Weekend Approved Project: A Block of Ice!

This block of ice was the hit of the Forth of July party. Without exaggeration, the kids had hours of fun with it. All the melting stages led to new games. When it started to break, they made ice daggers. City kids! Always developing their street smart skills. Thanks Emily for making an ice block!

Only thing is, Emily refused to give me her recipe. She told me it was going with her to her grave. Rude.

POST EDIT: Just kidding of course. All she did was pour some water in a plastic tupperware container and put it in her freezer for a few days.  Then she let it defrost for a while so it popped right out.

Coney Island

 I loved our visit Coney Island so much. My pictures are good albeit a bit diluted. If you can imagine, in real life it was even more colorful and magical. Here's some pictures of us taking a ride in the famous Wonder Wheel. Bonus: The red and blue carts swing just enough to scream with fear! It was such a thrill. Dan Zanes introduced us to this ride in his song Wonder Wheel a few years ago. What happened to his sweet stop motion music video of the song? I've looked for it online and it's disappeared. We used to watch it on the Disney Channel.

 While I can tell parts of Coney Island have been cleaned up and even some new sections have been added, it still has enough of the old kitchy stuff to make me feel all nostalgic.  Remember Zoltar Speaks from Big? It's looks too new, but still cool. 

For a summer that I wrote off going to the beach, I was surprised to find a beach that is so accessible. My favorite was when Ella said, "Am I the only one with blond hair at the beach?" haha We're not in California anymore!

The train ride wasn't so bad. Take the Q at 42nd and you'll be there in about 45 minutes. PS We didn't want to wait inline for a famous Nathan's hotdog. Instead we got grilled corn on the cob, hot dogs, and drinks from a local vender. Delicious, quick, and cheap!

Hip Hip Hooray for Coney Island!! Are there some other beaches I should be visiting? Is there a family who would like to invite us to their place in the Hamptons? Chauffeur included?

More pictures of our day here.

Small Town parade in a Big City

 Every year, a few locals organize a Fourth of July Parade. Kids come with decorated bikes or scooters and make their way down a few blocks while being excorted by a police car and firetruck. Some people serve up lemonade, watermelon, and pretzels. At the end of the parade, the firetruck sprays out water from it's truck. It was a very low key tradition that completely exceeded all my expectations. I love when I can feel a sense of community even when I'm in a huge city.

The details: July 4th, 10am, Morningside Dr. and 115 St. Hope to see you next year!

My First Guest Post: Uncle Brian

(Brian 10 years ago)

I first met Brian ten years ago in college. He was in a band with my husband and they rocked out Johnny Cash cover songs. My first visit to Brain's apartment was for a memorial service he held for Joey Ramone. A group of us watched Rock 'n' Roll High School, lit candles, had a moment of silence, then heard from those who had seen the Ramones live.   Brian now lives in Harlem with his wife and his daughter. We lovingly refer to him and his family as the "Cousins in Harlem".

In fear that I'm taking myself too seriously, Brian has generously poked fun at my blog in his guest post. He also included a list of ideas to make the most out of life in NYC. Let's welcome Uncle Brian.

**************

(Brian Today.)

I also plan on taking the summer of 2011 seriously. I’m going to wake up every morning at 6:45
sharp, do some crisp, energizing calisthenics, and be sitting at my computer by 6:59 to read
Sharon’s 7:00 a.m. daily posts.

NYC Taught Me illustrates how much our fair city has given Sharon and her family. They’ve
remembered pencils (those novel trinkets from yesteryear), learned to decorate a hallway,
discovered diverse types of chairs, created tips for dressing kids so they don’t look like kids, and
explored the world of paper hats that are more like opera glasses than real hats. The fantasies
presented here are real. This family is living THE DREAM.

