New York

After a short night we got up early (thank you Stellan) and got ready to head out to New York City. We were rushing around quite a bit since we didn't have a chance to pack the night before (extra Pictionary game....). We wanted to catch the express train into Penn Station so we didn't have to stop a dozen times on the way there. We missed the 9:45 so we decided to catch any train that we could at that point. That was before the parking. We drove around looking for a parking space. What a joke! I asked one of the cabbies that was camped out at the station where we could find parking. He said that they fill up by 7:30. What?!?! There is a several year waiting list for the pass spots. That's insane!! He suggested going to the Chinese restaurant at the corner to see if they would rent us a spot for the day. We ended up finding a place where we paid double what we would have in the regular lot. Oh well, at least we got a spot.

By the time we parked, walked back to the station and bought our tickets we caught the 10:45 express. Not too bad.

Uneventful but relaxing train ride. Got into Penn Station about an hour later.

Followed James around because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or where I was going. Hopped on the subway and headed toward Time Square.

Got off and headed back above ground. Oh my goodness. What a crazy city! It is unbelievable how big everything is in the city. You look up and all you see are buildings. Really tall buildings.

We walked toward the hotel which was only a few blocks away from Times Square. We had to haul our luggage through throngs of people but we managed just fine. We checked into our tiny hotel. Cute but tiny. After a quick freshening up we headed out for some exploring.

Our first stop was to get some street meat. So yummy. I had lamb on a pita and it was absolutely delicious!! Go figure, great food from a street vendor.

We took the subway to Battery Park in order to catch the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The line to catch the ferry was an hour. It was at that point that we decided that we couldn't make our dinner reservations so we rescheduled them for after the Broadway show. The boat ride was a bit cool, OK, downright cold, but so beautiful. It was an absolutely clear day so we had a great view.

We saw the Statue of Liberty but decided not to get off so we could have more time at Ellis Island. She was gorgeous. Huge.

We got off the ferry at Ellis Island and headed inside. It was so amazing to read about all the history and the lives that were changed right in that same building. I don't have any family that came into Ellis Island but it was still touching.

We headed back to mainland where we took the subway to Ground Zero. There is a ton of construction in the area and we didn't have a lot of time but we were still able to see where the two towers once stood. How sad. :(

Back on the Subway and back to our hotel. We grabbed a quick snack and then got ready for our Broadway show. Thankfully we were only a few blocks away because my high heeled boots look good but are definitely not too comfortable.

"Legally Blonde" is definitey geared to the female crowd but there were still quite a few guys. Kudos to James for so willingly going with me. This was all based on a recommendation by a friend who knows Broadway and has even done some acting (off Broadway but still in NY). I have to say, it was hilarious!!! It takes a lot to get me to laugh out loud and this show definitely made me laugh many times. I really enjoyed it. During intermission James and I headed into the lobbby for a bottle of water. I think it is a secret ploy to make the air really dry so people get extremely thirsty. Then they charge you $4 for a bottle of water. No, that's not a typo. Crazy.

After the show, a great first experience, we headed to DB Bistro for dinner. A little surprising when you head out of the theatre, knowing it's about 10 o'clock, and yet it is still bright as day. Good 'ole Broadway. What a lovely waste of energy.

Thankfully the restaurant was only a few blocks from the theatre (good planning James!). What a great little French restaurant. I have to say it was one of the best meals I have ever eaten. I had bacon wrapped salmon served with figs, raspberry butter sauce and two veggies that I'm not exactly sure of their identities but they were still delicious. A small bite of dessert and a pricey bill (or check as they say in the US) later and we were on our way. Midnight, not too bad.

We headed back to the tiny room and got ready for bed. When I laid down on the bed I noticed that the head of the bed definitely slanted downward. I felt the blood rushing to my head and my sinuses getting congested. I was tempted to call front desk but it was already 12:30 and I was in my pj's. We took off the covers and moved to the other end of the bed. Oh well, it still worked. A bit irritating though.

