LA, San Diego

We spent Labor Day weekend with family and friends down south. We first dropped in on our good old UCLA friends Chad, Kimber, Abe, and their newest addition, River. They treated us to a BBQ feast in the University Village gazebo, where we used to live (in the Village, not the gazebo).

Isaac really liked the grilled corn.

Bethany and Isaac are just a few months younger than Abe, but my little sweethearts turned into total bullies as soon as we got there--tag-teaming to sneak off with as much of Abe's stuff as possible. With some encouragement from Kimber, Abe stood up for himself and then all the kids got along fine with their newfound mutual respect.

Abraham and Isaac had slight a rough patch, but it was all good in the end.

(As the story goes.)

Next stop was to see Great-grandma Dot (Jared's grandmother) in San Diego. Jared's family typically gathers at her place on most holidays, so we got to see a bit of the fam while we were there. We even went to a movie (The Help) with Grandma, Dave and Kathy while cousins Emma and Grace babysat.

The kids, of course, were most fascinated by Ginger, Grandma's new rat terrier. They both took turns walking the dog. I love this pic of Grandma Dot with Bethany.

Funny story--during nap time, Grandma's house phone rang and I remembered that there was a cordless phone left in the babies' room. I went in to get it and found Isaac like this:

Look closely, he had lined his pack n play with labels, folders, papers, and a thick hard cover book. His shins were covered in labels. I looked at the bookshelf that was within reach and he had completely cleared off two shelves. I could hardly control my laughing as I cleared out the crib and ended up with a stack about 6 inches thick. Moving him to clean it out wasn't a problem--this kid was OUT. I'm not sure how much of this action Bethany caught--she was sleeping peacefully about a foot away. This was some fun he had before drifting off!

Last but not least, we got to spend all day Tuesday with Stacie, my BFF (heart necklace and all) since first grade, and her cute 2 year old daughter Cameron and husband Jeff. They live in San Diego too and I'm so happy to live near them again. Stace is expecting another little girl #2 in January, yay!

After naps and admiring Cam's incredible post-nap hair, the hot + humid conditions made it a perfect time to toss the kids in the inflatable pool. Jeff's parents were also there, adding hilarious grandparent commentary. No wait--they came all the way from Massachusetts for the week, so yeah, it was me and my brood that were "also there."

Stacie and I stuck our feet in as well--best idea ever. And then, I caught Cameron's adorableness on video--new best idea ever. Watch and don't miss the end!

The day ended perfectly with a picnic dinner on the beach at Coronado Island. The sand was sooo soft, I didn't even mind that a little got on my sandwich. Jared had to leave earlier in the day, but with everyone's help with watching the kids, it was a really peaceful end to a great weekend.

And then I paid $4.29 and 9/10 for gas.

The end.

new set of wheels

To ease our transition from subway to suburbia, we really needed a new set of wheels. Ever since, oh, pregnancy, Jared & I had been talking about buying something that would allow enough room for the kiddos so we could all enjoy rides together. Last week I happened to hear a commercial on the radio about a massive sale going on in nearby Camarillo, and we headed there that very Saturday to get ourselves... a bike trailer!

We were giddy with excitement about this purchase. Right now we only have one car, so on days that Jared drives to work, these wheels are how the kids and I get around. It's more fun than driving, yes, but I'm also really counting on this situation to keep me from getting too squishy in my new, much more sedentary life.

At this time I would like to highlight the bike trailer accessories that are now my #1 absolute favorite twin purchase EVER...

These helmets! Matching flames?! One helmet with flames might not have done much for me, but seeing the two of them together absolutely blew my mind and brought the giddiness up to Level Out of Control.

BONUS: the kids love wearing their helmets... they usually ask to keep them on after they get out of the bike, and then I get to sit back and let them do whatever they want because hey, they're wearing helmets.

Okay fine, here are more pics of kids in matching flames helmets. Something about that chin strap makes those cheeks even more irresistible...

