NY Moms

FYI, we are getting relatively settled here in NYC. That being said, I have been noticing that NY moms are truly a different breed. I am in awe of them to be quite honest. I don't know how they manage... at least the ones without the luxury of nannies and full-time housekeepers and such.

I see NY moms on the subway with strollers, and I find myself marveling at how they even managed to get the stroller up and down the subway steps. What do these people do when the subway is jam-packed, as it often is?

I can barely manage myself here yet, and I'm sitting here thinking - HOW ON EARTH AM I EVER GOING TO BE A MOTHER HERE?

I am sure part of my concern arises from the fact that our move did not go according to plan and that it has, as I wrote previously, taken FAR longer to get fairly settled than we ever could have imagined. It is still a process, but the good news is that things are finally falling into place... finally.

I adore our apartment. It is truly the perfect place for us, and the job is pretty darn fantastic as well, albeit incredibly demanding and time-consuming. It is however my favorite job I've ever had. It's challenging in the best imaginable way - and I feel like I finally found a fairly permanent 'home.' I also LOVE NY. It's just beyond awesome and I feel like a kid in a candy store - seriously. I keep taking pictures of things and wondering when I'm going to start taking them for granted. I hope that never happens but I'm sure it will. (I've included a few the pics below). It is amazing to me that we live in this adorable little neighborhood and can walk to phenomenal restaurants and shops - and that Manhattan is a pretty quick subway ride away, which is good, because I work there. It has yet to cease to amaze me that I work just down the street from the Empire State Building and the Flatiron building... one of my all-time faves. I often find myself wondering why I didn't pay more attention to ALL of this stuff when I was at NYU. I guess I was too busy obsessing about boys.

And now I get to share all of this with John, which is so awesome on so many levels.

But I seriously digress...

I am sitting here at work, wondering how on earth I will ever become a parent in New York - and if I do, how I'll manage everything. I'm sure I'll eventually figure it all out - but thank goodness John works from home. In the meantime, all of my viable eggs are probably shriveling up... but I'll just have to hope that isn't the case and cross that bridge when we get to it.

For now, we need to just take all of this in.

Clearly this getting settled business is a full-time business for now.

The bad news? Getting settled in NY, (the new digs and the new gig), is proving to be far more time-consuming and complicated than I anticipated. The good news? We love the apartment and my job is amazing.

But, to bring anyone still reading up-to-speed... let's start with the nightmare that was the cross-country trek:

Moving two people, two puppies, critical computer equipment, and the basic necessities across the entire country in a tiny two door Honda CR-Z is by no means a picnic. My advice to you all: Don't ever attempt this... ever.

What we were hoping would take three days took five. Add to that a lightning/thunderstorm/torrential downpour at night in the Colorado Rockies - a pup who had a nervous breakdown in the middle of the country and cut off his own air supply turning his tongue blue, thus scaring the hell out of his frantic puppy-mommy who was doing her best to hold it together, muggy disgusting humidity for virtually 90% of the trip, an inability to actually enjoy any of the cities we passed through because we had pups in tow, eating fast food for 5 whole days and feeling repulsive -and driving to our new home in Brooklyn - that we had not yet seen in-person, hoping that we weren't sold on a complete disaster.

It was a lot - especially following selling a car, packing up an apartment, finding a NYC broker/apartment, finishing up two weeks at my now former place of employment, selling furniture, finding a mover and about a million other little things. Needless to say, it's been a hectic coupla months.

To boot, our movers finally arrived - and guess what?!?!? They managed to LOSE furniture and other belongings - including irreplaceable antiques and artwork. I think it's virtually amazing that I myself have not yet had a total nervous breakdown.

BUT... thing is, I am so madly in love with NY that I am completely beside myself. I know this was absolutely the right move. The job is fantastic, the apartment is fantastic - and despite some hiccups, we're doing great.

Now if only I could find more hours in the day - because quite honestly, I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to carry on this blogging business.

Only time will tell.

A New York State of Mind

It has been quite a week!

Looks like we're moving to NYC, and this came as a bit of a surprise... a very, very welcome surprise - but a surprise nevertheless. We are beyond excited... like over the moon... but we've had to act very quickly. We need to get ourselves, our pups and some of our stuff moved to the other side of the continent in less than four weeks.

And is anyone aware of just how hard it is to find a place in NYC in the summer? Trust me when I tell you, it's bad enough to try to rent in NYC in general, but the summer seems to be brutal.

Checklist:

1. Give notice to current landlord (Check).
2. Hire broker, find an apartment in NY that isn't a shoebox. (Check... well, first half anyway. Second half pending).
3. Sell virtually every piece of furniture (In the works).
4. Pare down everything. If you haven't used it in a year or more, it goes. (In the works).
5. Sell car (Slated for this weekend).
6. Find a mover that won't totally screw us over (Check).
7. Take deep breaths (As soon as I'm done writing this).
8. And finally, somewhat reluctantly, put baby-making on hold for a bit, until the dust settles.

That last one is intense, given our circumstances, I know.

But here's the thing...

We've been trying - and it hasn't worked out yet.

And this DREAM JOB came along... and it will literally make our lives SO MUCH EASIER, and therefore better for a potential baby, so it's all good.

That said, we're still planning to kid, but this has messed with our odds a bit. We are very much aware that it's a bit of a gamble, which is why if we are unable to procreate ourselves, we are just as excited to potentially adopt.

And once we get around to kidding, I hope to make it look as easy as SJP here, even though I know I'll fail dismally.

Hopefully I'll still rock my lipstick and heels - but the heels might have to come down an inch or two.

Of course, this also raises the question of what it will be like to raise a NY baby. This thrills and scares the living bejeezus out of me.