Snowed In

The infamous "blizzard" of aught 10 swept in today with a gusto, dropping an unbelievable several inches of snow within hours!  Everything in NYC shut down last night until further notice, in mere anticipation of this unlivable amount of white stuff.  Being the seasoned Utahns that we are, first, we laughed.  Then, we laughed more heartily.  Then, we put on our boots and went out to play...

The Magic Box

So David's parents gave us an awesome portable DVD player for Christmas, and were kind enough to send it before we flew to Utah for the break so we could use it during the first flight.  

Now, like most parents, I cringe at the thought of my toddler engaging in more than a brief stint of educational TV per day.  I suffer from a serious guilt complex on days when I'm sick and have to plop Rhys in front of back to back episodes of Sesame Street and Super Why just so I can find time to puke.  But when it comes to a 6 hour plane ride across the country, smack dab in the middle of what would usually be nap time, I now say with a clear and happy conscience, "Bring on the virtual babysitter!!"

This is about 4 hours in...way past nap time.  THE most enjoyable flights we've had since Rhys was born.  Way to make frequent visits more likely, G & G Mason!

Miracle on 34th Street...sort of

On Thursday, David decided to take the morning off so we could take Rhys to see the Macy's Santa together.  We went fully expecting the following experience:

I'm not saying we wouldn't have gotten a big kick out of it going that way...but since it was Rhys's first experience with all things Santa, it was probably fortunate that it went something more like this (I liked the 70's feel of this filter- for some reason 70's photos always remind me of my family's old photo albums and my first Christmases):

Very cool window displays telling the story of Miracle on 34th Street

8 flights up an actual wooden escalator

A "train ride" to the North Pole...the ground rumbles underneath as you walk through ...very cool

A walk through the village- the path was lined with awesome displays and friendly elves, animals, toys, train sets, lighted trees and Giant Nutcrackers.

 

As chance would have it, Lemondrop the elf turned out to be a girl from my high school

There was so much to see it actually felt a little like Disneyland.  By the time we got to Santa's house, Rhys was dealing with a wee bit of sensory overload, hence the slack-jawed stare.  But he loved Santa's jingle bells and wants to show us this picture several times a day so I think the overall impression was a good one.

I could have handled Santa being a bit more jolly, but they did make up for it by making sure everyone had a couple minutes of one on one time with him- literally.  You are the only people in the room with him (they lead you through a windy "forest" before you get to his house...in reality they're taking each group down separate paths to different Santas...pure genius!)  and they take a professional shot, but are super cool about taking a shot for you with your own camera too.

This was seriously one of THE best New York experiences we've had to date.  Which if you know anything about the way our experiences here usually end up, you'll realize this truly was a Christmas miracle.  Macy's is also decorated beautifully which really got us in the mood for the season.  AND I was able to get this cool shot outside to put on our Christmas card this year. 

Merry Christmas, every one!

18 Months Old!

A quick Rhys update:

• He made friends with a random little girl at the playground last week.  This was the first time he's shown interest in a kid his own age (he normally only cares about playing with older kids).  She looked exactly like Priya, our friends Joe and Bree's little girl, so maybe that helped.  Her name was Izzy and he followed her around for half an hour, showing her fun things to do and trying to impress her with his climbing and sliding abilities.  At one point she started to run off and he ran after her, and gave her a hug when she stopped.  They then took off together and proceeded to fall down at exactly the same time.  They both handled it like champs, got up, brushed themselves off, and continued playing.  I was so proud of him for being so friendly, fun, sweet, and tough all at the same time.
• For some unexplainable reason, he started hating swings over the summer- wouldn't go anywhere near one and would whine and struggle if I tried to just put him in.  He used to LOVE swings so I have been really sad about it.  But the strike is finally over- he just decided to try it again this week and loves it just as much as ever- hooray!

• He said "Hi" and "Bye" to strangers while waving for the first time last week.  He's only just waved quietly in the past.
• He's been an absolute angel lately.  When he's not obeying, I ask him to put on his "listening ears."  He immediately perks up, grabs his ears, and listens to my request and (usually) complies right away.  He gives us lots of unsolicited hugs and kisses, loves to help with chores and cleaning up, and eats what we eat with very few complaints.  I've been ending the day feeling sad to see him go to bed!
• He can make just about any animal sound there is, can point to most of his body parts, and can say eye, nose, ear, and knee.  He can also point to himself and say his own name now.  Yesterday, he said Paul, Amy (memee) and 'lijah to each of them over the phone, and then we looked at a picture of David's family and he said Grandpa, Paul, Scott, Matt, Ryan, and Sarah, and then made up words for Sharon, Erin and Grandma.  For some reason though, he insists on calling me daddy even though he can totally say mommy.  If he doesn't start pretty soon, I told him I going to call him Veronica.
  
• He gave up his first nap a few weeks ago, but transitioned seamlessly to an hour of quiet time in his crib.  He helps me put the toys in beforehand and clean them up afterward; he plays and has fun all by himself and would keep going for longer if I let him; and he has even asked to have quiet time again later in the day several times!
  
