The Real NYC

The choice was either for Pop to come down here for a visit or for us to make the trek to NY. The better choice is always to see more people at a time but having to travel solo with two little ones wasn't really on my agenda. A JetBlue sale and a little motivation from a friend, not to mention seeing family, pushed me to take the plunge. I have done a lot of things even in the past nine months that I didn't think I could do. And I did them anyway. Who am I to say no because I'm fearful, unsure or just not in the mood? That's not me. That's why I took a 3 1/2 year old and 8 month old on a plane by myself. Eeek!

We talked for weeks about this trip to NY. Nathan is getting good at naming things and places and he really wanted to see NYC. I introduced the idea of seeing a real live space shuttle and he was over the moon with excitement. I was too. But we had to get through the weeks before the trip.

Our lives are BUSY! It all happened at once - Great Wolf Lodge, birthdays, making dinner for a friend with a new baby, Pumpkin Patch Trip with school, hair appointment, Girls Night Out, Vendor Night with Uppercase Living AND hosting a baby shower the Saturday morning we were leaving for NY. Looking back at that week I don't know how we did it all. No wonder I'm still exhausted. When it rains it pours. It's true. But I knew the NY trip was the pay off. Well, not the travel part but being there anyway.

Leo came into the airport with us. We checked the bag, got our tickets and said our goodbyes. I was worried earlier in the day because the flight was already delayed in the early afternoon. The time went back and forth and eventually went back to its original time only to be delayed last minute due to a clogged toilet. Awesome. Finally we board. I picked seats all the way in the back to be away from people, close to a bathroom and for privacy for nursing. In theory this is genius. If only the clogged toilet wasn't the one at the back of the plane. I prayed there would be no need for a bathroom trip anyway. With a baby strapped to me and the other little boy just anxious to be there already, it was a lot to juggle. We settle into our seats, we FINALLY take off and find something to watch (Thank you DirectTV and JetBlue!) and I hear "I have to go potty." No, please. Anything but that!

I regretfully wake Benny in the process of getting up as we trudge up the aisle in a very shaky plane to find the bathroom. You know how it's tough for one person to use a toilet in an airplane? It's, like, really, really, rough for three. Nathan does his business and thankfully I don't have to do much but hold onto Benny and assist in hand washing and flushing in a cramped and unfamiliar environment. Back to our seats we go.

When we were landing, Nathan kept looking out the window to see the lights. I wished it was daylight so he could take it all in. I wonder if he really would have been able to identify the place just from seeing the familiar buildings. He took my word for it anyway and exclaimed, "It's the real New York City!" The passengers around us were amused by his wonder.

We land and Uncle Timmy finds us. Luggage comes, we find Pop (in his big new truck) and happily we head towards Valley Cottage. If only the story could have ended with a gentle transaction of kids to beds. Not. Though it was getting late, (almost) everyone was up and wanting to see us. Half sleepy boys were not amused. They both clung to me. One cried. The other followed suit. It was over. I rushed them upstairs to get PJ's on and into bed but it was too late. The chaos started and I was lost. Pop, JoJo, Uncle Joey and Tim tried to help. PJ's and diapers were being tossed. I called Leo to help with Nathan's cries of "I want Daddy" only to have the phone thrown and me explaining over the noise that I had to go. "I can't hear you and I don't know what's going on!" (Sorry for waking you Aunt Jen!) Finally, peace was restored when everyone was dressed and the promise of bed was on the horizon. It helped that Nathan was offered toys and Benny a boob. We all slept in one bed and survived the night. I just kept thinking - we're just tired. We just need some rest.

The rest of the time was fine and less dramatic by far. Sunday, people were in and out and we enjoyed all the goodness that NY food has to offer. Big sandwiches, apples pies, and fresh ravioli from Arthur Avenue. Yay carbs!