PS did you think our "new wheels" would be a minivan? Because we got one of those, too.

PPS as far as mom cars go, the minivan really is boss. I'm sorry, but it's true.

well, hello

Hello, blog! Oh my, it has been a while. The blog break was intentional but I didn't mean for it to last this long. It was good, though, and I'm excited to jump back into blogging. I may eventually catch up on our summer and will hopefully answer some more of those great New York questions, as promised. (Note to future self: go easy on the promises.) But for today, I'm moving forward.

Hello, Santa Paula, CA! We live here now. I'll have to post more about it soon. It's definitely not NYC, but we think it could be The One, even if we have to MAKE it fit. (Like on our wedding day when I smiled and said in my mind "I'll MAKE it fit" as I shoved Jared's somehow-suddenly-too-small ring on his finger. It really happened. But by then it was too late, for him.)

Hello, husband with employment. This is a well-trained man--he walked in the door with his first paycheck and handed it directly to me. I could get used to this.

Hello, 20 month-olds! How did that happen? When you think about it, 20 months old is pretty much 2 years old, and that is just crazy. Every day I am just amazed by these incredible, hilarious, energetic little people, and so glad I get to be their mom.

Hello, new life. I'm not quite sure what you're all about, but I think you'll be good. And if not we'll MAKE you good.

NYC Q&A: the city

Kristine: Clear up one or two NYC misconceptions people have about the city. Either the experience of living there or the city itself.
Abbie: What were your top 5 favorite outings in the city? 5 before kids / 5 after kids.
B: I agree with telling us about your favorite things about the city, or even favorite moments. Do it!
Laura: I am so excited to hear your favorite moments from the city- maybe one favorite family moment in a busy, busy, world.
Rheslie: If you could live anywhere in NYC where would that have been?

Well now...

Misconception #1. It's not just a cliche that non-New Yorkers think New Yorkers are mean. Before I moved here from LA, I was warned by a few different people that people in the city are all callous and cruel. My former boss even went into this long story about how people would literally step on me to get where they were going blah blah blah. I didn't believe him for a second, before and especially after I got there. Sure, people get in their zone, but from day 1 I found that people were so friendly and willing to help if I asked them. And later on I found out that whenever I was stranded in the subway station, at the bottom of a long flight of stairs, with a double stroller and a broken elevator (I don't even know how many times this happened... a lot), someone always always always offered to help. So that was an easy one.

Misconception #2. I was a little scared to taste the tap water. It's AMAZING. It has ruined me for all other waters. Sorry UT and CA and even MD, I've had you since and you just don't compare. I don't know if bad water in NYC would be a common misconception, but it was mine, and I'm so glad I was wrong.

Five favorite outings, pre-kids:
1. Central Park rowboats, hands down
2. Concerts - we heard great music at the Kitting Factory, Mercury Lounge, and Central Park Great Lawn
3. Eating out, but I have a hard time listing favorites because we almost never went to the same place twice
4. Bike riding down Riverside Park - we once went from 168th down to Battery Park and back. So much fun!
5. The Village Halloween Parade - Jared was an astronaut, I (7 months pregnant with twins) was of course Saturn (the planet), and our friend Penny was a Trekkie. Our little space brigade got a lot of attention that night and we kind of loved it.

We must have done the CP rowboats 10 times our first summer!
Okay, maybe 3.

Saturn has rings!
Our Halloween costumes are always homemade and last-minute. They turn out better that way. '09 may have been an especially good year.


On our way out the door, our doorman said to his friend, He landed on that planet! Hahaha.

Five favorite outings, post-kids:
1. Dolphin Park
2. The garden
3. City Island with the Shamos, our friends from CT
4. Central Park, especially Sheep's Meadow (we had a couple great family/friend picnics there) and Heckscher Playground
5. The Horeys apartment

Our first family picnic, at Sheep's Meadow in Central Park.

I was pretty nervous about a big outing with the twins (I still am sometimes), but it turned out great.
Having Jared there makes all the difference.

