Positive News :)

Yesterday I woke up grumpy... well, not really... but things had a rough start.

We have a Barnes and Noble Book fair for the kids school today, and there were a few miscommunications and things that made it not turn out quite how it was supposed to. So I was over at the school before I'd even had a chance to get a shower making copies and putting signs up on the doors and waiting for the principal to get there so I could get an okay for using the schools letterhead. Well, turns out he wasn't there... and hadn't let the secretary know he wouldn't be there either. And as I said, I was already grumpy because of other issues.

Well, after resigning myself to using the letter without the letterhead and going home because I felt icky (Hello! No shower!) I proceeded to go about my day, including applying for a few jobs while I was at it.

Part of that was to call into a corporate office and go through a screening process, which I passed, now I'm just waiting for a phone interview. Then we got a call for Jer...

It was someone from a company he had applied to work due to a tip from someone I'd met through the PFA.

He had an interview at 3. :) So off he went at while I went and picked up Goober from school. Shortly after I got back I received a call from the guy who is managing renting our house. WE GOT RENTERS! Yay!

Can I tell you what a stress that takes off? Now I won't need to worry about finding the funds to pay the mortgage anymore, the rent will do that :) And while that means that we also can't move back into our house soon, it makes further problems less likely.

Jer took a long time at his interview. Turns out the guy interviewing him had to put out a fire. No, really... some of the guys had lit a door on fire and he had to help put it out! LOL and you thought I was just talking about management type "Fires" :D Anyhow, Jer got a temporary position at a construction company that works all around the world. The job will last a couple of months and potentially turn into something more!!! While it isn't permanent, I'm just happy that we will be able to pay some bills without having our credit go down the tubes for a couple of months.

I'm NOT complaining!!!

Doing Much Better Today.

Sorry about the downer yesterday.

One of those days.

So hear we are.

We are living in my in-laws basement. I'm so glad we have a good support system and people who are willing to put up with us for a while. Our house is empty. Cleaned. And waiting for a renter to come along. We are crossing our fingers that that happens quickly.

Both Jer and I have been applying for jobs and I've been doing a temp job here or there. I had an interview for a job... I didn't really think it ethical for me to do the job of a nurse without having a license though, and for minimum wage at that, so I couldn't bring myself to take that job. It feels like all of the jobs that are available are sorely underpaid. Minimum wage for helping the disabled shower and toilet? This seems inherently wrong, no wonder turnover is so high. We need a more permanent solution.

Goober has been having issues lately at school. It started before we became unemployed... in fact, if I think about it, I was concerned about him clear back when he was in preschool. It comes in waves. For a while he seems to be alright, doing what he should be at school etc. Not the smartest kid, nor the most popular, nor anywhere close to either, but at least not the brunt of the other kids. Then things get rough... I don't know if it's my perception though. It may be that things aren't changing much, and I'm just seeing the problem in a fashion similar to that of watching a train go by a neighborhood. First you hear it, then you see it peak out from behind some houses, then disappear...sometimes for a long while behind buildings, then it pops out again in another place. Is the train really gone? No. Are there times you think it might be? ya, probably.

I worry that he might have an attention deficit disorder. When he was younger I thought it was something like an Audio Processing Disorder because he isn't hyper (usually) and he can focus with intensity at times. But if it's not something he is sincerely interested in? Forget it. Even if he knows he needs to do it and is trying, he is so easily distracted that I almost have to have him in a completely separate room from everyone else. He also gets really upset and I can't seem to calm him down. He's so intent on being upset that there is almost no way to dissuade him from it. You just have to ride it out.

And all this right as we loose insurance.

Then the other night as we sat eating dinner Goober pipes up "Mom, I know why T and I (at school) tell me I'm stupid." (these are two other children in his class). I ask why, hoping it's something like, Because someone else is calling them stupid!

Instead I get "Because I am."

I want to cry.

Jer stepped in and explained that just because you aren't good at one thing doesn't make you stupid, everyone is good at different things. As one of my favorite quotes says "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." The quote is attributed to Albert Einstein, but it's not verifiable if it was actually him who said it, but it's a good one non-the-less.

Sigh.

School for Jer or I doesn't start until fall, and even then looking into funding etc intimidates me so badly that I procrastinate it. I logically know that it's not that big of a deal... make an appointment, go meet with someone at the school. They should be able to guide us. But I have to fight hard to even take a step. It unknown territory that feels dangerous, then again, it's more dangerous not to do it.

Nothing specifically has gone wrong today. In fact, most of the day has been one that I would normally consider good. Missy had a Birthday party at a classmates house, Turbo gets to go spend the night at my parents house tonight. The kids have been pretty decent outside of a few instances where they have argued.

But I'm still worried about everything. But does that help? No. In fact if anything it just makes it worse.

