Getting ready for Baby C after the storm in NYC!

Getting ready to have a baby is always a lot of work!

Throw in being evacuated and homeless for over a week 

because of Hurricane Sandy when you are 8 1/2 months pregnant

 and it really becomes an adventure!

I was supposed to fly out to NYC for Kimber's baby shower,

 which was scheduled for the Saturday after the storm.

It really was a dire situation downtown and with so many of her friends,
 including the shower host, homeless and without power like Kimber, 
the shower was postponed and I wondered if I should just cancel my trip.

Then, I realized I definitely needed to come out to hopefully move her back into her apartment 
and get things organized so that she would feel ready if the baby came.

Fortunately, Delta let me rebook my flight for the next week

 and I found a lovely hotel for $121 in Tribeca, 

not too far from Brett and Kimber's apartment, that was up and running. 

 (Most of the hotels near Brett and Kimber were so damaged 
that they aren't even open for business.)

Just before I came out, Kimber and Brett's power came back on.

They still didn't have hot water or heat, but they were very happy to move back home.

We had a very busy, but a fun week together getting things ready for Baby C's arrival.

I arrived in New York City just in time to catch the Nor'easter storm.  Lovely! 

So we headed out Wednesday with our "To Do" list and umbrella in hand!

We got a lot done on our "To Do" list and got a lot of use out of that umbrella!

Buy Buy Baby was holding its' first "Finish off your Registry" event that night 

so Kimber took full advantage of the 20% off everything on her registry, 

while I retreated to the glider section of the store 

and took full advantage of the lovely refreshments and goodies being served:)!

 Two hours and two carts full of baby items later,

we were finished at Buy Buy Baby and ready to tackle The Container Store 

to find bins, boxes and containers to put all this baby stuff in!

We walked out of the store to find snow on the ground and once again, 
we were glad that we had our umbrellas in tow.

 But don't worry... we Kimber didn't let a little snow slow us down.

I think we hiked about a couple of miles in the Nor'easter snow storm,

 running all of our errands, going from one store to another, all along the way Kimber would say,

 "It's not that far, only 7 blocks this way and then 3 avenues that way" which translates to, 

"NBD, we will be trudging around in this freezing snow and brisk wind for 20-30 minutes longer!"  

Ummmm! Notice that the streets of NYC are pretty empty... 

yeah, we were some of the only ones that braved the storm that night!

So glad I packed my Hunter boots!

And this is the view of the Trinity Church in downtown Manhattan, 

where we caught the 4/5 subway the next morning.

We bundled up because it was chilly that morning...

and there was still snow on the ground.  Doesn't this look pretty?!

The sun was shining that afternoon and people started to return to the downtown area.

This photo was taken across the street from Kimber and Brett's building, looking at The Freedom Tower.

This is the gorgeous building, just a block from Kimber's building, where a couple of her friends live.

They have been evacuated for nearly 3 weeks and still don't have any idea when they will be able to return home.

The large ARI truck parked on the corner there is a Disaster Response truck.

These trucks along with huge generators, pumps, and large garbage bins line the streets downtown.

 Another view of The Freedom Tower from Battery Park.  Notice all the barracades and fencing on the left.

That is the backside of the Battery Tunnel, which was flooded in the storm and was still closed that day.

Click here to see video of the flooding at the site of the tunnel,

which is just down the block from Kimber's building on West Street.

In other parts of Manhattan, it seemed like life was just going along as usual,
except for the garbage that was piling up along the sidewalk.
Most of the sanitation workers in the city had been relocated to downtown Manhattan 
and other parts of the state that had been affected by the storm 
to clean up all the garbage, trash and debris. 
Hence, the garbage in other areas of the city was piling up.

 Here is the building where the crane was dangling during the storm.

 The street in between Kimber's apartment and the Marriott hotel, 
filled with huge generators and pumps.

 We usually stay at the Marriott but it was closed indefinitely, cleaning up from the storm.

It looked like they had to completely retile the floor as well as wallpaper and repaint the walls.

 There were large garbage bins lining the streets all along the streets downtown.

In the aftermath of hurricane Sandy and the Nor'easter, ConEdison, the New York Utility Company, was very busy.
ConEd trucks were seen all over the downtown area, trying to restore the power to the residents in that area.

 And the view outside Kimber's apartment looking at the Freedom Tower.

 Another view of The Freedom Tower from downtown and all the trucks, 

generators and garbage bins that are lined up along the street.

