Capital City

Heading to Washington, D.C. for a quick and easy trip this week proved anything but, yet it still somehow seemed enjoyable. Weird, right? The travel part on the way there was a breeze, and we managed to take the girls for a swim and dinner in Old Town Alexandria, VA on the first night there. We ate at Eamonn's Dublin Chipper which is where I had another infamous meal (a stomach bug before and a delicate stomach after made that a meal I wished I hadn't eaten). But I wanted to try it again and I'm so glad we did. The girls raved about their breaded chicken bites (they were about 1000 times better than their latest slew of chicken nuggets) and Nacho and I had battered cod and curry fries which were absolutely divine. So good. I don't think I could have eaten anything better that night. It just fit the bill. And watching the girls wiggle and play in the big wooden booth as the sun set on our trip was awesome. Even bedtime came without fanfare. They watched some TV and then lights out. We slept right through Nacho leaving for work at 6 a.m. and by the time were were mobilizing the next morning it was 10:30 a.m. and he was just landing back in D.C. It was all working out so well....

....Until it didn't. We got Elisa up and ready and fed but she was determined to have a shitty day. Sometimes there's just no other way to say it. The kid likes to be angry and whiny. And I don't know why it happens when she is A) not tired B) not hungry and C) completely not sick, but that's life. We finished up our delicious breakfast at Pain Quotidien and then hiked over to the White House a few blocks away. The sun was out but it wasn't too warm yet and I was so full of optimism. Yet, still Elisa played on like a delicate bird. The sun was too bright she couldn't look up for photos. She didn't want to walk but ride in Carolina's stroller (oh God, child, you have FEET!). She didn't want to go towards that big monument...no she wanted to go home. Or back to the hotel to swim. "Can we go swimming again?  I want to go swimming?" The fact that we had already checked out of the hotel that morning meant that no, in fact, we can't go for a dip later. But she didn't care. We had just a few hours to see a few of the highlights of this massive town and Elisa was stalling. She was sucking up energy and driving me crazy. And I really hate being the crazy, screaming mom on the go. At home, okay outbursts happen. But when you are in the midst of an entire flock of people lining up for their photo in front of the White House and you're threatening your child with bodily harm...well, it doesn't sound so great. So I tried to suck it up. I really did. But still she wouldn't budge. She was just not having it that day. 

So we mostly walked ahead of her or just ignored her silent grudge match. I tried joking with her, promising things, but it was useless. I told her we really can't kow tow to one member of the family. This was our trip and she can't control it. But still somehow she did. Carolina kept up her cheerful smile and disposition throughout the long, slog of a day, even walking for long stretches while Elisa took a "turn" in the stroller. The stroller I didn't even want to bring (and probably won't again) because it just causes conflict like that. You would never guess the two year if you had to go just on behavior. She was stellar. Elisa only really perked up when she thought she might still be in the running for getting ice cream. I was just relieved we never actually found a vendor. Made it all the way back to the hotel to get our luggage and to the airport before I had to find another bribe. At least that worked for a while. And then we were at the airport, waiting to get on the 5 p.m. flight back to LGA when we found out that the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. flights had both cancelled. There had been some kind of disruption in New York with another plane and now everything was a mess. Nacho and I both know from experience that you can always chance it and wait the mess out. But with kids, the options seem so much bleaker. We had 3 hours to wait for our next shot and it wasn't looking good. So with that, I decided to pack it in. We could find a cheap hotel for the night nearby and try again. Getting our same hotel for $80 (with a POOL! Did I mention that POOL??!!) was a wonderful consolation prize. So we kissed Nacho goodbye and turned around to enjoy yet another evening in our nation's capital. 

And from that point on, I was dealing with a new child. Elisa totally came through and delivered a great evening...after she found out she was going swimming again. She was an angel. She played and danced and kept Carolina totally occupied in the hotel room. We ordered a pizza and ate our Doubletree cookies all over the bed. It was a great end to an otherwise exhausting day. And getting up and ready the following morning on our own was fine too. We made it back to the airport, got on the flight and flew into Papa's arms shortly after he landed from work the same day. A day late, but we had time to improve our moods and that we did. Now I just need to gear up for a possible Boston overnight in August. Can I handle it? 

