The Zog Blog » Move http://www.thezogs.com/blog Us. Life. More baby pictures than you can shake a stick at. Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:44:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine) http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/17/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/17/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine/#comments Mon, 18 Sep 2006 03:41:56 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/17/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine/ This was our last weekend before Jon goes back to work and our idyllic vacation-life ends. It was a really great weekend. Jacob learned how to use chopsticks:

We went to a park, and swung on swings, and chased dogs.

Today, we saw some friends up in San Jose and had fun shopping. We accomplished a lot, too–the garage is mostly organized, nearly all of the art and drapes are hung, all of the boxes are unpacked, and so forth. The house, and life, is really coming together.

We like it here, so far. The house we’re renting, as I’ve said before, is extremely nice inside and out. As our neighbors assured us it would, the fog seems to be lifting and we’re treated to sunny, 65-degree weather every day. It’s practically beating down our door and dragging us out to be active. Jacob is a joy to be around, getting him to bed seems to be going better (keep your fingers crossed for us), and I’ve found a “Stroller Strides” exercise class that might help me meet some other moms around here. I hope it continues to be as pleasant once Jon begins work.

See you on the other side!

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/17/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine/feed/ 0 Home is where the baby is. http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/12/home-is-where-the-baby-is/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/12/home-is-where-the-baby-is/#comments Wed, 13 Sep 2006 03:25:26 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/12/home-is-where-the-baby-is/ A huge thank-you to those who contacted me with suggestions for Jacob’s sleep. Tonight, Jon is trying the strategy of reading several more books than usual to Jacob, in the hopes of lulling Jacob to sleep with reading. We’ll see how it works!

One of the big downsides to our new house is that it doesn’t have a back yard for Jacob to play in: the house is built on a very steep hill, so there’s nothing but a very steep grade with some baby redwoods behind it. It does have a back deck, however, that’s completely enclosed and utterly baby-proofed:

So, basically just a big rectangle with fairly high sides (4.5 feet?) and no egress except back into the house. One of the other things that makes up for the lack of back yard is the view off of said deck.

On the other side of those trees? The Pacific Ocean.

During the day, when we’re on this floor I just leave the sliding doors open and let Jacob run around out there. He loves going in and out of the house, and simply walking back and forth the maybe 12 feet of length the deck gives him. Seems kind of dull to me, but hey! Whatever keeps him happy.

We’re blazing through our to-do lists this week, thank God. We now officially live here in CA, and even have license plates to prove it. Shelves have been erected, stuff put on them, and the downstairs tv room/office is nearly complete. I’m aaaalmost ready to take pictures of the house to share, for those interested.

*****

Living with a toddler is kind of like living with an insane laboratory scientist. Exchange of the day:

[Jacob rushes up to where I'm seated on the couch, excitedly pointing at the coaster under my water glass.] “Da! Da! Da!” (Translation: “That”, as in, “Give me that”)

Me, to Jacob: “You want my coaster?”

[Jacob nods vigorously, loses his balance, sits down, still nodding.]

I give Jacob the coaster, and he wanders away with it, giggling. A few minutes elapse.

[Jacob rushes up to where I'm seated on the couch, excitedly pointing at the votive candle holder next to me.] “Da! Da! Da!”

I give him a strange look and the candle holder. He wanders away with it, giggling. A few more minutes elapse.

[Jacob rushes up to where I'm seated on the couch, excitedly pointing at some little bits of plastic on the end table.] “Da! Da! Da!”

Me, to Jacob: “You want these?” [I point at the plastic.]

He nods vigorously again, I give him the plastic, he happily wanders away.

I’m not sure I want to know what he was doing with a coaster, votive holder, and some random pieces of plastic, but I do admit to some small bit of curiosity.

*****

Good night, all. (And if you still have suggestions for bedtime strategies, keep ‘em coming!)

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/12/home-is-where-the-baby-is/feed/ 0 Settling in http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/09/settling-in/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/09/settling-in/#comments Sun, 10 Sep 2006 00:25:03 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/09/settling-in/ No room is truly finished, but we’re settling in here. Fewer than a dozen boxes left to unpack, most of the furniture is in the correct spot, some curtains are hung, some of our art on the walls. Progress is slow since Jacob wants to help us, when he’s awake.

Still, we’ve gotten enough rooms close enough that last night after dinner, Jon and I sat and watched a tv show together instead of doing more unpacking. It was nice.

We have one more week until Jon starts at NPS, and lots to accomplish during the business hours of that week. But it’s starting to feel like home here, and that feels good.

