Moving Again!

I am pretty sure I had a post titled "moving again" last year at about the exactly the same time. I also think I was exactly the same amount of pregnant. Funny how our move always happens around the third trimester, and that is no fun for mommy!

Either way, I wanted to let everyone know that we are doing quite well and looking forward to our move. We have fabric swatches picked out, painting estimates coming in, and movers arriving within the next few days. We can't wait to set up everything in our new home (rented, but still) and start settling in for a few years. After so much moving (my entire life, really) I am feeling really blessed to be in the same spot for awhile.

Hubby forwarded me another great kids discount deal-of-the-day site and I thought I would pass it along to my other mommy friends:

http://Kids.woot.com/

I also like:

http://www.zulily.com/

If you sign up for zulily, say I referred you :)

I am sure we will have a good belly shot for you all soon, and oh what a belly it is... I certainly feel ten weeks ahead of where I was last time, which is consistent with a second timer.

Steve is looking through his many law firm offers and trying to decide which firm is the right fit for him. It is a big decision as some firms are more "family-oriented" than others. It is really important for us to be able to spend time together at night. We often don't go out or do anything, especially during the week. We just sit and play with little Dalia (and her growing number of toys).

Speaking of toys, Dalia is quite obsessed with her Thomas and Hank trains. She loves to read books, play with anything that resembles a small person or animal, and use her magnadoodle. Play-Doh and crayons are also high up on her list.

She is still not too aware of what baby in the belly means, and we anticipate mixed feelings in October when her little sibling (we didn't find out if it is a boy or girl!!!!) arrives healthily and happily. We can't wait to have our birth experience again using the same amazing doula. The addition of Hillary Keiser, CNM, from Gentle Birth Care is also very exciting for us. We know that the birth experience we want is a valuable goal and that for us at least, changed the entire experience of caring for a newborn. It will be even better this time around, we are sure.

So that is my update. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for photos of our new place coming together through the rest of summer!

New Home

After a whirlwind trip to Chicago, we finally picked our next home:

We couldn't be happier with our decision, though it was a difficult one. Chicago has so many lovely homes and areas. One of our main concerns was proximity to public transportation (.5 mile walk--Steve currently walks .7). The area we chose is known for being close to the lake, having great schools, being Jewish-friendly, being very family friendly, and having a lot of unique, older homes.

The trip itself was obviously stressful (flying, getting a rental car, getting to the hotel, realizing the hotel doesn't have a pac and play....) and mommy and Dalia spent plenty of quality time together. I managed to feed her every meal in between appointments. She even got to check out a few local parks, lucky girl!

I can't say bye bye to DC just yet... we still have another couple of months, but those months are much easier knowing that we have a place to live and a place to call home.

Moving... AGAIN!

As many of you know, Steve was offered a Supreme Court Clerkship this year with Justice Kennedy. With an offer as amazing as that (really, like no one gets that), we both knew we had to uproot and move to the Washington, DC area. Needless to say, the transition was difficult for me, especially as a new mommy who had just bonded with so many other women who had recently become mommies themselves.

All through this year we thought about where we might move to next. With the average townhouse in our area costing over $500,000, and the general "culture" of the city being pretty, well, not present, it was clear pretty fast that we didn't really belong in the DC area. There is the other places we have lived (Boston and Philadelphia) and of course, one of our favorite places, Chicago. Boston was hardly a competitor--for more reasons than I can count--and Philadelphia firms aren't as ready to fork over a signing bonus. And this isn't the easy way out. We have both spent our lives studying, researching, and working our way through this year by year--each step leading to the next step, everything and every job for a reason... everything in our lives leads up to this point, and it isn't luck, it is hard work and serious planning.

It hasn't taken too much time for us to realize that Chicago is the best choice for so many reasons. And with Steve's academic career really taking off these days (did I mention is newest article is going to be published in University of Chicago's Law Review? As in, one of the top five academic placements in legal academia?) we can't imagine a better place to be. So we are thrilled with our decision.

Now is the time where we search for homes. And there are two lovely, lovely beauties that we have our eyes on. Both are in Evanston, IL, an amazing town (home to Northwestern University) and part of Chicago's "north shore". Both are walking distance to the lake, walking distance to whole foods and yummy eateries, and of course, lots of coffee shops. The decision is difficult as one is on a tree-lined street with gas street lamps and unique homes all well-kept and maintained. The other is more "city-like", though with a beautiful fenced in back yard. It is .1 miles to the metra and within walking distance to everything, including streets of beautiful homes, with much less charm than our other choice (a 100 year old dutch colonial revival).

Either way, stay tuned as we reveal which place we select for the next two to three year stretch of our lives. We aren't settling yet and planting roots--that will come when Steve takes on his academic job, which I know he can't WAIT to do :) Congrats, honey, I am so proud of you!

So that is that. That is what is up with us :) And update on the pregnancy may be next...

Back to Blogging

Hello everyone!

Things have been crazy in the Horowitz household. We finally settled into our *temporary* abode and have just about ten months before we move *again* back to good old Chicago. God I can't wait to get back to that city. Virginia is not my favorite place and lets just leave it at that. Positive thinking! One fun thing about being in Virginia and having a hubby working at the United States Supreme Court is that Dalia gets to meet important people and had the opportunity to play "hands" with our newest Justice.

