So many things.

Well, we are just feeling a little overwhelmed here lately.

We moved into this apartment exactly a month ago, signing a two year lease to lock in our astronomical rent (this apartment is not rent-stabilized, meaning every year the landlord could raise it to whatever he sees fit).  We looked at a ton of apartments and settled on this one, because, well, it's big.  And in a nice neighborhood.  It has an elevator and laundry. That's pretty much it.  I'm embarrassed to say that I grossly neglected to really check out the bones of this place when we moved in and it seems like every day I find something else crusty and old and outdated in this apartment.  Every time we find a crumbling wall or loose outlet, the go-to phrase has been, "whoever did this/repaired this/built this - sucked at it."  It could be a beautiful, old apartment if someone had just taken the time to, when things went wrong, repair it the correct way, instead of - literally - slapping a coat or two of white paint over it.  I swear, this 'someone' even used white paint to fill in the missing tile grout.  This all sounds very negative, but don't get me wrong, I'm still really happy overall with our decision and think that this apartment is going to be great for us for two years (or more) while we grow our family.  It's just scary and disappointing to think that we're spending so much money on something so neglected.  Hopefully soon, we can stop spending money to fix this place up and just enjoy what we've created for ourselves.

Also, taxes. Yuck.

Also, insurance and medical bills.  Yuck.

Also, Andrew is still in rehearsals and gone 10 hours a day.

Also, it's freaking freezing STILL.

Ok.  I think I'm done.

Life is not all crap, all the time, I have to mention.  Lua is beautiful and the most amazing and funny kid ever.  So funny, that we're thinking of starting a twitter account to remember all the funny stuff she says. BabyKO2 is kicking and moving and hiccuping all day and this trimester of pregnancy has been a breeze compared to the first.  I love my new midwife and I can't believe we're already pretty darn close to having a teeny, tiny, weensie babe in our lives again :)

Nana & Popop.

We are pretty lucky to have two sets of super amazing grandparents for Lua (and babyKO2!).   We don't get to see them nearly often enough and, while we had planned a trip back to the midwest after Canada, we just didn't have the time (or cash) to make the trip this year :(  A few weeks ago, my parents - Nana and Popop - came to NYC instead!...at just the right time.  They were here for our big move and we are forever grateful for all of their elbow grease and emotional, financial and more financial support as we transitioned to our big, old apartment:)  My mom is basically Martha Stewart when it comes to cooking, cleaning and organizing and dad can make/fix/repair anything.  I mean, ANYTHING.  He completely rearranged our kitchen appliances in one afternoon using a hacksaw that he borrowed from the superintendent.  Really.  And it looks great.

As you can see, Lua loved having them here.  Maybe it's because of the pregnancy and my general sluggishness this winter, but my parents seem to have boundless energy - especially when it comes to playing neverending imagination games with a two year old.  Like I said, we got pretty lucky in the grandparent department.

Speaking of pregnancy, we decided on a homebirth this time around (more on that later) and I have my first prenatal visit with our new midwife today.  I've only had three prenatal appointments this entire pregnancy (one of which was an ultrasound - it's a girl, btw!), and I'm ready to have some regularity.  They say the second babe is quicker in every way and, so far, that's absolutely the case.  Where did that first half of my pregnancy go?!  I feel like there are so many things I still need to do...potty train my first child, perhaps? ;)

Baby KO2! First Trimester Life Savers.

1.  Grapefruit was practically the only thing I could eat during the first few weeks of babyKO2.  Filled with nutrients, I didn't feel bad eating 2 of these a day:)

2.  Ok, I have to admit that the smell of this African Shea Butter was too much to handle at times during trimester uno, but in my quest for no 'new' stretch marks this time around, I've heard it's the best.

3.  One cannot live on grapefruit alone, I quickly found, and this cereal was an absolute go to.  Stays crunchy.  Packed with protein.  Just bland enough for the tummy, and just barely sweet.  

4.  These bottles helped me remember to drink a ton of water.  I could throw it in the diaper bag and fill it anywhere.  Also, when you can smell everything, things start to taste differently, too, including tap water.  The filter helps with that!

5.  You can ask anyone who saw me in Canada.  I lived in these Roots sweats. If they weren't so expensive, Andrew and I would've gotten them for the whole family for Christmas presents.  Along with those comfy sweats came loads and loads of SLEEP.  Made fantastically possible by my toddler's blessed hour long afternoon nap, as well as my amazing husband's ability to somehow wake up with Lua in the morning, giving me an extra hour or two in bed:)

6.  Later in my first trimester, when Shea butter was smelling too awful to slather, I turned to Bio Oil and have liked it so far!  It has a very unassuming scent and even the smallest bottle has lasted a LONG time.

Have a great weekend!

First Trimester, Back Home.

The months of November, December and January have come and gone by like nothing I have ever experienced.  I will try to be brief, as this was a 'trimester' packed full of ups and downs and in betweens and if I tried to elaborate on each and every happening, we would surely be here all day;)

- In late October, we found out we were pregnant with baby Cao #2! (YAY!!!!).  What then proceeded was 8 weeks of puking every day and generally feeling like I could smell EVERYTHING and EVERYTHING made me want to vomit.  This feeling was so much worse than I had with Lua.  So much worse, in fact, that I'm debating ever getting pregnant again.  It sucked.  Especially with a two year old that just wants to play :( Andrew was really the captain of the ship and took over everything,  from cooking to cleaning to taking Lu to play.  I dare anyone to show me a better husband and father ;)

- Canada got cold.  Fast.  Thank goodness for good neighbors, playrooms and indoor swimming.

- Tragically, we did not get to make a Holiday video this year.  We promise to do something before next year, though!

- Andrew had all of 3 days off the entire time we were in Toronto.  Between that and my grossness, we pretty much abandoned all "exploring".

...and that, my friends, sums up our Canadian experience.  Pretty fun, no?...

- Now that we're back, we have been furiously looking for a new apartment.  And while staying with uncle Buster is pretty fun, we're totally ready to have our own space.  It's proven to be much more difficult finding a two bedroom in our budget, in a good neighborhood than we'd previously thought.  We're actually supposed to hear today about an offer we put in on a place.  So, cross your fingers and toes that our search can be over!

- It's COLD here, too!  Uncle Buster had a broken boiler and we were out of heat and hot water for a few days, which was actually kinda fun?.....but - I'm not a huge fan of the winter months and am really looking forward to the spring.  I know it could be a long while yet, but a girl can dream...

- I'm feeling 200% better.  Whew.  Still don't know if I want to go through that again, but man, does it feel good to be hungry again!

- Andrew starts rehearsals again on MONDAY.  Where did January go?

I think that's a recap!  Hopefully, as we get settled back into our NYC lives,  I'll be back here more often, too ;)