School's Back in Session!!!

I love my son immensely. Those who know me, know that there isn't anything that I won't do for him. However, we have been joined at the hip every single day since June 12 when school was officially over. I have had eleven weeks of unadultered bliss of together time. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week for the past eleven weeks. That's been a barrel of laughs. We have had our moments where we really didn't like each other and some unkind words have passed through our lips. Sad, but true.

I am happy to report that school is back in session. Half days but who the hell cares. I get a few hours of time to myself and not have someone screaming "Mom, Mom, MOM, MOM!!!!!" He's happy to have had a reunion with Rafel, a child he went to Piper's Hill with. He's met up with Nick and is busy making new friends. I've met some moms who are part of the school community and will be busy with school activities again pretty soon.

In the meantime, I will start my job search once I get this place under control. The boxes are being worked on and things have been donated to Goodwill. Lots of books have gone to the library and I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my friend Margaret so I can pawn off this huge contractor's bag and humungous box to her.

Stay tuned for Matthew's reintroduction to Chinese school. That's going to take place right the weekend after Labor Day. I can't wait!

Reunited

Boxes arrived together with the furniture and I must say, I am very happy to be reunited with the contents of the house. Although, there is quite a bit of work to be done.  There is stuff everywhere and it's a bit overwhelming when I go from room to room and scan what needs to be done. Let's just say, I'm not going anywhere for the next several weeks. It's going to take me about that long to get this place together. Don't let the picture fool you, there was another truck that came just as packed.

I've packed up and unpacked three times for this return journey home and am relieved that this is the last of the shipments. I'm not happy about the mess and I have to learn to over look what the place looks like.  Oh, did I mention that thing have disappeared and we've found clothing with mold and some furniture has been damaged.

The good news is I've found some things that I've long forgotten about and am in the process of "cleansing" the house and doing a massive donation.  The local library has received about 100 books so far, my nephew Nicholas has taken off with some books and my friend Margaret's son, Nicholas will inherit a lot of clothes and books from Matthew.

We're going to do a give away of furniture and clothing. Let us know if you need anything- we're always happy to help out!

Anticipation

We got official notice that our sea shipment has arrived in the U.S. and has cleared customs. YEAH! We know that U.S. customs has reviewed the boxes and we did not receive notification that anything has been removed. The big question is, did Chinese customs take anything out besides the liquor? We'll find out tomorrow when we get the delivery. In addition to some furniture, we're supposed to receive approximately 200 boxes. After weeks of living on the bare minimum, we will finally be reunited with the contents of our kitchen, closets and the rest of the house. 

It's been a long journey to get to where we are but, its close to completion. I'm convinced that Jose (the contractor) and his gang of merry men, really just want to move into our garage and stay there. The punch list items are slowing diminishing but it's still there. The lawn still hasn't been mowed, the litter is being cleaned up and garage door is down. Finally, we can get rid of all those animals that keep using the garage as a cave for the past six weeks. Oh, I really mean insects which are not so small. Some are large enough to pick up a small car on their backs to go back to their hiding spots.

The other day, I ran head on into a very large and UGLY cricket. I screamed, I'm sure it screamed as it took off for a dark corner in the garage while I ran the other way back to the laundry room and slammed the door shut. I'm not used to the "wild life" that insists on squatting around the house. I'm from New York where the only animals I had to worry about were rats and roaches. I'm in a whole new realm when it comes to the suburbs. I have to listen to the cicadas, watch the yellow jackets insist on building a nest in the eaves of my roof line and watch the deers as they stampede through the back yard. I even saw a coyote in my back yard the other day. What is this the Wild West?

Matthew has become quite adept at identifying the smells along Long Ridge Road. At any given time, you'll hear him scream "skunk" from the back seat and sure enough, about two miles later, you'll find the carcass of the skunk and some other freshly killed animal. Sad, but it's the reality of living with the animals in the area. It's not uncommon for me to find a raccoon that has met an untimely demise at the bottom of my driveway. While living in China, we really didn't see any dead animals on the roads since, they're usually skewered and simmering in some kind of broth ready to be sold as dinner. We're adjusting to life back in the States where insects and animals are not part of the daily menu offerings.

Stay tuned for the updates on the status of our delivery. I'm truly looking forward to finishing up this part of our move. I'll get to hand out eviction notices to the little squatters and focus on looking for a job. My status as a "kept woman" will come to a screeching halt once I am able to procure a paying position.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

We're officially back in the house and we're still waiting for our sea shipment from Shanghai. Living on the bare minimum is quite interesting. We're not sure when the sea shipment will appear but I'm going to be absolutely thrilled when it does show up. The house is in complete disarray because some of the furniture is part of the sea shipment. We can't entertain anytime soon because I need to get the house up and running before I'll allow anyone to come.

As of today, the construction is still ongoing. Garage door is still open because the electricity hasn't been completely rewired. This leads to many problems, such as small animals foraging for food in the garbage can. We spotted a small coyote the other day and I know it's been shopping in the garage. There isn't any food in it. There's just screws, nails, a paper cup, wood shavings and other debris from the construction. Nevertheless, it's still going through my garage looking for something to eat.

The deck is still being worked on, the vinyl siding isn't complete and the gutters are missing. The back yard looks like a scene from the "Beverly Hillbillies" because all our deck furniture is strewn in the back along with insulation pieces, nails, boards, planks and the old gutters. The lawn hasn't been mowed in over two weeks and is really overgrown. The problem is the workers have been here for a month and it seems like they're never going to leave. Every time we make a bit of progress, it starts to rain and they don't show up. We've lost about ten days due to the weather. I woke up this morning to torrential down pours. The front door looks like a water fall because the water is just running off of it in full force.

We're taking bets on what's going to happen first. The appearance of the sea shipment or the end of the construction. Tony and Matthew think the sea shipment will appear first. I'm betting the construction will be completed. Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part but stay tuned for an update.