O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

...how lovely are your fake branches.

I'm one of those that balked at the thought of a fake tree in the past. What good is a tree if you can't smell that wonderful tree smell throughout the house? Well after some discussion, my mom talked me into it and brought home a 7 1/2 foot fake tree. It's actually quite real looking and the best part is that it's already strung with lights. We set it up in the living room, put some ornaments on and now the hard part is keeping the kids from removing them. How do you explain to two toddlers that all these little 'toys' dangling all over the tree are only for looking?

I decided to take on the task of making curtains for the living room. Somehow I managed to make one panel a whole 2 inches longer than the other panel. Luckily a friend here has a sewing machine and she knows how to sew so she helped me fix them so we now have window coverings! It is nice not living in a fishbowl anymore! We were holding out to buy blinds but decided they are just too expensive especially for a house we don't want to stay in.

We've had a couple snows in the last couple weeks. Andrew was so excited to wake up and see a couple inches of white snow everywhere. It has since warmed up a bit so we are now getting rain.

Andrew has taken on the job description of being a 2-year-old and has really made it clear that he's an independent person with strong opinions. We have to watch him closely around Lauren because he is now quite posessive with his toys and I don't know how far he'd go to stop Lauren from playing with them. He is still very interested in trains and the train table continues to be his favorite activity.

Lauren is just a pro at getting around the house, pulling herself to standing just about anywhere she can and she would be happy to follow Andrew everywhere he goes. Both Andrew and Lauren love to sing and sometimes I'll hear Andrew singing by himself. I have yet to make out the words but the cadence sounds like the ABC's.

The pace has picked up at Nick's work and he is in Knoxville & Kalamazoo this week. He returns home on Thursday only to head out again next week.

Andrew is 2!

We celebrated Andrew's 2nd birthday on Saturday rather than Monday since Nick would be out of town. Nick set up the train table for Andrew on Friday night so that we could surprise him with it on Saturday morning. He woke up at 6:30 am Saturday (no, we don't sleep in anymore) and we were standing by with camera in hand to watch him find the train table and accessories. He absolutely LOVES it! He played for hours and hours and we had to tear him away from it in the afternoon so we could take him to the movies. We saw Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. It seemed like a good movie although it was a bit complex for a 2 year old. We actually walked out 3/4 of the way through because Andrew was starting to get antsy and he was talking (loudly) at times. We didn't want to ruin the movie for the rest of the crowd and quietly snuck out. Andrew was probably just in a hurry to get back to his trains. I made a carrot birthday cake and attempted to put Thomas the train on it with cream cheese frosting. It came out delicious although my artistry left much to be desired. Yesterday I took Andrew & Lauren to Chuck E Cheese to meet his friend Ryan and his mom and we had a small little birthday celebration there as well.

This morning both kids had a routine doctor appointment and overall things went well. Lauren weighs 22.5 lbs and is 30 inches long. She's in the 95th percentile for height and weight! Andrew weighs 29.2 lbs and is 34.5 inches long. He's in the 50-75the percentile. The doctor would like Andrew to have a hearing and speech evaluation especially in regards to his history of ear infections and eardrum rupture. This may be why he is a little slower to talk although she wasn't terribly concerned over it. He should be saying at least 6 words with perfect clarity and although he is saying many more than 6, his words aren't 100% clear. Lauren started crawling on hands and knees today! Up until now she has been scooting around on her belly. Yesterday she also pulled herself up on her own to the train table for the first time. A little added incentive, I guess, to get to those trains. I've attached a little slideshow of birthday pictures below

It's Cold!

The weather has taken a change. It is now cold, cold, cold! It hasn't snowed yet but it seems close. Our morning walks have been put on hold and we're looking for more indoor activities to keep ourselves busy. Lauren has FINALLY popped out a tooth on the bottom and I think the 2nd tooth is coming soon. Unfortunately, along with the teething she has gotten quite congested and maybe has her first cold. (although by the time Andrew was her age he had already weathered through several colds, ear infections, and 2 ruptured eardrums) I guess that's another benefit to keeping her out of daycare. She hasn't quite grasped the crawling concept yet although she gets around quite well by scooting on her belly. She gets around all over the house like a little mermaid!
Andrew will be 2 on Monday! I can't believe how fast 2 years gave gone. But then again I remind myself how many changes we've made in just 2 years. We've lived in 3 states, lived on both east and west coasts, had 2 kids, and I've been both a working mom and a stay-at-home mom. That's more change for myself than all 10 years prior! Andrew's vocabulary has picked up more speed, thank goodness. The other night he got out of the bath and told me 'It's a cold!' He says 'tee-too' for thank you, 'kying' for crying (which he'll tell us when Lauren is crying, just in case we didn't know), 'Da-iss' for Thomas the Train. He's also saying 'uh-huh' and 'oh, gosh', then covers his mouth with his hand for added emphasis.

We'll be doing a small birthday celebration on Saturday instead of the 19th because Nick is going back to Knoxville. We're going to take Andrew to see a new kids movie called "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" then probably have some balloons and cake at home. We bought him a train table which is a long table about 15 inches high - just the right height for him to roll trains along a track. We also got a Thomas train set to go with it. I'm sure he will just love it.

We are looking forward to a trip to the Bay Area 12/25 - 12/31. We'll be staying at my Dad & Steve's house in Orinda. It will be fun to see friends and family that we haven't seen in awhile and also many of our friends have not met Lauren yet.

P.S. You can put away the sunglasses now....I've changed the neon template of the blog to something a little more subdued. What do you think?

Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone. Last year we took an almost 1-year-old Andrew to a Boise church parking lot where they have what's called a "trunk-or-treat". People decorate their cars and trunks and give candy out right from their cars. He didn't really "get" the whole idea but it was fun dressing him up as a pumpkin and (ssssh!) we got to eat all his candy. This year was a little more fun since he understood that he was dressed up (as Tigger) but the concept of taking his little bag around for treats was still over his head. Lauren had no clue that she was a big orange pumpkin but she was darn cute in it. (Andrew's costume from last year ...probably the last time we'll get away with recycling his costume for her) We took the kids to the local mall which had a "mall-o-treat". Each of the stores had someone out front handing out candy and Andrew had fun collecting his loot. We couldn't get him to say "trick-or treat" though.

So, we thought we went overboard after we bought 4 big bags of candy to give out last night. We arrived home from the mall at 5 pm, it was still light out, and kids were already ringing the bell. About 5 groups came by before 6pm. A couple of the groups looked as old as 15-16 years old....and a few weren't even in costume! I was tempted to say something but figured maybe I shouldn't give them a hard time or I might wind up with paintballs or eggs on the side of my house. We did run out of candy and ended up giving out some of what Andrew had collected earlier. (of course after I pulled out all the good stuff ;-) Surprisingly, he's not really into sweets. He thinks of all of his little treats & candies that he collected as little possessions. He wants to carry them around with him but he doesn't care to open them or eat them. I'm sure next year will be different!

Visitors! Part Deux

We had a nice visit with Mike & Vicki and they returned home Friday. They treated us to a Broadway show last Sunday and we saw The Drowsy Chaperone, starring none other than Bob Saget. I've never thought of him as Broadway material but he did an excellent job and we all really loved the show. Once again we took the Staten Island Ferry into the city but it was much easier this time since we left the kids at home with Grandma Kerry. We stopped off in Greenwich Village and took a stroll down Bleeker Street. We saw "The Naked Cowboy" and "The Naked Cowgirl" who are basically well known street performers who play a guitar and pose for tourist pictures while wearing almost nothing. By the time we got back to the ferry building the sun was setting and we stopped to enjoy the beautiful view from the ferry building that overlooked JFK drive & the Brooklyn Bridge. The view of the NYC skyline at sunset was the most beautiful I've ever seen it with the light reflecting off the buildings.
On Tuesday, they took the train to DC with hopes of seeing all the sites for 2 days but unfortunately their visit was cut short due to an ankle injury. They came back to NJ and Nick wrapped, splinted, elevated, and iced Vicki's ankle. What a good sport she was while Nick got to play paramedic again. The weather during the rest of the visit was pretty cool and rainy so we pretty much kept indoors. We celebrated Grandpa Mike's Birthday on Thursday and I made the birthday cake. It was great seeing them again, having them meet Lauren for the first time, and having Andrew see them for the first time since he was 6 months old.

Visitors!

My dad & Steve visited over the Columbus Day weekend. It was nice to catch up and also see their familiar faces. On Saturday, we drove into Staten Island then took the ferry to Manhattan. We did a lot of walking & picture taking, covering the Wall Street area, World Trade Center site, & Central Park. There was a great playground in Central Park with a water playground. Since Andrew wasn't equipped with his swimsuit we stripped him down to a diaper and soon enough he & Lauren were frolicking in the water with all the little Manhattanites. We then trekked over to the carousel and my dad & I took A & L on the fastest spinning carousel ever. I swear, the centrifugal force seemed strong enough that if you let go you'd probably go flying off. It was also Andrew & Lauren's first time experiencing the NYC subway! We were surprised to find out just how un-stroller friendly the subway system is. There were very few stations that had elevators which meant we had to carry the stroller down several flights at each station. Thank goodness there were 4 of us adults. I can't imagine how parents traveling alone manage the strollers by themselves. And wheelchairs or walkers, how do they do it?

Sunday we took a drive down south to Seaside Heights to see the Columbus Day parade. We had an unobstructed view of the parade which was unusual. I'm used to San Francisco parades where you have to stand on your toes because there are 4 rows of people between you and the parade. Seaside Heights is a small beach community with a long boardwalk & amusement park. After the parade we walked up to the boardwalk and onto the beach. We parked the stroller at the bottom of the stairs in an out of the way and took the kids out. We thought the stroller would be safe for a few moments while we went to the see the waves come in. After walking about 100 feet from the stroller I turned back to see a shady looking guy standing right next to the stroller looking directly at me. He then leaned down like he was tying his shoe. I took a few steps towards him & the stroller and he walked away. I have no doubt that he was going to try to steal something. The diaper bag was on the stroller with my wallet in it. I feel lucky that I caught the situation in time but I would have felt so angry at myself for being naïve and leaving it all there had he actually taken something. It was a good reminder of just how quick you can be victimized. The rest of our visit we stayed local and showed them our neighborhood, the park we play at, and checked out some of the antique shops in Red Bank. We couldn't have had better weather for their visit. It warmed up to 70's or 80's most days and the rain held off until the last eve of their visit.

We're looking forward to our next visitors arriving this weekend! Nick's dad (aka Mike) & stepmom (aka Vicki) arrive Saturday and will be here through Friday. They haven't seen Andrew since he was 7 months old and they will be meeting Lauren for the first time!

We are so grateful that our families are making the effort to come out this way to see us. Thank you!

New Jersey

The longer we're here the more odd & new things we notice about New Jersey, the people here, and the way they do things. Here is a list of the peculiarities we've noticed.

- There are Dunkin' Donut franchises everywhere! There are 3 that I can think of within 2 miles of our house. They sell more than just donuts... such as breakfast sandwiches and every variety of coffee you can think of but I still don't understand the donut obsession. If you drive by on a weekday morning there are usually cars backed up into the street waiting for the drive-thru.

