New Beginnings

But let me back up a second. The tubing trip was fun. Cristy's visit was a blast and a little nerve wracking. Nerve wracking for two reasons, there was shipping drama when the place she had a quote from fell through and we had to scramble to figure out how to ship her stuff - USPS FTW! Secondly, her BF was being crazy; there is a lot more to that story, but I'll let her tell it on her blog! It was a blast for obvious reasons; it was great to be with my chicken again. We went out to Sushi House per tradition with the group and we also went out to Stiletto's to see Nina Flowers. It was an amazing and beautiful show. It sucks to see her go and I've promised to make a return trip, possibly for pride next year. That would be so much fun!

Okay, onward...I have started my job and lasted 4 whole days until Elba came down with hand, foot and mouth disease so that landed me home with a sick baby. I'm hoping to go to work tomorrow, but he still has some blisters on his feet that I'm hoping go away overnight. Poor little guy, he was in so much pain. I had to take him to the doctor and get Tylenol with codeine for him (and as a good faith effort get paperwork to show my boss that I was for realz!). The tricky part is that my health insurance ended on my last day of employment with HB. I called around and found a clinic that was low cost and would even help me complete the application for a state program for parents with uninsured children. I didn't have to pay out of pocket - score! We had visited friends with a baby the day before symptoms started and we are fearful he passed it along to her toddler, who is started to have some peculiar symptoms herself now.

I drove out here the Tuesday before last and had 3 days to procure daycare. I did so on Thursday after visiting 3 home day care providers. She charges $150/week which is what I was paying in Michigan (the others were $200-250), and is 5 minutes from work. I'm a little disappointed and this might now work out because even though she popped up in my search for providers with extended hours, she says she is done at 6pm and I will have late charges for the occasional after. I get that, but then update your freakin' info! I was hard up though, so I'm going with it for now.

Then I realized that I left my box of very important documents (like Elba's birth certificate, immunization records, etc. in MI). Along with the fact that I only had a few checks left and I also forgot those, I headed back on Friday and left Elba with my mom for the weekend. I'm glad I did, as there was a lot more packing & cleaning that I needed to do and I'd underestimated. I was able to sell my living room furniture for exactly what I still owed on it, so that took a load off. The other benefit was that I was able to see Louis.

Unlike my previous relationship, I'm happy to say that I can fully blog about the bliss that I'm in and gush about my entire life, not just the baby and work parts! So, Lou and I go back about 6 years ago when he was dating my room mate and I was also in a relationship. We had a wonderful friendship, and there was always an attraction there that was sort of ignored because of the situation. But it was there, and it was never forgotten. Well, long story short, it was brought out when we hung out before I left. He is exactly the same in the wonderful ways I loved about him before, is even more attractive, and has improved himself tremendously. If I could make a list of the perfect person for me, he totally fits the bill. Things are moving fast, and he is going to be relocating to Illinois with me when I go to get the rest of my stuff at the end of September. I'm really excited about where this is going and he is the fabulous guy I've ever known...this is serious business!

The housing search took an unexpected turn the other day when I started calling places to set up tours for this weekend when Louis comes to visit. Everywhere I called was reporting to me that they had NO VACANCY until maybe October, but maybe not until even later. I hadn't expected this, although I should have. Not only do most communities try to have their leases expire in the summer (when it is easier to fill), but with the housing market doing so poorly, that means apartments should be doing well. That is an understatement. I was shocked - Nothing?! I called a place that had an ad in the newspaper and she had 3 one bedroom apartments left. I got in my car, toured all 3 and picked one! I really wanted to do this part with Louis, but he said he understood too that it had to be done. Oh and yeah...a one bedroom. This will be a fun year! :) Taking a pay cut, having a huge car payment, hospital bills, and still repaying my student loans blows. I should be able to shovel out some this year though now!

My aunt and uncle are going to be disappointed. I'm staying with them right now (well, my Mom's at the moment so we don't pass along Elba's sickness to his 2 year old cousin) since I'm still paying rent in Michigan for August & September. They said I should stay there as long as I can to save money. I agree, this is a fantastic idea, but after doing the math it isn't that much of a savings in comparison to having my own established home. Okay, so I will be paying $450 for rent and utilities per month. If I stayed with aunt and uncle I need a storage unit for my stuff ($60/month average) and I'm driving 25 miles per day more ($120/month in gas). I'd also need to rent another truck when it was time to move from storage to the apartment. So, really the cost to move out is $270/month and I get back about 20 hours per month (40 minutes per day) of drive time. Elba also gets his own bedroom (yes, he is getting the huge bedroom to himself) and we can both sleep better. He wakes during the night and makes normal cries out, etc. but then I'm laying there listening to him debating if he is just fussing or do I need to do something. Whereas in his own room I think those small wakings I wouldn't even notice. I just feel like this is also a lot of change for him and I want to get him into a stable home that isn't going to change. I've delayed weaning from the bottle for this reason as well. He doesn't have any security objects so I can't take away his one favorite yet.

I've been through 4 days of training and I like it so far. I'm eager to get back to work, get fully trained and start doing my job.

Last but certainly not least - Elba walked today! He and I were sitting outside my Mom's house and he just stood right up and took about ten steps before going back down to crawl to the plant he wanted to inspect. They were wobbly, but he was on grass. He won't do it again for me, so I'm wondering if he has been secretly walking for a while now and forgot I was watching. Well, I'm counting it as first steps today although he has taken 1-3 steps before a few times. This was an official walking sited!

Oh, I haven't updated weight in a while. I think I've gained a little (maybe 5 lbs since being back in Illinois not being able to work out really and eating crappy). Working out at the gym in MI really did a lot for toning and making me feel great. But I think it was going back on Weight Watchers that really started having results (getting my points tracker out again now)! I'm down to 187 - that is 23 lbs less than pre-pregnancy. My clothes fit great and even are getting a little loose on me. Another ten and I think I'll have to start buying some new clothes. People have noticed and comment about how great I'm looking, which is an amazing incentive to keep up the good work. I only notice a little, but I love seeing the numbers keep going down on the scale...what a Choleric I am to love the challenge!

Okay, that is enough...I'm beat and ready for bed. It's been a crazy time lately and I will hopefully update again when I'm settled into the new place.