Week 2 Comes to a close (Almost)

Tomorrow night marks the end of our second week in Boston. It honestly still feels like a really long vacation to me with a major downside being I don't see my husband and am freezing every time I go outside. 

Monday I received my rain boots that I ordered from Amazon (Thanks Thom and Tim for the gift cards for my birthday). They came just in time for the rain and they worked beautifully. 

Being stuck inside due to the rain and elevator being out of commission, Lillian decided to explore our apartment:

She thought this drawer in the kitchen was a perfect place to relax.

This window sill quickly has become a fun spot for Lillian to look out at the "peeepl" and "cawrs" down  on the street. 

Yep, when it's raining outside and your mom can't move from a messed up neck, life can get hard :)

Thankfully, we live in a time where Lillian gets to still see her "amma", "anpa", and "ess" (grandma, grandpa, and Seth) through G-Chat. She thinks my computer is now her personal portal to family and friends.

Uncle Seth, Grandma and Grandpa talking to Miss Lillian. 

Thursday, we needed to get out of the apartment and so I finally took Lillian to the aquarium that is thankfully only about 3 blocks away. We ended up getting a year pass and I am thankful we have this so close to us because Lillian loves the Penguins!

Showing me the penguins.

While we were at the aquarium they were doing exploratory surgery on a Moray Eel. Lillian wasn't too into seeing a huge green slimy thing with a camera tube stuck down its throat so we walked on to other areas quickly. 

As we were walking around the aquarium we rounded a corner and this cute little penguin frightened Lillian so bad! Not sure why, but I put her baby doll next to it to show her that the penguin was nice. 

Thinking of starting a blog title "My Baby's Baby in Boston"

After Wednesday's long day inside the apartment due to rain, I decided I needed to get creative and find ways to entertain my little one without TV. I found some cool ideas and ordered some crafty stuff, but until they arrive I cut a small hole into the top of my boot shoe box and let Lillian figure out how to put her "colors" into the hole. As she put each crayon in I would say the color and we would clap. She loved it for about 15 minutes, which isn't too bad considering she is only barely 17 months and it was a "free" activity. 

Thinking about putting the crayon into the hole.

Once she figured it out, there was no stopping her!

Later we had to go grocery shopping and the little library is right next door to Whole Foods so we stopped so she could read and play.

 I love that she loves books!  

After a $90 shopping trip (YIKES) to Whole Paycheck we braved the elements and walked back to enjoy a potato samosa, falafel, Swedish meatball, sweet potatoes, and more for lunch. Whole Paycheck does have some nice quick things to grab for lunch.

Church n' Stuff

Last Friday we (Lillian and I) walked to the library, Whole Foods, and CVS and then just hung out back at the apartment.

Saturday was much more eventful! We started off heading to Newbury Street,

which I overheard someone compare to "Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive" hmmm Sorry, but no. It's a very nice street with nice shopping, but reminds me a little more of 3rd Street than Rodeo. 

Anyway, we went to get my birthday present:

Yup, the price is $179!! Anyone who knows me understands how hard it was for me to hand my credit card over to the cashier to pay. Reasons I purchased this Patagonia Jacket 

A) It's a kid's size so cost about $150 less than the women's version!

Even the kid's size goes past my knees... thankful I am small.

B) Windproof and tear- and water-resistant

B) Quilted high-loft 600-fill power premium European goose down (sounds like a 

description for a car engine or something, but I like it!)

C) Patagonia's Returns, Repairs and Recycling Program

It has already proved itself valuable! 

After getting my new coat, we went shopping at Trader Joes and then headed back to the apartment for lunch and a nap... yup we all took naps :)

After we woke up and rubbed our eyes, Lillian and I showed Sam the park at the Boston Common.

Lillian had a blast showing her Daddy her new playground.

It was really COLD, but Lillian was upset when we told her we had to go home.

Hard to tell, but that's the ice skating rink right across from the playground and it was PACKED!

This city has a LOT of Christmas Trees all over... this is just one located in Boston Common. 

