A Quick Weekend Away

Since Tamarra claimed today that "she was forgetting what my children look like," I thought it might be time to do a quick update on the blog.

First things first: we moved to Texas. So far, we like it. It is surprisingly more cosmopolitan than we expected and we haven't said "ya'll" once yet! Of course, we miss NY (especially the people!) like crazy. But it is safe to say, Elliot has gone native.

We also realized recently that, hey, we have a car now. We can go places! So this weekend we took a quick trip up to San Antonio. Here is how it played out.

Bonding in the hotel room over the iPad. Nothing brings siblings together faster than Apple products. Feeding the dolphins at Sea World. It is safe to say this is one of the coolest things I've ever done. I was way, WAY more excited about it than the kids. Waiting in 99 degree heat for the seal and otter show. Totally worth it! The Alamo Testing to see if cacti are, in fact, prickly. (They are.)

Another Item for my List

6.  I will not miss the terrible customer service that pervades the city.  Today I was in the McDonald's on 71st and Broadway.  After waiting in the line for ten minutes with two crabby kids, desperate for happy meals, I got to the front of the line only to be told that they were out of ketchup.  McDonalds was out of ketchup.  McDonalds!  I looked at the check-out woman and said, "you have got to be kidding me."  At which point the woman looked at me, told me to quit whining and walked away.  And didn't come back!  She just left me standing there, until five minutes later, I decided she wasn't coming back and left.

(We ended up going to Patsy's instead.  I will miss Patsy's.)

Note to the employees of McDonald's, Fairway, Macy's, Duane Reade Pharmacy (especially you, 69th St. store), and countless other establishments: stop act like I am putting you out by bringing you my business.  I am trying to give you money.  And no, I should not have to bow and grovel before you deign to take it.

The Bad Things about New York

Someone recently told me that when you move away from the city, all you can remember are the good things about living here. Since I love NY, I am sure I will be guilty of this. So this list is for those days when I'm missing the city like crazy and can't remember why we ever left it.

1. Paying over $4k in rent. For a large one-bedroom apartment. Oh and that rent? Our management said it would have likely gone up 10% at the end of our lease in October due to the city's soaring rental market. (Funny -- I don't mind living in a large one-bedroom apartment. I just mind paying that much for it.)

2. Running down the street pushing a stroller and screaming "stop at the corner!" at the top of my lungs. 

3. Elliot sleeping in a closet. Yes, it's true.

4. One bathroom. There are few things less pleasant than being in the middle of something only to have Elliot knock on the door screaming, "I have to go PEE!"

 5. January and February.

 And that's all I can think of! Help me, people!

***Late Night Addition***

My friend, Christie, responded to my cry for help with this little gem: 8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize.  Be warned -- the language in it is truly terrible.  That said, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.  My favorite part is about the slow walkers.  I have so been there.

Miss Harper

Harper looks like this a lot these days. Good thing she was a perfect baby. There's still some good-will left in her account from those 6 hours stretches of sleep she started at four weeks.

A Very Un-Boring Birthday to Chris

Chris is 32 today. As he pointed out this morning, this is a very boring age to turn. So I thought I’d make it a little less boring by telling you all a few un-boring things about Chris. Normally, I wouldn’t do this. Chris is not the public tribute sort of guy. But, since hardly anyone reads this anyway, we’ll consider this only semi-public.

1. Chris “doesn’t like people.” If you know Chris well at all, you’ve probably heard him say this about himself. He hates chit-chat. If you sit next to him on a plane, he won’t talk to you. He often pretends that he doesn’t see Elliot’s friend and her mom across the street as they walk to school so he won’t have to cross over and talk to her. The funny thing about this, however, is that he secretly loves people. He has more friends than I do. He calls and keeps in touch with them on a regular basis. He constantly worries about hurting people’s feelings. He is about the most charming and loyal friend you could have.
2. Lots of things make Chris “uncomfortable.” This is a favorite word of Chris’s. A few things that make Chris uncomfortable are: having his feet under the covers at night, wearing pants that “touch his thighs”, Harper’s hair in her eyes, the wrong amount of lighting when watching TV, virtual clutter, crunch in his food, and when I watch TV in my jeans instead of pajamas,
3. Chris has about a billion interests. This is one of my favorite things about him. You name a subject and he probably knows a little about it and is interested in it. He likes zoos, wildlife, wildlife shows, TV in general, music (he can play the piano, guitar, bass, drums, and clarinet – with varying degrees of proficiency), philosophy, politics, super heroes, sports, Star Wars, and literature, to name a few. This makes him a very un-boring person to be married to.
4. Chris loves TV. The man literally gets giddy when he hears the Amazing Race theme song. The day Community was shelved was one of the darkest days he’s had in a while.
5. Along the same line, Chris is a Tivo Jedi. He times his fast-forwarding (even on the fastest setting) perfectly. This is a talent he is quite proud of, and is therefore extremely annoyed when a commercial “fakes him out” by employing someone from the show we are watching. In fact, I’d say it makes him “uncomfortable.”

I could go on and on about what a great dad he is (he’ll play batman or Thomas for hours!), what a great husband he is (he wakes up with the kids at night!), and how much I love him, but that would be boring.

So instead, I’ll just wish him a very un-boring 32nd birthday. I love you, babe.

Thoughts on the Big Move

My friend Natalie shared this link with me, and I thought I'd post it here since it sums up exactly how I feel about leaving New York.

http://www.hitherandthither.net/2012/03/break-ups-are-hard.html

Here's to a long-term relationship and only occasional crying when listening to Empire State of Mind.

Texas Forever

Chris just accepted a job in Dallas. We are moving to Texas!

This is bittersweet, of course. While we are very excited about the job and the new adventure, we are super bummed to be leaving NYC. We've spent seven of the ten years we've been married here and it truly feels like home.

But, as Tim Riggins would say, "Texas forever!"

(If you have not watched Friday Night Lights, get on that immediately.)