American Girl Place

We finally got to take London on her Birthday Date, to "Kit's Friendship Tea" at The American Girl Place near Rockefeller Center. It is 4 levels of American Girl Dolls, and a mini restaurant as well. Kit Kittredge is one of the American Girl characters, her story centering around the 1930's and the Great Depression (the books' characters all take place in a different place in history). So we took London to a special and yummy tea featuring foods that were either in the book or centered around that time period. It was fun playing games and making paper hats with her. Daddy joined us, then had to go back to the office. We got her a doll that looked just like her: You can select hair, eye, and skin color for a doll that you can dress. Funny thing about the doll, it will make a great hand-me-down to Daisy, too!

CALL AL GORE!!!

I figured out the solution to Global Warming: skyscrapers. When the weather says 'Highs in the mid 60's', it means Daisy's in boots and tights, my kids are wearing puffer vests over long sleeves, and I am always wearing a scarf. It.is.cold.in.the.shade.

Uh, that's all...

Grand Times Among Grand Kids

While we had everyone in town for London's baptism, we did our best to show off our new City. Some, like my mom, couldn't be impressed no matter what because of the (what I lovingly refer to as) 'rough edges' that one encounters while traveling around:
* the odd smell (not, "gee, is that jasmine or rosemary?" but more like "uh, is that pee-pee or bus exhaust?")
* the necessary crazy man (walking around with a shopping cart and a million CDs taped to poles, as if hoping to pick up a frequency of some sort)
* The oddly disturbing gusts of warm air hitting your face as they come up from the subway vents on the sidewalk. That warmth just doesn't feel right. (It ain't no bonfire!)
* the near brushes with death whenever deciding to cross the street uninvited by the Lit-Up Walking Man - he rules my world, no joke
* The bags of trash on the sidewalk waiting for pick-up (blatantly staring at you in the face, they make you want to recycle everything and never be responsible for such filth and waste again)
* and the best (or worse depending on how you view the proverbial Glass), the "Holy Crap, what type of liquid did I just step in, and feel a drop of, on my ankle?!?!?" yeaaaahhhhh....

Among some of the activities, we went on the Subway a lot, (oooo-train!!!) played in the park, went shopping in Soho, partied it up in our apartment, and ATE. A lot!!! We had a wonderful weekend. Aside from the soon-to-be new parents Uncle Miguel and Aunt Cara, the only person missing was Papa, who is in Afghanistan. Daisy asked about him a lot.

London's Special Day

This has been a great weekend. We had all the Woods in town, plus Grandma Fern and Cousin Coco from Arizona. Including the NY Whitings and Uncle Matt (who hails from the BK, aka, Brooklyn), we were 18 strong. They all stayed in a hotel except Grandma Fern and Coco. It was rainy and wet the whole weekend long. I really wanted to show off our neighborhood with all the great fall weather and fun parks, but it didn't work out that way. The reason for the occasion is that our sweet BabyLondon turned 8, and she was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! Her baptism was beautiful and we had lots of friends there, along with amazingly supportive ward members. We have such a great groups of people around us. What a blessing.

We also had a low-key birthday celebration for her. She didn't mind that Mommy couldn't bake the cake from scratch, she had a good time and we all got to show our love for our sweet BabyLondon. She is growing up so well, so strong, and has been able to put any adversity that NYC dishes out in the right perspective. She doesn't let it alter her. She isn't influenced by it. She knows what is right and therefore makes herself accountable for choosing what's right. What's the greatest thing of all, is that she sees the different ways of life around her and doesn't judge; instead she just lives as best as she can. I am so proud of her.