The next morning when we checked out I asked to speak to a manager. I told him about our mattress situation the night before. He explained that I should have called front desk. I replied that it was late and I was already in my pj's. He apologized and then proceeded to check us out. I then asked, "How are you going to make this up to us?". He explained that he couldn't reduce our rate for the night but he did offer a free night's stay at another time. Not bad. :)

We headed out for a quick breakfast (yummy omelet) and then walked down 5th Ave. We did a lot of window shopping but not much buying. I wanted to go into Sax Fifth Avenue and have a look around. I wasn't expecting such a grandiose store. It was huge!! We looked around on many of the floors but didn't do any real splurges.

We also went into Tiffany's. We didn't go to all 6 floors but I did look around a bit. I have never seen so much sparkle in my life. Just for fun I picked out a ring that I wanted to try on. The salesman came over and I pointed out which one I was interested in. He explained that they have a store policy that prohibits them from showing anything over $500, 000 on the counter. If we were interested we would have to book a special viewing room. No problem, I understand. (He was very friendly, not at all condescending.) He looked at the tag for the particular ring that I was interested in. Since it was tagged at a million dollars (gasp) he couldn't bring it out but he did lift it up higher for us to get a better look. The other one that I found quite attractive was worth 2.5 million. (double gasp) I finally found one for only $350, 000 and was able to try it on. Beautiful but totally not worth it.

We also went to Rockerfeller Centre where we met some cranberry farmers who were there for an Oceanspray display. Quite interesting, especially after seeing the two guys on tv. Watched the skaters and saw where the tree will soon be errected.

Went to Central Park. So beautiful. Amazing how there is such a huge and beautiful park in the middle of the concrete jungle. We walked around for quite some time before heading back to the subway/train. It was quite a task to manoeuvre through the busy city streets while carrying our luggage. We got where we needed to be just fine and headed home. The train was packed, standing room only, but we managed to get seats. What a long and exhausting day. We made it back in time to see the kids, have them sing happy birthday, eat a cupcake (thanks Allison) and put the kids to bed.

What a terrific way to spend my 30th birthday. Time for a new decade....

Games

My dear Allison came to Princeton to stay with the boys so James and I could go to New York City for my 30th birthday. How wonderful is that!!!
I picked her up at the train station on Thursday morning. The boys were ecstatic!! Their favourite place in the world. Well, they didn't really know that because they had never been but I know it was their favourite place. We headed home for a quick bit and a much needed nap (for all of us).
We had James' co-workers over for another games night. The guys were quite excited to have a rematch. They thought for sure that they would be able to beat us. What were they thinking?!?! We played a Dutch card game first. Easy to play and quite fun. Marije won. That's one for the girls. I don't have to win, just have to have a fellow gal pal win. :) Then we pulled out the Pictionary game. It was a bit more fair now, 3 on 3. The girls won the first game, by quite a landslide. The guys faces were somewhat crestfallen but they were determined to try again. It was late but not too late to prevent them from presenting another challenge. We were totally up to it. Olivier was shooting daggers at me from across the table but I could handle it. We played another game of Pictionary and the girls swept the board again. That's yet again. I wonder if they will ever learn....we're tough to beat. If anyone is up for the challenge, let me know!!
We were in bed by 1:00. Not too bad. :)

I'm back.....

I'm back, just for a bit tonight.
It has been very busy around here so I haven't been able to keep up with my blog. My mother in law was here for a long weekend and then Allison was here for a week. Lots to do, lots of fun.

Hmmm...I guess I have a lot to catch up on.....where to begin?

Tired....

