Dreading Daycare

I am working all day long. I have never worked that hard actually! No opportunity to take a coffee break or lunch with girlfriends or to chat for 30 minutes (or more!) about life and kids and trips. I'm just working. And days are long already. And they're pretty much the same: moi, my computer, my somewhat dark apartment (I need to buy lamps!). Oy.

But Leo is home with his grandma (she's really really awesome as a mom, mother-in-law, and now grandma. I wish she could move in with us and care for Leo all the time!). And his being home means that I see and hear him and get to kiss and hug him whenever I want. He seems to love it as well.

And as I'm signing one more check for his new school (why are schools so %$^# expensive in this country?), I find myself dreading July 1st, when he'll go back to school. Fortunately he'll only be in school for 4 days a week during the summer and spend Mondays with his grandma. And his first week will only be M-W as I have July4-5 off. Still, it'll be heartbreaking to let him go. After our 2 weeks in France he cried every morning when we brought him to daycare and he told us daily he didn't want to go. I hope he likes his new school. I hope they hug him and shower him with attention and love. We were spoiled in Seattle with a ratio teachers to students of 1:3 or less (I'm serious). Now it's 1:6. *sigh*

I know he'll be fine. I know he'll make new friends. I'm still dreading it and think about July 1st all. the. time.

I slapped his hand

One day last week Leo was running everywhere, not listening, and whining 80% (at Target he threw a tantrum because he wanted a toy, then he ran everywhere in the outdoor mall we were at, etc). So in the evening on the way to the park, when he ran from me on the sidewalk after I told him to stop, I just ran to him, grabbed him, slapped his hand, and said a firm and loud "DO NOT RUN AWAY FROM ME WHEN I TELL YOU TO STOP!" He started crying of course and he said "Mama ow Leo." Ah great... I do not believe hitting for any reason is a good way to raise a child -or discipline them. I don't think a slap on the hand is hitting per se but I felt pretty crappy after that anyway.

Oy. I love him to bits. I could kiss his cute face all day. But when he doesn't listen... and he doesn't listen a lot these days, I just don't know what to do and I lose patience.

I am definitely working on being more patient. Work in progress.

Part of the last day in Seattle - in pictures

 Léo supervised the packing. 

 Then in the morning of the move (last Friday) he went to his friend Dez's and stayed there until 4. Dez's dad was a rock star that day and entertained Léo, fed him, played with him, put him down for a nap. Thank you Estevenins. We miss you. 

Joe was at work so I had free hands to finish packing, cleaning, etc. 

 Packing done!

 Meanwhile, Dez and Léo were still having a perfectly awesome time.

 The movers were to come at 9 but they came at 1030 and instead of being 3 they were only 2. It took them 4 hours to load everything into the 2 pods. That means that Joe and I only had about 2 hours to throw away most of the furniture that didn't fit into the pods or that we didn't want and clean the apartment... It didn't happen. The apartment managers are probably pissed at us right now and will charge us a lot for cleaning and everything. Uh.

 Oh we got to vacuum the apartment. So there's that.

 Then we had to pack the dogs in their crates, 6 bags, and the child -in his car seat- in a cab. That was epic. We arrived in OC at about 1015P and off we went to Joe's parents with our load.

But it was all worth it!

 Because this little guy is happy!

 He's enjoying the sunshine. 

 And he loves being with family.

 Yesterday his grandma and he had frozen yogurt. 

Now that's the life!

Aaah Seattle...

So we've moved. Tomorrow Joe is going to work and I'm be working from home. Leo is staying with a nanny in the morning and his grandma in the afternoon after his nap. Our new life begins yet it feels like we're on vacation -I have worked from here before. I guess it'll sink in that we're not moving back when we have our apartment in 2 weeks. Right now we're having a fun time with family and enjoying the sunshine.

Seattle has been so good to us. We have lived there for 7 years. It's funny how my life has 7 year cycles. My happiest years were when I was 16, 23, and 30. And now this. How neat.

Without further ado, here is what I will not miss:
- The rain (but I will miss the city's beautiful summers)
- Having to take a plane to see any family member
- Rental prices -so high!
- People driving 60 MPH on the left lane of the freeway
- Have I mentioned the rain?

Here is what I will miss dearly:
- My friends. Oh how I will miss my soul sisters at work. Seeing them daily at work and sometimes outside of work has been such a blessing. I felt loved and accepted and cared for around these girls and I love them so so much. I will miss Starbucks runs, chatting about nothing and very important topics, running errands in the middle of the day, and simply sharing life with them on a daily basis. I am so thankful for Skype and FB but I will miss hugging these girls tight. I will also miss my friends outside of work, mainly the Estevenins, who are one of our closest friends (their son is Leo's age and those 2 love each other), but also other friends from our 7 years there -some I haven't seen in years but that are still very dear to my heart.
- The library. I actually cried a bit while driving in front of the library on my last day. The Seattle Public Library has so many books and holding resource is so easy. Loved my intellectual city -along with that, I will miss the fact that Seattle has a lot of immigrants from all over the world and is really liberal.
- My church. So ok I haven't been to church in over a year (WHAT!) but I loved this church. The music was divine (Gospel. Not boring at all) and the main theme was social justice. People were liberal and accepting. Loved this little Madrona community.
- Living downtown. So easy to go anywhere. No need for a car. We could walk, bus, or take the monorail everywhere. That I will miss so much.
- Restaurants that are not chain. Great great food!

Let's see what San Diego -or our little suburban bubble in Encinitas- has to offer!

We're in California!

We have arrived! I have so much to write about, from the best and worse of Seattle to our last days in the city to what to look forward to here. This weekend we're resting, seeing family, maybe some friends, and getting ready for work on Monday. Stay tuned. I'll be posting quite a bit next week.

On to this new phase of life!!