- Diners are everywhere too, and that's just what they call them. The only signage on the one near our house just says 'Diner', not Jim's Diner, or Joe's Diner, just Diner. Another one is the 'New Jersey Diner'.....I guess we'll just have to try out one of these diners sooner or later and see what it's all about.

- You cannot buy any alcohol, including beer and wine, in any grocery store. You need to go to a liquor store for that. Many restaurants do not have a liquor license although if you'd like a beer with your dinner you can bring your own. Restaurants will post BYOB somewhere on the window or door. Nick & I really wanted a good margarita so we went to this mexican food restaurant in Red Bank. The waitress brought them out and they were alcohol free but she suggested going across the street to the liquor store and buying a bottle of tequila and mixing our own. So that's what we did. It felt a little odd pulling out a bottle of tequila from a paper bag at the dinner table but she assured us that customers do it all the time.

- Don't ever tell anyone around here that you went to the beach. Actually, don't ever say the word beach. Here you go 'down the shore' and the locals are quite particular about that phrase. Also, you can expect to pay anywhere from $3.00 - $10.00 to step foot on any beach.

- The main highway that is near our house is called the Garden State Parkway. It's a toll road but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the distances between toll booths and how much you pay. One toll is 70¢ and then the next one 20 miles away is 25¢, then 35¢, and so on. There aren't even people in the toll booths, it's just a basket that you throw your change into. I am tempted to just drive right on through without paying one of these days but then again I might find the mafia on my doorstep.

- Almost all roads have a name AND a number. Just to get to the grocery store which is only a mile away I need to take 13A to 520 to 35. And don't confuse 33 from 34 from 35 from 36 because they each go a different way and are also all near our house. Also, I haven't found a straight road here yet. Each one seems to twist and turn and if you stay on it long enough you'll end up where you started. And by the time you make it back there you'll find a new Dunkin' Donuts on the corner.

- If you need to turn left at the light you will almost always need to be in the right lane. They have many "jughandles" which circle you around in the direction you need. Oh, and if you miss your turn you're pretty much screwed. You'll have to find the next jughandle which could be a ways up the road.

- One would expect any metro area such as this to have a paramedic staffed ambulance nearby. Well, we don't. We live in a volunteer EMS area and whenever there is a need for the ambulance you'll hear an air raid siren that signals the local EMT's to respond to the ambulance. This is common in rural areas but I was surprised being as populated as we are that that is how its done here.

- New Jersey is a small state. Very small. And very populated considering there are 8.7 million people living here. If it were a puzzle piece, you could fit 21 New Jersey's in California. 4 Ada County's in Idaho equal the size of New Jersey. 31 New Jersey's would fit in Montana. New Jersey has 21 counties, the smallest is Hudson County which is the same size as San Francisco. With all of that being said, you would expect that native New Jerseyan's would know the direction, distance, and wherabouts of other cities and towns in their state but have found quite the opposite. Someone who lives in the next town over actually asked me if Tinton Falls was very far and how long would it take to drive. (It's 5 miles away)

- There are lawn & yard 'police' here. If your lawn gets to scraggly and long you'll get a ticket and fine from the Dept of Public Works. Luckily this hasn't happened to us thanks to Steve, the guy who mows our yard every other week.

- Bugs. They are larger, louder, weirder, and more plentiful than anywhere else I've been. Fireflies, cicadas, ants, beetles. The ants here are huge, 1/3 to 1/2 inch, and they bite. Oh yeah, the flies bite too.

- New Jerseyans don't like New Yorkers. And vice versa. It's similar to the Idaho/Oregon & California relationship. Can't I just live in a state that everyone gets along?

- Speaking of Idaho, nobody here really knows where it is. And they confuse it with Ohio and Iowa. It's Idahiowa. I guess I can't complain about this too much considering I'm still learning the states that border New Jersey. (Delaware to the south, New York to the north and east, Pennsylvania to the west).

- You never pump your own gas here. It's all full serve.

- Many New Jerseyans (well, maybe New Yorkers and some Pennsylvanians too) have a very gruff and direct way of speaking that can almost be taken as overbearing or rude but I'm realizing that it's just the way they are here. It's nothing personal, that's just how they are.

- Celebrities around here: Both Jon Bon Jovi & Bruce Springsteen live near here and have kids that go to the private school near our house. Oh, and I just missed Deborah Harry (AKA Blondie) at the hardware store down the street. I was buying paint and the two women in line behind me were giddy with excitement. Apparently they approached her to say hello and said she was very friendly and personable.

- Overall, I think New Jersey gets a pretty bad rap. Someone said it's the armpit of New York, people think of congestion, traffic, pollution, huge smokestacked factories, horrible crime, etc. Maybe it seems better because I was expecting all of that but I must say I am pleasantly surprised. It's a pretty bad area right near the Newark airport. People fly in and think all of New Jersey is like that. It is actually very green here, so many trees and rolling green lawns and yards. There is a lot of property on each lot. Most houses have large yards. There are horses, stables, long trails to walk, orchards, and farms. Yes, farms! The public park system is fabulous here and everything is so well maintained. We are in the Garden State and it is appropriately named. By the way, did you know NJ is the 3rd largest producer of cranberries? It's the 6th largest in lettuce and 7th largest of fresh market tomatoes. Who would have known?

As much as we are enjoying it for now, I don't think this is 'home'. I'm thinking of this all as an adventure and it's nice to get to know this side of the United States but my heart will always be in California. Since the kids are still young and not in school I don't mind touring the U.S. via Nick's employment although I do hope to be a Californian again sometime in the future.