After our park adventure we went into Macy's to look for jackets/coats for Sam... odd it wasn't his birthday :) Despite it NOT being his birthday, he did need some good coats so we ended up spending almost $200 more for a pea coat and a puffer coat... yes this is a lot of money, but if we had paid full price it would have been closer to $500! Thank you Macy's Sale and friends and family extra 25% off. 

Sunday morning arrived bright and early and I attempted to get us all ready and out the door by around 8 am since we were traveling to a new city. We ended up leaving around 8:15 and took the Red Line to Somerville... well, we had to get off at Harvard since they were doing construction and take a bus the rest of the way, but we arrived in Davis Square with plenty of time. From Davis Square we walked to The Boston Vineyard (no not a winery, but a church) and got to use the cool electronic check-in that our church bank in West LA will be getting soon. The service was nice, but we left both agreeing that it didn't feel "like home." On our walk back to Davis Square we ended up running into Joel, the pastor of Reunion which is another church in Somerville that we are excited to attend next Sunday. Joel, his wife, and daughter were really nice and talked with us for a few minutes even though we could tell they wanted to head home. 

Once we finally arrived back at our apartment I quickly shoved some food into Lillian before she crashed for her nap and Sam went to pick us up some Lasagna and pizza at a place called The Upper Crust- cheesy name?? haha We had a nice "lazy" rest of the day watching movies and trying to get some energy stored away for what was sure to be another busy week in this new city. 

Last update... This morning (Monday) I went to the Mom2Mom group at the Boston Vineyard to connect with some other Christian moms. They had around 30 women attending with a special speaker who shared about Body Image and that God has "fearfully and wonderfully" made us! We broke off into small groups and I was placed into a group with some nice moms who shared some quick stories and we all prayed for each other. One of the moms in the small group had just moved about a month ago from Hong Kong (originally from Australia) and another mom was from St. Thomas! It was nice to meet some transplants :)

After the Mom2Mom group I went to a consignment store and then walked back to Davis Square to begin our journey to our apartment. On our way to Davis Square we walked this cute little trail:

Thankfully, it was a beautiful day with a high of around 60 so I am glad I got to enjoy the outdoors. 

This is Miss Lillian sound asleep as a train quickly approaches. 

                                                 

View from the train of the Charles River. 

Currently, I am writing this after I put Lillian down for the night. She hasn't been sleeping that well since we arrived in Boston, so keep all of our rest in your prayers! Sam is still at work... yup the long nights have already started. 

It's Getting COLDER!!

     It's now Thursday and getting quite cold! Apparently, it's still not "cold" yet, but in my opinion if you have to wear multiple layers it's cold.


     Tuesday I decided to venture out to the park with Lillian and try and find a playground for her to run around in. We walked to the Boston Common, which apparently is the oldest park in the country, and thanks to some nice Boston City Police Officers we found it without much trouble (it shouldn't be that hard to find 50 acres right??).


     Once we arrived Lillian's little face lit up and she started exploring her new play place.

(notice she is only wearing a track suit and tennis shoes)

     The park is really cute and has these bronze (?) frogs that I guess spit/shoot water out in the summer... pretty sure I was shivering just thinking about it! Lillian kept going back to the frogs and pointing out their eyes, mouth, nose, fingers, etc... much happier to be out of the apartment. 

(red pumps for my little girl)

     Later that day we went to DSW to look for some shoes for me.... Lillian decided to look for some shoes for herself and kept pulling down all the high heels and try to walk in them. A trip that Pre-Lillian would have taken maybe 15 minutes, ended up taking about an hour. Every time I would try on a pair of shoes she would either try to run away or pull another box of shoes down. Yup, I love her.  I was able to get these cute boots to walk around the city with her for an amazing deal: 

     I received a birthday e-mail from DSW for $5 off any shoe purchase, which made my decision to shop at DSW an easy one. I saw these boots and tried them on and wasn't 100%. One hour later I ended up purchasing them for only $27.96 since they were 40% off and I had my $5 off coupon. I also found out that MA has no tax on shoes! 

