As a disclaimer Justin did a great job with the kids while I was gone but I have to say…it’s definitely different from when he goes away.

Daddy’s Pre-Trip Preparation:
Pack Bag
Print Boarding Pass
Mommy checks to see that Daddy has cell phone, charger, etc…

Mommy’s Pre-Trip Preparation:
Grocery shop (can’t have an empty fridge for the kiddies and Daddy)
Clean
Do laundry (what will they wear when I’m gone?)
Arrange child care while away (yes, Daddy has part-time duty)
Check that there’s enough diapers, wipes, etc…
Water plants
Open mail and deal with mail, pay bills
Schedule activities for children
Pack Bag
Print Boarding Pass
Double check that she has essentials

Now, Mommy or Daddy is off for a few days.

They return…

Daddy’s return:
On time pick-up at the airport with full tank of gas.
Children happy
Dinner prepared
Quiet evening at home, ahh, “it’s nice to be home he says…”
Mommy unpacks and does his laundry

Mommy’s Return:
Late pick-up at the airport
Children cranky
Dinner out
Unpack
Put the children to bed
Open mail and pay bills
Do laundry
Fill up gas tank

Buy groceries
Catch up on work
Water Plants
Take children to activities and appointments

Ahh…equality and women’s lib…gotta love it!

In the midst of holiday travel planning and getting excited about our next adventure as a family.

I’m off to Vancouver next week on a solo mission to pass my Canadian Citizenship Test. My first 2 nights away from the family since we had Stella. Justin has some back-up day support but will be on his own at night…wish him luck!

Yes, life has been one big adventure since we sold and moved out of our house at the end of October.

In a time that I’ve had so much that I could have blogged about in regards to travel with a baby/children, I’ve had no time or to be honest…creative inspiration to write.

Since October 30th we have:

Moved out of our townhouse in Vancouver

Lived for a little less than a week at Justin’s Dad’s house while we were in “transition” before our trip back East

A night at my friend Katina’s house in Ashburn, VA

9 nights in State College, PA (at Justin’s alma mater, Penn State) so Justin could do some networking for a new business idea, met with our PSU intern and of course attended 2 football games and visited with friends. (Stella became “officially” potty trained here).

Back to Ashburn, VA for a night at Katina’s again to break up the drive/journey to my Dad’s and help her celebrate her B-Day and visit with some friends.

Then it was to my Dad’s in Salem, VA for American Thanksgiving a lot of quality time with my family (2 weeks). Stella transitioned to a “big girl bed” and Sebby started eating solids during these 2 weeks…

Back to Vancouver on Dec. 2 – 2 nights in a hotel before we moved into our new investment condo downtown…

We spent all of December in the new condo in downtown Vancouver getting it ready to rent out furnished. We loved living downtown but a 2 bedroom didn’t really suit a family of 4! But all the hardwork paid off and we already have an Olympic rental through March 4…

So here we are on our newest adventure, driving to San Diego where we are going to live for the next year or so.

We left Vancouver on December 31st to a tearful Grandad and Teresa and I have to say I was pretty sad myself.

We spent a quiet New Year’s Eve as a family in a hotel in Seattle (we saw the ball drop on the East Coast but were asleep before 10 pm…).

New Years Day was football all day with our friends Kate and Ash and then off to Oregon today…

We’ll be in San Diego by Jan. 5 when we move into our house on the beach. We are all getting really excited for some sun and stability…

I have a lot to say on travel (planes, trains and automobiles) but it’s late and my mommy duties call.

I will address all those questions about strollers, etc. just give me some time!

We are off to Sacramento tomorrow to have dinner with our friend Randy who is a Doctor there.

So life on the road with two is definitely more juggling and lugging.

But we continue to enjoy the thrill of the adventure!

Last week we moved into Justin’s Dad’s place after moving out of our home.  I cried like a baby when we said goodbye to our house.  It was our first “family home” and we were all sad to say goodbye.  Stella still can’t quite grasp the concept that it’s gone as last night she had an accident in her bed here at Grandad’s and said “Mommy, we need to go home.”  Ofcourse I’m all mommy guilting myself into worrying that “oh no, my children aren’t going to have a home for awhile.”  But as everyone has reminded me, it’s not the house that makes the home but the people who are in it.

