Happy November!

Hello & Happy November! I've been gone for a while, but I really miss blogging and I hope to return to this space on a more regular basis.  I've been wanting to return for a long time, but it felt like something kept coming up every time I felt "ready" and then the time just never felt right.  It seems like our move to California took forever and that is because it really did.  The last time I wrote, back in December! we were house-hunting and I was in a panic over the absolute sticker shock. My husband had already started "commuting" and we thought it would be just a few short weeks before the rest of the family could join him. That was a fun plan and not at all in line with our reality.

We immediately discovered that the San Francisco Unified School District left so much to be desired. They operate on a full lottery system and you can't even be entered into the lottery until you have moved. So our plan to enroll our son and get him assigned to a school so we could look for a place nearby did not pan out. We then decided to look in the Bay Area where we could pick the school and then look for a place nearby. It took many hours of research into the different school districts and many nights spent on conference calls with the grands laughing about some of the reviews. We finally picked a school we felt very comfortable with and found a tiny condo that barely fit us and our Baby Bear and we decided to make the move in March during the Spring Break. We packed up our home, put it up for lease and thought we would just rip off the band-aid in one clean sweep.

Except not. We drove our U-Haul and towed our car to California and when we tried to transfer our son to the local middle school, it was not at all what we expected. The woman at the front desk of the local middle school gave me what was apparently a lot of incorrect information about the courses that were or were not offered for our child. In Texas, he was taking advanced courses for High School credit, but I was erroneously told that none of these were available to him and he could not get credit unless the courses were completed prior to his transfer.  So we had to figure out an alternate plan.

I had to cut most of my dad out of this picture because he said, "Don't be putting me all over the internet!" LOL

That plan included the boys and me staying with my in-laws for the last 10-weeks of school so that our oldest could graduate High School and the youngest earn his credits before moving.  Since we didn't expect to do that, my clothes situation was a disaster. I had 3 pairs of leggings, 4 tank tops, 2 jeans, 2 tees, and a cardigan and I looked and felt a mess. Mr. Fantastic continued to commute and I came out to visit a couple of times, but it was a truly stressful time for all of us.  We were so grateful for my husband's parents and their generous hospitality, but by the time June and graduation rolled around, I think everyone was ready to have their own space. So we loaded up a second U-Haul with the remaining items, clothes and the other car to make the trek out to our new home.

Once we made our move, we had a few health issues that came up both here and back home. We spent a great deal of time figuring out how to get our friends and family out here and how to get to see them back home, too. I feel like we are finally in a place that I am comfortable talking and writing again!  I've discovered I love to hike even though I am terrible at it.  So I hope to post more frequently again.  I miss y'all!