Snowdown in the city

Snowpocalypse 2016 was definitely one for the record books. About a week out we knew there was a nor'easter headed our way, but the snowfall predictions ranged from 3-12 inches. It was all feeling a bit like deja vu and the "Storm of the Century" they predicted last January. But since I had planned a karaoke evening out with my friends on the 23rd to ring in my birthday and the new year (feeling better now), I was watching this storm's progress with some unease. I wanted to embrace the idea of a snowy night out in the city, but little by little the forecast intensified. And then Friday night I found out Nacho wouldn't be returning home for the weekend. His flight back was cancelled and they were saying Sunday morning at the earliest. I wanted to scream. Maybe I did. That basically put the nail in my coffin, and though I tried in vain to get a sitter, I knew it wasn't going to work. The tide had turned so I pulled the plug on the girls night out. I put the girls to bed around 9 p.m. and was heading that way myself an hour later. I was beat. 

By 5:30 a.m. on Saturday I woke to see a light dusting of snow starting to fall and then fell back asleep. A few hours later the girls got up and it was starting to look like a real snow storm. The winds were blowing but nothing like they did later. The real heaviest part of the storm wouldn't arrive for a good 4 hours more, but still it felt like a beautiful dream for those first few hours. I invited our neighbor kids to stop by and that helped the girls not fight so much with each other. If we were going to survive this day snowbound at home, we were going to need some diversions. We watched lots of TV and played dolls and dressed up. It was a day of anything goes. By afternoon, I thought it might be time to get outside and see the snow from ground level which proved challenging. The winds were really whipping and the snow came at us horizontally for much of our 10 minute walk. I originally thought to walk over to P.S. 150's playground, but we couldn't make it off our block. It was pretty miserable with the wet snow hitting our faces. The girls' cheeks lit up bright red and after a few times of jumping waist deep in snow drifts I pulled them back inside. Then it was time to trade off and let them hang out at Skylar's place for a bit. I enjoyed the quiet and made chocolate chip cookies to deliver to friends in the building. The day was winding down and it couldn't come soon enough. 

When I heard that the elevated trains (including the 7) were shutting down by 4 p.m., I knew that karaoke night never would have happened anyway. That was some consolation. Seeing a bunch of friends get out for a night cap despite the weather didn't help, but I can't blame them. If Nacho had been home, I would have been right there. Oh well. The next day promised to be mild and I knew we'd get our chance to get out and enjoy the snow. That should cheer me up. We woke up and had a nice pancake breakfast before we hiked all the way to Doughboy Park up the hill in Woodside. Seeing lots of friendly faces out and about was wonderful, and the hill was just as packed as I expected. But still...wow. It was a busy place and no space was sacred. Pepa got nailed from some kids sledding right into her and lots of little ones seemed to have no clue how to navigate or slow down. God that makes me nervous.  The girls really hung in there and we made a few good sled runs before calling it quits (and almost breaking Carolina's ankle by hitting the iron fence). We took our energy over to Sunnyside Gardens Park where the kids could play in the snow without me fearing major injuries.  Carmen and I ordered some pizza for the kids and then realized that maybe it was getting a bit too cold to eat outside. So over to the Gardens we went looking for shelter, and we found some at Amanda's even if we weren't part of the snow crew already in progress. The kids ate and gathered their energy for the long walk home. Making it back in one piece with two relatively happy girls was a victory. Seeing Nacho arrive by 11:00 p.m. was also a welcome relief. The 2nd biggest snow storm in NYC history wasn't so bad after all, even if it did bring an incredible 28+ inches of snow. In fact, I might be ready to do it again before spring. 

Week in Review

A week ago we were celebrating a half day from school, lots of chocolate chip cookies and a little excursion to Roosevelt Island on Saturday. Sunday we rested up and Monday--MLK Day--we barely made it out to Costco for a little retail therapy before the weekend came to a close. The nor'easter known as Jonas was already on the radar and starting to threaten New York City, but still there were days to fill before its arrival on Saturday morning. Nacho and I made it out to another movie date, this time catching "Brooklyn" which was exceptional in every way. Maybe because I was once the girl waiting for her love to go home to his country and still keep his heart fires burning for me, it appealed to me on so many levels. After that good cry, we grabbed a little ramen, had a walk up Madison past Clark's and the very cool Urban Space at the Vanderbilt (home to my least favorite doughnuts from Dough) and scooted back to Sunnyside just in time for pick ups. It was a pretty solid day out in the city.  By Wednesday though, I was flying solo and things started to switch to more of a survival mode as the storm predictions slowly intensified and eventually Nacho's flight home on Friday night was cancelled. By then, I had already successfully shuttled both kids to dance and Spanish class and it was time to make it home and collapse. I was disappointed that my weekend plans were turning to shit and yes, that Nacho would miss out on our first real snow storm of the year. It didn't help that I had scheduled a girls' night karaoke event for 26 of my closest pals on Saturday night. No, it was all going to have to wait. Snow and more snow was on the way and in the end, it turns out I wasn't the only one cancelling the fun. The 7 train shut down by 4 p.m. on Saturday so in hindsight my karaoke night was never meant to happen. I suppose that gave me some comfort as I tried to stay sane staying home with these two she devils all weekend long. 

