Summer Sets

Summer still lingers on the subway platforms but fall is most definitely in the air.  I had a great summer, but I’m always ready for the change in seasons. Always.

Cousins. Pool. This is summer. 

As I reflect on our summer, although it was lovely, I feel something was missing.   That missing something was a weeklong summer vacation. 

Expected. American. Needed. Oops.

When I was a kid, most certainly, we would go away for at least one week a summer.  We would rent a beach house in Rhode Island or lakeside in some small New England town.  As a teenager, I worked through the summers, began to travel more independently and those family vacations bacame shorter and less frequent. As an adult, Jeff and I became big fans of weekend travel in attempt to maximize our vacation days as well as the places and people we could visit. Plus, our temperment keeps us moving quickly and hardly in one place for more than a few nights. 

The lake!

I will always be a fan of weekend travel but I’ve realized that no matter how many weekend trips you take it never equals to the calm and excitement of a full weeklong vacation.   Colette is a great traveler, but certainly there’s an added level of stress and responsibility when traveling with a baby.  Jeff and I used to have pre-boarding dates at the airport bars without worry if a flight was delayed or cancelled. We had one another, books, and booze.  Now we have a baby.  Understandably, JFK’s Wine Bar is not Colette’s scene.  She’s more into exploring the fixed bench seats and eating crumbs off the terminal floor. 

Before Colette, we used to arrive to the airport as close to departure time as possible, partially because we were scrambling to get there from work and partially because we thought we were cool and experienced travelers. Well, it’s hard to be cool when traveling with a Bumbo, a Binki and frozen breast milk.  And it even harder to be on time and feel relaxed.  It’s impossible to come back late Sunday night and throw yourself into another week of work and daycare feeling refreshed and not fried.

So, lesson learned.  Every summer from this point on, we’re taking at least one full weeklong family vacation. No excuses.

Here are some highlights from the past few hot, sticky and wonderful months.

Sight-seeing in San Fran!

My kick-ass family post water-skiing.
I'm proud to say that all of us still slolom. 

Park dates with neighborhood friends.

Hanging with my girls in San Diego for Kelly's wedding.

Taking a family day trip with Robert Moses Beach on Long Island in our new car!

My 30th Birthday on August 30th

Nanny Diaries

I never check the weather forecast so it’s not surprising that I got caught in a flash rainstorm, without an umbrella and in flip-flops walking home from work yesterday.  My walk quickly turned into a jog when I noticed a woman exiting a cab, headed in the direction of our apartment several blocks away.  I hurried closer and attempted to take her place and get out of rain.  Unfortunately for my soggy flip-flops, and me, she wasn’t getting out.  Luckily for her, she needed help getting an infant car seat and stroller securely in the cab.

I was carrying my laptop in a mesh bag, and it was pouring, so I slid into the backseat of the cab and secured the baby into the car seat and then the car seat into the cab.  Then the women, whom I learned was the baby’s nanny, asked if I could collapse the stroller since she didn’t know how.  I got soaked trying, but failed since it was a model I had ever used.  Annoyed, I just picked up the whole stroller, unfolded, and placed it in the huge truck. No sweat. Totally wet.

My head was dripping and spinning as I quickly headed home and away from that encounter.   Why didn’t the nanny know how to fold the stroller and install a car seat? At the very least, why wasn’t the baby even secured in the infant carrier before I arrived on scene? Did I just assist in baby abduction? Who would hire this incapable person to care for their child, let alone take him in a car?  God, I’m glad Colette has a great day care. Usually.

Colette’s daycare closes for the last two weeks of August through Labor Day, every year.   Therefore, we’re pretty desperate for free/cheap childcare  but we’re making it work, without diving to the bottom on the nanny barrel.  In order to avoid paying for a babysitter in addition to monthly daycare tuition, we’ve been cobbling together care.  We’ve asked our friends and family to help, taken a few staggered vacation days, and cross our fingers that she sleeps through a conference call, or two.   Both of our jobs are flexible enough, that’s it’s feasible, but it’s takes a lot of coordination and jockeying of schedules.   It certainly makes us appreciate the staff, routine and quality of her daycare.

A rooster, a hen, and a chicken nugget

The week before last, my Mom stayed with us and watched Colette on Thursday and Friday.  Damn, she made us look like losers.   Before I left for work, I gave my Mom a short list of baby friendly activities taking place the ‘hood so they didn’t get bored hanging around the apartment.  I thought they would do one or two things at the most…but they did everything!  My Mom took her to the playground, the park, the zoo and the sing-a-long at the library.  In addition to that, while walking home from the train I crossed paths with my Mom walking to the grocery store. She was going to get groceries to make us dinner.   If she was a nanny, we couldn’t afford her!

