Adapting

We're all moved in! There are several things that we're still trying to find a home for, and we're in the middle of putting some IKEA furniture together...you know how that goes. So the place is still quite a mess. When it's in better shape, I'll post some photos.

The day we moved into the new apartment, we also closed on the house in Houston. Or rather, my wonderful, selfless sister Angela closed on it for us. (Thanks again, Ang!) The housing slump didn't seem to affect us much at all. It only took 1.5 months to get an acceptable offer. (2 offers before that were way too low.) We're very glad to have it done. It was stressful dealing with that from so far away.

In other news, Sam started school today! He looked so cute in his new uniform. The collar was HUGE, and the shorts were very baggy too--but it was the smallest they had! I think he'll do really well there. It's a true international school, with people from all different countries. When I dropped him off this morning, there were already people there from Ireland, Scotland, and India. Plus, they teach using the International Baccalaureate system rather than an American system (like the Singapore American School), so I'm happy about that. (IB teaches on a more global level, helping the students to be more understanding and respectful of other cultures.) There are some schools in Houston, both public and private, that also have an IB program, so depending on our situation when we return, perhaps we can get the kids into one of the public schools. But Sam was very excited to start school today, and he wasn't clingy at all when I dropped him off. But in the past, he has been clingy on the 2nd day, rather than the first, so we'll see how it goes. He's even taking a school bus there! It feels weird to imagine tomorrow, saying to him, "Come on, you're going to miss the bus!" He's not old enough for that yet!

Hey, speaking of IKEA, I'm not sure why but the quality of the merch. at the IKEA here seems very poor. I never had any issues with them in the U.S., but so far we have 2 lamps--one with a missing piece, and one that buzzes and occasionally turns off by itself. And I put together a night stand, and the door panel has an edge attached to it: the edge is coming off, and I'll have to put glue on it. So strange.

So, photos to come soon! Also, if you're reading along with the blog, leave comments! We love comments! It makes us feel like we're not talking to ourselves. :) And remember, you can sign up for an RSS feed using the link at the bottom of the page, so you know when we update the blog, without having to come and check on it.