Family Forum / Parenting / Mothers / June 2005

It's been a while since I had much to report, and I hardly have time to
post or read up here due to all the things going on with the move. So for
all of you who are interested, here's a full update on how we are doing
back home.

Pregnancy wise: all is going extremely well. Both babies are transverse,
which is actually saving me a lot of problems with my SPD as there is
little pressure on the pelvic bones. OTOH my abs are stretched to their
max and that's not always comfy, but easier to deal with. The prospect of
a c-section is not fun, but we will deal with that when we get there.
Babies are growing well, even somewhat bigger than singletons at this
point, but that will probably change in the next couple of weeks. I sleep
well, can still bike (YAY!), but walking and standing are challenging.

Move wise: DH(!) has signed for his job, we have a house which feels like
a home and are slowly moving our stuff. We can rent first and will buy the
house later. It is totally bizar, but it just felt like a home to me the
moment I entered. We fixed some minor things last weekend, and it still
feels so right. I never felt like that in our apartment in the US... DH
will start working on July 1, so I will be at home with DS full time. That
will be a challenge, but I can manage, I've had some practice recently.

Socially: it is a real relief to be back in a country where we can deal
with people the way we were used to. It only shows how enormous the social
and cultural differences are between the US and Europe once you have to
restart your life in either place. It is not that one is better or worse
than the other, there are just some huge differences that are sometimes
hard to overcome if you're used to one or the other.

Otherwise: remember the story of my job being offered and the offer
withdrawn for no apparent reason? Well, after 3 months of total silence,
it dawned on them that something was not quite right and they re-offered
me the job. Apparently rumours had started to spread that I was denied a
job because of my pregnancy, and this is *SO* not done over here. Some
strings were pulled from very high up, which made things move again.

Unfortunately their timing is horrible, since the renewed offer arrived on
the exact day that DH signed his contract and there is no way we can both
commute to work for more than 1h each way with 3 small kids at home. So I
had to decline. Fortunately for me I have prospects for a very good
alternative close to our new home, plus I have taken the opportunity to
clear everything with the people involved. Since it is a small world, I am
glad that apologies were offered and my good name was fully reinstated.
Maybe in retrospect this was all meant to be...

It will be a while before I can spend more time here on mkp and am. Once
the move is done, the twins will be arriving. Although I hope they stay
put for another 6-8 weeks, but you never know. I will do my best to keep
you posted on what is going on though. Take care y'all!!!