So not impressed....
My darling husband was snoring last night (refer to past post....guess where he'll be sleeping if that continues...). I was in such a wonderful sleep but was rudely disrupted by his noises. I was roused enough to hear him but didn't want to move and hit him; I was enjoying the half asleep sensation. Then I heard it, the beep. I knew instantly what it was, I just hoped that I was wrong. At that point I decided to give him a swift jab in the ribs, hoping to end the snorts on the other side of the bed. I also decided to break the news that we had a job to do. The smoke detector batteries were low and it decided to give us fair warning. The rude little contraption didn't care that it was 4:00 in the morning.
James was not impressed and blamed me for the whole thing. (Still not sure how it's my fault...) We went into the hallway where he literally ripped the smoke detector from the ceiling. (Thankfully in once piece, I'd hate to see our security deposit diminish due to a smoke detector.) We brought it back into our room only to be dismayed when we heard the beep again but it wasn't coming from the detector in our hands. Shoot.
We headed back down the hallway where we heard the irritating beep coming from Jameson's room. The stupid detector (truly, I realize it's not stupid and very life-saving, we're just not on the best of terms right now) was right above Jameson crib, right above his head. Oh man! James tried to get it while trying to remain quiet due to the fact that Jameson was sleeping in the crib. He couldn't quite reach it so we got the step stool from the washroom. He was then able to rip the thing off the ceiling but it was still connected with wires. Darn it! I'm used to the battery operated type. Now what?!?! The last thing we wanted was to wake Jameson up. I headed back to our bedroom. James came shortly thereafter and we decided just to leave it. He managed to pull out the battery but it still beeped. Oh great.
Our dear little trooper Jameson slept through the entire ordeal. I'm sure I was finally able to fall asleep again some time after 5. So lovely that the boys woke up at 6:30. :(
Thankfully my mother in law watched the boys in the morning so James and I could get a bit more sleep. Still tired...
Darn it, I forgot to get new batteries. I hope it doesn't beep tonight....
Need sleep.....
Goodnight.

Ooops

"Mommy, I need to pee."
OK, that means we have a little bit of time, he usually gives us a bit of notice.
"Mommy, I really need to pee."
"OK honey, we'll be home shortly."
"Mommmeeeee, I neeeeed to peeeeee."
"Hang on, we'll be right there."
"Mommy, I just peed."
Darn it.
"Honey, it's OK, it was just an accident. Can you please tell us a bit earlier next time?"
Oh man....

Train Ride

We wanted to do something special with the boys while my mother in law was in town so we decided to head out to Allaire State Park to see the historic trains. It was overcast and rainy but we decided to make the hour trip and see what there was to do. My mother in law realized she forgot to wear her running shoes, she was wearing her heels. Unfortunately she didn't realize this until we were already at the park. Uh oh.

When we got there it was barely sprinkling. We bought our tickets and waited for the 12 o'clock departure. We were the only people waiting. In fact, we were the only people on the train. A bit lonely but a great way to get a personalized train ride. Our tour guide was very friendly and extremely informative. He said that Thomas the Tank Engine was the best thing to ever happen to railroads to re-ignite the interest in young kids. The boys loved it. We were able to walk around 2 different train cars and even go into the caboose and engine. They were ecstatic. The tour guide even let Jameson switch the tracks. So thrilling.

It was definitely a trip well worth it. I'm sure it's a place we will be visiting again during our time here.

Sandbox Park

I took the kids to the sandbox park, even though it is quite barren these days (thanks to whoever threw out all the toys). I brought their own toys so they would have something to play with. As soon as we got to the park there was a kid who made a bee-line for our toys. I have no problem sharing our toys, it's just that the boys didn't even have a chance to warm up to the park before there was a kid who was already in their faces. The little boy took a car that Jameson was wanting to play with. Not a problem, it was a great learning opportunity. The only problem was that the boy snatched it from Jameson. His mother was sitting on the other side of the sand box telling her son to give the toy back. Uh yeah, a lot of help that does from way over there. Jameson let the boy have the toy which he promptly took with him back to the other side of the sandbox. Nice.
A short while later a nanny/au pair (I have no idea the difference between the two) came with a boy about Jameson's age. She let him play in the sand while she sat on the side and clipped her nails into the sand box. DISGUSTING!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I wanted to puke! After she clipped her nails she proceeded to talk on her cell phone, endlessly. In the meantime the kid kept playing, pretty much unsupervised. What a great way to make a living?! You get to "watch" someone else's kids in a new country and you get paid to do it, all the while spending inordinate amounts of time on your cell phone. Nice.
The toy-snatching boy came back for more toys, this time yanking a toy out of Jameson's hand. Again, the mother tried to discipline from afar off but to no avail. Jameson reluctantly handed the toy over. So proud. :)
Jameson needed to pee but there was no washroom so we headed out onto the trail for him to pee. He looked for a hole in the tree but there was none so he became quite upset. I finally convinced him to pee by telling him to make the leaves at the bottom of the tree dance. Whatever works. :)
We went back to the sandbox, collected our toys from the various kids who borrowed them and then headed out. I much preferred the community toys; it definitely kept my van cleaner. :)