Moving Days -

Moving day is here.  Wow.  Time flew by.  Are we really done with our DPP Rotation so soon?!  It just seemed like yesterday we were moving in with a 8 month old and 2 1/2 year old.  It's amazing how life just seems to pass you by when you have a few moments to soak it all in.

I actually welcome moving day.  I consider myself a pro.  It allows me to purge some things we've collected, re-organize our spaces, clean. To me moving signifies another chapter in our lives.  I am able to look back and reflect on where we lived and what happened in our lives while we were there.  Denver - got married and pregnant.  Nashua - Mikey was born.  Downers Grove - Katie was born.  NYC - finally got to live in a city we have both always wanted to live in and were close to family again. Stamford - both kids old enough to go to school....and that's just a start.

All of these moves have been based on career choices.  Scott wanting to further his career and build up his resume so he can provide for his family and feel proud about what he's accomplished.    I am so glad that as a young family we have been able to support him.  We know that as our kids get older our time is becoming more limited as far as uprooting them and moving them around the country.  I am excited to say that I actually can sort of see an end to all this moving around, after maybe 1 or 2 more moves. Don't get me wrong.  While I do like moving and think it is exciting to go to new places and really feel like I am living life, I also find it exciting to think about finding that perfect house that I know we will be in for 20 plus years and raise our kids in and experience life in and be able to really settle down and I can finally buy furniture for a specific room and paint it whatever color I choose and put up wall paper, or not.

So after all that reflecting, the movers knock on our door ready to start.  I have to thank Mary and her son Quinn for watching the kids on packing day, so that Scott and I could really focus on the movers, and making sure that they packed certain things together and labeled the boxes correctly and so we could clean up the apartment after they were done loading the truck.  It was such a relief to know that I didn't need to worry about entertaining the kids or trying to keep them out of the way or having to feed them lunch or put Katie down for a nap and have the movers be really quiet while she napped.  They took their sweet old time to pack everything up and a nice long lunch break and 4 or 5 hours to load it all up.

Lots of boxes in all the rooms.

We took over the hallway of our floor.

I tried to facilitate the packing day by taking down her crib a day before.  I didn't realize until it was stacked in the corner that that is probably the last time I will see the crib and Katie doesn't get one last night to sleep in it.  Tear.

The movers came on Monday 7/29 so they were able to find a spot right in front of our building.

I picked up the kids from Mary's about 2:30 and took them to the Marriott where we were staying for the evening.  We checked in and then headed to 2 of our favorite parks for some last sprints through the sprinklers and for some Italian Ice from the cart lady.  We enjoyed pizza one last time for dinner at Luigi's Pizza and then back to the Marriott for baths and snuggles. Scott stayed at our apartment until 8 at night cleaning and supervising the moving company who didn't finish loading until 7:30 that night.

The kids post bath looking out the floor to ceiling windows at the Marriott.

 Move in day was an equal success and went super smooth, mostly thanks to our friend Katie and her two kids Jacob and Carly who offered to watch Mikey and Katie for the day while the movers loaded things into our home and Scott and I unpacked.  Katie and her husband Brian and there kids live close to us and we've known them for years from Denver and KPMG so I'm sure we will get together lots over the next year! I have to admit that I am a little OCD when it comes to unpacking.  I my opinion I am the only one who knows the best place for things in our new home, so naturally I am the one who has to put everything away or at least beat the movers and Scott and tell them where to put stuff . So a big thank you to Katie and Jacob and Carly for watching and playing and feeding the kids for the entire day!

Only about 1/3 of the total boxes.

About 2 hours after the movers arrived and we have this much unpacked already!

The movers and landscapers here on the same day.  What were we thinking?!

 I laid awake many nights picturing exactly where everything will go down to what I will put in what cabinets and drawers in the kitchen.  I even thought about everything that was in storage and where that would go....I must say thought that there was a lot more in storage than I remember.  So now that we got everything moved in and unpacked from NYC in 2 days, it's time to go to PA and supervise the movers packing and loading the stuff in storage and spend a day or two with the family, oh and find time for a little birthday party for Katie.

Goodbye NYC

We had some great times during our 17 months in the Big Apple.  We enjoyed many, many lazy Saturdays in Central Park, as well as many play dates with friends who are now near and dear to us and lots of laughs, wine, parties, picnics, girls nights and just because get togethers with some amazing moms/girl friends.  So we had to have one last hurrah before we left NYC.

