adjusting to life in Vancouver

The kids & I have been here for 9 1/2 days now, and are slowing getting settled here. The first couple days were mainly me letting the kids do whatever they want (the boys played A LOT of DS!) while I unpacked. I've made a lot of progress, and most of the stuff that is still in boxes is stuff that I'm not sure what to do with here. For example, we had our computer in an extra bedroom in our old house, on a nice big desk with lots of storage. Here we have it on a smaller desk, with no storage, stuck in the side of the living room. So I don't know what to do with all my files, papers (bills & receipts), and extra office supplies (mostly school supplies that I stock up on in the summer when they're on amazing sales so I don't have to pay full price when I need them in the winter). And in our old house I had a small desk in our bedroom with all my craft stuff for scrapbooking, bow making, etc. Dan decided it was broken (either he broke it or has a different view of broken than I do...) and left it on our front lawn in the "free" pile. So I don't know what to do with all that stuff either! And instead of a giant play room like in our old house, the kids' toys need to be in their bedrooms, so there are a lot still in boxes. But the main stuff we need to function here - dishes, toiletries, clothes, etc. - is all unpacked and organized. I wish I'd taken "before" pictures so I (and you) could appreciate how much work I've really done.

David had his first day of school last Friday (I didn't go in until Wednesday because of his nasty cough, then brought the paperwork back on Thursday, then he got to start on Friday), and he's adjusting great! He's been such a trooper with all these school changes. When I picked him up Friday, I asked how he liked his new school, and he told me it is the best! He started riding the bus on Monday, but we missed it in the morning. Oh, yeah, he's in AM Kindergarten here! He's been in PM at the other two, so this is quite different! They told me where the bus stop is, but not what time it would be, and I estimated a little late. Then I wasn't sure if he'd know to get on the bus after school, so I actually drove to the school to watch and make sure. I felt a little overprotective, but I would have been so worried waiting at the bus stop, wondering if he was still waiting at the school for me. So I watched him happily skip right on, then drove to the bus stop to wait for him. He rode the bus to and from on Tuesday with no problem, didn't have school yesterday for some reason, then got on again just fine this morning.

Oh, and I have to say, I am really pleased with the amount of homework he has here. In Utah he had a calendar with an activity for each day, and he was to pick 3 a week to do. But they were mostly silly easy things. In Kent he rarely had any. Here, he brought home a folder on Monday with a packet of reading, writing, and math homework due on Friday. For reading he has brought home a little book to read each evening. And either she hasn't heard him read or they're standard books, because he's flying through them with no problem at all. Then he has 4 spelling words to write 5 times each as well as 1 sentence for each word. Four afternoons for four words, so we've been working on one a day. Then he has two worksheets for "math," which are ridiculous in their simplicity. One is coloring different shapes different colors, the other is drawing the number of flowers it says to draw. So the homework is mostly really, really easy for him (the writing is a bit of a challenge), but at least he has some!

The morning thing is going to be different for us. I have had to set my alarm to make sure we're up and ready to go to the bus stop by 8:15. The last time I used an alarm clock with any regularity was when I was still at BYU, 5 years ago! Not that I haven't gotten up early, just that my alarm has been in the form of crying babies or calls of "Mommy?" from the next room. It's not fun to have to get up and going fairly early, but it is nice to be dressed and ready to take on the day at a decent time. Katy was actually still asleep when I took David to the bus today - his stop is just 3 townhouses away, so I feel comfortable leaving the little ones while I take him. So I came back, started cleaning the kitchen, then heard her crying for me. I went and got her, then sat with her on the futon in her room, and started reading stories. We snuggled & read for a while before she got down, went to her closet, and said "baby?" She was ready to play with her doll! It was so nice to spend that time with her while she started her day! It was nice to be awake and aware of the moment instead of struggling to wake up.

The set up here has the TV like 2 feet away from the computer monitor, so I'm having a hard time focusing on my post. Sesame Street is on to keep Katy occupied, but it's still hard for me to tune out. So I'm sorry if my ramblings aren't all that coherant!