     Wednesday morning (my birthday) arrives and I am now 27. Awesome... Sam woke up early to get some work done so he could take me to Panera for breakfast. I love the cinnamon crunch bagels! Since it was my birthday and I have a Panera card I also received a FREE pastry :) We then all went back to Sam's work and Lillian "talked" to a few of his co-workers and distracted them from whatever important advertising amazingness they were trying to get done. We went to Sam's work because I wanted him to print off a coupon for me. (I am finding it increasingly annoying to not have all of our "stuff", but keep reminding myself we have FREE rent and are very blessed.) What coupon did he print off? 

How did Victoria's Secret know Nov. 30th was my birthday? After quickly walking in to VS and getting some free underwear (a nice perk to city living- a lot of things are within walking distance) Lillian and I were too late for story time at the library so we went back to the park! 

Can you tell it's getting colder?? 

Oh and she loves her baby and always wants to take it with us now.

     Sam got off work around 6 and we walked to the North End to get some yummy Italian food! This place was amazing and Lillian got to drink Espresso er I mean water out of an Espresso cup... it was so cute and just her size.

(My dates for my birthday dinner!)

We started off with the Boston Bibb (aged balsamic vinegar and candied walnuts) and I ordered the Lasagna Della Casa (Lasagna of the Day) and Sam ordered Ravioli con Aragosta (Lobster ravioli with crab meat sauce).

It looked so pretty before... I did not take an after shot because our plates were almost clean since the sauces were so amazingly yummy. 

     After dinner we walked over to Mike's Pastry around the corner and sadly realizing it was cash only walked out with just one Cannoli... we found out after Lillian went to bed and we shared dessert that one was more than enough! I think Julie recommended this place so THANK YOU Julie :)

     My birthday has come and gone and now it's Thursday and cold! Thanks Boston for not raining on my birthday yesterday, but 41 degrees at the park is brrrr!!! Lillian and I went to the park again, because even though it's cold, it's sunny and I know it's just going to get colder so I want to take advantage of getting outside while we can!

(You can see the layers of clothing progressively getting thicker since Tuesday.)

     Right across from the playground is an ice skating rink and today it looked like a Junior High class or something all came to ice skate! Looked like fun, but not sure a 16 month old who can barely walk in her big puffy jacket would fare very well on the ice. 

     Lillian should be waking up from her nap soon, so I will end this update to our ongoing Boston Adventure... until next time- THINK WARM THOUGHTS FOR US :) 

First Days as a Bostonian, Bostonite, City Dweller... you get the picture.

2 bedroom 2 bathrooms with all the wonderful sounds of the city included for FREE! Sounds may include: drunk people yelling at each other, horses hooves "clip-clopping" down the street, car horns honking, car alarms being set off by loud cars or motorcycles, and of course construction that is extremely loud right below our building to try and "beautify" the city of Boston. Until the city becomes more "beautiful" all residents and employees who work in th general vicinity are subjected to a true city living/working experience. 

Honestly, though it's a great place considering it's A) FREE and B) I can see my husband's work from our living room window. Looking from our apartment window into his office windows may be seen as either creepy or awesome- I will leave the decision to you. 

     Time to backtrack a few days to Saturday November 26th the day our lives officially changed. We were so blessed to be able to stay at a friend's house, but couldn't have our cat at said house due to a certain person who shall remain unknown being allergic. I don't understand allergies, but hear they aren't fun so we left our cat and all her necessities (place to eat and relieve herself) back at our empty apartment. 

     Back to Saturday morning... we wake up after not sleeping well the night before, correction the husband and I didn't sleep well and our insomniac daughter actually slept through the night, at around 5:30 to quickly clean "Hotel S" and get taken by cab to the airport with a quick detour to our old apartment to pick up our cat. Once we arrived at the airport we had to figure out how two adults were going to get 3 large duffel bags, 2 rolling suitcases, 1 cat in a carrier, 1 camera bag, 2 backpacks, 1 pack n play, 1 large stroller, 1 car seat, AND our daughter from the cab to the ticket counter. Thankfully, with our combined brain power we figured out how to carefully (at least everything was all together) get to the ticket counter and drop off 2 large duffel bags, 1 rolling suitcase, and 1 pack n play. 

