phew.. school is set for Fall 2014

I went on a tour of the Traditions Montessori school yesterday.. and I must say, I've made up my mind, they are definitely attending.   I am so excited for the kids.  It is a small school.. about 15 minutes away.. a small house with 2 class rooms, a science building, and a portable building to be brought on site for the preschool.  The place is on 3 acres and under construction.  Kids will start in late August when the other schools go back in session.  Next year they may have a summer program (they don't this year due to the move to the new grounds).  I believe they said Zoe's class would have about 6-10 kids.. the school encompasses preschool to 6th grade; The Elementary program has 2 classrooms 1rst-3rd in one classroom, 4-6th in another.  Each "class" is a mixed grade class, taught Montessori style, so each kid moves at their own pace, passing off the jobs they have for the week. From the website: "Traditions Montessori offers a Montessori Elementary program for 6 to 12 year olds. The elementary classroom is taught by two certified Montessori Elementary teachers, and students are also taught Spanish. The core curriculum in the elementary program consists of Language, Mathematics, Science, Geography, and History.  Our Montessori classroom brings children of different age levels together, allowing them to progress at their own pace.  Our well-rounded curriculum includes art, French, Spanish, music, gardening, and physical education. "

   

Not having well defined "grade school classes" will help with Zoe's transition, we don't have to talk about her going into second grade again. Her learning will be at her pace, hopefully we won't have to deal with testing anxiety and pressure. They will get more outdoor time than what is found in the public schools. Each kid gets their own garden to attend, which is really cool in a place where the growing season is everything except Dec 12th-Feb 2nd.

Finn will have all day school which he is more than ready for.  He enjoyed playing with the math manipulatives when we got there.  

And I'll only have one drop off!

To me, the school is quite similar to Arbutus Grove (their preschool), with a more scholarly program, not to mention the addition of pets such as a snake, a chinchilla, fish, birds, perhaps a bunny and chickens later.

I

view it as my answer to all the TedTalk videos on how our schools are not working for our kids.

(and the price is the same price for both kids that I was paying for Finn's preschool/care last year).

I think the honeymoon phase of our move is over.  Now, lucky me, I am feeling a bit depressed, overwhelmed, stuck...  .   

We have a bunch of crap (paperwork, etc), which is going to delay our buying a house.  The housing market is a bit high now, places are going like hotcakes, and at higher prices than when we looked in January... so for lots of reasons, we are holding off to look for houses until fall.  I they are holding this place for rent for us, so there is no rush.

My cats are going stir crazy.  I've been asking around and a couple people have told me about loosing their cats.  Finally one woman said it was the coyotes, and that was only during the drought years a couple years ago.. they came into the neighborhoods for food and water.  She said that was years ago, and she hasn't had a problem since.  Still I haven't let them go outside yet.

The kids are doing well.. when they are sick or tired, they say "I want to go back to our other house in Victoria", or ask after you all.  I guess I'm the same way.  I pulled Finn from his camp this week.. he was set to go into one for 2-5 year olds, couldn't do the 5-7 because he hadn't finished kindergarten yet.  He was out on Monday due to his fever (which passed in less than 24 hours), so when we picked up Zoe, I told him we could do look around. We went for a tour at 3:00pm, they were napping the kids and I got furious... I don't want my 5 year old to nap.. stupidest idea ever.. but its legislated or something; they have to sit quietly on a mat for 20 minutes.  Anyway, his other camp isn't like that, so tomorrow, I'll be driving to two separate camps again, at opposite ends of the city.

I feel like such a chauffeur, we are in the need of another vehicle, but I can't add more to Bruce's plate.  I'm not sure whether to go for huge gas guzzler that will be ultra safe like Toyota Sequioa or something like the Toyota Highlander Hyrid.. 

Its hard to keep house in a temporary house.. we have boxes everywhere which I need to keep and which I only want to selectively unpack.. but then it reminds me of how temporary it is and how I feel the need for something more permanent.

I realized I'm also missing the out of doors.. I forced the kids to go out this morning.. we met one neighbor and survived for 30 minutes outside.. too muggy.. I know the other 9 months of the year will be lovely, but as with anything, I'm impatient.

Its not all doom and gloom, but...

today I'm taking a mental health day to play with my kids and recharge.

Truffles

Why bake cookies in the summer when you can
Just eat the dough?!

Ice skating

Zoe's favorite part of Powersports camp is the ice skating.
She made me take her on Sunday... Time for
A skating camp!