Hey, don't be shy...post a comment. That's how I know people are actually reading! ;-)

Slideshow

Here is a little slideshow I've created with some random pictures

24 hour vacation in Cherry Hill

Nick had to be in Cherry Hill, NJ at 7am on Friday so his company put him up in a hotel there on Thursday night so he wouldn't need to drive the 75 miles at the crack of dawn. We tagged along for a little change of scenery. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza which was right on the Delaware River and we had a beautiful view of the Philadelphia skyline from our room on the 11th floor. We arrived at around 7pm, enough time for dinner then returned to the hotel. Andrew was so excited to check out the hotel room. I noticed a little routine he has when we were staying at all the hotels on our cross country drive. He checks out the phone, picks up the receiver and says "haooo"? (hello), then turns on whatever clock radio is there, then wants the tv turned on. The next day Nick went to his meeting bright and early and the kids and I checked out of the hotel then walked around some of the shops in the area. I really liked the area. The residential areas had nice older homes with a lot of personality, the streets were lush with trees and greenery. I think we'll go along with him on his next visit.

I think I mentioned awhile back that I met another mom of 2 that has also just relocated to NJ. Her husband is in the army and they transferred to Fort Monmouth from Fort Hood in Texas. We meet up at a nearby park 2-3 days a week with the kids in their strollers and go for a brisk 2 mile walk. It's definitely a motivator when you have a walking buddy. At the end of the walk we let the kids play on the playground. I have also joined the local MOMS Club and they have lots of fun social get togethers for the moms and their kids. We'll be going to a playgroup next Tuesday and Thursday we'll check out the storytime at the library. It's funny to think, just a mere three years ago we were looking forward to happy hour after work, or the a big party to go to on Friday night. Now I'm excited for pajama storytime at the local library. I promise myself that once again we will be social, party-going, movie-seeing, spontaneous-traveling adults once the kids are just a bit older and can be left with grandma for longer periods.

Other tidbits - Nick now has glasses! He had his eyes checked because he felt he wasn't seeing as clearly and lo and behold they recommended glasses. He's been wearing them about 75% of the time and says he seeing things he didn't even know he couldn't see, if that makes any sense. He sure looks like his brother Noah now! He also has been quite busy with a few side projects with his consulting business and....stay tuned....he may be working part-time as a paramedic again in addition to everything else. He's been missing his work in EMS so that will be some excitement for him.
Andrew's word of the week is "boo" He says it and points to the moon, balloons, and the color blue so who knows if he really understands.
Lauren is still toothless but I swear, any time now. I've been saying that for months though. Andrew got his first tooth at 8 months 1 week and she just turned 8 months yesterday. She is very close to crawling. She is able to get up on her hands and knees but instead of going forward, she scoots backwards, moving away from her intended target. Very frustrating to say the least!
I've have recently created a Myspace page and feel completely inept compared to all these teenagers who have pimped out their page with graphics. I'm lucky that I figured out how to get a picture and a song on there. (It wasn't easy) Anyway, if you're on myspace be sure to look me up add me as your friend.

Video!

This is exciting! Blogspot has just enabled video uploads so now you can see the Nudells in live action! Now, if I did it right there there should be a video below. I picked a video that I had already of the kids taking a bath just to test the feature out. I'll be taking many more! Now you can see them crying, eating, rolling over, babbling, etc! Just what you've always wanted ;-) As for other goings on.... Nick is still taking regular trips to Kalamazoo, Michigan and in the near future he'll begin regular trips to Cherry Hill, New Jersey for additional implants. We're still making decorative improvements to the house one wall, floor, room at a time. Nick and I are looking forward to a night out in Manhattan next Friday night. We're going to see a band called Blaqk Audio at the Manhattan Grand Ballroom in NYC. It will be such a novelty being out for the evening without the kids. It's funny the little things you take for granted before you become a parent. Stay tuned for more videos!

Andrew

Lauren

I have blogstipation

Well our visitor has come and gone and life is back to boring old us. Nothing like a visitor to make you get out and see the area. Tori had a good time and she said she really liked New Jersey.

Nick is recovering from a really bad poison ivy (or sumac?) rash. It is all over both arms and the lower part of his legs. It may have come from the yardwork and weeding he did in our backyard a few weeks ago but what's strange is that it would have taken 2 weeks to react. It started as a raised red itchy rash that turned into watery blisters. Grossed out yet? Just as he thought it was going away, he woke up with more all over. He finally went to the doctor and was given a few prescriptions. We also now have a professional to do the yardwork and yes, we warned him of the poison oak, ivy, or sumac we have.

Andrew is going through a very defiant stage. Yesterday I had put him in his room for a nap. What usually happens is that he'll play for 30 minutes or so then he'll end up climbing into his toddler bed when he gets tired. Well yesterday I went to check on him thinking I'd find him asleep but he had actually climbed into Lauren's crib and had disassembled her music mobile. He had also removed and emptied his dresser drawers and unplugged the baby monitor so I didn't hear any of this going on. Ay Carumba!

Lauren is just starting to sit unassisted and she is good for a few minutes before she'll tip over. I was playing some music and she started "dancing" by bobbing her head and wiggling her body. It was really cute. Still no sign of any teeth, hoping maybe this is the month.

I'm joining a local mom's club so that I can meet others and hopefully get out for some socializing & interesting outings with the kids.

