I know many thought this day would never come. Heck, sometimes I thought this day would never come. Yet, here we are, in an as-yet undisclosed location, making our way through Month #2. We did it! Our little family finally lives and works as digital nomads.

Before we get into the details of our first month, first, a brief summary of our last long-term stop:

As expected, the months we spent in Rockledge, FL flew by, especially towards the end. This sparked some mild anxiety in me. I began to worry that spending only a month at a time in a new location would go by impossibly fast, and life would fly by in a blink. I will let you know if this comes true!

November

November, our last month with our lease in Rockledge, left us thoroughly exhausted. We spent every spare minute combing through every cabinet, closet, drawer, dresser, etc., trying to quickly make hard decisions. What should we donate, who could we give this to, can we somehow fit that? If we store this, will we ever actually use it again? Every item in our possession had to fit a category, and we needed to somehow come up with enough hours to attend to every check-box on our never-ending to-do lists. 

Spoiler Alert: We accomplished it. Through some impeccably timed offers of babysitting by the grandparents and Tio Malcolm and Lex, Frank and I were able to tag-team the endless piles of “stuff” and get it done. Also, I take full credit/blame for Tetris-ing the ever-living out of our storage unit and allowing us to hang onto far more things than we probably needed to. C’est la vie.

As November waned, we attempted to fit in quality time with loved ones as often as possible. We spent some time with Gramps and ‘Lita on their new boat (which they love almost as much as the grandkids), shared a delicious meal at Thanksgiving, and made sure to hang out with a few other friends too. Our beloved plants found a home with one of my oldest friends. Basically,  everything revolved around us prepping for nomad life. We made our last purchases to be able to compartmentalize all of our necessities we were bringing with us. Before we knew it, it was time to go!

First Stop: Toledo, OH

We chose Toledo as our first stop to spend some more of that quality time with Frank’s extended family and share Christmas with them. This counted as our first stop, however, because we rented an AirBnb. We liked having our own space to come back to or show off to visitors. Plus, we needed all of that extra space to accommodate all of the things we brought! (Nomad months when we come back to visit and stay with family look like they will be tricky…)

Our first AirBnb charmed and delighted us in a number of ways. The two bedrooms were cozy and comfortable; the kitchen was nice and had space for certain things I brought, which I appreciated. The dining room provided a functional work space for Frank, which was super helpful. The living room had a great big sectional couch and was decked out for Christmas. Best of all, a little room off the living room was a playroom for the kids! We stuffed it full of their toys (which became overstuffed after Christmas, naturally), and we had lots of fun playing together there.

Many other highlights abounded. Dinners and hangouts with extended family, celebrating a number of birthdays, and movie nights populated the majority of our time. We shared many meals and relaxed days with Frank’s parents and one of his sisters, all while Frank worked from our AirBnb or from his parents’ house. Watching everyone loving on our little ones, playing with them, feeding them, and changing diapers, made us feel indescribably loved. We truly appreciated the frequent breaks from the usual 24/7 grind of parenting.

Also, the joys of baking and decorating Christmas cookies took center stage over a span of a few days!

An Unexpected Journey to Detroit

In addition, an old friend from college happened to be in the area for a work trip! For the first time in years, we got to enjoy each other’s company again. She met our kids for the first time, I cooked a meal, and we savored finally being in the same place again. A few days later, we met up for a day trip in Detroit!

Saffron De Twah

After picking her up from a coffee shop, we selected a restaurant for lunch: Saffron De Twah, my first foray into Moroccan food! We shared the fried sardines and a special harira soup for appetizers. The harira soup, made with lentils, chickpeas, and vermicelli noodles, traditionally celebrates friendship. Naturally, we had to get some, and we both loved it. The sardines were fried with tahini, a walnut salsa, and pomegranate seeds, and I’m salivating just thinking of them again. For our main entrees, we selected Saffron’s award-winning Moroccan chicken sandwich. This monster sandwich (large enough for two people on its own) comes with a fried chicken thigh, berbere spice, caramelized honey butter, harissa slaw, harissa aioli, lemon, and a Rising Stars Academy challah bun. We also had some super delicious halal drinks to cap off an amazing meal.

Part of me wishes I had pictures to show off these incredible treats, as I realized after the fact that I never took a single one. I was too busy living in the moment, which I don’t regret. Check out their Instagram here to see their delectable creations!

Bon Bon Bon

While enjoying our meal, we discussed recycling and packaging with the manager and our server, who recommended a stop at Bon Bon Bon. Any lovers of ingenious cardboard packaging made on the spot and gourmet chocolates, head there immediately. The fancy chocolates were so unique and full of unexpected flavors like cardamom and raspberry, Earl Grey tea and cornflower petals, and cayenne-infused honey and Vietnamese cinnamon, and they all had intricate decorations on top. The entire whimsical experience filled us with joy and sharpened our collective sweet tooth. We had one more destination in mind before this friend had to catch a plane.

