HELLO FROM CALIFORNIA.

We made it, we made it, we made it.

Sent a little grandparent meme to the moms in the midst of packing (and re-packing because Riyu thinks it’s fun to pull clothes out of the suitcase while Ishu think it’s fun to throw every toy ever owned into his suitcase. He stretched out every single one of his pop tubes and threw them in the suitcase as if that was the thing to prioritize this trip).

And, since we landed here on Saturday night, they have been the two little bosses of this house. One jumping from couch to couch. And one waddling around – belly-first – ’til he topples over and throws his hands up in the air with such gusto.

I’d like to say we had an uneventful flight over. But Riyu thought it’d be fun to up the excitement factor and throw up all over my shirt. Needless to say, by the time we got our luggage and got home, I was grateful to be able to dump these kids with their grandparents while I could run up and take an uninterrupted shower. These days, Riyu can’t stand it if I’m in the shower and he doesn’t get to splash around in the tub. So it’s either a joint shower or nothing. So the fact that I got to shower alone – even if it WAS to wipe the vomit smell off me – totally worth it.

We slept long and hard on Saturday night and woke up to celebrate Diwali!

Since the actual Diwali date was on Halloween, we decided to celebrate it yesterday with the fam. Coloring sheets, rangoli, sparklers, and matching outfits.

We tried to tell the story of Diwali but their attention span is negative five seconds. So, we did a quick picture book story and called it a day.

The thing is, Diwali – to me – is about celebrating with loved ones. And that’s exactly what we did. It’s a holiday that symbolizes light over darkness. And when I tell you this house was LIT UP YESTERDAY. Well, I think we did a pretty good job celebrating.

I was definitely looking forward to coming here. No doubt about it. But there’s always a little mental hurdle to jump over when you’re taking the kiddos out of their routine and day-to-day activities.

But, after yesterday, I’m reminded that this is so important too. More family time. More connection.

So here’s to a month of this!

We’re in California for a month. It may be hard to get back into the groove of things in December. But it will have been worth it!