Get ready to be excited

I started my job today and frankly, I wonder how I'll squeeze in four full days of work each week. What with weekend trips to NYC, searching high and low for a day care, throwing Ashley a baby shower, planning a Triple Baby Birthday party for Edie, Camden and cousin Lexie, hanging with Edie, and buying a house, it's a wonder I have time to eat a snack.

I do operate well when going full throttle, but the last couple weeks have been a bit nutty. In early July, Dave and I stumbled upon an open house and decided to go in, just to get the ball rolling on the house hunt. I was pushing for buying a place whereas Dave was open to renting again, since we knew that buying could take a while. However, I'm plain sick of moving. I'm sick of packing, unpacking, getting rid of stuff, buying more stuff, dusting, undusting, and paying astronomical shipping fees.

The open house was nothing great

but it did unlock a bit of excitement, so I contacted a referred agent and provided our requirements (close to our walkable downtown, on a side or "local" street, on the north side of town, and in a good school district). Also I have a ton of other requirements that I hold close to my heart (i.e. far away from a soul-less subdivision, with trees in the yard, and no neighbors with cars jacked up on cinder blocks for a three-mile radius. Call me picky.)

We saw six homes, and fell in love with the second house our agent showed us. It's been very well maintained, has cute details like arched doorways, with ample storage space, good sized rooms, and a gorgeous (intimidating) yard. More importantly, it doesn't need a lick of work. (Have you seen me or Dave with a drill? It's not pretty.) Honestly, we both got a good feeling, and it fit within our requirements. We had my parents come take a look the next night. My Dad is a contractor and my mom is a talented home-renovator, so we value their opinions. They each gave a thumbs up, and we moved forward with the offer. Since then, we've been collecting, transferring, signing, and copying a ton of paperwork. Hopefully it all pans out, and we can unload the POD late August! We'll wait with baited breath until the closing.

It's pretty crazy that we found a great home so quickly, but life has been "coming up Kitzman",

as Ashley put it. You know that quote, "The harder I work the luckier I get"? We are really lucky, but we are also hard workers. When I tell folks that I got a job, sometimes they say "Wow, you got a job a week after you moved here?!" Yeah, but I hustled my buns off for the past 8 months in Seattle, updating my web site, contacting strangers to do informational interviews, creating marketing materials, and going to many interviews that didn't result in a job offer.

Now that we've (almost) nailed down a home and a job, I've been researching and visiting daycares that make geographic and financial sense. The problem here is not so much lack of supply. It's that the affordable daycares are run by fluffy cat-loving eccentrics and the lovely daycares that meet our standards (not depressing with compentent caregivers and a no-nut policy) are pretty spendy. As with everything in life, you get what you pay for.

Amidst figuring out the logistics of our lives, I took a quick trip down to NYC to hang with my sister in Brooklyn. We got our nails done, walked the High Line, shopped, walked a ton, she took me out to dinner, we saw a movie, ate a bagel, and I slept till the late hour of 8:30am. So much sister fun!

Connecti-kitzmans: Part 2

We still don't have our USB to download photos; it's in the POD, along with the rest of the physical contents of our lives. Edie is over the whisks

and bowls I've given her to play with. She looks at me like, "Sooo when do my toys arrive again?" and then I launch into yet another made-up version of Little Liza Jane.

Dave arrived after his long, enjoyable journey, and there are dead bugs covering our car with Idahoan origins. Yep, the Subaru made it. Dang right, as we just spent an arm and a leg rebuilding the engine.

Connecticut is hot and humid, which is nice, because there's also air conditioning and pools and ice water. I now have a reason to wear sunscreen and skirts after our somewhat-depressing Seattle spring. The downside is that working out is limited to early morning or evening when it cools off a bit. This morning I missed my window and had to sacrifice a perfectly good workout day. Or maybe that's just what I told myself. In related news, I bought a running stroller off of my buddy Craigslist, which has opened up lots more opportunities to work out with the girl.

My parents have a bird feeder in their front yard and it attracts species from far and wide. The bird feeder action reminds me of a scene fromDisney's Snow White: winged friends, chipmunks, and squirrels all coming together. The feeder is full in the morning and entirely empty by evening. It's cool to watch the wildlife; I wish I knew more about which types of birds they are.

It still feels like we're on vacation, as we're just getting around to unpacking our bags and settling in. We have gone without most of our possessions but I miss our music and Edie's books and our bed. My parents have been super helpful and generous, letting us use their car and other essentials as needed.

Tomorrow we're hitting up Misquamicut, and we'll show Dave the best of New England beaches. It's good to be home.

Connecti-kitzmans: Part 1

[Editor's note: I wrote this July 1. I was holding off on publishing
until I could upload more photos but our USB is in the POD, so enjoy this text heavy edition of Chez Moni!]

Whew.