Big sky country

One of things I love the most about Texas is the enormous skies, clear, cloudy, any kind


Sent from my iPhone

Open first box off truck

New friends, largest calzone ever

Waiting for wheels

Lots of time at Thomas Pool

updates...

Good morning!

Started back to work this week, working from our little place, which is actually quite okay, good distribution of space for the most part.  A very quiet neighborhood (cars all park in garages that face the alley, I've only been thru the front door once).. So we really haven't met any of the neighbors.

Kids went to camp for the first time in their new town... they were supposed to be going to the same one.. kind of like Vikes camp and Victoria Gymnastics camp, but way better.  They do one field trip a day for the 6+ year olds.. yesterday was ice skating, which Zoe loved.  Today she is off to the pool (it has 3 waterslides, giant lily pads you jump across, floating things to climb on).  Yesterday when I picked up Zoe, she told me, "Mom, I'm quite popular!  A bunch of people always want to sit next to me."

 Finn ended up going to a different camp, on the other side of town, to the Children's museum where he is doing Super Hero Camp.  We had to pick the kids up early and he told me that he had to stay for the whole day next time.

Yesterday was pretty much the last on our urgent, ugly, must do list (other than schools/buy house).. we had to take the rental truck back to Houston.. its a 90 minute drive, each way... beautiful country highways (75mph) until you hit Houston, where there are tolls and heavy traffic, crazy on and off ramps 5 stories or more off the ground.. we left about 3:30 and got home around 9:30.. but that included a reward of shopping at the Loft and Ann Taylor in the outlet shopping center outside Houston.  We had tried to just drop the car off at Enterprise in College Station, but they wanted to double our bill ($750).

And I forgot to tell you about Saturday.. we received all of our house belongings which barely fit in three cooled 10x10ft storage units.. we took a bunch of the kitchen stuff to the rental, I've unpacked 4 boxes.. found the blender base.. but not the pitcher.. stuff like that.  The kids have already made houses out of three of the boxes.   Finn was excited to have the popcorn popper back.  We watched them unload the truck from 9am to 3:30pm in 85 degree heat with 89% humidity, having to constantly wait for the elevator to get the stuff up to the second floor.  If we had been lucky, and had the first floor, it would have taken about 3 hours. Luckily, the storage unit was cooled so there were breaks in the heat.  And even more luckily, our new friend picked up the kids and kept them at her house with her 4 kids so the kids didn't have to endure the process.

We also found the reason for the huge deal at the border.  When the truck crossed the border, actually, right before it reached the border, it was stopped and surrounded by tons of armed folks with guns, and our driver was taken to a cell.  Turns out they found a radioactive element in our load.. They were able to pinpoint it to a particular box.  Based on conversations with the driver, we guessed it was either the rocks from the greenhouse or my jewelry making rocks.. turns out it was a box of my jewelry rocks.. We figured this out because guys at customs repacked the truck and just shoved the rock box in without retaping it.

I found a professor on campus in geology with a Geiger counter and he is also a rock collector and he said he'd look over my "weakly radioactive rocks".. his term.  We're meeting tomorrow.

And Finn's quote of the week:

F: Mom, do you love me or Zoe more?

M:   I love both of you.

F: Yes, but who do you love more.

M: I love you both.  I can't pick who I love more

F: Then I'll pick for you, me!

well.. I probably ought to get some work done today.

Lots of love to you all,

Amy

Texans!

update

Day 2 in Texas:

Just an update from Camp Gooch, College Station, Texas. We just went out for breakfast and dropped Bruce off at Texas A&M for his first day on campus.  He has pulled a muscle in his back, so he is a little out of sorts, but still going strong.  I had my first solid night of sleep in probably 3 days, but I'm still behind.  Now I'm sitting in bed waiting for the luggage to be delivered.. If I was a napper, I'd nap, but it will never happen (I tried yesterday and I was far, far worse off). We were going to the Children's museum this morning, but we'll do that another day.. perhaps I will take the kids swimming instead. (since we'll finally have our suits).

The weather is warm, but this is big sky country, their are high floating clouds, blue skies, a bit humid, but darting from AC to AC truck and back is working.  Our trip to Sam's club was tough.. that place was not cool enough for anyone.  Gotta remember to do such things in the morning.

Zoe and Finn got round 1 of their new toys.. Finn got Jake and the Neverland pirate toys... Zoe got Ever After High girls. They end up merging them together.. the pirates are always putting the girls in jail.  Zoe has plans for us to go today and get two more dolls.

