Ready for Christmas......I'm not exactly sure - NYC has quietened down a little, not a lot, but certainly things have slowed a touch.....Am taking the whole period between Christmas and New Year off, so am not back in after tomorrow until Jan 2. Which to UK readers sounds fairly reasonable, to Americans...that's quite a long holiday....

Christmas Eve tomorrow and we have a lot of stuff going on in the evening - Father Christmas pays a visit to the street....It'll be interesting to see Izzy's take on the whole thing....Last time she saw Father Christmas, we suggested she should go and tell him what she would like for Christmas - she refused saying " I don't want to because I don't know him".....

Surely the perfect answer for all parents....."Stay away from Strangers !!!!"

Merry Christmas Everyone......

White Chritsmas ???

Maybe.........

Merry Chritmas Everyone....

And a Happy New Year

Cinderella meets a princess.......

Izzy went to the cinema this week and was also invited to a special Princess party.

She loved it. The boys stayed at home for this one and spent the day hanging Christmas lights.....

Watch this space for more on that .....

Waiting for Daddy.....

For a change of scenery we went up to Vermont over Thanksgiving.....

Clearly it makes no difference where we are in respect of what time the children wake...

I snuck out for a run, but they were waiting when I got back......

Update on Life in the Big Apple....

Its getting cold, first snowfall over the weekend.....just a thin layer. Not enough to go sledging on, and certainly not enough for a day off work....

That may have happened in London....since it was at least 1.5" of snow at one point......

But we managed to dig ourselves out........

Christmas lights are going up everywhere.....we decided to sit tight and see what the acceptable level of "twinklness" is on the street before we take the plunge.....don't want to understate things........

Some of the houses on a neighbouring road have gone crazy........it looks like Blackpool Illuminations (watch this space for a piccy)

Seb, that is an awsome digger.....

Tobes, that's not just a digger.....its a JCB man.....

Perfect....

Wood for the fire....

Speckled Hen.....

Nice....

Its late, but I realised that I have not posted for ages...so a quick pick for anyone still checking the site !!

Happy Birthday......


Growing up fast.....Izzy turns 4 today...

Cannot quite believe it I must say. Lots of lovely gifts, cards and wishes...so thank you everyone.

She held a little princess party for all her friends...

A real success.....hats off mummy...

Just thought...I recall that nobody took a picture of Biba Ferrario's christening cake....the tradditional photo of the day.....

So while playing around with some photo's I found this.....not her cake, but her cakes !!!

Why settle for one !

Cheeky Chappy...

Who's turning into a little monkey.....

Mr Tobes.......

He's funnny.....best trick is finding something he shouldn't have and when you ask him for it.....he turns and runs....!!!

We love the garden...

The summer weather has actually been pretty awful, but when the sun's been out, so have we...

Everyone is certainly enjoying making the garden look pretty....

Yeaveley Bound.....

Grandma and Grandad are on their way back home. Very sad to see them leave. Its been really nice having them around and I know the children have really bonded with them this trip.

We managed to get tons of house work done....so a huge thanks to them for that....

Safe trip....see you soon....LOL XXX

Speaks for itself really....

Where does time go..... ??

I cannot believe its June 16 already.

I feel I am forever making excuses for the lack of blog activity....I think todays excuse is i simply haven't had time to sit down with my camera and download recnt pictures.....

New digs, new commute, new challenges with the children.

Anyway...we have our first family visitors in the house this week - Granddad and Grandma Ron and Pat.......

Lovely to have them visit and they are being wonderful in helping us get the house sorted....certainly a massive help.....

More reliable than the damn contractors......enough said about that !

Everyone is certainly enjoying the outdoor space....fingers crossed for some good summer weather...

Novice Lawn Mowing Skills....

School Boy Error....Clearly spent too long in the City....

Ran out of bloody petrol at first attempt !!!!

Caroline's out for a leaving do in the Slope....

So I'm having a quiet night in....Children are in bed....flat is all mine .....

We set to work on the large family room....a big task...so a deserved beer was opened once we finshed (the first coat only mind !!!!)

Star Wars Day....(May the 4th Be With You) - Sorry !!

Some pix.....this is the reason for the lack of Blog ...pretty much since we got back from tehe UK in January....

So...Toby went for a blue room......Izzy's is green *pic to follow...

First weekend at the house....busy from the moment we walked in......

Inevitably there is lots to do....fortunately Izzy is more than happy to do her bit....!!!

She's a great little helper...Toby does his bit too....

So, we'll soon be moving on from NYC. Our life is very much still based her and work contunues to go well and home live is still good to us (though it goes without saying its tiring)

Anyway, we completed on our house in Ridegwood, NJ and so and busy getting ready to move.......

