NYC has me cooped up in the kitchen

It's a few dirty dishes. I can wash off the food and put it in the dish washer. Or worse case scenario, hand wash the pot. This is what I kept saying to myself today because I was so overwhelmed by the mindless task of cleaning the dishes. And every mindless task that goes along with being a stay at home mom. I had to do so little today compared to last week I felt so lazy. So I took a long nap.

NYC taught me not to have a pity party

Rob was in CA for the past 7 days. I'm so proud of myself for not whining about it on Facebook and did a pretty good job about not venting about it on my blog. I really couldn't because most of my NYC mom friends have weeks like that all the time. I'm lucky to see him as much as I do. Here's Ella making cookies for his arrival. The kids were asleep by the time he came home. Which was nice because I got him all to myself. My favorite thing he said to me was, "Well, at least from your emails, our phone calls, the blog, and Facebook, it didn't look like such a bad week. The kids were pretty good, right?" Angels. All of them.

NYC and my kids wore me out today

Tempted not even to write a post in fear that it will quickly turn into a stay-at-home-mom rant. I really wasn't going to write until I started playing with some of my photography apps and took a million self portraits to test them out. And then I found one that I liked. Oh wait.
It's 9:37pm and Owen is shouting, "mom mom come here!" Agh. now he's at my bedroom door. "Mom mom mom mommy. I need cold water I need cold water I need cold waaater". And these are the pictures I just took of him with my newly discovered photography apps (a mix of Night Cam and infinicam). Good night, I'm off to fetch a pail of cold water.

NYC taught me about snow days

I went to college in Idaho where it snowed hard from Halloween until the end of Winter semester. I know I took a snow boarding class and went sledding once, but other than that I'm very confused about what I was doing during all those hours available to me to play in the snow. Snow is fun and I think I was too cold or boy crazy to realize it. I feel like Idaho was to snow what twins are to having kids. Too much too soon. Now ten years later, I'm really enjoying it. It was so exciting to get the news this morning that it was an official snow day! I don't remember Idaho ever getting a snow day. The hill by my house was filled with kids, parents, the news crew, and even an EMT. It sounded like a water park as the kids sled down the hill screaming, "yAaahOoo!"

NYC takes a lunch break

I'm learning how to feed my kids lunch in the NYC. When I lived in CA, a typical day would include a bagged lunch and a picnic. It wasn't anything special and it was anywhere. A park bench. On a blanket if I had one in the van. Or sometimes it was in the van if the weather was lousy. It made the day go a smoother for obvious reasons. I did it so much that picnic lunch days felt like the norm.
NYC isn't the place to be having a picnic at the moment so I'm feeling out of whack. And insanely jealous when my friends from SF post on facebook their having a picnic. We're experiencing one of the snowiest winters ever. Once I tried to make a lunch and have the kids eat it in the stroller. Huge disaster. The boys had one mitten on and the other they used to pick up food. But then their fingers got cold and they started dropping food. So these days I've been either going home for lunch or buying them a sandwich at a cafe and filling in the gaps with my own food. Sometimes i buy the entire lunch at the cafe too. I just need to be able to justify taking the cafe's tables somehow.
In regards to the picture: I can't wait for the tempeture to rise so we can use that picnic bench for what it's designed for.

NYC wants to be seen

There are two Starbucks around my house that have people watching windows. I adore watching the people go about their day. But mostly I'm fishing out Oscar's straw that fell into his crazy expensive organic chocolate milk and gathering up all their winter layers and stuffing it under the chairs. And then of course Oscar has use the bathroom and Owen plays with the automatic hand dryer the entire time. But for about thirty seconds it's calm. And that's when I take a picture like this to give the illusion that all we did this morning was people watch.

NYC is teaching my boys how to be science nerds

Today at the Museum of Natural History, the boys watched an instructional video on how to excavate dinosaur bones. After watching the video, they picked away at a pretend site. And then helped put together a dinosaur skeleton. The bones felt and looked real-- not some kiddie game. I'm not overselling it when I say it would be an 8 year old's dream. The bones were held together with magnets. It is found in the Discover Room.

NYC is toughening up my kids

Guess who slammed his head into the fence at the bottom of the hill while sledding?

