Sense to Save: Other Blog

Misc. for May 28

Vivienne sometimes gets a crusty goopy eye, and if she is asleep and then wakes up, it might crust shut and then she has one eye open, one eye completely closed. We call her “One-Eyed Viv” and that also serves as her pirate name.

We went to the BMV today and will have to go back. Need official mail to prove we live here. Arg! While there, Vivie had a leaky diaper and I went to the car to change her. I needed to restock the diaper bag and so she didn’t have a clean set of clothes. I put her in Johnny’s spare set, and it actually fit reasonably well. The shirt and pants were 2T. The shirt fit well enough but was long, and I had to practically shove her into the pants! Had to roll up the length, but still. The girl is growing well. She totally looked like a boy in a blue polo and jeans, but that’s fine. Better than leaving her in a messy outfit or no outfit at all!

She and Johnny were in disposables while we were moving, and I finished off the pack of 4s for her when I realized she would have a better fit in the size 5s like Johnny. I only bought one pack each of size 1s, 2s, 3s and 4s for her. She primarily wore disposables at night or if I got behind on laundry or if we were running around and I wanted her in disposables instead, but yeah. I can’t get 4s around her waist very well anymore, so 5s it is for both of them and that keeps it simpler anyway.

Viv took the move in stride. She was a great age to make this transition because she doesn’t really care much about stuff, so long as we are there to comfort her. She had a rough time falling asleep in the hotel in Greenwood, but whaddya do.

Johnny also handled it well. We had been talking up the move to Indiana for awhile, and he seemed to understand that’s where his grandparents live, so he was all for that. He would help pack by throwing things in boxes. Hah! When we finally arrived at our new apartment, he was asleep and I had to wake him to carry him in. He wasn’t in the best mood, but right after we got here my parents walked in the door and he was like !!!! So happy to see them.

We have seen my parents 4 separate times this week and they have been helpful bringing things for us to borrow before our furniture arrived, watching the kids and such. And we saw Shane’s parents a few times, my grandma a few times, and Shane’s aunt came over for a few minutes and we went to her house for dinner last night. And we’ve only been here a little more than a week!

Being closer to family is really, really great. And Shane’s super-short commute just is amazing.

Thankful that I have people to miss

Did I drive through Pittsburgh’s tunnels for the last time today? For now, probably. I went to the north hills to visit my dear friend, Renee, for our last visit in the ‘Burgh for awhile. On my way to her house, we drove through the Fort Pitt Tunnels. This tunnel has an amazing view waiting for you at its northern end. When you enter, you don’t realize just how close to downtown you are. And as you emerge, you’re instantly met with the spectacular skyline and three rivers.

(Go here to see Google Maps view and pics)

Let it load for a sec.

I don’t get to enjoy the view much myself, because if I’m driving I have to concentrate on the rapid lane changes that I usually need to do to stay on the Parkway North. But it’s still REALLY cool and oh-so-Pittsburgh. I had a contraction when I was in labor with Vivienne while in that tunnel. It felt appropriate.

Fortunately for me, Renee and her family drive down I-70 headed West to visit their family, so I will still see her and her family on occasion. Wish it could be more often, though!

She reached out to me when I was at one of my loneliest points. I met her when Johnny was 2 months old and her son Roanin was 16 months.

Now, Roanin is 3.5 years and her daughter Cora is 13 months. Wow.

Renee is one if the kindest, most hospitable people I have had the honor of meeting in a long time. I am going to miss her company so much, but I’m glad that I will still be able to visit and that we WILL visit again.

On the drive home today, I drove past our old apartment. We lived in Ross Township but it bordered with West View and for the longest time, I thought I actually was in West View. Silly me.

I picked Shane up from work downtown and I didn’t have to navigate past construction cones. We re-entered the south hills via the Liberty Tubes. This tunnel is more than a mile long. Sheesh.

But anyway. Going across ‘tahn’ during Friday evening rush in a rain shower gave me some time to think a little.

I remember that when we were finishing up our first year in the city, I was all but ready to pack up and leave. We didn’t have anyone we’d miss. We didn’t want to come back.

And now, I have a few people that I’m going to miss a LOT. It makes leaving the city that much harder. But it makes me appreciate the time I spent here so much more.

I’m thankful I have people to miss.

