Update

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, it's been crazy busy here !

Katie has started school, she is in afternoon Kindergarten and LOVES it. She is so happy to be with 'her girls'. And she has slid right into the sweetest group of little girls. I am so happy for her, and relieved.

Molly will get registered for preschool sometime in the next couple of weeks. It's a long process and I am not sure how it goes, but I know she will do fine and we'll find the perfect fit for her at the AZ School for the Deaf here in Tucson.

Colin is doing great, what a BIG BOY he is turning into. He is wearing his big boy underpants now, and is becoming so much more independent! A welcome break for me, for sure!

The house is utter chaos. The unpacking is overwhelming, and I have been under the weather with a fever, aches, chills, for several days now - makes it even more chaotic. But I am sure by the holiday we will be mostly settled in.

The neighborhood is amazing. We have met several of our neighbors, and a few of the moms in the neighborhood moms group. everyone is so friendly and warm, and helpful! Every weekend at the community center they have coffee for the neighborhood, and once a month they have a big community dinner there as well. We are still trying to figure out the outdoor irrigation system, it's reclaimed water, which is gray water, unsafe to drink but safe for the plants. Of course Charlie and Daisy want to drink it, blech.

The house is MI is still listed with a realtor. It's dropped more than 100k. But our bank is willing to take a short sale so it seems that we are still 'safe' as far as that goes. Someone drove a big heavy truck on our lawn and tore it up pretty bad on the east side of the house. Friends drive by a few times a week to check on it for me, and once a week someone will go in to check the inside.

Our thanksgiving was wonderful. We went out to dinner, Mimi's Cafe, and had an amazing meal. it was so crowded, but so friendly and fun. It was so nice to be in a happy, cheerful environment.

My family comes down in 21 days, I can't wait to see everyone !!

House pix

http://flickr.com/photos/erindowsley/

Big day tomorrow!

We get the keys to the new house tomorrow, such a big day !!

We can start moving our stuff in, although the moving van won't be here until the 19th or 20th. Still REALLY exciting, and we have loads of things here we can take to the new place this weekend.

So, pictures coming tomorrow!!

Wildlife

So most of you know I am a Michigander born and raised. And not just a Michigander, a metro Detroiter, very urban, not the hills and wilderness of the UP or anything.

So when a metro Detroiter thinks of wildlife, what comes to mind? Deer, squirrel, an occasional red fox, chipmunk, even a ground hog or two. We're talking nothing, nothing scary, mildly annoying yes, those damn rabbits eating my daisies.... that sort of thing.

So we moved here to Tucson 3 weeks ago. The 1st weekend we drove up to Mt. Lemmon, and saw coyotes along the roadside (yes, they were alive). We know there are mountain lion up there too. And Gila monsters, (I thought that was just a beer, silly me!), javelina of course and some other creepy crawlies, scorpions, rattlers, etc...

We have been house hunting, since we are SERIOUSLY cramped in this TINY 2b/2ba condo that we have until Dec, although none of us will have sanity if we have to be here until Dec. I cannot imagine thanksgiving at a dining room table that isn't even big enough for the 5 of us. Hell, it's really not even big enough for 4. So we found a home to rent, we LOVE the house, the area, the neighborhood, the school, everything... well everything that is until I got an email from a member of the neighborhood moms group. It seems there is a wildlife problem in the neighborhood. And I don't mean chipmunks and rabbits, I mean mountain lions and coyotes in the middle of the neighborhood in the middle of the afternoon. Mountain lions, walking the street, tracking moms and kids and dogs and well... some really scary shit (pardon my language). On 11/5 at 3pm, a mom, her young child and dog were out walking. In the middle of the neighborhood, when all of a sudden she spotted a mountain lion tracking her. She managed to get herself and the dog/kid into a yard safely, but what if she couldn't? What if she had 3 toddlers on bikes? All going in different directions? And at the same time, not far from where this was going on, another mom was out on her driveway playing with her small child, and a coyote runs down the middle of the road, in the direction of the mountain lion.

So... now I have a dilemna. I am literally a nervous wreck. I think I need to be medicated, I am that nervous about this. I can't imagine having to worry every single time I set foot out of the house, and God forbid one of the kids wants to go outside and play... EVER... crap.

I know these things aren't a daily occurance. But since nobody has any way of knowing when it will happen, you have to be ready for it to happen at any time. And quite frankly, this is something I am totally ok with NEVER knowing. But I have to for my kids, my dogs... myself.

I want to be back in Michigan.

Wild pig (percarry) called a Javelina, native to the desert, in our sidewalk this afternoon eating pumkin. Momma and baby, mean as HELL! Holy smokes. And apparently the will attack little dogs, and other little things, like toddlers?

I think I wet my pants from fright.

Christmas list

I am going to start a christmas wish list here for the kids, and keep adding to it.

Little Tikes My Real Video Camera

Fisher Price - Imaginext Batman Batcave and accessories

Be Bratz

Webkinz

Barbie, Taffy and puppies
Barbie Tree House
Barbie case

Butterfly Teaset Basket

(tea party books, like Miss Spider)

Puzzles

DVD's (thumbelina...)

Sugar fiends

My sneaky sneaky kids decided to try for the halloween candy... right in front of us.

Molly is on her hands and knees, Colin is standing on her back, and Katie is cheering them both on.

Boy, I totally have my hands full here... I can't wait to get em all enrolled in school!!