of DH's vacations have to be scheduled in advance and he cannot take any last minute days off from work. In the 15 years he's been in this job, he only took one last minute day off, when he had a bad flu.

It just seems like it would be a waste of money for us to get a full-time nanny or au pair, when we only need one for sick day/snow day coverage, or before and after care. Besides that, we don't need the nanny/au pair because kids are in full-day school. If I worked full-time the most I would make would be around 70 K per year. And I don't feel comfortable with a nanny or au pair for sick days.

The only reason I have such a high-paying 5 hour a week job is because it's a PRN job (no benefits, as needed work) so they have to pay a lot per hour since otherwise no one would be interested in this type of job.

I've been sending out resumes and I've had a few interviews but overall, the part-time jobs in my field pay very poorly ($15 per hour at the most) and I seem to be overqualified for them, because I'm not getting many interviews for these part-time jobs.

Anonymous wrote:Your husband sounds like quite the pampered prince, OP. Never troubled by the realities of having kids (although I’m sure the family photo is a nice accessory on his desk), everyone else runs their lives around getting the five weeks of vacation he “needs” to relax from his job.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a married mom with kids ages 5 and 7.

My youngest started Kindergarten this year. i currently work a very part-time job, around 5 hours a week, in my field. I'd like to find something more substantial and have been job searching for 4 months now, but haven't found anything.

DH works a very high-powered job and financially we don't need my salary. Due to his work hours, he cannot do any drop-offs, pick-ups, sick days or snow days. He also can't really cover any school vacations. He gets 5 weeks vacation per year, all of which he takes. He's been in the same job for 15 years and plans to keep the same job until retirement, so none of this will ever change.

We have no local family for backup and have never had any childcare help. Working full-time is probably out of the question because I'd need to have before care, after care and figure out something for sick days and snow days, since DH can never cover these.

I'm looking for part-time in my field, but for every 30 full-time jobs there's one part-time job, and the part-time jobs pay around $15 per hour, which seems a bit low. I'm currently making $70 per hour, which is unusual in my field.

What would you do? My kids are now in full-time school and I'm finding my 5 hour per week job isn't enough anymore (though it's in my field). I spent most days cleaning, grocery shopping, shopping and going out for lunch, and it feels a bit like my days are lacking in purpose.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t listen to jealous negativity. Sounds like you enjoy your life. Someone has to run things and it is you. I too would look into volunteering or finding a class you would like to take. Enjoy.

OP here. Yes, I have looked into volunteering and I have interviewed at some volunteer places in the last few months. But while i could find a volunteer position generally in my field, it's just a support role. So I'm not sure how fulfilling that would be. i've tried to find more "professional volunteer" opportunities but have not been able to do so yet. So I haven't accepted any volunteer jobs yet.

Anonymous wrote:Financially, your way better off keeping your 5 hour a week part time job and simply finding something else to occupy your time or interests such as volunteering.