Monday we rose early to go to NYC. Greg, Danielle and Lily joined us for a visit to the Intrepid - and more importantly - the space shuttle, Enterprise. Nathan, by the way, is very into space. He has planets all over his room, books in his book case and for Halloween he will be an astronaut of course. This was a perfect destination for our little adventurer. After we spent time there (for free - thank you Cousin Kristen for the family pass from the library!) we went back to Pop's truck where the kids jumped around in the bed of the truck for a while and ate lunch. All three of them played with the rope and romped around like it was the best new hang out around. It's like giving a kid a box. So simple yet so fascinating!

Tuesday we hung around to catch up on naps and then went apple picking at Dr. Davies. I hope Pop and JoJo wanted all those apples. We could only take a few home! Still, Nathan is an outdoorsy kid and natural tree-climber so this was another perfect thing to do. We had a nice warm afternoon for it. We followed this up with a visit to the Nanuet Library where my Nannie and Aunt Ruth have some quilts up on display. If you have been to my house you have seen, and maybe even slept under, one of these beauties. They are so talented.

Wednesday was our day of departure but having such a late flight we packed in another day. The boys spent time at Grandpa Trucks while I went out for a while on my own. Benny was asleep in Grandpa's arms and Nathan was happily gobbling down candy - sure signs they had a good time!

The late flight (9:50p!) was one I dreaded all day. Regular afternoon naps didn't happen and we were all on the cranky side. But we made it. When we walked to the gate, we boarded right away. Despite Nathan's constant need to pee (we mastered this three person phone-booth style circus already), the flight wasn't too painful. People are so nice when you have small children. Especially sleeping ones. A woman in front of me asked how I would get them out of the plane. I wasn't sure. If only I could have carried them both without waking them. But the promise of Daddy on the other end was good motivation and keep Nathan focused (after a little freak out getting off the plane - right in the aisle. Fun times.). What can I say? You can't dwell on the bad stuff. We made it home in one piece and it was worth the ride. Every time I do something I wasn't sure I would get through I feel stronger, better prepared and like an all-around Super Mom. But really, life just moves forward. If you roll with the punches and hang on for the ride, you get to where you're going eventually. Having a big smile on when you get there fools everyone into thinking it was a piece of cake!

Benny Boy on the move

Can you tell I'm catching up with my blog posts?

Let me quickly tell you about Benny. That kid is something else. He is about to get up and go. He seemed to be sitting up on his on early. And then  the rest followed at lightening speed. He's not special or gifted - he's just a baby who is learning and moving at the pace they are supposed to. But still - it feels like he is this amazing being doing amazing things. As if I've never seen it before. Because it's so cool! One day he's just a cute little thing waving all his limbs and looking around. The next he is using his new muscles to sit up, lean over, push, roll, and now - crawl! All the explore his world with excitement.

And that kids' smile. . . He just loves his mama. He's just starting to say it now too. But his DaDa. Well, he was saying that a while ago. When we came back from a few days in NY he saw his daddy and his face lit up. He was clawing his way towards Leo as if it had been weeks since they had seen each other.

I don't know why Gerber doesn't call. Everyone just loves his eyes. Seriously, they are gorgeous. We are just so in love with our Benny Boy!

Pajama Days

When summer changed to fall this year a lot of other things changed too. But like the seasons, it just kinda crept up on me - even though I knew the change was coming. Nathan started preschool and for many reasons we were all so excited. And he loves it! He practically pulls us out the door when we are dressed and ready to go. But the start of the school is really, the start of school . . . . forever. When kids start school, each year there are more days and longer days when they are out and about in the world, spending less time at home, in pajamas, hanging out with mommy.

This of course is bittersweet. I'm glad to be able to stop and take note of it now. It will make the long non-school days more enjoyable when I think about how we won't have them forever. Nathan will be in Kindergarten, then grade school. Then Benny will be off in the world before I know it. I will have lots of time for other stuff (yay!) but I know will miss these days too. I just have to remember that while I'm in it. Or it will pass you by and don't even realize what you missed.

