Ghosts and Goblins, Oh My!

Finally...the day we'd been waiting for all month long! And I have to say, it was still kind of fun even though it felt like the weekend had already come and gone and taken Halloween with it. But no. In fact, this year we actually made it out for some real trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. It was a cool evening but not bad, so the costumes weren't totally hidden beneath winter coats. Elisa reprised her role as a pirate and we teamed up with friends Oliver, Birdie, and Leonardo to take the houses by storm. The kids definitely got into it after just a few practice runs and all was going well until we ran into a few of the older kids out making their presence known. A few had on creepy masks and other scary costumes that sent Elisa over the edge. She was not a fan of masks, we found out. I managed to move her along and keep her out of their way for the most part, but her tense face and stiffened limbs showed me she was definitely scared. Poor thing. I suppose the spookier side of Halloween is a bit much still for a three year old. But nevertheless, we had a good time with friends going up 45th Street and back down 46th Street. And even though she started the evening by asking to eat her candy after each new house, she figured out pretty quickly that you just can't keep up. I was especially surprised that she preferred pretzels to chocolate. For shame! Of course, within the hour, Elisa was announcing she wanted to go home and we were able to relax a bit with friends, order pizza and then call it an early night. Carolina was a doll throughout and didn't mind taking a bottle on the go. I swear this kid spoils me. Handing out candy at our friends' house was a great chance to see just how much candy it takes to sustain the hordes who stop by. We were out of goodies before 7:30 p.m.! Even though the Gardens get hit pretty hard with droves of trick-or-treaters, it's still probably the best place to enjoy it in this city. There's a distinct feeling that this is the best part of living in NYC, within a real community. It's what reminds me how great Sunnyside is, and how lucky I am to raise my kids here. And even though we kind of phoned it in on the costume this year, I look forward to raising the bar with two trick-or-treaters next year. Maybe I can find a hers-and-hers theme that works or just make them big/mini versions. Hmmmmm...either way, I'll be hoping that they like dressing up and tromping around in the dark as much as I did as a kid. And I might have to borrow from my dad and bring a thermos with spiked cider in it next year. Now there's a reason to trick-or-treat!

And it's not even Halloween...yet

I'm glad Halloween is almost here because man, I'm tired of all this fun. On Friday we kicked off the weekend with a party at Elisa's preschool, Amazing Magic Beans. I've written briefly before about how much I like the school, and how well Elisa is doing there. It's been a wonderful change for both of us and getting to see her hang out there for a bit was cool. At one point she asked me, "Mom, are you going to stay?" I think she got a little shy being with us, but we still had fun icing cupcakes, coloring Halloween pictures and taking a turn with the homemade piñata. Her "princess pirate" costume was low on effort (I'm still not feeling too inspired about the whole dress up thing), but I think it achieved its goal. And hey, she kept the hat on and the sword in her belt. I say victory all around!

By mid-day Saturday, the weather had turned unseasonably cold and snowy. Yes, SNOWY. I couldn't believe my eyes looking out the window. It was a gusty, wet snow with lots of beauty, but little sticking power. Elisa wanted to go for a walk in it and so Nacho obliged. They headed to the playground at P.S. 150 where I think they were pretty much on their own. A nice break in this housebound weekend and Elisa loved telling me all about the snowman she made.

Later that night we had another Halloween/Birthday party to attend in honor of Zara's third birthday. Her mom Tania always has the most creative party themes and costumes and she didn't disappoint this year with an International/UN Delegate party for the kids. Elisa opted for a more worldly costume and went as a futbol player from the Spanish national team. Another low key costume from this lazy momma, but hey, it was snowing out and we walked 8 blocks in the slush to get there. Can I just say I'm sooooo happy it wasn't actually Halloween. That weather sucked. But we managed to get there fast and let our socks dry as the party carried us away. I didn't see much of Elisa once we arrived, and Carolina was a total party girl hanging out in her car seat in the corner. It was the perfect hands-off affair. Nacho and I both managed to talk and mingle and enjoy the evening. Having two kids really hasn't been double the work--at least not yet. I think it also helps that I'm not freaking out about things as much this time around, but really, it's evenings like this that make it feel like life is pretty sweet. We got out, had a good time and made it home by bedtime. See how good we're getting at this stuff?

And now we have a day of rest in between all these festivities to catch our breath, rest up and plan the next outfit. I think if the weather stays dry and warmer, Elisa will show off her pirate costume again. She definitely has more of an idea of what's in store this year, and we've been practicing saying "trick-or-treat." Today I added the ever important "smell my feet, give me something good to eat" and she erupted into a fit of giggles. Now we'll see if we can work on that for tomorrow night. Twenty four hours to go!

Who me?

Carolina is pretty awesome. So awesome in fact that just this week she decided to switch things up a bit and go to bed around 7:30 p.m. Of course this started the very day that I asked another mom friend who has a little guy a few months older than her, so when do they start going down earlier at night? Um, apparently, now. Yeah, so it's almost her 3rd month birthday and she's totally getting her babyhood going. No more of this newborn stuff. I think she's really becoming a little girlie complete with a cooing/singing/screeching whenever she's especially tickled which is usually during her diaper change and bit after her feedings. She has such a sweet voice. I suppose the schedule change will start to make more sense when we get Elisa to bed a little earlier too. But for now it's kind of throwing a wrench in my wake once feeding schedule. Last night I was up at 1:30 a.m. and then again at 6:30 a.m. Not the best hours, but then we've been pretty spoiled with her 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. schedule these past few weeks. And before I get too bent out of shape about this new routine, I just have to remember it too will change soon. It always does.