Why I will miss Pittsburgh

(This post is a part of the Why I…carnival hosted by Vanderbilt Wife)

A little more than four years ago, Shane and I hopped on a plane and came to Pittsburgh to search for our new apartment. We had a weekend to do it. We scooted around town in a rented PT Cruiser, had a GPS and a bunch of maps and off we went.

Even from just looking out the window on the airplane, I could tell Pittsburgh would be very different from what I was used to. It’s so hilly! And that’s just the beginning.

The neighborhoods we wandered around had such a different feel. It was unlike any place I had previously been (which isn’t saying much, but still).

A few months later, we were on a plane again — this time with a one-way ticket to our new city.

It was a big time of adjustment for us both. We were newlyweds. We knew no one in the city with about two million people in the metro. It was exciting and lonely at the same time.

I had an internship and was miserable there. It was all I could do to make it through the 13 weeks. I think part of the problem was our homesickness and loneliness. It was incredibly difficult to meet people. We went to a variety of churches hoping to find a place where we could belong. People didn’t talk to us much, though we were trying to put ourselves out there.

I did make one friend, Sally Ann, who herself was a transplant. That was great, until she skipped town :p.

I started to really dislike this city. I thought people here were rude, cold and indifferent to transplants. At the end of our first year here, we were considering quitting it all and just moving back to Indiana. We realized that would be a terrible idea, given the recession and the fact that I was newly pregnant with Jonathan. So we pressed on and vowed to make things better somehow.

Later that summer while I was several months pregnant with Jonathan, we were in Indiana for a visit. We stopped at the Persimmon Festival in Bedford. I was just sitting on a bench, and a handful of people (one at a time) said hello to me and made general chit-chat. Couldn’t believe it. More strangers talked to me that day than I had experienced the entire time I had lived in Pittsburgh, it seemed. Surely that couldn’t be true, but it just felt like that. Even cashiers at stores didn’t really say much to me.

I just happened to find a MeetUp for newcomers to Pittsburgh. Turned out, it wasn’t just a one-time thing — it was a book study. I drove 45 minutes each way, once a week to this group. I instantly felt like I belonged somewhere. This was a group of women who could relate to what I was going through. They were all new to Pittsburgh and were trying to make the most of things. Joining this group really was a turning point.

Jonathan was born about a year and a half after moving here. His newborn period was so hard on me. I felt isolated and still fairly lonely. Sally Ann had already moved away, and none of my friends across the river came over to see me. That hurt. We knew that we couldn’t stay in Pittsburgh forever. We HAD to move closer to family somehow.

As he got a little older, I started making some mom friends. I met Renee through my blog when Johnny was 2 months old and she has been so good to me! She’s a transplant, too.

When Johnny was 6 months old, we made the decision to move from the North Hills of Pittsburgh to the South Hills. Our apartment wasn’t far from the newcomers group I had once been a part of, and going to that part of town exposed me to a totally different vibe in the city. We really like the South Hills, and like how Shane could take the train to work instead of the bus. We liked some of the parks in the area and thought maybe it would be a nice place to buy a house someday.

Yes — we had come far enough that we thought maybe we could buy a house here and stay for a long time. We realized we could be OK here, even though it was still a very different place to live.

We made some wonderful friends in our apartment building (hi, Amanda!). I have realized that she is my only Pittsburgh friend who is actually from Pittsburgh. All of my other friends have moved here sometime in their adult life.

As Johnny got a little older, we went to playgroups and library story times and whatnot and talking with others and making connections got easier. Life was pretty good!

I reconnected with Emily, from our first childbirth class, and now I’m kicking myself for not hanging out with her much sooner than we did. Will miss her and her family a lot!

By the end of this, we will have lived in Pittsburgh for just a couple weeks shy of four years. That’s a long time, and that’s actually longer than I lived in Bloomington for college, by a couple of months.

It started out miserable, and it ends with a bit of sadness. I will truly miss my friends, and I am so thankful that they were a part of my life here. I could not have gotten through the years without them!