Edie, my mom, and I are now firmly planted in Connecticut after a long four days of working round the clock moving the contents of our house into the POD/car/welcoming arms of Goodwill. Moving is so much dang work. Even though I've been faithfully packing for 6 weeks, there was so much stuff we didn't pack till the 11th hour (crib, silverware, Dave's vast and never-used CD collection). My mom was a task master: managing the girl, cleaning out our cupboards, making breakfast with the contents of said cupboards, and helping us pack our home.

Dave, some generous friends, and I did a lot of the heavy lifting. We were initially concerned that our stuff wouldn't fit in the POD, but once that big white box was planted in our driveway via crazy hydraulic lift, we relaxed. The first half of POD-packing went well: most of our big furniture is squared off, making for a manageable furniture puzzle. These items fit into their appropriate slots. But the proverbial wheels came off when packing the second half of the POD, as we loaded up Dave's beloved Barcalounger, floor lamps, vacuums, and kitchen chairs, which have very few right angles and tons of appendages just waiting to cause damage in a box freewheelin' down the highway. By the end, Dave and I were literally throwing stuff in the POD, as the driver showed up to take it away. We had to bid farewell to some baby gear and houseplants. Oh well.

Edie, my mom and I flew to CT, and Dave is driving in the Subaru with brother-in-law Jeff. I would love to drive cross country, it's been on my bucket list for a while, but not with an 11-month old. She's a great gal but traveling is not her strong suit. Driving cross-town is not exactly a day at the beach, and driving 3,000 miles with her would be downright

excruciating. The flight was okay, but what made it even better was the empty seat on the second leg of our journey. She entertained herself and slept in her car seat, I enjoyed some New York magazine, and we all arrived a bit happier.

So here we are, in West Hartford. The birds are plentiful, the radio is ho-hum, and the weather is beautiful. We're getting used to our new lives and looking forward to reuniting with Dave!

West Coast Family

Dave and I just wrapped up a decent dinner that had hints of white trash. Turkey meatball subs on white hot dog buns, with a Caesar salad-in-a-bag, and canned peas. It reminds me of when I was a young girl and I went to my best friend's house the night her mom served Steak-Umms for

dinner. I hadn't been privy to this glorious processed meat, and I ran home and tried to persuade my mom to buy summ. She looked at me like, "Really, Shawna, Steak-Umms? I made cream-puff swans for my last dinner party." I must accredit the salad-in-a-bag to Dave. He likes it, and went to the store for me, so I averted my eyes to the epic ingredients list, and tossed the listless leaves with the mini-bag of croutons. The canned peas are part of my Let's Clean Out the Cupboards initiative. Dave asserted it wasn't white trashy enough, as he was enjoying a glass of white wine.

We haven't been eating too well these past few weeks. There's just a lot going on, and at the end of the day I'm not really inspired to prepare an elaborate dish. If there's something green and some protein on the plate, I'm satisfied. Tuesday night we grilled sausages, made a broccoli salad, and ate dinner off our laps on the back steps.

Dave and I have been playing the game What I Won't Miss over dinner. We randomly list things

we won't miss about Seattle. For example, I won't miss our upstairs neighbors who host drunken board game parties directly above our bed! On Monday nights! C-ya! Dave won't miss the lackluster summer. 60 degrees and overcast in mid-June? C-ya! But sometimes our conversation veers to what we will miss: life-affirming Americanos, Edie's caregivers at daycare, our buddies, taco trucks, Crossfit, and most of all, the Kitzmans.

Moving cross-country is stressful for both of us, but we are going towards my people. The Kitzmans have been nothing but accepting and giving since the moment I met them. Dave has a pretty small family, composed of his mom, sister, dad, two nephews, and some cousins throughout the Puget Sound. His mom (hi Cookie!) has bought me and his sister (hi Becky!) to season tickets at the 5th Avenue Theater for the past couple of years. After Cookie treats us to a nice dinner out (no Steak-Umms in sight), we check out musicals including In the Heights and The Drowsy Chaperone, two of my faves. She also watches Edie every week, one day if not more, when I'm at work. She takes Edie for walks, to her favorite yarn and sock stores, and even sends me photo-documentation during the day.

Whenever Dave's dad accompanies her (hi Art!), he drives me to the office. He must consider King County Metro a rough-and-tumble operation. Art and I chat about random things on our weekly commute, such as his experience in the Navy, or his relationship with his sister Delores growing up, but I have yet to learn why he doesn't swim. I've grown to look forward to our one-on-one, 12-minute conversations.

Becky is my West Coast sister. She loves being Aunt Becky (which she pronounces "Ant"), and brings little outfits for Edie when she babysits. Aunt Becky spent a whole weekend with Edie a couple weeks ago, and the girls wore matching outfits to a family brunch. Pretty cute.

So the bad news is we will really miss the Kitzmans. But the good news is we'll have strong family ties to Seattle, forever. And, Skype. And the internet and airplanes.