Where would I have lived? So many amazing places to choose from, but if I have to pick one it would be West 74th, 10% because of the pretty brownstones and nearness to Central Park; 90% because of Levain. Also because in this fantasy Abbie would be my neighbor again--we have the same dream street. Really, anywhere in the W70s or 80s would do!

But really really, I'm so glad we got to live where we did, in the medical center towers. We lived right by the A, C and 1 trains, two blocks from Jared's clinic, close to a few really great friends in WaHi, and where I could take a picture from my window with a crappy camera and it would come out like the one at the top of this post. I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Bethany & Isaac are 18 months old!!

It's amazing--Bethany and Isaac have probably changed more in these last couple of weeks than maybe any other two weeks in their whole lives. I don't know if it's being in a new place (we've been at Grandma's in UT) or just that they are now 18 months, but it seems like they are doing something new every day.

All the things they've never experienced before are now their new obsessions--ceiling fans, cars, stairs, and opening doors (those lever handles are wayyy too easy for toddlers). They say "on" when they enter a new room, asking for help in getting the lights on and those fans spinning. They'll pretend to pour tea and sip from their tea cups in their cousin's Disney princess toy kitchen. And they're almost as tall as their cute 3 year-old cousins and even weigh more, at a hefty 30 (Isaac) and 32 pounds (Bethany). These big babies will not slow down!

But my absolute favorite thing they now do... They count to 2! And in the most adorable way, like they're asking you questions: ahhhn? dewww? I love it, I love it.

My second favorite? They say cheese!

Happy 4th from your favorite 18-month old twins!

NYC Q&A: first impressions

Turning this NYC wrap-up over to you friends was a pretty good idea, I must say, because you asked such great questions. THANKS!! I think I can combine a bunch of them into just a few different posts, but I thought this one was a good starter all on its own.

* * *

Q Miggy: tell us about your first "I guess we're not in Kansas anymore" moment in the city.

A Funny, that Wizard of Oz reference, because on our very first night in our NY apartment, the wind was blowing so hard it shook our windows and made a huge board smash into our 10th story window. Obviously it was a tornado and so I made Jared evacuate with me and walk down the stairs to the basement.

It wasn’t a tornado. But I thought of that night when my NY friend Katie told me her hilarious anxiety girl story. So funny, so true.

Tornadoes or not, the view couldn't be beat.

Other than that I would say the entire food experience was just... different. NYC clearly has the best food in the world, but if you end up in the wrong place it might also have the most questionable food in the world. We arrived in NY before restaurant grading did, but were already very reliant upon the grades (and snobby about it), moving in from LA. So eating at places that didn’t have a Dept of Health grade showing in the window always felt like a big scary gamble. The good news is, NY eventually did get the grades; the bad news is, our favorite sandwich shop got a C. Sick.

And then there’s grocery shopping. Getting groceries in the city was my greatest fear, and really, my only fear about moving there. In fact I was super excited about everything else, just had no idea how we were going to acquire food. We were pretty excited when we saw that there's a little market right across the street from our building. But we went inside and there's a nasty buffet of food that looked like it had been under those heat lamps for 3 months, and the box of brown sugar was really a brick of brown sugar, and I remember picking up something canned that was past it's expiration date. We ran out of that disgusting place as fast as we could without hurting their feelings. I later heard horror stories of people buying milk only to learn that it had spoiled, and more things I tried to forget.

I eventually found my groove and, surprisingly, grocery shopping in a way became a little easier for me once the babies arrived. We just built it into our almost-daily routine, and since you can only buy what you can carry home, having a stroller (and two Mommy Hooks, best invention ever), meant I could carry home quite a bit. As long as I could fit that stroller through the tiny New York aisles...

I don't know if that answered the question exactly, but it was fun to think of some first NY moments and realize that we eventually figured out this different way of life. It's really a much more livable place than most people think, I think.

June 30, 2001