When we moved back to Columbus in 2013, Paul and I planned to return to New York at least once a year. We were successful last year. Our most recent visit to New York was last June.
Before Atticus was born, I reluctantly assumed that we would skip the trip this year. Spring was out -- is a vacation with a newborn really a vacation? Summer seemed almost as difficult. Maybe fall, if we was sleeping well.
And then we got a wedding invitation in the mail. At first I didn't even consider attending. But then I began to ruminate on it. Would it really be so hard? Atticus would be nearly six months old. We were traipsing all around New York with Edith at that age. And Brooklyn really is a second home. ...
I found a babysitter for the kids through my Bay Ridge connections, and Paul and I RSVP'd yes. I'm already looking forward to the wedding and looking forward to being in Bay Ridge once again. I'm anxious to introduce the city to Atticus and see it through Edith's ever-more-curious eyes. I can't wait.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
1,000 Blog Posts
Friday marks a big blogging milestone: My 1,000th post.
When I first began this blog just 12 days after moving to New York City in 2007, it was a way to keep up with my family and friends back home in Ohio. It was a photo album, a travelogue, a way to document all that was the same and different 500 miles away.
The blog gradually became something more. I occasionally practiced the SEO skills I was learning in my marketing job. I wrote about our first kid, and then my mixed emotions about moving back to Columbus in 2013.
Now that we've been in Ohio for almost two years, the blog has transitioned yet again to focus on readjusting to the Midwest, baby #2 and raising kiddos in Columbus.
But no matter where I am and what I'm doing, this blog is a pretty faithful representation of my life over the last 7 years and 8 months. I've grown up and changed, and now I'm watching Edith and Atticus do the same. No doubt this blog will continue to do so as well.
Thanks for reading.
When I first began this blog just 12 days after moving to New York City in 2007, it was a way to keep up with my family and friends back home in Ohio. It was a photo album, a travelogue, a way to document all that was the same and different 500 miles away.
The blog gradually became something more. I occasionally practiced the SEO skills I was learning in my marketing job. I wrote about our first kid, and then my mixed emotions about moving back to Columbus in 2013.
Now that we've been in Ohio for almost two years, the blog has transitioned yet again to focus on readjusting to the Midwest, baby #2 and raising kiddos in Columbus.
But no matter where I am and what I'm doing, this blog is a pretty faithful representation of my life over the last 7 years and 8 months. I've grown up and changed, and now I'm watching Edith and Atticus do the same. No doubt this blog will continue to do so as well.
Thanks for reading.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Monarch Butterfly Day at the Library
The few faithful followers of this blog know that we often attend events at the library branch a short distance from our house. It's not unusual for at least one member of our household to be there at least three times a week. The most likely combinations: me and the kids, or Paul and Edith.
But on Saturday, it was just Edith and me for the library's butterfly day. Paul said something to the effect that butterflies are just moths with colorful jackets, so he stayed home with Atticus. It was just Edith and I who went to the library and into the tent set up on the library's front lawn that held about a half-dozen monarchs.
The butterflies flitted around inside and onto the netting. A lady inside helped Edith hold one and showed us the butterfly's long, thin tongue. Later, we returned inside the library where Edith did some butterfly crafts -- a special treat since Mommy doesn't usually let her use markers! She was also surprisingly adept at stringing beads onto a pipe cleaner to make a caterpillar.
The butterfly activities made up only one hour of a busy summer, but it's events like this that make me glad we chose the neighborhood we did. I have a feeling that both Edith and Atticus will feel the same way.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Exploring Inniswood Metro Gardens
For several weeks now we've finally been at the point where we're not letting a newborn change our plans. As in: If we could do it before Atticus was born, we can do it with him, too. A good test to that theory was our morning at Inniswood Metro Gardens in nearby Westerville.
We packed up the kiddos on Memorial Day and spent a couple of hours walking the trails and exploring the park. When I needed to feed Atticus, Paul walked with Edith in the gardens. When Edith needed to use the potty, we found them and took her. Doable.
Not just doable, but pleasant. We could have spent much longer there -- we didn't even make it to the storybook maze! -- but kids do change some things. Namely, nap time and the need to get home for it.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Coins: New York vs. Ohio
On Paul's bed stand is an old mug filled with coins. Except it hasn't
been full in the almost two years we've been back in Columbus.
In New York I rolled coins every few months. I didn't mind. It's a pretty mindless activity, and the $30 or so that we then deposited into our account always seemed like free money.
But I haven't had to roll coins once since we've lived in Clintonville. It's a testament, I think to how much more we use credit cards here. New York is a center of commerce, but a surprising number of businesses are cash only. Those that we were most likely to patronize were the bodegas, which means we always had to have cash on hand when we bought fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs. And we always got a handful of coins back.
Of course, I never had to roll quarters -- they were in high demand at the Laundromat. In fact, we often didn't have quite enough and I had to convert small bills into quarters at the coin machine.
I can think of only two places in Columbus that I use coins: my doctor's office ($2 garage fee) and the COSI children's museum, where I park at the meters. Actually, both accept credit cards but I bring coins just to use them up.
No complaints. Only an interesting observation and unusual distinction between the two cities.
In New York I rolled coins every few months. I didn't mind. It's a pretty mindless activity, and the $30 or so that we then deposited into our account always seemed like free money.
But I haven't had to roll coins once since we've lived in Clintonville. It's a testament, I think to how much more we use credit cards here. New York is a center of commerce, but a surprising number of businesses are cash only. Those that we were most likely to patronize were the bodegas, which means we always had to have cash on hand when we bought fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs. And we always got a handful of coins back.
Of course, I never had to roll quarters -- they were in high demand at the Laundromat. In fact, we often didn't have quite enough and I had to convert small bills into quarters at the coin machine.
I can think of only two places in Columbus that I use coins: my doctor's office ($2 garage fee) and the COSI children's museum, where I park at the meters. Actually, both accept credit cards but I bring coins just to use them up.
No complaints. Only an interesting observation and unusual distinction between the two cities.
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