    I will never be annoyed or upset when I have to wait behind slow people at the security check... we weren't just the slow people with a kid because as an added bonus we had a cat that we hadn't given medication to yet and found out from the nice security people we needed to take her out of her carrier and walk with her through the metal detector- this became a job for the husband as I was attempting to get all our stuff and our daughter back together. 

     Thankfully, the flight was pretty uneventful- cat and daughter did great- and we landed in Boston at around 4:50pm. After another cab ride to our temporary housing we unloaded all our life and tired, cranky, hungry daughter and frustrated cat were left with me as the husband had to get our keys from the security guard at the building where he works (remember it's only across the street). 

     We happily ate some edible Japanese food at a highly rated (why the high ratings??) place close to our apartment, made a quick trip to CVS to get cat litter and some other essentials where I saved around $30 (so thankful to have CVS shopping within walking distnace), and were able to fall asleep soon after.         

    Sunday morning we were awoken by the aforementioned construction sounds coming from 7 floors down, but sounding like they were right outside our window, and decided to use public transportation to get to Trader Joes. This seemed like a simple family outing and it was after a few missed stops and wrong trains. Feeling adventurous and wanting to make the most of our time as 2 adults vs one kid we decided to also take public transportation to Target. 40 minutes after leaving our apartment and taking 2 trains and one bus we walked into yet another familiar store where we bought some basics like a litter box (we had to use a drawer lined with a garbage bag the night before), trash bags, hangars, a doll for our daugher who decided to throw hers in the toilet the day before we left, and a stroller. 

(Our Daughter's "baby" that apparently had to go to the bathroom)

     Why a stroller when we already have one? The apartment we are staying in has an elevator, which is such a blessing since we are staying on the seventh floor, but the elevator has one of the smallest doors known to man and multiple signs are posted warning that if anyone tries to hold the elevator door open it will "get confused" and break down as it is over 100 years old. Awesome. Since the stroller we lugged on the plane doesn't fit through the door without being broken down and is not easy to take on any public transit we bought a new small $40 stroller at Target... and put in together in front of the customer service desk... and used it to help lug our stuff back on the bus to the trains to our apartment. 

     Finally, it's Monday and the husband's first day of work. A day he has been waiting for and one I have been secretly dreading as it means I will be alone with our daughter in a city I don't know at all. Once again I am thankful for my iPhone and the internet! I took our daughter out on a mile (each way) walk to Whole Foods to get some more staples that we didn't pick up at Trader Joes due to lack of space since that grocery run was pre small stroller. On the way to Whole Foods I saw a library and decided to check it out. I am so glad I did! 

     The library is tiny, doesn't have a huge selection, but is awsome. It has a play area in the kids section with blocks, puzzles, and other toys that look like they are hand-me-down-down-downs and our daughter had a blast. After she played for a good 30 minutes we picked out some books and headed to Whole Foods where I spent my previous Los Angeles living week's grocery budget in the blink of an eye. Once again, I am not complaining as I am thankful we have a Whole Foods within walking distance. 

     Little girl decided to fall asleep on the way back, even though it was quite windy, and thanks to my tiny new stroller I could roll her right into the elevator and then into our apartment keeping her sleeping the whole time. The rest of the day was spent reading library books, watching a little TV, and then little girl opening the cabinet where the pots and pans are kept to let me know she was ready for dinner by saying "Om!" 

(Little girl clutching one of her library books while she is sleeping in her new stroller)

     Currently I am typing all this up on one couch while my husband is playing on his iPad2 and our daughter is sleeping.

Life! 

     What's on the agenda for tomorrow? Possibly the Aquarium, or trying to find a park or grassy area to play or back to the library for story time... so much to do... if only it didn't require leaving our warm apartment where I can try to spy, I mean look lovingly, at my husband.