Before and Afters

In honor of our now getting the HGTV channel, here are some family room before and afters.

Although we thought the maternity clothes tub entertainment center was particularly classy...

A new look was in order. Ottoman on its way.

Charlotte waving her bread.

Charlotte's favorite new fort.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!


Happy Father's Day Da-da! I hope to be as cool as you someday. Love, Charlotte

Welcome to Texas!

I know, I know - I need to change my title, my picture, my web address. Currently that is #117 on my to-do list! Updating the blog was a little further up so here goes, starting with a few things I'm happy about.

Fun last BBQ. I forgot to post about our last roof BBQ three weeks ago (seems like a year ago!), which was a huge success even though the day was a bit chilly and raining. It was great to see most all of our friends one more time and enjoy that unique, beautiful spot for grilling.

Tons of help moving. People were moving stuff faster than I could pack an overnight bag for myself and Charlotte! Scheduling the move on Memorial Day was a good idea - 15+ guys showed up to help and it was done in no time. The cleaning up afterward wasn't so fun, but luckily Mary took in Charlotte so she could get a nap and Andrea helped a lot with the sweeping, scrubbing and feeding me afterwards! Everyone thought we were crazy to take the subway to the airport, but I thought I could brave it one last time and it was no problem. After hearing how much Helaman was spending on the moving truck gas (YIKES), I was glad to save the cab money too.
My mom who drove up to Dallas with Charlotte and I and took care of her while we did the house closing and moved in. Charlotte was instantly attached to her new "nanny" and started preferring her over me! Thanks also to my cousin JoEllen for welcoming us to Dallas and letting us stay with her, and Helaman's dad for driving all the way from New York with him.


Conveniences like a Kroger, CVS, Quizno's and Kohl's a block away. A friendly, fast post office 3 minutes away. SuperTarget, IKEA and a mall 5 minutes away. I really am still in shock that I have such quick access to these places and many more.

(Imagine the Price is Right guy's voice here) A new car! I bought my old Camry back from Pete, but that wasn't a new car to me. We also got an '04 Hyundai Santa Fe which I am loving for all the space to load and unload Charlotte and her stroller. It has been a little shocking to buy so much expensive stuff (house, cars, furniture) in the space of a week. I guess usually you space it out a bit!

eBay and Craigslist. In the end we did end up selling quite a bit of old cheapo furniture and randomness on Craigslist (despite its problems) which was good. We also have been selling Helaman and some of his classmates' old dental equipment on eBay which has helped a lot in paying for the aforementioned ludicrous gas bill across the country.

Baby steps. Proving she just needed some unencumbered SPACE, Charlotte started walking the second day we were in the house, and before the week was over she was a pro. No more dirty knees!!! However, she won't sit in the stroller anymore while shopping:(

Nice people. I'm still amazed at how friendly the Texans are. Store employees have asked me if I need help. The seller of our home arrived with a welcome basket for us. The ward was very welcoming (not that NY's wasn't). It's really nice and I have to get rid of my NY knee-jerk reaction of "what does this person want from me!?"

All in all, everything is great and we are so happy to be here!

Farewell New York

It's Moving Day Eve, and before this laptop gets packed away, I just wanted to give a last farewell to my New York friends. I didn't get a chance to hug each one of you, so I hope you know how much you mean to me. A girl couldn't ask for better friends and I will remember every one of you forever. Literally - I have a great memory for names and faces. Below is just a few of the memories that we share and that I will always be grateful for.

- Girls' Nights!
- All the meals and support when Charlotte was born
- Laughing and chatting (never complaining;) at work
- The 24 Crew
- Moms of babies born in '06-'07 - endless talks about poops and naps
- Serendipity mornings in the freezing cold
- Breadwinner wives - we rule!
- Card club gals - one night a month to count on
- Many funny sunbeam moments
- Help getting the stroller up and down stairs from many wonderful strangers
- Bad jobs (and bosses) and how they made me appreciate the good ones
- Student Tower friends - just a button away
- Roof BBQs
- Baby showers
- Rides to Target, Costco and IKEA
- Exploring the city
- Out of town guests' touristy trips
- Everyone's teeny, crammed apartments and craigslist furniture
- Bus rides to DC and Boston
- Amazing conversations and friendships with smart, understanding people
- Surviving the big city and becoming a better person because of it

I know we'll run into each other again and I can't wait for that to happen. Until then, I'll be reading your blogs. A sincere good luck with all you pursue and PLEASE stop by if you are ever in Dallas (or move here if you get the chance!).

Graduation Day!

