Moving

At the end of the month I am once again packing up and moving. Dread, anxiety, nervous, and overwhelmed are some of the negative feelings I'm having. Mostly because this will be the sixth home my children and I have lived in since being in Utah. Let me take you for a little ride if you will. When we first arrived in Utah to live back in April 2004, I brought four duffel bags and two heavy boxes. We moved into my brother Nathan and his wife Devona's unfinished basement in Roy, Utah. They welcomed us with open arms and were willing to help in any way they could. In May I went with Devona to her book club and during a meal at Red Robin one of her friends mentioned that she went to Interior Design school. That instant I knew what I was going to do and I asked so many questions she probably though I was kinda weird, who knows. That very next day I drove to Salt Lake City and I met Miles Hunsaker the director of the program. He told me that he didn't think it would be a problem to get into the program and was warm and kind. I signed up for classes starting beginning of June and searched downtown Salt Lake City for the most affordable apartment.

Marmalade Square was the cheapest thing I could find. I paid $535.00 a month rent for a two bedroom but it had a swimming pool so I thought that would be a blast! It was on 300 West and not such a safe neighborhood but I was not one time ever scared, just entertained by the neighbors drama and lifestyles. lol We moved in first of June and had NOTHING to furnish it with. Thankfully my sister-in-law Devona threw me a "Starting Over" party and all of my family chipped in to help me with things I needed. I love you guys! My cousin Kaylie and her husband Troy came to visit me and took me shopping for things I would need. They gave me a dresser and coffee table out of her fathers storage. We went to numerous garage sales and I picked up tables and toys for my kids. I bought a TV at Walmart and a full size mattress at Sam's Club. I put it on the floor and all three of us slept on it for only a short time. My Uncle Jim gave me some old bunk beds out of his basement for Kalen and Rylee. One day I was at the pool with the kids and some guys were moving out and they asked me if I knew anyone who wanted a futon.. FOR FREE! They even carried it up the stairs into my apartment. We lived there for exactly one year. I had some cute girls that helped out with Kalen and Rylee a couple times, plus my Mom visited for a while to help that summer. Paul and Karolain Goold were the only people I knew in Salt Lake City and they lived right up the hill. They were my biggest blessing that year and unconditionally loved me and those kids and helped me all the time while I attended classes. Rylee went to head start preschool in Rose Park and Kalen started Kindergarten that fall at Washington Elementary.

In May we moved all of things in a storage unit, Paul and my loyal brother Nathan and his faithful wife Devona helped me move my things. The kids and I flew to Alaska so they could visit with their Dad. In June I started summer school so I flew back to Utah for seven weeks to take some classes and stayed at Nathan and Devonas house again in Roy. After the seven weeks I flew back to Alaska for the month of August and then the three of us flew to Salt Lake City where I found a small apartment in the Avenues. It was more than I could afford but I didn't know where else to go, the kids school was temporarily at Lowell since Washington was being rebuilt. Amazingly enough LDS Business College was only one block away from the elementary school! Rylee started kindergarten and had Kalens teacher, Mrs. Prescott and Kalen had Mr. Roach for first grade. They attended the after school program and the staff loved my kids and took really good care of them. That winter was really hard for me, what was supposed to be my last semester I got really depressed and had no money. I dropped out of school and stayed home. Thinking back it was the toughest time I have had so far but with help from different people I made it through. My friend Carrie has always been there for me lending support and encouragement. She helped me make a resume and invited me to Seattle to help me find a job. That is just what I needed.. a really good friend to guide me and have some fun with.

I drove to Seattle, found two jobs and worked seven days a week all summer. The only time I took off was to fly to Valdez for my 10yr. reunion and hug my babies for about five days. I worked downtown for a commercial real estate company called Pinnacle and they all loved me, when they heard I was leaving they called up the Salt Lake City office and made room for me there downtown in the Walker Center.

Devona and Nathan had moved to Salt Lake City that summer and lived in Rose Park. Devona found a triplex a couple blocks from their home that I moved into right away. Again my family was right there for me and helped me move my items out of storage and into my new place. This is really weird to a lot of you I'm sure, but Kalen and I shared a room that year. Rylee had her own room and she has never been that needy and wanted to sleep with me. Kalen since birth has been sleeping in my bed and it hasn't ever been a problem. He will sleep on his own and has since he was about five but it is a real treat to get to sleep in Mom's bed for some reason (prob out of habit) and since I'm single it doesn't really matter to me. I kept my kids at Washington Elementary because I had problems with the office staff at Backman right down the street. Kalen was in Mr. ????? and Rylee had such a sweet teacher, Mrs. Yaeger for first grade. I started my job at the Walker Center and it was a lot of fun for the first two months, then it got to be really stressful. I have never worked well under pressure or stress. I get scared and can't function and also get emotional. They were really good to me financially though! lol In January I started school again to finish what I started :) I couldn't deal with working/school so I quit my job in February and focused on just finishing and not giving up when it got rough. There were so many times that semester I wanted to drive my car into a concrete wall due to the pressure of assignments/projects! However I pulled through and finished my portfolio and got an A-, *breathes a sigh of relief* I will never forget how hard it was for me! For some reason, OH I just remembered why I went with the kids to Alaska that summer.. haha but I won't air that info.

I worked for Parks & Rec for Summer Fun.. what a great job! If I could be a summer camp director year round I certainly would. I loved the kids and staff plus I got to spend everyday with Kalen & Rylee and be with friends that I grew up with. I kept my things in the apartment instead of storing it and just paid my normal rent. I must not forget to blog about working for the Salmon Canning place!! I thought I was going to die. My friends husband is the big wig over there so I asked her if I could go work for a couple weeks since I didn't have any money in savings. She warned me over and over and told me how hard it was. I was determined so when she told me to go talk to her husband he said, "I'm sorry but we don't have any office jobs" I said, I understand but I am looking for anything right now. They put me out on the canning line. We had to be there at either 6 or 7 am and didn't get home until midnight or later. On my lunch hours I would go sleep out in my Dad's truck and put my feet up. I had huge blisters on my feet, and ached from the pain.

It paid off in the end because I when I got back to Salt Lake City I had some spending money for us to camp, go swimming, shopping, and just have fun and I didn't need to go back to work right away. Kalen and Rylee were really sad to have to attend Backman except that their cousin Luke was there. They had made such good friends and the staff loved them and took really good care of my kids at Washington. Kalen was in Mrs. Ford and Rylee was in Mrs. ????. By the time October came around I had spent all my savings and was looking for a job. There was a new Lowe's opening up in Bountiful and I have always wanted to work there for some reason. I thought, well this will get me out and into the construction/design world then later I will pursue and job in Interior Design. My start date was October 15, 2007. The next month after realizing how much I was making on top of Ryan getting a steady job and paying child support I could finally afford a REAL HOME.. with more than TWO bedrooms! I remember being so excited that I didn't have to share a room with my kids! lol I found a brand new house for rent and jumped on the opportunity.

The reason I started this blog was because I was thinking about how far I've come and how much I'm going to miss this house I have right now. I feel so blessed to be able to live in such a clean, spacious and comfortable home after enduring the other places I've lived. I am so thankful to Ryan, Kalen and Rylee's Dad. He has a really good steady job and we are benefiting by living a normal life. A lot of single Moms struggle for longer than I did. I always make sure my kids know that their Dad pays a lot of our bills and make sure they realize he is the reason we are living so well and are comfortable. That always makes them feel good I can see it in their eyes.