Exhaling...

We made it!  

Moving day was Saturday, and finally here on Thursday afternoon I believe that I can declare myself a human being again.  All moves are exhausting, but throw pregnancy and a high-energy toddler into the mix, and it is truly no joke.  We worked ourselves to the bone over the long weekend to get unpacked and settled in as quickly as possible to keep things normal for the little guy, and also because the hubs needed to get back to work from the home office starting Tuesday morning, and we needed things quasi-functional to make that happen.  It was CRAZY but so worth the effort. I must send a huge shout and much love to my parents, my sister, and my brother-in-law, who all went above and beyond the call of duty this weekend in helping us with the little guy and our unpacking process.  And along with that shout out comes an official apology to them and especially the husband for an ill-advised, exhaustion-induced rant regarding bicycle safety that I felt compelled to give over Sunday dinner (at which point I was pretty much having an out of body experience caused by lack of sleep).   Like I said, things got a little crazy.

I had too much nervous energy and mind-racing to-do list action going on to sleep very well from about Thursday through Monday, so I am just starting to feel settled in and back to normal.  I'm still not quite ready to take you on a house tour, although I hope to take some photos and share them soon.  We're unpacked to a functional level, but have a couple more big projects to tackle before this place is ready for public consumption.  I am loving the space so far, and feel so grateful to be here.  Especially compared to our Boston apartment, our new condo is so light and open, and the nights are so blessedly dark and quiet, I can feel myself starting to relax on a cellular level.  And I'm head over heels for our kitchen...

Other things I'm loving about this new life so far:
1) We were about four years overdue for a new mattress, and finally got a new one to be delivered to the new house on move-in day!!!!  This is HUGE for us. We also decided it was high time to make the move to a King.  LIFE.CHANGING.STUFF.  I haven't slept as soundly or as deeply as I have in the last couple nights in YEARS.  The hubs and I both have sleeping issues galore, so both of us conking out in glorious slumber side-by-side is nothing short of a miracle and a complete and total game changer.  I am so grateful and happy for this lifestyle upgrade.  I realize that a new mattress has nothing to do with our new geography, but getting proper sleep for the first time in years could well change my very soul for the better, and must be mentioned.

2) Being an hour from Boston and in a very brick-and-cobblestone New England town, it is so easy to forget that WE LIVE AT THE BEACH NOW!  I have always been a beach girl down to my very core (sorry, mountains) and have long dreamed of this kind of sandy lifestyle for myself and my family.  I can't even believe how lucky I am that this is now my reality: this morning, the little man and I had some breakfast, hopped in the car, and in less than ten minutes, we were doing this:

We even made some new friends!  There is a massive playground that adjoins this beach and the young moms there were so friendly and lovely.  I got clued in to the best ice cream stand, the sweet kid beaches, and the summer concert series at the beach in July, as well as countless other local gems.  Feeling so lucky to live this close to so much ocean awesomeness, and I can't wait to plant ourselves in the sand daily all summer long.

3) There's now a Lululemon in town!!!  This excites me less for the opportunity to buy sexy yoga clothes that I can't afford, and more for all the amazingness a local Lulu brings to the healthy living community.  They host a free weekly Wednesday running club I can't wait to hit up, as well as a free hour of yoga taught by a local studio every Saturday.  Okay, and perhaps I would also like some sexy yoga clothes.

4) Love this place:

5) And I really love living in town with my parents.  It is such a joy and a comfort to have them nearby.  Most everyone I know is pretty far flung from where their family lives, and that has always been the case for me, and I expected that's how things always would be, but just a few days of living with them nearby makes me realize how valuable it is and how lucky we are, and makes me long to have the rest of our clan within a few blocks as well (as unrealistic as that may be).  Really, it's fabulous. Last night, for example, both my mom and the husband had commitments to attend to out of town.  Usually if I am flying solo, the evening and dinner hour can sometimes become a bit of a slog and a battle of wills with the little man, but last night, it simply became a pizza date with two of my favorite guys on the planet:

This is living, my friends.  

More soon as the dust settles!