Eagerly awaiting Grandparents!

I haven't added to this blog in a ridiculously long time, but I have a few pretty good excuses. The main one being that we moved and have been adjusting to a new city, new house, new schedules and new weather patterns! Not to mention getting swept away by Christmas and New Years in Manhattan, which was a very surreal experience. The window decorations, the hustle of holiday shoppers and tourists and all the stands that sell amazingly tempting and aromatic food--can make you feel like you are in a different world. We took a walk on Christmas Day, expecting to find the streets semi-clear of people. Silly us! Not only were the streets pretty crowded, but there were stores open and people shopping, shopping, shopping. It was a bit shocking actually, to see all the people bustling into stores to buy more things! We even got to see the singing Naked Cowboy--a wonderful present for anyone's Christmas:) Even better than that though, had to be the Christmas hot dog we munched on as we watched the horse carriages stream out of Central Park. In the sunshine:)

Dave and I were lucky enough to have my sister and her boyfriend visit us during this time so we could sneak away for lunch w/out the kids. We spent most of the time talking about how much we were loving the city. The move to the burbs was starting to look a bit--well--boring. We were anxious to get into our own place though, see our stuff and have a wide open yard for Connor to run off his never ending energy. And let's be honest, if we kept spending money on take out, we'd go broke! And Dave and I can't seem to control ourselves when faced with so many options for fast and delicious food.

New Years in NYC is an event that baffles the mind. ONE MILLION people cram into the city streets of Times Square in the frigidly cold temperatures to watch the ball drop. We are adventurous folks, but didn't want to be arrested for child endangerment by subjecting the kiddos to the crowds and the cold--so we agreed to watch the ball drop from the safety of our living room on the tv:) We did open the windows at midnight though and listened to the roar of people. It was incredible, and then even more incredible than that was the firework display over Central Park. We stood there and listened to the boom of the fireworks as they vibrated off the buildings-- and watched all the colors from our window--it felt like we had front row seats up in the sky. Not a bad way to bring in 2009--a big year of change for us.

We are now living in Chatham, New Jersey--a far cry from the streets of Manhattan. I miss the hustle and bustle of the city streets, the ding from the elevator arriving on our floor, and Connor's excitement as he would charge out the door being held by our doorman and give him a high five. In fact, Connor has been asking where the "man who drives car" is when we get into our car. He also has questioned why there isn't a man "opening door for us" when we leave the house! Apparently he got used to taxis and doormen. And to be honest, so did I. It's hard work to open your own door and juggle the carseat and Connor. And getting used to driving again, especially on the icy streets--isn't easy:)

The move in day was relatively uneventful. We had a crew of men that worked super hard and got all our stuff unloaded--even with the cold temps and flurries of snow. Besides for the fact that they couldn't get our mattress upstairs and refused to bend it for liability purposes, all went well. Dave and I looked at each other in horror when the movers left and we were surrounded by boxes. So we bent our mattress in half and dragged it upstairs! The real work had begun and we wanted to be sure we had a bed to sleep on that night.

Our rented house is great. We met our landlords and they are a really nice couple who have two kids under 3 and are being transferred to L.A. We are pretty much trading lives with them! They are off to the West coast and I am going to use their babysitter, go to the same gym and maybe even take over their friends:) We have once again been pleasantly surprised at how friendly and helpful people have been here. Our neighbors are constantly poking their heads over the fence to give us tips on the town and preschool options, etc. I had an elderly gentleman take me by the elbow today and help me get to the post office when I went into the wrong building. It was snowing and icy and he insisted that I needed help to get in the door safely. People help me at the grocery store--unloading my cart at the checkout when I have Kea strapped to me (which is always!!!), walking us to our car to unload groceries--it's pretty great. And not what we were expecting from some of the utterings of our beloved West Coasters on how "those East Coasters" are. I have yet to meet one I don't like:)

So we are settling in and getting used to the ins and outs of the day. Dave has a hard commute--a sacrifice we've made to A)save money B)have a yard C)live in a place where the resources will be more accessible. Right now, we aren't liking him leaving at 7:15AM and being home at 7PM. But it's far better than having him traveling three weeks out of the month!!