Big Changes

This was a pretty emotional week. I found out Monday that I won't be returning to nanny the boy I watch now. They weren't able to find a replacement for the 2 months that I was going to be off on their own. They tried using Craig's list and another nanny agency but didn't find anyone. They decided to go back to the agency they used to find me. That meant they had to spend a good amount of money for the service. Because of that they decided to keep the lady full time. I'm still upset they couldn't ask her to work only 2 months but there's nothing I can do about it. I have accepted it but it's still going to be tough not seeing the boy everyday. Plus the parents have been so great. I'm hoping to be able to spend sometime with them on the Friday's she has off. My last day is Oct. 23rd. I'm looking forward to having some time off before the baby comes though. I hope to use that time to officially get everything ready for when he's here. I've been a little worried about what I'm going to do come January but I have put my name down at a daycare already. It's a private daycare that a few of my old coworkers work at. One of my closest friends Jodi has her daughter there so it's been great to be able to talk to her to see if I would really want to put D.J. there if I work there. I think I have a good chance of getting the job so I'm keeping my fingers crossed things work out for us. It will be a little weird not having a job to rush to everyday. Oh what I hope to accomplish!!

Wednesday after work I come home to find out what orders Dave is going to take come next summer. His shore duty is up in Aug so we've been hoping to get back to the east coast to be closer to Pittsburgh. The Navy has changed the way it's giving orders away. Long story short, he was offered a sub in Guam. Dave asked his detailer what happens if he doesn't want them. He was told that he would be forced to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. The Navy is the military being forced over there right now. Since no one is volunteering, they are using the transfers to get people. So much for Obama pulling our troops out but that's a totally different post.

I wasn't the happiest when I heard this. It's just sooo far away. After talking with Dave I've accepted it and started to look forward to it. I would much rather stay as a family and Dave be somewhere safe. The thing is that Dave will have to extend for a year and half for these orders. He only had a year and half left to finish his duty on a sub. He was leaning towards getting out once that was up. Guam requires people to stay there for a 3 year tour. That will take Dave to 11 years which means he will most likely stay in for 20 for retirement. There are definitely some pluses with going there. The sub Dave will go to doesn't make 6 month deployments. They will only take 6-8 week missions, which is a big plus. We will actually be able to afford living in a house! It's very close to Australia so I am hoping to take a few trips to the place I've always wanted to visit. When Dave is done with this tour, he will be back on shore duty where ever he wants. There are special circumstances with these orders that allow Dave to get first pick. We will most likely be the closest we can to Pittsburgh. I most likely will be able to get back into teaching elementary. There are US based schools run through the government. From reading the website I would become a government employee starting at at least $80,000. I'm not 100% sure about the salary yet but I'm going to use the fleet and family support center out here to help me apply and answer my questions. We are hoping I would make that much cause it would get us out of debt and be able to save money to put on a house when ever we move back. Even though it's going to be soooo far away and expensive to get back to the states, we are taking this as an experience we might never get again.

There are still a ton of things to figure out but it looks like we will transfer sometime between June and September. Dave thinks he should have a month leave before having to be over there so we would leave Diego June, be in Pittsburgh for July and fly to Guam in Aug. My parents seem to take the news better than I thought. I think having my mom retire has helped her be happy cause she'll be able to come visit and stay with us as long as she wants. My sister doesn't like this at all cause she is REALLY looking forward to having a nephew. I can understand her feelings. Hopefully she will be able to come visit. We haven't told Dave's mom cause we are both very worried about how she will handle it. She hates us being clear across the country now. She also wants Dave out of the military so that will be another hard thing to tell her. Dave is going to wait until after the holidays to tell her.

Once I find out more I will update everyone with the latest.