Happy Everything!

Celebrating City Style

For the past few weeks I tried in vain to find out what Nacho wanted to do to mark his 40th birthday. I offered suggestions for adults-only evening outings with our neighborhood pals, and tried to think of birthday venues that might also include family-friendly afternoon options. Yet every time I asked, I got a tepid response and assurances that he just wanted to hang out with us. The fact that his birthday fell on the one off day he had between two 4-day trips made it quite possible he would be exhausted and not up for much. So I was willing to scale back and take my lead from him. What usually happens is that I plan his birthday according to my tastes so I was trying hard to refrain from that. In the end, I opted to let him wake up and decide what sounded best. And given that we hadn't alerted anyone to our plans, it would most definitely be a family-only kind of outing. And all that was just fine with him. So we woke up on a lazy Sunday morning and gathered the girls up for a run into the tip of the island of Manhattan towards the new Seaglass Carousel in Battery Park. It opened in September and I'd been saying for months that it was on my list of things to do. So why not start your 40th off like a kid at heart with a very cool ride on a flying fish? 

After that we let the misty gray day dictate things and since it was nice and mild, a walk around the water's edge was the perfect way to go. Battery Park City is a strange little enclave of residential high rises just on the lower west side of Manhattan behind of the World Trade Center. The girls enjoyed hamming it up along the way and the views of the Statue of "Liverty" (as Carolina kept calling it) were magnificent even on a cloudy day. By the time we neared the Brookfield mall area, Nacho had zoned in on the Hudson Eats food court and decided that sounded good for his birthday lunch. Of course it was more like early dinner, but who cares. We were not on anybody's schedule but our own which felt good. Nacho and I split some of the Asian dumplings while he had a lamb noodle soup and I got the "manly" Umami Burger and sweet potato fries slathered in maple syrup. Yum. Despite not planning things to death, it was all working out pretty well and our time watching the lanterns in the Winter Garden glow and change colors gave Nacho a chance to call home. 

The walk through Ground Zero and its monuments was an unintentionally sobering part of the day. It was the first time the girls have been down there and it was a lot to explain when I wasn't really expecting to. They already knew from last September 11th that there had been buildings there, but seeing the giant reflecting pools filling the aching holes in the ground was all too real. Elisa couldn't believe the buildings had been that large. We managed to take it all in as we moved ever closer to our subway ride home. And just like that, my little New Yorkers were on the train and thinking about the cupcakes we were carrying home for Papa's birthday treat. I suppose life is like that when you are their age. I was still feeling the heaviness of that site, so it was good to be back home and have a reason to celebrate life. Turning 40 these days isn't what it was when my parents were that age. For my mom's 40th we pushed her around in a wheel chair and tied black balloons to it. Over the Hill. Past your prime. These days the milestone is just another sign that we are in fact growing up. Ever so slowly. And for Nacho it marks the goal he had to make it to a major airline before he turned the big 4-0. And of course he nailed that with the move to Delta last May. Yes, I'd say he's on course for a great decade and I am glad that at the beginning of it we were there to serenade him (first in the elevator and later at home) with beautiful music and plenty of love. We might outnumber Nacho with our feminine wiles, but I think he's used to it by now. And we are all very glad he's ours. Happy birthday. 

Post Holiday Ramble

This year Christmas came and went without much fuss. Stacey and the crew hung out with us most of Christmas Day at home followed by a nice walk through the neighborhood after dark. We talked about what to do our last day together on the 26th, and the consensus was to hit Central Park. I'd already promised the girls a carriage horse ride over Winter Break so that worked out just fine for us. And since they wanted to take cousin Mimi with them, I did my best to make that happen. So we got up and ready on the 26th and headed into the city all together while Nacho was en route to New York from LA. The subway dumped us right at the edge of Fifth Avenue and the park, so we made our way across the street and I began to look for the right carriage to take. With such a tourist trap as a carriage ride, I wasn't sure what to expect exactly and I really didn't want to feel scammed the whole time we were riding. Fortunately I found a good Irishman with a horse named Clint to take us for a spin around the park and all worked out just fine. Elisa looked sufficiently pleased and I think even Mia got into it for a bit. Carolina was happy enough to sit on the edge of the seat and lean over as she took it all in. And I have to say, it was a perfectly spent 20 minutes. The girls even got to feed then horse some carrots afterwards which was fun. I know there's quite a bit of talk of banning the carriages from the city for lots of reasons, but I am glad we managed to do this once. The girls really loved it and I think it was worth the price which isn't always the case in this city. 

