We're back...sort of

Oh my. This will be a short entry, cause I just don't have the energy to chronicle the past three weeks. Seriously, as anyone who has ever done it knows, moving sucks. Period.

But, we're here. Except that Dh is at a conference in Florida. And my mind is back at home, unable to settle in this strange place. I managed to sign up for an Improv Comedy Class, and to start my appointments at the Birth Center, but we have yet to locate a suitable Tae Kwon Do studio and piano/violin lessons for K, art and gym classes for G, and a vehicle worthy of our hard earned dollars. Though, we did decide to buy a little less van (meaning 4 years old instead of 2) in order to not finance it. We've yet to make a car payment in all of these years, and don't see a compelling reason to start now. That money can be better spent on all of the other things that we want to do, like traveling, classes, and cool activities for the kids and the whole family.

I also discovered that the private university employing Dh has a great continuing studies program for getting an ESL (English as a Second Language) certificate, that I can start in February. It's comprised of evening classes, as well as some one day (Saturday only) workshops.

Well, since being here, we've attended the State Fair (which is held rather late in the season, if you ask me), gone on several hikes (we live .5 mile from a large state park), and generally tried to find our way about. Tomorrow, we're off to the fabric store to gather materials for our halloween costumes. So far, ds#1 wants to be a wizard, ds#2 wants to be Ron from Harry Potter, and ds#3 is going to be Gizmo (in a costume designed by me, yippee!). I'm most concerned about the Ron costume, though G does have that Northern Irish look going on. If his hair were red, he would actually resemble Rupert Grint. Hmmmm, I'm not sure if I like that or not. ;-)

Oh, and perhaps most important of all, we've been creating and enjoying homecooked meals that are about 90% organic, at least 98% of the time. The real difference has been having a very loose plan for the week. For whatever reason, designating Monday as casserole night, Tuesday as soup and bread night, Wednesday as leftovers, Thursday for seafood, and Friday as salad has made all of the difference in my ability to plan. So this week, we're having 4-cheese lasagna, broccoli and blue brie soup with French bread, Shrimp Paella, and grilled chicken salad. Breakfasts and lunches are simple, with staples such as fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, oatmeal with chopped nuts and raisins, waffles/pancakes, and smoothies for breakfast, and things like beans and rice with cheese and tomatoes, quesadillas, sandwiches, chopped veggies with dip, and soup for lunch (all made quickly and from scratch). We're not perfect, but we're definitely getting more consistent.