Jet Airliner

I've been in CA for 2 and a half days now. Honestly, it feels like we've been living here for a while. It's amazing how seemless the transition has been. I'm a California girl at heart, always have been. I've always been a free spirit and have marched to the beat of my own drum all my life. And our lifestyle is very west coast. Perhaps that's why I've always felt at odds in Maryland. I always had a hard time connecting with people and with Montgomery County, in general. It's weird because I'm a New Yorker. You'd think I'd do well in a place like Montgomery County. But MoCo is a different place than the rest of the east coast and while there are some truly wonderful people there that will be in my life forever, I'm not going to miss that place at all.

The trip out here with the babies and my mom could not have been better. While traveling with two babies through an airport is hectic just by definition, I think it all went really well. My uncle and aunt were staying with us in NY leading up to us leaving for CA and, if I had listened to my uncle, I would have thought the world would stop spinning and life as we know it would be over. I love my uncle, don't get me wrong, but he tends to find the negative things in every situation. I don't know if he's just a "expect the worst" kind of person, because in actuality, he's a very positive, giving person. I don't know. I don't try to understand. Anyway, every detail of our impending travel would cause him to point out the ways things could go terribly wrong. You're leaving at 9:00am? NOOOO! You have a layover? HORROR! You get the idea.

Well, getting to the airport with all of our stuff and the babies required two cars. That was hilarious. I was going to stuff myself in the back of my dad's SUV with all the suitcases, but I didn't fit. The babies' carseats take up the entire backseat, so I could sit there. Two cars it was. I really should have my own reality show. I require an entourage just to get to the airport.

Of course Ellen pooped on the way to the airport. And it was a mess that required a new outfit (of course). After we checked in, went through security and found the gate, we changed her and then fed them. Security really wasn't bad at all. Everyone was very helpful and the process was pretty smooth. Boarding the plane was fine as well. Again, everyone was ready to help us and there weren't any issues.

The first flight to Chicago went well. It was short, so that made things easy. The girls slept and were really good with take off and landing. The layover in Chicago went well too. We changed and fed them and then boarded the flight to San Diego. This was a 4 hour flight, so I was a little nervous as to how it would go. The girls slept for the first hour or so, then hung out. Ellen pooped again and I was surprised that the bathroom wasn't too terrible for baby changing. It wasn't a roomy palace, but I only hit my head a couple of times. That's successful in my book. We then fed them, which went well. I was nervous about making bottles while trying to hold a baby. But it worked out, thankfully. The people we were sitting with were helpful and offered extra hands. Brenna pooped, but it wasn't one of her monster poops, so I didn't have to get my hazmat suit on. Then the girls slept and we touched down in SD. They were a little fussy as the plane landed, which was probably due to the air pressure changing. Overall they were perfect.

And now we're here!! The house is in disarray and we've been busting our asses unpacking. But it's starting to get together. Keller already has a couple of friends on our block and they all run in and out of each others' houses all day. We've met a few of the neighbors and everyone seems really nice. Once a month during the summer, they show a movie in the park around the block from our house. This is the community's big rec park with baseball fields, splash park, dog run, etc. It's just the community park for residents. Anyone can go there, obviously, but it's our community park. I'm not describing this well. Anyway, they showed Tangled last night and everyone laid in the baseball field on blankets and watched the movie under the stars. We were freezing and had to put on jackets and cuddle under a blanket. Imagine that, freezing in August!! Then we just walked home.

It's definitely feeling like home...

People Are People

UGH!!

The other day I posted about how some people are rude and say the most ridiculous things to me regarding my babies. Well, it really isn't limited to the babies. People have been saying ridiculous things to me regarding a number of different topics, the most recent being our upcoming move to San Diego.

For the most part, people have been somewhat supportive regarding our move. Several people have said they're happy for us and wish us nothing but happiness. We like those types of comments. But several people have felt the need to point out what's wrong with San Diego and basically tell us all the negative things we should expect when we move there. Last night was no different. We're among friends we haven't seen in a while and as we're enjoying the 4th of July cookout we're informed of the negative things about San Diego. Let's go through some of them, shall we?

1. It's expensive.
 Really? Um, we live in Montgomery County, the richest county in Maryland. Cost of living is about the same as north San Diego county, where we're moving. Bite me.

2. The traffic is terrible.
Again, we live outside of DC. We have the worst traffic in the nation. Really, it's rated worse than Los Angeles and New York.

And that's about it. End of conversation.

Why do people do this? Why do people feel the need to inform you of all the negative aspects of something? It's as if they're doing you a favor by telling you what's wrong with the situation. Like they're helping you out. You know, because I'm apparently an idiot and can't find these things out on my own. This happens all the time. I tell someone some news and BOOM, negative comments. Why? Is it to cut me down to make me feel bad about my situation? Why would someone do this, especially someone that supposed to be a friend? When we told people we were having twins, I couldn't believe how insensitive and rude some of the comments from "friends" were. My personal favorite was "better you than me." You think?

Honestly, I really feel sorry for people like this. They have to be seriously miserable people. You know, I haven't always been 100% gung-ho about this move. But it's happening and I have to be positive about it or I'll just be miserable. Do people really think we'd uproot our entire family just for the heck of it? This is what has to happen for us. It's John's job, it's not like we're just moving there for no reason. So, why fight it? It's not like we're moving to Nebraska (no offense to the Nebraskans). We're moving someplace that people visit for vacation. It's called America's Finest City for a reason. Be happy for us or keep it to yourself. Life is too short to wander through it miserably. And we don't need miserable people in our lives.