She took her first solo steps this weekend!

Nanny Teri

We also appreciate the help we’ve received from my friend Jess, Jeff’s parents Jim and Marilyn, and Sister Shana. They’ve been tremendously helpful and Colette has enjoyed the extra special attention.

PS – In case you were concerned, the nanny I encountered had cash and a handwritten note in her hand, from the baby’s parents, of the doctor’s office, their destination.  I took that as a sign that this nanny was legit and not stealing a baby with my expert assistance.

Going for the Gold

If awards were given for watching the Olympics, I would be in contention for a gold medal.  Last weekend, our Saturday plans were cancelled due to inclement weather, so us Rigbys stayed indoors (very rare) and the TV stayed on for two days straight (unheard of).   While watching the Games we hung some art, cleaned, cooked, and of course played around with Colette when she wasn’t napping or snacking.  I love the summer Olympics and even like watching the obscure, “unpopular” events such as slalom canoeing (who knew?) and skeet shooting (who cares? Me! ).  I also love swimming, track & field and gymnastics just like the rest of the world and have watched the Games every night since the opening ceremony. 

Those lifegaurds better get paid well!

Speaking of exciting spectator sports, did I mention that I’m running the New York City marathon on November 4?  Well, I am.  Before training began, my running routine focused more on eating bagels and less on running.  I’m in the third week of my 16-week training.   I’m currently running about 20 miles a week and it will steadily increase to about 35 miles a week.  Unlike my first marathon, I’m training not only to finish, but to finish under 4:35. If I stick to my training, I know I can do it.  Jeff, also training for the marathon, continues to amaze and amuze me. He is a closet-athlete, whom hydrates with Oreos and stretches in jeans and a button down dress shirt.  Improving my health and fitness motivates me.  Jeff, on the other hand seems to care little of the health benefits and more interested in tracking and analyzing maps, stats and data.  It seems he’s conducting a science experiment, in the form of a marathon. At this time, we’re not planning on running the race together, mostly because being tethered to someone on such a long race is annoying, and we're unsure if we can run at the same pace, but time will tell.

The main thing that’s been stressing me out, is not the training, but all the technology associated with it.  When  I step out my front door for a 4-mile run, one might suspect that I’m venturing to the moon and not the local park.  I have a Garmin GPS watch, and iPod, and an iPhone.  All three devices are capable of measuring time, distance, pace but they all report back different information.  Until I make the time to test and calibrate for accuracy, I choose to the follow which ever device shows me running the longest distance in the shortest amount of time.

One editor wrote that the US Olympic uniforms made us look like a
gorilla militia from Greenwich, Connecticut.  Hilarious.

Good Company

I spent the first half of last week in Chicago attending a conference for work. I coincidentally, stayed at the Hyatt downtown, just a few blocks away from Nordstroms.  After having dinner with some friends, I paid my favorite department store a visit.

Let me back up a minute.  As long I as know what I’m looking for, I like shopping. I'm best shopping solo.  And I prefer to shop anywhere but New York City.  Surprisingly, Nordstroms doesn’t exist in NYC.  Which is fine by me, because if it did, it would be a picked over and crowded mess, just like every other store in the city.

This Nordstroms was clean, chock full of shiny things, calming and empty.  First, I checked out the shoe department for shoes for Kelly’s wedding but didn’t find anything, and then headed to the kids section for Colette’s flower girl dress but didn’t see anything in an acceptable price or fabric (I have a no baby in tulle rule).  Next, I checked out the athletic wear department and found a much-needed running hat, and lastly ended up in the lingerie department. 

As I was looking around and a sales associate asked if I needed help.  She asked me my bra size and I stumbled. She offered take my measurements.  I’ve never been professionally fitted for a bra and it was something I had always wanted to do, so I accepted her offer.

She educated me on the proper way a bra should fit, ‘cause I had it all wrong.  For example, I’ve always worn my bras on the tightest hook with the understanding that I as got fatter; I would have room to expand.  However, apparently bras are like leather shoes and stretch-out over time.  She said I should wear the bra on the furthest hook and over time as it stretches, move inward.  I get it now!

Once I was properly fitted (I was way off) she ran back and forth bringing me things to try on while I stayed put in the dressing room. It was awesome and I ended up getting some nice new underthings, which fit, thanks to their incredible service.  I left there an even bigger fan of Nordstroms while pondering my “ah ha” bra moment.

In addition to Nordstroms, these are my favorite places to shop:

Target – Love it, just not the one in Brooklyn.

Etsy – The sellers are truly passionate about their work and it shows.

Amazon – Makes city-livin’ and big-spendin’ easy. Too easy.