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/09/settling-in/feed/ 0 Addiction http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/01/addiction/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/01/addiction/#comments Fri, 01 Sep 2006 18:21:51 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/01/addiction/ Well. That’s the longest I’ve been without internet since 1996, and I’m not anxious to repeat the experience. The end of the road trip was boring, so I’ll just leave you with this photograph of our afternoon in the Mojave desert:

We’re here! We’re happy, and healthy, and 80% unpacked. Jacob loves to unpack and play in the boxes and papers, and also to help us assemble furniture. Despite his help, we’re actually making progress. :)

We love the house. I’m sure I’ll post pictures of it once it looks halfway presentable, but for now, just know that it’s very comfortable and nice and it’s great to have our own entire structure, and not be sharing a floor or ceiling with anyone else. We’ve heard from our tenants at 101 Woods and they say they’re settling in well. This is my favorite room in the house, before our stuff arrived:

We’ve had a few visitors so far, including neighbors, our friends Stacy and Neil and their son Asher, and my father and his girlfriend. It’s been a whirlwind, but a wonderful one.

I’m sure there’s much more to say, but for now, I’ll just leave you with a cute Jacob picture. It feels good to be home.

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/09/01/addiction/feed/ 0 Almost there! http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/21/almost-there/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/21/almost-there/#comments Tue, 22 Aug 2006 03:27:58 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/21/almost-there/ We made amazing time today and now we’re in lovely Barstow, CA. *cough*

Actually, Barstow seems like a pit and we’ll be glad to be back on the road tomorrow morning. But we’re here, we’re safe, and we’ll definitely reach Pebble Beach tomorrow afternoon. This is the last time we’ll have internet access for at least a few days, though. We’ll have our cell phones and I’m looking forward to sharing pics of our new digs with you all when we’re hooked up.

Hope you’re all well!

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/21/almost-there/feed/ 0 The Rain in Maine… http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/08/the-rain-in-maine/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/08/the-rain-in-maine/#comments Wed, 09 Aug 2006 01:36:59 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/08/the-rain-in-maine/

Actually, we were blessed with beautiful weather the whole weekend. All three of us had a wonderful time seeing family and friends, and left feeling very loved. Highlights included a goodbye cookout at Nancy and Bev’s, visiting Great-Grammies, and riding on a four-wheeler.

Actually, I’m lying about that last bit. Jacob actually didn’t like the four-wheeler at all. (As much as we wanted him to.)

That picture pretty well sums up how we feel right now, actually. Part excited to try something new, part really sad to be leaving such wonderful people.

We love you all!

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/08/the-rain-in-maine/feed/ 0 My Nomadic Life. http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/04/my-nomadic-life/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/04/my-nomadic-life/#comments Sat, 05 Aug 2006 01:24:48 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/04/my-nomadic-life/ Well, that’s that.

We’re gone from 101 Woods Ave, probably forever. Our stuff is in a rig somewhere in America. We have signed a lease on a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house in Pebble Beach, CA and are slowly making our way there. Here’s the itinerary, subject to minor changes, for our trek:

  • August 3-7th: Portland, ME
  • August 8th: Providence, RI
  • August 9th: Sturbridge, MA
  • August 10th: Piscataway, NJ
  • August 11-13th: Williamsburg, VA
  • August 14th: Charleston, WV
  • August 15th: Evansville, IN
  • August 16th: Marshall, MO
  • August 17th: Hays, KS
  • August 18-19th: Boulder, CO
  • August 20th: Moab, UT
  • August 21st: Wells, NV
  • August 22nd: Truckee, CA
  • August 23rd: Pebble Beach, CA

But despite the globe-trotting plans, none of this feels quite real yet. Sure, our house is empty and we’re living out of suitcases. Sure, our stuff has all mysteriously disappeared. But I can’t quite lose the nagging feeling that we’re just on a weekend vacation in Maine, and after the weekend is over we’ll go back to 101 Woods and someone will bring our stuff back and life will continue as normal.

I think I’m going to need this extended trek to really let the reality of this HUGE change sink in. It’s a change for the better, but very uncharacteristic of us and I don’t think either of us quite knows how to handle it, yet.

Wish us luck!

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/04/my-nomadic-life/feed/ 1 Our house. http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/03/our-house/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/03/our-house/#comments Fri, 04 Aug 2006 01:17:04 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/03/our-house/

Going…

Going…

Gone.

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/03/our-house/feed/ 0 Chocolate Good-byes http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/07/30/chocolate-good-byes/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/07/30/chocolate-good-byes/#comments Mon, 31 Jul 2006 01:04:31 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/07/30/chocolate-good-byes/

Today, we said adieu to our friends in Massachusetts with a sugar-filled party. Nine different desserts delighted, encouraged silliness, and just plain wore out our friends and their families.

Sweet dreams, everyone!

]]> http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/07/30/chocolate-good-byes/feed/ 0 Changes are afoot. http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/06/04/changes-are-afoot/ http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/06/04/changes-are-afoot/#comments Sun, 04 Jun 2006 21:42:50 +0000 amylherzog http://www.thezogs.com/blog/2006/08/17/changes-are-afoot/

Jonathan has recently accepted a position as an Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. This will allow Jon greater research freedom and me the ability to stay home with our children. We’ll be moving there in mid-August.

Given that this move will take us far away from our families, I’m starting this blog as a way to keep in closer touch. Look to it for news updates, thoughts on our new locale, movies, and pictures. Check back often!

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