J I can always count on Ellie and OT to point me in the right direction! LOL

Ellie, I had been in Real Estate, however upon the birth of #2, it was a tough job to have - you kind of have to be at the beck & call of your clients. So, I took a job in Condo Management, still in the Real Estate “field” just didn’t require a license (which lapsed) and also provided me with 9-5 hours and a steady paycheck. Where I live now, there’s no companies that do that kind of work. ….And, now with 3 kids, going back into sales isn’t the best choice - no steady paycheck; no set hours; it’s a job that requires a lot of time & energy with little payback until you’ve spent a few years “establishing” yourself. Last fall I looked into Appraisal Licensing and I am very interested in that. I could freelance or work for a company and the hours are steady and the paychecks are steady. Obtaining licensure and certification takes about 6 months and only costs around $1000. There’s start-up fees involved with that, I would need a lap-top and a few other things, but it’s a good job and a good choice for me. The only problem is there is no training programs around here. L I’d have to drive 2 hours (one way) to get to the closest school.

My biggest hurdle right now is daycare. 2 kids in daycare - my soon to be 5 year old misses the Kindergarten cut-off date. Her birthday is at the end of December….the cut-off is Dec 1st - so, that’s one more year of daycare or pre-school that I need to pay for. So, 2 kids in daycare runs about $275 a week around here. Quite simply - I can’t afford it. I only get $1200 /month in child support and even without rent expenses and bills I’m still running low on money. It’s almost as if I need to continue to be a SAHM mom until next fall.

I’m real aggravated with everything. Sometimes the thought of moving back into SO’s just for the next year has crossed my mind. Let him help me out with this. The community college offers the Appraisal courses right there in the town and he needs to buck up and be the father he hasn’t been for the last 4 years. I can’t do this without some sort of help. And I don’t have anyone around here to help me. I mean, his mom is great letting us live here and all - but she works - she can’t watch the kids for me. There isn’t anyone I know that could watch the kids for me or even help me out with picking them up or anything. It’s tough. I’m in a tough spot. And I’m usually real good with problem solving, but I’m having a hard time with trying to figure out how to get ahead. I’m not whining today, lol - just stating my issues. Trying to come up with some kind of creative solution.

OT - I’d LOVE to move back down south. I just don’t think it’s possible this year. I don’t want to go running off half-assed without a set plan. As a single woman (with no kids) it would be something I would do in a split second…and quite frankly - I did once (that‘s kinda how I got in this predicament, lmao!!) But the responsibility of the kids and what’s best for them and how to provide for them causes me to take precautions. So while it’s a thought I (constantly) have in the back of my mind, it will have to wait until a later date.

I guess I’m just tired. Emotionally exhausted. I had some things planned for the next few weeks and for one reason or another all 3 events have been cancelled. L That has me down. I know I need a break. A real break in order to think clearly, but I just never get it. Like today, my D4 has been up since 4 AM throwing up, diarrhea…fun. I really don’t know how others do it. So many other women out there with kids, single and they work it out somehow. I wish I could get it worked out already.