I’ll miss some of the other things about the Burgh, too:

- The beautiful scenery and rolling hills. Some of the hills are extremely steep, and you sometimes wonder if your car will make it up the hill!
- The crazy Yinzer accent and die-hard sports fans. I know Indianapolis loves the Colts, but I would be surprised if their passion was as strong as this city’s. They love dem Stillers, and Buccos (Pirates), and Pens. While I was here, the Steelers won a Super Bowl and played in another, and the Penguins won a Stanley Cup. The Pirates? They played some baseball. During football games, the city practically shuts down. It’s amazing.
- The traffic is bizarre. The roads here are impossible to navigate without you knowing exactly what you’re doing. I’ve ended up on the parkway a few times without even meaning to. I’ve gotten insanely lost a few times before I had my GPS, and a few times even with it. But the drivers are pretty friendly and will let you merge no trouble. Now, I feel like I really do know my way around this city. Only took me 3+ years to get to that point.
- We tried to take advantage of the cool things the city has to offer: The Duquesne Incline, the Carnegie Museums (Science Center, Warhol Museum, Museum of Natural History, Art Museum), The Strip District, the Gateway Clipper boat ride, Station Square, a Steelers preseason game (that was just Shane), Ikea (hah!), Simmons Farm and Sorgel’s Orchard, North Park, South Park, Raccoon Creek State Park, Kennywood, the zoo, misc. street fests and whatnot.
- Shane became a runner here and did a 10k, half-marathon, and the Pittsburgh Marathon.
- The thrift stores here…wow. I love them and I love the tax-free clothing here!
- The wild turkeys that live near our apartment. WHAT THE HECK?
- The fabulous Allegheny County Library system

And that’s just what I can think of quickly. I’m sure there will be things that come to me later. I will not miss the gross local chain Eat ‘N Park. I don’t get the appeal at all. It’s worse than Denny’s. I will not miss Primanti Bros. and the weirdo sandwiches that have fries and coleslaw on them. Can’t get behind that. Come to think of it, I don’t think there’s any local food I will miss. I guess my tastebuds are distinctly Hoosier.

I do know that I will miss this city and I hope to bring my kids here when they are older so they can see the place where they started their little lives.

This is the city where my husband and I started and grew our marriage. This is the city where our children were born. This is the city where we had to figure things out on our own, n’at. I’ll miss you, Pittsburgh.

Moving whatnots

Moving a few states away with a coupla little kids can be stressful. But we are doing it and we’re gunna like it and we’re gunna get through it, by golly! Minimal tears from all, ok?

I have a few of the big things ready or almost ready:

- We have an apartment waiting for us. It’s kind of hard to choose an apartment sight-unseen, but whaddya do? Shane’s brother and soon-to-be-wife live one mile away and we know the area is fine. I’m sure the apartment will be fine, and if not, it’s not like we are planning to live there for long. What’s great is they have agreed to let me sign a month-to-month lease for an extra $100/month. The other apartment complexes I got in touch with wouldn’t do that. The best they could do would be a 3-month lease. We’ll have a little patio! The apartment might actually have direct sunlight! The place has a little playground and pool and whatnot. I think we’ll like it.

- We almost have movers booked. I had the company who moved us to Pittsburgh come out to give me an estimate. Yuck. A lot.of.money. But we are choosing to hire movers (and a driver) for this, so we are choosing to pay this much. The thought of Shane or any of our dads driving a rickety U-Haul down I-70 for 6 hours…yeah that is not worth it.

- I am selling the frame of my Price is Right bed and they will pick it up on Friday. The bed is so big and heavy, it would be difficult to get a private buyer to take it. They would need to rent a box truck and probably hire a few movers, and so there’s really no other way for me to get rid of it, other than selling it to a used furniture store for a song. I could have donated it to charity, I guess. Getting rid of it will make our next move (to a house!!) that much easier since we will be able to rent a Uhaul and not squish ourselves between the heavy headboard and a wall or something.

- We probably have a car waiting for us to buy! My friend just happens to be selling the exact type of car we were looking to buy…at pretty much the exact price point we were seeking to pay. How bout that! Hope it works out.

- We will need to scramble to get our Indiana driver’s licences so we can buy the car. Also, we will need to retake the written test. YAY. I really hope I can hold Vivie during that, but I probably won’t be able to. She might help me cheat, ya know. Shane and I might have to take turns taking the test.

- I’ve got a head start on packing and it’s clear to me that we still have a ton of junk and it’s going to take awhile to pack it all up. Planning on taking at least one load of stuff to the thrift store.

It IS going to be fine and it IS all coming together. This thing — this moving to Indiana thing — has been what I’ve wanted for so long. And it’s happening! It’s just slightly a giant pain in the rear while we prepare, but I know it will be worth it.