So what have we been up to?

It's been a little while since we've made a post because we've been pretty busy, but I thought I'd just give you all a quick update on what we've been up to. 

Since our stuff arrived, we've been busy trying to find homes for everything and get rid of our boxes. While obviously great that they've arrived, it's also a little strange to have all of our things here with us now. Strange to think that only a short time ago they were in our house in Hedge End, and after a short trip across the Atlantic and through the Panama Canal, they are now here in California. And nothing seems to have been broken so far which is pretty amazing!

In unpacking, it was also clear how well the pro's pack these things, but also some of the random packages of things you unwrap. I think the strangest I've seen so far is a small plastic bowl full of mini breadsticks! Louis must have stashed it somewhere, and they simply packed it as it was! Finding the sugar bowl still full of sugar was also a little surprising :)

Louis has particularly enjoyed the unpacking process. He spent the first few days cheering every time we opened a box and found something of his. I think he had either forgotten he had most of his stuff, or had just assumed he wouldn't see it again. 

We've got through most of the boxes now (175 in total, including furniture) but probably still have about 15 that we've not even opened yet. I'm off work on Thursday & Friday this week so we're hoping to get that finished off and make the place feel a bit more like home. 

The weather here has started to improve quite dramatically. It seems that February is all the rain you get here, and now we're in to March you can expect sunshine pretty much every day until around November. It's still not particularly hot, but generally hovers around the 20C mark which is certainly nice. 

I went away last week to New York and Washington DC, just for a day in each. It was nice to see some friends in New York (and happened to coincide with St.Patrick's Day - I'm sure there are more Irish people in NYC than in Ireland!) but I didn't see any of Washington as there was no time. It made me realise how big this Country is - while only a 3 hour time difference, its still a six hour flight from here to NY, and flying home West to California was a little strange. 

Kate, Louis & Chloe have been very busy too. Now that they are mobile, they've been getting themselves involved in all sorts of activities with local groups. Trips to parks, play dates etc. so that's really good. She has also joined a British Ex-Pat Mums Group that meets up regularly in the area. 

We are all doing well. Louis is behaving himself most of the time, but he seems to be having some teenage moments from time to time - just trying to assert his independence really. Chloe is also doing well, although it seems she is starting to teeth as her hands are rarely away from her mouth! She's also in her own room now in Louis' old cot. 

Our spare room is now also ready and waiting to receive its first guest now we have our bed back. I'm off to Vegas for a week after Easter, but apart from that, we don't have any plans to go anywhere yet. 

Hope that you are all well and nice to hear from you all. Take care and speak to you soon X

Our stuff arriving

It's been a couple of weeks since our stuff arrived now, but I've only just got around to downloading the pics, so I thought I'd post a few here of the container being unloaded. 

The truck arriving

Starting to unload

Unpacking the furniture outside the house

The view down our street, with cloud covered mountains in the distance

Garage filling up with boxes, and still like this today!

New pics from the weekend

Hi all

Thought you might like to see some new pics we took at the weekend. Firstly at a park in nearby Los Gatos, and then at a beach we went to on Sunday near Santa Cruz. It was nice and sunny, but a little cold and windy, but very nice all the same. 

Louis enjoying some digging on the beach

The beach near Santa Cruz

Louis running to the sea

Chloe after a bath, which she really enjoys now

Louis on the swing in his favourite park in Los Gatos

Our stuff is arriving! Whoop!

So...at long last we have had word that our container is being delivered to us this Saturday! Yesterday we heard that it had been randomly selected for an x-ray and it worried us a bit - not in terms of what they might find but how long it might delay things! Anyway all was fine and it's been released to the relocation company and will be with us between 8 and 9am on Saturday (3 days and counting). The process will be the reverse of packing up and some dudes will unload and unpack everything and Simon will oversee this while I take the small people out for the morning. Luckily the weather forecast looks good so the plan will be to go to a park in Los Gatos that Louis loves (loads of climbing frames). We're getting really excited about having all our things and being able to make our house feel like our home. We've been talking to Louis about what toys he'll be able to play with again so I'm sure there will be a lot of excitement. It'll be lovely to get his and Chloe's rooms sorted and hopefully soon Chloe will sleep in her own room rather than ours.

Another development today is that I passed my written driving test. Unfortunately I still haven't got my temporary drivers license as there's an issue about whether I need a social security number or not first so I need to take a trip to the local social security office tomorrow to investigate (that'll be interesting with Louis and Chloe in tow!). But at least the test is over and done with and I can still legally drive on my UK license. I drove the new car (ahem!) back home after the test and although it is the biggest thing I have ever driven it really didn't feel it on these wide roads and amongst similar sized and even larger vehicles.

The children are fine, though I think Louis is craving some company from kids his own age. I've joined an online meet-up group and there are plenty of play dates we can gatecrash so I'll get on the case next week. He's totally potty trained now in the day which is great. We're also going to make a decision about preschools next week. I think the one we'll apply for is within walking distance which is a bonus and seemed the most flexible in terms of attendance. The other two we saw were very academic and one even banned the word "play" in the classroom and expected him to attend every morning in the first instance, then moving up to 5 full days after that. Totally OTT and unnecessary as far as we're concerned, especially as I'm not working; it would cost nearly $1000 per month; and 2 hours in the afternoon is an enforced nap time (as dictated by California state law). Chloe is growing fast as you'd expect and chuckling lots. Got to start thinking about weaning soonish as she's getting hungrier and showing a lot of interest in nomming. She still hates the car and screams her heart out almost every journey. Nothing will soothe her - apart from me but in the most part that's just not possible. Really hope this phase passes as it's a deeply unpleasant soundtrack to car journeys (long or short).

So all in all a busy week ahead what with the arrival of all our worldy goods, preschools, selecting doctors and dentists. We'll take some photos of the grand unloading and post them up.

Be in touch, miss you all.
xx

Living the dream ;)

Just a quick one for now, but I'll add some more tomorrow. We got another car today and we've really done the American thing and bought an SUV.

This is not the actual car as it was dark by the time we got home, but this is the car! It's a Mitsubishi Endeavor with a 3.8l V6 engine, 4WD, 5 seats and a huge boot. It's probably the same size as something like a Jeep Grand Cherokee and is very nice. We got yet another bargain too - now is definitely a good time to be buying used cars in the US...!

Driving it feels like you are sitting on the roof of a normal car, and it makes the Audi feel like a low slung sports car, but it will certainly be practical for trips to the mountains and getting all the kids stuff in it. I'll post more tomorrow when I'm able to take some pics in the daylight.

We are all well. We've been mostly busy looking at cars this weekend but did go to see one in Santa Cruz so got to have a nice drive over the mountains down to the coast. Now we have the second car, it means that Kate, Louis and Chloe will be able to get out and about and start doing things. All she needs to do now is pass her written driving test so we can get her insured, and she'll be off! We'll try to get that done this week.

We've also just checked on the status of our container and the ship arrived in Oakland at 6pm this evening, so hopefully it won't be long until we have our stuff back. I spoke to the move people, and they said that as long as our container wasn't selected for random review by customs, it should be with us by the middle to end of this week. It would be very cool if that's the case!

Anyway, more to come soon. Hope you are all well.