An explanation...

of sorts, regarding our sudden decision to move. First, our septic system has completely failed. We have had continuous off and on trouble since December 2004, and now it's just dead. We're living in constant fear that despite the port-a-potty, etc. our house will be red-tagged. Secondly, my father-in-law, the technical property owner, refuses to give us any paperwork that actually shows the mortgage value and the payment amounts being applied to it. Why? Well, we hear from his brother that he's charging us about $400 a month more than the actual payment amounts, because we're paying half his mortgage (in Arizona) too. Third, every room in the house now leaks in any kind of rain. FIL says "put plastic over it"... this solution would lead to rot in what is left. Fourth, we started digging up the yard for a veggie garden and discovered a veritable landmine of non-biodegradable garbage, from the approximately 20 years my in-laws lived there. I knew when we moved in that there were some problems with the house, but this is beyond what we can and will be able to fix.
That said, we have gotten an apartment in Santa Rosa! We move in on April 1st. It is the nicest apartment I have ever rented, so I am actually kind of excited. I am also returning to school at last. Funny, FIL and his wife have avoided taking responsibility for any of the problems with the house, until we gave notice. Now they're coming here next week to "fix" everything.

Another chance to update...

Okay, so we're looking at places in Santa Rosa. We've looked at apartments, duplexes, houses, etc. and will probably go with an apartment for now, since houses are financially a little out of our range. I hate to admit this, but I'll do it anyway... I filed for unemployment last week and it looks like it'll go through okay. I'm doing this because a)money if always useful, and b)it's hard to get a place with no verifiable income coming in. Yes, unemployment counts as income in this case, plus it gives me a little more time in looking for work. I am looking but I need to look more. I've got two plans of attack... one - nurseries, since it is coming into full-on planting season, or two, a job with the school system (secretarial).

Anyhow, the kids are doing great. C.J. will be 3 in March. She speaks like most 5-6 year olds I've met, as far as vocabulary and sentence structure go. M & I are going to get her a girly little bike with training wheels. It's fun with her because she's so feminine and I spent a lot of time squelching that in myself, so now I can play girly stuff with her and feel okay about it.

C.O. will be 5 in May. Incredible to me, how fast this is going by. I have found a good, public, elementary school near the apartments we're focusing on, so I need to get ahold of his vaccination records, etc.

Other than that, we are busy, busy, busy packing and trying to get rid of crap. We have way too much stuff. I am finally ready to let go of a lot of it, so we'll have less to move. I am truly a pack rat!