NYC Ideas

Wow! So everyone thinks that not only should I go to NYC with Ryan on his next trip, but we should take Sydney as well. I really do think she'd enjoy it, even if she and I are within inches of strangling each other by the end of the week.

Hopefully we'll be able to pull it off financially. After all, we've been saving our credit card points so that we could cash them in for plane tickets for our long-awaited trip to Europe next summer. Unfortunately, for many reasons, that trip will not be happening so we might as well use them for this trip. And the hotel will be free since Ryan's work will be picking up the tab on that one. So, really, food and entertainment will be our only expenses.

So now I need a list of things she and I can do together. I previously mentioned that she'd most likely enjoy skating at Rockefeller Center, going to FAO Schwartz and the American Girl Doll store and seeing the animals at the Central Park Zoo. She'd also love seeing the castle in Central Park.

Any other ideas for a 4 1/2 year old girl?

To Go or Not to Go

Ryan's job has him traveling to NYC for a week at a time every couple of months or so. He's been twice now and although I know he is working pretty much non-stop the entire time he's there, I can't help but get a little jealous. I've been to NYC several times and I love it there. I love the hustle and bustle of the streets. I love the tranquility of Central Park. I love trying out the various foods offered by the street vendors. I love the endless possibilities for entertainment.

He'll probably be going back in January and I'm trying to decide whether I should join him or not. If I go, then Sydney will have to miss a week of school so that she and Liam can stay with my parents out in the 'burbs. Of course, we could always take her with us. After all, she's in pre-school and it's not like missing a week will go on any kind of attendance record. Plus, she's never been on a plane before and I think she'd love NYC: ice skating in Rockefeller Center, FAO Schwartz, the American Girl Doll store, Central Park Zoo and let's not forget, we may even see snow if we go in January. She's only seen snow once and I doubt she remembers it.

What do you think? Should I go along? Should we take Sydney, too?

Horrible Mom

I'm a horrible mom. Just horrible. Poor Liam is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to birthday party planning.

His first birthday is Friday (can you believe he's already one?!?) and we're just now pulling all the party plans together. And sadly, we're only putting about a third of the effort we put into Sydney's first birthday into Liam's big day.

For Sydney's first b-day, we held a crawfish boil and invited about 30 people to join us in the celebration. Ryan labored over the crawfish (several hours of prep and cook time) and I made the side dishes, made a homemade birthday cake and hung decorations everywhere. We had everything planned down to the last detail a good three weeks before the event. Everything went off without a hitch, except that the cake I made melted in the humidity and looked absolutely horrible, hence my vow to never make another birthday cake as long as I lived.

For Liam's first b-day, we're having barbecue (since crawfish are out of season) and inviting about 20 people to join us. Ryan is going to be buying the already prepared barbecue from a local restaurant and I'm going to make the sides. I ordered Liam's cupcake-cake today and while I have balloons to hang for decoration, I have no "goody bags" prepared for our tiny guests. And I'm not going to prepare goody bags, either, because if their parents are like me, they don't want a bag full of trinkety crap to bring home from yet another party.

I feel so bad that we're not putting in as much effort into Liam's party. I wonder if it's truly "second child syndrome" or if we've just gotten lazy over the past few years.

Probably a little bit of both.

I'm a Brownie!

I'm totally copping out of the challenge today, but I'm tired and have nothing profound to say (like I have anything profound to say, right?), so I'll leave you with the following:

You Are a Brownie

Decadent and intense, you aren't for the weakhearted. Those who can deal with your strong flavor find out how sweet you really are.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

What kind of dessert are you?

Happiness

OK, I'm back to my happy self. Ryan got home late last night and for the first time in a week, I finally slept well. Amazing how a good night's sleep (and a warm body sleeping next to you) can improve your mood!

And, my best friend from high school got married this evening. The ceremony was lovely and she looked absolutely amazing in her wedding dress. Sydney came with us to the ceremony and oohed and aahed over the dresses and flowers. She is such a little girl. I can already see her planning her own wedding in her head.

The reception was lots of fun, too. Liam joined us for some yummy food (the boy is a bottomless pit, I tell you) and delicious cake. At least the groom's cake was yummy. It was chocolate so of course that's the one I had to try. Sydney seemed to enjoy the bride's cake so I'm assuming it was just as scrumptious.

So congrats to my friend, Amanda. All your planning paid off. Your day turned out beautifully, just as you deserved. We wish you all the happiness in the world. (Not that you'll actually read this post any time soon since you're off on your honeymoon) :) But still, congrats!

Sadness

I think sadness has been the dominant emotion in my life the last few days. It doesn't help that Ryan is in NYC and I am lonely with very few adults to to talk to. I guess I never realized how much I needed the couple of hours in between Ryan getting home from work and the kids going to bed. It's my decompression time. We eat dinner together and discuss our days and then he gives the kids their baths while I clean up the dinner dishes. I've been doing it all alone with only a 30 minute conversation with Ryan each evening after the kids go to bed. I can't wait for him to come home tonight.

Another source of sadness is this little girl. Baby Grace has been the lead story every evening on the local news; I really should know better than to watch the news before I go to bed. I can't stand hearing about children getting hurt.

My last source of sadness is something Sydney said to me yesterday. She's gotten the hang of what it means to have her feelings hurt and how to hurt other people's feelings. When Ryan called on Tuesday, she refused to talk to him even when I told her it was hurting his feelings. And yesterday, after two timeouts (for arguing) and an open-ended moratorium on desserts since she has not been eating her lunch at school, she told me, "You're not invited to my birthday party. Only Daddy can come."

Oomph. I got hit with the four year old's equivalent to, "I hate you." I'm sure it's just the tip of the iceberg and it is making me totally dread her teenage years. I'm sensing that we've a got a rocky 14 years ahead of us. Yikes.

Anyway, Liam and I hosted playgroup today and I got in a good two hours of adult interaction (oh, and he got to interact with some other babies, too) so I'm feeling a bit better. Can you imagine how ecstatic I'm going to be when Ryan gets home late this evening?

NaBloPoMo, Men Who Cook, and Liam

Today is the first day of NaBloPoMo and I decided to give it a whirl this year. In case you haven't heard, NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month, which means I will (attempt to) post every day in November. I can't promise that every post will be interesting, but I'm going to give it a shot.

Today is also National Men Make Dinner Day. Too bad Ryan is in NYC this week, otherwise I could totally get into this. I'd make Liam do it, but considering his idea of a meal is whatever he can pick up off the rug, I think I'll pass.

Speaking of Liam, he now has two teeth. Two, tiny teeth. And a ton of drool. I can't wait for those other 14 to come in. I see lots of baby acetaminophen and teething tablets in our future.

We think he's also said his first word. Of course it wasn't "mama" and it wasn't even "dada." His first word was "up." He says "up" for everything: when he wants to be picked up, when he wants more food, when he wants the toy Sydney is playing with, etc. I was a little sad that his first word wasn't "mama", but at least it wasn't "dada." Sorry, Ryan, but Sydney said "dada" before "mama" and it's MY turn this time around.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get into the groove of this NaBloPoMo thing as the month goes on....stay tuned!