Are you settled yet?

This is the question we get most frequently.  I think the answer is mostly, for the stuff worth talking about. 

AJ is in school, loves it, has some friends already, and has gone to her first birthday party.  Her room is decorated with Disney princess items.  She has discovered a love for fresh baguettes, chocolate croissants, and the fresh taste of all the non-hormone-treated milk and yogurt you find in France.  She goes on a random merry-go-round that we find in all corners of the city about every weekend, and has even tried a sip of espresso and beer (both of which she thankfully hated).  She walks about 5-8 miles a day on the weekends, and only complaints about 10 times (down from about 35 or 100!)  So I would say she is settled….

Pete has figured out a new routine.  He has a running route, does online language lessons about an hour a day, takes care of the dog, and takes AJ to and from school bus stop. We still have a ton of small things to get settled with, so that fills the days.  He is in the process of registering for an intensive language course, where he will go for classroom language M-F, 9-1 for a few weeks.  He has found a craft beer store, so I would say he is settled….

I have figured out how to work from a home office (which is easier and busier than I thought), navigate my new job a bit, and start to build out what I want to do for work.  I found a place to do my eyebrows (sorry Nhung/Merle Norman), and a place around the corner for mani/pedi.  I, like AJ, enjoy the baguettes and fresh paninis and meringues from the bakery around the corner.  I have figured out skyping with friends and family, and even downloaded a fix so we can watch American TV on the computer.  So we are all settled…

The stuff that is not settled, is a little bit aggravating, time consuming and not all the interesting.  We have no idea how to accept packages at our apartment, we cant get our bank to deliver our ATM cards or checkbooks, my company is all turned around with issuing me a paycheck, I have spent over 4 hours on the phone with AT&T trying to unlock my lovely iphone 6s so I can replace the cruddy one they gave me, AJ doesn’t have a pediatrician, we don’t have health insurance cards (and wont for about 9 months), the “guardian” of our building (fancy name for the lady who cleans the stairs and lobby) hates us because we dirty the stairs, and in about every interaction outside our home, we get by on smiles, gestures and pointing….but that’s all small stuff in the grand scheme of life!