It was definitely a weekend for the record books in more ways than one. At times I tried to scale back, to just relax and enjoy whatever might happen. I invited those friends we have in the building to stop by or just send their kids over to hang out with the girls and give them a break from fighting with one another. Yeah, they weren't in the best moods, but with other kids to mix things up, things improved if only temporarily. I also got to have a few hours of adult conversation by saying hello to the parents this way. Even that helped me keep the pace as the snow piled up all around and it began to look like we'd never set foot outside again. By late afternoon, I figured it was time to see what all the fuss was about and so we dressed up in snow suits and braved the blizzard-like conditions with 3 inches of snow falling per hour and wind gusts up to 50 mph. It was nothing to laugh about. The girls loved jumping on the snow drifts already appearing on our block. We tried to walk a little further around the corner, but turned back after about 10 minutes. It was such a wet, heavy snow that their little faces seemed to attract all that moisture and they were beet red in a matter of minutes. We popped back inside to warm up and then it was movie time, coloring time and finally, thank Jesus, time for bed. I broke out the red wine for my night cap and turned on a movie to pass yet another night on the couch alone. I definitely enjoy my quiet time, my time alone, but this week really tested me. Somehow, I guess it was just an emotional marathon keeping two kids from fighting and from turning their boredom on me in the worst ways. Elisa and I crossed wires too many times to count, and I let my emotions get the best of me in the end. I was frazzled and exhausted and tired of having to be the sole authority. And then I found out Nacho's flight home on Sunday morning was cancelled. Ah yes, good times indeed. 

Gingerbread Lane

Just before the holidays I saw a Groupon for a discounted entry to the NY Hall of Science in Queens that included the Gingerbread Lane exhibit which is billed as the world's largest gingerbread village. I mean, how have we not seen that yet, I wanted to know?! So once things calmed down after Christmas and my sister's visit, Nacho's birthday and New Year's, I figured we'd check it out. The holiday break from school always promises to go on forever but after about a week, you realize you don't have that much time left. So by the 2nd of January when I was feeling like shit and trying to figure out what was going on with my stomach, it was the plan we had to cancel. Luckily though I found the strength to get up the day after my marathon ER visit and make good on my promise to take the girls to the museum. It sounded like a fairly low-key thing to do and we really didn't have anything better to do the day before school started back up. Seeing the amazing candy-covered decorations all around the upper atrium was fun, but the girls definitely weren't ooing and awing the way I was. They seemed much more interested in the science this time around and good thing we brought Papa along so he could delve right into making shadow puppets and airplanes and dropping their creations from the balcony to hit the target below. Yes, it was a museum visit with all kinds of lessons to be had and I enjoyed capturing it all with my new lens. I think it helped take my mind off my abdominal pain and the girls did their best to ham it up which made me smile. 

My only real disappointment that day was that one of the newest exhibits "Connected Worlds" was temporarily out of order due to technical issues. I've seen a few photos from friends' visits and it really looks amazing. It will definitely mean a return trip in a few more months and, probably a return lunch or dinner at Nixtamal, where we ended our adventure that Sunday afternoon. More and more I realize these little girls aren't so little anymore. But I think it really hit me looking back at these photos. The one of Elisa and Nacho with his shadow puppet about to attack her and that look--that perfectly seven year old eye roll. OMG. It's too much. She's too much. I don't know when she grew up, but it's right there staring back at me now. And Carolina isn't far behind. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but sometimes it really seems like it happens in these leaps and bounds. We've been having a tough time of it again Elisa and I and I wish I could understand why that happens. Sometimes I want to squeeze her so tight and tell her that her emotion and rage is all going to carry her far in life if she can figure out where to focus it. But right now, it's exhausting. I just can't take it always directed at me, at us. I know she does better at school holding herself together, but sometimes I just wish we could go one day without her screaming or lashing out. When she was at the museum and engaged it seems to give us a respite. And that is worth a lot. I hope for more love and hugs and engagement this year. And way less of the other stuff. Is there a Groupon for that too?