What-What?! Week of June 22nd

The view out our back porch.  You can see the playground, geese, and lake.

We're approaching a week of living in Everett, Washington.  It is very different here.

One of the most stark differences between our old apartment and this one is the noise; at the previous place, we were very near both a highway and the main street of Hollister.  Even late at night, there would be sirens, and the low din of traffic.  Here in Everett, the back of our apartment faces a lake.  We're the fourth aparment building back in the complex, so we're pretty far from the street.  In the evenings, after the children go to bed, it is extremely quiet.  Sometimes you can hear the ducks or geese.

Peter with some neighborhood children.

Our first day here, the husband and I decided to unload some of the lighter things out of our truck, in preparation of having movers help us the next day.  After 20 minutes or so, this kid comes up and asks if we need help.  By the end of the day, we had four of the neighborhood kids helping us -- we thanked them with some pizza.

The first kid who came to talk to us actually thought that my husband was my father.  Even kids think I'm 12. D:

The other day, we went down to the local park.  I was expecting a small neighborhood playground, but instead it was huge, with all kinds of climbing equipment, and many spinning things.  It's only about three blocks from here, too, so well within walking distance.

We plan on going to the farmers market today, which I'm pretty excited about.  At the Safeway here in Everett, the term "local" is defined as coming from Washington or Oregon.  Coming from California, that's a pretty broad definition of local.

The apartment itself is pretty nice.  The flooring is all new.  The kitchen is very small, which presents some issues just finding places for the basics.  We've set up a bookshelf next to the counter on one side to give us some extra space.  I miss the counters and cabinets from the last apartment, but it seems common for apartments here, as most we looked at had kitchens set up like this.

My small kitchen.  This will take getting used to.

Next week, we need to work on car stuff, getting more things unpacked, and maybe looking for jobs.  Oh, and figure out how washing clothes works. xP

On the Road... Portland

We are now in Portland.  Tomorrow afternoon, we'll arrive in Everett.

Today was a much easier day than yesterday; we got going by 10am, and I arrived at our hotel around 4pm.  The trip was pretty quick, until we got into Portland itself;  because of traffic, it took 45 minutes to do the last 20 miles.  In addition to the early rush hour traffic, there was rain, lightening, thunder, and even hail.  All at once.  The scenery was pretty cool.  We saw glass towers, gondolas, and a million bridges.

I am still sick.

So far, to entertain themselves, the children have:

• Poked each other
• Argued about made up animals.  Do Weevers eat trees?  Are they actually a kind of dinosaur, or a mammal?
• Sung songs -- like the Pokemon theme song, over and over.
• Pretended to be Pokemon ("PIKA!  Pika-pika?  Pikachu!").
• Dumped water on my bag of clothes.
• Thrown toys at people (!!!)
• Drawn on their magnadoodles -- this is probably the thing that they've spent the most time doing.
• Played on the iPad.
• Taken photographs with their little kid camera.
• Complained about having to go to Washington.  Not about wanting to go back.  Just wanting to go other places than Washington.  Like the zoo advertised on the side of the road.

Tonight, we finally got to have dinner with all of us together; the last time we all shared a meal was Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, when we arrive tomorrow, we won't have any internet, so I probably won't post for a few days.

On the Road... Medford

Welp, we've made it to Medford, Oregon.  But only by the skin of our teeth. D:

Yesterday was, hands down, one of the most unpleasant 24 hours I've had in a very long time.  I woke up feeling very sick, and so when my mom came over to help wrangle the kids, she wound up doing that and doing all the things I was planning on doing.  By the time we left, we had both of my parents, as well as my father-in-law over helping us put things in the truck and clean up.  After planning to leave at 10am, we actually got out of Hollister at 11:20am.

Being alone in the car with children, as well as being their only caretaker the whole trip, was exhausting.  I never really got bored of the driving yesterday, simply because I spent so much time stopped doing other things.

Today we drive 100 miles less than yesterday, and hopefully it will go better.

That's all for now.

What-What?! Week of June 15th

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies out there. :)

Today, we move to Washington state.  We'll be on the road for a few days, then move in, unpack, and all that stuff.  Not sure if I'm going to post on Thursday; we'll have to see how fast we get internet set up.

