Changes and more changes!

I have two big pieces of news to share. First of all... I was offered and accepted a job with Alberta Health Services!! I will be providing administrative & research support to the head of Addiction Services in the Psychiatry department at one of the big hospitals. They offered a great wage (Calgary seems to pay much more than Vancouver) and say they are very flexible with me taking days off to volunteer at school for the kids and other such things. However, I am still trying to negotiate a 0.8 position. It's just that they want me there Mon-Fri when the head of the department is in town, which is why they said 4 days a week won't work. He does travel a lot though, so what I'm proposing is 6-hour days Mon-Fri when he's in the office, and 4 8-hour days when's he's away. I probably won't know on this til Monday.

I'm looking forward to it in many ways... I like being up and out of the house in the morning with a purpose... I crave the mental stimulation of work as opposed to the monotony that I've been feeling at home lately... and we will enjoy the extra money. And then I have moments when I worry if I'm doing the right thing! Will Ainsley be okay in a dayhome for one year? The nanny solution with my friend will only work over the summer, so I'm interviewing dayhomes now - we have found one we really like and Ainsley has already asked to go there, but who knows when it comes to every day. Also, how will we adjust to dinnertime prep after both working all day, as well as working in some quality time to connect with the kids? I'm guessing we'll have to be uber-prepared! Then there will be the laundry and general house clean-up that we'll be doing in the evenings - we are going to get a house-cleaner every couple weeks for the big clean. So I worry that it may affect the quality of our family life. I'm hoping once we get into a rhythm, it will work out. If it doesn't, I can always quit! I am staying on as casual with LD so I could always go back to working a couple days a week there.

So I start my new job on July 3rd, the same day that someone else will be starting her new job... at the same hospital... none other that my mother-in-law Maria! Yep, Jose's parents are moving to Calgary!! She was offered a job at Alberta Health Services (AHS) that pays a lot more than she's currently making, and it's actually one level less than her current job. So less responsibility but more money! Maria is currently a food services manager at a hospital - since BC privatized things, her wages were cut and she's been working 50-60+ hours a week!! Not exaggerating. This is so wrong, especially at this time of her life when she should be winding down a bit. Her job in Calgary will be a food service supervisor, but they have already talked about making her a manager down the road. At AHS, they value work-life balance and say they rarely work beyond their required hours. I expect this is true, from what I've heard so far about other people who work for AHS. We hope this is a great change for them and a big improvement on their current work and financial situation.

Maria & Pino will drive here over the July long weekend, and then Pino will fly home and leave the car with Maria, who of course will stay with us. He needs to sell the house they bought with Jorge & Keri and also the pasta business. Once all that's taken care of, they'll be able to look for their own place here. It will be great to have them living here - we are really excited about it - and the girls will be ecstatic!! They don't know yet... Maria & Pino are going to Skype with them this weekend to give them the good news.

Crazy huh?? But all crazy good :D

View from our bedroom balcony.
You can see the tops of the Rockies behind the houses, but unfortunately not in this picture.

Changes

So we are back to being single home owners... our Ladner home is sold! I feel really good about it. Liberated. Settled. That house has been a huge financial burden over the last year and a half, with the tenants breaking their lease early and some costly maintenance. Jose was offered a permanent position with the City of Calgary at the beginning of the year (he had originally signed a 2 year contract) which we accepted without hesitation. We are very happy here and ready to call Calgary home, at least for the next few years. After that, who knows! We've always talked about moving to Europe for a couple years (we both have citizenship there so could work), so the timing may just be right when the girls are a few years older. Or there could be an opportunity to return back to Vancouver.

Back to our Ladner home... the new owners are none other than our wonderful friends Nick & April! They had hinted to us when we saw them in February, that they regretted not buying our house last year and asked for a heads up next time we listed. We put it on the market but gave them first choice, and they moved on it fast... sold their house within days and committed to buy ours!! Couldn't be happier to be selling it to such a lovely family. And thrilled I will still be able to see our old home when we visit - we made many great memories there.

View of our beautiful backyard in Ladner. I will miss this.

The other big change is that I'm looking for almost full-time work (4 days/week). I had a telephone interview last week and have an in-person interview this Friday for a job with Alberta Health Services where I'd be providing administrative and research support to 2 psychiatrists. It sounds really great; the only problem is, its full-time. I figured I'll go for the interview anyways, and see if there's any chance it could be a 0.8 position. You never know! If it's meant to be, it'll be. I feel like now is the right time for me to go back to work... Lucy will be in all-day school in September, and Ainsley is a bit older, and I could use the mental stimulation!! My friend has hired a live-in nanny who has agreed to babysit Ainsley, so that would work out rather well. While I'd love to work as a doula again, we can't afford the childcare when the income isn't consistent. Perhaps when the girls are both in school... I'll see. 

So those are my big updates for now. I have weaned myself off Crackbook Facebook and plan to write and post pictures on my blog more. Whoever still reads this, I'd love if you could leave me a comment. xo

- All things in life are not meant to last. Things change and people do too. You can never hold on to something forever, so learn to live and let go. (Author unknown)