New York in List Form

Highlights:

-Being with Go without the responsibilities of children.  I love my kids but sometimes a break is exactly what a woman needs to feel human again. 

-Jimmy Fallon.  I met him.  And talked to him, like a full on conversation.  And I may or may not have done jazz hands during one point of the conversation.  I had met him once in the green room when we were hanging out with ID (that's when the alleged jazz hands may or may not have occurred) and then we got to talk to him again after the show, we were in the studio off to the side; he came over and thanked us for coming.  Just as he was turning to leave, Go caught him by the arm and pulled him back over, saying "My wife is your biggest fan," and then he proceeded to tell Jimmy just what a big huge geeker I am, how I saw more of Jimmy than I saw of him during his residency and how when he would come home at night, I'd show him the funny clips from the show, how I'd seen everything Jimmy had ever done, etc etc etc and that's when Jimmy shook my hand for the fourth time saying "You're so awesome!  Thanks pal!" and then he turned to Go as he was leaving, patted him on the shoulder and said "You're a good man."  Yes.  He is.  A very good man.  

-Seeing ID play in such weird circumstances, in front of only a hand full of people and zero people up in the stands for the audience.  They still killed it.  

-Here are a few pictures I managed to snap while at Jimmy Fallon:

The dancing ET was hilarious and is one of the writers.   I wanted to get a picture with Jimmy but there's something in me that won't let me ask celebrities for photos.  I just want to let them be.  Since these guys are writers, they're quasi-celebrities, the kind that get stoked when randoms ask for their picture.

Here are some pictures I took during sound check. The studio is way smaller than it looks on TV, I could hardly believe it.  These pics are big time contraband, by the way.  I wasn't suppose to be taking any photos whatsoever and a security guard came over to the girlfriend of one of the band members while she was taking pictures with her phone and made her delete them.  I was super uncharacteristically stealth.

Because of the hurricane, Jimmy only had about half of an audience and due to safety reasons as well, he sent them home, wanting no one in the audience so he could do the whole bit, so this is were Go, I and the band watched the show, next door in the green room.

-Being in NYC when chaos ensues.  I just happened to be there for 9/11 so I felt right at home.  Disaster is so my jam.  This is Go and I on Times Square one night.  We were two of maybe twenty people out on the street.  Bizarre.

-Hanging with two of my BILs for a week.  I love my in-law family.  They are one of the hugest sources of joy in my life.

-Seeing Newsies on Broadway--my first Broadway show.  We won really cheap lottery tickets.  It was thrilling to hear my name called.  I never win anything!

-Just being there in the city. I really do love it.

-The Guggenheim--the only museum I hadn't visited.  The exhibit was so-so.  The building was AMAZING.

(photo credit)

-We were supposed to leave back to Vegas Tuesday morning, but because of the storm, we left Thursday morning.  What was supposed to be a short not-quite-4-day trip turned into almost a week affair.  We missed Halloween, which was a bummer for our kids, but my SIL sent me some pictures.  

-As of Monday night, our hotel at limited running water and no power.  Fun times!  Luckily my BILs' hotel, which was much nicer and more north, out of the path of the power outage, had power and water so we charged our cell phones and showered at their place.

We had a great time.  A trip that will go down in (my own personal) history for sure.

Cheekwood Botanical Garden with Nashville Cousins

Things

-The girls start school tomorrow and are very much still on Pacific Coast time, which is three hours behind our current Eastern Standard time position. Ouch.

-I never thought I'd say this but I am so excited to move to Las Vegas, that I can barely contain myself. I've come to learn that when it comes to location, sunshine and family is all I need to be happy and that freaky place has an abundance of both.

-Speaking of sunshine, I started taking Vitamin D supplements in hopes to thwart my raging S. A. D. If the supplements don't get me through this last winter here in the dark northeast, Zillow will.

-I am not making any official New Years resolutions this year. I'm pretty sure selling a house, moving across the country, buying a house, starting a business and getting it off the ground will be overwhelming enough. Not to mention still getting use to having four children and keeping them happy, healthy, well feed, clean-clothed, etc.

-The official purge of our home to get ready to sell and then move has begun. Most of our stuff is so junky, though, I'm totally embarrassed to give our stuff away to people I know. Everything is so old (1970's and not the cool 1970's) and broken (Ikea) and just bad looking (garage sales and dumpster dives) that I am having a really hard time asking people I know if they want our junk for free. I feel like I should be paying them for actually taking the crap off my hands and out of my house.

-This trip back home and to our future home was probably my favorite Christmas trip ever. Lots of tender and good things went down. Exciting things are happening for our family members.

-Juniper will only nap in her carseat in the car or in her swing. This worries and frustrates me. I've never had a kid that refuses to go to sleep (during the day) in her crib. Suggestions anyone?

-My baby weight is not shedding the way it usually does. This concerns me. I'm trying to approach it by focusing on health, mostly to set an example for my girls. I don't want them focusing on weight. I want them focused on health, and so I will too. Its going to be slow going and it's hard not to get discouraged.