Saffron took this photo on her little kid camera of the view outside our front door.  Right now there are about a million airplanes zooming around for the airshow today.

I'm sad to leave California, but hopeful of our future in Washington.  I don't doubt that California will always be my really real home, but I don't think that it's the place to raise a young family anymore.  Forbes actually just released their annual Best States to Make a Living In list, and Washington was at the top for the second year in a row.

I will miss my family and friends, my familiar places, my coworkers, and all the kids I've worked with (I still see kids that I tutored as long as 7 years ago).

Onward, to waffles!

What-What?! Week of June 8th

We're now at the one week countdown to our move date.  It is exciting and horrific, terrible and terrific.

Wednesday, I told my class at work that I wasn't coming back next year.  When I started working, they all wondered and questioned why the previous leader had left, and I didn't want them to be in that position again.  The kids seemed pretty sad; one even wrote me a thank you note.  The older kids in my coworker's class also seem sad that I'm leaving.  One of the sixth grade boys told me that he liked having me there this year.  For a sixth grade boy, that's a pretty strong sentiment.

I'll miss the kids, and I will definitely miss my coworkers, too.  This year has been a challenge, but it's been made way better by having such a supportive crew to work through it with.

Been slowly working on my paper.  I got about two hours worth of work on it yesterday, which is the first time I'd touched it in nearly a week.  I've resigned myself to the fact that it isn't going to be finished before we move.  So, there's that.

Spirographs via Math Playground

This is a cool spirograph thing.  The math itself is too complicated for my kids, but they still have fun making pretty pictures.  To see the math part, you can click on the "Where's the math?" button.  The first time we sat down with this, we probably made about 20 or so.  :P

News:  Swedes Test a Future of Less Work, More Play via Yahoo! Finance

In a lot of ways, this makes sense.  Technology should make life easier for humanity, but even with the huge productivity gained from industrialization, our workday has stayed pretty much the same as 50 years ago.  In other countries, workers are mandated a certain amount of vacation, and then they use it.  Americans don't seem to do that, especially without huge amounts of guilt.  I think that a 6-hour workday would probably be really beneficial for the health of our nation; with more time to cook and shop for healthier foods, it means that there are fewer reasons to eat out or from the frozen foods section.  I'm always a little appalled at how often I see the families I work with eat fast food, but I understand that they don't have someone at home to cook like I do.  This would also give parents more time to spend with their children.

...But I don't expect this will happen here.  Workaholics are too prized here.

What-What?! Week of April 13th

For the past five years, my husband has worked at the farmers' markets, for the first 18 months as an assistant, then as a full-fledged manager of the fourth largest market in California.  Tomorrow is officially his last day as a manager for the California Farmers Market Association, and today is possibly the last time he works at a farmers' market.  Yesterday, I went up to see him manage the Saratoga market for the last time.  It was kind of bittersweet; I've loved having my husband work at the markets, but it's definitely time to move along.

His last day of work marks the beginning of really, really preparing to move up to Washington state.  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't concerned about the future, but I think this is what we need to do, and that, in the long term, it'll be for the best.  The husband and I have all ready started on packing, sorting, and cleaning, which has made it clear that we've continually decluttered enough that we don't have much more to get rid of before we move.

In other news, you may have noticed that I've updated the color scheme of the blog.  I'm not entirely sold on the blue, but I liked it best of the options I considered.  I also posted an article early last week, 4 Funniest Non-Show-Accurate Toys Ever, which discusses some of the most ridiculous TV and movie toys I've seen.

Cooking:  Carrot Mash with Brown Sugar and Cayenne Pepper

This was inspired by a very similar dish on Yahoo! Food, but because I was missing ingredients, it became something different.  The children and I really liked this, though I cooked it especially because my husband wasn't here, because he doesn't like boiled carrots.

1 pound Carrots, washed, peeled, and cubed
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
Dash of Cayenne Pepper

Boil carrots until tender, then drain and mash with a fork or potato masher (my kids were calling it a "carrot musher" :P ).  Add brown sugar and cayenne pepper to taste.  Enjoy!