It's always a fight getting Manny read for school. It takes him thirty minutes to put his pants on, another thirty for the shirt, and (I swear to gawd) about an hour for his shoes.

John was nagging him to get a move on, "Manny...shoes!", "Manny, finish your breakfast!", and lastly "Manny, jacket!"

Manny's response? A deep sigh and an, "oh - my - gawd" underneath his breath.

9:58 AM

The Bauson family is on the move again. This time, we're going east; to Antioch. Now I know what you're thinking....Antioch?

Trust me, that was my first reaction as well. However, John and I were in a bind. We wanted to stay in the Peninsula (we really did), but this area of the bay is just way too expensive. This prompted us to start looking in other areas of the bay: North bay, too expensive. South bay, too far from John's work.

So we started looking into the East bay. We found a couple of properties in Pinole, Lafayette, Brentwood, etc. All were great, and all were already rented.

Luckily, John stumbled upon a great house. Unfortunately, it was in Antioch...blech. He told me to keep an open mind, that there were sections of Antioch (like any other city/town) that were actually quite nice. Okay. Fine. We had already made plans to visit another house in Oakley (total disaster btw) we would just make a drive by (hehehe) the Antioch house since we were in the area.

Imagine my surprise when the house is actually really cute (check). It's next to a huge park (check). The neighborhood is adorable, and the rest of the homes are well taken care of (check). Next to TONS of shopping (check, check, check).

Of course, I ignored the fact that there was an empty box of condoms in the street, and it takes about ten minutes to get to the freeway. Whatever. It can't be 100% perfect. The world might implode.

So...we're moving. This weekend. A little sudden, yes, but it needs to be done. To say that the week has been a little stressful would be an understatement. We need to arrange for professional movers ('cause John can't do it himself), and we need to pack. Have I mentioned how much I hate moving? We've done it so often, that you think I'd be a pro, but I'm not, and it sucks.

On the positive side, John worked his magic and was able to get Manny signed up for T-ball! Opening day is Saturday. Yep, the same day we're moving. Fortunately, my mom and John are able to help out and will be taking him to Opening day so that John and I can move.

Did I mention that another positive to Antioch is that my mom lives literally ten minutes away? No? Well she does, and I'm excited about it.

**sigh**

So we're moving, and while I'm excited about all of the opportunities this will bring us I'm sad that we're moving away from our friends. I'm sad that we need to pull Manny from preschool before the end of the school year. I'm really, really, really sad that Christian will not be going to Calvary next year because the teachers there are wonderful, and I'm sad that we have to leave the Peninsula. I love this area.

BUT I'm happy that John and I will (finally) be able to keep our heads above water financially. I'm happy to actually have a friggin' summer! Granted I'll need to get used to the ninety degree weather, but I'll make it work. I'm happy that I'll be close to family (John and I have never lived close to my family, we've always lived close to his).

Now...I need to go finish packing the living room...ugh.

5:39 PM