Hey Ya’ll

The Move…

After spending about a week slowly packing by myself and with some very kind and helpful friends while taking care of the kids (Mike was right in the middle of a huge project at work) we discovered that we had seriously...and I mean seriously.... misjudged how much stuff we have vs. trailer size.

(second donate pile)

I feel like a minimalist now...even though I'm sure Miss Minimalist would die at my more-than-two-pairs-of-pants closet. Our STUFF problem has really bothered me, but I could never muster up the energy or dedication to take care of it, and I feel that I have been given a new beginning!
It was so sad to get rid of perfectly good things- that we use, that we love. Inanimate objects that I may or may not have formed a sentimental attachment to...
But now that we're in Austin, with so little stuff, I'm SO THANKFUL I was forced to get rid of all that stuff!
I don't even miss any of it. (except my rocking chair...which is replaceable...even if I did spend so many nights holding my baby Atlas sleeping in my arms)(and my couch....which is replaceable....that me and Atlas snuggled napped the whole first year of his life on that comfy ten dollar couch...).
We looked at the pile of stuff, and said....it would cost us about six hundred dollars to trade the trailer up for a huge moving truck. four hundred dollars in extra gas. and we've already spent three hundred getting the hitch put onto the car. Not to mention driving separately since the kids wouldn't all fit into a moving truck and it would be another three hundred to tow the car! So...is all of this stuff really worth a over a THOUSAND dollars to us?? Sadly (and thankfully), the answer was no.....
So with the help of some VERY kind and patient friends, we sorted through the stuff and kept only the things we couldn't live without or were completely irreplaceable.
And now we are in Austin, with a garage full of memorabilia and a desolate apartment...HA!
Its amazing how many purposes a moving box can serve: A coffee table, a laundry hamper, a garbage can, a nightstand, toddler entertainment!

THE DRIVE....

So according to google maps, it was to be a 28 hr drive from Redwood City to Austin. We were silly to not adjust that time for the trailer (which averaged about 55 MPH), and to think that the kids would ONLY need to stop every three hours...HA! So we added it all up- the amount of time spent on the road- that means driving, or on the side of the road changing diapers or eating- FIFTY hours. Yeah. After only five hours on the road, we realized that I should have flown out with the kids and Mike drive alone. Oooooops.
Well we got six hours from Redwood City to a little place called Paso Robles (which is only a regular car trip of three hours), and we RESTED. The packing, the sick kids, the sad fussy toddler, the sleep deprivation, the malnurishment. We stopped and stayed for two nights. It was lovely and rejuvinating.

(Atlas was having a pretty hard time with the whole move. So every time he got especially upset we would pull up the picture of this toy on toysrus.com and remind him that he would get this animal train once we got to our new how in Texas, it kept him going)

A NEW HOME....

Imagine our relief, after uprooting our family and suffering through the trip, to finally arrive in Austin, Texas, and realize that it is a beautiful place! Full of lushness and lakes and happy, laid back people.
And here we are, in our little empty apartment, and we have started house shopping! My baby has started smiling. My bigger baby is back to his sweet, happy self. My biggest baby is home more, getting more sleep, exercising, and actually spending moments here and there on NON work. I’ve been playing my guitar almost every day, which I haven’t played in six months. Been exercising (almost) every day for the first time since I've had Urban. And look at this…..I'm actually BLOGGING! So far, we are happy here.

Sunny 72

We love redwood city's sunny spring weather!

Fun discovering

Warning: My first and hopefully not last attempt at posting from my nee phone...
We had a ton of fun today at the discovery museum with our friends.

Mothers Day at Filoli

If you haven’t been and you live in the area….you seriously need to check this place out. It’s a Mansion built by a Gold Miner back in the day, and the mansion is a.ma.zing! But I don’t even know if that’s the coolest part. The really crazy part is the 650 acre gardens! totally unreal.
Then Mike made us what he thought to be all of my favorite foods (pretty much right) guacamole, pizza, steak and potato and bacon and onion shishkabobs, and tator tots wraped in bacon (no I’d never had that before….) and lemon aide. Yum!
P.s. I’m trying this skydrive album thing for the first time…we’ll see how that works out….

		Mothers Day VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Just Summer Stuff

A lovely bike ride through Atherton, the so to speak Beverly Hills of the Bay, just three miles from where we live not to say that our home is at all Beverly Hills, with its doors that shut only during certain months of the year….) You’d be surprised what can happen within 3 miles….

double <3

I tell no lie: neither I nor Lily’s mother had any idea he was taking this lovely shot of her! You can see me in the chair behind her, and her mother in the chair to the right. Apparantly he’s figured out the camera all on his own!

Then he turned the camera around and there are seriously about 10 pictures like this, and then 10 more with his finger over the viewfinder, not quite pro photog yet.

One of Mike’s Mission Companions (Texas Fort Worth – Spanish) lives about 3 hrs North of us and they came down for the weekend to hang out. It was a lot of fun! We went to the beach for part of a day and although cloudy (Half moon Bay…whats new??) it was super enjoyable.

I wish I’d gotten a picture or video of it, but apparently Atlas’ new lady charming technique is exposing his belly. The two of them were sitting on his little couch together, looking at each other, Atlas had his arm casually over the back of the couch, and then suddenly for no apparent reason he just slowly took his other arm and slid his shirt up over his protruding belly, then just stared at her with his little look. It was hilarous seriously. And then he did it again tonight at the store! A baby we don’t know was wanting to play with him, so he slid his shirt up and looked at her, waiting for her reaction, then she laughed and smacked him right on the belly! It didn’t hurt, he loved it .

If only Atlas would have chowed down on the Spaghetti as Adelaide did….