Birmingham

So last week was our first real full week with our new routine in Birmingham. It had its highs & lows, but overall it was a great week & we are getting adjusted.

Childcare Highs: We found a Mom's Day Out program that Jake can go to 5 days a week. Yahoo! I thought the most he would be able to go would be 3 days a week & we would have to find a sitter to fill in for the rest. But we found one that we are really happy with, he can go 5 mornings a week & they had an opening in his age group. Another high? The teachers seem very nice and they have been very sweet to Jake. He has cried each morning when I drop him off, but they text me pictures of him playing happily shortly after I leave. So that makes me very happy. Hopefully in the next few weeks he will be more familiar with the teachers & classmates and not fear the dreaded dropping off each morning!
Childcare Lows: There is no traffic light leaving the church & I have to turn left. Yikes! I drive like a 100-year-old woman & I'm terrified of driving. Turning left on a busy road without a light makes me want to throw-up. Add onto that a line of cars waiting to turn behind me, and my hands break out in a sweat. So each morning & afternoon leaving, I turn right, go down a mile or so until there is a place that I can do a U-turn at a light & head back in the right direction. Crazy? I know!! I probably put an additional 100 miles a month on my car by only making right hand turns w/out a light. Another low? Evidently you have to fix your kid's lunch for MDO. At daycare, they provided lunch. Now, fixing lunch would not be too bad to only do it 2 days a week, but we're talking about 5 days! So every day last week, Jake had a ham & cheese sandwich with some grapes. I don't know what else to fix!? It has to be something that can stay in his lunchbox & he can eat with his hands. I've got to come up with some better ideas so I can give this kid some variety!

Odd Story: I'm in Chattanooga for a quick dinner with a bank from up north that is in town for a visit & then a day of meetings. At dinner, 2 of the women with the bank were asking how things were going. I was telling them about Mother's Day Out and how happy we were to find one with an opening midyear. They finally asked me, what on earth is Mother's Day Out? I thought everyone knew what that was! You know... It's where you drop your kid off for a reasonable price at a big church so you can have a few hours to yourself & they can play with other kids. They had never heard of it. They only use daycare & nannies.

Part-time Work Highs: It is nice to have more time to spend with Jake. We are still working through the schedule. By the time we get home from MDO, it is his past his naptime. Jake naps for at least 2.5 hours, so by the time he wakes up, its almost 5:00. But it's nice to be able to eat dinner at a reasonable time & hang out together as a family. I'm not really working only 20 hours a week, BUT it is not 55 hours a week, so I'll take it!
Part-time Work Lows: Trying to keep myself from checking emails & answering calls when I'm not supposed to be working. It is so hard.

Apartment Highs: I'm not going to lie, I love the corporate apartment. Sure it has some lows, but the location is great (we are much closer into town then if we were in a house), the apartment is new & has lots of storage & closet space. Since we left all of our clutter & junk in Chattanooga, we only have our personal items in Birmingham. So there is so much room! I was even able to turn the huge walk in closet in Jake's room into a mini-craft room.
Apartment Lows: I miss our garage. I also feel sorry for the people beside us. We have a toddler that thinks he is on WWE every night. Jake screams, laughs, runs into things, basically makes as much noise as possible. I know our neighbors hate us. Thankfully the apartment below us is the model apartment, so there are not permanent residents. But I'm pretty sure we've cost the apt complex a few possible future tenants.

Most exciting from last week: Robbie passed his broker's license. Yea!! He is loving his job & I'm so happy for him.

Saddest thing from last week: Our realtor told us basically no one is interested in your house. Now granted, it has only been on the market a few weeks & one of those weeks, the entire town was snowed in! But it is still not news you want to hear. But we're also not totally surprised. We know the timing stinks as does the market. If worrying could bring you buyers, I'd have hundreds of them. But I also know that by worrying this much about it, means that I don't have faith that God is in control of the situation. I just have to keep reminding myself:). So, if anyone is looking to buy or rent a house in Chattanooga, we will give you a GREAT deal!