From there, we met up with Mark and Jordan near Poet's Walk and took in the fountain and walked past the Boat House for our obligatory bathroom break. I was enjoying testing out my new 35mm lens which I'm really loving so far, so the day felt like we had a little something for everyone. Then I thought why not the Ramble and a walk towards the edge of the park where we could exit and hit Shake Shack for lunch? It was nice to get lost a little in the trails that take you past the pond and through the old stone wall. We even had the pleasure of spotting an owl up in one of the trees and got to talk to a park conservancy member about it while we borrowed his binoculars. It was a gray day and slightly cooler than Christmas, but still very nice for a walk through the park in December. As we made it to Shake Shack, I started to think we might be up for a wait and eating outside. But no, it all worked out and we found a table downstairs and got to enjoy our meal in relative peace (minus Elisa who was sulking after Mia upset her and playing sick to get some attention I think). Anyway, we ate and indulged in some ice cream and then it was off again to the subway home. The girls goofed and I made the mistake of thinking the B train runs on the weekend, but hey, eventually we got back to Times Square and then on towards Queens. Not bad for a last day together in the city, and I think my girls will remember their special ride through the park for a while to come. 

Christmas Blur

I started to feel this month was slipping away from me about a week ago. It was all speeding up and I wasn't getting to do the usual Christmasy things like bake and get teachers' presents ready at all. I don't know if it was having more work to do or what, but it just felt like time was not on my side.  Nacho and I managed to squeeze in a daytime picnic lunch date of cevapi along the LIC water front, followed by a few shopping trips for last minute odds and ends. And then before I knew it, the last weekend before Christmas hit and we had a few friends over for a donut brunch that morning and then Carolina had a birthday party for a friend and we were finally able to have a family night in on Saturday. The next day was a brunch for Kerry's birthday at M. Wells Steakhouse in Queens which was a nice kid-free afternoon before my sister landed that evening. And then the holiday stretch went from fast forward to warp speed as we set out to enjoy a week of sightseeing along with all the usual holiday blur of eating too much and snuggling in for movies on the couch (including Elf and the complete Star Wars trilogy). A walk on the High Line and lunch at Chelsea Market were a great start to our first day, followed by a stroll through the West Village and a pitstop at the Union Square Christmas Market. 

By midweek we had managed to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree as well as Grand Central all decked out, a few more windows along Fifth Avenue (including my favorites at Bergdorf) and we made sugar cookies and bought sister presents for Christmas Eve. All this while Nacho took off on his Hawaiian vacation work trip which fell nicely over Christmas Eve and had him spending Christmas Day in Los Angeles before flying home on the 26th. This would be our 4th Christmas without Nacho since Elisa was born, making me somewhat accustomed to his absence though I never get used to it. This year in particular felt more stressful culminating in a completely hectic Christmas Eve night, but I managed and really that's all you can do.  I was in bed by about 1:30 a.m. and the girls didn't wake until 7:30 a.m. because they were apparently petrified of coming out of their room while Santa might still be here. Gotta love the fear! The spring-like balmy weather wasn't helping me feel very Christmasy either, so I guess that's why it just felt a little off. Mom and Dad weren't able to fly up after her kidney surgery and his hernia surgeries, so that was another reason we were a little sad this year. But I know everything happens for a reason, so this year was time for Stace and her family to be here with us enjoying all that the city has to offer and we definitely did our best to keep them busy. The girls loved their cousin time even if the big kids are a little beyond playing on the floor. 

Finally, Christmas morning was the first time I'd been alone with the girls on that special morning since Stacey was staying at a nearby hotel and didn't come over until later. It felt a bit odd being the only adult in the house to witness the insanity of opening every present under the tree as fast as possible. But I tried to stay in the moment and enjoy it all, thus no photos of the actual unwrapping. I did take some video which was pretty cute (which I'll try to post here). They were about as grateful and eager as I expected and seeing them enjoy each other's gifts and encourage one another to share was very sweet. The dollhouse was a huge hit as was the Barbie horse that walks and the Paw Patroller which stores all of the vehicles from Chase and the gang. I know there are definitely biases in my toy buying, but I really love seeing the girls engage more in the creative storytelling that dolls allow and they played for HOURS this Christmas...mostly together...in their room...without fighting. So yeah, I'd say Santa knows what he's doing. And about that, there were definitely more questions this year. Elisa left him a note with the question "how do you SEE us??" to which Santa replied "with a telescope of course." She knew that answer already so it was good he said the right thing. And Carolina fiercely debated just how many carrots to leave the reindeer after Elisa said there were only 8 and that Rudolph wasn't real. But we left 9 just in case and they were all eaten up by morning along with the sugar cookie and milk we left out. My girls are strong believers still and so am I. Christmas morning makes me giddy now just like it did as a little kid. So much in life is about coming full circle so it's nice to experience that excitement again. Next year I just hope to share it with an adult who might also be able to open up some toy boxes while the girls are tearing through them. Yeah, that would be nice.