no, I haven't fallen off the planet
So I haven't posted in, like, forever. Time for an update. I'll skip over the political situations for the moment and just keep it to what's new in my world.
In April we came to Dallas to visit my family. I was also here to see a Rush concert with a buddy of mine, but that was secondary.
After going back to Charleston we talked it over and decided to abandon the Carolinas and come back to Texas for lots of reasons:
- my dad isn't doing well at all and may not have a lot of time left
- the grandkids would be a great distraction for my parents
- raising two small kids far away from family is teh suX0rz
- I hated my job at SPAWAR
- Texas is closer to C's family as well.
Once we arrived at that decision, and once I had asked C several times if she was sure (we built our house in Charleston and she hates moving), I hit the job market hard. I secured a job with a global defense contractor in the Dallas area, with an absolutely kick-ass relocation package.
My last day with my previous employer was 18 July, the movers showed up on 21 July, and we hit the road on 24 July. Yes, we drove from Charleston to Dallas with a 4-year-old, a 9-month-old, and a large dog. When part of the relocation package could have been putting us all on a plane and transporting our vehicles. We didn't think Natasha would handle a long plane trip in the height of summer, or being away from us in an unfamiliar environment for that long, so we drove it. Probably a mistake but it went okay.
We spent a couple days in Atlanta and visited the Georgia Aquarium, then a couple days in Jackson, MS to recharge, and got into Dallas I think on the 1st of August. My dad's birthday is on the 3rd so that was good.
We got into our corporate housing on the 7th (60 days of furnished corporate housing was part of the relo package), and I started my job on the 11th.
We sold our house in Charleston on 10/2. We took a loss, but the relo package paid for the commission and a lot of fees, so we lost less than we would have otherwise. The place was only on the market for a couple of months - we priced it aggressively to get rid of it, having learned from our other house in NC. We got out before the market completely went down the toilet.
We closed on our house here in the DFW area on 10/24. It's a lot cheaper than Charleston - we got more house for a lot less money!
I'm okay, just trying to focus on getting into my new job. C is adjusting; she was plugged into the community pretty well in Charleston. But she's learning her way around, and is thrilled to be in our own house again.
R loves the house and goes to a 5-morning-a-week gymnastics school. They do an hour each morning of gymnastics, an hour of academics, and an hour of either music or Spanish. Unfortunately they didn't offer German. He starts regular school next fall.
CJ is doing well; he started walking a couple of months ago. He's very strong, very much a climber, and very curious. My parents get a huge kick out of watching him toddle around (and some exercise from keeping him out of things). He still has the red hair and has most of his teeth now, save for the canines which are coming in.
Natasha is happy to have her people around, but I think she likes the yard - the yard at the apartment was pretty tiny. She doesn't like the tile floors though because she's always had traction issues. Always the first one in the car.
In April we came to Dallas to visit my family. I was also here to see a Rush concert with a buddy of mine, but that was secondary.
After going back to Charleston we talked it over and decided to abandon the Carolinas and come back to Texas for lots of reasons:
- my dad isn't doing well at all and may not have a lot of time left
- the grandkids would be a great distraction for my parents
- raising two small kids far away from family is teh suX0rz
- I hated my job at SPAWAR
- Texas is closer to C's family as well.
Once we arrived at that decision, and once I had asked C several times if she was sure (we built our house in Charleston and she hates moving), I hit the job market hard. I secured a job with a global defense contractor in the Dallas area, with an absolutely kick-ass relocation package.
My last day with my previous employer was 18 July, the movers showed up on 21 July, and we hit the road on 24 July. Yes, we drove from Charleston to Dallas with a 4-year-old, a 9-month-old, and a large dog. When part of the relocation package could have been putting us all on a plane and transporting our vehicles. We didn't think Natasha would handle a long plane trip in the height of summer, or being away from us in an unfamiliar environment for that long, so we drove it. Probably a mistake but it went okay.
We spent a couple days in Atlanta and visited the Georgia Aquarium, then a couple days in Jackson, MS to recharge, and got into Dallas I think on the 1st of August. My dad's birthday is on the 3rd so that was good.
We got into our corporate housing on the 7th (60 days of furnished corporate housing was part of the relo package), and I started my job on the 11th.
We sold our house in Charleston on 10/2. We took a loss, but the relo package paid for the commission and a lot of fees, so we lost less than we would have otherwise. The place was only on the market for a couple of months - we priced it aggressively to get rid of it, having learned from our other house in NC. We got out before the market completely went down the toilet.
We closed on our house here in the DFW area on 10/24. It's a lot cheaper than Charleston - we got more house for a lot less money!
I'm okay, just trying to focus on getting into my new job. C is adjusting; she was plugged into the community pretty well in Charleston. But she's learning her way around, and is thrilled to be in our own house again.
R loves the house and goes to a 5-morning-a-week gymnastics school. They do an hour each morning of gymnastics, an hour of academics, and an hour of either music or Spanish. Unfortunately they didn't offer German. He starts regular school next fall.
CJ is doing well; he started walking a couple of months ago. He's very strong, very much a climber, and very curious. My parents get a huge kick out of watching him toddle around (and some exercise from keeping him out of things). He still has the red hair and has most of his teeth now, save for the canines which are coming in.
Natasha is happy to have her people around, but I think she likes the yard - the yard at the apartment was pretty tiny. She doesn't like the tile floors though because she's always had traction issues. Always the first one in the car.