Pretty Paintings

Abbey's big Christmas present this year was an art easel. I know you more experienced mothers feel you have a million pictures and art projects laying around, but this is so new and charming for me. She loves to draw and gets so focused on her paints. She'll dab a little, step back to look, come back and make a few more strokes until she's satisfied.

When she's done, she makes me close my eyes and stands in front of her work with both arms stretched out. Then she unveils with a 'Ta-Da!!'

This particular one is of her and her dad. When J asked why he had so many eyes, she said, "Those are your whiskers!" He can be a bit grizzly when he gets home after a 32 hour shift.

Winter Retreat

All I want to do these days is practice the piano and play ping pong. I found some beautiful, challenging pieces for the former and I've been schooling J in the latter. And anyone who thinks he may be letting me win does not know him well!

Winter blues? I don't know, I don't think so. I have no desire to leave the house and that is unusual. But I'm thinking it's more of a winter-embracement. I am pretty content these days (although my sister would tell you otherwise after she had to talk me down off the proverbial ledge Saturday morning).

Throw in some hot cocoa, soup, and warm bread, and you just might not be seeing much of us until the spring thaw! I can hold out as long as the kids can :)

At The...Carwash!

And now for my favorite moments and pictures of the week.

The girls found heaven:

Those of you who are lucky enough to have memories with my little sis know that her memories are strongly tied to food. I realize now she was trying to maximize our time and nail down 'favorite aunt' status with the nieces she rarely gets to see. Well done, sis.

Ice cream in Time Square

A little cookie baking time:

And incredible, mood-changing, devil's food cake cheesecake from Junior's. I ate it with my eyes closed. And every bite seriously pulled me out of the stinky mood I had that morning with my kids. We told Abbey to show Noah her treat and got this: {classic}

I wish I would have thought sooner to wrap my scarves around the girls. It was a frigid week and this definitely helped. Obviously a little too big for Hayden, so as soon as I figure out how to knit, the first thing will be baby scarves.

Again, Abbey, with the dancing. I love this girl.

Al & Noah had to head back to work on our last day, but I (wisely) scheduled a late flight so they could help me get back to the airport. Every child in that city needs their own entourage. But I was on my own for a day. I seriously considered trying the subways. But alas, I was not equipped with the gear, the courage, or the few extra hours I needed for when I inevitably got confused and lost. I was especially leery after Allison told me about the baby stroller that accidentally rolled and fell onto oncoming train tracks (baby survived, you can pull your heart out of your stomach...I know, I just about died as she was telling me).

Anyhoo, the Staten Island ferry is a short walk across the park from Al's pad, so the girls and I boarded to float past the Lady in the Harbor. This was such a sweet memory. We have a book I read to Abbey about a little girl who daydreams about sailing a boat to find her friend who moved away. She talks about sailing past Lady Liberty and out to the ocean. Abs was so excited to see her ("she's green!") and tell Hayden all about the story. So sweet.

These two, I love 'em. We all adore Noah and Allison gets me better than anyone else (for better or worse, ha ha!) They were so sweet to spend New Years, a weekend, and two of their vacation days hauling my stroller and luggage up and down stairs. Not to mention lovin' on my kids and spoiling us rotten. I lost my little point-and-shoot camera with all our New Year's pictures on it, so maybe we will have to go back next year, I don't know.

So Here We Are in NYC

Get ready for a big ol' post of us just standing in front of cool stuff :)

This is the view from Allison and Noah's office, not too shabby, eh? We kept a pack-n-play there and it was so nice to hop over there when the girls needed a nap. And speaking of Allison and Noah:

The most gracious of hosts! We couldn't have done it without them. Literally. I don't think I could do that city without at least a 3 adult: 2 children ratio.

I really wanted to blend in, avoid the 'I'm A Confused Tourist' look. I was curious if I could hack it as a big city momma. As it turns out, no. When I told Katherine I was taking the girls there alone, she told me how empowering it was for her to take her girls to Chicago by herself last year. Well, I definitely did not leave there feeling empowered! How do people have kids there?!? I would need a more subway-friendly stroller, a better place than my back pocket for my metro card, and if NY could install an elevator or two in the subway, I'd be much obliged.

This mosaic was awesome and Abbey loved running by shouting the letters.

My girls totally bought into the idea that New York is the city that never sleeps. I wanted them to go harder, but I was actually impressed with how well they held up. And the second Abbey ever got a few square feet of space, the girl was shakin' it:

I wasn't too concerned about catching the touristy stuff. But when you are already roaming around FAO Schwarz, who could resist sliding around on the big Big piano?

And is the Shake Shack worth the hype, my friends? In a word: YES!!!! The burger I could take or leave but I'd say that about any burger. But the shakes at the Shake Shack? Mmm, Mmm, Mmmmmmmm.

Here's Hayden licking the last bits of the french fry carton:

Al & Nobie had to run into work for a couple hours one afternoon so the girls and I took the chance to walk next door to Rockefeller Plaza. I was really hoping to run into Tina Fey. Turns out they film in Jersey, lame-o. The tree is still up and the girls were enchanted with the ice skaters, so not a total loss :)

Detox

We're home! And dealing with the aftermath of our fun and intense trip to the big city. The girls are already asking about Allison and Noah (Nobie, Owen, Ownah...Abbey had a hard time getting his name right this week, ha ha) but couldn't stop laughing and smiling when they saw their daddy last night. How I love vacations. Er...trips. I wouldn't be this exhausted if it had been a vacation :)

Celebrate

Spent New Year's with some of my favorite girls and a few other million New Yorkers :)



The Haydster...hailing us a subway.