From COAST to shining COAST....

OHHHHH EEEEEEEEEEEMMMMM GEEEEEEEEEEE, is this really happening?

Timeline:

2 months ago a long-time Army friend of Tim's said, "hey, I heard about this job opening.  I think it would be perfect for you.  Send me your resume, and I'll get it to their HR department.".   So, Tim did, and then we forgot about it.

3 weeks ago: The company contacted him for a phone screening.  They apologized for the resume being sent to the wrong department (hence the delayed contact from them).  Phone screening went well, and there was another phone screening a few days later with a director.  Mr. Director said, "we'll get back to you next week".

2 weeks ago: And they did.  "We'd like to fly you to our headquarters in CA for a round of all-day interviews".  So, that happened.

1 week ago: " We'd love to have you, so would you be willing to move to our headquarters?"

SAY WHAT, SAY WHO, SAY WHEN?

1 week ago: negotiations, anxiety attacks, discussions, negotiations, negotiations, sleepless night...

Sparing all the crazy, exciting, boring details, and many curse words, WE ARE MOVING TO THE SAN FRANSCISCO BAY AREA IN TWO WEEKS.  He starts his new job November 30. Who are we?

Why would we give up the perfect life we have in here Baltimore?  Our friends, careers, our company, Sophia's sports, activities, and her friends, our house that we're in love with, our neighborhood that we love even more, our friends, the city we love and claim as our own..... We are settled, comfortable, gotta a great thing going! So, why? 

The short answer: When FACEBOOK knocks, you answer. This little company in Silicon Valley known as Facebook has just hired Tim, and it's kind of a career dream come true for him.  All I know about his new job is that he'll work in FB's security department.  We're looking forward to the impact he can have there!

MY LIFE IS CRAZY!  But, we make ourselves feel better by calling it adventurous.

Two more things:

1. Who wants to rent or buy my house?  I prefer a renter so that I can move right back in after a year.
2  Condensing 2300 sqft down to about 1000 is an art. To achieve this art, you must get rid of half of your belongings.  ACHIEVED. 
Ok 3. Did I mention that this area of CA has the highest cost of living in the country?  It beat out NYC.  YAAAAAAAAAAAY. :/.    Hence the downsizing we must do.  We'll need to fit into a 2 bedroom/2bth apartment for the first year. ADVENTURE.  And even that will cost  $3500 a month in rent.  #kill me
It's actually really fun for me to get rid of stuff.  Even our couch and bedroom suit!  I love it.  My house feels so fresh.  Or empty, others might say.  #intheeye

I thought I was going to make a long story short.... sorry.  And there is a lot more to be said, just no time to say it.  And really, nobody cares except for my mom, and she knows most of the deets.  So, I shall leave you with some recent pictures of Little Bear and Honey Badger.

I suppose I should re-activate my Facebook account? That's awkward! 

I have a break down at least once a day, but I need to take my own advice.  I've been telling Sophia, "it doesn't matter where we live, as long as we're together'.  CHEESEBALL.  But, it should be true.  It's nice to change things up a bit, or a lot.  We'll experience new things, grow together, and maybe the bay area fog will help my kids sleep in!

There are LOTS AND LOTS of loose ends to tie up before we leave, so my next post will probably be from our humble abode in NorCal.



-Hales, a Texan turned Baltimorean, pretending to be all Californian soon.  LIKE, TOTALLY. 

#help

p.s. Tim and I lived in Monterey, California for two years way back in the day, so it won't be completely new to us. 

 

Ode to Honey Badger

Our most recent rice grain is thriving and hit a year old on April 8th!  Tim worked a half day Wednesday, and we had a family afternoon at the Maryland Science Center.  I spent that entire day in and out of tears.  Time gets away these days.  How can my little baby honey badger be one already?  Although Gabriel was the most beautiful baby boy I've ever seen, Tim and I are actually overjoyed that he isn't a bitty baby anymore.  They're tough! And we've had the TOUGHEST babies.  They don't sleep, hate their bottles, cry, have colic, spit up, have to visit GI Dr's, etc.  But, I can 100 percent say that it was and is worth it.  The accomplishment I feel as a mother is beyond words.  The adorable personality that Gabriel has developed is worth all of the sleepless nights..seriously, he's adorable and makes me laugh so much already.  Although, I would prefer to be well-rested as I laugh at his funny personally, ;).

Honey badger has tested my limits, no doubt.  Which is why we call him honey badger.  Honey badgers are nocturnal menaces, and if anyone gets a change to watch the Netflix documentary about the Honey Badger, you'll think "Gabriel Timothy Rice..that's him!", haha. 

Every mother can remember being sleep deprived.  It's an exacerbated situation when he's screaming from tummy pains at dark:30, and you had just fallen into a deep sleep 20 minutes prior.  I don't know about other mums, but I become kind of psycho when I'm exhausted and pacing the room with a screaming baby.  I'm not saying that dent in my bedroom wall is from a bottle being thrown at 2am... but it's a possibility, ;).   When Gabriel was 3 months old we said, "omg, it'll be so much better when he's 6 months.  He'll be over the colicky stage and hopefully not feeding through the night anymore".  Then when he hit 6 months we said the same thing."When he's 8 months, he certainly won't be eating through the night anymore, should be full from all the table food he's now eating, and we'll all sleep better".  8 months rolled around, and you get the picture.  Now, at a year old our pediatrician is finally referring us to a pediatric GI specialist, because this guy is in pain.  It's really sad :(.

We survived Sophia, so we'll definitely survive this guy! 

Gabriel's favorite things: 

His sister

Pasta

Being held all day by his mom

Pasta

Goldfish crackers

Rolling a ball with Sophia

Screaming

Pasta

Not wearing shoes

Blueberries

Being outside

Gabriel's' least favorite things:

Being put down

Milk

Wearing shoes

Being strapped in carseat

Being strapped in a highchair

Mom leaving his sight

Sleeping in his own bed

A FEW of my favorite things about Gabriel:

He loves me more than I deserve... it's unconditional. 

How he immediately lays his head on my shoulder when I pick him up; even if IT IS a nano second, lol

His hilarious facial expressions and personality

The fact that he LOVES being chased and giggles when I go after him

How we can make him laugh at the drop of a hat, even if he has just been screaming

How frustrated he gets if I take something out of his hand (like a pen that he could poke his eye out with... doesn't he get it? :) ). It's quite cute to see his frustration.  I just laugh. 

His scrunchy face he makes when smiling.

And of course I could go on, but I'm at work....shhh

Both of my kids are miracles... we all know Sophia's hard start to life.  But, it was a very tough year before having Gabriel, and I couldn't be more thankful that he was given to us.  He is my rainbow baby. 

Parenthood doesn't work for everyone.  We can all think of a deadbeat that we know.  But my children have made me a better person.  I will love them unconditionally and hope that they will forgive me when I fail them as a mom. 

Gabriel, if you ever read this:  You are the perfect addition that I didn't realize I needed.  When we found out your gender, I couldn't wrap my head around having a boy..I was a girl mom! I played dress up for 4 years.   But you are so perfect, and I know that I was meant to be a boy mom as well... we click.  I get excited when I see boy toys that you may enjoy playing with.  I love the balance our family now has.  We're stuck together... mainly because you won't let me put you down, :)  You and your sister are my greatest successes in life.  I love you, honey badger. 

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!