We are here. Not only are we here, but we have never felt happier or more at peace.
I know, I'm shocked too. I mean, to be honest, I knew I would feel this way, but having my entire family feel at home and feel the same love I feel for this city is beyond my wildest dreams.
The typical scenario ran through my head for the last 2 years. Will they be happy, are we making a mistake, how will they adjust, will we be ok walking, taking the subway. Who will be our dentist, doctor, dance class, gymnastics team. Will the twins have friends, will we have friends? What do we do without Lupita! Where will we live? School? I mean the list goes on, and on.
But two years of planning paid off. I mean, I don't think I realized just how much of a heavy load I was carrying with making sure we were ok as a family here until now. Seeing the girls thriving, with a huge group of friends, loving their school and their classes is actually all I needed. And what has finally lifted the stress of worrying about the well being of my family.
I mean, I was stressed. I didn't realize how stressed I was. My hair was falling out, I lost weight, Nick and I were bickering for about a month straight between his stress with figuring out a new schedule (adjusting to life as an east coaster with a west coast office), and my stress, it was a lot.
But, as we always do, we work together and found solutions. So I thought I would share what we did in hopes that someone struggling, or moving or just curious might get some light or feel seen.
Nick and I:
It's no secret that we have been seeing a therapist for years. She basically saved us, and saved Nick too. When we moved we realized we needed extra support. SO we added extra sessions with her. We also made sure to continue our weekly date nights, and even try to squeeze in an extra hour or two a week to catch up. We also tried to keep a very similar workout routine to what we had in San Diego because it worked for us! That meant finding a nanny asap, and a trainer who comes to us 2x a week. It also meant Nick establishing an office here so he has a place to go daily (working from home does not work for us LOL), and so that he can see his employees too! It made sense to mimic what was already working.
Nick is still traveling a lot. But that isn't anything new and honestly being here, being able to walk everywhere and have the girls walk to school and back makes his traveling so much easier on our family logistics!
I am working while Eriela is at school and love getting a chance to work with new brands and also be a part of other fun things that I never had exposure to in San Diego.
We DON'T DRIVE. And it's glorious! We have a car here which is nice to have because we have taken a few trips upstate and out east. Nick will occasionally use it to visit clients in our neighboring states and sometimes helps pick up Natalia from dance when he can. But for the most part, we have been enjoying walking and taking the subway!
New Nanny and Lupita:
This was a huge deal. Honestly the hardest part for me was having to say goodbye to Lupita. So we figured out a way to keep her in our lives and welcome a new nanny as well. Lupita comes once a week when Nick takes longer trips OR she comes with us on our trips! So we get to have her with us at least one week out of each month. She stays with us (twins bunk up and they love it) and she has basically become the girls' grandmother. It's the most special relationship.
With that, I had Lupita come with us when we moved so that she could "train" the new nanny. I placed an ad on craigslist in May and started my search before moving here. People are always shocked as to how I find people on CL, but its such a great place to meet good people. I placed an ad, with the exact description of the job and requirements. I interviewed people virtually and those that I wanted to proceed with, I met out here in the city when Nick and I came along for a week in July before we moved the whole family. From there, I found our perfect match. I did a background check on them and when we cam in August, she started to come and work while Lupita was still here. She learned from Lupita but also, Eriela learned to feel safe with her because Lupita showed Eriela that this new nanny was her friend too. This was huge, and so important for the transition that took place when Lupita left.
*And our NYC nanny still comes over when Lupita is here. It's important for transition purposes and to not create too much change for Eriela when Lupita comes to visit. Our NYC nanny also does a split schedule and comes in the mornings before school and then in the later afternoons so I can take the twins where they need to go! Eriela has done incredible with this and we also got so lucky with our new nanny.
Eliana:
Eliana has joined a gymnastics team here, she is loving it and she is also very involved in school in a couple clubs and programs. She has truly leaned into art and the way her school helps them understand and appreciate art has been such a gift. I mean, she gets to go to art galleries around the city!! Such a lucky kid.
She has made the best of friends at school and at gym and I could not be more proud of her and her growth.
Natalia:
Like Eli, she has come into her own so much. It's amazing what change and pulling them away from toxic people and situations can do. Just a reminder that sometimes we need to create those boundaries for them, and show them how to use them.
She is dancing with a private coach a couple of times a week, she joined a swim team and is also in her school drama program! She has also found the same amazing group of friends at school and has recently decided to jump start and organize a jog a thon for her school to raise money for a charity.
She is loving the cold probably more than any of us haha.
Eriela:
Eriela definitely misses her Lupita. But we are so lucky that we get to see her so often. She has been truly enjoying her new nanny and NYC! She gets to scooter to school and is doing amazing in her Spanish immersion school.
She's still taking her time and getting to know people but has been showing so much growth in learning people and herself.
She is in a swim class once a week and I have never seen her happier to take a class. We got so lucky with her instructor!
She is also doing piano lessons once a week and started a little gymnastics class too!
I was never too worried about her but she has truly surprised me in how well she has acclimated to it all.
Miscellaneous:
Nick and I started looking for apartments, since we knew we wanted to live in a buioding with a doorman, almost 2 years ago. We saw what feels like 100 apartments. The wildest thing is that the apartment we ended up buying is the first one we saw, the exact unit! Things like that blow my mind.
From there we wanted to wait and see if the twins were accepted to the school, their first choice school. Then we would plan our life around that. We were so happy to hear they got in which helped us figure everything else out.
Without this school, we would not have met the most amazing people we have in our lives now. The welcome we received and the open arms and guidance have been something I have never experienced and it is because of them that the twins have the most amazing friends and why I also feel like I have some friends too. Through them, we have been guided into the doctors, dentists and all the things one needs when you move across the country.
For the most part, I set all of that up for us before we moved. I felt like the more I could have in line, the easier the transition would be.
And while none of it was easy, I know that our hard work and dedication and organization truly paid off.
Of course we had to wait for a few things once we got here. Live in the space, live in the city, live in the cold LOL, before adding some things to our lives, but for the most part, we tried to have it all done before the move.
Thankfully my amazing bestie Christian @christianreedinteriros designed the interior and we had all of our rooms furnished, we had our kitchen stocked and our walls covered. He came out here a few weeks before we did and organized it all and we could not have done that without him.
Of course there were and always will be loose ends, growing pains and learning how to navigate a new city, but I never imagined we would feel this at home this fast. This city was truly made for us, and us for it, and we are so grateful for this new adventure.
photos by @mayarosephotographer
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