So Josephine and I tagged some extra days on either side of her preschool spring break and went to visit Sean for a couple weeks. (That's a euphemistic way of saying I tucked tail and ran as far away as possible from the madness of our house issues back in Austin!)
We benefitted from the mild weather as we settled into a routine of walks to the grocery store, library, laundromat, park, and toddler activities like story time and a sing-a-long. We found a nearby home store that had several critical items (like a french press!!!!!!!!), eventually located other bits and pieces from various other little shops, got a vacuum off craigslist, etc. Sean had already done a lot on his own, hauling some stuff home from Ikea and having a few things delivered, but there was a lot more to do to facilitate living there day in and out with a toddler. By the end of the two weeks, things felt pretty calm. I had cleaning supplies, toddler proofing was in place, and we all had real bedding (mattresses on the floor totally count, as long as they are real mattresses!), a secondhand dresser in each room, and a bookcase to help get bits and pieces off the floor. I didn't get pictures of the bedrooms, but here's an example of the progress in the dining room:
Our dining table for the first week (which conveniently doubled as a play time boat)...
Our dining room by the time we left... we found several items of furniture from a secondhand furniture market, and I added curtains to divide the living and dining room, so Josephine could actually focus in the living room during "blanket time". Sean has ordered a new couch for the living room (which will fold down into a bed... hint, hint!), so hopefully we'll have that by mid-April. (And we'll still have our double air mattress... additional hint, hint!)
Moving on from the apartment... I didn't take many pictures during the two weeks, because I was always trying to limit the items I was juggling. I just was not in enough of a routine to spare brain energy on documenting stuff. I did get a few though.
Here's a picture I snuck of her during one of her blanket times... She set up and hosted yet ANOTHER birthday party. Somebody is VERY excited about her upcoming 3rd birthday.
At Astoria Park, getting stranded again as she tries to copy the older kids. :)
By the time Josephine and I headed back to Texas, some of the blooming trees and shrubs were in full glory. Daffodils were everywhere-- but these trees were the most spectacular. This is one we passed every day, a few houses down from ours:
At Astoria Park, getting stranded again as she tries to copy the older kids. :)
Thankfully, she LOVED riding the subway and buses.
Watching the St. Patrick's Day parade by Central Park:
The video clip below is of a marching troop representing Asturias, the region of Spain we visited last fall. It, along with Galicia, has a good deal of Celtic influence, so it wasn't a total surprise to see them in the parade, but it was unexpected and a really neat connection for us. It's fun when things come full circle.
Eventually a nice woman motioned us over and let us park Josephine in her stroller right next to her, front row, so Josephine could watch the festivities up close.
On whole, it was a great trip; the airplane rides went well, our time with Sean was fun, I enjoyed the relative simplicity and slower pace of living, and Josephine and I are both looking forward to getting back up there! A big thank you to my parents for hedgehog sitting and helping us get to and from the airport.
Snapshot of the blessed hour of napping I got to enjoy during the plane ride back to Texas:
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