Pardon the long stretch between posts. I used to post content at least once a month, but I have to use my time differently as the kids get older and evolve faster than we can keep up with.
The catch up updates are best summarized with accompanying pictures.
We moved! We moved from Rocklin to Roseville in December 2021. The kids also switched schools in the process.
They get invited to a lot of birthday parties. OMG. But let’s just cover the rest of the happenings with pics
The more things change, the more things stay the same
To say we’ve been busy is a bit of an understatement. So many changes! For example:
School
The kids have been enjoying school. Michaela is in her own class, the Honeybees, while Emma and Christoper are in the same Sea Turtles class. They enjoy (and we think prefer) the hot lunches.
We Moved
We moved from Granite Bay to Rocklin. The move took 8.5 hours and 2 runs for the movers. The kids stayed at their grandparents’ for 3 days while we got situated. They got spoiled…haha! But that was the first time that they spent a night away from both their parents. The key was letting them fall asleep and not waking them up to collect them and take them home. Moving sucks. So much stuff and what seems like not enough time. Plus it was really hot the day we moved.
Book Launch
My Book was released on August 27th and that has been a fun experience. The eBook launched on September 17th and is in being widely distributed. I am getting a lot of requests for author signed copies, which is wonderful. It will take some time for our story to get out there, but there is no book out there like it – all it will take is the right opportunity for the book to catch on and go viral. Who doesn’t like seeing cute kids on the cover?
Settling In
We had a lot of stuff having had at one point a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house, so it has been a process to scale down into a smaller home. We’ve sold some stuff that doesn’t quite fit or look right in this home, and have also re-introduced items that work better with this floor plan. As a result, it is really starting to feel like home.
The kids have their own bedrooms, and, miraculously, have been sleeping in them most of the night by themselves. Lately we are noticing that they are getting up and going to sleep with a sibling. Michaela has been leading the way in this arena, invading both Emma and Christopher’s space. Both have commented on it. It’s been going well though. Emma really likes having her own room she keeps it clean and doesn’t exactly like the others in her space. We’re working on helping her be more accommodating.
We have enjoyed living in our home in Granite Bay for the past 3 years. The kids were very little when we moved in March of 2016, and they’ve grown a lot the past 3 years. They have enjoyed the neighborhood – mostly friendly neighbors, a few kids, and a park within walking distance. It has also been nice being so close to the Kaiser hospital they were born at in Roseville, as well as its emergency room. The community is gated, close to shopping, and has been very safe. However, the owner of the home is ready to sell, so the time has come for us to find a place of our own to call home.
We officially start our home search Sunday afternoon, but will likely be also checking out a few open houses on Saturday as well. There are so many homes on the market. Our list was quite long, so we’ve had to start trimming it. Schools are extremely important, which is causing us to take a really close look at homes in Rocklin. There’s also El Dorado Hills in play, as well as Roseville, Auburn and Carmichael. Auburn has this attractive gated lake community called Lake of the Pines. It is up in the foothills, but when we went there to visit everyone loved it. Need to do more in depth research into the school situation. We have a strong list of things we’re looking for in a home. Some things are must haves like an open floor plan and even 1 story believe or not, and others are nice to haves like pools and cul de sac.
In any case, this is a fun time for the family as there is so much to choose from. Packing hasn’t been fun as there are now boxes everywhere and efficient destroying machines hovering nearby at all times. The most interesting thing about all of the homes on the market is that they have been sitting there for weeks, and we’re starting to see a few price cuts along the way – perhaps there’s room to negotiate as a result. Rates are super low, too, so there’s that. The kids start transitional kindergarten in Granite Bay on August 14th, so it is likely that August will be a chaotic month full of change and transition. But eventually the dust will settle and life will get back to normal. Actually, maybe not – late September will be my book launch! I’m really excited about that, as it has been a pleasure seeing everything come together.
What else is new – the kids have been growing and continue to evolve. We had family from back east out in Lake Tahoe for a week, but unfortunately the kids had bad colds and were too sick to travel. One of the Kindle Fire tables got a cracked screen, so we got to take advantage of the worry-free warranty where you get a free replacement within the first 2 years. So it was interesting seeing the kids negotiate (or not) with each other to make 2 with only 2 tablets. We actually use the Amazon Echo dot’s timers to get them to share stuff.