I have a lot of friends who I get together with regularly and it seems the change in season and school year hit them too. They have kids the same age but on different schedules than us. Suddenly we went from seeing each other several times a week, whenever we wanted, to just once every few. Our kids don't play together as much. People are busy. Things just changed. But I know they are like me and want to freeze time just a little bit. Despite all the things to do they have all taken a step back and said "we still need our pajama days." It's true. We need a day or two per week where we just hang around the house. Make a fort, even if it's not raining, bake cookies, play games, do whatever together in our pajamas. These are good days that are passing even as I type!

Thanks to my friends for that much needed perspective I make sure to make time for pajama days and enjoy them as much as we can. I hate to tell my kids that after a certain age, they just don't come as often.

Great Wolf

This year has been a busy one on many fronts. New baby, deck project, the start of pre-school, etc. We needed a break as a family and Great Wolf Lodge seemed like a good escape. It's a resort type place with a huge indoor water park, hotel and restaurant included on the premises. Once you are inside the place, it's easy to forget you are right behind a strip mall somewhere in North Carolina. You feel like you are truly away.

The hotel part of the place is well done with its' lodgy feeling. There are stuffed animal everywhere, antler chandeliers and a large fireplace. And actually, it almost doesn't match the water park side of the place. But they make it work. There are tons of little treasures to find in the place, especially if you do the MagiQuest game. To participate, you purchase a "magic wand" that makes picture frames come to life, treasure chests open, and stuffed racoons sing and swing from the ceiling. (This last one we saw in person and it got old quick. Cute but OMG please tell that child to put their wand away so we can eat in peace!) Nathan was too young for the game, but I can see how he would have a ball with it when he and Benny are old enough to follow clues and solve puzzles. Anyhow, there is lots to do there aside from the obvious. There is an arcade (Nathan's favorite), Cub Club (a crafty place for kids) and some other kitschy things all in the name of kids. It's a bit of a tourist trap in that all the extras are very much extras on the wallet.  A cool thing is the bracelets that you have to wear to show you are a guest there. The adults have ones that open your hotel room and add purchase items with the slide of your wrist. Nathan was excited to show this off to school to show where we went and wore it for about two weeks straight. He said he wanted to wear it until we went to Great "Woof" again someday. The food options are expensive and not the best quality. But people go for the slides!

The water park portion is huge, well-maintained and fun! There are tons of different pools and slides to enjoy, a giant bucket that dumps 1,000 tons of water every so often and lots of place to sit and people watch. There are four giant slides that technically Nathan is too small to ride, but Leo and Nathan were able to get on one anyway (I still don't get how they slipped through!) and it happened to be the least tame. In fact it was pretty darn wild. I went on it myself and can't believe how Nathan did it. I think we may have created a dare-devil. He truly loved it and wanted more. You can see a video of it here (not our video but same ride.) Leo and I wished we could have gone off to ride these together but having two little ones, there was certainly no escape for us. We agreed this would be a fun trip in the future with other families.

The Lodge was in Concord, a short distance from Charlotte. Leo had never been and as much fun as the water park is, you can only take so much. So off we went to explore a new city. There is a kids museum in Charlotte that was close to a brew pub that looked good. All parties won. The museum was great. Being a Friday only a few hours before close, we practically had the place to ourselves. With an area for little kids to play and experiment, a small aquarium and a place to touch living creatures this place was a good find. And a steal - we got in with our Life and Science Membership. Score! The restaurant we went to was awesome too. Nice wait staff, excellent food and a small flight of their craft brews to sample. It was worth the trip, even though we had hellish traffic getting back to The Lodge.

Since we went on a Thursday, the place was pretty quiet. By the time we left Saturday morning, the place was packed and crawling with families. We were very happy to not be there with so many people. I stay away from crowd where I can help it. It's a good strategy if you ever go.

Final thoughts: good family vacation. For us the location was perfect and the activities were great too (and will be even better as the boys grow). The price if the place is steep but we were able to make it work. And for a first family vacation, of course, the memories are priceless.