One bedroom + 5: 35 days and counting

When I agreed to make the move to California back in November, it was probably a good thing that I didn't know at the time that we wouldn't actually move into our new home until the middle of June. Chris moved to CA in February and rented a one bedroom apartment in San Ramon; at one point we had hoped to move everyone in February as well when we put the house on the market but when we didn't sell right away like we had hoped, we decided to keep the kids in school in Charlotte and not try to move until the summer, thus requiring Chris to set up his bachelor pad in CA so he would have a place to stay. It was a long spring without him. The kids and I were fine but we missed being together and we were ready to make the move. After consulting with the kids' teachers and principal, we decided to withdraw Davin and Rowan from school and move to CA at the beginning of May so that we could all be together. At that point the house was sold and at school the kids would have spent May prepping for a NC end of grade exam that they didn't have to take. Instead we came to CA, moved into the one bedroom apartment with Chris, and started doing our own "home school."

So what is it like living in a one bedroom with five people? I thought about taking staged photos of the place but decided to keep it real instead. This is our living room/dining room/master bedroom with adjourning kitchen. The apartment was unfurnished but between a few loans from Karl and Angela and a couple of IKEA and Target purchases, we managed to make it work.

The kids are fast asleep in their room. They've slept on air mattresses for over a month now and are still going strong. Overall they have done a good job going to bed at night though there is the occasional squabble about who gets to sleep where. Usually Ellie wins which I'm sure her brothers will need counseling about later but I will cave on anything that will convince her to go to sleep.

While this experience is a little unique for our family, I know that there are millions of families who live in spaces like this all the time so I feel a little shameful in complaining about our "first world problems." We've really had a great time in our one bedroom! It's been fun to take a break from caring for a house and we've had fun being together. Of course there have been grumpy moments too but overall I feel like we are on vacation more than anything. Overall it was a good move to make so that we could be together again, something we have all learned to appreciate immensely. Of course knowing that we are moving here next week definitely makes it all the more tolerable.

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