Woznation

Wow its been a crazy few months.  But I finally feel like we are getting this down.  Its kind of nuts that we just picked up shop and moved half way across the country. It feels like we are starting from scratch, but at the same time – its all the same.  I guess because we are trying to keep the kids in a consistent routine and keep them immersed in activities that are familiar to them.  My day still consists of dishes, laundry, trash, making dinner, and fitting in work emails when I can. The kids still follow the same general routine as they always did.

Hanging out at home:

We found a few libraries that have preschool-aged programs, we got a pass to a splash pad over near Phil’s work, we’ve found a plethora of playgrounds, and a nice gymnastics center with classes for both Evie and Wil. We even found a beach up at Lake Zurich that the kids love.   We are able to fill the days and weekends with really fun activities which has made the transition so much easier for them.

So many playgrounds:

Great libraries:

Water and Gymnastics:

Some things are definitely different from Baltimore.  We are still getting use to driving ‘a long way’ to all these places – everything is usually about 2-5 miles away (instead of the typical ‘few blocks’ in Baltimore).  I need to figure out some better car games to play to get from point A to point B without all the whining. I’m still trying to shake some old habits from Baltimore — I saw a leaf in the back yard and thought for sure it was a dead rat; and when it rains – Im still nervous the basement is going to flood. Also – one really weird side effect of moving – all my dinners suck.  The combination of new ingredients, new oven, and new stove has caused me to ruin quite a few meals.  I was on auto-pilot for so long in the old kitchen, I need to go back and revisit some of my go-to recipes in the new place. However, there have been some really nice things as well – like when we forgot to close the garage door one night – and everything was still there in the morning!  That would not have happened in Baltimore.

I’m starting to figure out grocery and target runs.  There is the fancy grocery store a few miles away that is fantastic, but I love the convenience of the Jewel that is less than half a mile from our house.  There is an amazing bakery down the road —  Phil takes the kids on saturday morning in their PJs to ‘surprise’ me with donuts with they get home. We found a place that has Barney’s special dog food (with a prescription? Have you ever heard of needing a prescription for dog food?! I digress…).  The burbs have not delivered on good restaurants quite yet.  Maybe we just havent found them. but I do miss all the quaint little spots from Canton and Fells Points.  Everything around here is either chain, or just sub-par.  We were able to make it into the city one night for a date night where we had a great meal.  Phil had arranged for my parents to come up and watch the kids and surprised me with tickets to the orchestra.  It was a much needed night of being an autonomous adult and it was so nice to have the city at our disposal.

I’m still getting use to being at home full-time with the kids.  There are days where I would do anything to fly Liz to us for a week (and I know the kids feel the same!).  Going from 2 days alone with the kids to 5 days alone with the kids — without the ‘escape’ of going to work and talking to adults, and eating a quiet meal without little people constantly berating you — has been extremely challenging on my mental health.  I’ve been trying to be outgoing and strike up conversation with other moms at the library or playgrounds with hopes of making a connection, but it still feels awkward.  I was actually lucky enough to meet up with Christina from Baltimore when she was here visiting her parents.    And the kids and I made it into the city once to meet up with Annakate and Hadley and their little ones.  It was so nice to hang out with old friends without any stress. And on days where I dont feel like venturing out, I settle for phone dates with long distance friends who hook us up with sweet water tables AND butterfly kits (thanks Cel!):

Its been really hard to continue working without any additional babysitting.  I try to work at naps and after bedtimes, but often dont find enough time, so most of my work has to be done on the weekend, which is NOT what I had in mind.  I finished up two major manuscripts that were submitted, and am working on 2 remaining open projects that I hope to hand off within the next few months. Maybe once work is not hanging over my head, I can focus on my new gig as ‘stay-at-home mom’.  Phil’s job is working out really well though.  He feels really comfortable in his new position and feels like he is starting to become useful.  He enjoys having a good friend at the same company (different division) and they sometime schedule ‘juice dates’ via the internal messaging system and talk about incredibly dorky interesting things.  Best of all – he is able to be around in the mornings if I need him and hes home by dinner nearly every night.  Today he was home before 5 and took the kids to the park while I made dinner alone in the house!  It was amazing. Its really nice going from a 40-minute commute to a 10-minute commute.

So yeah – we are getting into a groove! Moving always has its challenges and we are still figuring out our new life in the burbs, but there is soooo much potential here.  When Phil and I were downtown – I couldnt believe that this was going to be our city for the foreseeable future.  It is so fun to be in a place and imagine what it will be like to take the kids places when they are older.  I’m really really excited to finally be ‘home’ and start putting down roots.