Rules

The rules are officially changing. A little background...

We've lived in NYC since we got married in Bozeman, MT in 2001 and immediately situated ourselves in a 400 square foot apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. After moves to Harlem (Sugar Hill Manhattan), Williamsburg (Hipsterville Brooklyn), and eventually Fort Greene (New Hipsterville Brooklyn with a very present Old Brooklyn soul) we decided it was time to expand the family, and along with that came the purchase of our house in Upstate NY. We were fortunate enough to enter into an apartment share situation in Brooklyn so that we could continue our city lives while moving our primary address (and most of our time) to the country. Pre-Ashton we were spending one or two nights a week in the city. Post-Ashton it's been more like one or two nights a month, which prompted a recent revolt on behalf of all three of us that it's time to be more Brooklyn again. Even Ash recognized it. So, for the last couple months we've made a concerted effort to wave goodbye to the country horses and say hello to the city rats for at least one long weekend a month, and it's made a world of difference to us all.

Back to the changing of rules...

*We used to spend time in the city on weekdays, but since Ashton's daycare is fulltime upstate (and we're not willing or able to double up on costs and find daycare in the city) it looks like weekends and holidays are our only option for now. Which is actually kind of nice, because our friends are much more available during weekend hours.
*At "home" Ashton isn't allowed to stand, jump off of, dance on, or flail himself onto anything higher than a foot off of the ground. Based on the pictures above, taken in Brooklyn, that rule obviously goes out the window when we're in the apartment. We cranked up the volume on Bob Marley, pushed the table up against the couch, and watched as he grooved to the tunes and occasionally careened himself off of the table onto the couch. It was way too cute to say no to, so it's now allowed.
*Upstate we're scheduled, in the city...not so much. Today Ash fell asleep on my shoulder in the middle of the Union Square Whole Foods and not even the subway musicians while waiting for the L train could wake him up. It was about an hour before his usual nap and lasted about an hour and a half less. And he's been awake till 8:30/9:00 at night instead of his usual prompt 7:30 bedtime. And he's handling it just fine. Rock star.
*We've either been to or hosted dinners with friends every night we've stayed in Brooklyn. Upstate the only way that would happen is if the horses and the goat came by for a snack. We thoguht it would be so much easier to meet other families with children in the country than in the city, but the exact oposite has proven to be true. The reasons for this validate their own post, one day.

So as much as the gist of our life hasn't necessarily changed, life has certainly revealed plenty of new things to ponder and eventually act on. That said, the gist of our life together has always rested on the fact that we're at our best when we're open to changing things up every now and then, so I guess life really hasn't changed - the rules have just gotten more flexible.