While their lives are a contemporary manual on “keeping up with the Joneses,” just a few things
are missing. I offer some suggestions. This is my list of The Top 5 Things NYC Taught Me
Should Teach You Soon:

The Top 5 Things NYC Taught Me Should Teach You Soon

5. Experience New York in a Car (taxis not included)
There are so many ways to see The City and a car is one of the best! Driving here is not as scary
as anyone says it is and parking can be easy. If you don’t have a car borrow one or get a Zip Car.

4. Bitch and Moan!
New Yorkers love to whine and complain and be rude to each other. I do not encourage infusing
your life with negativity, but sometimes it feels great to let it all out. Also, if someone is pissing
you off let them hear it—this is part of being a New Yorker.

3. Grow Something
The climate in New York is great for growing things and finding a space is easy too. Start with
your windowsill, contact your neighborhood association and plant something around the trees on
the sidewalk, work with a neighborhood school or hijack a little space in a park (no one will stop
you). I swear it’s possible, I’ve done all of these things in the last two weeks.

2. Get a Toy Camera
New York City looks great in pictures. Toy cameras offer a variety of quirky effects to your
pictures. Start with The Lomography Store and then explore from there. There are tons of awesome cameras and film types to play around with.

1. Listen to WNYC, 93.9 fm
WNYC is imperative. This American Life is only one of many many amazing programs. You
should be listening to Radiolab, The Brian Lehrer Show, The Leonard Lopate Show, Fresh Air
with Teri Gross, On the Media, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, The Sound of Young America and the
list goes on and on and on. Listen on a real radio too, give your computer a break!


Thanks Brian! Readers: Have a toy camera? Growing something? Bitch and Moan? I like that some of the things on his list can be enjoyed anywhere. The idea that anyone can have a slice of NYC in their hometown makes me happy.

~HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY~

Happy Fourth of July! Here's some red white and blue pics from out trip to Coney Island on Saturday. Loved it. More on that later. Today we've got big plans. Hope the weather is good. I love living here! Happy Fourth!

Weekend Approved Project: Toilet Paper Maracas

I'm so lucky to live by a park that has daily art projects. I don't know who's funding this, but thank you! We've gone 3 times this week. Here's the simple project they had the kids making on Thursday.

It's easy. It uses materials from around the house. It can be created quickly.  

~IT'S TOILET PAPER MARACAS~

(cheers! high fives! cue the mariachi band!)

Materials: Toilet Paper Roll, Paint, Rubber band, Small piece of cloth
1. Paint tube
2. Cover one end of the tube with cloth, fassen with rubberband, and fill with popcorn or whatever. Cover other side with cloth, fassen with rubberband.
3. Test out your maraca
4. Wait for paint to dry and pray that no one confuses your beautiful musical instrument for trash. Especially you Owen. Oh geez. What happened?! Yours got all squished!

So there you have it. I'm off the hook for my second edition of Weekend Approved Project. This is the  ugliest craft you've ever seen? Never. It's sweet!

Hope you have a great Fourth of July Weekend!! I'll be back on Tuesday with a post I've been really excited about. You'll see.  

Opinion Poll: THE ZOO

 We visited the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday. My kids favorite parts were the butterfly garden, the bug carousel, sharing a huge box of popcorn, and playing on the rocks at the entrance. It was like pulling teeth to show them the big animals. When we finally make it to the large exhibits (thanks to a few Slurpees to lore them) the giraffes were huddled in the corner, as far from the crowds as they could get. The wild African dogs couldn't be found. And the kids were so over it that we didn't even make it to the lions. It made me wonder if the zoos of the future will take a different approach.

The BBC had a new idea and spent years creating the world's largest online zoo. They caught both large and microscopic animals being totally wild, natural, and exciting. It's totally awesome.

I don't think I would miss the large zoo animals (elephants/giraffes/lions) if the smaller animal exhibits (insects/frogs/birds) were done creatively. I also would love to see farm animals being farm animals, so that kids could see where milk comes from and eggs. Horses would be fun! Fish even. What do you think?  Is this all sounding a little too PETA? ha I just want to see interesting animals, not bored caged ones. I see that all day when I look at my kids faces when they watch TV.