the last kiddle has been discovered by the school bus system out here at last. he's been home since the middle of last week due to lack of transportation and was just picked up for the first time today. he's been amazingly well behaved while we waited for his buses to be scheduled - no tantrums or other real moodiness. do i dare hope he's finally, finally outgrown that?

at least until puberty sets in?

jewel also finally got her schedule worked out and herself out of the a.p. courses and into honors like she should have been from the beginning. course now she has piles of catch up work to do. she seems to be adjusting well, even has a boy she likes to call already.

the times for the schools are interesting out here. jewel is up and out of the house first, leaving at about 6:30 am. then froggy and taz get breakfast around 7:30 while i make their lunches (although, hopefully that won't last long - we did apply for the meal program out here). froggy's is tossed in her backpack and she's out the door around 8. then taz and i have an hour to wait in which we take care of the dog. we're working on gypsy's breakfast manners right now. the jumping thing needs to quit, and she's working on sit and stay again. we may do as someone else suggested and get one of those electronic collars to deal with the barking. she's starting to listen to me a bit again, so now i need to pull taz into the mix and get her to listen to him.

and i once again have my days to myself so i can write without having to keep track of children. jewel gets home about 2:30 pm, but she's buried in homework so we kinda work quietly together. it helps that i now have a sign that is red on one side and says "do not disturb! working!" and is green on the other and says "free to speak." it's kinda big and i suppose i'll make a smaller one eventually, but it works. they can't miss it.

all the paperwork for the car is finally in - mcat faxed the accident report yesterday. so now it's just a matter of time and seeing what they're gonna give us for the poor zoom zoom. we won't be able to get a new zoom zoom right away, mcat needs to take care of some business stuff, and that's no problem really. i need the time to write anyway. i'm sure we'll have a new vehicle by the time i need to go to my subbing workshop. if not by then, then by the time i would actually start any subbing. ;)

financially things are still a little rocky, and i expect them to be so for a month or two. we have a lot of high deposits to take care of, catching up on utilities and the credit card, and so on. plus we're adjusting to saxy's pay schedule. once things are settled, however, i've decided that my first purchase will be a rolling chair for me and my desk. i've been alternating between a high-backed dining room chair and a folding chair. neither are too comfortable. lol and forget about moving around easily! once i start subbing, the other immediate. major purchase will have to be clothing for work. i pretty much have one dress and maybe a pair or two of pants. that's about it. (anyone want to give me a gift certificate for silhouettes? lol) but i'm definitely A LOT less stressed about money and have a "it will all come with time" kind of feeling that's just nice to be experiencing again.

i must note, however, that the bill collectors found us rather quickly! just this week i got the first reminder of a "this is so past due we want to sue you" notice without a forwarding sticker on the envelope.

that "do it now" attitude seems to be so . . . contrary to what we've been experiencing out here so far. everyone here seems so laid back. the atmosphere is so . . . less . . . rushed? pressured? something. the other day someone asked me if i missed anything in cali other than my daughter and i can honestly say not really. well, okay, saxy's folks, but we didn't see them that much anyway and i'm sure he's missing them more than the kids and i do. still, we have a more laid back atmosphere, no shootings, lots of greenery . . . what is there to miss? the pressure cooker lifestyle? not. the dry, brown, 104 degree heat? i don't think so. having to duck whenever a car backfired because you weren't sure whether it was a car or a gun? ummm, no. being forced to keep my kids inside for fear they'd get knifed, shot, or dragged into some gang activity? definitely not! the lack of jobs? feeling like my degree is worthless? no and no.

yes, i most definitely am much happier out here. i like it. yes, i would like to be able to "upgrade" my home, but only so i can have a bigger kitchen and bathrooms. beyond that, the neighborhood is quiet (can't say nice yet, haven't met the neighbors quite yet), the area has everything we need fairly local (especially once we get the new car), and i actually feel safe. i feel like we can do well here, instead of scraping to get by. and the transition for the kids went far better than i would have expected. they seem to have settled in and seem happy with their schools. i know froggy loves that she can go outside and play. she even has a bike now.

while i still have a few things to do - transfer of my license and the kids medical records and things of that nature - i think we're finally starting to feel settled in here. all i really need to do is to settle into a writing routine now, and that's already starting to come along nicely. oh, and unpacking would be good too, but that will come with time, just like everything else.

starting over wasn't so bad afterall.

definitely a good move.