No Place Like Home

Last night, Matt handed me a bunch of papers for potential transfer locations. The list included Grand Forks, Cleveland, Columbus, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City. From that pile, he wanted me to choose my most desired locations. I sorted them into 3 piles; yes, no and maybe. Grand Forks, Kansas City, and Milwaukee all went in the "yes" pile, simply because they are all within a manageable driving  distance to Minnesota, which not only means that we could we go afford to go home more often, but also makes it easier and more feasible for family and friends to come see us as well. My "maybe" pile included Cleveland, Columbus and Chicago. Although Cleveland and Columbus will get us closer to home, it's still a 12 hour drive, meaning that we would probably still have to travel by airplane to make the trip home worth our while. In my opinion that isn't any different from our current situation and I'd almost rather stay in New England, where everything is a hop, skip, and a jump away. Chicago on the other hand, would be a great place to live, with plenty to do and still within a reasonable driving distance to Minnesota; however, it's a level 12, which is the highest you can go, as far as traffic and skill level.  Matt told me they are desperate for people and there is a strong possibility he could hear back from them. That's probably because their  percentage of wash-outs is significantly higher than other facilities. Although I have complete faith that Matt is capable of working level 12 traffic, it still makes me feel anxious and worried that something could go wrong and we'd have to start over yet again. With that said, if Matt were to make it through training in Chicago, we'd be more financially secure than we are now, meaning I could possibly go back to school. BONUS! As for Detroit, I have no reason why it's in my "no" pile, other than I just don't want to live there. Sorry Detroit. You are not for me. The bottom line is that I just want to go home. I miss my family and friends and I'm sad that the only time they ever get to see Jack is on Skype or photos that I put up on Facebook. So if moving to a place like Grand Forks, where there is absolutely nothing to do , means we will be one step closer to home, I'll take it.

I think I'm going to cut this short tonight because I'm exhausted and If Jack is going to follow the same pattern that he has been for the last couple of nights, I'm gonna need all the sleep I can get. Here are some snapshots from our day. Again in no particular order. Enjoy.

Since I was too lazy to cook dinner, we went out to eat at the Mexican restaurant near our house. Jack got to have his very first Churro tonight. I ended up eating his portion, because he was far more interested in the whip cream on the side.

Jack give is Horse, Nae Nae a drink of milk. Such a good sharer, he is.

Mmm... fresh guacamole that they made right before our eyes. Matt ate most of it since Jack wasn't a fan and I didn't want to spoil my dinner.

He thought he was so cool drinking from a cup like mom and dad's.

My boy took a 2 hour and 15 minute nap today. Yay for both of us!

Jack has been enjoying walking down the stairs like a BIG BOY.

Jack fell asleep in the ergo again today when I was folding laundry, and when I tried to carefully get him out without disturbing him, he woke up. To my surprise, even though he woke up, he stayed cuddling me like this for a whopping 20 minutes while I watched "Kelly and Michael."

He is becoming a pro stacker.

It amazing how quickly he caught onto lacing beads. It takes a lot of concentration and I'd say that's pretty advanced for his age.

Afternoon coffee run! I was desperate because someone, not naming any names, woke me up at 5 am. I got a small because it was 4 pm and I didn't want to be up all night.

   GOOD NIGHT!