We live here, We learn here

We have been really impressed with both McAllister and London's teachers, and the school they attend in general, P.S. 234. I got to chaperone a field trip with London's class. Of the 8 chaperones, 5 were dads! One dad pointed out with a smirk that he was in Finance and happened to have some extra time on his hands. (The Wall Street woes have affected many of our friends and neighbors.)
They are doing an entire school unit on BRIDGES. 'Dana', London's teacher (who happens to look a lot like London in 20 years), took the kids on the Subway to Central Park to see real-life examples of bridges. So with the beautiful weather we walked all through the park and studied 3 examples of different types of bridges. The kids stopped and wrote and described what they saw at each bridge, along with a sketch. Then we ate our lunch underneath the trees. It was a blast to be with London. It's great to see their teachers using this great city to enhance their classroom curriculum. I feel like my kids are so lucky to be here.

Ranting and Raving, City-style

OK, for those dear friends and fam who think I'm living it up like Wayne Newton in The Greatest City on Earth, let me give you the down side so you can cherish your mini-vans, drive-thru dinners, lack of celebrity sightings, and over-abundance of honey-sweet manners with whomever you should meet.

Here in New York City:
1) When they say, 'Sure, you can bring your kids!' what they really mean is, 'Look at me, I value children, but in theory only! What I really mean is that they damn well better be locked up at home with their nanny!' (I've gotten burned three times by this.)
2) I'd been walking and subway-ing around the city since 9 am, when finally at 2pm, I realized the sky was perfectly blue and cloudless. A perfect day, but I'd been walking mostly in the shade.
3) McAllister hasn't learned to ride a bike without training wheels. We're getting him a skateboard instead.
4) I haven't been to Target in a month and I'm going through serious withdrawals.
5) Like many of you, I took my son to his soccer game on Saturday morning. Not like many of you, I stepped in dog poo-poo along the way. (Actually people are pretty good at curbing their dogs, except early mornings when no one is watching and moms are rushed for an 8am game.)
6) I haven't seen grass since last Wednesday. No, I'm serious. Do trees in planters count? Tons of those.
5) Daisy's preschool class is wonderful. Sweet teachers, great facility. Her room has no windows.

So there you have it. Life is good. But just remember, the grass is always greener on the other side. Or in this case, the concrete.

I heart TriBeCa

The neighborhood name 'TriBeCa' comes from the shortening 100+ years ago of the description, "TRIangle BElow CAnal Street". Since Manhattan slopes into a triangle-y bottom being bordered by the Hudson and East Rivers on each side, the streets down that far follow those angles as well. They stop being grid-like down here. It's the oldest settled part of Manhattan, with a crazy tumultous, hot history (think 'Gangs of New York'). So, Tribeca borders Canal Street to the North, Broadway/City Hall to the East, and then turns into the Financial District at Murray Street which cuts across the whole southern tip of Manhattan. 2 1/2 blocks into the Financial District from TriBeCa was where the World Trade Center stood. Still a big hole. Construction is everywhere. Positively everywhere. Poor McAllister asked, "When are they going to be done?" Alas, NYC is always under construction, there is always a scaffold to walk under or a sidewalk diverted. Especially around our 'hood as the neighborhood continues to recover from 9/11, and gets gentrified while old warehouses get turned into Loft condos like ours was. Our building was built in 1860 and was originally a saloon! As I look at the brick in our Living Room I wonder what those stones have seen. Maybe I shouldn't think about it. :)
Yesterday was a fantastic Block Party celebrating the 20-year Anniversary of the kids' school, P.S.234. This is a shot inside the school yard. It is an amazing building with great parents and lots of involvement. Its reputation is the reason we moved here. Here's London in her new school T-shirt with Jason.
And here also is Jason and Daisy on his skateboard, a picture I took while we were walking slowly back this beautiful Sunday evening from parking our car at the garage. It's about 6 blocks away from our apartment and we just get the kids' scooters out and dilly-dallied around the streets, window-shopping and people watching. In the background is the Woolworth Building, the prettiest, laciest building in Manhattan. It is 1 1/2 blocks from our home, and the stone work is so intricate and ornate, in places no one will ever really see. It's amazing the integrity with which the building was built! We love the crazy mix of everything, and the history all around is humbling. These buildings have seen so much, all we are is a momentary blip on their radar.