Where to begin? Well, our lack of blogging over the past couple months is definitely NOT an indication that life in our household has been “business as usual“. In fact, things haven’t been busier or more frenetic than the past two or three months!
The big, big news is that Norm recently accepted an amazing new job! The opportunity is so great that he had to accept it, despite numerous obstacles. If you haven’t heard, the biggest obstacle is the fact that the job is out in the San Francisco Bay Area. So the job change has meant a lot of changes… putting our current house on the market, buying a new house in the Bay Area, and trekking all the way across the nation with twins and a cat in tow.
Saturday was the big day… the one-way trip to California. Now, if I told you that we were traveling with Claire and Grace, you’d probably feel a bit of empathy for our situation. But we’ve traveled with the girls on an airplane on two trips already, so that’s beginning to be “old hat”. However, this time, we also had 5 suitcases and 3 carry-on bags! Now you’re beginning to understand how things were a bit more complicated than usual. But when I tell you that one of the carry-ons was our cat, Charlotte, you’re beginning to understand just how insane we are. Try to imagine the logistics in the security line… The car seats, the Double Snap ‘N’ Go stroller, the infants, the cat, and the cat carrier… with the shoes, carry-ons, jackets, and laptop. Fortunately, everyone was understanding and we made it through security in a reasonable time.
The actual flight was a lot of work, but we are most proud of our cat, Charlotte. She had to endure the cat carrier for a 90-minute car ride to JFK, a 2-hour wait in the terminal, a 6-hour flight, and another 2 hours before arriving at the hotel. She held her bowels for over 12 hours, which for Charlotte, is a small miracle. Now she’s here in California and wondering why we downgraded to a small hotel room! :) Soon, Charlotte will be rewarded by being released into our new house.
Oh, did I forget to mention that we purchased a new house? Rather than spending a couple months in temporary corporate housing, we decided to find our California home and push for a quick escrow. After a few stumbles and stalled offers, things finally started falling into place. We found a great house that met nearly all of our “must-have” and “nice-to-have” criteria, and it’s just 10 minutes away from Norm’s work! How cool is that? The house is brand new (just finished this morning) and we’ll be closing escrow tomorrow. Talk about an exciting time for us! Yes, it’ll be a lot of work to turn the house into a home, but we’re up for the task.
Things have been quite stressful for both of us over the last couple of months, but we feel confident that this move will be for the better. Things always have a funny way of working out for us, and this will be no exception. Wish us luck as we begin our new chapter together!