Endings, Beginnings, Middles...

"Don't cry because it is over, be happy that it happened."

This summer we found ourselves at the end of a chapter in the story of Tara and Dan.  We transitioned from being DINKs to first time parents. 

Adding the roles of mom and dad was a decision that we didn't take lightly.  We wanted to wait for the right time... people often tell you that there will never be a right time but for us we knew when we were getting close.  Sure there are things that we wanted to do before having a kid that didn't happen but lots of it did.

After being just the two of us (plus two furbabies) for such a long time it feels like a dramatic transition.  I am happy for the time we had as just the two of us.  We had a lot of adventures together and that is awesome.  I believe that helped in setting a nice strong foundation in our relationship for this next phase.

We will have all kinds of adventures together as parents.   I am so excited to see where this new chapter takes us as a family and as a couple.

As we said goodbye to our years as DINKs we also said goodbye to our homebase for the past ten years.  Chicago is where we started our careers, were married and newlyweds.  It is where we became runners and where we became wanna be foodies.  It is where we faced huge hurdles and challenges in every aspect of life and learned how to get through them together as partners.  Chicago was home for the years we became adults.  I loved being in this city. 

It wasn't the initial plan but it seems perfectly fitting that as we say goodbye to those years and welcome this next step of parenthood we also are saying goodbye to Chicago and hello to a new homebase. 

After bringing Jaime home from the hospital we spent a week packing up our belongings (those we didn't sell) and saying goodbye to friends.  And before we knew it it was our last night in Chicago... which we spent frantically packing. 

The day we left Chicago I insisted that before we picked my parents up from the airport we stop by the lake to take a family photo.  It is funny and fitting that the very first building we lived in is in the background.  And of course the photo had to be taken here... this is the area where so much began, where we first fell in love with Chicago.  It was a moment consisting of beginnings, middles and endings.  It was the end of a chapter in our lives. 

She & Him ~ Midwest & Northeast via Text

What is a couple that is accostomed to spending time together every day to do when in different regions of the country?  Text message of course. 

The first was the dogs after I came home with no Daniel that first night...

Then we continued to texted photos of our day...

These are all from the first week Dan was out there.  Smartphones are fun.

East Coast Boy....MidWest Girl

When an offer came in for me to work in the New York area for a large consulting company at their client, a large regulated electric utility, we knew it was going to be a huge step for my career but with it comes a lot of stress.  We have always had an understanding that if either of us gets a great job out of state we would go.  Instantly Tara was excited and anxious to move, but with a kid on the way the timing would have to be thought out more.  We decided to send me out there and get an apartment for 6 months.  When the kid is on its way, I’d jump on a plane and get to the hospital, which there are plenty of flights.  Deciding on a temporary apartment was a smart idea, as apartment searching in Manhattan is a challenge and even more so from Chicago. 

As it was the 29th of May, the odds of finding an apartment for June was slim.  By some miracle Tara found a place online that seemed like it might work for stepping stone apartment and I contacted them immediately.  They had one unit left, a one bedroom on the top floor.  Figuring the building was just over a year old, I sent in the application and once approved I paid the deposit and first months rent without even seeing the unit.  After work I checked out of the hotel, rented a car, headed down to the new apartment and was pleasantly surprised.  It is really nice. 

Next stop was to raid Target for everything from an air mattress to sleep on to laundry detergent to a plastic plate and cheap silverware I was set.  Living apart has its challenges, like making sure you call your wife enough and not having her keen sense of direction you find yourself relying on GPS more.  The apartment I call home is right near a train station in a cute small town in New Jersey with plenty of bars and decent restaurants.  The apartment is about a year old, it has a gym and indoor parking, and is across the street from a running path that hugs a stream and takes you to a large park.  It takes me 30 min to get to my office in Newark and it’s about 45 minutes from NYC.  With my Kindle, I have plenty of time in the day to read during my commute and I even find myself reading at restaurants while I drink a bourbon or two and eat dinner.  Currently, I am keeping my cell phone on me all the time in anticipation of the call to get on the plane. 

Overall we are really excited to see how we adjust to the life out here.  While living in Chicago was great, we were ready for a change, but not ready for a suburb yet.  Our plan is to move to Manhattan at the end of the 6 months and see what adventures await us.  Stay tuned for even bigger news…

Salut Chicago!

