365 days later

365 days ago we started our new journey here in Fillmore. In those 365 days we've met a few really nice people, Leroy has a Hot Wheels group thingy in nearby town where he's met a lot of Hot Wheel collectors like himself and Derrick has started school.

What I expected to be a fun new adventure in a new and exciting place hasn't turned into that. Southern California is filled with utterly rude and obnoxiously snobby, hurried people. I won't say everyone is horrible but the majority are. The few times we have ventured out of our "area" it's a traffic nightmare. We spent one night sitting in traffic for 4 hours and went less than 100 miles. This past weekend we went to Goleta, a small town near Santa Barbara and were flipped off so many times we lost count! Leroy was going over the speed limit and still people were zooming by weaving in and out of traffic like mad men. I now know why there are so many accidents down here.

Today I was waiting for Derrick to get out of school and watched parents basically let their little ones run around like banchees. These kids aren't held accountable for anything. Parents here are, are, I can't think of a word other than stupid that describes them. They want everything handed to them and don't even try to help their kids better themselves. While volunteering in Derrick's class, the amount of kids that don't understand the teacher because of a language barrier is unimaginable, it's scary is what it is. It's disheartening to know we are doing everything to help our kids excel and some parents are using their kids as a welfare check.

I just wanted to be happy with a relocation. This relocation has been nothing but stress. I'm constantly worried about hours, about my job, about money. The truth is I didn't realize how good we had it 365 days ago. Now we live in the middle of this crazy place with people who don't realize how horrible this way of living is. My hope is that in the next 365 days we can find a way to either make this living hell tolerable or get back to home, and by home I mean Fresno.....

Oh how I miss 115 degree weather in the summer and the tule fog in the winter! All Hail the Central Valley!!!!!

Repeating a cycle

The older the kids get the more I feel like a mother. (As if two munchkins yelling "MOM" didn't make me feel mommyish!) Tonight we had hot dogs for dinner. The kids are in a "cold hot dog phase" so I wasn't cooking theirs. Derrick was watching me put the hot dogs on their plates and add some potato chips. I told him to go tell his sister that dinner was ready. The key word "GO TELL", what did he do? You guessed it, he yelled out "Danae!!!!! Dinner's ready, you better come here!!!!!" I glared at him and said "I could've done that". All he did was smile =) this child who never ceases to amaze me has turned me into my mother at times! I find my self saying to my children what I heard when I was a child.

As if that wasn't strange enough, last week was "yellow" week at school with Derrick. He brought home his homework for the week and it had the very same stoplight poem I did when I was in kindergarten 23 years ago! Then for green week they had green eggs and ham....same as I did in kindergarten. I really thought there would be new stuff in a new millenium, I think I was so wrong. But Derrick did pass his first 10 words list!

Running on empty

Just a quick update:

Derrick passed his first 10-word test! Now we move onto the second set. He's supposed to do 4 sets of 10 to have a good start in 1st grade....he'll be reading by Christmas hopefully =)

Leroy got his referral to a neurosurgeon today, and dum dum dum dum (that was my attempt at a drumroll) it's the best neurosurgeon in Ventura County! One of my co-workers here in Fillmore was operated on by this doctor and so now my mind is put at ease knowing he will be in capable hands. We don't have an appointment until December but hopefully he can get in sooner since he's already had a current MRI done. A small glimmer of hope =)

I didn't get the job I was hoping for in Santa Clarita =( which means we have to make do and stay here for a while longer. My back is better and hopefully tomorrow I can get released from the doctor back on regular duty instead of light duty which fully sucks!

Ok I'm gonna run, not in a really bloggy mood today, just wanted to give an update =)

Getting Better All The Time

Another week has come and gone, at least with a little less excitement this time! Let's see, on Monday I did my very first volunteer day with Derrick in his class. I volunteered from 10:25-11:30, I will admit, I was very skeptical at first. It turned out to be the best thing I've done! I had such a great time, I helped out during "group time". I got to help a group of 5 make a frog puppets. It was so fun, after the puppets were done we played a game & read a book to go along with the puppet. It only made me want to finish my degree and finish what I always wanted to do, be a kindergarten teacher....anyway.

I worked in Fillmore Monday through Wednesday so I got to take Derrick to a from school for 3 days which is always fun.

Thursday was Leroy's birthday! I won't say how old for fear of him killing me! LOL j/k We went out to Olive Garden for their never ending pasta bowl which was ok but so not that great :( But at least he found new Hot Wheels at Walmart afterwards.....that always makes up for anything :)

Today Derrick got a great weekly behavior report! Only one thing he needs to work on and that's taking his time and doing his work neatly. He's just like his mother, doing it sloppy just to get it over with because it's boring. We go over and over this on homework, he needs to slow down and take his time to make it neat. And the fun part of today is I hurt my back at work :( I was lifting a bucket of mail and "snap" there went my back. So now I'm off until Tuesday when I go back to the doctor. I should be fine though, this happened a couple years ago and I was fine with some rest after a few days. The doc gave me a back brace and a back pillow which really helps. At least I have my laptop so I can surf the web in a comfy chair :)