Bento Lunch Day 2 #fail

Someone came home with almost a full lunch left. It was her first day of preschool without her best friend, who attends only Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays.  I am hoping that was the reason she didn't eat most of her food and that she will make new friends soon.  When I picked Leah up today she didn't want to leave.  She was still excited about school but was a little sad that she didn't know how to make friends.  I watched her struggling to be included in a small group playing on the equipment.  My heart broke a little but I know kids are so resilient.  Undeterred, she is looking forward to another day tomorrow.  And me, I am keeping my fingers crossed for naps, good eating, and now, kind friends.

What was packed.

What was left.

Tomorrow's lunch. (That's a chicken meatball.)

By the way, kids are mean.

Imagine all the post-it notes I could write and leave on people's desks every time they didn't let me do something I wanted. 

First Day of Preschool

Leah was so excited for preschool and the day finally came! We dropped her off around 8 and she didn't bat an eyelash when we said bye. She was already so busy tracing her letters that she barely said bye. I was more nervous than my little lady for sure. When I picked her up several hours later, she wasn't ready to go home. She was waiting for her turn at an art project. I totally get it. 

There were two things I was more concerned with for her transition to preschool. The first was whether she would nap during the TWO HOUR required quiet time. Apparently she played so hard at freeze tag that YES! success. Prior to today, her naps were hit or miss and just an hour max. The second thing I was worried about was whether she would eat her lunch. Well...

She did a great job and reported that the reason the second half of her sandwich didn't get eaten was because a friend touched it. I'm so proud! We just need to teach her not to save the rest of her chocolate milk because leaky lunch bag. Yikes!

She can't wait to back to school tomorrow. So far so good!

No relief

I spent my day mostly packing up the kitchen. It seems to be never ending. No matter how many boxes I managed to fill, there is still so much left inside the cupboards. How does that happen??

I would feel so much better about packing and moving if we had a place of our own to move into. Sadly, such is not the case. 

Back to packing before this kitchen swallows me up whole. But first, what is Prince Hans doing in my bathroom?!!

And the beat goes on....

Today marked another day of open houses for us. Lucky for us, my dad was able to look after Leah so we were able to get in and out of houses quickly this time.  The market in Fremont (our top choice) is unbelievable and discouraging to say the least.  The market in that area is CUH-RAZY.  We definitely can't afford anything "nice" in Fremont and won't shell out for what's being offered in our price range.  As a reference for myself ten years down the line: $775k for a 3bed/2bath with original everything built in the 60's.  I. DON'T. THINK. SO.  Then again, I might regret it when ten years from now that house is worth $1.5mm.  Call me a cynic.

Another day of Redfin-ing tomorrow. Goodnight!

Huh?!!

The funniest thing about Leah right now is her joke-telling. She will say something completely absurd and then, "huuuh?!" herself and burst out laughing.  It is hilarious!

So... Dang and I decided to sell our house in Berkeley and find another place closer to my work.  It's easier for Dang to sit on BART for an hour than for me to sit in traffic.  In the meantime, we'll be living with my parents - we are thrilled {insert sarcasm}.  Lately, missing our home, seller's remorse, and the idea of moving in with my parents has gotten us down. The market is really rough for buyers like us.  Our goal is to purchase a home within our means, without any help from our parents, and have some money left for (hopefully) minor renovations.  I personally waiver between buying a forever home versus another "right-now" home.  You just never know what's going to happen. I do know that we are going to take the home searching process slow even if it means we'll be with my parents through Christmas. I really regret having accepted an offer on our Berkeley house in haste.

Anyway, I am hoping to focus on the positive from here on out for the sake of everyone involved. I just thought it would be fun to document what it's like living with my parents as a married 33 year old with a kid of my own. I know I'm psyching myself out already but I do need to insert a disclaimer that I am grateful my parents are opening up their home to us.  We are truly lucky that we have this option. *Free* rent for a few months? I'll take it!

Some photos of the home we're saying goodbye to (our home was never actually this clean).  Most photos are from the professional photographer who shot it for the brochures.  Credit goes to him but I have no idea what his name is.