What is the news Tara spoke of in the last post?  That would be the fact that I received an offer to work for a huge consulting company at a client of theirs in Newark, NJ.  And what is close to Newark?  New York City, and that's where we just decided to find a home for the next three years.  When Tara and I visited Manhattan last November, we had a blast.  We explored numerous neighborhoods, dined at some awesome restaurants, drank at some really nice bars, and walked all over the place taking a lot of photos.  When this opportunity came knocking, I jumped on it.  We have had a standing agreement that if anyone gets a great job out of Chicago, we will find a way to do it.  Once the news hit Tara she was thrilled, and I was stressed, as it's a lot to deal with when you are moving that far. 

Of course downsizing from 2100 sqft to maybe 1000 sqft involves selling a lot of our large furniture pieces, and even the motorcycle.  I felt that this was a good time to pass the bike on to someone else.  Someone younger that doesn't get quite as sore riding a race bike in traffic as I do.  So we parted ways and both parties were happy with the deal.  It has been interesting to start selling off furniture and home stuff.  Some nights we have 3-4 people coming to buy different things so it is keeping us busy.

Our plan is for me to live there in June and July with Tara and the baby moving out around August 1st.  The logistics alone are overwhelming when you have a kid on the way in the middle of this move.  But we can do it.  One thing we are good at is adapting. 

Last  night we decided to focus our apartment search on Brooklyn.  Everyone's commute will be easy and there are more parks within walking distance for the dogs.  As cool as Manhattan is, we would have to live too far north or in the financial district and my commute wouldn't be enjoyable. 

Stay tuned for updates on our journey to the Big Apple, it's going to be pretty wild. 

And this is not Facebook public news yet so we aren't saying anything there for quite a while.

Doggies & the new home...

After moving we had a lot of questions about if the dogs adjusted to the new home.  In short - the dogs love it.  They do get stressed during the move - it always starts with the packing of boxes but once we are unpacked they get that this is home and calm down.

They absolutely love having the deck off the kitchen and off the loft where they get to hang out.  There is a park about half a block away that keeps them content (although Lincoln Park will always be their favorite).  The stairs make Shelby happy as she has a spot to perch and keep on eye on things in the kitchen without being in the middle of the madness.  The neighborhood is a very active one - they like that as it is interesting to them to people watch and check things out.  Not having a shared entry with neighbor dogs makes them happy too.  Life is good for Eddie and Shelby.

Last Days at the Hoyne Apartment

Three years ago we decided that the tiny first floor two bedroom on Hoyne Street was "good enough for now" and moved in expecting to only be there a year.  A year later we were itching to move out and were just not finding a place that was worth moving for when our landlord offered the second floor unit for the same price of our first floor... we did not like the building or the location but it was bigger and the move would be easy.  Good enough.  A year later, again itching to move to a more convenient for commuting location and bigger place, we opted to stay just one more year.  So here we are - three years of being in the Hoyne apartment and definitely ready to move on.

It is always a funny feeling to leave an apartment.  Regardless of how issue-plagued it might have been (the Hoyne apartment was filled with issues and annoyances- we'll save those stories for another day) it was still home.  We had a lot of good times in that apartment building.  From hosting our first dinner party, marathon training, a just us thanksgiving, many game nights, planting our first garden, birthday gatherings, and simply everyday kind of moments - a lot of memories will have the Hoyne apartment as the setting.

But we could be happier about moving.  On to the next chapter.

Oh yeah and it took 6 rolls of packing tape, a bazillion boxes, and four movers to get us out of the Hoyne apartment.  A little different from the days we moved by loading up the car.

Apt. 2

There is something amazing about an extra 100 square feet, fresh paint, a few more unobstructed windows, and no one living above you.  It doesn't seem like a huge difference to move "upstairs" from an initial thought but it has been a welcome transformation of living space. 

We have been working hard on making this apartment our home.  With the decision to stay in our current building came the decision to put our touch on the place. 

The first thing to get revamped was the color scheme.  Cave-blue had to go.  And in came Fresh Day and Bleached Linen to give us the bright airy feel that we were craving.  Six gallons of paint and four trips to Home Depot later we moved on to cleaning. 

Then it was the little things; we replaced the ugly amber sconces with fresh white ones which brought another two trips to Home Depot (seriously- good thing it is just a couple minutes away).

We found a new home for our college sofa and television stand.  And welcomed our first "real" area rug.  Oh and made about 5 million trips up and down stairs.

The awesome part about moving upstairs- no need for a moving truck and movers.  The hard part- 5 days straight of carrying, packing, and unpacking boxes up and down a flight of stairs. Which inevitable leads to pizza nights and muscles too sore to even think about going to the gym.

We have a few project remaining (making curtains, adding an end table, framing a few prints) but this place is already feeling like home. 

And we absolutely love the light.  It is in a word awesome.