Nearly a Year

My first year in NYC is almost over. It has been a really rough road with many breakdowns along the way. There have also been high points, but in all honesty I hope the next two are smoother. One of those high points is that Dr. J and I are expecting our second baby! We are SO happy and so excited to have another little baby in the house. I adore my doctor and wish I could see her more. Basically in New York, you see whomever is available in the practice and whomever is on call delivers your baby. Its such a contrast to Oregon, where I saw ONLY my doctor and the only reason she didn't deliver little miss was because she went on vacation and little miss decided to come 6 days late. I feel bad when I say that I don't love my neighborhood, because many of my friends at church absolutely LOVE it. They love the culture and diversity and they embrace the vitality. I don't know why I've been turned in to such a pessimist over the last year, but I'm tired of the drug dealing gang bangers outside my building door every day all day, I'm tired of no one understanding me...ever because I don't speak spanish, and I'm annoyed with the poor school choices in our area. There are areas of New York that I absolutely love! I adore the upper west side around Lincoln Center, its probably my favorite area in the whole city. I love Central park, the beauty of this place is unmatched, and the Upper East side is just a place to marvel at. At heart I am just a suburb girl. I always have been and I don't think I need to apologize for it. Living in New York isn't the right thing for everyone and after my first year I don't think it's the right place for me at all, maybe I'll feel different over the remaining two. I'm sorry for the people who would be offended by this that think that New York is the most fabulous city in the universe, but I find it highly overrated.

Pure Summer Joy

Take 1 4 year old + 90 degree heat + a super big fountain to play in= Pure summer joy! Little Miss and I went to Dyckman Park in Inwood to play in their big water feature. It's almost the size of the fountain at Gateway in Salt Lake City, and no where near as crowded. She was so happy we played there for over an hour and I knew there would be tears when we left, but a Happy Meal made it not so bad. She is totally passed out in bed right now giving a tired mommy time to veg out on the couch.

FDNY

For our co-op preschool our friend planned a fire safety lesson. We taught the kids about things that can be hot and what not to touch. We taught them to stop, drop, and roll. The Fire fighters showed up with their truck and let the kids climb around inside. The mommies got a little eye candy to with all the hot fire fighters!

Space Shuttle Enterprise Fly Over

What a cool experience this was! This morning a bunch of my friends and I watched the Space Shuttle Enterprise fly over the Hudson River from the roof top of one of the medical towers at New York Presbyterian Hospital. The kids loved it, even though I don't think they quite grasped how cool and how rare it is to see something like this. They flew the Shuttle very low so we got a really good look at it. I could actually see it more clearly with my eyes than through the lens of my camera phone. Here are my pictures.

Pretty pictures continued

Spring in Central Park

Little miss and I went on a special excursion to the park to see the Alice in Wonderland statue and then to Alice's Tea Cup for a treat. Here are the GORGEOUS pictures of our day out. Go ahead and be jealous!!

Spring has Sprung!

New York is looking more and more like the backdrop of the romantic comedies it's famous for. The trees are in bloom and the flowers are flourishing. I have to say this winter was not bad at all. It only snowed twice and I only had to pull out the big down overcoat for about a month. I think I can handle the 50 degree winters, although I'm assured that this is not normal.

I can't take credit for the pictures, but this IS how it looks right now.