A New York State of Mind

So a couple of Tuesdays ago it was a Beautiful day so I decided the kids needed to go to the park to get out some wiggles.  I told them to put on their swimsuits just in case the sprinklers were on (they weren’t) and I told them to wear flip-flops for running in the water (bad idea, me).  We got the the park near our house but the sprinklers weren’t on so we kept walking to the bigger playground further into the park.  Luckily I had a back-up plan for the kids and I pulled out some water guns my mom sent us in one of her almost monthly packages (thanks mom!).  The older kids raced off to the fill the guns and I stayed behind to photograph the little one going down the slide.

That’s when disaster struck.  We were happily going up and down the slides when Please Login or Register to read the rest of this content.

So one of the benefits of only having one little one at home right now is that it is much easier to go on play date adventures during the day.  A couple of weeks ago I figured I’d hit up the New York Hall of Science so I invited some friends and away we went.

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It’s my daughter’s birthday!

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And decide to take a ride in the clothes box…

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Can I even tell you how wonderful Mother’s Day was?  Rob let me sleep in and when I woke up he had made the most delicious waffles!  We went to church and sang a mash-up of “Teach Me to Walk” and “Mother Do You Love Me” and “I Often Go Walking”.  After church we came home and I got to nap and then I spent time reading and goofing off on the computer while Rob watched the kids and made a heavenly dinner.  It was honestly divine: Olive Garden Zuppa soup, roasted potatoes, and the most succulent steak.  No one could take another bite at the end of the meal and I was so satisfied with my day.  Thanks for such a lovely time, honey!

Tried to snap some pictures of the meal but everyone wanted to eat so quickly that they aren’t the best photos

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A few weekends ago we were invited to A’s friend’s party.  I got to make the cake for the party but the whole day ended up being a bit complicated.  I got up at like 4 am to finish the cake, drove it to their house in Brooklyn at 7:20 am, drove home and got the boys out the door with Rob for Cub Scout camp, took the girls to the store to buy a present, and then spent almost 2 hours on 3 subways and a bus to get to the party.  I was exhausted by the time we got there!  Turns out A was feeling sick as well and laid on the couch most of the day and spiked a 102 degree fever at school on Monday.  I did beg a ride home from a generous parent and we had a nice air conditioned ride home–thank goodness!

Here’s the cake I made for the Hawaiian luau theme:

Here are the girls riding the first subway, before everything kind of unraveled:

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Ah, this the season for kids’ school celebrations.  And when I talk about celebrations, I mean loads of celebrations: dance, music, art, cluster, class, plays, etc…  It feels like we are constantly at the school for some event or another (not that we mind seeing our children’s accomplishments, mind you).

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O.k., so it was a couple of days ago, but we’ve had so much rain and crazy cold weather for so long that I had to blog about the wonderful warm weather!  The kids loved it and so did I.

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When you have all the pom-pom’s left that were hung on the ceiling?

You bury your toddler with them, of course.

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When Rob and I were first dating one of the things that struck me, more than anything else, was how much I loved his family.  They were my type of people.  And one of the people in his family who has truly blessed my life more than almost anyone else is his mother.  Through the years Beth has served me a million times over: watching my children so I could teach piano, weeding my poor little garden, helping out when things were tight, teaching me what compassionate service really means, feeding me day after day, sharing in my joys and consoling me in my grief.  This woman goes through her life quietly.  She tends her garden, she delivers vegetables to the entire neighborhood, she participates at church, she goes to watch her grandchildren in their myriad performances, she listens as children talk.  This quietness can’t hide the jewel that she is.  Her brightness soothes the soul and brings joy to those around her.  I will never know how she managed to raise eight children without ever learning to drive, but I do know how she has blessed my life.  I love you Beth and am so grateful that you are also my mother.