Packing

I hate packing. But I have discovered a whole new level of abhorring in packing -- the triple pack. I can't just throw stuff in boxes and label what it has in it and what room it goes to, I have to separate. I have to pack stuff to store for however long that will be, pack stuff that I will want if we are settled somewhere for months or going overseas, and keep stuff that I will need immediately. I think I have perpetual headache. I am pretty good at packing (Lord knows I've had enough practice), but this is tough. It just takes more time than regular packing.

Gabe is stressed out by the process (probably due to the level of stress Matt and I have been at in addition to the stuff going in boxes). He is handling things as well as I can expect though. He also has a pretty good grasp at what is going on; the down side being that although we haven't made a big deal about it, he knows he's not going to be with Daddy all the time. For all of us, that is the worst part of this situation.

So, what exactly is going on, you may ask. Well, Matt is not quite done, but my job is a school year, by school year sort of thing, so I will be leaving my job shortly and this coincides with our lease ending. Matt will defend his dissertation in September but stay on at the university until he has a job so that he's still getting a paycheck. Unfortunately that's not really enough for us to live on here, so while we wait to determine what job Matt gets and will accept, I am going to take advantage of my free time and visit people. I am going to start out at Bobbi and Dano's for a couple weeks, then perhaps, see Mike and Kathy. I will stop at my grandma's on the way to my parents, and round out the whole thing with a short stay at my brother's which would put me back in Iowa, so we'll go see Matt and give him some support before he defends.

Whether we go to the Netherlands or to another job, we'll still have some time to kill, so the boys and I will be going to live with Bobbi and Dano from about September to whenever we are ready to move to our new home.

Coconut Cup

Matt is back. His trip was good. He enjoyed the conference in Germany and made contacts with other younger scientists that he may be able to work with in the future. He ate dinner with a count too. And of course, everyone brings back souvenirs of their travels and Matt is no different. However, his souvenir is a bit odd, while in Bavaria he decided the best thing to remember the trip by was a coconut cup. He went to a bar with some people that had a tropical theme. The pretzels were in these really cool coconut cups so he bought one from them. I'm sure if he went some place tropical he'd come home with winter gear or something.

Anyway. His interview in the Netherlands went well, but we still don't have enough information to know whether or not this will happen. He is expecting a formal job offer to come next week, if there will be one. The ballpark salary is not perfect. It's a nice figure, but with the expense of relocating to another country and the expense of living in that area, it may not be enough. But he was told there would be benefits, so we just need to know the details to see if it will work or not. He really liked the lab and the job they offered is ideal. He would be like a staff scientist and get the freedom to pursue his own research while checking up on all the other groups and getting involved with all the other research going on.

I am leaving tomorrow for our youth trip. We are going to South Carolina to do home repairs through a youth work camp. I am looking forward to the experience but I just got Matt back home and I will miss the boys terribly. Hopefully the traveling will be easy. I just went to visit my sister and there wasn't a lot of traffic. I am thinking that the gas prices really are limiting some people's travel.

The boys are good. Gabe has been quite the little helper while we were on our own. He is so good with Chi. He has been glued to Matt's side since he has been home. Chi is fine. He just had a check up and is as healthy as can be. He is now sitting very well. He still falls over easily, but he is much more stable than he was.