Our house

 Feb 26,

I love our house. It is old, and quirky, and by no means perfect, but we have been happy here. I am going to miss living here.

Homework Time

 Feb 25,

A few months ago I signed up for an Artificial Intelligence class through work. It seemed like the right decision at the time. Of course I didn't realize at the time how intense work would be, or that the class would require about 3 hours of homework each week. This is week 2 and I didn't get to do the homework during the week, so I had to do it over the weekend. Since Sofia had plans tonight, and Lionel and Bella were going to the FC soccer game, it was the perfect opportunity to get it done without impacting our family time. So I did, in Kika's company.

Luca Bistro

 Feb 25,

There is a new cafe called Luca Bistro in Mount Adams. Lionel and Sofia had been there once but Bella and I had not been there yet. We tried to go the other night but it was pretty crowded, so today we went for lunch. It was good, and nowadays it is nice whenever we can do something the four of us together.

A blur

 Feb 19,

The last few weeks have been a blur. We knew January was going to be super busy and challenging, but that definitely spilled into February. 

First, I traveled around the world - literally. I went to Vietnam and India, via South Korea, all in a single week. I went for work, and pretty much all I saw was the airports, the hotels, and our plants. No time for touristy things. The way there was about 32 hours, and the way back about 36. I think I had never been more tired, and when I finally got back I slept for 13 hours straight - a new record for me. 

About a week later I went to Boston for the week, and had really long days on not so great sleep.

Beyond those trips I have been working really long hours during the week, and spending the weekends de-cluttering the house - room by room. It has been a really exhausting process. It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in drawers and behind closed doors. We have taken out bags and bags of clothes, toys, books, school supplies, gardening stuff, kitchen containers, an old bike, dog stuff that Kika quickly outgrew, the last two Ikea tables from our Lego city,  Bella's Bento box that she wanted so badly once upon a time and still had trouble giving away, etc. etc. etc. It's been a lot. I think at this point we have already taken out the bulk of it, but there is still some stuff we will have to take care of at the very end - like all the stuff on the kitchen counters. At least we now have different empty spots to quickly hide all that stuff when it is time to show the house - a time I am both dreading and looking forward to. I am dreading it because I have really loved living in this house, but I am looking forward to it because it will be the end of our cleaning and de-cluttering marathon.