JJ and I are on cloud nine. A Whole Foods just opened about 30 minutes away (the previous closest was an hour away). It's HUGE, and filled with all the foods that we ate in California and have missed. We spent over an hour wandering around, eating lunch, then stuffing our cooler with treats and goodies that conform to our special diets (JJ = vegetarian, me & A. = dairy-free).
A. tried (and liked) dragon fruit, and now has a dragon fruit-stained jumper. She gobbled up Bell & Evans all-natural, antibiotic free chicken nuggets. She desperately wanted my chipotle chicken sausage, but it was way spicy. And we split Kung Pao chicken, brown rice, and a sparkling peach soda. She giggled and "hi"-ed her way through the store, charming everyone while wiggling and twisting to the point that we couldn't hold onto her. Eating lunch at the outdoor fountain so that she could wander around, splash in the puddles, and watch the water helped calm her down enough to finish our trip.
The trip to Whole Foods was like a step back to our time in California. We had a great time pointing out all the foods we used to live off of. It was strangely homey and comforting.
We stocked up on the goodies we can't get at the local stores, and we plan a bi-weekly or so outing in the future. Although shopping there on a regular basis wouldn't be that much more expensive that at Publix, it's enough of a difference that we shouldn't indulge on a day-to-day basis. Plus, that's quite a drive every week just for groceries.
Showing posts with label settling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label settling. Show all posts
Friday, June 27, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Settling
After a long string of events and visitors, life here is finally settling down into what I imagine will be "normal". JJ is working Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights, so we have all of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as a family. We also get nearly all of Saturday (before he leaves for work) and Tuesday afternoon (after a morning nap). On Sunday, A. and I visit with my parents. On Monday, we swim. And on Tuesday morning, we go to the library story time.
As our pediatrician advised, we're teaching A. to swim. The preponderance of swimming pools and lakes down here makes that nearly a necessity. We've decided to forgo the survival swimming -- two intense weeks of having your child dropped into the water and being forceable taught to back float. Instead, we've gotten a membership to a local gym with a pool, and I've been taking A. in the water about 4 times a week.
We're taking it slowly, mostly letting her play around. She loves to be held so that she floats on her stomach, head out of the water, and we propel her around the pool. She likes being dipped, on her side, into the water so that her cheek gets wet. We've done a few submersions, and they go over so-so. Sometimes she comes up surprised but quickly grins, but this last trip she cried a bit after her second dunk. We'll back off a bit and go back to things just being fun. There's no real rush -- I'd rather take longer but have her enjoy it, rather than the horror stories of crying kids and parents that I've heard about the survival training.
The rainy season has started here, so we get thunderstorms every afternoon. Our home's location, in particular, seems to attract even more storms than is normal. My parents, who live only about 7 miles away, get hit by about half the storms that we do. We live a mile or two from a fairly large lake, so part of it is the storms that just pop up over the lake, swoop over us, and die. The rest... just seem to like Montverde.
I'm starting to settle into my role as a stay@home mom, as opposed to the long-term vacation this seemed to be up to this point. I'm trying to see the care of our home as my job, something to be done whether I really want to or not. JJ's wonderful about helping, and has no expectations other than that I care for A. He knows that's a full-time job in itself. But I have a picture in my head of the household I'd like my daughter to grow up in, and there's no one else to make that happen but me.
As our pediatrician advised, we're teaching A. to swim. The preponderance of swimming pools and lakes down here makes that nearly a necessity. We've decided to forgo the survival swimming -- two intense weeks of having your child dropped into the water and being forceable taught to back float. Instead, we've gotten a membership to a local gym with a pool, and I've been taking A. in the water about 4 times a week.
We're taking it slowly, mostly letting her play around. She loves to be held so that she floats on her stomach, head out of the water, and we propel her around the pool. She likes being dipped, on her side, into the water so that her cheek gets wet. We've done a few submersions, and they go over so-so. Sometimes she comes up surprised but quickly grins, but this last trip she cried a bit after her second dunk. We'll back off a bit and go back to things just being fun. There's no real rush -- I'd rather take longer but have her enjoy it, rather than the horror stories of crying kids and parents that I've heard about the survival training.
The rainy season has started here, so we get thunderstorms every afternoon. Our home's location, in particular, seems to attract even more storms than is normal. My parents, who live only about 7 miles away, get hit by about half the storms that we do. We live a mile or two from a fairly large lake, so part of it is the storms that just pop up over the lake, swoop over us, and die. The rest... just seem to like Montverde.