NYC

Yesterday we spent the day in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Victoriah asked to see the Jehovah's Witness headquarters so we went for a 2 hour tour of the Watchtower building. If anything, it was a learning experience of the lives of Jehovah's Witnesses. I was expecting to regret having our car there but we found parking relatively easy. We ended up finding a spot on a quiet residential street with a terrific view of the Statue of Liberty and the Lower East Side neighborhood across the water. After the tour we drove into Manhattan and drove down 5th Avenue at Victoriah's request to see all the upscale shops, Tiffany & Co, Prada, etc. We saw the Rockefeller Center, Trump Tower, Grand Central, and the Empire State Building. We then parked the car in a parking garage and walked up and around Times Square (not quite the same in the middle of the day). We had street corner hot dogs for lunch then ducked into the Marriott for a while to get out of the heat and rest our feet. We all enjoyed watching the huge indoor column of glass elevators going up and down. There were lots of huge building sized banner ads for current Broadway shows and I can't wait to be able to see a show. We did everything Victoriah wanted to do in NYC except ride the subway. Oh well, next time perhaps. Andrew & Lauren were very patient in their stroller probably because there was a ton of visual stimulation and people watching to do! Today Nick took Victoriah to Six Flags Great Adventure about 45 minutes away. She was really excited because "Lil' Momma" will be singing in a concert there tonight. I have never even heard of Lil' Momma. I guess that's a sign of getting old.

Our 1st visitor is here!

We're mostly unpacked although since this house is on the smaller side we've had a little more incentive to get rid of or sell the things that we no longer use. We also have a growing wishlist of things that we want to replace such as new couch, area rug, different pictures for the walls. One thing at a time, that's what I keep reminding myself.

Nick's 12 year old daughter Victoriah arrived on Friday night and she'll be visiting through 8/13. It's very exciting for her especially because she's never been further east than Colorado. Yesterday we all went to Philadelphia which was a little over an hour drive. We arrived around lunchtime and had what else...Philly cheesesteaks. Not so healthy, but when in Philly..... We strolled around the tourist area and walked through the National Constitution Center which is a museum dedicated to the constitution. They had an temporary exhibit from the National Archives that was interesting. We looked down upon the ruins of Benjamin Franklin's 18th century home. It was very hot and very humid so by the time we got to where the Liberty Bell was we were content with just walking by the building it was in. We stopped off for dinner at Buca di Beppo (family style Italian restaurant) in Cherry Hill, NJ. By the time we made it home at 8 pm we were all tired and exhausted so it was an early bedtime for us all! Nick has to return to Kalamazoo, MI today and he'll return Tuesday. I'm sure we'll be busy here keeping Tori entertained.

We're home!

We are in our new house and have been swimming our way through boxes. We are at the point that we are seeing more of the room than of the boxes but we still have a lot to do. Nick has spent two evenings hanging vertical blinds to cover the windows. Until the blinds were up it was like we were living in a fishbowl! Andrew has just "graduated" from his crib to a toddler bed. He loves it although he has trouble actually getting into his bed at bedtime. He'd rather play with his toys now that he has the freedom to get in/out of bed. Lauren is sharing the room with him although up until now she has been sharing half of the night in our bed. We're working on changing that! Nick left for Michigan yesterday and he'll be returning tomorrow night. I will post pictures of the house after I upload them

Still on track....

We are still on track to move in on Friday. Our washer, dryer, and refrigerator were delivered last night. I can't wait to use the washer and dryer! I think they will actually pay for themselves after a few months. It's been $6 to wash and dry 2 loads and I've been doing laundry 2+ times a week. It adds up quick! The movers should arrive with our stuff Friday and we'll get as much unpacked and set up as we can and our first night there will probably be Saturday.

Last night was very warm and humid. As it got dark I noticed fireflies EVERYWHERE! It was kind of magical seeing the flashing lights all around you....until I came back to reality and remembered that they really were flies!

Update on the Nudelettes: Andrew will be 20 months on 7/19 and Lauren will be 6 months on 7/14. Lauren has been getting used to eating solid foods. Just in the last few days she has tried carrots, squash, applesauce and bananas. She's at the point now that she would rather be upright and looking around the room rather than on her back. She is almost able to sit up now on her own. Andrew has gotten used to sitting at the table (on a phonebook) for meals so I guess he's graduated from the highchair. Now it's Lauren's turn! Andrew is getting 4 molars all at once but you'd never know it, he hasn't complained. Lauren is still toothless but we're hoping she has one soon. That may explain her fussy period in the evenings. I've been taking many pics of them with the digital cam but can't upload until our PC is up. Until then, I'm attempting to attach 2 camera phone pics taken today.

New move-in date!

The water problem should be resolved next Monday and the house will have the city inspection next Wednesday. We will reschedule the moving truck for Friday, 7/13. (Yikes! Friday the 13th....hope it's not a bad sign!)

We had a loud loud loud thunderstorm about 1:30 am this morning. One lightning strike seemed to flash very close with an almost immediate loud crackling thunder. I wouldn't be surprised if it struck a tree in the parking lot here. The kids slept through the whole thing.

Nick just purchased a flight for his daughter Victoriah to come out here and visit 7/27 through 8/13. It should be a lot of fun for her with all the beach activities and theme parks around here.

Delay, ugh!

I got a call from the homeowner on Tuesday and found out the house will not be ready to move into tomorrow. Apparently there is some type of water problem that needs inspection and we can't move in until the city does the inspection and gives the a-okay. That may not be until the beginning of next week. We've had to reschedule the moving truck and delivery of our appliances from Home Depot. We just can't get out of this darn hotel!

On Tuesday we went to a spectacular firework dispay in Red Bank, next town over. We parked pretty far away and walked to the waterfront and were among 150,000 other spectators. They do the fireworks a day earlier in Red Bank so as not to conflict with other shows on the 4th. I thought the noise might scare Andrew & Lauren but they were very quiet and awestruck the entire show!

Nick will be traveling to Duke, NC for the day next Thursday and he's expecting his travel increase even more in August, including a trip to Brazil!

The house search is OVER!

Thank goodness! We'll be moving in to our new house in Tinton Falls on July 6th. Hopefully the movers are able to deliver our belongings that day too, apparently its the busiest week of the year. We had to buy a washer, dryer, and refrigerator which should conveniently arrive Thursday, day before we move in. Nick had his heart set on a front loading washer so we paid a little extra money and bought the top of the line Maytag. We'll see if it holds up to the raveing reviews we've read about front loaders.

