Our Move to California is Happening this WEEK!

Strange times you guys! The movers come on Wednesday, and we are preparing to move out of the only home our kids have ever known. Frankly, it is the home that I have lived in the longest. For my whole life. That sounds crazy, but as a military "brat", we moved a LOT.

Me in the Philippines with my mom. Notice the fence? There was a jungle beyond and I have some crazy stories about snakes and monkeys.

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It has only been ten years in this house. Yeah, I moved a lot as a kid. And with my hubs in the Navy? We moved too. This house, for our kids, has been stability. They don't know what it's like to move. The adults in this house are military move, full steam ahead. I had to stop myself and really tune in to them. This whole thing is foreign.

The good news about making this change:

We have family in California...a lot of it. My entire family (minus my dad, and one cousin) live in the Los Angeles area. The things my kids have never been able to do (like my family holiday traditions), are possible now.

For the first time as a parent, I have help around. If we get sick, or need someone to watch the kids for a doctors appointment (really for anything) there are LOTS of helping hands. Lots? Yep. My dad is one of 10 kids. I have 30 some odd cousins around, and my sister.

The hubs job. He had been unhappy with some things in his current position for awhile. He loves the think tank/nerdy stuff, but needed a change. He is getting ready to start working on some space stuff that he has never done before. That is super exciting for him.

The weather. I am sure we are all tired of my endless bitching about the cold. My formative years were spent in the Philippines, so cold has never been my thing. Like at all. My hands physically hurt in the cold, and I don't want to come outside until late spring. I am THRILLED about California weather. I thrive in it.

The first snow I had ever seen...

The hard things about this move:

Leaving people that we love. We have been here for a long time. We have friends that have become like family. Some of my best girlfriends are here. Our home has been so good to us. Yes, we have outgrown it in a lot of ways, but we have been happy here.

All of the what-ifs. What if we aren't doing the right thing. We think we are, but again, we have been so happy here.

The speed. From the moment we heard about an interview, until today has been about 3 weeks. Frankly, the final decision was made LAST FRIDAY. Why? My husband had competing offers that he was excited about. Space X almost had us...Dr. Daddy went to school for a long time, and he needs to find what he loves!

The stress. Even though we had started the moving process with his current work, with competing offers we really could have stopped the process as late as three days ago. Then we would have been in a holding pattern with our stuff all over the house, and packing in progress. Not a huge deal, but a stressor for sure.

Finding a place to go...Covid anyone? Due to the speed, we could not go on house hunting leave. So my aunt and her friend (an agent) walked through several rentals for us. One that I was very excited about (sigh orange tree and a yard) had 15 showings within hours of being on the market. We couldn't even get in. Also, I was reluctant to sign a 12 month lease without seeing anything in person. And no, we can't buy right away. Those 15 showings? The buying market is the same. I just need to be there.

Things are coming together:

Hubs finally made a job decision. We have a six month rental. It is small, ALL the kids will be sharing a room (oh boy that was a fun conversation-NOT). It will be tight. But we have a place to go. I actually haven't signed the lease yet, or enrolled the kids in school, but we are almost there.

All of the curtains are down, most of our clothes and things we need for a month are packed. The truck will take three weeks to arrive from Maryland. In the interim, we will be staying in a long term hotel, or a corporate apartment. Those decisions should be make today. Hopefully.

As I type all of this I realize how insane it sounds, but it really is so much better than Friday. This will likely be my last blog post for the week, but follow me on Instagram for all the behind the scenes madness.

Read Move Update-We Made it...Sort of.

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