Granny

So, my Mom has been living with us for 5 months in our little 2 bedroom house. That's got to be most people's idea of hell, right?

Actually, we are all rubbing along very nicely. Mom has taken over dishes and laundry and helps out enormously with the kids, who adore her. Milord gets slightly twitchy sometimes, but if he was at work all day instead of underfoot I think he'd be fine.

With me having to go back to work suddenly, Mom has been a real trouper and volunteered to mind one child every workday and do the daycare dropoff and pickup for the other one (we think they are too little to be in daycare every day of the week).



Sharing a room with the kids is probably the hardest part, as they seem to be continually taking turns at having a cold and coughing all night. A bit of a shock to the system after 10 years living alone!

On the days that both kids are in daycare Mom and I go exploring Sydney or hiking. It is great fun to have someone to play with!



A few weeks back Mom bought a little old campervan (a very basic converted panel van). She has cleaned it up and it is now very comfy. About once a month Mom heads off for a week to explore. I am very jealous!



Right now Mom is housesitting for friends of mine who are away for 2 weeks. She's loving the solitude, but is still close enough to pop in or babysit. She's loving it, and will be looking into professional housesitting as well as part time work for when she's in town and the kids are in daycare.

I am very lucky that I get on so well with my Mom, and that she gets on with everyone else! It's brilliant.

Squint Surgery Take 2 - One Month Later

I just don't feel like blogging. It is now nearly 3 months after Milord walked out on his job, and we are still unemployed.

It is grinding me down and I am just so tired. I hate job hunting. My house is too small to have Milord home all the time. My kids are both testing their boundaries and my fuse is far shorter than it should be. I just put the little buggers to bed and then had to go lie down and cry.

*wah* Pity party for one...

In the only good news I have though: Princess' eyes are still straight! Woohoo!



It is exactly one month since her surgery, and so far her brain is still using both eyes at the same time correctly. God I hope they stay ok.

PS. Oh yes, more good news: Princess had a full cardiac checkup the other day and her heart is perfect. No murmur or anything ;-)

Upskilling

*sigh*

So, being a stay at home mom seems to be unattractive to prospective employers... Which, sure, fair enough, I wouldn't like to be a development manager trying to rationalise to my stakeholders either: "She used to be first class, but hasn't worked in years. We can train her of course, or we can just employ this up-to-speed person instead."

I have been seriously looking for work for 2 months now. Maybe more. Something must be done.

Next week I am doing a 3 day course in the sexiest sector of my skillset. After I finish I should be able to step out in pride and command my worth!

Holding thumbs....

Your Royal Fix

No jobs yet, although I am getting quite a few phone calls in response to my applications and have a potential interview on Friday. Perhaps that is why I am wide awake at 1am... while I have confidence in my skills and I interview quite well, I still find the whole experience nerve wracking!

King and Princess are in daycare on Mondays and Fridays now, and as places become available on the other days I will snap them up. Princess still has Kindy on Wednesdays and Thursdays during school terms, but their opening hours (9am to 3pm) just aren't possible once I am working full time.

Yesterday was the kid's first day in daycare. They both did really well, thank goodness! I have found a place within walking distance of home so it is easy to walk them both there pushing the pram, leave the pram and jump on a bus to the city. Then do the pickup in reverse at the end of the day.

Mom will be looking after the kids on the other days of the week. And Milord of course, while he is still job hunting!

It is 2 weeks since Princess' eye surgery and her eyes are still straight. The redness is healing up nicely. So far so good!



Puddles!



Paddling pools.



Playgroup.



Trains.



Daddy's hat!



Mummy's shoes!



Telly.



Show me your eyes, baby. Ooooh!



Post-nap snuggles.

Beach Babies!

We don't go to the beach much. Too hot, too sandy, too far etc etc.

Over the Easter Weekend we made an effort on a not-too-hot day and found a lovely beach not too far away. It is a "harbour" beach as opposed to an "ocean" beach. This means it's almost a lagoon and there is no surf and it's a little warmer than the outer water.











No one wanted to leave at King's naptime, and we shall be back as soon as Princess' eyes have healed up a bit more.

Awesome.

Squint Surgery Take 2

Still no jobs. We are officially running on our credit cards now and will be talking to the bank about pausing the mortgage. I am over my rage and settled into a numb acceptance.

Milord is applying for loads of jobs now. I should be, but I have been very distracted by Princess' second round of squint surgery.

Back in November Princess had surgery to correct her cross-eyed squint, but by December her eyes were beginning to wander into a wall-eyed thing. Turns out her brain didn't get the message to keep the eyes straight, but instead uses one at a time and the one not in use wanders off outward.

It looks awful!

The doctor hasn't seen this before - it is a very rare result. It may be related to Princess' overall low muscle tone and gross motor delays, they don't know.

However, the only available solution is to now weaken the outer muscles of her eyes and hope the brain locks on to both eyes while they are straight. Or if not maybe Princess' eyes will drift inward rather than outward which is far less disturbing to look at.

Before.



Waiting.



Heading into theatre. Poor Princess went to pieces at this point. I had to hold a struggling screaming little girl while they gassed her to sleep. Not. Fun.



Recovery. Princess slept on me for ages while coming around from surgery.



After. Straight eyes! Please please please stay like this!



Since Princess' surgery I have been sleeping like a dead thing. I think I was more stressed than I knew - and I knew I was stressed!

Now I can concentrate on getting a job. Bring it on!

Another Uncle Gone

Another of my Dad's brother's, the youngest, succumbed to cancer today.

He has had a long tough battle, and I hope he is in a better place, perhaps with 3 older brothers to laugh with.

His family certainly is not in a good place right now. My heart goes out to them. It has been a tough couple of years for us all.

3 years old and 3 feet high

Still no jobs. I'm applying for about 2 a week. Milord has given up on his course and has applied for a job or two too. We are being kind to each other.

For Princess' 3rd birthday I gave her an actual real digital camera. A kid's version, but still a real camera. This is what life looks like at 3.5 years old...

(In very good light the camera takes a decent shot. In low light it struggles with a child's motion.)

One Month Later...

Here we are, one month after Milord chucked in his job without consulting me.

I am no longer in denial, I am now quite cross most of the time.

I have not been able to find any part time work and am now looking for full time contracting work. Milord is apparently also applying for jobs, while struggling with the course he wants to complete before getting serious about jobhunting.

I am investigating local daycare options for the kids, because while Mom will help out all she can I don't expect her to be a stay-at-home-gran.

That's my dream job.

Fuckit.

Hanging in there...

We are in a holding pattern here. I'm finding it hard to blog because everything comes out bitter!

Milord is having trouble finding time to study his course, and won't jobhunt until it is done.

One of the reasons he is busy is because he is doing some paid work.

Not enough paid work to cover the mortgage and bills though. We do have enough savings for about 2 months survival though...

Until Milord gets work I don't know if I need to look for full time or part time work myself.

I am still very annoyed but am doing my best to be nice and not nag.

Princess needs another eye operation because her eyes are now doing this:



King has discovered walking and is very chuffed with himself.