Dr. Erickson

The day finally came! Congratulations H! Four years ago we moved to New York as wide-eyed newlyweds and it seemed like it would take forever to reach this point. He collected the Research Excellence Award and the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology Horace Wells Award in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

Luckily it didn't rain on the parade of graduates but rather turned out to be a beautiful day for the outdoor ceremony.

To celebrate, later that night we went to see "Wicked" the Broadway show, which was great! Many thanks to my team of babysitters for the day - Malesa, Linda, and Andrea! Charlotte loved them all.

Now on to the business of actually moving! Wow, is it a lot of work or what?!

Napping on the job

FOR SALE

Class dinner on a midtown roof

So is it just me, or do when people become 300x more flaky than usual when they decide to buy stuff, sell stuff or even just give stuff away on Craigslist?? Obviously Craigslist is a test of character to see how you behave when the person dealing with you doesn't know you and you have zero recorded or public accountability. Recent experiences suggest that a disappointing number of people fail this test all the time. I wonder if Craigslist will ever set up a feedback mechanism like eBay's - I think it could really help the site as I'm sure many get so frustrated with it they bag it completely and look elsewhere for cheap stuff.

Anyway, for you local readers, here are some items for sale that we are trying to get rid of before we leave:

IKEA Poang Chair/Ottoman - $75
Area Rug - $30
Rice Cooker - $5
George Foreman Grill - $10
Low Bookshelf (30" x 57")- $20
Tall Shelves (2 ft x 5 ft)- $20
Computer desk - $15
Corner computer desk - $40
IKEA dimmer lamps (3) - $15 each
Barstools (2) - $5 each
Magazine rack - $5
Entertainment Center - $15

Email me if you want to see any pictures. If you help us move on May 26 there is a good chance you'll be able to walk away with some of this stuff for free, but no guarantees!

I really can't believe we are leaving!!

Happy Rebate Day

For a couple months Charlotte has been emptying this shelf, and every time I've cleaned it up. Finally I just packed it up and our lives are much better.

In my very brief and ill-conceived corporate recruiting career here in the city I was instrumental (by handling the logistics of the extensive interview process) in getting Bob Evans his job as CEO of Churchill Downs. So... Helaman and I watched our first Kentucky Derby last week and I was rooting for Eight Belles to be the next filly to win it. How tragic that she gave it her all, came in second and then died right there on the track after breaking both ankles. How depressing!!

Helaman finally gave me a checkup and cleaning yesterday since I hadn't had one in a couple years since finishing the Invisalign. I'm happy to report 28 years = no cavities!

Keep the change, ya filthy animal

18 Days until Helaman's graduation. He passed his licensing exam and is ready for another round of fees and applications to get licensed in Texas. 23 days until we move. As I booked my flight out of here, I thought how crazy it was that it would be the last time we'd be flying out of New York. Right at this moment I am incredibly anxious to leave, due to Columbia's shutting off our heat even though the temperature is still in the 50s during the day, much lower at night and our 30-year old windows' insulation capabilities are non-existent. Thank you so much Jess for the space heater! Thankfully Charlotte's nose has ceased to run.

The other night was another gal-pal night out at the dessert place Cafe Lalo. We all wish we had been doing this all year instead of just the last couple months we'll all be here! These girls are amazing and I am so, so lucky to have had them and many others just as wonderful to call friends the last few years. I'm glad we all have blogs so we can keep up with each other.

Back at it

I knew I wasn't in New York anymore when in one day the following three things happened:

- At a fast food restaurant, two employees came up at different times and offered to refill drinks. They were so enthused I felt like I was doing them a favor by letting them clear my tray. Great way to start a day.

- At a bank, when we walked through the door an employee literally leaps up from behind his desk to see how he can help us. We needed certified checks since I left the checkbook at home and who knew you had to write a check for a house? :) Instead of waving us on to the teller line, he took care of the whole thing while we sat at his desk, and waived the $8 per check fee. Bliss.

- At Ann Taylor Loft, I remembered I had received a Friends & Family 25% off coupon in my email, but hadn't printed or brought it. I mentioned it to the manager and she said she'd give me the discount anyway. Swwweet. These things may seem usual to most people, but good customer service is not something I've seen a lot of the past four years in the city.

I love Dallas!! We really had a marathon week full of driving around and viewing over 70 houses, which according to our agent is the most she's ever shown anyone. After some hard bargaining, we ended up with the best of the lot and are very excited to move in next month.


But now we're back!! After a week in Dallas I thought I would be glad to see my good ol' friend New York City, but after sitting in a traffic jam at midnight last night with the taxi meter ticking away... I went back to my original plan of being really excited to move.

