Thursday, March 31, 2016

AMB Field Trip: Queens Botanical Gardens



The last field trip the Eagles took was to the Queens County Farm at the end of February and Carolina missed it because of a sick day. I was really bummed for her, but I knew there would be a few more chances to get out this semester. So I was happy to volunteer to chaperone their trip to the Queens Botanical Gardens at the end of March. The day was sunny and bright even if the winds were chilly. The kids were pretty amped to be outside and they really tried to listen to the tour guide as she took us around the gardens. Of course, Carolina started in about being hungry and wanting snacks as soon as we got off the bus. I brought a few contra band items for her to enjoy, but we waited until lunch to do the real swap out for sandwiches. Apart from the greenhouse tour which was a warm spot on a cool day, I really loved watching the kids run around the open space on the hill after lunch. It's one thing to learn all about seeds and plants and how the cycle of life works. But it's another to see these little minds happy to run free after a morning of exercising patience and control. The classroom lesson on eating an orange and taking its seeds to plant in a small container was good, if somewhat boring. Getting to eat lunch outside and then take off to play was the real highlight of this break from school. They rolled down the hill again and again, helped each other collect sticks to make a "fire" pit, and generally acted like the exuberant kids they are. This marks the homestretch in terms of finishing up preschool and every day I am reminded that they are just about to begin their real learning journey. I'm glad Carolina has found so many great friends amongst this group. And I really look forward to seeing them grow even more as they start Kindergarten in the fall. 

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Easter Weekend Wrap Up

Not only did we get to North Carolina in time to celebrate Jordan's birthday on Thursday evening, but we also made it down with plenty of time to prep for Easter on Sunday. So yes, there was dyeing of eggs. Again. The girls really didn't mind and I was glad to see Mia jump in and decorate a few as well. You're never too old to have some fun with your cousins. 
The spectators watching Mia and Nacho kick a soccer ball around the yard
Game Night Part II was a rousing (and kid-free) evening of trash talking
On Saturday we dropped Nacho off at the airport mid-morning for his flight back home to work, before picking up some donuts at Rise in Morrisville. I've been seeing Stace post about this place for a while so it was fun getting to check it out in person. Yummy indeed. Later we hung out close to home and made our way to the little playground up the street. Carolina gave us all a good show by learning to cross the monkey bars solo for the first time ever. She definitely has grown up a lot this last six months and seeing her take a deep breath and dive right in to swinging from bar to bar was such a thrill. Elisa spotted her like a good big sister and I tried my best to catch it on video without rushing to her aid. She had a knack for letting go with one hand and dangling before recovering and finishing on her own. What a kid. That night we ordered in some pizza and watched "Goonies" with the whole crew. The girls enjoyed staying up late, which meant I had plenty to do after bedtime. Easter morning came quickly and I would say they were very excited by all that the Easter Bunny left them. The egg hunt was hilarious with each girl stopping to eat candy, explore their Easter "bag" and then resume hunting as if they were in no big rush. Elisa clearly has the entrepreneurial gene since she divvied up the candy into three containers and started reselling it hours later. Yes, their candy windfall soon became a real fiscal windfall as Grandma became their first (and only!) customer. 
We wrapped up Sunday evening with a delicious ham dinner, followed by Mom's famous peanut butter pie to herald in the second March birthday, and a final game night of Trivial Pursuit. If Mia thought she was picking a winning team by joining Dad and myself, boy, was she wrong. We had been tied up for much of the game, but finally, Stace, Jordan and Mark eeked out a win. A pretty good end to the string of fun nights we had there. The weekend might have been winding down, but I still had a flight to catch and two kids to drag back home on Monday morning--Dad's actual birthday. Luckily, Elisa and Carolina were good travelers for me since we weren't even sitting together on the way to LGA. I gave them a full goodie bag loaded with jelly beans and chocolate and tried not to jab at them between the seats for every infraction. It mostly worked. We touched down around 4:15 p.m. and by 5:30 p.m. we were home and ready for dinner and unwinding. Yes, I was happy to be back in New York after a weekend in the burbs with family. No matter that I would love to do that more often, it still feels nice to come home. Not sure when we will get back down south, but for now we have a few more months of school and lots of little events on the radar. This weekend was just a breather before the pace picks up. Sigh. 



Friday, March 25, 2016

On our way

Why not start the week before Easter with a snowstorm and a perfectly cold day to stay inside and color some eggs and bake some holiday sugar cookies? I must have been feeling all the crafty bugs, because last Sunday I decided that this would be the final chance to do that Eastery stuff before leaving for NC on Thursday for a long weekend. The egg dyeing went well and I only stole one egg to do myself. Using the tie dye kit, I made something both girls were impressed with--no small feat. Later I let them help mix up the cookie dough before we chilled it for a couple of hours.  After Nacho left for work, we rolled it out and baked the assorted Easter shaped sweets: eggs, bunnies, flowers and  butterflies. The evening was quickly ticking by but still we had icing to make and cookies to decorate. By 7:30 p.m. they were satisfied with their cookie painting sufficiently to wrap it up and get them in bed after a quick dash outside in the snow to walk Soula's dog, Effie. I returned to a mess of colors of hardened icing and way too many cookies to finish. By 10 p.m. as I sat alone finishing the job, I was wondering what on earth possessed me to start it in the first place. Oh yeah. Easter pastel dreaminess. Go figure. 
After a few warmer days mid-week and one Broadway daytime date (Michelle Williams and Jeff Daniels in Blackbird at discounted prices--excellent!), we were ready to pack our bags for a flight down to Raleigh on Thursday late morning. The girls hadn't seen Grandma and Grandpa since the beach house last September, so it was a much needed visit. Luckily Stacey didn't mind hosting again and we all crammed in the house that first night to celebrate Jordan's 22nd birthday with a sushi dinner, planet gazing at Jupiter and a wild game of Yahtzee. All good stuff and definitely a sign that we were in the right place. Nacho could only stay with us for Friday before heading home on Saturday to catch a late evening flight to London. But we did a little shopping with Grandma before Nacho took the girls to a couple of parks as I finished up Easter prep with Mia and mom. It was a pretty typical suburban day with outings to Target, a Bed Bath & Beyond, and Food Lion but all of it enjoyable. Small doses of that car-wielding lifestyle are fun for a few days and I definitely embraced it. But it was funny how by Day 3 Elisa wanted to know where we were going and what we were going to do. The house with the yard wasn't cutting it. Nacho and I have definitely had our discussions about moving out of NYC, and trips like this always bring up some of those same thoughts and emotions. But for now, we're here with family, hanging out close in relative peace and I'm catching up on laundry for myself and Mia like a mad thing. Throw in some more candy and we'll have ourselves a real celebration.