Flying high

Sometime early last week, Nacho looked at his schedule and realized there was a trip to Washington, D.C. he could pick up that would include a long overnight. He asked if I would be interested in flying down with the girls on his flight and then we could rest up in the morning while he did the first flight out and then boomeranged to come and get us. We could even spend that day to check out some sights in the capital and enjoy a mini-vacation. Knowing that this will be his last summer with his current airline, I thought it was a great idea. He has been there 9 years already, knows the plane like the palm of his hand and was really excited to have the girls visit and see Papa at work. Considering that they know he's a pilot and don't really associate it with any type of danger or excitement has always been a plus in my book. I was only momentarily worried that it might bring up bigger questions about how safe are airplanes and if they could crash. But really, that's kind of to be expected at some point. What I hoped they would gain from this trip was a sense of what their papa does at work and how important his job is so that people can travel safely. We started thinking about the timing of the day and how to pack. And with just one night in the hotel, it sounded like a perfect little hop in the middle of the week. 

And the girls had a total blast. Before I could even hand my boarding pass to the TSA agent at the security line, Elisa blurted out, "My dad is the pilot and he's going to fly OUR PLANE!" "Oh, really?" the guard didn't seem too impressed or maybe he just didn't believe her. But yes, in fact, we were treated like VIPs at the gate. The agent let us board a few minutes early, the flight attendants allowed us to play photographer in the cockpit and then we grabbed our seats and a few extra treats onboard (wing pins and goldfish count, right?). The girls were on their best behavior and I was really happy to see their faces when Nacho announced a special welcome to them inflight. Elisa was beaming and Carolina kept shouting, "that's Papa!" It may have taken us 6 years to get to do this, but I hope we won't wait 6 more to do it again. Even after getting bumped on the way home (more on that later), we had a great time on our trip and D.C. proved a formidable challenge for these two troupers. More pics to follow!

Week in review

If we were slow to embrace summer living in the city, we have finally made more of an effort this month and not a moment too soon. July is almost over! How can that be?? This week we chilled at home cleaning up (and donning a bevy of disguises) on a few gray days, made our way to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch with Leonardo and enjoyed a brief reunion of their porch step jam band, had dinner at Shake Shack with our Spanish visitors Pablo and Lidon, got our groove back with summer Fridays at the park, and then to top it all off made it out on Saturday to have pizza at Lombardi's and run around Manhattan one more time with our departing friends before Nacho and I had our own date that evening at a very grown up birthday party. Yes, it was all a lot of fun and there was hardly a nap to be found. Ahh...summer...you're full of possibilities. 

Summertime in the city

As July was wrapping up, I had the lingering feeling that I hadn't properly embraced summer in New York City. When I think of summer, I picture long strolls through the East Village, wandering around Tomkins Square Park, maybe taking in some music or people watching around Washington Square. It feels like we did more of this when Elisa was small and might nap on the go in the stroller, but since the girls have both been routine nappers at home for the past couple of years (and we're not pushing two strollers for this purpose), it was hard to disrupt them and risk the consequences. But after testing the waters a bit in Spain with no naps, and seeing that we could get decent overnight sleep, I thought it might be worth enjoying a few long afternoons in the city as well. The day we picked was a Saturday, so I was actually trying to think of places that wouldn't be mobbed or too hectic for us. On the train we realized that there was no service to Times Square so opting for a stop somewhere along the N/Q was perfect. We made it to 8th Street and then to the playground at Washington Square Park for our first foray into summer fun. Ice cream followed, then another playground of hills and climbing things, then lunch from the excellent dosa food truck guy (he dubbed me "medium plus" on the spice chart and I have to say, nailed it) followed by a little coffee and a walk to Tomkins Square Park (and yes, another playground) to meet up with my friend Tony who was only in town for a few remaining hours. It all worked out. We walked, we played, we ate ice cream--twice--and it was all delicious.