Charlotte seems to have grown a foot since I saw her last and had been doused in suntan lotion by her grandmother who was afraid of returning a tomato-child to me.

back to her usual haunts

Secrets Revealed

Can you see both bridges (the real one and the playground one)?

Goodbye Blockbuster. A couple weeks ago we found out that our local Blockbuster was closing, which is kind of sad. This past year we have made many a trip up the street to exchange the DVDs we got in the mail so we would have no less than 6 DVDs on hand at any given time. This was especially useful when catching up on past seasons of Lost, ER, and Beverly Hills 90210 (well, there's nothing else on!) So it looks like we'll be canceling the total access Blockbuster online membership and trying out Netflix for a while. As usual, I checked with Ebates to see if we could get a good deal, and sure enough, we'll get $18 cash back after the free trial ends which is good for at least another couple months.

Shopping Thoughts. I love shopping. It's really fun. When we moved to New York I had major sticker-shock at the prices on everything from rent to bananas. Quickly I realized the only way to enable my shopping habit was to find serious deals. Everyone always says it's not worth the time and effort it takes to find deals, but I disagree. Like anything, it is a skill that is developed. The initial investment of time, effort and diligence can be large. But once you start and commit to this lifestyle, it becomes easier to spot good deals, know where to look, and know what tools to use for what kind of items and services.

5 Easy Shop-like-Christina Tips:

1. I use Discover Card's 5% cash back on certain categories. This quarter they give the 5% cash back on department store, home store and clothing purchases. Next quarter will be gas! I always keep the categories in mind and only use the Discover for those. This really paid off last month when I bought plane tickets and a rental car, since travel stuff was the category. Your cash back builds up quick this way, and you can then trade your cash back for gift cards worth even more.

2. I have a small stack of coupons paper clipped in my purse at all times. This is a terrible filing system. But, coupons do you no good at home in a box. When I'm shopping I can quickly check the stack. Every couple weeks I go through and throw out the expired ones. I only tote around coupons on stuff I actually buy and never shop for things based on if I have a coupon for it.

3. I subscribe to a couple of blogs that tell you when stuff is cheap. My favorite is babycheapskate.blogspot.com, which has weekly updates as to where the best diaper deals are among many other baby stuff-buying tips.

4. When shopping for something specific, look at a couple of deal sites. There are a million. My favorite is dealnews.com. It doesn't pay to look at those sites when you don't have anything in mind though. You'll end up buying things you don't need just because it's a good deal.

5. I used to subscribe to Lucky Magazine, and one of the benefits was an online click-through cash back operation like Ebates, but not as expansive. They did, however, give 25% cash back on discount theater tickets which we used all the time (you have to here - the tickets are $13!). Our apartment got taken over by magazines this past year though, so I had to stop that madness and now just use Ebates which I've mentioned before. Most beneficial lately was that I used Ebates to book a rental car through Hotwire, where it gives 2% cash back. So add that to the Discover Card's 5% - that's 7% cash back for doing nothing but remembering a couple of clicks. On big ticket items like that - definitely worth it.

Ok, I've shared with you some of my tricks. Tell me what yours are!

This post is dedicated to Andrea because of her comments on Sunday:)

Spring has sprung

High time for a thankful list!

Great weather. This week we've been able to get out and about and have loved every minute.

Girl friends. Getting together with Julia and Emma at Columbia's main campus for lunch. Getting together with girls definitely re-energizes you. Believe it or not - Julia is pregnant!
Good news. My little brother Mark just got engaged and will be married in June in Salt Lake.

A winner. Helaman's research won first place in last year's competition and he went on to present it in San Francisco's national dental meeting. This year, he was awarded the opportunity to present somewhere else.

One nap. Charlotte's mid-day nap is great - we can do things in the morning and in the afternoon.

Giving kitty "a kiss"

Wonderful counsel. I keep recalling Elder Ballard's talk he gave at our church's annual worldwide conference on Sunday directed to young mothers which I really need to hear.

"After observing and empathizing with three generations of mothers and thinking of my own dear mother, I surely know that there is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood.... There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made."

Comforting words from an inspired man.

Countdown. To next week's house-hunting trip!

Deals. All of a sudden Charlotte outgrew her size 3 diapers, and there was a great deal listed on BabyCheapSkate for Seventh Generation diapers, which are supposed to be environmentally better than regulars. First, sign up for Ebates, which you should do if you ever buy anything online - it's cash back for every purchase just for clicking through their site. Then, find drugstore.com through the ebates site and buy the Seventh Generation diapers which are on sale for $31.32 (after $5 instant coupon). You will get $2 cash back from ebates plus their $5 sign up bonus, making the size 4 diapers .17 cents each - smaller sizes even less. Of course, you have to be a first-time user of drugstore.com to get free shipping. I was already a user - so I signed up Helaman and it worked fine. You also get cash back from drugstore.com, but you have to use it within a month which I never do before they expire so I didn't figure that in the calculation. The diapers came in two days, and they hold strong in the face of blowouts just as well as the others.

