Ch-ch-ch-changes

The house is officially on the market. We will lose a boatload of cash, but happily, Mitch still has a really good job and we don't owe more than it's worth, so we'll probably be okay. I always wanted to live in a van, down by the river, anyways. Keeping it immaculate has been a challenge, but the kids have been so good about helping, and they love it, because it means they get to watch tv/play video games on school days. Everybody wins, at our house.

We're all really excited to be heading back to the mainland. Living here has been wonderful, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I'm thrilled to be putting the kids into a good school district (hopefully). Our plan had been to build our dream house this time, but with the market the way it is, it's looking like we'll be moving into one more fixer-upper before we do that *whimper*. I'm sure I'll be blogging about our adventures on that end. The most important thing is to get the kids into good schools.

Grace and Henry are laid-back and don't really care about the changes afoot, as long as we're together. Olivia has a hard time with change (and just about everything else), so she's been having a bit of separation anxiety at school, but mostly adjusting beautifully. Grace is just pissed that she can't be here for showings, because she wants to meet new people and show them where she leaves notes for the fairies and whatnot. Henry has been getting a little mouthy. He smart-mouthed me for the first time, like, ever the other night. Now, Jack came out of the womb with a smart mouth, but Henry has never been sarcastic. I couldn't help but feel proud! He also won't let me hug him on school grounds anymore (sad face here). All three of the youngest are playing soccer, which means I am at the field Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Wednesdays and Sundays I save for drinking. Well, I would, if I wasn't so busy cleaning.

Jack is doing track, and he looks a little less like Gollum in his track tank and shorts than he did last year. He is beyond happy to be going back to Seattle. He never really fit in here, and the kids didn't really get his sarcasm, although he has made some good friends. He's so like Mitch in so many ways, especially the cheapness. His one pair of shoes are basically held together with duct tape and I finally told him if he didn't sit down and order some with me, that I would pick some "really handsome shoes" out for him. He couldn't decide between two pairs, and since they were a good deal I bought them both. You would have thought I'd bought some magic beans the way he carried on about what a waste of money it was to buy to pairs of shoes, and it wasn't even his money! I can't believe anyone could come from my body and not want extra shoes.