I'm starting to settle into my role as a stay@home mom, as opposed to the long-term vacation this seemed to be up to this point. I'm trying to see the care of our home as my job, something to be done whether I really want to or not. JJ's wonderful about helping, and has no expectations other than that I care for A. He knows that's a full-time job in itself. But I have a picture in my head of the household I'd like my daughter to grow up in, and there's no one else to make that happen but me.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Three month hump
It's been about three months since I left my job, and I've been having a rough time of it the last few days. I really miss the job, the people, the atmosphere. The reassurance I have is that if I didn't feel this, all those years wouldn't have meant as much to me as I think they do.
I'm strangely torn. I like Clermont and I like having so much time with JJ and A. I don't miss California, and I don't have the out-of-place feeling that always hung over my head there. But I'm still adjusting to not working and not exercising my brain every day. And I'll never be surrounded by the same sort of people. Hell, I still haven't found one fellow geek.
I've think I've hit the adjustment phase, where I realize that one chapter has closed, a new one has opened, and I can't go back. Here's where I stop feeling, somewhere deep down, that I'm due back in a day or two. Where "normal" becomes this day-to-day, instead of the "normal" that I left.
I'm strangely torn. I like Clermont and I like having so much time with JJ and A. I don't miss California, and I don't have the out-of-place feeling that always hung over my head there. But I'm still adjusting to not working and not exercising my brain every day. And I'll never be surrounded by the same sort of people. Hell, I still haven't found one fellow geek.
I've think I've hit the adjustment phase, where I realize that one chapter has closed, a new one has opened, and I can't go back. Here's where I stop feeling, somewhere deep down, that I'm due back in a day or two. Where "normal" becomes this day-to-day, instead of the "normal" that I left.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Dreams
So even though I'm pretty happy out here, I'm apparently not completely done mourning leaving my job. The last two nights I've had dreams about going back.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Moving in!
We're going to spend our first night in the Lake Katherine house tonight. JJ and A. put in some hours at the house today while my Mom and I went to a crafting convention in Orlando. The big job today was moving our things out of my parents' house and into the new place.
I have to admit to mixed feelings about moving out. It'll be nice to have our own stuff and not have to watch our behavior, but I'll really miss there always being people in the house, having grandparents always there more than willing to hold A. while I took a shower or just a break, and sitting around the table after dinner sharing all four of our days.
Still, leaving today wasn't like leaving to go back to the other side of the country. We have firm plans to meet at the local farmer's market tomorrow, and it's always a possibility that we'll just bump into each other at the grocery store or Target.
I've spent a few days my Mom helping out with the mail-order business. A.'s been a great help, too, playing in her Exersaucer and playpen, being carried around, and sleeping in the carrier on my back. It's hard work, but some baby has to do it.
It's been about 3 weeks now. So far, I really like the area and having my family so close. I'm looking forward to seeing how things evolve as we live on our own and settle into a routine.
I have to admit to mixed feelings about moving out. It'll be nice to have our own stuff and not have to watch our behavior, but I'll really miss there always being people in the house, having grandparents always there more than willing to hold A. while I took a shower or just a break, and sitting around the table after dinner sharing all four of our days.
Still, leaving today wasn't like leaving to go back to the other side of the country. We have firm plans to meet at the local farmer's market tomorrow, and it's always a possibility that we'll just bump into each other at the grocery store or Target.
I've spent a few days my Mom helping out with the mail-order business. A.'s been a great help, too, playing in her Exersaucer and playpen, being carried around, and sleeping in the carrier on my back. It's hard work, but some baby has to do it.
It's been about 3 weeks now. So far, I really like the area and having my family so close. I'm looking forward to seeing how things evolve as we live on our own and settle into a routine.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Trying to move in
Our stuff arrived on Monday, and I've been spending the last few days trying to get the house in a good enough state that we can move from my parents' house into the new place. It hasn't been easy; JJ's been at his work orientation normal-person hours (7am to 4pm), so I've had to handle A. and unpack.
Since she doesn't like to be set down, this consists of holding, bouncing, playing, then setting her down for about 5 minutes until she realizes that she's not the center of attention. At which point I'm informed loudly and insistently that this is not an acceptable state of affairs. Back to the holding, bouncing, playing.
A.'s a huge handful these days. She's constantly wiggling, grabbing at everything, eating whatever she can get to her mouth, and generally being a full-time job. I'm so happy to be able to come back to the house and hand her to someone else to hold for a while. And the best part is, my parents are thrilled to see her when I'm most frustrated with her.
Since she doesn't like to be set down, this consists of holding, bouncing, playing, then setting her down for about 5 minutes until she realizes that she's not the center of attention. At which point I'm informed loudly and insistently that this is not an acceptable state of affairs. Back to the holding, bouncing, playing.