Here we are visiting daddy at work:

Dalia is a whopping TEN months old at this point. Crawling? Not really! Standing? With help! Teeth? Two! Sleeping? Sometimes! Talking? She says uh oh and dat dat dat dat dat and points--too cute! She is about 21 pounds these days (read: bigger than your average little munchkie) and very, very tall. She is adorable and just because you might not believe me I have added some new-ish photos:

We were lucky enough to have a house FULL of visitors (and toys... yes too many of those) nearly every day since we moved into the condo. Here is a favorite of mine:

Yep. My favorite (well only) sister came in for a visit and she brought her very own munchkie, Chase. We had a fabulous time! A girl like me needs serious quality sister time.

Most recently we celebrated two very special holidays: Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. These are HUGE holidays in Judaism and this was Dalia's first time celebrating them. It was so special for us! We were in NYC for the first and in Virginia for the second. We can't wait to have many more years celebrating these together.

So what does 5771 have in store for us? Hmmmmm... we aren't telling anyone just yet (kidding, seriously) but we want to do our best to be better people and to love one another even more. One thing that will happen in 5771 is Dalia's 1st (gasp) birthday. How can we be this far into parenthood already? 5771 is also the year I get to go back to Chicago. Counting down the days........

I will be posting much more regularly now that things have settled down. It is nice to be back!

xoxoxoxoxo

MOVIN'

Dalia doesn't seem to mind at all.

Yet another reason why the Ergo is dad's best friend. Just 5 minutes before this photo was taken, Dalia was screaming uncontrollably. Daddy put her in this and she was "a ok" for another hour while he packed and got lots of stuff done!

One of the best baby purchases (buy it by clicking on the left link, my favorite baby store here in Chicago) made by far.

Totally worth every single dollar.

Did Ya Know We Were Movin?

Yep. We are moving, again. Washington DC (ahem, Alexandria) here we come.

Why, you ask?

Well Steve was selected (like two years ago at this point) to be a law clerk for the United States Supreme Court with Justice Kennedy. Pretty sweet gig, no? Maybe all those Harvard Law Schools loans are worth it! And after a brief break in DC we will likely be back buying a beautiful home in the windy city. Real estate research is in progress :) Steve hasn't picked a law firm yet, but has a lot of good options.

And what will I do next year? Probably play mommy and take a few private educational consulting families. I did end up declining the free (yes free, actually salaried) PhD option at the University of Maryland (call me crazy, I know). But it wasn't the right thing for me for next year.

I don't need a PhD.

I don't need 5-8 more years of school.

I am not ever sure I want one.

I don't need up-all-nighters writing and grading papers.

I need another year to figure out what I want to do. And no matter what I decide, it will be the right decision for me.

Sidenote:

If you know me you know I am a total clean freak and organization nut. This move is driving me bonkers--boxes everywhere, paper strewn throughout the house, packing tape stuck to the floor, and dishes everywhere. Let us not forget there is a baby in the picture whom requires lots of love and kisses...I can't wait to get to our condo and unpack (this is one of my strong points). At 7 months prego, we moved to Chicago and I unpacked dozens of boxes in two days. Steve came home and the house looked like we had been there for years. Lets hope I still have this kind of energy next week!

The Dream Doctor: 6 Month Check Up

If there is one thing we are sure of with regard to this parenting thing, it is that we selected a pediatrician that is exactly the right fit for our family. Our 6-month check up just reinforced this in a big way.

Robert Minkus is an attachment parenting parent's dream doctor. He is extremely supportive of (but does not force or look down on your for not) 1. breast feeding (extended breast feeding, even) 2. cloth diapering 3. co-sleeping 4. alternate vaccine scheduling (delayed Hep B and MMR shots) 5. baby led soliding 6. natural "remedying" before medicating. If this weren't enough, he is also the most reasonable, caring, compassionate, uplifting, knowledgeable doctor we have ever met. How lucky we are to have found his practice.

Our visit was great! Dalia weighs over 17 pounds and is in the 80th percentile for weight. She is 25 1/2 inches tall, which puts her in the 46th percentile for height. We talked about solids, waiting on administering the MMR vaccine until she is two or three, sleeping habits, and the hot "organic vs. not" topic. My preference (this is Sarah talking, and please do not think that I think my personal preference is right for you or your family) is to buy local over organic any day of the week. So much of the organic food sold comes from around the world, and while the idea of eating less chemicals is appealing to many, including me, is the process of buying, selling, and stocking these foods really in line with the supposed message of being environmentally friendly? It takes just as much energy to fly an organic mango around the world and into Whole Foods as it does an inorganic one. Perhaps the chemical free aspects do outweigh this for some people, but for me, the better option is local (which is often organic anyways, but that is another story all together).

We can't WAIT to start shopping at our local outdoor market-we can actually meet the people who grew our food. Now THAT is worth the extra buck or two (or four).

The one thing our pediatrician did say is to stick with organic milk (he listed tons of research and reasons, but I will spare you). So we will likely start buying a different, more expensive milk, but in the end, I think the extra money spent will be well worth it. H is having a hard time with this idea, but as always, he will come around. It is all about what works for you and your family, and that is the most important thing to take away from all of this.

Unfortunately, (but also fortunately) we are moving in July and are in the process of finding a new pediatrician (and place to live) for the year. No plans are set in stone, but we will probably venture back to the good old midwest after our year in DC. Not only will it be great to be near my family for a little while (we will probably end up on the coast again within 5 years), Chicago also wins for having the best "cost of living vs salary". The housing prices are affordable here, even for something in a hip and diverse neighborhood, such as East Roscoe Village, or a Jewish area close to Lake Michigan, such as Rogers Park. Perhaps we can be real suburbanites and get a nice place in Northbrook! Preliminary searching shows that we could get something fantastic in a great area for much less than what the costs are in the greater DC area.

So, if anyone out there knows of a Dr. Minkus twin practicing in the DC area let us know!