It's been awhile...

It's been hard to find time to write. So here's the scoop. Matt hasn't been able to finish this month because the committee decided he needed to collect more data. Lots of frustration all around, but now that is done and he's close to finishing the writing. His date is set for Nov. 21st, which of course is much later than we had hoped.

So the boys and I are still at my aunt and uncle's house because it is so much closer to Matt and we can see him for about half the week each week. We are weary of not having our own place, but this is working out well. Our goal is to have someplace to call home by the beginning of December.

No luck on the job front. It's a possibility that Matt can stay put and just transition to a post doc position, which is not ideal for any of us, but we'll make it work. There are just two jobs we are still waiting on that start in January, so keep your fingers crossed.

Malachi can crawl and pull up. He spends much of his life vertical now and sometimes cruises along the furniture. He also gave up baby food. He still has no teeth so finding food for him to eat a well balanced diet has been challenging, but I think we are managing.

Gabe and I are doing "school time" each day and that is fun. We just practice pre-reading and math skills and do art projects. We walk on the trails around here most days and go to the library once a week. I gave up on the hand washing after using the bathroom and bought hand sanitizer so he wouldn't be stuck at the sink. He loves using it, but the best part is that he has his own name for it. It is called "hanitizer."

Mobile Malachi

Malachi is on the move! He can crawl, but he gets around with a combo of crawling, scooting, bouncing and rolling. What he is really getting good at is getting up into a sitting position. He can usually do that from any position (unless he's really tired). My favorite is that he sits up and then kind-of bounces on his butt in an effort to move himself.

The other thing he is already doing is trying to pull himself up. He gets about half way there, so that is not long off. He now has his first pair of shoes in anticipation of all the places out of the house he'll want to put his feet down.

Gabe said...

Before we left Ames, we were all in the car, I don't remember where we were going, and we passed by a utility box. It was a large rectangular box that was up on a concrete block. Gabe said, "Look! A statue of a box!"

Again in the car. I was driving us to my grandma's in St. Louis and I decided to approach the city so that Gabe could see the Arch. I tried to explain to him why the Arch was there, how it was where the pioneers set off from, the "Gateway to the West," and all. I knew he wouldn't get it all, but he always needs to know why. So, we could see the Arch and he was uspet that he couldn't see the bottom. I told him we were still very far away and when we got closer he would see the whole thing. We cross the Mississippi (very exciting) and I say, "Can you see the bottom now?" He said he could and then he said, "But Mommy, I can't see the gate."

Travelin'

Our travels have begun. We are now at Bobbie and Dano's. It is quite the full house right now, there is me, two kids, two grandparents, three cats, two dogs, an Aunt Amanda and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, maybe not the partridge. But you get the idea. It is a full house. It has been good though. Gabe has been glued to Amanda's side most of the day.

So far we are just settling in, trying to make the kids feel at home. It's easier with Chi. Gabe feels good today because we put some pictures up on his wall. The Post-It note people have done it again. They now make white sketch pads with the sticky strip on the back so we can stick some pictures up on the wall to make it look like his space and then just pull them right back down again when it's time to go, so no push pin holes.

Chi is teething. He has had a sour stomach and I wonder if it isn't related to the extra drool from teething. He's clearly been in some pain lately, but still nothing is coming through.

Matt came with us here, but he is now back in Ames. He'll stay with friends while he finishes up. He'll spend most of his time throwing himself into work. And as much as he will miss us, this amount of time to just work is something he relishes when he can get it. He is still looking for work. He has sent off resumes, had a phone interview with a guy at Ohio State and has a professor that is making some calls on his behalf, so something is bound to come up soon. Even if the start date isn't until later, it would be nice to at least know where we are going.

I am doing fine. I am sure the boys are going to exhaust me. I am not used to be with them all the time! But I think it is good. I know I'll get to be here with Chi when he crawls (and he's close) and help Gabe with all the things he is trying to learn. The last day at the church was very emotional. I miss them already. But overall I am okay with moving on. It was more than a job though, so it will take time.

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.

Just another Thursday

Matt is in D.C. He left this morning and he had already met up with his group that is going to the conference. They will all travel to Lindau together. Bobbie is here to help with the boys, but since we made her get up so early to get Matt to the airport, she has today to recooperate from the travels and such. So the boys are at daycare. Today is normal for them although Gabe does know Matt is gone.

Bobbie tells me that Chi is actually bigger than Slyvie. He is a big kid, but I find that amazing. He is getting better at sitting up on his own. He is strong, but he hasn't coordinated everything for crawling yet. He is such a happy kid. I love getting him in the morning because he just looks up at you and then when he realizes you are there to get him out of his crib his face just breaks into the biggest smile.

Gabe has been learning the story of Moses at daycare. He made a staff/serpent and acts out the part where Pharoh wants a sign and Moses throws down his walking stick and it becomes a snake. Oh, he was thrilled by the idea of a burning bush and wanted to know if he could see one. (Personally I thought whenever God has spoken directly to someone they got roped into doing something that they didn't really want to do, so I wouldn't want to run into a burning bush, but I saved that thought for me. I just told him, I don't know if he'll see one. He'll just have to keep his eyes open.) He also sings the song "Pharoh, Pharoh" which is to the tune of "Louie, Louie" so that's fun. I think they are parting the Red Sea today. I hope that works out for them. :)