The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Well, I have obviously adjusted better to our situation, being that I haven't posted in nearly a month! 

Since our last update, many things have changed:  The leaves on the maple trees became unnatural shades of red and orange, then dropped.  The girls have enjoyed piling them up and then crunching  them beneath their feet.  Abby has started using the potty fairly regularly and loves running around the apartment in her birthday suit.  As does Sophia.  Dan and I just roll our eyes, acquiesce, and ponder the meaning of this behavior, especially when it's in the 30s outside.  

Abby has adjusted well to going to school twice a week.  It has been several days since she has shed a tear when being dropped off.  Sophia has always done well and it is fun to see her enjoying herself with friends she may never see after this.  Children are so  "in the moment" and everyday I learn from them.  They live in the "what is" and not in the "what isn't", as grownups so often do.  They enjoy their days and experiences regardless of whether they will ever do it with the same people again.  I try to remember this as I get together with the friends I have made here.

And I have made friends!  Sophia's classmate's mom, Cathy (The Mom Who Saved Me) has inroduced me to two very nice ladies.  Sophia's teacher, Ms Maegan, invites me regularly to her house, and the one night I joined her, I met SEVEN awesome ladies.  One of them went to school at Trinity, just 'round the corner from the San Antonio Zoo, so we had a lot in common and talked for hours.  I think I got home after midnight that night.  I had a blast and it was just what I had needed at that time-- to hang out with other moms and talk like grownups.  It was great!

On the business side of things, sales from my shop have slowed a little, whether due to the economy or due to the fact that I haven't updated my inventory much since having moved here.  But I have had 3 custom orders that have taken up much of my free time.  The two flower girls dresses are DONE and ready to send off!  HALELUJAH!!!  After stressing for months over these dresses and looking forward to never seeing hot pink satin ever again, the customer walloped me with a third dress order.  Oh well! I have all the kinks worked out now, so it should be easier.  Plus, I told her I wouldn't start until March or April.  Ha ha!  A few weeks ago I was contacted by a boutique in St. Louis about making 15 lame' (remember tissue lame' from the 80s?!) skirts in 5 different sizes.  That was a big order but I finished it a few days after she wanted it and she was very happy with them!  So that was exciting.  Now that those are done I can focus on sewing Christmas dresses for the girls and gifts for my dear friend Elizabeth's baby, due in December.

Whew!  And now we are looking at going home!  HOORAY!  Only 12 days left!  We've been marking the days off the calender, more for my sanity than for Sophia's.  Dan's parents will be making their annual trek to San Antonio and will be in town when we get home.  I am planing a  big party for everyone we know when we get home!  Everyone is invited!  See you soon!

My next entry will be a photo collection of all the interesting yet everyday things we see during the course of our travels.  Driving down Troost to the girls' school is always an eyeball adventure.  I notice something different everytime.  It's a neighborhood that we normally would not think of driving through at home.  You'll see what I mean when I post the pics.  Anyway, see you all soon!

 We drove to St. Louis on Nov 1st to visit my great aunt Velma and great uncle Bob.  Bob is Grandma Helen's "little" brother.  We had a very lovely visit and some delicious chili and banana bread!  The girls enjoyed their dog, Midnight, and talked about her the rest of the way home.

Autumn in KC

This is Week 5 of our extended vacation.  Dan is enjoying his work and the people he's spending each workday.  I can tell the stress is melting away from him-- something he has needed for a long time.

I, however, am not doing as well as I would have thought!  It's beautiful here, the girls are happy and having fun, they love their school.  So what is wrong with me?? I was looking forward to this trip all year and now I just can't wait to go home.  I think a lot of it has to do with a combination of not being in our own house, and also being in a city where I know no one.  Well, the people I know are all Dan's coworkers and therefore not available for playdates during the day.  I also know the mom who rescued me at the school (heretofore known as The Mom Who Rescued Me At The School) and her friend, Ann the Nanny.  Both very nice.  Both Obamamamas.  And me with my very sad, weatherbeaten  McCain sticker barely clinging to my bumper, an island-- nay, a dinghy-- in a ocean of Obama supporters.  

By the way, Obama came through here Saturday afternoon.  When I say "through here," I really mean HERE.  Like he was one block from our apartment.  It was very exciting.  We got caught in  the motorcade as we tried to get home from running errands, so we took a shortcut home -- forgetting that the campaign headquarters is up the street.  So we got to see the tour buses and security detail and all the excitement.  But no Obama.

That night one of Dan's coworkers took me to a KC Wizards game.  Who are they???  WHO ARE THEY???  Why, only the MLS team here!  Hello!  Major League Soccer, people!!!  It was awesome! Even better that the home team won their last home game of the season.  Very, very exciting.  And I got to talk futbol with another girl.  So that was also awesome!

Sunday we took the girls to a real pumpkin patch where actual real pumpkins actually grow.  Really!  It was so cool. Lots to see and do, very wholesome good clean family fun.  

Homesick

I don't know if it's the fact that it has been raining for 24 hours straight and we expect more tomorrow.  Or the fact that there was a shooting just 1 block from our apartment.  Or the fact that I have to consult Google maps before I get  in the car to go anywhere.  Or the fact that I feel guilty sending the girls to school twice a week even though I totally need the me time.  Whatever the reason, I am homesick.

