Homeless, hardly

While we were living with my parents, we had lots of fun even though we were stressed.  We were loved and well taken care of, and the fact is that the future is always unknown.... it's just that the unknown was a little too overwhelming sometimes.

We played outside a lot, at first, when the weather was warm.  Hazel's skin had an introductory period during which she broke out into hives from the Utah grass.  Luckily she got over that.

We hung out with my brother when he wasn't busy working.  

 And the kids got lots of Grandma and Grandpa time.  

My dad kept all the kids in continual supply of Hotwheels.

My mom kept us all in continual supply of delicious, nourishing food.

                               Everyone begged Dad to make popcorn every night. 

I visited friends.  I was able to meet up with Lana before and after she gave birth to her first child.   

 

 At Lizzy's house, I harvested some kale with my brother.  

And, although not pictured, I was grateful to run into an old high school friend and schedule a few playdates with her and her kids.  Thanks Lydia, for the date night, too!

I enjoyed the Weber River Parkway in Riverdale, a lot.  I love paved paths away from traffic.  My kids can go pretty crazy with their bikes, and I attempted to run alongside sometimes.

We cheered on Tyler's Dad after finishing a 50 mile race.  Crazy awesome.

My mom whipped up a new bedding set for the crib that has been in our family since she was little.  Hazel puts her baby to bed every night.

My parents' neighbors did something really amazing and kind.  They gave us complete access to their backyard, which has a trampoline.  Any time, any day, we could just open their back gate and jump around.  And we did, pretty much everyday that the weather was good.  What a life saver!

I am grateful we have loving family and friends to help us out when we need it.

Where are the Metcalfs?

Oh, the twists and turns of life.  A lot has occurred since I last posted.  Tyler graduated with his MBA from Babson, and we stuck around Massachusetts for a while looking for employment.  After a few months we decided to move back to Utah so we could stay with family while figuring out what to do next.  It was a complicated move, because we had to pack our stuff up to fit a trailer, but keep our necessities separate for the undetermined amount of time we would be living with my parents.  Motivated by false hope, I only packed our summer clothes, and in the end I had to dig through the trailer for our snow gear.

Tyler's parents were kind enough to house our trailer and devote a room in their house for extra belongings, while my parents moved stuff around so that we could take over two bedrooms and a bathroom of their house.  Well, lets face it, the toys and dirty laundry took over the ENTIRE house.  Yes, we inconvenienced many people for many months.  It took longer than I had hoped, even though I'm aware people go years unemployed.  It's frightening with three young kids.  After almost three months, Tyler did find something that is pretty much perfect.  He went to school to specialize in management and entrepreneurship, and that is exactly what he is doing in this new job.  I'm so proud of him and happy that his knowledge and skill set is being used and expanded.

As for my own employment, that remains a sore point of mine.  Through all of this, obviously it would have been useful to have supplemental income.  I am lucky enough to have a degree that is often used from the home.  In fact, I did briefly have a content writing job before we left Mass, and I interviewed for one here in Utah.  I could have either of those jobs now, but I'm kind of a wimp and declined them.  I am a person of little energy, to be honest.  I know many moms who work full or part time, from the home or outside of it, and raise their kids simultaneously.  I know this must help to balance their identity, giving them multiple roles to fill and perfect.  How is it done, though?  I battle guilt every time I take time from the kids, except when I exercise.  Then again, I harbor guilt over being "just" a stay at home mom.  (Personally I have not found guilt to be a very helpful or useful emotion.  I'd really like to know how to dispose of it altogether.)

Tyler's new job is very flexible, as he mostly works from home, and so we could fit my working hours into the day much easier now, rather than me fighting exhaustion in the late evenings or weekends.  So, I may bring in a paycheck after all.  Lets pray I do it gracefully, not grouchily.

Anyway, lets talk about where we live.  I used to say that Salt Lake City is the only place I would want to live in Utah.  I love the downtown feel, safe yet urban.  Mormon missionaries never bothered me in my college aprartments, and I could go anywhere on foot, bike, or Trax.  But, there's the harmful inversion during the winter months.  Plus, we can't actually afford my preferred neighborhoods in Salt Lake.  When Tyler was offered a job by someone in Heber, even though he can work remotely for now, we decided to move out there anyway for healthier winter air and inexpensive living.

I really love it so far.  I can *almost* run the perimeter of the town, keeping civilization to my left and gorgeous farmland and mountains to my right.  Everything is ridiculously close, except our family, whom we now have to drive 1.5 to 2 hours to see.  Better than a 5 hour flight, right?

Lincoln is now enrolled in a preschool 5 mornings a week, so that he is prepared for Kindergarten next year.  The twins talk about wanting a blue and purple backpack for their school, too.  I think next fall we will enroll them.  

I haven't met any new Heber friends.  The snow keeps everyone tucked inside, so trips to the park and walks around the neighborhood haven't yielded any interactions with the natives.  For me, that's fine.  I'm taking my time building my own identity in this new town, exploring it with my running shoes.  The kids have had enough novelty to keep them from boredom, so far.  And, my heart is still full with my Massachusetts mommy friends.  We Skype sometimes, but you can tell the kids just want to jump through the screen and actually play with each other.  

That's pretty much catching us up.  I'll do another post with specifics on our time in limbo.  We had some pretty great experiences, and I took plenty of photos.