Girl's Night

Back when "24" was on the air, Helaman and I could always look forward to getting together every Monday night with Ellen, Julia, Andrea and their husbands for a night of sarcastic and/or witty commentary, treats and possibly a game. Good times! Since those days, "24" fell victim to the writers' strike, various babies started needing to get to bed before 10pm, Julia moved across the park (might as well be across the country!) and it's been hard to get together again. But we did it! And it was an extremely enjoyable evening, capped by Ellen's rescue of a disoriented elderly man on the subway tracks while Andrea and I cheered her on.

I will be so sad to leave these amazing ladies when we move to Texas! We've had a lot of fun together the last four years.

All dressed up for church, Charlotte took a walk in the hall.

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

Turning 1 is so fun!

Wow, that was delicious!

After finishing her first cupcake. We love you Char!

March 27, 2007

One Year Ago

One year ago today, I checked into the hospital with low fluids and a high aversion to getting on the subway to go to work. I can't believe how fast this year has gone!

We've been enjoying some nice weather at the local park. Charlotte practiced her cruising for a while but then reverted to crawling, to the dismay of her jeans.

100th Post!

100th Post!!

For this special occasion, I thought I'd stop my complaining about not having a dishwasher or any room whatsoever for anything in this tiny apartment and focus on the things I will miss when we leave New York City.

You become cool. When you tell out-of-towners that you live in Manhattan, they say, "Oh wow!" and you just know they think you live some sort of glamorous, G-rated Sex and the City life. I nod, smile and do not correct them.
Real diversity. You make friends with people of all cultures, and feel a little more unique yourself. I'll always remember going out west for the first time since moving here and being totally let down that everyone looked like me.

A Second Family. No one's real family lives out here, so you rely on your friends and generally get to know them better than you otherwise would through the car/subway/bus-pooling, close proximity, similar situations we are in and the holidays and special occasions spent together.

Sights. I never get tired of seeing the Empire State Building from my window, or the amazing skyline. Yes, the Statue of Liberty is smaller in real life than in the movies - but no less inspiring. The bridges surrounding the island are my favorite and I never got tired of seeing Poseidon at the skating rink, but I also appreciate the lesser known sights like the Monopoly-esque brass figures in the 14th St. subway station, Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park, the bull on Wall Street and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Big City, Small World. In a city of 8 million people, you don't expect to run into people you know. But since we've lived here, I ran into an old roommate on 6th Avenue, a girl I went to high school with 13 years ago in Florida on the subway, a friend from college at Rockefeller Center and innumerable friends-of-friends and church connections. A lot of people come here for a short time for either school or to start careers and it's a lot of fun to be part of that environment.

Much is required, some is given back. Though you pay a ton in city taxes, a lot of it is for free stuff you can do. I like to avoid large crowds and bedlam/pandemonium whenever possible, so we didn't do a lot of it, but was able to see Conan O'Brien and John Stewart's shows live, have thoroughly enjoyed Central Park's immaculate lawns, and have taken advantage of the "donation only" admission rates to many museums.

Opportunities abound. I think a lot of people come to New York because you can be and do anything you want - and I believe that's true as long as you are willing to work hard for it and you see people doing just that every day all around you. I appreciate the education and opportunities Columbia has given Helaman, and am greatful I was able to have a rewarding job myself with amazingly kind and generous employers.

I'm not publishing the things I won't miss in an effort to maintain a positive and family friendly blog:)

all for clean knees

Charlotte's started doing this weird elephant crawl around the apartment. Her little knees might be getting tired of the hard floors...! In any event, it is hilarious.

She's also working hard on getting some teeth. We can see a tip of one and it is quite exciting, as all of her contemporaries have several teeth at this point.

Helaman is scrambling around now to finish everything he needs to do to graduate and get licensed. They don't give those licenses away for free. Every day brings more fun surprise fees.

I spend a chunk of each day lately online looking at places to live in Dallas and waiting for pre-approvals to arrive. I can't believe we're going to live in a regular city soon. We're flying out in April to search for homes, which will also be a fun vacation for us with my parents watching Charlotte in Houston and reliving her glory days of having only one child. Soo.... we are also working hard on weaning Charlotte from breastfeeding which is harder than I thought. I've introduced whole milk a couple times and she's not as crazy about it as I imagined. It's so delicious! Like drinking ice cream!

