inveniam viam

I've got two weeks, six work days to go, and then I shift up north. I've got my NCLEX on March 22, and I'm going to head north on Saturday, March 23.

Mike and the boys are going with me, and then Mike will come back down here. The boys and I are going to live with Carl and his family until they close on their house and move, and once I get my house in order, we're going to move up Chris and the guys, Wolf and Tone. Luke will stay with me.

We have another stray here at the Lansing house, named Steve. I still get a little boggled at stray people, but this guy is pretty harmless. Tone was seeing a woman named Melissa, and when we had that really bad cold snap in December, she asked if her cousin Steve could come stay with us for a bit. Tone and Melissa stopped seeing each other, but Steve stayed. He putters around the house, does dishes and vacuums once in a while, and drinks a lot of coffee. He's a decent enough guy, getting his life together after dropping off the edge and hanging out in space for a bit. He's going to stay here after we leave and watch the cats and make sure nobody breaks the windows and all.

(Pause while I get the kids to school and have an interesting conversation with Steve about his family and origins; I'm also boggled when people have lost all of their identification. Do you know how hard it is if you have nothing to prove who you are? It's damn hard.)

Mike is mourning us going and is snappish and sad. I am sad for him and for us. But, well, he doesn't want to come and I don't want to stay. I understand his decision and he understands mine, and we are good with each other for now.

It's such a lovely day! Sun, a bit of a breeze and temps in the high 60s. I got off early today because my client had a bad seizure -- I always feel bad when that happens, even though there's nothing I can do to stop it. And also because I'm always happy to come home, so it feels like I'm happy that he had a seizure, even though I know that's not true. bleh.

Anyway! Got home, grabbed the little boys and took them off to the thrift store. We got a newish bike helmet and two pairs of knee pads for their scooters, and something like six pairs of shorts and tshirts, all for under $25.

Then we came home and I threw supper together -- a multigrain pilaf with rice, barley and quinoa, and carrots, onion. celery and turkey. And corn on the cob on the side. Yum. Now I'm laying across my bed trying not to fall asleep while the kids eat. Then I need to pack them in the van again and haul them to soccer. While they play, I'll work on my algebra homework.

Then I'll bring them home, correct Luke's algebra homework and his paragraph, talk to him about the documentary he watched today, then get the kids to bed and do more algebra homework and at 10pm, go pick up Mike from work.

Tomorrow, I need to do my algebra pre-test quiz and at 7:30 am go off to my second to the last exam. Three more weeks!

I feel like I've been rolled in a carpet and beaten with sticks. But last night I got a solid eight hours of sleep, so at least I'm not exhausted on top of it. Which is good, 'cause I gotta bust out a dinner today.

In my family, Thanksgiving is all about the carbs. We'll have a turkey, but more importantly mashed white potatoes, Grandma's Rice Ring, chestnut stuffing, baked sweet potatoes and rutabaga (swedes?). Hmm, and also a jello thing made of orange jello, shredded carrot and crushed pineapple, steamed broccoli in the rice ring, an apple salad (waldorf) and cranberry sauce (both homemade whole and the canned stuff.)

Ok -- the boys just got up and now they're having some cereal. Yay for cereal!

Yesterday I wanted to quite my job. I didn't want to enough to actually quit, but I really wished hard for it for a good half hour.

Things that are good in my life right now:

-- The little boys are healthy and happy.
-- All of my children, their wives and children are healthy and happy.
-- Mike and I are making enough money to pay our bills.


That's three really, really big things.

Next week, there's a court hearing for Jerome, and we're expecting some good news. I know that the DHS plan continues to be reunification, but I don't know how things are going to work.

So, something that I haven't talked much about is that Mike and I are buying a house. It's old and needs a new roof, and we're getting it on land contract for $1200 down, payments of about $525/mo. Total sale price is $35,000. Here it is on Zwillow. There are pictures of the lovely woodwork.

It needs a new roof to the point that there's been some significant damage to one of the upstairs ceilings, but we're handy and Keith does roofing and we can call down a couple of sons for the weekend and knock it out. Downstairs, there is a small fireplace in the living room, and the room is L-shaped, so we can make a bit of a playroom there. There's a small formal dining room and the kitchen is ok. Upstairs, there's three bedrooms and a sun room. We won't be able to have our big bed, but we have a queen that Jerome is using, and we'll use that.

There's only one bathroom and there's an attic and a basement.

We've been talking to Jerome about how he's going to work things out with the kids. He knows that he's not quite up to taking care of the kids 24/7 -- even if the DHS declares him fit. So we're thinking that we can sell the double-wide modular we're in (it needs a new roof, too, and we might be able to get 8K for it) and when we redo the roof, we can raise it up a bit and make an apartment for Jerome there, with a bedroom, bathroom and living/kitchenette.

The yard is very small, but there's a community garden and a park.

I'm really hoping that after the court hearing, Jerome will at least be able to parent the kids here while we're at work. About 3/4 of my pay is currently going for childcare. The boys really love the center, though. We're applying for a grant to cover the childcare expense, but I don't know if they'll pay us back for what we've already paid out. We'll deal.

Okay, the cereal is done, and the boys are heading to a morning bath. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!