DC Replacement

This week we were supposed take a vacation to Washington DC. Of course, David had to go on a business trip the day we were to leave, so our vacation was canceled. There were 2 upsides: 1) despite 7.5 hours in a plane, he got home on Wednesday earlier that normal (11pm) and 2) we did fun things here at home. Sometimes I feel guilty for living in NYC and not taking full advantage of it. This week advantage has been taken.

1) Wednesday was the 50th anniversary of the Guggenheim (aka CooCooHi by Elijah) = free admission. Since we usually travel via subway, Elijah was excited to take a bus. I was excited to wait in a line that was half mile long. It was incredibly crowded, but we walked to the top of the circle ramp. Looking at the colorful modern paintings framed by the white railings was stunning. My favorite art piece was the huge, gold, beaded curtain at the top. My reaction was, “Mardi Gras has met classy, never thought it would happen.”

Elijah enjoying the CooCooHi

2) Thursday. A Star is Born. Elijah will be starring on PBS television in January or February…almost. Sony Wonder Technology Lab had a Tech for Tots class. I called last minute; they had one spot left and apparently, PBS was filming some sort of a show there. Now, the only exposure I have had to PBS is Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers, so I thought they were going to do a little clip about kids (about six 4 year olds) learning to use the computer since they were playing Elmo and Big Bird games. Afterward, I looked up the show that was filming there: “Frontline.” Much to my surprise, they report on topics such as “The Meth Epidemic” and “The Torture Question.” So, I’m not sure what kind of television program Elijah will appear on (I’m leaning towards the torture over the meth), but I do know that he got some significant air time since he and another boy spontaneously partnered up to learn together. The camera man was all over that! The boy’s mom later told me that her son had been dropping the F-bomb in the microphone. Another Frontline show is entitled “The Burden of Innocence.”
3) Friday. Potato Knish and cinnamon roll at the farmers’ market. Trip to the first and newly-opened Michael’s in Manhattan. Then to the library for Spanish books. I had a meeting with Elijah’s teacher this week. His two bad class habits are speaking English (although he understands Spanish perfectly) and only playing with the boys. Hence the library trip and the playdate with a girl planned for next week.
4) Saturday. My new all-time favorite museum is the MoMA. David’s work ID gets us in for free, but yesterday was our first visit. Then a date night. It’s been a long time. Yakitori Totto: Japanese food minus sushi. Extremely good. Then we walked home about 4 miles. David constantly comments that that’s one of his favorite things about NYC. Walking. Eat really good food until your eyeballs pop and then take a long walk home to alleviate the pain.

Claire enjoying Picasso at MoMA

5) The ideal Sunday: See a parade and the floating Jack-O-Lanterns in Central Park. Alas, today wasn’t ideal. David's life is on loan to a bank and the rest of us were too tired to brave it alone. Oh well, plenty of adventures to come…

Double-edged Democracy

Yesterday we got in the mail “The 2009 General Election Voter Guide” for New York City. Of course the front runner is Bloomberg, who has been mayor since 2002. But there are 8 other candidates for mayor; a sign that democracy is alive and well in our country. This is good. What is not so good is that there seems to be missing some sort of a screening process to weed out the crazies. The man pictured below is running. Occupational background: a retired letter carrier. His only experience is as the founder of the organization named on his hat. When asked what makes him the best candidate for this office, he quoted his hat.
This is what makes democracy hard: decisions, decisions.

True story.

Leah meets NYC

My little sister Leah had never been to the Big Apple, so she and my mom came for a visit this past week. We visited the usual sights.
Times Square:
The Ferris Wheel in Toys 'R' Us, Times Square.
David's favorite, Dylans' Candy Bar:
The Dinosaur Park:
Girls' night on Broadway. Wicked, which was incredible. Then a Ruben sandwich and cheesecake at Carnegie Deli.
Then, good old family time. In fact, as my mother said, the best part of the trip was how well Elijah and Ethan got along. They have had a rocky history, to say the least, with Elijah forever the aggressor. But this time they mostly closed themselves in Elijah's room to play. Elijah's most frequently uttered phrase was, "Ethan, you my friend, right?" And Ethan: "Of course."

There's nothing in the world better than family time! I'm never so weird and raw as when I'm with my clan!


Last night was the big "Latin Day" celebration at the church. David threatened to show-up everyone on the dance floor, and boy did he deliver! He showed them something, but nobody was quite sure what.

Little Claire has inherited her father's odd dancing habits. She twirls a few times, then squats into the following position for a minute or two and repeats the cycle.

Marguerite: notice the Halloween socks...Thanks!

Mothering Advice...because I'm so qualified

This morning I threw a baby shower for my good friend Ruth. I made a baby carriage fruit dish out of a watermelon and actually broke my arm from patting myself on the back so much. Even though my mom and lil’ sista Leah did most of the work and found the idea, I had no problem taking most of the credit (hehe). Anyway, at the shower I had everyone write down a piece of advice for Ruth. I didn’t get to do it b/c I was too busy fraternizing. But I’ve been thinking about it and this is what I would have written:

Don’t cry over spilled milk. I remember I learned this from my mom when I broke one of her valuable plates and she didn’t even blink an eye. I was absolutely amazed. “It was a mistake,” she said. Relearning this lesson has been hard as a mother. I often have to recite to myself, "It's no big deal." Becoming more lighthearted, just as a child, is a challenge, but that’s when I have the most fun. Throw dinner to the side and bark like a dog or crawl under the dirty table to escape the monsters. Then, when an accident happens, or even if it’s not an accident, but an impulsive and incredibly annoying habit (e.g, licking everything and everyone), let it roll away and just say, “Meow.”

PS. This strategy is also effective with the husband.

Roseola

We (and especially Claire) learned the following first-hand this past week:
“Roseola is an acute disease of infants and young children in which a high fever and skin rash occur.”
This is the punishment we received for putting Claire in daycare for the second time. She screamed the whole time, and with good reason; the Roseola virus was shacking up in her system, also because another kid pulled a good chunk of her hair out.
Childcare seemed the easiest option. I have taken on editing for another researcher, which I might be regretting. She was submitting an NIH grant application. 3 words: long, longer, and deadline. Also, ESL issues. So, life has been extra busy, plus the fact that I signed up to be a class parent with the illusion that it would be easy and that it would help me kiss up to Elijah’s teacher, thus making up for any trouble he might get himself into…bringing me to the following point. The picture below is the nice-version of the ugly face he gives most people these days, especially well-meaning strangers. The expression is usually accompanied by grunts and growls.