It’s funny, now that we are homeless and the chaos of the move has died down I feel amazingly relaxed.  The most relaxed I’ve felt in awhile.  Home ownership is a wonderful thing but the freedom of just having the bare essentials and no worries and stresses of a home is somewhat liberating.

So I’m sure there are some of you wondering why the heck are we homeless?  What are you doing?  Where will you go?  What will you do?

Well, we sold our house because it really wasn’t going to work for us long term with 2 small children and we believe the market here in Vancouver can not handle much more of an increase in value.  Unlike the US, Vancouver real estate has stayed really strong.  So strong that we can’t really see ourselves investing in our next long term home here until prices stabilize.  We did very well on our home in Vancouver and have decided to sit on the sidelines of Vancouver real estate for awhile and possibly “play in the US real estate market” in San Diego.

A lot of people have asked what are your plans?  I have hesitated to even try to explain the next few months as it exahausts me just retelling our plans but here you go for all those who are curious…

On Wednesday we leave for a flight to Washington, DC where we will spend 2 nights visiting with some of my college friends.  Then we are off for 10 days in State College, PA, to Justin’s alma mater, Penn State.  As anyone who knows Justin knows he is a die hard Penn State fan so our stay at PSU is going to allow him to go to 2 big games and also pursue a business idea around Penn State football.  I am so very excited for him and feel that all his hard work over the years starting and running businesses is really going to pay off and he is going to be doing something he loves.  So stay tuned.  My husband is surely going to rock it out at PSU!

Then we will be heading back thru DC for another quick hello to some friends enroute to my Dad’s house in Salem.  I haven’t seen my brother and his wife and my 4 nephews in a year.  I can’t believe it.  It saddens me to think how much I’ve missed seeing them grow-up but excited to be able to spend 2 weeks with them.

We will be heading back to Vancouver on Dec. 1st to close on our investment condo here in Vancouver and spend 2-3 weeks furnishing it to rent it out.  Then we’ll be heading down the West coast to LA for Christmas and then on to San Diego for 4 months to 2 years…  We’ve rented a beach house in Encinitas (north of San Diego) for 4 months to give it a try down there and see if we like it.  We may buy a house there and stay a few years but ultimately plan to come back to Vancouver for the children to go to school here.

So that’s the plan in a nutshell…or rather a tortoise shell..far too big of plans to fit into a nutshell!

Now off to pack our bags.  Given all the airline restrictions and charges for everything we are trying to pack light…no easy task for a month long trip with 2 small children.  But I’ll be doing my best to pair down to the essentials.

We are taking our car seats again as it wasn’t that big of a deal on our trip to San Diego, though we will have to pay $25/car seat on the way back as United charges.  Flying out on Air Canada and they allow you 1 piece of luggage PLUS free check of a car seat or stroller per person.

I’ve blogged about this quote before.

At a point in my life it had a different meaning.  It was more of, “live life, have fun, do something spontaneous.”  I have always been a planner so this quote always reminded me that life is going on even when you are planning so enjoy it.

But now that I have children I think this quote has taken on an entirely different meaning to me.  It’s the little times when I’m running around cleaning the kitchen after dinner and planning for the next day when Stella says, “Mommy, come sit on the couch.”   She just wants me to sit with her and snuggle.

Or when I’m rushing home from the park with Stella and Sebby to get dinner going and Stella is pointing out every dog, flower, bus, car, etc.  I stop and let her smell the flowers, pet the dog and tell me the color of the car she sees.

I guess I’m really thinking about this quote a lot lately because Justin and I are trying to make plans for our future.  Big plans, where to move to, stay in Vancouver, buy, rent, go on an extended holiday, so many options, so many conversations.  Sometimes I worry that maybe we are not just living.  We are always planning.  That one day I’ll turn around after plucking away on my computer finding the next great house or sending out an email to another realtor  that Sebby is 4 and almost ready for school and Stella is 6.

Will I have missed something because we are always planning our next “move?”

Hopefully this concious awareness will serve me well during the chaos better known as our lives right now.

Today I Lived life.

I helped Stella feed the ducks and ran screaming away from the pigeons as they swooped in to grab our bread.  Later Stella snuggled up beside me on a bench for a snack and we watched the ducks go by and Sebby chew his teething ring.

Earlier in the day Sebby and I just played on the bed and he giggled and squealed with delight.

Hopefully I can take time like this every day.

The boxes can be packed another day, take-out is OK, emails can be returned tomorrow and a little dust on the floor will be there when I wake-up…