Big list of STUFF that is helpful PART 1: Pregnancy and Postpartum mom items

I have a 14 month old tiny toddler She is amazing, wonderful, fun, and has been a very easy baby. I can’t take credit for her being easy, we just got lucky, but I’d like to think not being stressed out because we felt well prepared have helped.

This is as messy as I ever let the living room get. Otherwise I’d go BONKERS!

Here are some items that have helped us feel like prepared, confident new parents. I’ll try to list them in age order of when they’re most useful :)

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So, this is happening rather quickly…

Ben has accepted employment with Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and it looks like we’re heading out West to Albuquerque, NM in about a month (he starts on the 20th)!

Shira’s soon-to-bloom cactus flowers

The loose plan right now is that we’ll drive out together on July 14th and then I’ll fly back here and will stay at my job (in DC) through Labor Day– unless something interesting comes up sooner for me out there.

the Big Red Arrow, with a fresh coat of red paint

About 2 months ago we moved almost everything we own into a 10×15′ climate-controled storage unit (if I’d been OK with stacking things higher, we could have gotten away with a 10×10′) and are now staying in the guest room at my parents’ house with just our summer clothes, toiletries, and any food/pantry items we couldn’t pack into our storage unit. We moved because our lease ended shortly after Passover and Ben has been looking for a new job since the beginning of the year and didn’t want to be saddled with a month-to-month lease “convenience fee,” effectively increasing our rent by 40%. Since moving in we’ve taken over the rec room as our own living area, and do miss having our own kitchen but are happy to have access to a grill and people to share the chores with.

Ghostbusters car at an airport carpark

I am so glad to have things more sorted and less abstract. We had a really great visit to ABQ two weeks ago and I am feeling much less anxious about moving now that I know that Ben is so excited about his job and there are jobs for me to apply to there and nice (Jewish and not) folks to befriend. While we were there we visited Old Town, visited the synagogue we’ll be joining, met other folks in our Jewish cohort, fell in love with the Nob Hill area, ate some great food (red or green? Christmas, please), were shown around by a realtor, and drove by more museums we want to visit than we knew even existed in ABQ. We’re going to have lots of things to keep us busy out there, including attending the Balloon Fiesta, joining the ABQ model rocket club and learning how to grow a vegetable garden in the high desert. It’s going to be an adventure and I’ll try and keep you all posted!

Sandias from the Sunport (it’s too sunny to be an airport!)

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