Official move in date - May 29th, 2009.....

So long NY, good morning NJ... we still love NY

Is spring here at last...?

Suddenly it actually feels like spring.....today was a stunning day, very warm.....


Looking forward to more of the same....

He's on the move.....

And he's quick.....the little fella is into everything....

Box Fresh Kickers.....

Tobster's got his first shoes......Our boy is on the move.....

Couldn't shutdown without a Princess Izzy pic....

Couple more pics....no reason really....

Manhattan

Yeavley

So sorry......its been ages since I took any pics for the blog....

Apologies to those of you who have stuck with me......We've been in the middle of a house purchase...its yet to be completed...so we are not there yet....quite an ordeal, incredibly time consuming and as for email traffic....crikey moses...we've had to increase our bandwidth...(IT jargon...no idea what it means !)

This book is available..to anyone who is yet to break through that first year...Toby made it...and thanfully so did we...

he's The Tobster....

Kapoow, Fizz, Bang,.....

We went back to Magic Kingdom last night to see the fireworks. Pretty amazing stuff....

Izzy was not so sure though...all a bit scary for her at first. Toby, well, he was tucked up in bed....We decided it wasn't worth dragging him out again...he was worn out...1st Birthdays are hard work..

Birthday Boy....

Such a busy 1st birthday, I never got time to post an entry for yesterdays big event.

Its going to be hard to top....

Toby went to Magic Kingdom at Disney World for his 1st Birthday. Had his party at Mickey's House with big sister in tow...Had a wonderful time.

Not sure how he'll top that.......

Vacation time....

The weather's nice, the water's warm, but dare we go in !?

Spending the week in Florida with Granny and Grandpa. Should be lots of fun.

Planning a couple of days at Disney World and Sea World. Izzy's going to go mental, so excited....Toby, well he has no idea...but is loving the excitement around him....

Dollar Bills....

We've been crunching the numbers for the last few days. Trying to determine what sort of house we try to buy and how much we can spend....Being careful not to over stretch...

We've seen a few properties and some which are possibles....just trying to juggle the needs and the wishes with each one......You know, Man Room, Work Shop, Gym v Powder Room, Granite Kitchen and Walk in Closets

I'm sure it'll work itself out.....

Hey, here's an idea.....its Super Bowl Sunday - I could bet all our cash on one of the teams.....

Then again, I know as much about Arizona and Pittsburgh, as I do about quantum physics.....

A playground for nocternal eskimo children.

Quite time at the playground. A rare occurrence. It was late, freezing and covered in ice and snow.


I guess that explains it.

First Day for the New Pres...the First Pres Looks on...

This is the Birthplace of American Government
At Federal Hall on Wall Street, George Washington took the oath of office as the first US President, and this site was home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices.

Hadn't realised the significance until today. And by chance happened to be standing on the steps just after Obama's Inauguration

Big job ahead, especially on Wall Street for the new President. Some confidence to re build.

First day of his new job tomorrow...

Is it cold in NY at the moment .....woah...

How cold Izzy?????

Anyway, don't give up on me just yet....

I know the blog activity has been lacking...

Sorry for the lack of posting....just been busy settling back into Brooklyn life. My week home alone flew by, while Caroline and the children were in the UK. And since they got back its been a bit messy as far as nights and sleep go....jet lag being the primary reason for the crazy sleep patterns...

Anyway, scroll down for a few catch up posts...

Snow Way........

Snow fall last night.....

and still snowing


Probably means we need to get out and build a snowman tonight.....Cool......Izzy has been asking about a snowman for ages...we just haven't had any good snow.....

Invasion in Red Hook....

Or simply the IKEA loading bay.....Big TV's need big TV units = Big Cranes for loading !!

Had a wander down in the Red Hook area....its still a pretty quiet unspoilt part of Brooklyn, though IKEA has moved in and the ferry service means its becoming a bit of a rental prospect....

Single Man's Emergency Supply Kit...

Home Alone......The peace and quiet is nice....but only for a while. Then the empty appartment feels odd. And the empty fridge...wow......need to get some beer in there...plenty of space...

Being back at work has been fairly easy, to be fair. I thought it might take while to settle back in...but really no time for that. Lots going on....

Homeward bound.....

Flew home last night....Caroline and the children has stayed on in Tavi, with GiGi, Granny and Grandpa. They fly back on Saturday....I'll miss them...

Pretty uneventful flight...busy though...only a few empty seats...Everyone retruning from Europe perhaps. Exchange rates mean its not quite as expensive to visit UK and Europe at the moment.....