Family time

This past week Nacho's aunts Kiki and Pauli and his uncle Ignacio were in town to visit us for a few days. It was a last minute trip spurred on by the fact that his schedule included a four day stretch off so we more than happy to have them fly over to meet Carolina and hang out with Elisa for a bit. They were all clearly smitten with this newest little girl and of course, equally amused by the big girl's antics. Elisa feigned shyness for a few minutes upon seeing them again, but soon she was in her element dancing and hula-hooping for them and stealing the spotlight from her little sister. She's an expert at that. Considering we're just ending our third month getting to know this girl, it's kind of amazing that we are functioning so well and that it feels like we have a real sense of life carrying on. Nacho played tour guide for a few hours each day and we made our big trek up north by car and then before we knew it, our visitors were packing up to leave. But not before I broke out the camera for a little photo shoot...

As always, it's such a joy to share your children with family who love them the same way you do. There is something so comforting about that. It's been wonderful to see Elisa interact with her great-aunts and great-uncle in a way that shows them she knows what they are saying (even if she's not speaking much Spanish back). I know in time she will. But for now, the visit was fun and a great introduction for Carolina who seemed to be very relaxed and content to rest on laps and generally take it all in. We're hoping to get over to Spain later this winter for a quick visit when Nacho's schedule opens up again. And although we might not be there for the holidays, there will be lots of celebrating when we finally make it. Time with family is always worth celebrating, but especially when it means a long trip with eager faces waiting on the other side.

Autumn on the rise

Fall is officially upon us and I couldn't be more pleased. Not only are the leaves changing and falling all over the neighborhood, but it's also a beautiful time of year to go for a drive and see some of the colors washing over the Northeast. With Nacho's aunts and uncle visiting from Madrid this past week, I thought it would be a perfect excuse to show them the beauty of a New England fall drive. If you remember our trip last year (you can click here for the highlights), the route goes all the way to Burlington, VT which is where we ventured before jaunting up to Montreal for a couple of days. I really love that drive and since this is our third time making it, I can say with authority it's a must-do for October if you are looking for fall colors. So off we went yesterday morning for a jog up Route 7 into Connecticut in our rented minivan. Oh yes. We bit the bullet and opted for the 7 passenger car since that's how many of us there were! Could have driven our car too and rented something smaller, but it was kind of fun to truck around in the family car. Nacho might not admit it was "cool" but he did look pretty comfy in his captain's chair. Our first stop was lunch in New Milford at the Cookhouse restaurant, a simple bbq joint with lots of options and space for this entourage. I was able to time Carolina's first feeding with this pit stop, so it felt like the day was already running smoothly. Having a big wooden booth for Elisa to stand and dance around in was an extra perk. She was just coming down with something the night before which was kind of tricky. A low grade fever usually doesn't make traveling all that easy--or even necessary--but I wanted to give it a try. Luckily, she woke up rarin' to go, so I made sure to have her ibuprofen on hand and she was in a pretty decent mood the whole day. Clearly, she enjoyed getting out in the woods for our first walk post-lunch to Lovers Leap State Park.

This was a small turn off I noticed as we neared New Milford and after asking the waiter, I was curious enough to backtrack and take a little walk. The beautiful red metal Falls Bridge was constructed in 1895 and has recently gone through a renovation making it a gorgeous little overlook along the river. It was a perfect place to drag Carolina's car seat since we were only steps from the parking lot and wouldn't be staying long. Sometimes you just gotta get that family pic! Back in the car, we drove on up towards Kent, CT and stopped at Bulls Bridge just before hitting the village. This bridge was a surprise to us the first time we came up Route 7 back in 2005 and it has been a highlight each time. It's just fun to walk through and peek out over the raging waters below.

Carolina stayed put in the van that time and we took turns hanging out with her. She was such a trouper yesterday. It definitely felt like she was making things easy on me since she really ate and slept and slept some more all day long. Only as we neared the end of the day did she get even a little bit fussy as we shopped at the mall in Danbury, but that was okay. She earned it. Most of the day was a delight without having to worry about her needs. Now if only her sister could go with the flow as well. As we drove on to the quaint little village of Kent, I was again reminded of how much I love this part of the country. It's so easy to be in another state in just an hour and you have a totally different feel in that woodsy environment. It's one of the best things about living in New York City--that it gives you a new appreciation for nature and the lushness of an autumn walk in the woods. I still don't think I could move up there, but if I did, Kent might be high on my list of places. It has a small central shopping district, some lovely Victorian homes and two stores with homemade chocolate. Yeah, I could handle that.

After topping off with a mochachino and a look around the shops, we zoomed up the road a bit further to Kent Falls State Park. This was really my focal point for the day, but like all good trips it kind of just became part of a perfectly relaxed plan. Everywhere we stopped felt like a nice little break and we didn't have to rush. We made it there in the twilight of the day when the air was turning a bit cool and Carolina need to eat again. So I sat this one out in the car while the rest hiked up to see the falls and enjoy the colorful views back towards the road. Elisa was taking a turn again with her fever starting to creep back and she was clearly chilled (notice the purplish lips). But she loved the wide open space near the base of the falls. Last year we hung out on that lawn and laughed and played as the sun waned. I hope we can do that with both girls next fall. Yes, I'm already planning the trip...