New York

I have been making a mental list of all the things I will and won't miss about NYC for the last few days.  Since I am up late with a fussy baby (again), I thought I would share it with you.

Things I Will Miss:

snow

Christmas decorations

Macy's

the subway (when I am by myself and not carrying heavy items...oh, and not pregnant)

my old job :(

our "new" friends

Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill (ok, we only ate there once and they have one in Vegas anyway)

Tavern on the Green (again, only once, but YUM!).  I am still trying to think of a way to fit in lunch there tomorrow

Radio City Christmas Show

Fresh Direct (my online grocery store)

being surrounded by history

the friendly people (you heard me)

the political mindset (stores sold out of champagne on November 4)

Biscuits and Bath (Wahoo's daycare/overnight care/groomers...yes, it is the same place to which Rachel Ray takes her dog)

yelling at strangers and not getting my butt kicked

street vendors (food, jewelry, you name it)

my doctors and our pediatrician :(

Central Park

Things I won't miss:

People say "on line" instead of "in line" (like in line at the post office, they yell, "next on line".  what am i, a computer?)

cockroaches!

awful, muggy summers

the subway [when I have my kid(s) or something heavy...or when you barely miss stepping in human poo because you are too distracted by trying to decide whether that guy you just passed on a bench was dead or just sleeping]

the way every apartment corridor smells like a mix of everything that everyone is cooking for dinner (our old place always smelled like garlic in the halls, one day last week I think this place smelled like warm garbage)

needing a stroller for your babies and crap, but having to figure out how to deal without it since it won't fit in stores and elevators on the subway are rare and never working when you really need them to be so you either have to leave it at home or you have to just pick up the entire stroller and carry it up and down 10-20 flights of stairs for each leg of your trip.  Those are the days when I take what I call pre-Motrin.

have I mentioned the lack of mexican food here?

the long flight home

the long flight back

when a family member gets really sick you have to decide between saying goodbye and getting to go to their funeral (happened THREE times and the last time we couldn't go either way)

not having a car

why do they only sell vanilla coffee creamer here?  there are so many other awesome flavors!  it drives me nuts.

the fact that everywhere is filthy (except the upper east side) and no one seems to care.  many people actually love it that way--like it adds character or something.  blech.

It is actually really strange to think of coming home.  Part of me can't believe we are already done here (almost), but mostly I feel it has been a long, hard challenge on so many levels.  I am really upset that I am almost four years older than I was when we decided to come here.  That is yucky!  I wanted an adventure, and I certainly got it.  We cried in the car on the way to the airport after we left Jason and Winter's house in Redlands, and I know we were both wondering if we were making a mistake.  I still remember how I felt as the plane took off that night, although it is hard to describe.  I guess I felt that although I didn't know what to expect, my eyes were wide open and I was ready to be exposed to a different life.  Since then, there have been times where I wanted out of NYC with all of my heart and times where I thought I could never leave.  I think I will always have a love/hate relationship with this city.  I think nothing compares to the feeling of walking out on the streets by yourself and just soaking it all in.  For some reason, I feel so aware of myself and my surroundings when I am out walking and I think that is actually when I feel the most alive.  But, of course, the walking thing is killer when you have kids.  I am proud of my "New York mom" moments because they are a learned skill and have been a challenge for me that I never saw coming.  Anyway, it has been difficult adjusting to life here, and I know it will be a bit of a challenge to downshift into a less intense world.  I think moving is always an adjustment.  I am especially nervous about becoming a driving mom, just because it will be different and Lizzie is getting older.  How long before we are fighting over the radio?  My guess is that will happen next week.  No, probably sooner.  For the most part, though, I think it will be pretty easy to slip back into California living.  I will be taking the yummy mexican food, amazing produce, driving, cheaper cost of living, etc. for granted before you know it.  We will be there in just under 24 hours!  I can't wait.

