Anyway, it was heavenly! The weather was warm (but not too hot). Maya had a blast just running around, driving the Cozy Coupe and going up and down the slide countless times. Nikos watered all the plants in the yard, and then hit baseballs for nearly an hour (using the launcher-thingy my brother got him for his birthday... which once terrified him, but not anymore!).
I even got both kids to sit still momentarily so I could take their photos for Valentine's Day cards (coming soon to a mailbox near you!). Sure, it involved bribery, but it was totally worth it! Here are two of the outtakes from our "session":
Then, after naptime, we NEEDED to go outside again and soak in some more of the beautiful weather. I moved Nikos' little table and chairs set outside so they could paint! I thought they might be willing to paint Valentines for their daycare friends, but nope! They BOTH refused to do that, wanting only to paint on paper. Difficult children! Anyway, it had been a while since Maya had painted, and she instantly stuck the paint-covered brush in her mouth. YUCK!!! She recovered quickly, though, and soon got into the whole painting-on-paper thing. And, of course, I took pictures. [On a side note-- could I possibly have TWO left-handed children?!? What are the odds??]
Anyway... All this gorgeous weather has really made me appreciate living here in southern California. And it just underlines what a huge change we are most likely going to make in the next year.
So, on to my confession. I haven't really mentioned it on here before for various reasons, but we are actually in the process of selling our house (or trying to, anyway) so that we can relocate to... Massachusetts. Nope, that was not a typo. Nope, you're not dreaming. Long story very, VERY short: Gus' division of his company (consisting of 3 employees) is being bought by another company, based in central Massachusetts. His job here is safe for now, but the long-term prospects aren't promising... Most likely, the local office will be obsolete in a few years. Meanwhile, Gus has hit it off really well with various people in the new company, and they want him to come and work at the home office. They have offered to cover our moving costs entirely, as well as provide some sort of stipend for incidental costs that might arise.
The advantages to moving? There'd be much more room for advancement there, the home prices are a LOT cheaper (we're talking $200K for a huge old home on at least an acre in a great school district), and I could be a stay-at-home mom and focus on my photography business. Not to mention leaving the fast-paced SoCal lifestyle for someplace a little more family-oriented. And did I mention that Massachusetts is GORGEOUS?? We'd be less than an hour from Boston, and only a few hours from New York City. And since we will most likely have a finished basement (=an extra place for guests to sleep), this could benefit YOU, too! There is, of course, one very obvious drawback to our plan, which I won't get into right now. But believe me, it's the biggest one. My heart hurts when I think about being so far from our families-- I could write an entire post (or twenty) about it. But we have faith that our decision is the best one for our little family of four, and we are going to go for it. If only someone would buy our house here!
At any rate, yesterday's temperature here was close to 80 degrees, whereas our likely future home was experiencing 25-degree weather that "felt like 16." YIKES! As most people have said, we are certainly going to be in for a shock next winter, assuming our move goes as planned. But I AM looking forward to the adventure! And in the meantime, I plan to enjoy this California "winter" as much as possible! No snow suit required!
**Also, if you are my friend on Facebook, please DON'T mention the move on there. The only people who I am really keeping this info from are my current students, in the event that I have to leave before school ends (which is looking less than likely at this point). And while I refuse to "friend" any of my students on there, I AM friends with a few of their parents (not just because their kid is in my class, but because they really are people I consider my friends). I just don't want any rumors spreading or having to deal with that discussion prematurely in class. So... there ya go!
2 comments:
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Ok, had to get that out. That sounds like a really exciting opportunity for your family! Selfishly I think you need to stay in CA. :)
We'll so miss having you on the west coast, but it sounds like an amazing opportunity...and you can always come back at some point if you want to! We are totally going to hit you up for a visit when we eventually make a trip to the east coast!
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