Growing like a weed.

It's 11:30 at night and I am importing photos from my iPhone to my computer in hopes to clear up some much needed space on my portable lifeline. I haven't imported photos since the little guy was about a month old and well, he's 4 months+2 days now and yeah, I'm looking at over 1000 photos! I'm sure the actual damage could be much, much worse. It's fun though, as each photo pops up on the screen as it's saved to my hard drive; reliving each photo and seeing how much he's grown in the last few months is such a treat. Did I mention that a couple weeks ago, I had him weighed at the WIC office and he clocked in at a smooth 17 pounds (he wasn't even 4 months old yet!). It's hard to believe considering how I feel like he's been this way forever but yes, he really did gain 10 pounds since his birth and yes, he has changed tremendously!

Greetings from Irvine!

Well, my little family and I have officially landed in our new home in Irvine, an hour and some change from San Diego so it's not too terribly far... but as of this moment, I am severely missing home. My parents. My brother. Sigh... I'm at a Starbucks right now, attempting to grab a few moments for myself. It's weird that I spent every single day of the first 2 months of Daniel's life with him and how quickly I got used to going to work 5 days a week for 2 months after that. Last week was my first week as an unemployed woman so I have spent almost 10 whole days spending every waking moment with him and OH MY GOSH I'm spent. But I digress...

Our apartment here is perfect. We decided to go with a one-bedroom instead of a two-bedroom to save money since the baby is still small, rooming/bed sharing and waking up at least once a night to nurse. Having an extra room would be nice, but a waste of both space and money. Irvine is definitely on par with some of the more expensive locations in San Diego as far as rent and cost of living goes so I'm glad we came to the realization that we needed to scale down our living situation to be able to survive out here. I can't wait to start job hunting, but going on day 2 of Gary's new job and my SAHM-status and I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

I will try and update soon. We are due to get internet in the next day or so but I'm hoping to get everything unpacked and situated before I get elbows-deep in my normal routine again. Pictures soon!

On hindsight and looking forward.

I have a good friend who I've known most of my life. We first met when we were toddlers, our Military fathers introduced through our Japanese mothers. Their second child, a girl, is my brother's age while my friend is just a few months younger than me, and both of our families relocated to Japan in 1998 after being about 20 minutes from each other in southern California. Needless to say, our lives have run very paralleled to one another and we cross each others paths all the time. A few years ago though, our lives took a dramatic turn from the mirrored paths we lived for so long - she got married the same year I left my ex-husband. I was so negative and dejected about love and marriage that year and while I was so happy for her, I was so scared for her. While I am happy with the way my life is in every way, I would never wish divorce on anyone, especially such a close friend.

I've since healed my heart and mind from that kind of thinking; a few years later and they're going strong, living in the Midwest where her Military husband is stationed. They just welcome the birth of their first child this past weekend, a healthy baby girl who was bigger than my own big boy was when he was born! So while the sexes of our children are different and I'm not married to the father of my son (yet), we seem to be finding that parallel path we followed for so long again...

A breather.

The last month has been a whirlwind for our Trio, I have sat down numerous times to blog but something always pulls me away... OH YEAH, it's motherhood!

Truly though, we have all been so busy but I honestly can't think of anything to start with. I guess I'll just start with me going back to work at the beginning of February. Though, that may end again for a little while as our family has a huge blessing in the works: Gary found a fantastic job, finally. He's been working a dead-end (literally, $15/hour with no opportunity for job growth) job as a contractor for the Navy for about 6 months, job searching and application day and night since he got here to California in June of last year, being such a trooper despite hating everything about this job except for the fact that it was something that paid until he found something he could be proud of. I am so, so proud of his effort to further himself professionally and to provide for our family... but it doesn't come without a price. We'll be moving to Orange County in a few weeks, a little under 2 hours from my parents but still very close to many other extended family member... but still. I've been out of the house for years now but have always been just a stone's throw from my parents, until now.