about what to do

Besides a quick bagel run this morning and a trip to the basement to do laundry, I was inside my messy house all day. By 5pm, I had to get out and leave it all behind. But I didn't know what to do. That's been one of the biggest challenges I have with this city. There's always that annoying feeling that what I'm doing isn't the best/most authentic/most unique NYC experience I could be having.
Tonight out of all the thing NYC has to offer, we went bowling in Harlem, about a block away from the Apollo Theatre. As soon as we walked off the subway, Ella ran up the stairs, turned around with her arms outstretched and said, "So this is Harlem!"
I'm almost certain that there was probably something amazing going on tonight somewhere in the city, but I wouldn't have known otherwise. It was fun to meet up with our cousins and go shopping while a lane opened up. When one finally did, the boys mostly played with the video race car game on automatic mode and took breaks to throw the bowling bowl over hand down the alley. Things really got crazy when the black lights lit up at 9pm and we polished off two pitchers of fruit punch. The night ended with Ella and Henrietta insisting on a sleep over.
So despite all my insecurities that somewhere, maybe even a subway stop away, we could have done something a little more NYCish, it doesn't matter. Bowling in Harlem was where the party was attttttt.


Here's a mild version of my messy house. It's the only picture I took today. I'm posting it to fool myself into thinking that this is the worse it ever gets around here.

about my NYC dentist

At this point of the winter season, I'm even missing my California dentist. She used photography film x-rays instead of digital. I liked seeing photos of my teeth clipped up on the lighted white boards. She scratched all the plaque with a simple metal scrapper tool.  Her office was small and had easy parking. She fixed the gap in my teeth. My new dentist talks fast and has an autographed photo of Bill Clinton in the lobby and has Columbia University diplomas on the wall.  Instead of a mirror, he used a $10,000 video camera (he actually mentioned it was $10,000) to show me my teeth on the computer screen. He offered to print out my digital X-rays. He found a cavity.  Afterwards, I walked to Central Park with Ella and tried to enjoy the new snow. But after taking a few pictures, my toes started to get cold and I just wanted to be back in California. Cavity and all.

about catching a cab in the winter

taken today 1pm, Riverside Park. Owen far, Oscar closer

When I find myself at my breaking point, and all I want to do is be home NOW, I go ahead and hail a cab.  Even if I'm two blocks from my apartment. When I first moved to the city in October, I had no problem catching a cab when I reached that point. As soon as the weather got to the 30's, however, it took me 5 minutes. Then when it dropped to the 20's, it took 10 minutes. 10 degrees: forget about it. Shouldn't have been a shocking and unexpected lesson for me, but it was. Today the weather was in the 60's and there was no way I or anyone else in the city was going to waste a minute of it in a cab.  The sidewalks were filled with happy people, dogs, and unfortunately all the trash that was buried inside the snow piles.

about family in the city

I sought out as much advice as I could before we moved to NYC. You'll need a car! Don't bring a Car! Use a broker. Don't use a broker!  The funniest/passionate advice I got was from our cousins in Harlem. Their advice: Don't move to Brooklyn! They knew the draw Brooklyn has on people like me. Bigger places, cheaper rent, family friendly, Prospect Park. I was drawn to Brooklyn in a way that I wasn't with Manhattan because one of my favorite books of all time: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. There's a moment at the end of the book when she's walking down the her street in Brooklyn and explaining how much she loves where she lives. That scene made me want to move there before we were ever thinking about moving to NYC. It's really beautiful writing. Brooklyn seemed like the ideal choice. But it was lacking one huge benefit Manhattan had: family. And not just family, but people I wanted to hang out with. Built in friends: our cousins in Harlem.
So we took their advice and didn't even look at any of the places in Brooklyn. We ended up moving to the Upper West Side in Manhattan, which is about 15 minute drive to their apartment. It's always been one of my favorite things about the city. We spent Thanksgiving together. We swap babysitting without any strings attached or tally charts or awkwardness. We see each other weekly if not more. We talk about vacationing together someday. And what makes the situation even more ideal is that Ella has a match! Our cousins in Harlem (that's how I refer to them most times) have a little girl around Ella's age. I've always loved the idea of them becoming best friends in the city and shopping together and withholding secrets from us parents. The boys always had a built in friend, and now so does Ella. Here's a picture I took tonight of them holding hands and talking. I'm going to take a wild guess that the subject of their conversation is none other than Pinkalicious.

NYC library card

The remote to our super DVD player that is connected Netflix has been missing for a week.  I'm clueless how to work the thing without it.  I liked to think that that had nothing to do with the sudden motivation to get a library card and start reading to my kids instead of letting their brains waste away to Ren and Stimpy reruns, but I would be lying to myself. Before I left the house today, I made sure I brought an electric bill to prove my residency. Now I have a NYC library card and fifteen children's book scattered on the couch and in their bedroom. I feel like my life is finally getting in order.  I adore checking books out for my kids at the library mostly because I love reading children's literature. It's one of my favorite genres. How could anyone not adore anything Ezra Jack Keats writes? Story telling at it's best in my option.  I also love that I can let them have as many books as they want without being restricted. Yes! Get that Spiderman book! Sure, put the Dora book into the stroller! I would never buy those books, but at the library, I suddenly turn into the best mom in the world because I can say yes to everything. Another noteworthy reason I like reading to my kids is because it takes away that irrational fear of them turning into illiterate fools. Below a picture/proof of my kids reading their books from the library. I hope the literacy Gods will see it and give my remote back.

that i'm safe

Before I moved to the city, I seriously thought I would need a backpack that was dagger proof because it was going to be so dangerous. I don't know where I thought I was moving but it sure isn't the place I live now. Here's a picture I took on my way home from book club tonight. I was walking alone around 10pm. I would obviously prefer to have someone with me, but when I can't, I'm ok. But really I'm never alone. Three other people are always out walking their dog or coming home from work. And at least in my part of the city, they are usually old and boring. Despite feeling safe, I did walk super fast on my way home. I can't help but be a little cautious.

about the MET Opera

this is a picture taken from our balcony before the opera started. Box 6, seats 5 and 6.  

I knew buying partial view seats would be risking, but I liked the idea of having our own booth for Valentines Day. We even got our own door! And they were only $25. Most of the opera (Don Pasquale) was spent cranking our heads over the railing and sometimes even standing so we could see the actors. Other times it was spent just reading the small screen that translated the Italian into English. Rob fell asleep during the 3rd act. It was our first NYC opera together. While we probably won't do it again for a long time, I thought it was a fun/easy/special way to spend Valentine's Day.  The chandeliers, the fantastic people watching during intermission, the massive Chagall paintings in the entryway, the orchestra conductor's crazy hair, that one love song near the end, the serious clapping Rob did after each act. I loved everything about the date. Especially my date.