NYC taught me how to act around celebrities

If I see them on the street, I'm not suppose to ask for a picture with them. Also I can't ask for their autograph. It's ok to say hello and then brag about it on Facebook AND my blog. So far this is the list of celebrities Rob and I have seen (and we are counting). 1. Alec Baldwin 2. Piers Morgan 3. Kyra Sedgwick 4. Rachel Ray 5. Bobby Flay 6. Malcom Gladwell 7. Dorothy Vogel 8. John Stattery  Below is my daughter looking as cute and tired as any movie star.

NYC reminded me how fun it is to play in the snow

I wore jeans, cotton gloves, and leather boots today when I went sledding with the kids. I wouldn't recommend doing that, but it was fun once I gave up trying to stay warm. And the kids, they could have stayed there all day.

learning how to do laundry in the city

There are 4 washers and 6 dryers in the basement. I pay with a credit card, no coins. It's surprisingly empty.  Today I did 12 loads of laundry uninterrupted. my boys were sooo nice to spend their entire morning down there. Around 12pm they started complaining that they were hungry. So I left the last of the loads in the dryers and fed them lunch at our house. Owen literally fell asleep at the table. I was tempted to take a video of him and add it to the masses of children falling asleep while eating on youtube. But I didn't. I put the boys down for a nap and took a nap myself. I don't think I could have asked for a more productive Friday morning. Bring on the weekend. I have my favorite clothes to wear.

NYC is forcing me to learn the subway system

Ideally I can get from my house to the Brooklyn Children's Museum without transferring. That's if I knew what I was doing. Apparently the 2 and the 3 trains do not always run on the same path. Learned that the hard way. But I played it cool, I don't think my boys noticed. We got there, didn't we? And look at how much fun they are having at the aquatic station! Especially Owen. Nothing stops him from drinking 8 glasses of water per day.

NYC taught me that i'm paranoid

Every time I let my boys watch TV all morning, I imagine the neighbors are keeping tally of the hours. And silently judging me for not putting them in preschool.

NYC taught me that i'll walk onto a movie set

Since living here, my street has been the set for two movies. A few weeks ago a Bollywood film crew took over the street for a movie called Happy New York. Tonight it's the set for the movie Friends with Kids starring the beautiful Megan Fox. I love taking the kids to see the big lights and cameras.  I have to say, the curry for the Bollywood film crew looked much better than the spread they had out tonight. Your basic american crackers, fruit, and even PB&J. That got my son's attention.

NYC taught me that I am such a loser

I lost this hat minutes after this picture was taken. It was replaced by a striped hat from a drug store. Lost that one too. Replaced it with a dollar store hat. Lesson learned.

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NYC taught me that even if I had a backyard I wouldn't be using it today anyway.

Freezing rain on the walk to school today. Uphill both ways of course.

The Met with kids: Don't forget your binoculars!

Everything is cooler with binoculars. Even landscape paintings.

NYC taught me that bowling is the best winter sport

NYC taught me that a large lobby is invaluable on a cold day

Especially when the only clean clothes left are shorts and t-shirts.

NYC taught me how to buy a weeks worth of groceries without a minivan

Take the subway alone to the nearest Trader Joes, fill up my cart as high as I can, and catch a cab home. Tip driver 30% if he helps carry the groceries into the cab AND to the doorstep of my apartment building. Horse drawn carriages are always an option too.

NYC taught me that the Upper West Side is just enough

Besides all the parks, trees and museums for the kids, I love that it's not too fashionable and I haven't found a restaurant that is too hipster for me to eat in. I hate to admit this, but a lot of the times it reminds me of Burlingame or Palo Alto if you know what I mean.

NYC taught me that after playing in the snow for 45 minutes

my kids will get the cutest red cheeks

NYC taught me not to buy broadway tickets online

go to the theatre an hour before the show starts and buy scalped tickets. Ask a ridiculously low price.

NYC taught my daughter how to catch a cab

My five year old literally caught a cab on the way to church last week. She stood on the side walk, raised her hand, and one pulled over. My husband and I were about 30 feet behind and were beaming.

NYC fashionistas taught me how to dress

Within one month of living here, I can already tell I'm dressing better because it's hard not to be influenced by NYC fashion. After my mini wardrobe makeover, I look good and all, but I can only imagine how much better I could be dressing had I chosen to live in the Meatpacking District.

NYC taught me about Fall

I grew up in Florida so the only season I ever really knew was summer. I had read about Fall, but never experienced it until the month I moved here. What a perfect way to be introduced to the city and the fall season. My husband called me on his way to work the day this picture was taken and said, "stop whatever you're doing, get the kids dressed and meet me outside." This is the picture of our street. I took it at the end of our walk.