The house is almost finished being completely renovated. The owner gave us the okay to measure inside the house and check on the progress of the work being done. They just sanded and refinished the hardwood floors on Monday. The kitchen countertops just went in (that I chose), and the dishwasher, oven & sink should be done by today. They still need to put tile in the finished basement and do all the lighting fixtures in the house. It's a long process but it's interesting to watch the changes as they take place.

Yesterday we took the kids to Jenkinson's Boardwalk. It's very similar to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Andrew went on a couple kiddie rides and we strolled from one end to the other. The weather was perfect. Temperature in the 70's, overcast, and not too humid. Andrew however was not perfect. I learned a lesson yesterday: Never wake your child up from a nap before they're ready.

Woo hoooo! 6 more days till we have a house and our own beds back!

Overdue for an update!

I figured it's time for an update. I was getting kind of tired of posting about houses and then not getting them, it was getting a little discouraging. The house in Howell that was on 2 acres never called me back.....they showed it to us, we told them we were interested and wanted to proceed, etc then they seemed to drop off the face of the earth. Well, lo and behold I saw it listed in the paper again yesterday and they raised the rent by $500 per month. Dirty rascals! I hope they can't rent it! We then found a house in Brick (about 15 miles South of Nick's work) that we liked
and we called the owner that evening to say we were interested and wanted to give him a deposit. He didn't return my call so I called a second time about 24 hours later. He told me that the air conditioning in the house crapped out so until they get it fixed they aren't renting it out. His story seemed a little bizarre to me and I offered to go ahead and give him a deposit and we could move in when the AC has been repaired, no big deal. He said he'd talk it over with his wife and get back to me. 2 more days go by and he calls to apologize....the AC is fine, there was never a problem. Apparently he has family drama and his relatives are living in the home and don't want to leave but now they're leaving so do we want the house.....ugh, no. Thanks but no thanks. What's up with the flaky people here? So.... on a positive note, I think we did find a place right here in Tinton Falls. I've been checking the classifieds daily and I have gotten to recognize anything new. When I saw the Tinton Falls house I called immediately. It would be most ideal to live in Tinton Falls because that is right where Nick works and where are hotel is as well so we've really gotten to know this area well. I spoke with the homeowner and he said to come on over as he'd be there painting for awhile. I went over to see it and the whole house has been rebuilt, it's brand new. It has 3 bedrooms upstairs and a finished basement. Front yard & backyard, brand new bathroom, brand new kitchen. In fact the kitchen appliances aren't even in yet. I told him right then that I wanted it and I could give him a deposit and sign paperwork although Nick won't be able to see it until Saturday. (Nick is in Michigan until Friday Night) He said he will wait until Saturday and if we want it its ours! He told me he would take the listing out of the classifieds. He also asked if I'd go to Home Depot and choose my first, second, & third choice for laminate for the countertops in the kitchen. I did that right away and brought back the color samples for him, that was a lot of fun. I was hoping he'd ask me to pick out the appliances that I want, too! So, I guess we found a house. Nick still hasn't seen it and won't see it until he's signing paperwork for it and I'm not going to officially acknowledge that we have a place until I sign something. It won't be ready until the first week in July. As for news OTHER than housing. My mom and I took the kids to NYC on Thursday. We drove into Staten Island and then took the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan. Andrew loved getting on the boat and was enthralled with all the people watching. Lauren was also enjoying the view and the fresh sea air from the stroller. We walked into Battery Park and bought hot dogs from a stand and ate lunch on a shady bench. The weather great and we enjoyed watching a little of the hustle and bustle of the big city. We got back on the ferry and made our way back. It took about an hour each way (Tinton Falls to Staten Island Ferry)

Househunting continued......

Well we are expecting to hear something this weekend whether nay or yay on the house that we filled out paperwork on but we already have our sights set on another house. We found it in the local paper. It's in Howell which is a little further south than we were hoping for but the area is very nice. The house is on 2 acres, 4 bdrm, 2 ba, hot tub and pool, completely enclosed large backyard, lots of grass and trees. We only saw the house from the outside but from what I could see I was sold! We go back tomorrow at 9 am to see the inside. I'm hoping we can just give them a deposit right then and call it a deal. We have until Sunday night to cancel our lease offer on the other house. Nick leaves tomorrow at noon for Michigan so my fingers are crossed that after tomorrow our house search will be done.

I've been finding some great places to take the kids here. I found a really fun park that has a huge playground and also what they call a "sprayground". There are all types and sizes of spouts that either come up from the ground or spray down from above while all the kids run through with their bathing suits on. Andrew got the hang of it fast and he loved it. That will be a great place to go on those hot and humid days.

The 3 houses

We saw 3 houses. The first one was definitely a no from the second we walked in. It was an older home with small rooms, old appliances, etc. The one thing going for it was its big enclosed backyard. The second home was very cute. It's a "cape" style which I'm guessing means Cape Cod. It's bright red on the outside and nice wood on the inside. It has a front and back yard although the back is all moss and there is a large pond that extends across a few houses. The pond is my main concern on that one. Andrew is quite the adventurer so we'd need to figure out some kind of fence. The last house seemed huge but we just didn't like it. The living room floor was tiled the kind of tile you would see in a bathroom or kitchen. Each room was a different color including bright green and light blue. The owner said we could repaint but that's about the last thing I need to worry about. There were too many negatives to consider the last house. We decided to pursue the second house and we filled out some paperwork with the realtor last night. One thing that could be a problem though is this house is for sale. They are expecting to receive an offer on Sunday. I'm not sure why they're trying to rent it out while it's on the market but the realtor seems to think that it will be pulled off the market if it's rented. If they choose to accept our lease we added a clause that we will have first right of refusal to purchase the house during the lease period.
Nick will be leaving for Grand Rapids, Michigan on Sunday and will be there until Friday. His company will be there during the first implant of their cardiac device in the U.S.

