Guess WHAT!?!

So I guess it's as official as it's ever gonna be!

We're movin' to Lexington, SC!

I have accepted University of South Carolina's Graduate Assistantship offer and have enrolled in their Master's of Social Work Advanced Standing Program.

It was a hard decision. I was accepted to Fordham University, the other school I applied to that was in NYC. And as hard as it was to say no to the adventures of NYC! However, the $20,000 tuition difference and cost of living comparison really helped us make the decision. And who knows where we'll end up after May 2010 when I graduate!

The thing is, everything's happening so fast now! But it's also all falling into place fast too! We feel really lucky.

Classes begin June 1st.

My mom and I found an apartment for Steve, Eliza, Mika, Finnegan, and I to call our new home! I'm super excited about it, and we got a great deal on it too!

Plus, it's like 2 minutes away from Mom, Dad, and Abby's house (driving)! It's kinda funny to think that I'll be living in a place like 1 mile down the road from the house I grew up in. Especially since I kinda never thought I'd move back to SC after moving out and away at 18.

But we're moving in on May 27th! And I'm getting REALLY excited!
Steve has pretty much gotten the go ahead to start a free-lance, work-from-home chapter of his employment at Core Knowledge! Pretty Awesome in this economy to have the convenience of moving a few states away and keeping your job but just doing it from home! So this means that Steve will also be doing more of the "full-time" stay-at-home dad chapter of his life too! And we're both excited about that!

Some boring details that I'm really excited about with the new apartment...
They waved the security deposit for us!
It's only $729/mnth!
It's on the ground level which was an ABSOLUTE requirement. I hated living on the 3rd floor in our first apartment in C'ville with a newborn where I had to lug strollers, groceries, dogs, and a heavy car seat with the infant in it. YUCK.
And our apartment's back landing faces the trees and walking trail which will be great for Eliza and the dog.
It's a 2 bedroom, 2 full bathrooms with a full size washer and drier and a dishwasher, kitchen pantry, a walk-in closet in the master bedroom, storage in the back, and air conditioning (a must in SC! especially for Steve who's a wimp in the humidity).

A great perk, though, is that Steve and I both get a free Gold's Gym membership with our 12 month lease! LOVE it!

So, some fun stuff and also a relief that I was already able to find a great spot for us while I was here this weekend.

I also had two interviews today with two different agencies that I might intern at for my fieldwork hours during fall and spring semesters. One of my interviews offered me the internship on the spot, but I'm waiting to hear from the other one that I would rather have. I'll write more about those later on when I get some answers! I felt like the interviews went very well, though, so that's neat!

In the meantime Eliza's having a BLAST with Oma, Grandpa (pronounced kinda like Popa or Hapa!), and Abby.

When I got Eliza up this morning, Mom, Dad, and Abby we're already gone, but Eliza was like, "Abby! Hapa! Where-rrr-ruuu?" She's in love with them, and totally wants to know where everyone is all the time and get them to sing, talk, feed, run, hike, and dance with her. It's so great to see and makes me REALLY excited that we're going to be living together again! and that Eliza will get to have so much nurturing and interaction with her Grandparents and one of her aunts!

And I'm enjoying a break off from work and get to see my momma, baby sister (I call Abby, Boo. It's always been my pet name for her), and dad. Good times!

We'll be heading back Sunday so if anyone wants to call me on the drive, that'd be great!!