I enjoyed a girls night out with a handful of KPMG mom's who organized, collaborated and planned an evening celebrating friendship, NYC, the past, present and future just for me.  I feel so loved ladies.  Thanks for a wonderful and memorable evening!  Mary, Ashley, Jen, Kathy, Jessie, and I enjoyed dinner at Dos Caminos and finished the evening off with a glass of wine at a Wine Restaurant we had all to ourselves.  They also presented me with a beautiful, special and meaningful array of bracelets from Alex and Ani.  Miss you girls and will see you next week!!!(Can't believe I didn't get a pic. of this night.  Still regret it.)

We made so many friends through the KPMG network of Moms and we loved getting together for playdates.  About half of our KPMG friends were gone on vacation in July so we made sure to say goodbye to those who were still around. 

Fort fun with Maddie and Jack.

One last run up and down the hall at Andrew, Ryan and Julian's.

Wahoo!

Mikey playing with Jack at the water park.

The very last weekend we were in the city we decided on taking one last stroll through CP.  We walked all over the place, from our apartment on 90th and York Ave, to the west side, to the east side on 59th street and everywhere in between.  There were lots of rocks to climb and water to play in.  The kids fell asleep on the walk home which allowed Scott and I to enjoy a nice leisurely lunch outside.

A new trail to explore that cut across the park.

Heckscher Playground has huge rocks to climb on.  Scott and Mikey were up there close to an hour.

Over looking the water near the boat house.

Secret hideaway in the city.

One of the things I love about NYC is it is constantly changing and there are new things to be discovered every day.  One of our favorite parks near our apartment is Carl Schurz.  We have been there in the early mornings and late at night after dinner when we try to tire out the kids and every hour in between.  We celebrated birthday's there and had Easter egg hunts there, picnics were had there and we even went sledding there.  

As many times as we've gone to this park there are still new things to discover.  One of our last days there we showed Scott what we called "our little secret hideaway".  It's basically a trail that is secluded and covered with plants on both sides.  The kids love it and I think Scott did too.  This park gave us some major bonding with our kids.

I asked Katie what Daddy said to her and she said "it's secret."

Selling the stroller.

We decided that once we moved to the suburbs that we wouldn't be needing 4 strollers. So we decided to sell our big red stroller. That stroller was so near and dear to me and I wouldn't have been able to survive NYC without it.  I was actually very sad when I sold it as it held many great memories.  As I got to our lobby, I stood in the elevator a full minute deciding if I should just return to my apartment and call her (she was waiting in the lobby) telling her I changed my mind.  I was that torn.  But I have 3 other strollers that work for our family now and in the future.

We sold it on craigslist and got a fair price for it being used every single day for over a year. We sold it to a woman who had twin girls and couldn't afford a new one. So I'm very glad I sold it to her.

Wicked on Broadway

Scott and I used every last minute we had left in NYC to enjoy ourselves.  We enjoyed easy conversation that comes after almost 8 years of knowing each other, over some pretty great sushi at Mr. Robata and then walked the 2 blocks to see Wicked on Broadway.

Scott and I both have way to many airline miles from when we both traveled pretty heavily for work and so we decided to use a good portion of them purchase our Wicked tickets.

The show was amazing, just like the rest we saw on Broadway and was a fun twist on the classic Wicked Witch story we all know.  While this will probably be our last show we see on Broadway while living in the city, I'm sure we will see some more in the future.

Wagyu beef sliders were delicious!

My date for the night, at Mr. Robata.

Going to the theater

Wicked had amazing effects and that Wicked Witch definitely has a set of pipes on her!

Backseat Blog

Hi Everyone!  We moved almost 1 month ago and between moving, unpacking, getting settled, familiarizing ourselves with our new territory and having some extremely packed with fun weeks, and me running most nights, the blog has taken a backseat.

It's okay though, I'm working on updating it with everything we've been doing so I have lots coming.

In the meantime I thought I'd share with you some things that have recently come out of our 3 year old's mouth.

Scenario 1:
Mommy:  Mikey we can't go to the beach today, it's going to storm and there will be thunder and lightening.
Mikey:  But I want to get struck by thunder!

