updates

I need to transfer the stuff I typed on the laptop over to this computer.

In the mean time, a small update.

We're still ankle-deep in boxes. The movers unpacked for us and took all the boxes our books used to live in, so now we're faced with the decision to either get more boxes or actually let them live on a shelf and breathe. Shelves won out. Now the hunt for shelves is on.

We rolled into town and stopped immediately at the housing office. The lady offered us a 5 bedroom house on the spot, we took it sight unseen, and are beyond thrilled at our score. This place is huge. Which means it takes about 30 mins to vacuum the whole thing so we are now a shoe-free zone and I've got IKEA rugs at the entrance of each major traffic lane. Which is really fun when you have a 15 month old who watches us studiously and mimics our methodical rejection of packing materials by putting the rugs out with the rubbish. Oh, well. Redirection is my friend, and she loves putting the recyclables out for me.

Tag says that the house is too big. But he has his own room now and doesn't like being so seperated from the family. He has already made friends with about half the kids on our block, which is a feat considering how kid-rich our neck of post is. He's already loving school but we're had issues with him getting an asthma attack every time he sets foot outside. The Advair isn't working and the clinic has no appts until May. Time to be a pushy asthma mom and bully an urgent appt out of the poor appt clerk so my kid doesn't have to stay on the nebulizer for a whole month.

Princess loves having her own room and spends hours with the door locked whilst reading or who knows what. When she emerges, it's because she wants her family. It's a positive thing for all.

The layout of this place is very odd. There is tons of open space but the use of the space is still ridiculously inefficient. We have 4 closets outside of bedrooms and the = of 7 closets in bedrooms, but they somehow manage to hold very little stuff. The shelves are shallow, the closets are awkwardly placed, and the kitchen is spacious but has very few upper cabinets. We'll be using a linen closet as a pantry. It used to be a duplex but they knocked out a wall and did a full remodel. Despite its layout deficiencies we're giddily happy with it and gradually settling in.

The area is beautiful and more heavily populated than I've ever experienced, even in CA. All of the good stores are always full of people and to get anywhere you must take a series of highways or freeways because the surface streets are far too crowded and broken by stoplights. It's comforting to leave the bustle outside and retire into what could be considered the ultimate gated community. Living on post is definitely a perk.

We live within sight of two large parks, and within sight of a community center which we're told will be completed by this summer. We're close enough to the school that the kids can walk by themselves. The temple is a mere 45 min drive, and everything we've ever wanted to experience on the East coast is within a day's drive and back again.

All in all, I'm breathing a huge sigh right now. We've been through a lot and it's nice to enjoy some rich blessings. Who knows how long they'll last so we're savoring as much as possible. Gratitude and relief are the words that keep coming to mind. This is a good place for us.