finding purpose

Okay, so i'm setting up house and it seems pretty self-centered (even by Billie's standards) to be spending every single second of my time setting up our new house. As if clean dishes and rug placement has anything to do with anything at the end of the day. And it's making me crazy so I found the SUPEREST website. it's volunteermatch.org everyone go there RIGHT NOW and figure out where you can sign up and do something that matters. By the way- i'm saying this to those of you who aren't a teacher at a school for kids who live in a less-than-perfect environment like my cousin Laura. Like, if you feel good after you cleaned behind the dryer...i'm calling you out...that's TOO much time that could be spend doint something cool like working for the center for multicultural human services like i'm going to do. how perfect is that? because i'm all freaked out at the super stores myself and i've taught english in Japan and would be so good at helping someone with their 7th grade homework or a job application so, that's what i'm doing. This is going to be something i do with the kids along so they get an idea of how people help eachother because i'm sure we'll be learning at least as much as we're teaching!! i'm SO excited. screw the laundry!

stuff's here!

our house is now an explosion of stuff- the movers came and i feel really bad spending any time at all on the computer when i could be sorting through some of the 3000 books we have. SERIOUSLY. but we've got paint on the walls, our own couch, our armoire that's only slightly cracked and so it's beginning to feel like our own place. it'll be a while before we can get around to anything cosmetic- right now it's just fixing the damaged stuff and making things livable....but we'll get there...one day. i just thought i should write and let you know we're still alive. billie, jackson and sloane are still rolling along with everything and being super great. painting is something i hadn't ever done in a sling before (there are still some mom hurdles even i, a mom of three, haven't crossed) but now i've painted a house while holding a baby. having my professional painter/ step-dad here has been the BEST thing ever because he knows all about primers and methods and repairs that need done before painting. will write more when i have just one room put away and set up!

stuff

all better...

okay, that last post was too sad. i'm getting much better. boppi is here and we're all having fun, things are happening and i'm determined not to turn into the yuppie life we are living...just because we're all in the perfect suburbia house, with khakis and jogging strollers, the kitchen sink window and white teeth...it's not like we've got a tire swing or anything...oh wait, Bill did install one a couple days ago.
seriously, i was thinking about it and all of a sudden it hit me. this was SIMPLE LIVING. (my recently sought after philosophy on life). Not much furniture, not much to do. No schedule- wake up, do yoga, kids play, eat breakfast, take a walk, quiet time, reading, call from bill, gardening, la de da. be careful what you wish for. It was living simply. i'm sure there's a time when i'll regret not enjoying this more but for now i'm wondering when soccer starts and how i can step myself into hippie mom crowds with diverse opinions and where to sign the kids up for karate.
here's a few pictures of cute Sloane and her teeth (4!)...coming at you...to bring us all out of the depths of despair from my last post. Also- don't read Hello, I must be going...i just finished it and it's really sad. REALLY sad. but with some comical bits.
but one that got me thinking was White Guys. i read that last week.

getting it together

i know i haven't written in a while but i didn't want to bore you with my social break-downs and culture shock issues. so, i'm just back from the grocery store and i'm FINALLY getting the hang of it. This was a whole dilemma: the super frou-frou gourmet food was too overwhelming and i'd come home with lots of olives because they looked so nice with the display...greens and blacks and excotic regions of the world all represented...i'd come home with mounds of peaches and there'd be nothing for dinner. 'The ghetto grocery store will be more manageable' I decided. But there's lines and poor people and I can't find the tomatoes in the balsamic vinegar falovring i like....and there's STILL too many sections- are refried beans under 'hispanic' or canned veggies? Ack! Each time I'd be there with the 3 kids, people smiling at me because Sloane is in a sling and has a hair fountain on top of her head and I just couldn't make any decisions. But this morning I applied for the 'member' card, i took the time to read the prices, i bought two for one and 12 yogurt for $6 deals (that's when it's so good to have a big family- what family of 3 could get 12 yogurts?) and i came away with what i needed! Hooray!
if you're reading this and thinking...hmm...things were a lot more interesting when they lived overseas....you're right.
we are so ORDINARY. Bill goes to work for 8 hours a day, his actual driving time from door to door clocks in at 11minutes. It's flex-time so if he wants to go late, he can stay late and vice versa. He's home most days by 4:30pm. We can still meet for lunch. The people he works with are cool and smart and he's got a flashy title. There is a window right over the kitchen sink so when I'm in there fixing up some olives on a plate for dinner with fresh off the vine tomatoes from the neighbors yard, I see his not too old car pull up and he gets out, in khakis, a button up plaid shirt, with one of those around the neck shoelace key holder/ID card things with glasses and nice shoes and I just think this must be how normal feels. He's been at his corner office with windows all day and I've been here and at the grocery store, Making forts in the backyard, learning the States and reading for our morning homeschool routine and feeding Sloane baby food at least 6 times a day because she is an EATER. So, if you're still reading at this point: take a little check of how you feel and that will give you a sense of how boring my life is. But mentally i keep things exciting with worries of becoming friends with yuppies and reading about 3 fiction books a week. By the way go get: Hello, I must be going from your library right now. It is SO funny.
Like here's something I could write: we got our new dining room table yesterday.
but that is SO LAME- who wants to read about that?
I'm going back outside to play soccer with the kids.

starting over..again

well, we made the drive. the first day was great- kids were better than ever and our little van was pulling the u-haul like a champ. (i know, i know- what DID happen to living simply? honestly, the biggest and heaviest items were my cousins and she's picking them up...hopefully very soon!) we stayed the night at a hotel and had a super time swimming in the pool there, had a terrible last day of driving and finally collapsed when we arrived here at our new house. Which Bill and I are both a little hesistant to call 'our' house as we keep calling it "Nanna's" house...and it still feels like that quite a bit with Nanna here and the house filled with her things. But that's okay, some men are coming to haul them all away, up and down the stairs and later, some more men will be here to move in our own stuff up and down the stairs and then it will feel like 'ours'. i hope!
I think Bill is glad all this work is to be done by other men; his back has had enough of doing his own moving for a while! I'm glad to have the "strongest man in Yokosuka" as my husband.
Don't get me wrong- we've had so much fun with Nanna and Auntie Di and Pho and all our favorite things. Today is just sad because it's Nanna Pat's very last day in America and we will be sad to see her go so far away. If things do work out for us to live overseas again maybe we'll be somewhere closer in the future. Overall we're gearing up for another change and adjustment for the kids and us: a new job, new neighborhood, new traffic, old cat, new food (peaches!), new friends, new (old) house, new huge backyard! Here we go...wish us luck!

We're outa here!

Well, our time in the midwest is at an end. This week we took the kids to a spray park, played around the farm and had a great time. I know the kids will miss their Nannou and Boppie. I on the other hand have had idle hands for too long and am ready to get back to work. I'll start work for ATT on Monday. As you can see, our u-haul is loaded to the hilt. Who would have ever guessed that we could leave here with so much crap!