I worry about loosing our house, and our van, and I worry about Goober and if I need to take him in for testing... and if we will be able to pay for it. I worry about being a burden on people who care about us. I know they love us, but there is a limit to how much help they can offer and how much I can accept. I'm an independent person by nature, and I feel that some of this may just kill me.

I know that loosing all of our things isn't the end of the world, I know we will survive if that happens, but I also know that the process would be painful. If it's going to happen, I just want to get it over with. I want a magic 8 ball that I can ask "will we find a job that will work in the next 10 months?" and it will say "Yes" or "No" and that would be the end of it.

Dammit, if we could pull ourselves up by our "bootstraps" we would... but we don't seem to have any. We are trying to find new ones, but every time we think we might have we find the boot is too large or that the shoe laces are too short.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I.R.Smert

Okay, so I've had to change my email address (it's been edited on my sidebar if you are interested) because we are turning off our internet (cause the In-laws have it... not cause we can live without it) and because our ISP is selfish about my Q.com address and won't let me keep it.

I was trying for all I was worth the change me email address with everyone (I'm sure I've missed some) and I changed it with blogger, but alas I kept getting emails at my old address whenever I posted or someone commented. Grrrr

Well, I figured it out, and now I'm going to share it with you!  Don't you feel special? No? Well, feel special DANGIT! ...

Alrighty, here's how this works. Go to your "Dashboard" and click on the "comments" tab. Then scroll ALLLLLLLLLL the way down to the bottom.

See where is says "comment notification addresses"? Well, put in the address you want notified! Tada!

I.R.Smert

Here's the lowdown...

So, as Jer and I prepare for the worst we have come to some conclusions...

First, we need to rent our house out.

If the market were better we would try to sell it, but as it stands we would have to sell it at a loss... which is technically considered a short-sale. And it dings your credit. So for now we will be moving into Jer's parents basement. This is the most reliable way that we can see of being able to continue playing our house payments while I look for work.

Yes, that's right. I'm going back to work. I've applied to a temp service with the hopes of finding a job I can not just tolerate, but which I can enjoy. Hopefully something great will come my way.

If you are wondering what Jer will be doing, well...

He's going to go back to school.

He wants to go into computer tech. I'm glad he has a goal and something he can see himself doing :) And I hope that after we get through all of this we will be in a better place all around!

And who knows!? Maybe when we are all done we will truly be able to say "I understand" when the other complains about the monotony of housework or about a long week at work!

In the end, I have to think it's all for the best.

PS if you hear of any clerical or office jobs that are hiring... that's what I'd like to end up doing :)

Goober at School

So yesterday in Goobers "take home folder" I found some pictures of him that his teacher sent home. I think these are great! They also show how a Montessori school is different from a regular school so I'm posting them!

See the big smile above? Yeah, that's awesome for me to see! His work mat is behind him, I think he is working on his grammar, but I'm not sure cause the area of the classroom he is in focuses on math (which is his favorite subject).

Here Goober is sitting at his table with some other kids in his class. It looks like they are all supposed to be working on language and spelling. The kids are allowed to work in groups and help each other, everything is not based on grades but more on the fact that you are learning and working hard, even if you are learning from the other kids (which builds good teamwork skills and encourages kids to not be ashamed of asking for help if they need it even if the teacher is currently helping someone else)

We have parent teacher conferences this week, I'm excited to see how both of my kids are doing. :)

This is Goober reading during "Read aloud time". I thought it was "circle time", but Goober just informed me not. But because I know more about "circle time" I'm going to explain that! lol

They do circle time at the beginning of class, right before lunch, and at the end of the day. At the beginning of the day they go over roll (one of the kids takes roll), they go over what the weather is going to be like that day (again, another child is in charge of that), what the date is, and what the lesson plan is for the day.

Most of circle time is lead by a student, the only time it's not is when the kids are having a really hard day or the teacher does reading time (they have read Laura Inglis Wilder and after they were done they made bread as a class and talked about things that people used to do back when pioneers were coming to the west).

I love Goober's teacher, she is wonderful and does an excellent job working with him, and I SO love the school, it really is a Godsend for my kids.

Jer Lost His Job

Well, the title about says it all.

Today Jer came home from work with the news that he had been fired. Over a technicality at that, but it still doesn't change the fact.

He has been tired of working on the phones for quite some time.. it had started to be a drain on him emotionally and mentally, so hopefully this is a blessing in disguise.

This may mean many things, hopefully not many bad things. But if that is the case... it's the case and there isn't much I can do about it.

Jer is great about just about everything that he applies himself to. He is efficient and has a lot of common sense, he is also very good at learning new things. I know that whatever he ends up doing, he will do it well.

If you hear of anything, please let us know. This doesn't exclude me getting a job as well, If I need to (which is likely) I will.

Here's to hoping that this whole thing turns into a good opportunity.