11 months

I always feel a little out of the loop when I haven't posted for a while! I really enjoyed everyone's opinions about cloth diapers though. If you haven't weighed in on the topic, please do! At last count, there were two people in favor of using cloth, 3 maybe's and 5 emphatic NO's.

WANTED for attention stealing and killing with cuteness

The last week we've been in Phoenix soaking up the beautiful sunshine. We loved it.

Meeting of the minds

Charlotte and Ellie enjoyed getting to know each other while having a little snack together when their moms were in line.

Not our parents' diapers

At a baby shower this weekend, the subject of cloth diapers came up. I know it's kind of a hot topic, at least here, where I'm constantly inundated with "going green" talk. Later that day I saw this post on MommyKnows and was pretty impressed with the 21st century high-tech cloth diaper shown. This isn't the square cloth secured with safety pins as in our parents' day! The price is pretty hefty, but I think at some point I'd like to try cloth diapers. Not now - I'd never hazard doing so without my own washing machine, but I think it would be nice not to have to chase diaper sales/coupons and do my small part in NOT contributing to those HUGE piles of trash on the sidewalks on Thursday nights in my neighborhood. So momfriends, what do you think? Would you ever use cloth diapers?



MommyKnows and www.thebabymarketplace.com (a great place to shop and learn about cloth diapers) are hosting the bumGenius 3.0 One-Size Cloth Diaper Give Away.Go on over and comment and be entered to Win one of two bumGenius 3.0 One-Size Cloth Diapers.

Snow Dump 08!

I LOVE when it's snowing and I don't have to go anywhere outside. Right now we're getting some huge flakes. I was tagged by Ellen to list the first ten songs on my mp3 player shuffle. I got a Zune for Christmas, with speakers, which is essential for me since I rarely walk around listening to an mp3 player anymore. Keeping track of pacifiers, diapers, phone, hairbows, coupons, metrocards, Cheerios, stroller shields and my own sanity while I'm on the go is enough for me, though I admit having it with me on the train between 59th St. and 125th St. would probably make that eternal stretch much more bearable.

1. Girl Like That - Matchbox 20
2. American Girls - Counting Crows
3. You've Got a Way - Shania Twain
4. I Asked When - Brett Dennen
5. What Kind of Love are You On - Aerosmith (Armageddon soundtrack)
6. Invisible City - Wallflowers
7. One Good Love - Rascal Flatts
8. Come Down - Toad the Wet Sprocket
9. Ride a White Horse - Goldfrapp
10. Backseat of a Greyhound Bus - Sara Evans

I tag Lachelle and Heidi.

Extra Extra

We love the shuttle bus, which operates every now and then when there is subway construction on the weekends. Though we can't take the stroller on board, it is a free and quick trip to church. Charlotte has been doing great at church, playing with friends and entertaining the gospel essentials class.

She's also started waving hello and goodbye, especially to Helaman when he comes and goes.

Things I'm Grateful for this Week:

Valentine's Day! Helaman always gives me the best cards. I found him a jar of Jelly Bellys at Columbia's bookstore. I also found a soda-bottle-shaped container of jellies, all Dr. Pepper flavored. Nice I didn't have to go all the way to Dylan's Candy Bar! We got to go out to eat too, and came home to find her giving her babysitter a hard time about going to bed by banging on the walls and bouncing around her crib.

Chipotle. We bought a $10 giftcard and in doing so scored a free burrito for our next visit, which was the next day. When H reminded them about the free burrito, they said they'd give both burritos to us for free.

Cinnamon Rolls. I made some using brown cinnamon sugar as suggested by Bon Appetit magazine and was very pleased with the result. Not so pleasing: waking up this morning to find only one left.

Sleep in Sunday. Helaman gets up with Charlotte on Sundays, which is heaven, and the only reason I forgive him for eating all (but one) of the cinnamon rolls.

Young World. Disappointed with The Children's Place in our neighborhood and its lack of sales, we stopped in Young World and I was very impressed at the variety of baby stuff they had despite the reggae tone music blasting. Who knew? We got Charlotte a sippy cup she learned to use immediately.

FreshDirect. Recently they started selling Earth's Best Organic baby food for cheaper than the regular stuff at our local grocery stores. Particularly tasty: Split Pea Soup and Butternut Squash Bisque. A nice change from plain ol' Chicken Noodle Dinner, not that Charlotte was complaining...

Building Playgroup. With the nasty weather we had this week, it was great to not have to leave the building to hang out with other moms.

Boxes. Found some awesome big, clean ones in the trash room. I'm collecting them for our move.

Other people's blogs. I love them!! Keep it up!!