Restless

Winter is almost here. The calendar says it won't be here for another month, but the temperatures outside lately say differently. Besides it getting dark around 4:30, another drawback is it's soon going to be too cold for Sophie to play outside for any length of time. And living in this small apartment she definitely needs to get out and about daily or she will go bonkers. As will I.

Yesterday the temperature hovered around 40 degrees, and I decided to take Sophie out one of the many great playgrounds in Central Park. Normally this play is mobbed. There is typically anywhere from 20-60 kids running around. Sometimes so many that I'm worried the big kids will knock her over. But yesterday there was ABSOLUTELY no one there. Not a single child. As I arrrived one mother was leaving. She said she is handing over the keys to the castle to us and we have the run of the place. Is this normal? Sophie seemed fine playing on the jungle gym and sandbox, although when she tried to climb the ladder the metal bars were so cold she promptly asked to come down.

So this leaves me thinking-where will we go when the weather gets really cold. Like 20's/30's cold? There are no indoor playspaces that I know of around here. She can always go for walks in her stroller, but she likes to move around and keep busy, so I prefer her to do some physical play.

So this, in turn, makes me wonder where we will live next. We are definitely moving next Summer when our lease is up, as we need a bigger 2 bedroom or maybe a 3 bedroom for when we decided to have #2. There are things that I really tired of living without, and I've divised a sort of 'Wish List' for the next place. A dishwasher, a laundry in the apartment or at least in the building, and, if we are not on the ground floor, an elevator. My choice would be to stay in the five boroughs, but maybe not Manhattan. While we love the quick commute and variety of things to do here, Sophie's happiness and space has become a priority. There's only so much she can do in this apartment. She can barely push her push toys a few feet before hitting a wall! The whole mystery of where we are going to move is constantly on my mind, as is when we are going to have another one and how we will manage it. I am VERY nervous about raising two kids as opposed to one. It just looks like SO much more work, and I'm still getting the hang of just raising one!