So here's what's new...

Hello out there, all you long-abandoned blog-readers! I sincerely apologize for mistreating you so. However, I cannot promise it will not happen again. But the more you get on me, the more likely I am to blog... so stop slacking and start complaining already!

Here's what's going on in the life of me.

I don't have a job for next year yet. Aaaand neither does Josh. I don't remember what I've posted about this, so I'll just start from the beginning. The dream was that I wouldn't have to work, or I could drop the second half of my day at Gray Road and therefore be able to work while Josh is home and then come home and be with the baby while he is at class. Also, part of that dream was that Josh would get an assistantship again next year like he had this past year. He didn't. It had nothing to do with him - the reason he got it this past year was because his advisor was a new professor and was given a start-up package that included funding for a research assistant. Well, that package and funding only lasted one year. Oh, and I was told that Gray Road will not be hiring any part-time teachers for next year. They only want teachers who can stay all day. I could be an assistant, I'm told... but that would be a pay cut on top of a pay cut. Oh, and the icing on the cake - I got my health insurance through Gray Road and Josh got his through his assisstantship. We didn't have to pay for any of it all year. Well, part-time employees at Gray Road do not get insurance, and like I said, Josh will not have his assistantship next year, so not only do we not have jobs, but we don't have insurance after August.

So here are my options: I've applied at IPS because a friend told me that there were some half-day kindergarten positions available (IPS = Indy Public Schools) and a half-time employee at IPS makes more than I did working 10 hour days at Gray Road. So that wouldn't be too bad. I don't know about insurance though. I've also pondered the possibility of babysitting. I have a friend who just had a baby about seven weeks ago, and she also has a 2 year old. She needs to go back to work after her maternity leave is up, but daycare for both kids is really expensive. I could watch her kids for less that daycare would cost and that would solve two problems at once. It would also be great to be able to stay home with Olivia. But that would make my income half what it would be as a half-day kindergarten teacher. And there would be no insurance.

But my options depend on Josh's options, and really, there's only one for him: He's applied to teach as an adjunct professor at ITT Tech. We don't know how much that would pay, and we don't know what kind of insurance it would give. We don't know what kind of hours he would have to work (morning? afternoon? evening?). So we don't know much of anything other than nobody's gotten back to him yet. But Josh's dream is to get his doctrate so he can teach at a small Christian university. Teaching at ITT Tech would be great preparation for that (and would look good on a resume). We're also assuming that the salary would be rather good. Better than what he got this past year as a stipend anyway. If the salary is as good as we hope, then I could babysit and the lower income wouldn't matter. If he doesn't get the job or the salary is not as good as we like, then I'd have to teach. I may like teaching better, the more I think about it. It would mean that I only had to work half the day, whereas babysitting would be all day. And taking care of two infants and a toddler would be a little extreme for a brand-new mommy. But I really like the idea of helping out a friend. Oh, and if Josh doesn't get the ITT Tech job, I'm going to get him a job at Menards, whether he likes it or not.

As far as insurance goes, I assume mine ends with my last full paycheck, sometime in August. I've looked into individual insurance and the deductibles are all extremely high and the coverage is not that attractive (compared to what I have now). And when we compare it to Josh's student insurance, it's just plain ridiculous. Josh's insurance through IUPUI is insanely good coverage. The deductable is only $100 (individual insurance is $2,000). The coverage is 100% (mine right now is 80%). The downfall, though, is that the premium is rather high. The upside to the premium is that there is the option to pay one lump sum for the whole year. That way, we could get a student loan to cover insurance and not have to pay it back until Josh graduates (and keep in mind, he wants to get his doctrate). Another bad thing about individual insurance that I forgot to mention is that they don't cover childhood immunizations (at least the one that I looked at) and those can get really pricey considering the amount of shots infants need and they can be like $100/shot.

Well that's what you can pray for. That our path for next year is clear, that our faith in God's plan for us is unwaivering, and that we get jobs and insurance!

As for the pregnancy: I'm as big as ever and ready to give birth already! I'm five weeks from my due date and my feet are like swollen balloons with tiny little toes attached. I haven't really developed the nesting instinct, but Josh sure has. He's cleaned both bathrooms already today and he is now mopping the porch. I think he plans on doing the whole apartment before he sleeps. It's really quite cute. He keeps saying things like "Olivia's going to think we're pigs!" and "Must get ready for the baby!" He's making me feel really guilty. But I'm not exactly sitting around doing nothing. I took the tags off all the bibs and blankets and the newborn outfits and have been doing laundry non-stop for the past two days - and none of it has been our own clothes! By the way - we have enough bibs. Please, no more bibs. But if you do feel the need to contribute, allow me to direct you to this site. I'd really like that mobile... the activity gym would be even better... :-D

Well, that's enough blogging for now. Have I made up for the past two months of silence yet? Enjoy!

Beth