City Life.

If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen me complaining. A lot. About the weather. I don't really mean to be so negative. I actually really like it here in our new home. There has definitely been some adjustment, but I am really enjoying our home, our friends and our new area. It's just cold. And I really don't like to be cold. Apparently, even by local standards, this has been the coldest summer they can remember in years. So. I'm not the only one. :) I've never lived in a city before. Like a real city-fied CITY. It's busy, and bustling and there are literally people from all cultures and walks of life here. There are people of all colors and shapes and creeds. So much different than your typical middle class suburban white/African American and Hispanic community that we were used to out in the valley. But I like it. I think it's good to see another side of life every now and then. Plus, living up here on this gorgeous hill, it's like we've go the best of both worlds. We get to roam around in nature and have deer in our yard and chickens in our barn (not yet, but soon) and all the fun of country life, all while the city is just minutes (seconds) away. It's pretty cool. Except when I was at the ATM today, this very tall, mentally ill, black man came up to me and poked me in the side while I was making my transaction. Yes, he came up to me and touched me with his finger, in my side. Bless his heart, he was just looking for some change, but IT FREAKED ME OUT. I mean he was harmless, but jeeze...when someone walks up to you at an ATM and pokes you in the side....well lets just thank the Good Lord it was just his finger! And also luckily I had no cash, it was broad daylight, there were LOTS of people around. Anyway, that was not so cool.
The other neat thing about living here is that there is SO much to do. And we've been doing it! We are two minutes away from the Oakland Zoo. Some friends and I took the kids there today. It was really fun, the sun came out and the kids really had a good time. It's a great zoo.
We're also minutes away from all kinds of beautiful parks (like the one in my last post) and hiking trails, Lake Chabot (we go here at least once a week for a walk/jog), and Chabot Space and Science center (we've been there twice already since we moved in). I really can't wait to get out and do some exploring!
Plus, we're also just a 20 minute BART ride from San Francisco. We've already been over there this month too! The kids and I just keep making a list of all the places we want to go see and do. So, is this a cool place to live?-ABSOLUTELY! Despite my negativity about the weather, we are all pretty happy to be here and are enjoying it.

Other random stuff:
Pretty much since we moved in Pete has been working nights. It's fun to have him here during the day, but him coming home at 4 o'clock in the morning and me cooking the family dinner and eating by 4:30 in the afternoon is taking it's toll on me. I sort of feel like either we have a newborn baby, or we're really old people. Like the senior citizens at Denny's having dinner at 4 in the afternoon! Plus it's just kind of exhausting. I always end up staying up late when he's not home at night, then of course I wake up when he gets home, and then he doesn't come straight to bed so then I either lie in bed awake or drift off only to be awoken again an hour later when he does come to bed. Then I'm awake again just 2 hours later to get up for the day with the kids. So that's where my newborn baby reference comes from. The up/down/up/down thing.
This is supposed to be his last night on nights. *whew*
The second night on this job, Pete cut his hand really bad. He ended up with 12 stitches total in between his thumb and fore-finger on his right hand. The doc said he cut an artery and was very, very close to needing major reconstructive surgery and losing the use of his thumb. So basically he almost cut his thumb off. It was only God's grace that he didn't!
We also have already started some of our homeschooling curriculum. Nicole had asked what we were going to use and 90% of what I chose has come from Evan Moor. I chose this publisher for Reading, Grammar, Science and Geography. I'm also looking into getting their History Pockets too. I just really like the way these workbooks are set up. There's no guess work. Everything is set up in short, concise, daily exercises. It's not overwhelming, but the kids (even Megan) are learning a lot from it. So far so good. These would also be great to supplement regular school learning simply because they're so short. And for home school it's really easy to supplement the lessons with library books and other projects. So I like it. Still looking for a math curriculum though. And I'm dreading it.
Anyway, so that's about it. BUSY BUSY BUSY! But fun!