Ah, apartment life

It's been almost a month now living in our apartment, and I have to say it's been an easier adjustment than I expected. Although it's small, the apartment is in great shape, it's clean, and it has a lot of storage space for its size. Right outside our door is the playground, which I thought the boys would use all the time. Instead, they've teamed up with some of the neighborhood children and spend their afternoons scootering around the complex.

It's a huge place - we're in building 29 out of 30 - and it's all connected by sidewalks, which makes a great scooter surface. Alexander's scooter is quickly wearing out. The front wheel isn't even round anymore. Chris went to buy him a new one and instead returned with two new sets of wheels and handles, one for Alexander, and one for Benjamin. 2 hours and one trip to Lowe's later, they have what look like brand-new scooters. I figure this is a good lesson in fixing, not throwing away and buying anew.

The "scooter boys," as we call them, are a little rough looking. For starters, they all have mohawks. That alone, I have to admit, scared me a bit. They ride around without shoes or helmets, and they've forged paths in the woods behind the complex. Last week, while mom was here watching the boys and Chris and I were at school, I returned to the house to discover 6, yes SIX, extra children in our tiny apartment! Four boys and two girls, plus my three made NINE kids in their bedroom. Did I mention the bedrooms are fairly large? To my pleasant surprise, the kids were polite and cleaned up the room when I asked. Guess you can't judge a book by its cover.

So who lives in an upscale apartment complex? That's what I wondered. We wouldn't be able to afford it if we hadn't found a special deal on Craig's list. It turns out most of the residents are college students. We've been watching them come in by the truckloads for the last two weekends. If you have 4 people, $1000 rent doesn't sound like much. Cable is even included. Luckily, we haven't heard much from them, even on the weekends. The rental place is very strict about parties. One group moved in on Friday, had a party on Saturday, and were out by Monday! Imagine calling your parents from college with that news.

Our house is chugging along. On a drive-by tonight, they had put up one interior wall and the front porch roof. The rest of the roof is sitting in our front yard, just waiting to be put up. It makes me want to call in sick tomorrow just to watch. But I won't. Instead, I'll bring the boys by as soon as they get off the bus. Hopefully we can catch them in action.