Sound Advice

This weekend we had a special conference with one of our church leaders. For those of you not a member of my church (see lds.org), we have restored the same organization that Jesus Christ had while he was here during His ministry, including 12 apostles. Anyway, one of those 12 apostles came into town. To accommodate the huge amount of members here in NYC we met in the Hammerstein Ballroom, on the same street as the Empire State Building. That in and of itself was remarkable to see the church members in one spot. Rarely happens in our stake since no chapel can hold us all.
The name of this church leader was Jeffrey R. Holland. He said many things that touched my heart, including his testimony that whatever we have or are currently suffering, Jesus Christ suffered too. We can have faith in the Atonement that He knows what we're going through and can let Him take our burdens for us. Elder Holland also referred to when the original apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, were on a fishing boat and there was a violent storm that overtook them. He referred to the apostle Marks' account and reminded us that the Savior quieted the storm. But then Elder Holland gave some really sound advice: In the midst of all the storms surrounding us now, both globally and personally, now is not the time to jump out of the boat. "Stay in the boat," he said. "Stay closer to the Lord (cling tight to the boat) than ever- Now is not the time to do your own version of a 'doggy-paddle' amidst all the storms in this life. Stay in the Boat."
I have to admit, that counsel touched Jason and I very deeply. As we're living through our own challenges right now we were reminded of where we need to put our efforts and our faith.

We took the subway home- here are some pictures:

Have Smile, Will Travel

Today is going well. It's raining cats and dogs outside, but it hasn't gotten old to me yet. Rain still brings a cathartic quality to my outlook. I'm sure that will change as winter progresses, maybe that's why I'm posting now. I've been walking an 8-block circle running errands and transporting kids and I'm soaked (gotta get better rain gear!). Among other things I went to school and picked McAllister up for a lunch date, and I treated him to McDonald's. He's finding his place among established friendships at school, and has been feeling left out. So inspite of my McDonald's indigestion, I feel good about letting him know he is loved. It is good (albeit very difficult) to make me slow down like this. 'Lunch hour' was a success.
I picked Daisy up from preschool, and when I took her coat off at home I looked at her and decided to take a picture. A mini New-Yorker- I laugh because it wasn't intentional. Anyway, like her big sister, she immediately started posing. Here is the result.

Tribeca Trick or Treating

There once was a 'hood in The City
Which for Halloween gets crazy-busy!
All through the night, holy cow, what a sight-
The stores open up for the kiddies!We started the fun after school,
At QUARTER TO 4! To be cool,
The grown-ups got dressed, in their Halloween best,
Along with those that, well, share their gene pool.
It blew Uncle Matt and us away,
To see thousands of people this way,
With the streets all open, the boutiques all hopin',
To give all their goodies away.We lost our sweet Daisy just once!
She was three stores behind, she's no dunce.
She was mixed with the children, not one bit bewildered,
(but mom will have nightmares for months)!
London, she was a real pro,
Ent'ring store after store with gusto,
McAllister, leary, of strangers was fearing,
To enter a store all alone.We did do some more trick-or-treat,
In our building, after cruising the street.
We'd become such gluttons, but still we pressed buttons,
To the floors of our neighbors' retreats.
One thinks that the party stops there,
But no! That just starts it, Beware!
For New Yorkers who dress every day to impress,
Halloween night is a serious affair.So Mommy and Daddy went out,
Thanks to Sami, our sitter, who without,
We'd miss our great time, at St. John the Divine,
The cathedral with much spooky clout.

With live organ music a-playing,
We watched a silent movie displaying
"The Phantom of the Opera", all the melo-da-ra-ama,
"A masterpiece!", critics were saying.

So exhausted and full all are we,
The urban Whiting Family,
We'll need to discover, a way to recover,
From our Halloween in N.Y.C.

Celebrity Sightings...

Abigail Breslin, August, in Madewell Store
Ron Rifkin, on the street, October; I thought he was our attorney from our closing and did a half-hi when he responded with a half-hi as well.
At the gym: Wendy Williams, of D-list talk-show fame, working out the same week she had that on-air spif w/ Omarosa
Best so far: Will Arnett. Works out at my gym. I've seen him so often I thought he was one of our trainers, 'til finally it clicked today. We worked out right next to each other on the circuit stuff. I made eye contact then avoided him the rest of the time. (Cause, really, who cares? What do I say, "loved 'Arrested Development, you're much taller in person'? naaaah....) What's even cooler, is that he's married to a very preggers Amy Poehler.

Overheard at the Field Trip...

One of the chaperoning dads, while walking home from London's Brooklyn Bridge Field Trip today, talking to his group:
"Well kids, on the news, when they say "Main Street" they mean anywhere that isn't New York City. When they say "Wall Street", that's another way to say New York City.....so right, there are real 'Main Streets' in some towns of the country, but some don't have a real 'Main Street'. But when the news says "Main Street" they still mean 'everywhere else but here'..."

I didn't know that it was that simple. So we just call everything outside of our city limits: "Not New York City, USA. Example: Not 'Des Moines, Iowa', rather, "Not New York City, Iowa". Not 'Chicago, Illinois', but "Still Not New York City, Illinois". Maybe shorten it to SNNYC, Illinois or something? (All together, now: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?")

I guess we are us, and they are them. And I'm not sure that this ideology is something one should admit to adhering to. Boy do I have a lot to learn. Heaven help me if I do.

I love my kids, a bushel and a peck!

Look at me, in touch with nature! A big thing that is fun to do around is to pick apples, berries, etc., at the farms outside of NYC. I know you can do it in VA too, it just never appealed to me when going to Giant Grocery Store worked just as well. But it's an excuse to leave the city and see real grass and sky. We had a blast.
We went to an apple orchard a little over an hour away from the city, with a good friend and her 2 boys. When we got to the trees and started picking, even Daisy got in on it. She asked me after about 2 minutes, 'Mommy, can I eat one?' I told her she could and her eyes lit up. So she parked it right then and there and ate an entire apple. Then she said, 'Mommy, can I eat another one?' To which I replied, 'Uh, sure...' She picked another one and ate it as well, down to the core. Then she worked a little bit, playing around mostly, then, 'Mommy, can I eat another one?' She ate four entire apples! In every picture, there she is, chomping away. So cute.
McAllister was over it in about 10 minutes. London totally got into it, trying to climb trees to get to the apples. After we paid I got introduced to Apple Cider Donuts, which throws my penchant for Krispy Kremes out the window!
We took home a huge load of apples, and kept them in the fridge. I made 4 apple crisps at various times, with my nifty new peeler my friend gave me. The kids helped me, and while I can honestly say I ate my weight in apple crisp, the kids didn't like it as much and just ate the apples fresh like candy.
Yay Autumn-time! This is definitely going to be something we do often.

Mom Does a Field Trip, Take Two

This time I went with my boy McAllister to Central Park Zoo. We did the subway (again) to get there. It seemed more complicated herding 1st graders versus London's 3rd graders. More stressful. But I gloated to myself as people were annoyed when we boarded the subway car and took it over. Kids live here too, you people!
McAllister is doing a unit on snakes and so we got to study them in the great zoo that we have right here in the city! We had lunch and played at the Tirsch Children's Zoo, which I loved. Here is a picture of the whole class sitting on the giant Spider Web. Do you believe we have all this just a few stops away on the subway? I love it. McAllister had a blast. I don't think he noticed me much though. :)