Puke

Our house went on the market today. Well, technically it's not on the market until tomorrow but the sign is in front of our house. I thought I was going to puke all over the place when I saw it.

I have come to the point where I feel overwhelmed. There is just too much going on and there has been too much change or impending change. I feel like my head is spinning and my stomach is in knots.

While we're looking forward to moving to San Diego, selling our house has to be one of the most stressful things ever. And it's not even on the market yet! For weeks I've been purging and cleaning, selling stuff, etc. All while trying to care for my family and work. I am kind of spent and the real stress hasn't even started. When the house goes on the market, trying to keep the house clean and get out when people want to see it will be hard with the babies and the dog.

I have so many mixed feelings about this move. We were out in San Diego last week and had such a nice time. We've narrowed down where we want to live and our favorite is San Elijo Hills in San Marcos. It's northeast from downtown and it's in the mountains. It will be a bit of a drive for John but nothing crazy. It's about 24 miles from his office. Nothing too terrible. But the neighborhood is beautiful, very family friendly and about 10 miles from the coast. It's cooler because it's at elevation but nice because it doesn't have the coastal marine layer that hangs for the most part of the morning. We've found the closest running stores, so that's important. The schools are insanely good. I know we'll all be so happy there and life will be good for us. But leaving my friends and family is going to be hard. Really, we only have another 2 months here. And so much will be going on that I don't even know if we'll be able to see anyone! I feel really isolated right now and it's hard.

I think the thing that will give me the biggest relief will be selling our house. Once that's done we can make an offer on a house out there. Please, Gods of Real Estate, please shine down on us and find a buyer!! Please, please, please!!!!

Californication

As if we haven't had enough life change in the past few months, we're now planning a move....to San Diego.

John works for the J. Craig Venter Institute here in Rockville. Craig Venter, the founder and guru of DNA, has a sister Institute out in La Jolla. When it was first built several years ago, we half-jokingly said that we wanted to move out there. It would be wonderful to live there. When in school in Arizona, I visited SD several times and just love it there. However, I'm an east coast person and my friends and family are all here.

Anyway, fast forward to 2011 and we're pregnant with twins. There's an offer for John to transfer out to SD to get this new technology up and running at that facility. The thinking is that most of the Rockville facility will be transferred out to SD in the coming years. And after a series of events that I won't go into, we decided moving to SD is our best option.

I have mixed feelings about it. While I love it out there and I know the kids will love growing up in California, my family is here! We JUST had twins and I'm at a time in my life where I want to be near my family. And while they aren't right here, they're a drive away. That will no longer be an option.

I know ultimately, this is a good thing for us. It's a great opportunity for John and when I'm ready to go back to work, there is great opportunity for me too. And as a runner, I can't ask for a better place to train! The kids will love going to the beach whenever we want. There's the zoo, Seaworld, Lego Land, Disneyland a couple of hours away and so much for them to do. It will be hard leaving the wonderful friends we have here but I know there are friends waiting for us there. And we do know people there, so it's not like we'll be completely alone. This will be a good thing.

So now we're knee-deep in getting our house ready for the market and searching for a place there. We're headed out there in less than 2 weeks to check things out. My only wish is that this process goes as smoothly as possible and we are able to move with little bumps in the road.

Obsession

Oh my God! I have got serious problems.

Anyone that knows me, knows I tend to have a bit of an obsessive personality. All right, maybe it's more than "a bit." When I decide that I love something or am really into it, I have the tendency to go a little nuts. Let's go over some of my most recent obsessions: earrings, lip stick, hair bands, juicing, salad (yes, salad), getting a haircut and what that would entail, anything that has to do with my child, makeup (that was expensive), dresses, and so on. I have had little mini-obsessions recently. Nothing to really tell anyone about. I had a brief obsession with lip balm recently only because I developed an allergic reaction to my current one. But I think that's worked itself out. I was obsessed with podcasts for a little while because I listen to them on the bus. I LOVE Ricky Gervais' podcast. I love him. I was obsessed with these Nike running capris for about a week or so. I bought 1 pair when we were in San Diego in January. I loved them so much, I bought 3 more pairs back in April. Then we were at the outlets last weekend and I was about to buy some more and John looked at me like I was crazy. Like you can talk, buster.

But now I feel like I have these fleeting obsessions throughout the day. So, I'll be sitting at my desk at work and have this insane thought about how I absolutely HAVE to go find a shoe store and buy a new pair of shoes. I mean, right now. And then, strangely, it passes. And I feel a little tired after it. What the hell?

Isn't that what happens to drug addicts? Don't they have an intense urge to get high, then they get high, and then they crash and are tired? Does this mean I'm addicted to being obsessed? Seriously, I'm a little scared about this. I sound like a lunatic.

In case you haven't noticed, the latest obsession is this blog. When something happens to me or crosses my mind, I think about how it would be a great blog topic. I sit and think up blog post titles. I had a brief thought that every single blog post title would be the title of a Beatles' song. Like this one was going to be 'Helter Skelter.' But then I figured people would get sick of that.

That's really all I had to say on the topic. I'm hoping that I don't spiral out of control, running out of my office screaming that I absolutely HAVE to go to the store and buy their entire stock of some random item like paper plates. Hmmm....