-I walked around in what will probably be (haven't officially signed anything yet but a verbal acceptance has been made) Go's office. We will (assuming things go as planned) be sharing the office space with an existing physician and when its official, I'll expand. Even though Go's stressed out of his mind about starting up, I'm so excited for him. He's worked so incredibly hard, harder than anyone I know. I just keep thinking of that first appointment he'll have. It's a good thing I won't be there with him, otherwise I'd be blubbering all over the place. Awkward. Also, I can't wait to get my hands on the current waiting room of his office. It needs some TLC and I'm ready to give it some.

-Lately, I've been told by several strangers (three different times at the airport, twice while at the doctor's office/hospital, etc) the same sentence: "You have such a wonderful family." I find it a peculiar thing to say to someone you don't know. How do these people know my girls are wonderful by merely observing them for a couple of minutes? I don't know, but they always seem sincere and I've decided just really good judges of character.

-That is all.

Christmas Eve at the Beach

Juniper (and Ruby and May): 9 weeks

On Uncle Joe's old bed this morning. Olive was down stairs getting into the cereal like the raccoon she is.

Friday Photo: Juniper Week 8

We're photoboothing it today. Tomorrow early, early, early we leave for CA, so today that means laundry and packing and cleaning and saying prayers for nice and understand people on our 1.5 and 6.5 hour flights. THIS IS THE SECOND-LAST TIME I'LL EVER HAVE TO DO THIS, fly alone with all the kids. And the next time, I won't have a return flight, which makes me want to dance around with a lamp shade on my head.

She's like: "My, what big roots you have!"

State College

We took an excursion this weekend to State College, PA,

the second-to-last thing on our

EAST-COAST-THINGS TO DO BEFORE WE MOVE BACK WEST list.

Our family is big into road trips, so this being the last weekend I felt comfortable

going outside of a 10 mile radius away from the hospital,

my beloved OB and anesthesiologist,

we took advantage and high tailed it out of town.

It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time.

Really, now the only thing left on our

EAST-COAST-THINGS TO DO BEFORE WE MOVE BACK WEST list

is Boston.

Maybe in the spring...

Anyway.

Here we are enjoying our ice creams under a huge oak tree on the beautiful Penn State Campus.

And this was taken with Go's phone, by Go,

while we took a break from walking around the little down town area of "Happy Valley."

No one really looks that happy in the picture, but trust me we were.

...even if I wasn't too thrilled with my picture being taken at 8 months pregnant.

After a lunch, a treat and a couple of hours meandering around,

we went to Penns Cave,

somewhere I had really wanted to go:

PENN'S CAVE:

America's only all-water underground cavern.

You are taken on an hour long boat tour in a cave that's 100 feet under the ground.

SO COOL!

You go through the cavern and come out onto this lake where the boat can turn around and then you're taken through the cave again.

Outside of the cave offered more photo opps than inside,

where we were in the dark of a lot of the time.

Just as the inside of the cave was mysterious and fascinating,

outside of the cave on the lake was just as beautiful.

You are about to witness Go's "You bettah check yo'self befo' you wreck yo'self" face,

which was pointed at Ruby who apparently, was being sassy.

I hope you checked yo'self.

And this picture is for my Grandpa, who loves Blue Herons.

I've never actually seen on in a tree before.

You can't really tell from the picture but he was pretty high up there.

And here we are back to the dock where we started.

And now back up 100 feet to the earth's surface.

What an excellent day.

Our Last Day in CA

Pretend City

My Mom took us to Pretend City yesterday.

What is Pretend City, you ask?

It's a pretend city.

You aren't very bright, are you?

Just kidding. You are bright. You're just really polite.

Arteeeeests.

May, administering care to my preggy body.

This is the look I give my doctors when I'm pregnant.

"I don't have to take my pants off this time, right?"

"I've always wanted to know what it's like to have a broken leg and crutches!"

Dreams do come true, Ruby.

THE freakiest doll I've ever seen found in the "doctor's office."

Even the ugly deserve health care.

Olive whipped up some delicious brownies for Grandma.

"Mmmm...there's an aroma of acrylic paint mixed with slight undertones of dirty hands.

And there's a woody taste.

Is that plywood or solid pine?"

Fishing.

"RUBES! I CAUGHT A CRAB!"

This posed picture is for Uncle Joe.

*Take note of the crusty Olive is giving the little boy who wouldn't get off the firetruck.

A better look at said crusty.

I liked this whale.

May was tired.

Instead of performing on the stage, my girls preferred to be the light engineers,

the brains and artists behind the scenes.

I am totally fine with this.

Baby chicks.

Squealing at baby chicks.

Just a little girl, alone with her thoughts in the orange groves.

May, getting a check-up from Ruby Reynolds, DDS.

Me: "Do NOT put anything in her mouth!"

Them: "We're no-ot, Mom!"

Hm. Lies?

You be the judge

"Hello, Daddy?

I miss you!

Come change my diapers!"