A.'s a huge handful these days. She's constantly wiggling, grabbing at everything, eating whatever she can get to her mouth, and generally being a full-time job. I'm so happy to be able to come back to the house and hand her to someone else to hold for a while. And the best part is, my parents are thrilled to see her when I'm most frustrated with her.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Impressions
So what's Clermont like? It's a fairly small town about 15-20 miles from the center of Orlando. It was a very small town until just a few years ago, when the real estate boom reached this far and developments sprang up.
Clermont and Minneola merge together quite a bit, with Clermont spreading east, west, and south, and Minneola to the north. There are two main arteries -- east/west 50 and north/south 27 (both four-lane roads, but not highways). The two intersect very close to downtown Clermont and divide the area into quadrants that I can generalize about.
The south-west quadrant is where the Lake Katherine house is located. It's very residential in general, mostly older and custom-built houses. This area was probably developed earlier than the other quadrants. The landscape is spotted with lakes big and small, and the roads are small and twisty. There's nearly no retail infrastructure, with the nearest grocery store being about 15 minutes from our house. I really like this area, but since the highway leading to Orlando is to the east of Clermont on 50, it's quite a commute for JJ.
The north-west quadrant is dominated by Lake Minneola. It also has older residential communities, but it's not upscale as the SW. There are more cookie-cutter developments than custom-built houses. I'd say this was mostly developed after the SW area. Downtown Clermont is here; it hasn't seen any kind of renaissance yet -- it's pretty empty.
The north-east was probably developed third. It's nearly all fairly recent, cookie-cutter neighborhoods.
And the south-east is still building out. It's very cookie-cutter, copycat houses piled one on top of another. There's more empty space here than other areas.
Retail is concentrated around the main roads, 50 and 27. It's almost exclusively chains -- Target and Walmart, Panera, Friendly's, Long John Silvers, etc. Pretty much everything you may need is here somewhere or will be soon.
My impressions so far are fairly positive. I really like all of the water around here -- it seems like every time you turn a corner, there's another lake. People are much friendlier to strangers than I experienced in California. It's wonderful to have family around, and it seems really great for A.
I think the big negative is the generic nature of many of the stores and subdivisions. Row after row of identical roofs going up a high is pretty depressing. But that's not everywhere, and there still are a few small stores to patronize.
I'm feeling fairly comfortable in the area. I'm really looking forward to getting our stuff (Monday!) and starting to live a normal day-to-day life. I reserve the right to change my opinions after that. :)
Clermont and Minneola merge together quite a bit, with Clermont spreading east, west, and south, and Minneola to the north. There are two main arteries -- east/west 50 and north/south 27 (both four-lane roads, but not highways). The two intersect very close to downtown Clermont and divide the area into quadrants that I can generalize about.
The south-west quadrant is where the Lake Katherine house is located. It's very residential in general, mostly older and custom-built houses. This area was probably developed earlier than the other quadrants. The landscape is spotted with lakes big and small, and the roads are small and twisty. There's nearly no retail infrastructure, with the nearest grocery store being about 15 minutes from our house. I really like this area, but since the highway leading to Orlando is to the east of Clermont on 50, it's quite a commute for JJ.
The north-west quadrant is dominated by Lake Minneola. It also has older residential communities, but it's not upscale as the SW. There are more cookie-cutter developments than custom-built houses. I'd say this was mostly developed after the SW area. Downtown Clermont is here; it hasn't seen any kind of renaissance yet -- it's pretty empty.
The north-east was probably developed third. It's nearly all fairly recent, cookie-cutter neighborhoods.
And the south-east is still building out. It's very cookie-cutter, copycat houses piled one on top of another. There's more empty space here than other areas.
Retail is concentrated around the main roads, 50 and 27. It's almost exclusively chains -- Target and Walmart, Panera, Friendly's, Long John Silvers, etc. Pretty much everything you may need is here somewhere or will be soon.
My impressions so far are fairly positive. I really like all of the water around here -- it seems like every time you turn a corner, there's another lake. People are much friendlier to strangers than I experienced in California. It's wonderful to have family around, and it seems really great for A.
I think the big negative is the generic nature of many of the stores and subdivisions. Row after row of identical roofs going up a high is pretty depressing. But that's not everywhere, and there still are a few small stores to patronize.
I'm feeling fairly comfortable in the area. I'm really looking forward to getting our stuff (Monday!) and starting to live a normal day-to-day life. I reserve the right to change my opinions after that. :)
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