about nyc themed movies

My boys current love is Ghostbusters. I was sitting on the toilet playing Angry Birds on my iphone when Oscar walked in and demanded I answer the question, "Who ya gonna call?" so I switched my iphone to camera mode. This is the result:

everyone needs a break from nyc

Soon, really soon, I'll be visiting my friend Jordan Ferney in Paris, France. I can't wait. Above is a picture her husband Paul took (click here for all of her Paris blog posts). They live 100 ft from the Eiffel Tower. Here's the email I sent her in regards to the things I want to see/do:

1. eat chocolate/bread/pastries/cheese/moose/wine?

2. walk/run. my preferred mode of transportation. 

3. it would be fun to find an Easter dress for Ella and Easter outfits for the boys. I want to buy new french style backpacks for the kids. 

4. Eiffel tower

5. flea market

6. musée d'Orsay or Louvre

7. centre georges pompidou

8. notre-dame cathédrale or any church's/cathedrals you think are cool

Most of all i want to get the slow version of Paris. I don't have to make it past #5 on my list. If all i did was walk around, see pretty things, and eat good food I would be happy. i'll go back someday when the kids are in high school and see all the major tourist attractions. and again when i'm old with a tour group. (end of email)

I'm totally excited. 

that one of the benefits of walking everywhere is that i can stop.

*Behind me is Riverside Park. I did not take this picture in the middle of the street. 

When I took this picture, I stopped my normal series of questions that run through my head constantly: Is anything falling out of the stroller? Are we going to make it across the street before this light turns red? Did I brush my teeth this morning? Deodorant too? What is the weather going to be today? Did I pack gloves for myself? When was the last time the boys used the bathroom? Is my stroller going to fit between that building and that tree?
Instead, I stopped, held my iPhone up as high as I could reach and took this picture. Sometimes seeing building after huge building makes me feel little and insignificant. This time it made me feel like I was home.
After I took this picture and had this silly thoughtful moment, I continued pushing the kids and began planning dinner. I knew I had pine nuts, garlic, olives, and olive oil. So I could sauté everything together and mixed it with some wide egg noodles and Parmesan cheese.  For dessert, baked grapefruit with bubbling brown sugar.  Dinner/dessert turned out well.
The day ended with Owen demanding a cold grapefruit.

how to be a Central Park runner

Last week I ran in Central Park for nine miles. It was part beautiful, part humiliating.  Beautiful in that I saw parts of the park I'd never seen before. I loved running with masses of people. It had the same energy as a race. The humiliating part was that I was constantly getting passed up. I wondered a few times: Am I really that slow?  But dismissed that thought and continued on my way. Eventually I found my pace behind a 75 year old man, who ran hunched over with his neck slightly turned to the left. We both ran an 11 minute mile pace. By my 8th mile, I passed him out of pride.

how to declare war on a mouse

Since moving to my apartment, I have:
A. Seen a mouse running on my counter top
B. Had a mouse run over my barefoot
C. Seen mouse feces on the glue traps I've set out
D. All of the above

The answer is D. It's me against the mouse at this point. My Super gave me all the mouse traps and bags of poison to kill 500 mice. That was a week ago. Nothing has been caught.  Tomorrow he's pulling out the cabinets and looking for any holes. If that doesn't work, he's calling an exterminator.

As gross as all this is, it gave us a kick start on our spring cleaning. Last night, we removed every pot, pan, and silverware from the cabinets and hand washed them. We ran out of our Trader Joe's multi surface cleaner as we scrubbed every part of the kitchen (walls, floors, inside the stove, etc). So then we went into super green cleaning mode and wiped inside all the cabinets with vinegar. Then wiped with hydrogen peroxide.
Once we were done with the kitchen, we went to sleep. In the morning, I went into each room and vacuumed and swept every crumb. I also organized all the clutter in the closets and under the beds. The house has never looked better. Spring cleaning is done. All it took was 1.5 days and the boys watching a whole lot of cartoons. Now I need is spring to arrive and for the mouse to die. CB2 is selling a 2 foot high mouse pet that I will gladly accept as my trophy when this is over. Seen above.

that i wish Elevator Operator wasn't an obsolete occupation

Despite being so grateful to live in an elevator building, my boys have found a way to make me dread this part of my day anyway. It's a team effort. Owen presses every single floor button. Then, Oscar holds the door open on every level. They crack up. The joke is so old that I think KNOW they find pleasure in annoying me. I try my hardest not roll my eyes or say "Come on, guys!", but somehow they get a rise out of me every time.  Three year olds and their power trips!

how to look for signs of spring

I've been desperately keeping my eye out for any signs of spring. Any signs. If you look closely next to Owen's left foot you'll see a slight patch on green grass. Spring in near! An ice cream truck drove by the playground today. Another sign! The weather channel predicts weather in the mid forties! Spring!
Here's the boys basking in the 46 degree weather in Central Park on Tuesday.