Some like it ice cold

It strikes me as strange when Seattlites complain about the rain. I mean, you choose to live here, right? And this region is rather damp, no? In general, I just zip up my waterproof jacket and shoulder the weather. It doesn't always rain here, but there are many grey days, and these days have a certain chill. By early June, we Seattleites shuffle along feeling sorry for our soggy selves while our New England, Sun Belt, Rust Belt, and Corn Belt brethren bask in the early joys of summer. Okay so the midwest had horrific tornadoes rip through a few weeks ago. I'm sure the storms ripped the clouds out of the sky to expose some sun.

In Seattle's defense, on sunny summer days it stays light ridiculously long. I'm talking 5:30 a.m. and the sun is shining with such vigor that I jump out of bed fearing I missed the bus. Conversely, two hours after dinner's cleaned up, the sun is burning so brightly I wonder if I should go for a run or maybe learn how to garden. Then I see that it's 9:30pm, and I look down at my slippers and think better of it.

The other day I took Edie to the baby clothes store and picked up some sweet summer duds on sale. Prior to our outting, she had one pair of shorts that were gathering dust. How will she deal with the heat and humidity? What about me and Dave? I'm thinking lots of lemonade, some lakeside swimming, and minimal A/C. We'll see if I'm so fond of the New Enland summer in a few weeks.

On a parting note, summer in Seattle is one of the Northwest's best kept secrets. It starts the week after 4th of July. Long, hot, dry days with painfully gorgeous sunsets. Why are we moving the end of June again?

The Hunt

Let me be the first to virtually congratulate my husband on getting a job!

He was so confident going in to his three interviews, and I thought, "More power to you...but the job market ain't so hot, honey. Work your magic." And apparently he did, because his first interview was a home run.

This means I can hire a nanny while I make use of my personal Nordstrom stylist and full time eyebrow waxer. Call off the hounds! My job hunt is canceled.

Except that's not true at all. I'm still in hot pursuit of planning or design work, but the pressure has lessened now that Dave is gainfully employed. This was my ideal scenario all along: Dave secures a job, so I can research where we'll live, where I'll work, where Edie will go to day care, and how we'll all get there. Dave's job in north-central Connecticut narrows my scope, which is a good thing. Rather than throwing a dart along half the Eastern seaboard, I can focus efforts in the greater Hartford area.

Like many job hunts, mine is filled with fits and starts. Promising leads often fizzle and die, but I just channel the girl from True Grit, who didn't take no for an answer. Ever. She's my job hunt prototype. Not that I can't take a hint, but I definitely work hard to get my name out there. And when one person closes a door in my face, I go knock on another door.

Today I started packing my personal belongings at work. My colleague stopped by my desk, picked up a proposal cover from my drafting table, and said, "You made this?" Me: "Yep" Him: "We're really gonna miss you". It was a really nice moment.

Again, hats off to Dave. I'm so proud.

I can say that now

Dave and I were planning on leaving Seattle after Fourth of July weekend. Dave wanted a bit of time after his school year ended to pack/get rid of our stuff, say our goodbyes, and so on. We were operating under the assumption that we could leave our apartment whenever, but our landlord and Dave had a little chat over the weekend, and it turns out they'd prefer a clean break at the end of a month, any month. So we picked the end of June. Which mean- amazingly- we have six weeks to go.

Although I'm excited about being closer to my New England family and friends, we'd both be more stoked if either of us had jobs. Just one job would help justify our bold leap from good jobs to no jobs (in 2011 mind you), from our own place to crashing at my parents' house (Thanks Mom and Dad! We like Crest toothpaste. Heh heh).

We're optimistic that one of us will cinch a job, but if memory serves, being unemployed sucks. I think it mostly gets under your skin because you don't know how long you'll have to scrape away at your meager budget. Given a defined time frame, unemployment would be a lot more tolerable. The same phsychological effect happens on people waiting for a bus- when they know how long they'll be waiting, it doesn't seem so bad.

My last day of work will be exactly my 5 year anniversary of my arrival in Seattle. Since then, I met Dave, got married, had a baby, and became an urban planner. Oh, and I also lived in five different apartments, got my identity stolen, kept a couple plants alive, ran a half marathon, and met some awesome friends. Despite my family's tepid support for my 2006 move, and some warnings that it was hard to make friends in the Northwest, I really hit my stride here. I might even say Seattle was the best strategic decision I ever made.

I thought I'd be happier at the prospect of moving home. I am happy, there are just so many unknowns that it's hard to visualize a Connecticut life, and while my parents, their siblings, and a handful of my friends are local, most of my generation has spread to Boston, NYC, Providence, and beyond. Of course, our Connecticut life will shape up over time, just like anything. What does get me excited is the idea of water skiing a lot this summer. And the hot, hot heat of New England in July. We've got a short, lovely summer here but honestly I will not miss the grey skies, 40 degree-Aprils, and months of drizzle. I can say that now, because we're on our way out!