The O.C.

A good friend of mine from California sent me this email. I thought it was "post worthy". :-) Not all is exactly true... but most is! People, this is where I came from...

You know you're from Orange County when...

You just paid 4.50 for a gallon of unleaded gasoline.
You most likely voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger- most likely just because you like RoboCop or whatever else.
You watch a police pursuit weekly on the news.
You have been to the mountains, desert, and the beach in the same day.
You have perfected driving with sandals on despite it being illegal (but what cop would enforce it?!?).
You make $60,000 and you’re still considered as the Lower-Middle Class.
You work a second (third?) job just to pay for car insurance.
You have been to the DMV and have wondered what country you are actually in.
You know what In-N-Out is and feel bad for all the other states because they don't have any.
Everyone you know has 3+ phone numbers. Home, Office, mobile, pager, two-way, voicemail.....
You know that if you drive one mile in any direction you will find a McDonald's or a Starbucks.
You have had a class field trip to 'Old Towne' Knott's Berry Farm as a youngster.
You classify new people you meet by their Area Code.
909- Are you kidding me?
310- Too Ghetto...
You've bought oranges, flowers, cherries or peanuts on a freeway off-ramp.
You've partied in Tijuana at least once.
You've inadvertently learned Spanish.
You have thought that 20 years of construction on 22 freeway is enough.It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH"
You have watched the show "the OC" and have cried till you've laughed.
You have bypassed a mattress, a folding chair, and a dryer on the freeway while on your way to work.
You shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and/or Henry's.
You eat a different ethnic food at every meal.
You think $1200 a month rent is way to good to be true.
You still go to the beach in December.
You own a hybrid vehicle and a Hummer.
Going to Disneyland can be a weekly routine.
You know what "sigalert", "PCH", "CHOC", "OCTFCU" and "the five" mean.
You know where parts of Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do, the Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There, and Martin Lawrences movie Big Momma's House were filmed.
You go to a tanning salon before going to the beach.
You'll reluctantly miss yoga class to wait for the hot tub repairman.
The "Orange Crush" means more than the soda- i.e. a pain in the rear!
You see the original Batmobile and Kobe Bryant in the same intersection.
All highways into the county say: "no fruits."
All highways out of the county say: "Thanks for Not staying!."
You know five different ways to get anywhere, and which one you choose is based on weather, time of day, and day of the week.
You didn't realize there was a California out of SoCal...

Let your light shine

Me: Annie your smile lights up a room.

Annie: Turn off the light.

So I do. Annie smiles really big.

Me: See it's brighter in here!

Annie: Yeah, it is.

The First Day of School

The first day actually started the night before. We went to a "meet and greet" where we could see the classrooms, meet the teacher, drop off the supplies and eat ice cream.

The first day photos:




The girls had a great first day. I did too, though I was a bit more emotional than I expected. This is a big year for all of us... Dave started a new job, Emma changed schools, Anna started Kindergarten and I have the day with no kids... until the day after Labor Day when I start my new job.

Whirlwind

Our life looks so much different than it did just a week. So much has gone on this week. What you ask? Well, here is a little timeline…

Last Friday - Dave had an interview with Mississinewa Schools. They offered him a position as a Special Education Teacher at Westview. He took it.
Monday - he resigned from Marion Community Schools and began cleaning out his classroom.
Tuesday - I went in to help, and by lunch time, we had loaded up both cars with boxes, posters, area rugs, books and anything else he had in his classroom.
Wednesday – we went to Westview and began moving in.
Thursday – I interviewed at Allen (Dave’s former school) for a Literacy Specialist Position. I had subbed last year in this capacity and now that Anna will be in Kindergarten, I was applying to do it again this year.
Thursday - We decided to send our kids to Westview. They are excited about being at the same school that Daddy works at.
Friday – I had an interview with Mississinewa for an aide position. (I found out before going to the interview that the Literacy Specialist was given to another teacher.) As I was in the interview, I was offered a position as the “Waterford Lab” teacher at Northview. I still don’t know exactly what that will look like. I do know that it will be in a computer lab though. There will be no grading, no take-home work. :-)

A week ago, Dave was working for Marion, our kids were going to Kendall and I was staying home full time. Today, Dave is working for Mississinewa and our kids are going to Westview. I am also working for Mississinewa – no longer a “stay-at-home-mom”, but now a “working mom”. I am excited about all the changes. But, what a whirlwind! I am still trying to wrap my mind around it all.