A family of 5 living on one income, the income of a chef . . . I would guess you’re either thinking, “How in the world do you do that? You must be crazy!” Or ,“We’re doing that too and I know you’re crazy!” (Or I guess you could be thinking, “Wow! Her chef/husband must be a Food Network star.” He’s not.)
I say that jokingly, but really, I do feel like we are a bit crazy.
In the series, A Chef, a Wife and a Child, one of the questions I asked was, “What has been the hardest part for you and your chef/husband with the addition of a little one to your family?”
The #1 thing for us, without a doubt, was adjusting to living on one income. This is by far too big of an issue to get buried in another post. So here we are! (more…)
Tonight, we’ve come to the end of the series, A Chef, a Wife and a Child. Thank you for all the emails and comments as you’ve shared with me and my readers your joys and struggles about raising a family with a chef.
Tonight, it’s my turn to answer the 5 questions. . .
Tell me a little about yourself and your spouse.
My name is Jennifer and I’ve been married to my chef/husband for 19 years. My husband started working in a professional kitchen about 6 months after we got married. He is now an Executive Chef/Culinary Directory for a restaurant group in Seattle and I stay home full time with our girls. I do a little website development and blogging from home as I have the time.
I was originally thinking this week I would be sharing my answers to these questions and ending this series, but I had a last minute volunteer so how can I say no to that???
I’d like to introduce you to Rups. She’s from India, but currently lives in the United Kingdom. (I love that technology can connect us from all over the world) and she’s sharing her answers to my 5 questions. 🙂 Yeah!
Tell me a little about yourself and your spouse. (Please include how long you have been married and what your job is (in addition to being a wife and mom.))
My husband and I have been married for 8.5 years. We met online – we are both from India where arranged marriages are common, and since neither of us were too keen on the prospective spouses our parents had lined up, we both went online where we found each other. He was working in France at the time (having just finished his Master’s degree in Hospitality as a mature student). I was working in my home town of Delhi. After a year of online and phone courtship (and a fleeting week together in Delhi), we got married. During that year he moved to the UK – partly because work opportunities for me in France were nil and partly because it is very difficult to succeed as a chef in France if you are not French. I moved to the UK to be with him and we have been here ever since. I work full time in an IT company as a technical writer and he has held the position of Executive Chef in a series of hotels. (He’s a serial job hopper!). (more…)
It’s that time of year again . . . time for the kids to head back to school. I’m full of mixed emotions this year as the kids started back. My first emotion is WOOHOO! I love routine and our family seems to operate better when we have things to do. The house will also be less messy, so less housework and with all 3 kids in school this year, I’ll have a few hours a couple times a week to myself.
While the kids are away the moms will play!
Then I start to think about how that routine means less time as a family and especially with my chef/husband.And there goes my excitement! (Although taking the picture above to “celebrate” the start of school will always bring a smile to my face.)
This past week my chef/husband was able to move his schedule around so he could take the girls to the bus stop and to school on the first day. He also happened to be off on Thursday and was able to go with us to Kindergarten orientation in the middle of the day which was nice.
Ready for work, but at the bus stop!!
The reality of combining a traditional school schedule and the job of a chef is not a pretty picture. They don’t go very well together. They don’t emulsify very well. (Sorry . . . I couldn’t resist.) We try really hard to make it work, but sometimes there are tears and there are many conversations about the hours daddy works to provide for us. 2 of our girls are now in school full day and our youngest goes for half the day. Unless my chef/husband has a weekend day off, they don’t get to see him much. I’m not ready for that part of the routine. There’s still hope something might be different with his new position, but I’ve learned to not get my hopes up. If better days off or different hours happen, that would be great! If not, we’ll keep working around the schedules. What else can we do? (more…)
Having a child with a chef . . . crazy . . . I know. I’ve received so many emails throughout this series from so many chefwives saying how they can somehow relate to what one of us has shared. Funny how you can instantly feel a bond with a total stranger because the circumstances in their life are so similar to yours. I love how technology can help us connect and not feel so alone!!
Today, I’d like to introduce you to another chefwife and Mom, Andrea.
Tell me a little about yourself and your spouse.
My husband and I met in college. We were best friends for 2 years before we started dating. We’ve been together for 10 years and married for 5. I work in accounting 40 hours per week at a university. My husband is a personal chef and cheese monger. (more…)
A family of 5 living on one income, the income of a chef . . . I would guess you’re either thinking, “How in the world do you do that? You must be crazy!” Or ,“We’re doing that too and I know you’re crazy!” (Or I guess you could be thinking, “Wow! Her chef/husband must be a Food Network star.” He’s not.)
