Thursday, June 17, 2010

Welcome to New York City!!!








Mommy Mayhem: New York City
I have decided to start a blog about my adventures as a mother in NYC. Why now? Well, I recently moved to New York with my very busy husband my 3 beautiful little girls and our amazingly big dog Marley. We are living in this tiny 1 bedroom apt in Manhattan. Yes, you read correctly “one bedroom apt”. How did we get here you ask? The short answer is this: my husband left his 6-figure a year job and we had to move from our wonderful apt in San Francisco. We always had wanted to be on the east coast and for one reason or another we never did it. So, we thought since we have to start over anyway, why not move to where we want to be and start there. And that is how we got here. To this amazingly big city full of adventures and full of people like us that come here looking to conquer it!
Only difference is I am a stay-at-home mother of 3. I am a wife, housekeeper, dog walker and at times I am my husbands secretary and psychiatrist, other times I am my girls walking handkerchief, other times their best friend etc, etc. I think you get the idea. That is why I have decided to blog; to blog about all the crazy moments I go thru as a mother and as a wife here in New York City.
I guess I better begin with the moment we first walked in to our New York City apt. There we are standing at the entrance of this tiny place after I had to carry up my tiny 3-month old daughter in one arm while holding (rather dragging) my 3 yr old daughters hand and 70lb dog’s leash in the other. I look up to see my 9 yr old daughter standing at the top of each stairwell (our place is on the 4th floor of the building with no elevator!) screaming, “Hurry up!” Mind you, it’s past midnight, I’m sure all the neighbors heard us, heck maybe even the whole block! Behind me followed my poor husband huffing and puffing for having to haul up 3 flights of steps, 4 heavy suitcases and a huge dog crate. Finally we get to the door of the place that will be our home for the next 3 months! After a long day of traveling we can’t wait to hit the bed. My husband turns the key and we walk in and there it is: this small, er, tiny little place. I turn look at my husband there he is happy as can be, eager to show me how great of a place this is what a deal he got and how it’s so fantastic that it has a washer and dryer in the unit and a dishwasher, all of the appliances are new and he is just so proud of himself and I can’t help but feel terrible guilt for feeling sad that I am here in this tiny unit!! Beautiful but tiny! I think he noticed my face and I see his handsome face turn from a grin to a frown “its only temporary honey, while I get a job and we get on our feet.” I know this, yet I still feel unsure and sad and angry. Once he hugs me and says we are going to be okay I feel better. We manage to drag the suitcases in with the little energy we have left as soon as we close the door our 9yr old daughter is crying uncontrollably. The 3 yr old is scared crap-less. Our tiny 3 month old is just lying there happy as can be. Then again she is always happy (for the most part). We are stunned and thinking she was hurt we asked what happened she just screams out “ How could you? How could you bring me to this dump!” As soon as we heard those words we knew this was going to be an even longer night. We allowed her to have her feelings after all we could understand it’s a huge change for them. She screamed and cried a while longer, then when she calmed down. I asked her what does a dump mean? She says, “Well it’s a place like this they can’t even afford to finish up the walls,” pointing to the exposed brick on wall. According to my husband, it’s considered a luxury feature in NYC. We all laughed and yes, maybe even cried. With that we all got ready for bed.
As I laid there in my new bed in my new apt in our new city I realized that the next 3 months were going to be filled with adventures and laughter and tears.

7 comments:

  1. You are braver than I am! I cant wait to hear all of your adventures!

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  2. Definitely proud of Jared for following his dream, and majorly proud of you, Mari, for sticking with your husband, and providing the support he needs to prove to you and your girls that you guys WILL make it, even if it means sacrificing a few luxuries to get there! I am always down for an adventure, but I only have myself to worry about. You have a whole crew! You're such an awesome storyteller - this blog is definitely going to be worth following!

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  3. I love the first post! Just think of the great memories and stories you'll have. Post often, I'm excited to read about your NYC adventures!!! BTW, if only we had exposed brick, that sounds nice. And a washer/dryer? You should bring Sarah to our place to show her how much worse it could be, haha.

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  4. Oh Mari!
    I can't wait for you to post again, you already have me hooked on your adventure. But remember, as I know you do, that happiness comes in all kinds of ways (big, small, walk-ups, elevators, etc.)and that your family is your biggest and most important asset. Keep smiling---you all are embarking on a great new change. Love to all of you!

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  5. Actually it was Andrew's mom (Leigh) that posted that. But Andrew agrees : )

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  6. what a fabulous account of the start of your new adventure! you'll survive the one-bedroom and someday you'll look back and say, "remember when..." and I for one am all for unfinished walls!

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  7. As an ex-Manhattanitte, my advice is to move to Brooklyn or New Jersey or somewhere after taking time to scope out neighbourhoods. NYC has a way of making everyone feel poor, even the fabulously wealthy.
    Also, NYC is the land of play dates. That's how you will keep your sanity and make friends. And sitting in the playground with the kids is good, too for keeping you all sane on a budget and building community. NYC is one of the most expensive cities in the world, but it also has the most free events of anywhere. Buy Time Out and grab the free neighbourhood parent newsletters about town. Meet up.com is great for finding like minded souls. Living in NYC is hard, but in time you will find that you are toodling those kids on and off buses like nobodies business, and your kids will have amazing adventures to remember. And honestly, when I read that you had a washer and dryer in the apartment, I said, Wow!! that really is unusual for NYC apartments. Now that I live outside NYC, I take it for granted. good luck on your new life.

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