Since April there have been some changes.
First off, Domenico is already 1o months old! He is faster moving than Belly was- he is already taking steps (up to 6 at a time now before falling), getting his 1st tooth (!), and is growing at a much faster pace (at last check he was 18 lbs 8oz and 27" long). He is a little more stubborn than she was and in true fashion like a boy, enjoys roughhousing and getting into mischief. That said- he has a great disposition, he is happy, healthy, and has a smile like you can't believe. His addition to the family was just the best thing. He loves Belly and thankfully she loves him right back. They make quite the duo.
Belly turned 6 in May and is now in first grade. My baby is really growing up. Its so cliche to say that but honestly, I don't think either of us realized how much time speeds up after you have children. She is doing fabulous in school- already reading on a 2nd grade level! She is very smart and inquisitive. She has been playing soccer since August, it's a non competitive micro soccer league with K and 1st grade. She has had a blast and since the start of the practices, has really morphed into a good little player. She isn't super agressive at the goal but finally managed to make a goal two weeks ago in a game. Everyone was so excited for her!
Greg and I had been very busy since my return to work in April. It was/is hard to leave Domenico to go back to work but the paycheck and benefits were critical to our having a place to live and medical insurance so back I went to work. sigh... Nevertheless, we adjusted. We had to find a nanny who was flexible to come over when we needed her. The 1st lady we hired started off great but then about 8 weeks in failed to make the cut and we fired her and had to look for another. Fortunately we found a good replacement and she's been with us since June. The kids really like her and its working out pretty well.
The biggest change since April is with Greg. He left Chipotle. After 4 years of hearing the same open ended promises of "keep working hard and we will get you to that GM position" and nothing ever coming to fruition he finally had enough. At the end he was working 55-60 hours a week for the same salary, dealing with micro-managing assholes who had no investment in moving anyone up as long as other stores were doing well, and he watched two co-workers with the same or less experience (but less seniority which counts for nothing) move to a GM position. He decided to call it quits and left in October. We decided that he could take some time off to spend with the kids and be a stay at home dad for a bit but he plans to return to work on a part to 3/4 time basis in the next month or so. Jobs aren't totally scarce but they are harder to come by with more applicants in the mix so its possible he might not return to work until the beginning of next year. On that note- he has also decided to return to school in the Winter quarter to start working on the completion of his bachelors degree! Times are changing for us indeed.
I'm still busy with 911 work. The Union position I took on in January has been a blessing and a curse. It takes up a lot of time for me but has allowed me access to places I didn't get to see before. I like to think we are having a positive effect but time will tell once we hit the bargaining table early next year. Things are looking to be contentious and busy.
We are still working on our plan for debt freedom. It fell by the wayside for a little over a year or so. When we found out we were having a baby we stopped paying extra and started saving so I could be off unpaid for the first 3 months on maternity leave. When I went back to work the extra money was nice and old habits die hard- we went back to eating out and traveling and no extra money. Of course now that Greg is off work and without a check we are feverish to get back on track towards being debt free and less money to budget means it will be harder to get there. On the bright side, we haven't increased our debt load (with the exception of capitalized student loan interest) since beginnning the plan and still have no credit cards to speak of. I'm proud of where we started and where we are today, even if its not as far along as we'd hoped.
Halloween just passed us by and now we are in my favorite time of the year. We aren't 100% on what our plans for the holidays are yet. Originally we planned to be in CA for Christmas and D's birthday but after Greg left work money became more of an issue. We may be sidelined in OR afterall which is still OK but kind of a bummer since we wanted to get away this year.
Of course what would be the nicest thing is that we wouldn't have to travel at all during the holidays and that our family would come up to spend it with us wherever we are. That's not happened though since we've moved away and isn't likely probably ever (sad to say). Our kids miss out to some degree. I remember every year growing up as a kid that my immediate family HAD to travel to the family. I remember only a handful of times when they came to us from the time we moved to the coast to when my dad died. It was like we were punished by family for moving away even if that was never their intention. The only person who ever made an effort to visit on a regular basis was my Grandma. She was a good traveler though and not afraid to go out on her own. When we moved to Visalia it was much the same- we went wherever the people were, rare to come our way. Special events were the exception. I wonder how it is that we get to that place. Are we truly more adventurous, are we just more willing to go and see those that are important to us, or do we place travel high on our list of priorities? Since moving to OR, it sometimes feels like we are out of sight and therefore out of mind. Its both good and bad. Speaking frankly, its not even far away family that is the sole issue- we have family right here in the Portland area that put us somewhere on the priority list spot of about 3 or 4. We've made a vow to each other that in the our future when our children are grown and moved out of the house we will make every effort to be with them when we can. We will be there for milestones, not forget important dates or events, and be in contact with them as often as we can. This blog has taken a different tone that originally expected... I will get off my diatribe now...
Regardless, its been 5 years since we spent any holiday time with our CA family since moving here and so hopefully the stars will align and Greg will get a flexible part time position willing to let him go unpaid for a week or so so that we can travel south. It's D's 1st Christmas and it should be a lot of fun. I'd like to spend some quality time with my Grandma who is degenerating thanks to a Parkinson's like disease. Once she goes Greg and I will have no more grandparents.
Well I'd better run- off to bed since someone has to get Belly up in the morning for school. :)
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