Zoe and Finn are real troopers.. yesterday Zoe asked me to arrange a play date with some kids of friends of mine in town, so that she could meet a new friend her age, and they'd be best friends.. (there aren't any yet that I know of, but I'm on it and I was very happy that she asked).

The cats are doing well.. Percy (the orange one) was the most traumatized, rubbed his nose raw, and I think it will take him a while to be "normal"... but they are all eating, enjoying the carpet (scratching it) and otherwise behaving themselves (the Feliaway seems to work to keep them from scratching the couch).

I'm looking into camps for the kids for the last 2 weeks of June, July, etc.. I've found some that allow a half day, so we may start there. I took summer vacation from 3rd to 15th.

I find myself enjoying seeing new birds, new plants and need to find a dictionary (online) for such things.  Saw one of those huge owl eye moths this morning.. keep finding new beetles everywhere (watched Finn chase Zoe with one at Sam's club).

we will be much better off when our luggage shows up.. then there is only a few more things  I will need to buy, things like a hot water pot, and renew my tea stash!

The note I wrote to United Airlines:

Traveling with 2 kids and 3 cats is challenging..  we missed our connection to SEA->Houston and had to switch from Alaska Air to United. 

1) Alaska Air forgot to "let go of our tickets".. United Agent refused to figure it out; We had to repay to take our cats ($125/cat) and the attendant refused to figure our charges and said we'd never get that done in time to meet our already delayed flight. Phone calls from me to Alaska, my husband standing at the United service desk and we got our tickets, cats booked, and got in line for the already boarding flight. 

2) Then the other flight attendant decided I hadn't had enough, and told me I'd have to check my bag .. that it was too big to fit in the overhead. At this time I'm carrying my camera, two cats, two grocery like bags of kid stuff.. and the roll-away luggage, in which was my backpack/laptop bag, my laptop, all my jewelry, all the iPads, headphones, kid busy stuff and treats.

I unpacked my overhead bin sized luggage, all of it into my backpack, completely emptying the carryon bag, after which she said, "oh, what I meant was the front pocket of the bag was too packed."

To which I showed her how it did fit in the size bin. Then we walked onto the plane, upon which my tears flowed.

 

3) Then, no one at the airport could tell us the number of the baggage claim with our bags. Finally I think someone just told us to go out to Terminal C. From 8:30 -10:30pm we tried to get our bags.   Now (6/3/2014_1:22pm) the computers are down and no one at United would call over to Alaska to get our bags.  I did this myself, Alaska Airlines even called me back to say they found the bags and were transferring them to United.

In summary: ALL_AROUND_YOUR_CUSTOMER_SERVICES_SUCKS.  24 hours of bad, bad service, and neglect;  all the way from Seattle, Houston and on the phone (I talked to two people at baggage claim phone service who would not help me due to computers being down;  I know their phones worked; why_didn't_they_call?)

moving!

I owe this blog a lot of pictures and news..

here are the pieces I wrote as the moving day progressed:

----

well, it is noon, and we made it as far as Seattle.. I've been up since 4:30am, kids since 6am.. our flight was 45 minutes late getting off the runway at YYJ,.. with  a 1.5 hour block between connections and the fact that I was flagged for the full pat down and complete bag check.. oh and did I mention that the cats had to be taken out of their carriers and carried through the people scanner both in Victoria and Seattle.. and the pee.. and the.. oh well. I'll stop.

@Lise thanks for all your help at the airport.. your help was amazingly needed and appreciated.

we're scheduled for a 2pm flight.. I have to pretend to work for a few, mop up cat pee, and find something for Zoe to do.

we'll be getting in much later than we like, but oh well.

----

We get to the gate at United and the tricking agent said we have to pay for the kitties, Akaksa air had not released our tickets,  and that we would not make the flight,.... which really translated to "I do not know how to fix this, get someone else yo do it"

Panic

Phone calls 

Counter standing and divide and conquer 

Staring daggers 

And now we have seats with 3 minutes to spare 

----

We did get on the flight.. Still sitting at the run way.. But not before I was harassed by another flight attendant who tried to tell me my bag was too big to fit in the bin. It was my bag with my backpack/laptop bag, my laptop, all my jewelry, all the iPads, headphones, kid busy stuff and treats.

I proceeded to unpack all of it into my backpack, completely emptying the carryon bag, after which she said, "oh, what I meant was the front pocket of the bag was too packed."

To which I showed her how it did fit in the size bin. Then we walked off onto the plane, upon which my tears flowed, and the diatribe and cursing started.

Okay, wheels up

Here we go