 This truck was stationed down by Battery Park.
All these photos give you a glimpse of some of the aftermath of Sandy
and a reminder that things were not back to normal quite yet in NYC,
but it made us grateful that at least Kimber and Brett had power and were able to move back home.

This is a picture of Kimber and me after we ran...
 well, actually Kimber full on sprinted to catch the "cross town" bus,
 darting around the pedestrians on the crowded sidewalk 
and I miserably scrambled to tried to keep up!  
She easily caught the bus and I barely... 
and I mean, barely stepped inside the bus, just as the doors were closing.  
Immediately Kimber turned to me and probably feeling a little guilty, 
realizing that being 8 1/2 months pregnant, she probably shouldn't be running like that said, 
"Ummmm...don't tell Brett that I did that!"  Ha! Ha! Of course, I did:)!

We worked really hard on the "To Do" list every day 
but we did take time to do some fun things like lunching at The Burger Joint 
which is located in the Le Parker Meridien Hotel. 

This little "hole in the wall" is hidden behind the curtain in the lobby of the Le Parker Merdien.

This place is so popluar that the line winds out the door and around the red curtain.

After about a 20 minute wait, we got up to the counter to order, 

and this is the fancy menu that is displayed on the wall.

Seriously, it was handwritten with a magic marker on cardboard tacked up there with electrical tape.

It cracks me up because it just doesn't fit the Le Parker Meridien hotel decor.

Maybe that's why it's kind of hidden behind the red curtains.

But the simplicity of the menu and the casual decor doesn't seem to stop tourists like myself from lining up,

 patiently waiting for a simple burger and fries.

  Well, it was well worth the wait as Kimber and I both agreed

 that their burgers reminded us of the burgers at In and Out!

We had been working so hard all morning that we were starving and they tasted oh so good!!

 On Friday, we met up at Norma's with our sweet friend from Granite Bay, Carly Skinner.

Carly and Kimber both went to Granite Bay high school together 
and we have been family friends with the Skinner's for years.

Carly and her husband, Jason, live in NYC while she is attending Columbia and getting her NPR.  

My yummy Caesar salad!  

 Kimber and Carly got the chicken pot pie.  Of course, I took a bite and it was delicious!

What a fun afternoon I had, chatting with these girls and what a proud GB momma I was,

looking at these two darling girls, all grown up, living in New York City!

 After working hard all day, especially Brett, we headed out to, La Esquina, 
one of my favorite NYC restaurants that Kimber introduced us to on our last trip.

  We ordered the elotes callejeros or translated, the grilled local corn, my favorite side.  It's amazing!!

 Kimber and I shared the chicken asado and it was incredible!

 I started out with the yummy sopa de tortilla.

It was a fun night out with these two cute kids!

We had to make a trip to Levain Bakery for some chocolate peanut butter chip cookies to take home to Dad.

These have to THE BEST cookies ever!

 On the way home for church on Sunday, 
I made Kimber stop and pose for a maternity shot right in the middle of the subway...

 not one but two different poses.  She willingly obliged and I'm so glad that she did.

I really love these photos of Kimber's little belly.

So at the end of the week, we were exhausted but so happy with what we were able to accomplish.

The baby's clothes are washed, organized, and neatly folded, lying in her closet.

  The crib and bassinet are set up and ready to go. The baby's stroller is waiting by the door.

Bottles, binkies and burp clothes are in their labeled bins, neatly placed up on the shelves in the baby's nursery/closet.

All Kimber needs is hot water, heat... and a baby!  And she would like them to come in that order, please!

As I was leaving to catch my taxi to the airport that day, we stopped in the lobby and I had her doorman take a photo.

The last photo of just me and my Kimber.

The next time I would see her, she would be a mom, holding a little baby in her arms.

A couple of weeks ago, Kimber was talking about her schedule in the months after the baby is born 
and things that she was planning on doing and what was on her calendar.

As par for the course, Kimber, had grand ideas of things she wanted to do, baby in tow 
and made the comment to me, "I don't know... maybe this baby will rock my world..."

Her comment made me smile and I thought, "Yes, Kimber!  Not only is this baby going to rock your world, 
but she is going to rock your heart in a way that I could not fully explain nor could you ever imagine 
until the moment that baby girl is placed in your arms and then it will happen. 
 Yes, she is going to rock your world... and your heart, 
the same way that you rocked my heart when you came into this world 27 years ago."
Love you lots, Kimber and can't wait for you to become a little mom!