Love the idea of grabbing some equity on the buy, and repeating each year, but it is difficult to find the deals or even know where on a map to begin.  

Meeting them at networking events and grabbing lunch and stuff like that is a good way to start.

I am now a stay-at-home-mom with a 2.5 year old girl and a 1.5 year old boy.

Upwork is definitely worth looking into: We've grabbed a number of contract workers from there over the years.Also take a look at Fiverr.com, particularly as a resource for seeing what types of gigs you could perform with your skills and background.

Oakland is large but traversing it is actually pretty quick.Feel free to reach out if you'd like to grab a drink or chat.  

We had a girl who was head over the heels about the place at our open house, but her realtor has advised her not to put it under contract because he is confident it will get a low appraisal due to the appraiser only using in project comps (he also mentioned that it is a VA loan, and they are very strict about staying in the project).I also believe that the realtors are not even showing this to their clients because of the above reason (though we have had about 4 showings).  

I have an awesome wife and two awesome girls who keep me focused and driven on getting the ship headed in the right direction.

Every job I have left has been quickly filled by the next guy or girl.

I'd be happy to grab coffee or a drink and talk shop if you're up for it!  

Pound it as much as you can, grab all opportunities.