Mister Dips

A small ice cream and American food chain, whose name I could not remember to save my life, beckoned. My friend’s significant other strongly recommended Mister Dips for a tasty treat, so onward we went in search of it. Finding the location was the easy part; finding parking was another thing entirely. We finally paid to park in a tiny lot and set out on foot.

After locating a ridiculously charming space lined with dining establishments, we finally found Mister Dips. (For real, this area was so cute, we saw a beautiful couple taking what looked like engagement photos here.) We both selected dipped soft serve ice cream cones, a strawberry concoction for her, and The Grinch for myself. The Grinch, made with eggnog custard, holiday sprinkles, and wintergreen dip, looked like a mini Christmas tree!

We foodies had sadly maxed out our available time together. Thus, my friend and I rushed back to where she had parked so she could make her flight. I am thankful beyond all reason I had the pleasure and privilege of sharing that one-on-one day of adventure with her. I love being a wife and mother, but that day gave me a brief break and just let me be a foodie in search of the next great treat!

Dominic’s First Christmas

I said I’d let you know if single-month stays fly by, and I already can say that December sure did. Between Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, and making sure we saw everyone we wanted to see as many times as they could fit us in, Christmas arrived before we knew it.

Christmas Eve Pleasantries

On Christmas Eve, we attended Mass with Frank’s parents, then hurried back to their house. A bit later, one of Frank’s grandmothers and his aunt and her family joined us to exchange gifts. We also shared a traditional meal of chicken breast rolls with a white sauce. (Seriously, Frank insists on it every time we spend Christmas with his family. It’s always a big hit, but SO MUCH WORK for Frank’s dad-a labor of selfless love!) After our little party ended, I finished wrapping last-minute gifts, and we eventually got the kids to bed sometime after midnight.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning came, Frank’s older sister arrived, and we celebrated with another tradition of cinnamon rolls and coffee. We intended to let the kids unwrap presents right away, but both children slept in until after 10am! The adults, therefore, lounged with our delicious breakfast and watched a portion of “It’s a Wonderful Life” until we decided we couldn’t wait any longer. The kids were brought downstairs, and the present opening commenced!

Both kids seemed to love and appreciate all of their presents from everyone! Two amusing idiosyncrasies stood out. In typical young baby fashion, Dominic enjoyed the boxes and paper more than his presents, though he eventually figured out what the real gifts were. Victoria, on the other hand, loved each of her presents and constantly wanted to stop to play with each new one, which is, again, typical. What was funny though was her insistence on throwing away every single scrap of wrapping paper before anyone could move on to another present! She gets that from her dad…

Around noon, Frank’s parents’ friends and neighbors came over, and we shared Christmas morning mimosas, another annual tradition. Victoria showed off some of her new presents and Dominic continued to play with his. We waited for additional family to come over around 2:00, and it came time to open the grown-ups’ presents. I may not be a child anymore, but I sure still enjoy the Christmas morning thrill of giving and receiving gifts!

Frank’s dad also prepared a magnificent feast of sauerbraten, mashed potatoes, green beans, and some other things. The gravy-like sauce with the sauerbraten complemented everything so perfectly! It was such a treat and a wonderful Christmas dinner.

The Christmas Caroling Tradition

After some rest, we joined many of the extended family members from Frank’s mom’s side at a local nursing home. For many years now, with few interruptions, Frank’s grandmother has brought the family to this nursing home to sing Christmas carols on Christmas Day. Frank’s family is quite musically talented, with the group able to sing in four-part harmonies and an uncle who accompanies the singing with his violin. I couldn’t wait to join this tradition when I married into the family, and I have looked forward to it every time we spend Christmas with Frank’s side. (Naturally, we skipped during the worst of the pandemic, and Frank’s grandma skipped this year since she was just getting over being sick herself.) The residents seem to enjoy it, and I know I love spreading that Christmas cheer!

Everyone came back to Frank’s parents’ house after caroling for Christmas desserts and more quality time together. It felt really nice to be surrounded by so many loved ones. With “Home Alone” on in the basement, children running and playing everywhere, and good conversations happening in all corners, we had ourselves a merry little Christmas. 

Un-decorating, Packing, and Prep for the Next Stop

We spent the next day helping Frank’s parents put away their decorations. They were getting ready for a short trip and didn’t want to come home to all of that work. We spent as much time with them as possible before they went out of town, as we would be gone before they got back. The next few days involved a little more social time with extended family again, and another round of hard decisions. With all of the new presents of toys and clothes, we knew we wouldn’t be able to fit everything in and on our car for our next stop. So, we spent two and a half days sorting and packing and cleaning, all over again. Our last day in our Toledo AirBnB came around, and we finally got on the road.

Come back to see where we went next! We enjoyed many adventures along the way!