Two weeks to go... First world worries

So today I did some last minute shopping (because they don't sell socks and underwear in NY, well not from M&S anyway). Reflecting on this has made me laugh at myself a lot as there's been quite a few things I've been worried about how I will cope without in America (family and friends aside):

* Ocado - I love Ocado. I don't have to battle a supermarket and it gets delivered straight to my door. I can shop from the comfort of my sofa and it takes me less than half an hour. Surprisingly they don't have anything as comparable in NY so looks like supermarket shopping it is for me.

* Quorn - I did have a big panic when I realised I may have to live without Quorn, then a sigh of relief when I realised they do have it in limited high end grocery stores. Cue not only me now supermarket shopping but having to trek round to source vegetarian food!

* Dairy Milk - this could be a good thing!

* My morning countryside dog walks - dog lead laws seem stricter in the US basically meaning Bruno is going to get many walks off lead. Therefore my grand plan is to buy a running buggy and take Ethan and Bruno out for a run each morning. Watch this space for updates on this (now I've said this I have to do it!) 

* Driving on the left hand side of the road - never ever driven abroad before may as well throw myself in at the deep end.

I was laughing at myself because it made me realise if one of my biggest concerns is 'what will I do without Ocado' then I have very little to worry about. Although there will be changes and we'll have to get used to new routines, new products and new service providers ultimately as a family we're off on a fun adventure. There are lots of changes I'm looking forward to, not least because NY is the perfect excuse to stay at home with Ethan, and I'm looking forward to updating you on our adventures on here. 

B x

(PS I'm not sure why I sign my posts... Does anyone actually think Matt will get round to blogging!)

Three weeks to go... No sad goodbyes please

Three weeks today we will be flying to New York! Now all the other recent big events are over, like Ethan's birthday and Fi's wedding there are no more distractions and its all about the move (well and Dad's 60th!). Our possessions going by sea are crossing the Atlantic, packers arrive on Wednesday for stuff that's going via air freight and Bruno is booked in for his first class flight.

So basically there's no hiding from it any longer, suddenly the move is very real. I'm feeling mixed emotions, excitement for our adventure but obviously anxious about our new life for the next two years and sadness at saying goodbye to family and friends. Old friends who I've known forever and new friends who have become close as we've gone through the first year of motherhood together.

So I have a request, help me/us through these goodbyes or as I would prefer to look on them au revoirs. Lets not look at it as two years apart, but several months until we see each other again. Flights are booked home for Christmas and April and in between there's this blog, email, telephone, FaceTime  and something I've heard of called Facebook? Not sure what that's all about but sure I can get up to speed pretty quick!

So pep talk over! No more tears allowed, having cried during the 'wave goodbye' song of our last Baby Sensory class I'm not allowing any more!

B x

Our new residence

This week we signed the lease on our new house in New York. I've resisted blogging about it before now as I didn't want to tempt fate. We're going to be living in a place called Mamaroneck, about a 35m train ride from Manhattan. We've opted for a 4 bedroom house with a nice cosy feel to it. In my mind people will be knocking on the door to greet us with pies (like Desperate Housewives) and in Matts mind he can have a boat as we'll be near the water. I suspect both of us are a little detached from reality!

Photos are attached. The swimming pool is not ours!

Please turn left sir

Yesterday we flew to JFK to start our house hunting trip. We were very lucky as on our outbound journey we got to fly first class for the first time.

Ethan was his charming self although only managed 45m sleep on the whole flight! We thought you may like to see some photos of Ethan enjoying his first class experience. Clive Owen (actor) shared the cabin with us, unfortunately not in any photos!

NY planning - not a spreadsheet in sight!

Everyone keeps asking whether we're really busy planning for NY. The answer is yes we are, but not perhaps in the way we should be. I think it's fair to say our chosen tasks reflect our personalities.

I have gone over board on planning. Obsessively planning trips home, booking flights to ensure we can claim air miles and starting to fill the diary for when we are in the UK. I've even set up a special NY calendar in Google that I'm hoping I'll be able to share with family and friends so they can see when Chez Newnes is booked and when it has availability. Next step is planning a trip away at Thanksgiving for the three of us. The other task completed was even more crucial. Sorting out my wardrobe. On the plus side everything that stayed goes to NY, on the downside for Matt I'm now trying to convince him that some of our relocation allowance NEEDS to be spend on making my wardrobe more suitable for a NY yummy mummy. 

Matt is focused as you would expect. Cars. He has already decided what car we need. I say car but it looks like a tank. But we may as well conform to the US stereotype and drive a big gas guzzler. Actually what am I talking about, we do that in the UK. Although the US cars make the RS6 look efficient.

And so for really crucial tasks. Luckily we're provided with a relocation support team. The moving company are coming to survey the house (could be interesting given we have no idea what we're taking), a realtor is lining up viewings when we visit in August and they also help with banking and driving licences. They also provide us with help shipping Bruno. Although given the quote you would think he is being flown first class and fed caviar and champagne so some work is being put in here!

So at the moment things are all very relaxed, as you can tell by the fact I've had time to set up a blog and start blogging. I suspect in due course our priorities will readjust but at the moment we're enjoying the calm before the storm!

B x

Welcome to our Blog!

We thought this would be a great way to keep in touch with people while we're in New York and let you know what we're up to. We hope you enjoy reading!