travel

New York Transit Museum

Tuesday, January 21, 2014


Over the weekend, we thought we'd go out and do something specifically for the kids. I mean, I know they think climbing up and down the stairs is the most fun thing ever, but they deserved something extra special. I'd heard from friends before about how great the NYTM is, but when I saw pictures of it recently, I knew it was right up our alley. And, boy, was I right. If you have kids and are in the NYC area, this place is a must! The entrance looks like a subway entrance, and there are two levels of train and bus history. The lowest level is just train car after train car that takes you through the ages. 



So, here's a shocker. S still hates buses. Even ones that are.not.running. Ones where half of if is missing. Hates them. Memories of London came floooooding back to me. Especially That One really bad memory. That time S cried/screamed/flailed like a madwoman for an hour straight in Notting Hill and every single bus wasn't running. I pushed my crazed toddler through the streets and I think every person in London stared at me and made me feel like the worst mom on earth. And then, ha, yes, we got on a bus, and she screamed even more and some man told me to, "....just give her some cake." Really?! Oh, that's right. I'm in London. Let me just grab my WAND and conjure up a cake. Cause that's a THING. Cause I can just DO that! (I have a daily Harry Potter reference quota I have to meet.) Then when we finally got home I broke down in tears. Did I mention my son was strapped to my friend in a carrier who was already pushing her toddler because she was a saint?! Sigh. Someday, I will go to Notting Hill and make a really good memory to replace "That One Really Bad Time in Notting Hill" memory. 


Anyway. One of my favorite things was looking up at all the old advertisements. Of course. The kids loved running around like little animals. Pato, especially was in absolute heaven. C and I agreed that he has never had that much fun in a museum before. He just ran from one place to the next and didn't even care if we were there. Thanks, kid. 


Oh, just smoochin' on the subway. No biggie. (Sidenote: if you want to embarrass your fourteen-year-old brother, just as him to take a picture of you kissing.)


We found this neat wall art just around the corner on our way to eat. Isn't it cool? The city provides the best backgrounds for pictures ever.  Know what else I love? The Shake Shack we had for lunch. Have I mentioned that yet? Ugh. I love that place way too much. It's probably a good thing we don't have one near us in Williamsburg or I would need bigger pants. 

And an intervention. 

She Says

Friday, January 10, 2014

There might be a bunch of these around here because homegirl talks our ears off.

The other night, she ran around the the house naked (except for her penguin backpack on her back) and holding wooden music sticks in each of her hot little hands.

S: Bye-bye Mama! Ee you layer! Big hug! Big kiss!

Me: Okay, bye! Where are you going?

S: Um. I going to the doctor's! I get a yellow sticker! Then, I go to school. Then I go to work.

Me: Wow! Okay! Have fun!

S: Bye, Mama! Have fun!

She then walked into my Dad's office and peed on the floor.

(Sorry, Dad. I know you read this blog. But, we got it all cleaned up and you apparently haven't even noticed.)

oh, just some bath pictures.




Cute, huh?

blossoming



Diner breakfasts make awesome play dates. Did you know?




S and P. Practically perfect in every way.




I'm being 100% serious when I tell you that they were talking about hair bows.



Everyone should have a friend like P. She is spunky and sweet and makes THE best faces ever. And her mama, Tina, is one of the most creative people I know.



Could I post anymore pictures of my girl and and her pal P? The answer is yes because I went snap happy and took about a million pictures of these two friends at our breakfast date the other morning. If you want to see more, then text me, and I will send you more right away because who needs to look at cute cat videos on YouTube to cheer them up when you've got these two? 

I had originally written out a long post about how far S has come from just a year ago. I talked about how I once worried that she would have a hard time making friends. I talked about how there were times I would cry because she was just so hard sometimes. 

But, because she has come so far, I wanted to focus on the positive because there's a whole lot to be positive about. Our girl has turned into a friendly, fun, engaging, smart, empathetic, and creative little girl. She gives her leaders hugs when she leaves nursery. She laughs and plays with other children without needing me right at her side. (Note: She still has her moments and she still has her meltdowns. Anyone know a cure for meltdowns?)

This might not seem like a big deal to other parents with naturally awesome good-natured children, but every time we see S make a friend, C and I stay up at night and talk about every detail of their time together. We laugh and smile after each play-by-play, and then sometimes we cry because our "prickly" little girl is blossoming before our eyes. I can't take any credit for it. It's as if she woke up one day and thought, "Hey, I'm going to try new things today. And it's okay if it's scary because I will be okay." 


One of the many things I love about her is that she is a get-right-back-up-er. If she falls, she quickly gets back up and says, "I slipped! That's okay! I'm okay. I try again." 

"I try again."

You fall down, and you get back up. You do things that are hard. You do things you're afraid of.

Wait...who's teaching who?

First snow jaunt of the season.

Friday, January 3, 2014


When I put S to bed last night I told her that in the morning, she would wake up to see lots and lots of snow outside. I told her we would have breakfast and then we'd play outside in it. Thank goodness mother nature didn't let me down because that's the first thing she asked me about when she woke up.  When she first spotted the snow she gasped and said, "Snow!" And asked me every minute thereafter to take her outside.


So after I put little brother down for his morning nap, I got her all bundled up in her snow gear (no joke, I broke a sweat getting everything on her) and out we went for the first time that day. Don't worry, we went out again after her nap and this time, Pato joined us.


She jumped right in it right away like a pro. I cracked up because she kept talking to herself. "Stand up, S! Stand up! You can do it!"


I love my little nature-loving girl, but sometimes I really wonder where she got that from.

She Says

Wednesday, January 1, 2014



Background: At lunchtime, Pato was crying because I am still not capable of making food magically appear on his tray in .00002 seconds. Son, I am working on it.

S: (turns to Pato and says very gently) Oh, Pato. No cry. No cry, Pato. Mami happy. S happy. Pato happy. 
(Then throws hands up widely in the air, stands up on her seat and yells with her head tossed all the way back) EVERYBODY EAT!

***
Now that she's talking non-stop, I'm excited for this new little series of "She Says."

Blog Design by Nudge Media Design | Powered by Blogger

Hover Pin It Code

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...