• He loves to watch movies.  He will watch just about any full length Disney movie without getting bored.  Tarzan and Monster's INC are his favorites.  I only let him watch one or two a week- but I wish I could bring myself to let him watch more because he will sit on my lap and snuggle the whole time- plus, can any kid get too much Disney indoctrination?!
• He has the cutest personality.  He loves being silly (as illustrated by the Happy Meal Hat below), but he also seems to understand being "cool."  We'll find him putting on a cool hat or his sunglasses and then strutting around like he's the best thing since sliced bread

• He's been saying please with a big cheesy grin when he wants something for a couple of months now, but now he's learned to say thank you when he gets it.  That makes me feel really happy.
• He's wonderful at folding his arms and being quiet during prayers, and even reminds us to say them sometimes.
• He's obsessed with monkeys (after seeing Tarzan).  He loves to make monkey noises and play with his monkey stuffed animals.  Grandma Barbara just sent him a baby chimp as a present and he has to sleep with it now.  So naturally, he's going to be a monkey for Halloween. (pictures to come!)
  

Back in the City

We've been back in NYC for almost 2 months and I need to catch up on all the fun we've been having.

David turned 30 at the beginning of September and I surprised him with tickets to Phantom since he'd never seen it live before. It was really good- and the cast was actually operatically trained! I couldn't have been happier. I grew up listening to the original cast and saw live performances in S.F. and London when it was still in its heyday- but it always bothered me that a singer with a girlish, lilting, high-pitched voice could out-sing an actual Diva. Sorry Sarah Brightman fans-- the chick can hit a mean high E and has gotten a lot better over the years, but let's face it...she more often than not sounds like a caterwauling tabby.

Anyhoo- the new guy playing the Phantom (just replaced the previous long-running one) was AMAZING! The chandelier crash was disappointing- it kind of halted and jerked slowly down instead of a dramatic plunge, and for some reason both David and I remember glass crashing sound effects- but not in this performance. All in all though- it was a great evening.

It's on the most adorable little theater district street, and Hamlet was playing next door starring Jude Law...it made us giggle.

The next day, we celebrated David's birthday as a family with a trip to Central Park Zoo.  It's small, but has some great exhibits including penguins, sea lions, a snow leopard, 2 polar bears in a gigantic habitat, and a great little children's petting zoo.  Rhys got "attacked" by the snow leopard who leaped at the glass while Rhys's nose was pressed up against it.  It made the crowd scream, but do you think our little daredevil was shaken?  He just kept right on pointing and babbling about the "kitty."  I got some great shots, but unfortunately they are all from my new Nikon and have to be converted first, which I don't have time for.  But we went back a couple weeks ago with some friends, so these will give you the idea:

Our apartment is also way better this year.  We had to give up our previous one for the summer because they don't allow subletting, but it ended up working out great.  We got the exact same layout, two floors higher, which puts us just above the top of the building behind us.  This means MORE LIGHT and a bit of a view!  Hooray!  It also has better floors and a linen closet in the bathroom.  I literally had tears spring to my eyes when I realized I didn't have to keep our towels in the bedroom drawers anymore.  Oh- simple joys!

Here's a great shot of our "view"

More Long Division

In a comment on my previous post, Long Division, my friend Wendy brought up some good points that I would like to talk about. This is mostly intended to be a response to Wendy, but since it’s a bit too long for the comments section (and since I'd also like to post a letter my sister recently received from the school district I mentioned) I’m posting it here-- so if it interests you, please read on! However I do suggest you first get the context by reading my original post, Wendy’s comment in response to it, and the facts behind the lesson plan controversy (including PDF’s of the lesson plans in their entirety) at factcheck.org.

And if you're sick to death of my political banter, instead of clicking "read more," click here to watch a cute video that will make your day ;)

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Check out my new blog!

One of the questions I like least in my daily life is "What's for dinner?"  I have serious issues when it comes to being the CEO of my family's day to day menus.  The hardest part about feeling this way is that I absolutely LOVE to eat.  If having a great meal every day wasn't so darn important to me, I could slap together just any old tasteless mess from a box and life would be so much simpler.  But that's just not the case.  I have to have flavor!  I have to have nutrition and variety!  I have to be able to prepare it in a kitchen the size of a coat closet!  And I have to have all this without too much mental exertion!

That's a pretty tall order when you're staring down the barrel of a blank shopping list.  And thus we come to the heart of the matter: My answer to "What's for dinner?" is "I really have no blankity-blank idea."  I've tried searching the recipe sites for ideas.  I've tried reading other people's recipe blogs.  But the land of virtual menu planning proves to be much too vast and overwhelming for this little lost soul.  I need something more focused.  I need something from people like me who shrink from the idea of making meals containing 30 obscure ingredients and require kitchen gadgets you'd have to go to a Pampered Chef party to acquire.

So as necessity is the mother of invention, in the midst of this culinary stymie an idea has been born, the ingredients purchased and mixed, and a solution baked to perfection.  I have started a new blog that invites desperate meal-makers within the sound of my voice to share dinner ideas and meal plans with each other (and thus by gloriously brilliant default-- with me)!

I now invite any of you who have not already been taken in by this wonderfully self-serving plan of mine, to join with the rest of us for the sake of improving our collectively impoverished palettes.  And so, without further adieu, I give you... 

Pimp My Dinner Plate!