We’re here!

Interstates under water.

Roads are gone. Woman canoes to her home to survey the damage.

Flooded Six Flags

Flooded homes throughout the Atlanta area

Stretch of highway underwater

I should have written this weeks ago, so apologies for not keeping up with this blog.  Quite a lot has happened in the last month.  The move itself went as expected, I guess.  There was some damage in our stuff… dent in the deep freezer door, a wheel was broken on the push lawnmower, the 57″ tv was broken.  But all and all, most of everything seemed to make it here OK.

A week after we moved here, Atlanta experienced a “once in 500 years” flood.  Luckily our stuff and the house was fine.  But the city of Atlanta  itself was under water.  The owner of the property we are renting had many other properties that were under water.  We were the driest of his houses, thankfully.  His damages (and he didn’t have flood insurance because none of his homes are technically on a flood plain)  came to about $20,000 … and from everything I’ve seen from the area — he got off lucky.  So many people had to walk away from their homes.  I added a few pictures to document the destruction of the flood.

So after the flooding wasn’t really a pressing issue anymore… we got serious about school.  Luckily, the week that we had the flood Cherokee County had the week off from school.  So the kids were registered for their classes.  Ana was a little disappointed as she wasn’t able to take any foreign language as a 7th grader.  Next year, she may be able to take Spanish if it’s recommended by her teachers.  She did get into band (finally, there were lots of scheduled changes for her)  and she seems to like it.  Crestview’s 7th grade band  was quite a bit larger than her new school’s band program.  However I think she’s doing great… she has a concert next week.  We can’t wait to see her perform! She’s made some friends already, and has a new friend named Georgette… they share a common interest in horses.  I’m sure I’ll see around the house before long.  Rachael had a little bit of a rough start.  She misses her friends at Westridge and it took her a little bit to warm up to kids at her new school.  She was used to being “the big fish” at Westridge and her new school goes to grade 6 (Rach is only in 5th grade)… so she was kind of bummed by that.  She wanted to be in Chorus, but tryouts had already happened by the time she got there and won’t be able to sing until next year.   Things seem to be stabilizing for her at school, she’s made quite a few friends.  Ethan is in first grade and he really had a hard transition from Westridge to Little River.  There was an obvious discrepancy from what he was taught in MO to the things they are teaching in GA.  Over the last couple of weeks, (Cam and I even had a talk with his teacher) we think we’re getting Ethan on the right track.  We’re still going to have him tested to make sure he’s getting all the help and support he needs at school. I’ll try to keep up the updates on the kids… as they happen.

Cam seems to be doing well. He’s VERY busy… much more busier than he’s ever been.  He enjoys it, but I know it wears him out.  On top of a busy work schedule, he continues to work out every day at a local gym.  To date, he’s lost at least fifty pounds since he left St. Louis in late July.  I’m so proud of him! He’s really motivated and inspired me to get healthier too.  I seem to have lost weight (30 lbs since January)… my wedding rings don’t fit my fingers anymore.  We’re eating better, we’re exercising more often.  Our lifestyle has definitely changed… and for the better.

I’m trying to get used to things in Georgia.  Things are a little slower, people talk a little slower too.  I always seem to have this “go go go” attitude and I need to learn to take a down a few notches. LOL!  We’ve found a few grocery stores nearby… though I haven’t really found a place I *really* like. I’m really big on buying local and supporting local mom & pop businesses. Though,  I do have to say I like that Trader Joe’s is very close to my house as is a Super Target.  We found a neat Vietnamese & Thai cafe down the street from our house… I like the Pad Thai and drinking Bubble Tea.  Though Cam misses the Thai restaurant (yes the one that sent him to the hospital!) in O’Fallon.

We haven’t seen the Zoo yet.  We miss how things are in St. Louis, like the Zoo.  The amount of money it costs us to get inside the Zoo is truly sticker shock for us.  (St. Louis Zoo is free)  Our family of five will cost us around $80.  I’ll probably wind up getting the family pass ($99) but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.  There’s also a Children’s Museum (like The Magic House) but again… kinda pricey.  There’s not an equivalent to The Butterfly House unfortunately, so I guess we’ll have to go up to St Louis for that (darn!).  Another thing I don’t really care for is the local paper, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).  Seems the stories are very flat and well, anemic.  A couple of lines here and a couple of lines there. Wow. On some of their stories, I would have gathered more information if I talked to my neighbor.  I still read The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, if not to keep up with local news there, to read commentary from the readership, and to feel like I’m reading a real paper.  I’m actually quite surprised Atlanta doesn’t have a better paper (despite the newspaper economy) considering they have CNN in the same city.   Maybe things will get better on the newspaper end, but  I don’t think I’m going to hold my breath.  I hope it does.

I don’t want people to think I don’t like living here.  I really do, I’m getting used to the area.  There are things about St. Louis that I miss, but there are definitely things about St. Louis I don’t.  I like how people here are so helpful and friendly.  The weather here is fantastic (ok, once we get out of this “monsoon” season).  The lowest it gets (on average) is 48 in January. THAT I can deal with.  No snow. No ice. I’ve also found a forum of a group of moms online that I post on frequently.  Everyone seems very friendly and welcoming to newcomers.  I like to learn new things and places every week that I’m here.  Last week we found a park near the house. The kids had fun, there’s a pond that ducks hang out at.  The kids had fun with them.

Well that’s all I have to write about today.  See you on FB or my blog.

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~ by simoneinatl on October 14, 2009.