Up late again

I am up late again, rocking Addie in the office chair.  I thought I could post a few pics while I sit here.  She has been up in the early hours the last few nights.  I have been watching a lot of History channel and CSI:NY.  Ask me anything about the Dead Sea scrolls, I dare you.  Anyway, here are a few pics.  Our little angel is growing up so fast!

Blogging again

Okay, so it has been a while since I last blogged, but I did have a baby, so...yeah.  Yes, I have two babies now (three, including Wahoo).  It is pretty crazy, but I am surviving.  Do you remember that episode of Friends where Phoebe is left babysitting her brother's triplets by herself?  The apartment is destroyed, but everyone is alive at the end of the day?  Well, that is kind of how my life is now.  It really isn't so bad, it is just hard to get anything done.  I am just proud that I can get everyone fed and changed.  Sometimes I even have one free hand to click my way through Amazon and get some Christmas shopping done.  Exciting life, eh?

Most of you want to know about Addie, I assume, so I will get to it.  We are in love, of course, especially Lizzie!  She has really surprised us.  She wants to hold the baby ALL THE TIME, so I can't put Addie down ever.  Lizzie even tries to crawl into Addie's Pack n' Play to pick her up.  It is crazy, but I am glad Liz is like this instead of jealous or resentful.  Addie seems to like being held by Lizzie, too, so I am trying to ride this wave of sisterly love as long as possible (hopefully for the rest of their lives, but one step at a time).  Lizzie has developed the strange habit of doing a respectable baby impression when we change her diaper.  She flails her arms about, blinks and screeches annoyingly...oh, the joys of motherhood.  It drives me nuts, but I still can't help but laugh.  So, back to Addie...she seems pretty mellow.  She is a spitter, though.  I was shocked when she lost her dinner that first night on the hospital, and it broke my heart to see the fear on her face as it just kept coming and she couldn't catch her breath.  I will never forget that face for the rest of my life!  She was losing so much milk at first that I was really concerned, but the doctor did a weight check and she was gaining like a pro, so she is fine.  Her checks are already monstrously chubby and she is well on her way to being a decent butterball.  We have her one month checkup on Monday and I am curious to see what she weighs now.

I guess I should mention that the labor and delivery was AWESOME, at least compared to last time.  I was really surprised that she didn't come on her own (so was my doctor), and it was very weird to go to the hospital to have a baby and NOT be in labor.  Every cabbie for the last month or two of pregnancy would constantly check to see if I was in labor.  I think they secretly want to have to rush a laboring woman to the hospital.  The guy we had that night was really confused because we had my giant overnight bag with us, but I was talking on the phone, giving him instructions, etc.  I thought it was funny.  Anyway...my doctor and I decided to induce for several reasons, and I was fortunate to have everything go very smoothly.  It was so much less traumatic than the first time that I can still hardly believe it even happened.  I certainly can't believe it has already been a month!  I know everyone says this, but I can barely remember what it was like without her.

Well, we have only two and a half weeks left in NYC.  We are so glad that we did most of the moving already.  Yay, we did something right!  We still have to get our stuff organized, though, because the movers are picking our stuff up from our storage unit.  That means that we have to get everything that can't fit into our bags over to storage before the movers come.  It really isn't too much stuff, but I am stressing about it a bit.  Plus we have a few fun things we want to do before we leave the city, but it is hard to get everything squeezed into a short time period.  I was able to sneak away to get a haircut today and NYC at Christmastime is just amazing.  I know I will miss that the most.  It is much easier to feel attached to this place at this time of year: cold (but not miserable) weather, beautiful decorations, Christmas trees out on the streets, kids all bundled up (including my own!), etc.  I am glad we are leaving when I feel sad to leave...summers are miserable here and I wouldn't want to leave on a bad note.

We have so many pictures of the girls from the last month that it is really hard to pick ones to post, but I will try to get some up soon.  Love you all and we are excited to see many of you very soon!