I miss my parents and friends.  I miss good Mexican food.  I miss Big Lots  (yes, there is a Big Lots here but it SUCKS).  I miss the Riverwalk.  I miss my house with all it's comforts.  I miss our dogs.  I miss knowing where I am when I get out of the car.  I miss Sophia's school routine.  I miss my sewing room.  I miss the generous friendliness that San Antonio shares.  People here have a strange way-- the customer service is exceptional everywhere but it's rather cold.  Once you offer some friendliness then they share it abundantly.  But you have to go there first.  It's just different.  I feel like a fish out of water.  

And everyone here has an Obama bumper  sticker or yard sign or house BANNER or t-shirt.  I feel sad and pathetic with my weather-beaten McCain sticker.  You can hardly tell who I support anymore other than me NOT having an Obama sticker on my car.  I'll just have to start shouting MAVERICK! and maybe people will know.  ha ha.

The rain is really coming down now.  Sigh.  Hugs!  Send hugs!!!!!  Or Taco Cabana's fajitas and guac.  Thanks.  :)

Second Week Plus

Well! We've been here for 3 weeks now and the girls have adjusted very, very well.  They are sleeping better at night --having a new bed and new sleeping arrangements, I thought, would be problematic for them.  They LOVE sleeping in the same bed! This is also Abby's first time out of her crib.  They love all the adventures we've been on.  And they are just great.  JUST great!

Dan and I wish we could say the same about how we are sleeping.  We miss our TemperPedic mattress.  And the bed frame is loose and squeaky.  And the loud 2 am drunks that meander around in front of our building on weekends.  Waah.  I think we are getting used to it though.

So the Kansas city zoo is pretty nice!  We went on Sept. 26th. They have a train, a tram, and a carousel inside the zoo so of course the girls and I had to ride all three.  The next day (Saturday) there was a parade -- The American Royal Parade-- which included the usual participants: marching bands, horses, muscle cars.  This parade also had a toilet.  Hmmm. I am sure there is a joke in there somewhere.  

The girls and I visited the only World War I museum in the country.  We were told by friends here that Washington DC is also building one, and KC is up in arms about it.  We just visited the outside of it that day since there was an admission fee and I know Dan would have wanted to see it too.  So we'll wait to go inside until we can all go together.

Last Saturday while Dan and Abby went to get the car fixed, Sophia and I went to Kaleidoscope, a free creative arts workshop for kids.  It is run as a public service by Hallmark Cards. That place was AMAZING!  I could have stayed there all day. They have work stations all scattered around with markers, watercolors, scissors, tape, and random stuff that the card company recycles back to Kaleidoscope for kids to create with-- puzzle pieces, foil paper, die cut letters, number and shapes.  You can even make your own PUZZLE!  Way cool.  We all went to City Market, a farmers' market and specialty foods market.  Lots of fresh fall produce and spices and flowers and milk and ethnic stuff.  The next day we met up with some of Dan's colleagues from UMKC at the KC Renaissance Festival. I had never been to one and it was very cool!  Beautiful costumes, colorful people, fun activities, man-powered carnival rides powered by strapping young, scantily clothed men.  But I digress.  The girls got their faces painted, Sophia won her very first carnival game all by herself, and Abby took a nap in my arms.  Probably the last time that will happen so I cherished every moment.  My arms still ache but it was worth it.  :)  After the festival we all went to a restaurant called The T-Rex Cafe, very similar to Rainforest Cafe but with a jurassic twist.  The life-sized animatronic, growling T Rex that met us at the front door was jarring and scared the girls, but they got a big kick out of dining under a gigantic jellyfish.

The biggest news-- no, I am NOT pregnant-- is that the girls started school last week!  It was Abby's first time away from family -- ever.  She cried on and off all morning but actually took a nap and let her teacher rock her and read to her on her lap. Her teacher said that when Abby saw Sophia on the playground she cried for her, Sophia went over to say hi, and Abby cried because she couldn't play with her sister.  Aww!   And the smile on her face when I came in to pick her up at the end of her day just melted my heart!  Abby chattered the rest of the afternoon about her school.  I think she really liked it.  Sophia made some new friends too and loves her teachers.  I even made a friend-- a very nice mom who saw my bawling outside Abby's room offered to call me later and tell me how Abby was doing.  She even invited us to a playdate today but being that it is raining we wont go. Anyway.  I spent the time getting the car looked at and running errands.

I have done some sewing since we've been here.  I have even made a sale!  I'm still working on the 2 flower-girls dresses, one sun dress and some items I am making for people having babies soon. You know who you are...  :) When the girls are in school I think I will use the time to catch up on all my sewing.  So much to do, so little time.

Thursday we went to the Deana Rose farmstead for children.  Here's the link:

www.kansastravel.org./overlandpark/deanarosefarmstead.htm

We had a playdate with the mom who rescued me and her friend, a full-time nanny.  We all had a blast and it was great talking to grownups. I made friends!  Hooray!