1-800-Contacts – Great prices and customer service.

Fresh Direct – Not so great prices, but great produce and service.

Trader Joes – Wish I had one in my ‘hood.

Moosejaw – Outdoor gear company with huge sense of humor. I buy shit, just to interact with them.

Marshalls – Their dressing room dust-bunnies are as big as the savings. Fucking huge.

Penguin - For Jeff. 

Hot Wheels

In New York City, a car is not a necessity and more often than not, it’s more of a hassle and expense than it’s worth. I sold my car, a VW Passat, when I moved to the city and haven’t had a car since.  I’m proud that I do not own a car and I’m an advocate of public transportation. We’ve been traveling back and forth between NY and CT for over seven years using public transportation and for the most part, it’s been great.

We go to CT at least once a month to see family and friends usually for a party, since aomeone is always having a party. For example, in the past year we’ve attended a road-race party, a jewelry party, a house-warming party, snow-storm party, and a wine-tasting party. And that’s in addition to all the holidays we celebrate in CT, too.

For the first three years in the city we took Metro North from Grand Central to New Haven, CT.  From there, one of our parents picked us up and then drove us the 45 minutes to West Hartford. The cost, $15.00 for a one-way ticket, is a bargain.  However, it’s annoying for all in involved, especially our parents. Once we had a little bit more expendable cash, we upgraded to Amtrak, and never looked back.

We want this car!

Now, as we have for the past four years, we take Amtrak from Penn Station to directly to Hartford.  Our parents (god help them) still pick us up in Hartford, but it’s only about 10 minutes drive home.  If we buy the tickets in advance and use our AAA discount we can usually get one-way tickets for under $30.00.

Amtrak, is efficient (except, when it’s running late), comfortable and clean.  Let’s not forget, that they make one great microwavable burger (don’t knock it, until you try it) and have a nice wine selection (half-bottles, for one, woo woo!).  Jeff and I would have Friday night “date-nights” on the train over a glass of wine and just talk, play scrabble or read side by side.  Colette had her first train ride at a month old and has been a great passenger ever since. I recommend it as a way for any new parent, or anyone for that matter, to travel.

Unfortunately, as Colette gets bigger and more mobile, it’s getting less great.  She will soon outgrow an infant car seat and need a toddler-sized, non-portable one which is difficult, if not impossible, to take on Amtrak and the subway.  We often want to bring with us more than we can carry, and have to either ship stuff home or wait until a family member from CT can visit and bring us whatever we left behind.  Also, I’m almost 30 and even though she never complains, I’m tired of asking my Mom for rides. 

Colette wants this car!

Going home less often is not an option, buying a car is. We’ve compared the costs of owning a car versus leasing, renting, sharing (Zipcar) and puplic transportation and it’s certainly not going to save us money, but I think it will save us some time and sanity, both things we also value.

We are on the hunt for a 2007-2009 Honda CR-V, and its incredibly hard to find a car to buy when you don’t have a car to begin with.  Until then, we'll be playing scrabble and eating microwaved burgers on Amtrak.

Summer Hours

In the post before last, I promised to make time to write about all the things we’ve had going on in last month. Oops. Here’s a quick update so I can get back on track and stop feeling guilty:

Erin, Danielle, Kelly (Bride), Me, Sue, Vanessa

Erin and I co-hosted Kelly’s 48-hour bachelorette party in Vegas mid-May.  It was a weekend filled with short skirts (not mine, of course), tall drinks, late nights and long lines.  The six of us had a great time hanging out poolside, dining, dancing and people watching.

For Memorial Day weekend Jeff, Colette and I went to San Francisco to visit our good friends Jen and Dave and my cousin Ryan and his wife, Audrey. It was Colette’s first plane ride, and by the looks of it, the two of ours as well.  We were late to the airport, escorted through security, fumbling a baby and all related gear.  We were the last ones to board and so thrilled that we made the plane that we didn’t even care when we proceeded to wait on the tarmac for 3 hours before takeoff due to air traffic.  Colette was a champ, bounced between the two of us as the plane crept along the jet way, fell asleep as we ascended, and didn’t wake up until we arrived in California.  It was a short, but incredibly fun and relaxing trip…props to our hosts!

A few days after we returned from San Fran we moved into our new apartment.  The movers were awesomely efficient and we did our best to stay out of their way.  My parents helped us get situated the day after the move, and then escorted us to Connecticut for our friends' wedding. 

This past weekend Colette and I went back to Connecticut for Kelly’s bridal shower, to hang with family and friends and enjoy the start of summer. Hooray for summer!

Happy Father's Day!

This is for you Dad:

Also, Colette and I talked and decided Jeff should get this trophy: