Where to start

I started blogging because it seemed like a catharsis for other bloggers. More and more it just served as a history log of my life. Then more like defeat. When something bad would happen I didn't want to write about it.

Something devastating happened last fall and I stopped writing. Maybe I should have. I don't know.

We're still here. Healing and breathing every day. Still waiting to live our dreams. Still parenting and sometimes pulling my hair out in frustration. IEP's and conferences, specialist appointments and more alphabet diagnoses'.

Trudging On

We're still trudging on over here. I'm still moving forward with making our lives simpler and more peaceful. I recently started taking a yoga class once a week while Charlie is in preschool. It's hard as hell, I am sooooo out of shape but I'm sticking with it. It's worth it just to have someone stand next to you and remind you to think only about yourself for an hour. I'm slowly remembering to take time to care for myself.

We finally were able to move Josie to a new classroom with a more experienced teacher. We were also able to get her started on ADD medicine. It's not great but it's better. For now that's good enough. With three kiddos with special needs the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Right now that's Choo Choo. His evaluation to transfer from our states First Steps program to the public school services is coming up. He had an EEG today to fine tune his seizure medications. He raged the entire time so we'll likely have to go back and repeat it. They wanted him sleepy for the test so that he might actually sleep....he was just overly tired and cranky. Cranky enough to pull off a 45 minute tantrum.

I'm tired just thinking about it.

But tomorrow is another day. And not just any other day. The Pioneer Woman comes to St. Louis tomorrow to sign her cookbook. Jen and I will be going together to get a cookbook signed for us and her mother. I've heard the lines will be outrageous. I'm hoping I can keep myself awake long enough to make it to the end.

Down and Out

I've had a hard time writing here because I feel so cynical lately. We havn't had any interest in our house since the sale fell through. We're getting more and more frustrated with the public school system we're in and we're getting desperate.

Originally we planned to take our house off the market after October because we didn't want to move during the holidays...and because we wanted to take it off the market long enough that it would be fresh when we put it back in front of buyers. Now we're planning to leave it on until the new year. More stress of keeping it spotless with three kiddos under 5.

During all of this ALL of my hope that we might sell has turned to skepticism that we will EVER sell. This economy sucks! My kids education is paying for it.

I've been spending every morning in Josie's class because she's been getting into trouble everyday. Now that I've been there I see why. The teacher is a new student just out of college she has no control over 30 inner city kids. Fist fighting is a daily occurance. My kid already has problems with focus and impulse control thanks to in utero drug use....she's not going to be able to learn a damn thing in that environment....except how to fight. It's the beginning of October. She's already been suspended once and had the principal call home 3 times. She's been pulled out of the class multiple times. We've started the process for an IEP but they're even fighting that almost half the students there are clamouring for services they don't have the money to provide. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGHHHHH.

I'm down and out. We have to sell this house and move.

Lemonade

Well. I'm making lemonade. The sale did indeed fall through. Our buyers could not get their financing. We had to scramble to get our kids magnet school spots back. I was completely devestated for a day or so. I've picked myself back up and am pushing on.

I've decided to keep making steps toward homesteading. I've decided to make do with what we have, where we are, right now.

I planted my fall garden in containers.
I made a flow through worm bag composter.
I ordered my red wigglers.
I've begun gathering supplies to make my own egg incubator.
I'm watching various hatching egg auctions on eggbid and ebay.
I purchased a large upright freezer to replace our old small deepfreeze.
I'm going canning crazy at the farmers market this week.


I keep reading and researching, putting into practice everything I learn. First small scale here. Hopefully on a bigger scale somewhere else.

I might still be a little sour about it but I'm still making lemonade out of these lemons.

Oh no...

We've had a big problem this week. The buyers of our current home were unable to get conventional financing. They have met with a different lender and are trying to do a non conventional loan. We still don't know if the sale is going to go through.
We've already enrolled the girls in kindergarten in the new school district, tonight is the first mandatory parents meeting. We've already put a deposit down on movers and set up the utilities for the new house. We've already spent a lot of money on inspections.

If I had thought of a worse case scenario for our plan....this is it.

An acre in suburbia

We put a contract on a house last week. It's been a whirlwind of inspections, estimates and daydreaming. Mostly daydreaming. I've been plotting the garden, contacting some of my beloved homesteading bloggers asking for advice and searching craigslist for a lawn tractor. I had no idea you could get all these attachments for a riding lawn mower.

I've been looking at Missouri agriculture websites, permaculture forums and checking out books from the library. What I should be doing however, is packing. The heat index is supposed to be 105 tomorrow. Sounds like a perfect day to stay inside with the AC on and start filling boxes.

First Post

This is the first post in my new blog. I hope to chronicle our attempts to life a simple life in suburbia. As much as we want a better life for ourselves outside of the city limits, we're also a bit leary about moving to the suburbs.

Since 2006 I've blogged under Celebrating All Families and wrote about the many adventures of being a foster parent, a transracial family and a mom to special needs kiddos. Now that our family is complete our focus has shifted to creating a peaceful life for our children and ourselves. A big part of our lives is being an advocate for our children with special needs. This lead us to make the move outside of the city public school system to a suburb of St. Louis Missouri where we have more support options for our children.

This move also allows me more space to dabble in some of my many passions. Lasagna gardening, Square Foot beds, backyard chickens, small scale permaculture, food not lawns, winemaking, cheesemaking, canning, and attempts at self-sufficiency.

30 days from today the sale of our city Loft condo will close. Now we just have to find a new house in the suburbs.