Yesterday I actually got some time to myself.  And where did I go?? Why, the FABRIC store, of course!!!!  My place of solitude and contemplation, my zen zone.  Also affectionately known as "my dealer."  

Today we are all going to a state park for a little sunshine and a hike.  We are expecting cold rainy weather this week so we need our vitamin D before we get stuck inside for two days. 

Ta ta!

THE ROAD TRIP

The morning of our road trip started out with a BANG. Literally.  See picture.  Yep, that's a bag of ice on my head.

We managed to pack everything important into the Escape and the UHaul and we squeezed Dan's truck into the garage.  We said goodbye to my parents and headed out, straight up IH-35.  We stopped in Temple, TX for lunch at a cute little public park called Whistle Stop, right next to a train depot.  After that, we drove through Wholelottanothin, OK and stopped for the night in  Norman, just south of OK City.  One night in a hotel and we were ready to be in a more permanent place.  So we headed back out on 35 and drove through Wholelottanothin, KS.  We arrived at the apartment office at 5:02 PM.  They closed at 5.  But God bless those Kansans!  Or Missourians, or whatever they were, we called ahead and they waited for us.  Gotta love KC.

So check out our digs!  It's less than 1/3 the size of our house in TX, but I do love living simply.  We are certainly not encumbered by.... well, STUFF.  We have very little stuff here, basically what we brought and what the apartment was already stocked with (and it was furnished, even down to the linens) and the groceries we have already bought.  Oh wait, I forgot I brought nearly my entire sewing room.  So we have way more stuff that the average family should just because of my sewing stuff.  But If I didn't sew for three months I might eat the children.

So!  Kansas City is way nice!  The weather has been great, the people have been nice and helpful,  the leaves are starting to change, and there is so much to do and see that I think I will have to plan our remaining days carefully in order to see everything.  Well, everything FREE anyway. 

Since we've been here I've found the all-important Wal-Mart (Michelle, that's a shout-out to you, my friend), the fabric stores, and some local groceries.  We've found a grocery that is in the middle of a Hispanic neighborhood, and they make fresh, handmade tortillas that are every bit as good as Alamo Cafe.  Every afternoon, the girls and I walk three blocks to a wonderful public park (FREE!)  to wait for Dan to get off work, and we all walk home.  Dan walks to work and back, since it's only 5 or 6 blocks from our apartment. But our area Kansas City is unexpectedly hilly and we have done a LOT of walking since we've been here.  We should be good and buff when we go back home.  Especially me, since I'm strolling the girls up and down all those hills.  (Side note:  Abby has recently taken to the excuse that she can't walk because her "legs are broking."  She's not even 2 yet!  We are in for it.)

I signed up for a library account (FREE!) and got the girls some books, music and a DVD.  I am working on the 6th Harry Potter book (catching up on all the others so I can finally read the last one.)  

Did you know?  Kansas City has more outdoor fountains than any other place in the world, second only to Rome?  Whoodathunk?  So we also spend our time checking out as many fountains as possible.  (FREE!)  And today the girls and I went to the Federal Reserve Bank and took a (FREE!) self-guided tour through the Money Museum.  They give a free (FREE!) souvenir bag of shredded money to visitors.  The girls were tickled about that.  I spent the walk home trying to figure out how hard it would be to tape all those shreds together into useable cash, and whether anyone would notice that there were 2 pounds of Scotch tape keeping it together.  (FREE ENTERTAINMENT!)

This is also the world headquarters for Hallmark Cards.  That's a blog for a whole 'nother day.

Tomorrow I think I'll take the girls to the Kansas City Zoo--not free, but they have a reciprocal membership program with the San Antonio Zoo so admission is only $4.  I can do that.

We think about everyone often and hope y'all are well.  We think of you at home when we step outside and do not sweat profusely.  We think about the beautiful changing leaves you are not seeing, but hopefully I can share them with you on this blog.  Adios!

Gettin' Ready To Head Out Of Dodge

Well, the countdown is in the single digits.  3 days left!!!  I have our fall clothes packed and I have an idea of what other supplies (cleaning, linens, paper towels, etc.) I'd like to bring.  The girls have even started choosing toys-- a task that I thought would be the hard part.  No--The hard part is deciding what I can temporarily part with from my Inner Sanctum, my Fortress of Solitude, my Creative Design Studio.  OK, it's just a sewing room, but it's my LIFE after 9PM!!!!  

Anyway, we are all very excited about seeing a new city--from INSIDE the city and ABOVE the city.  We have a 2-bedroom apartment that is 1/3 the size of our current home and 3 stories up.  Woo hoo!

Kansas City looks very exciting-- just check out their Visitor Center website:

http://www.visitkc.com

The weekend we arrive is a big art festival, and an ongoing Renaissance Fair.  There are tons of family and kid oriented events and points of interest.  We'll be arriving at the beginning of a season quite foreign to Texas which many native Kansas City-ans call "fall" or "autumn," though I am told the "N" is silent.  Perhaps we'll be fortunate enough to collect colorful leaves and share them with friends and family courtesy of the good ol' USPS.

Enjoy our blog!  Argh!