Home Again, Home Again, Dancing a Jig

There are so many updates to tell, I have been avoiding blogging for about a week because it is so overwhelming.  So I will bullet this post, to mkae it easier on me and faster so I don't use all of babies precious nap time (my ONLY free time) blogging.

• Thank you, thank you for your comments and emails of support/ empathy/ interest.  And thanks if you've been checking my non-existent blog lately.
• We have bought a home, less house, needs renovation, more expensive than our brand new beautiful house in our old neighborhood (we now live on the more expensive coast), BUT the motgage payment is less because it's owner financing.   Go us!
• We live in a much better neighborhood, near EVERYTHING, my fantasy of riding my bicycle to the store (AND STARBUCKS!) has come true.  We are literally in the best school district and close to anywhere you want to go, in our small urban city.
• We are running out of money, cause my profession is so small it is hard for me to find a job here cause they are all taken.  I am willing to work at Borders of Barnes and Noble or wherever, but need to find and unpack my work clothes (I've been wearing the same 4 outfits of summer clothes for the past two months.  We finally found my sweaters.  Somehow, J's clothes have mostly made it into her closet.  Hmmm...) as well as actually have an opportunity to go and apply without two year-olds shreiking(sp?)  in the background.
• Anyone have any other creative job ideas for someone to explore who has a doctorate in a small field and no other experience besides teaching for two years and interpreting sign language (no longer skilled enough for that)?????  And it either needs to earn enough to pay for daycare or be after MOM hours.
• Full-time motherhood is hard, and definitely not for me.  Especially with J's hours.  I didn't realize before the extent to which work offered me a place to regenerate.  I have no regeneration time now, none at all.  Especially after being homeless for four weeks (one of those in a hotel room, can you imagine eating out with two two year-olds THREE meals a day?  Alone?  Without another adult?  If you can't email me and I'll be happy to share the experience.
• Did I mention we lived in a hotel for a week?  (No, we were NOT kicked out of my mom's house, just thought we'd move into our house earlier than we did, blah, blah...)  And my children each have a yeast infection they've had since August and I've been trying to vigilantly take care of, but napping in the car everyday (trust me, needed to happen) and driving to various activities to avoid sitting with two toddlers in a hotel room all day makes for sitting longer in wet diapers than I would like.  And FINALLY I found a pediatrician with some excellent advice and explanation of why the yeast is persistent (so I'm NOT a terrible and neglectful mom after all).  I'll be happy to share it, if you email me.
• I am overwhelmed by the home repairs and renovations that need to happen in this house, especially with an ever dwindling bank account.
• Am glad to note some gay parenting groups in town, and am posting links to some links I found about gay families.
• Am on my OWN with two two-year olds for one solid week while J is away on business.  My mom is coming on Tuesday, thank goodness.  What bothers me the most is staying in the house alone, a house with EIGHT entrances (three sliding glass doors, two window top, wood bottom doors WITHOUT double keyed locks, and three "solid" wood doors (meaning no windows) TWO in the living room alone) after the attempted break-in at our last residence.  What the effin' eff were these people thinking?

I'll post more regularly now, promise.  Am addicted to Aveyond (Damn, Yahoo), so am busy with that silly game.

Comments

[Liza]

Welcome back! Welcome back! We've missed you.

We heard lots of the gory details tonight from J and it just made us miss you all the more.

1) Can you write articles about issues in your field?
2) Is there a statewide or national association for professionals in your field?
3) Could you consult? Train?
4) Could you do something like be a substitute for a few days or a week here and there, if it was no more than 1 week/month?

[Twinmama]

Oy vey, I feel your pain. This is why I haven't even applied to jobs much, because a) I usually have shrieking twins with me, b) when would I update my resume? and c) childcare for a full-time job would eat most of my pay. I still look around for part-time jobs, but even with that I still have A and B to deal with.

My husband works 200 miles away and is only here half the time, and I know how frazzling it gets without any kind of break. It's really, really hard some days, especially without help. I imagine it sucks that much harder in a new area and living out of boxes--that would be hard anyway even without toddler twins!

Are your two still napping? I used to do computer work (webdesign and computer repair) while they napped. That has gotten extremely difficult now that they don't nap anymore, but I still scrape out a little time for it now and then, (usually at night, when I should be going to bed)!

I suppose you could also consider ads on your site, see if that doesn't help a little...

P.S. Which coast is the more expensive one? I assume the west wins, but maybe I'm wrong?

[Emmie (Better Make It A Double)]

Welcome back! I haven't been here in way too long. It sounds like things are still a little rocky but moving in the right direction. I'm really impressed that you can do so much with your twins on your own. I know you don't have much choice, but I'm still impressed. I hope it continues to get better, and congratulations on the house.