Scenario 2:
Mommy and Daddy:  Did you have fun at dinner tonight? (We took the kids to P.F.Changs).
Mikey:  I got to go on early bird date with you!

Scenario 3:
Mommy and Daddy:  (Coming home from P.F.Changs).  Mikey, do you know that we are a team.  Me, Mommy, Katie and you are a team.  We are a family and we stick together and we have each others backs.  So we are all on the same team.
Mikey:  We are not team.  We are people.

Scenario 4:
Mikey:  (Coming into our room 30 minutes after we put him to bed.  He's all sleepy.)  Mommy, Katie is crying....she woke my eyes up.

Such a funny guy.

Costco

The line at Costco to get a new membership seemed to take a while even though we were second in line, so to entertain ourselves we took some pictures.  The kids liked sitting next to each other in the double seated cart and were being extra silly.  Here are a few outtakes....to get that one good picture.

They just wouldn't sit still!

The best one of the bunch!

Stamford Shopping Center

During one of our stops up to CT this past month we decided to stop by the Stamford Shopping Center for some lunch and happily walked right into the cute little play space for the kids to run out some energy before the drive back to the city.  I have a feeling we will be here many times over the next few years.

new home/new car

Now that we have our car back in the city we have been taking day trips up to CT every weekend for numerous things.......doing a walk thru of the house with the home owner, test driving cars, buying a car, taking a few items to the house, visiting friends...etc.


Here's a few pics. of those days in CT.

The kids found a hiding spot in the kitchen.  The toes are a dead giveaway.

Peek a boo!

Ready or not here he comes!

Our little patio in the back yard.

We have tons of hydrangea plants all over the property.

A gravel walk way will provide endless hours of play.

An early and quiet Saturday morning overlooking the Long Island Sound in Shippan Point.

We finally settled on a car.  A GMC Acadia.  

It says what?

I find Katie a lot of the time sitting in the bedroom flipping through books and reading to herself. She usually stops once I enter the room, but today I caught her reading this pamphlet.

According to her it says:  "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus loves me.  Happy Cake.  I love you."

A little bit of everything.

Beware....this is a long post.  Rather than create individual posts about the little things that we did while in PA over an 8 day period (I'm short on time considering we are moving tomorrow and it's pretty hectic right now) I'm smooching it all together in this one post.

So here we go...

We spent July 1-9 in PA.  Matt and I drove back with the kids and Scott took the train down to PA 2 days later (he had a deadline for work).  We did a little bit of everything over those days.....

....Katie and Mikey and Papa made little creations with beads.  Katie was very focused.....

 .....we celebrated 2 birthdays.  Matt's was on July 1st and the trick candles were a hit with everyone.  I think it took a little slobber on the cake to get all the candles out once and for all....and Nana's birthday was on July 4th.  She wanted brownies.

Jamie with Uncle Danny.

Mikey in the back ground about to swat Nana with the fly swatter.

This picture makes me laugh because it looks like she is 75... 

Okay now we got the numbers in the right order! My mom and dad! Aren't they cute!

.....the kids played with the kitchen play set that my mom kept for the last 25 years..... this will be in our new home soon......

....there was some pole climbing going on...........

 ...and some dog walking to attend too..............

 .....and some board games to be played..........

 .......and pictures of Bailey to be taken...........

 ........and a fourth of July picnic and family gathering to celebrate.............

 ............and some hay baling to watch (kinda crazy they did this on the 4th!  Those farmers never get a day off!).......

 ......and wishes to be made.........

I know it looks like he's about lick but he's about to blow.

 ......and flags to be waved..........

 ..........and a U-haul to rent and buy furniture and move all our belongings into one place for the movers........

 ......and spending a date night going back to Appalachian Brewery Company where Scott and I had our wedding reception 5 years and 1 month ago.....

 .....and college besties to visit and cool off in their pool.  Katie had no fear when it came to jumping in...I must get flotation devices for when these kids are around water..........

 .......and cousins to play with......

 ........and movies to see to escape the hotness of summer!  Scott and I took Mikey to see Monsters U.  He fell asleep half way through on me and I am pretty sure I passed out for 10 minutes too.....

 ........and helicopters to ride........

 .....and puddles to jump in...........

Puddle jumping is a dirty job.

 ....and pianos to play music on..........

 These kids have such a busy life!