Wish us luck!

House search is on!

When we arrived it was very warm, humid, and sunny. We got up yesterday and dressed in preparation for a hot day. About an hour after leaving the sky turned dark and it began pouring. The storm is due to last 48+ hours. It originally was a tropical storm but it was downgraded to just a plain old storm. I guess I should find out what the difference is. We also met with a realtor yesterday and she searched the area and came up with 10 or so available homes for rent. The list quickly got reduced down to 3 houses due to size, area, other factors etc. She gave us directions to see the outside of the homes and told us to call and let her know which we'd like to see in person. The first was in Hazlet, about 10 miles north of Nick's job. The other two are in Ocean Township which is just a few minutes south of his job. I'd like to see the inside of all of them and the agent is working on setting up the appointments for tomorrow night. I wouldn't mind just staying at the Residence Inn. ;-) Not only do they serve a full breakfast but they do dinner too! And we have a "suite attendant" - a fancy term for housekeeper. I won't have a cook and a maid when we find a house.

Oh! We learned something new yesterday (after missing our turn) - they don't do many u-turns or left turns at traffic lights here. Instead, they have "jughandles" in which you veer off to the right and then make a left to turn around. Apparently jughandle is a common term here and used as a verb "Just make a jughandle at Bethany Road"

WE ARE HERE!!

We made it to Tinton Falls, NJ just after 8:30 pm. I'm so happy we're out of the car and here in one piece! We meet with a real estate agent tomorrow to hopefully check out a few rentals in the area. I'll update more tomorrow.

Ohio turnpike - pretty drive!

Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio

We drove around 500 miles again yesterday and managed to cover 4 states. We left Iowa around 10 ish and there was dense fog and it was very cool. We've seen many roadside stops that claim to be the biggest, best, smallest, longest of whatever they're claiming such as "Iowa 80- The World's Largest Truckstop" Just how do they know, anyway? Illinois was greener than I expected and we stopped there for lunch. It was 88 degrees and was veeeeery humid. I guess we'd better get used to humid! We hit pretty heavy traffic in the Chicago area and there were more semi trucks then there were cars. It was difficult to read road signs. I've been taking pictures of all of the states welcome signs and we missed the "Welcome to Indiana". The first city was Gary, Indiana and was not a place you'd wanna stop. Crime is pretty heavy there. We also entered our first "toll road"on the turnpike. Neither of us were really clear how a toll road worked. You take a ticket at the first booth and it has a little chart of how much you'll need to pay to get off at the various exits. There are also "travel centers" that are kind of like rest stops, gas stations, and fast food all rolled in to one. You can only use the travel centers for gas or food or else you'd need to pay the toll upon exiting the freeway and have to get a new ticket upon reentering. We were on the first toll road for 2 hours. There are lots of farms along the roadside with big red farmhouses, just as you'd expect a farm to look. We got to Ohio at dusk and had to go 118 more miles to get to our hotel in Sandusky. Sandusky apparently is a big tourist spot. It's right on Lake Erie and it's the home of Cedar Rapids Theme Park. We got to our hotel after 9 and the kids were beyond ready to get out of the car. We entered the building that our room was in and - no kidding - it was about 120 degrees. We opened our room and the AC had been cranked so it was much cooler. I went to close the curtain and there was a brown smear of who-knows-what on it. The room also hadn't been cleaned too well because the toilet seat was all the way up and there was a lid to some kind of aerosol can on the ground. I told Nick that "we can't stay here, this place is disgusting". "It's only one night, we'll go to sleep and leave first thing in the morning" he told me. Nick went back out to get stuff out of the car and saw a guy running from the parking lot into the bushes. As he was on his way back an RV tried to drive under the underpass entrance and hit our bldg! There were now chunks of concrete falling. That was pretty much the straw that broke the camels back and he was convinced to leave too. We packed up all our stuff, got back in the car. Lauren about lost it getting back in the car and Andrew was too tired to protest. We got to the Marriott in Sandusky after 11:30. It was MUCH better. So now we're all packed up, kids are clean, fed, watered and we're about to get back on the turnpike at 10:45 EST. We've got 50-60 miles left of Ohio, then Pennsylvania, then we'll be in NJ! It's the LAST DAY of driving Wooooohoooooo!

Nebraska/Iowa

Nebraska was different than I thought. I was expecting to see corn fields upon corn fields and boring terrain. It was actually very green with lots of trees right up to the road. There were also lots of swampy ponds which probably explains the turtle that was crossing the road! We also saw tons of deer and something else which could have been a marmot. Our stay at the "entertainment capital" was short and uneventful. We arrived sometime after 9 pm and the onsite restaurant had closed so Nick dropped us off at the hotel and came back with fast food. I'm really looking forward to a real meal, I can't tell you how sick of fast food or fried food I am. So, about the "entertainment" part....this hotel had an indoor pool and an attached tiki bar. I took Andrew swimming and he loved it.

Our plan was to be on the road by 9 am but I guess when you have kids nothing goes according to plan. It was 10:30 that we finally took off. We went through Omaha and Des Moines, Iowa and all the way to Iowa City where we're staying now. Iowa is much like Nebraska but has more hills. Nick pointed out that the rivers here look different in that the trees go right up to the water's edge rather than having a bank. We arrived somewhat early yesterday, around 5. We were starving so we just ate at the restaurant here at the hotel. Only problem was that all the options were fried and greasy. They even fry macaroni & cheese. Andrew ended up having a complete meltdown at the table because the waitress didn't bring him juice when she brought our drinks out. Poor little guy. Nick ended up taking him back to the hotel room before our food was ready so I got it all boxed up and took it back to our room. I think the kids have hit their traveling cut-off point. They're done. I can't blame them, but unfortunately we still have 1000 miles to go. So we're supposed to arrive on Saturday (tomorrow) which means that we need to drive 500 miles today and 500 miles tomorrow. We'll go through Illinois today and maybe Indiana and part of Ohio.

