And Baby Makes Four

We have been in Valencia almost two weeks now, and we are starting to settle into a routine. And we’re learning that the weather really is as great as everyone says it is (helps us forget for awhile that we are missing all our friends and family!). While our old city of Dallas has been baking in near 100 degree heat every day, we have yet to break 80 degrees here! In fact, I think the high so far has been 78. The weather has been consistently pleasant, with lows in the mid 50s and highs in the mid 70s. Based on the forecast, it looks like we’ll start to “heat up” in the next few days, which means highs in the low to mid 80s.

So what have we been doing with all these beautiful sunny days? The first several days I felt compelled to spend every free moment unpacking boxes, but now we’ve mostly finished that task. Now if we could only make room for the boxes we want to keep in the garage… Despite being busy unpacking, decluttering, repacking, tearing down boxes, etc., we’ve made time to go outside every day. The boys and I have gone for walks on the trail adjacent to our apartment complex, and we’ve spent time in the park and playground next to our building.

Let me back up and describe how our moving day went. It was quite an adventure! On the morning of Tuesday, May 31, we packed up all our gear at Cara’s house, and she drove us to the airport. The list of things we carried with us when she dropped us off included: three suitcases, one large backpack, Benjamin’s Diego backpack, my diaper bag, one laptop bag, one pet carrier (carrying a sedated Chloe!), two car seats, a stroller, a three year old, and a nine month old. I was so stressed out about all this in the days leading up to moving day. But it actually worked out just fine. We checked two suitcases and the car seats, and one of those handy luggage carts helped us maneuver through security and to our gate with the rest of our load. I mentioned Chloe’s sedative before. It worked like a charm! We had tested it out a couple of days before, and were surprised that it didn’t put her to sleep, just relaxed her. And it did its job on travel day. She never complained – during the flight, on the drive to Valencia, or during our orientation in the apartment leasing office. The boys did well, too. We weren’t able to get seats together, but Brad and Benjamin were across the aisle from me and Peter. Peter slept off and on, and Benjamin alternated between watching videos and asking Brad LOTS of questions. He was fascinated by flying!

After we got the keys to our apartment and checked out the place, we made an unpleasant trip to Walmart to pick up necessities like toilet paper, trash bags, and milk. It was unpleasant because we were all tired, and Benjamin was therefore in a terrible mood – lots of screaming, whining, and disobeying. Things settled down by dinner time, when we enjoyed eating outside at Chipotle, surrounded by mountains and our new city. The cool air was refreshing after our long day. We spent the night at Embassy Suites, so Chloe had the apartment all to herself.

The next morning we met the movers at the apartment around 8:30, and by 2:30 they were finishing up. They unloaded everything, assembled furniture, moved certain items into our garage for storage, and were otherwise very helpful in getting us moved in. The boys were able to take their afternoon nap in their own beds, and we enjoyed a coffee break, drinking coffee from our very own Grind ‘n Brew coffeemaker. Ah…. For the first half of the day, we had help with the boys. Jared, whose family used to live in Ruston, drove down from Bakersfield and kept Benjamin entertained and out of trouble. What a lifesaver he was! His presence freed me and Brad up to direct the movers where to put furniture, when to put something in storage, etc. We stayed at Embassy Suites that night, too, so we didn’t have to worry about finding towels, cereal bowls, etc.

So for the past week and a half, we’ve been enjoying the weather, exploring our new city, and getting used to the new routine. Since Brad worked from home in Dallas, his going into the office is new for all of us. It took about a week for us to fully adjust to the time change. Before then, the boys were trying to wake up between 5 and 6. Now they are waking up between 6:30 and 7. But who can blame them for waking up early when the sky starts to get bright just after 5 a.m.?! Brad goes to work between 8 and 9 and gets home between 5 and 6. His commute is less than ten minutes. I try to keep the boys entertained during the day, and I enjoy a two hour break in the afternoon, since they usually take a nap at the same time. I always need this break, because Benjamin has been a handful, to say the least. I don’t know if it’s the move, just the fact that he’s three, or a combination of the two, but he is really something: chirping, screaming, hitting, pinching, biting clothing and furniture, throwing huge tantrums in public. Sometimes we have no idea how to handle him, but we are doing the best we can and trying to make sure he feels loved and secure during this transition.

We’ve continued house hunting, and hope to find something by the time our three month lease ends here. But for now, we are quite comfortable in our three bedroom/two bathroom apartment. It has a great view of mountains and a bike trail, and is relatively quiet. By 5:00 in the evening, we can open our windows,  let in cool air, take in the view, and relax. Our family of four is having fun on our California adventure so far, but when we get homesick we can always hop on Facebook, Skype, or our cell phones.