Getting Settled...

  I've been trying to make life here as "normal" as possible.  It's been a challenge, and has definitely been trying my patience.  I keep looking at this time as an adventure, which it is, and try to stay as upbeat as possible, and enjoy all the moments. 
  So, since we've been here, we've been staying at the Inn on the base.  It's a nice place, but definitely lacking in the "kid friendly" area.  The room we started out in was very small, and we were sharing a bathroom with the room next to us.  Inconvenient, yes, but it was only $28 per night...something I could afford.  Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with any one living in the room next to us until we had been here a week. 
  I had been outside when I saw our new neighbor moving in.  It was an older woman, probably in her 70's.  As i observed her, I thought to myself that she would either be very sweet, or that she would be hard to please and dislike kids.  So playing on the side of caution, I tried to keep the kids extra quiet (which I failed miserably at) and I tried to clean up my half of the bathroom.  With in 2 hours, I got a call from the front desk.  A complaint had already been made against us.  Hmmm...I wonder who it came from.  After supper, I hurried the kids out the door, so I could take them to the park for them to wear off their energy and noise.  When we returned an hour later, I had good reason to believe that our neighbor was already trying to sleep...at 8pm.  Uggg...how was I supposed to keep my munchkins quiet for another 1-2 hours??  Things went fairly well (from my perspective) until we were in the bathroom and my son, R, started pounding on her bathroom door and yelling, "Hello?? Leah, are you awake?"  I was horrified!!  And then, he grabbed her toothbrush case off the counter (it was too pretty of a color to resist) opened it, and her toothbrush fell on the not-so-clean floor.  AHHH!!  I wanted to scream!!  Could the kids do anything more to help us get kicked out?  Sure enough, with in an hour, the front desk called and said we needed to move to a different room...and it was already 9:30 at night.  Uggg!  So there we were.  The kids were already in their jammies, and we quickly tried to throw all our stuff together so we could move to a room about 12 doors down.  Not exactly how I wanted to spend my night, but really, I was surprised we made it as long as we did. :)  So, apparently, 1 adult and 3 kids do not work well in a room meant for single people.  And, we were considered a fire hazard, or at least that's what the final straw was for us needing to move. 
  So now we are cozy in our new room, and I'm finding that I need to continue to be creative.  Not artsy creative...I mean just creative for our day to day, hour to hour living.  I do not have a kitchen.  All I have is a microwave and a tiny dorm fridge.  Yeah, preparing any food for 4 people is definitely a challenge.  I think I should make a cookbook called, "What you can, and definitely can NOT make in a microwave"  Written by: Slowing losing her Sanity Sarah.  I really do think it will be a best seller.  :)

Eating Spaghetti at the "new table."

  Have you ever seen the info commercial for the "Pasta Boat"?  Yes, I gave in a bought it from Wal-Mart 4 months ago.  Let me tell you, it has truly been a life saver for our meals.  I've made spaghetti with peppers and onions, tuna helper, hamburger helper, rice and noodle packages, steamed potatoes and carrots, and that's only the tip of this cooking ice burg.  After I struggle to make a meal in my Past Boat, I then have to clean it in the bathroom in the shower.  Ahh, yes.  I miss having a real kitchen.  Well, mark it up to memories and experiences. :) 
  Along with not having a kitchen, we don't have a table.  So, our new table is a towel on the floor that me and the kids all huddle around.  The nice thing about it, is I can roll up the "table" when we're done eating, and shake it out outside.  Hey, there's gotta' be a positive side to everything, right? :)

At Port Hueneme Beach

  So, other than the above inconveniences, I really do like it here.  It is gorgeous!  The mountains are to the north of us, and the ocean is a 5 minute drive to the south.  The temperature is quite mild.  I don't think it's been hotter than 70 since I've been here, there is no humidity, and no bugs!  Quite nice, and easy to adjust to. :)