Day 2 & Day 3

Yesterday we drove through Utah, part of Wyoming, then cut down into Grand County Colorado. The scenery was either very beautiful or very boring. We met some friends of Nick's that live in Granby and had dinner in Grand Lakes Colorado. We stayed in a tiny, tiny motel room right off the road. Andrew seems to be getting the hang of the routine. Drive all day, stop every couple hours, eat on the go and stay in a new place each night. Lauren is happy just to watch the scenery go by while facing backwards and Rosie deserves an award. She has kept quiet in her carrier and hasn't had any kitty accidents yet. We let her out to use the portable litter box when we stop. Right now we're enroute to Kearney, Nebraska and we should be arriving 8 or 9ish to stay at the Ramada Inn, the self proclaimed "Entertainment Capital" of Nebraska. Can't wait to see what that means.

Samaria memorial site of my great grandparents David Hutton and Maria Morse Anderson

First stop, Malad Idaho

We left Boise at 4:30pm today and drove 300 miles to Malad. We thought this would be a good place to stop for the night as this is where my paternal grandparents grew up and there's also a nearby memorial at the site of my grandfathers home in Samaria.

We pulled in to the small motel (and I think it's the ONLY motel here) around 9:30 pm. I think there is only one other couple staying here tonight and whadya know.....they're related to me. His grandmother is Hannahbell Anderson, sister of my Great Grandfather David Hutton Anderson. I gave him my email address and he will be emailing me an old family picture. The kids & Rosie did great for our first day of driving. Tomorrow we'll do a short drive through Malad & Samaria then we'll be headed for Granby, CO. Tomorrow's drive will be our biggest day of driving, roughly 550 miles.

2 more days.....

It's very strange, we feel more like visitors of Boise instead of residents. A truck loaded all of our belongings and has already left the area. Every single thing we own is somewhere out there on the lonely highways, working its way east. We are now staying in a hotel that is adjacent to our (former) apartment. Nick's daughters are here for a weekend visit so we've been busy seeing the sights. Andrew & Lauren have adjusted quite well to not sleeping in their own beds and eating lunch/dinner/whatever on the go. Nicks girls have just met Lauren for the first time and they haven't seen Andrew in almost a year so there has been a lot to catch up on. So we have tomorrow to have fun and on Monday, Nick will take them to Baker City Oregon to meet up with their mother than come back, load car, and east we go.

Nick

Juke

Nick

Moving! Again!

I'll start by giving you a little background on this -
Each year for the last few years Nick has been invited to Tinton Falls, NJ to a small bio-medical company to teach their employees how to read and interpret EKG's. They recently approached him about a full time position out of their New Jersey office and..... well, to make a long story short. We're moving. From Idaho to New Jersey. Yikes! From the job offer to the time that we are leaving Boise is less than a month. Packers are coming on Thursday, they will load the truck on Friday (including one of our cars), and we will be beginning our 2700 mile journey in a Ford Explorer with Andrew (18 months), Lauren (4 months), & Rosie the cat. My mom will be making this journey with us (driving behind us in her car) and has offered to assist with childcare in exchange for living quarters in our home. We are looking for homes with separate living quarters or finished basements and surprisingly there seem to be quite a few. We have been in contact with several real estate professionals and they have been sending us listing after listing. I just refuse to move in to a house that I've never seen and thus we will be staying in a hotel after arriving while we look at these homes in person. The next few days will be a blur as we have been insanely busy trying to ready ourselves and our things for our huge move but as soon as the truck has all of our stuff and we're all in the car I think the drive may be kind of fun. At least maybe the first day will be fun. By the time we get to day 5 of driving 500 miles I'm sure I'll wonder what I ever expected to be fun. I plan on updating during the long drive but I'm not sure about phone reception so check back. No updates = no phone reception.

Andrew's vocabulary has picked up DRASTICALLY this week! He has said please, light, baby, all done, hot, cheese, truck, mama. He comprehends almost everything we say now. If I ask if he's hungry he will go over to his high chair. He has also developed an interest in airplanes and helicopters. He notices every plane in the sky and hears them even when I don't. Lauren "talks" in her own way, it's very sweet. She has a very softspoken little voice that comes out at night. She'll say something, then we'll say something in return, then she'll answer. Her sleep schedule couldn't get any better. She seems to go to sleep between 10-11pm and she'll sleep right through till 5-6. Somedays Nick and I barely have time to say hello to each other between these two little busy bodies.

Spring has really arrived in Boise. The trees are getting their leaves back and the temperatures are no longer subfreezing. We have enjoyed getting out during the day again and Andrew is loving our playground visits at the parks near us.

We're looking forward to a visit to the Bay Area next week and it will be our first trip flying with 2 babies! It will be fun to see Andrew's reaction to flying now that he really seems to understand airplanes.

Photo Album

Please check out our latest photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/medicnick/NudellFamilyAlbum

Welcome to the 4nudells blog! This is a work in progress! I'm having fun setting this up so bear with me while I figure out the details. In the meantime, Lauren has just turned 2 months and she's a very good baby and gives out lots of smiles. Andrew is loving being the big brother but has not yet figured out why Lauren can't get up and run around with him. Speaking of run around....Andrew began walking at the beginning of February and now he's just about running. Check back soon for more!