Saturday, August 25, 2018

Last hurrah

Summer may be winding down, but that doesn't mean the fun is over. Yet. With these hot days and bored kids, finding things that we all want to do both near and far can be tricky. Having a few new toys from their birthdays to play with in the A/C only lasts so long. And yes, that would be Elisa wrapping herself in a new unicorn blanket because her room is "too cold." Oh dear...
Carolina's LOLs love their new magna tile home. Win win!
Elisa sleeps next to Lane just to make sure he's okay at night
This is what happens when you give Carolina a Snapchat account. SHE WOKE HERSELF UP, PEOPLE!
Gourmet soft serve? Yes, please
More soft serve. Always
Happy 50th Mom and Dad!!
Ice cream from Bliss Street Creamery
Great new 3-D printed jewelry in the nabe!
Elisa had a sleepover with Birdie which meant that Carolina got to have a date with me. We made slime (natch), bought popsicles from the bodega and ate popcorn while watching a movie. A LOOOOONG ass night. But she was worth it ;) Yes, summer is winding down, but we are trying to eek out the last tasty morsels. 

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Unicorn Birthday Party

This year was a doozy. TEN. How has a decade passed since this girl came into our world? Elisa celebrated her birthday yesterday in the city and it felt like we were finally at the age where she'll really remember this one. So why not pull out all the stops? I still remember my tenth celebration at Chi-Chi's with the accompanying sombrero and Mexican fried ice cream. I felt like I was on top of the world.  So when it came to Elisa's combined party with Carolina at the park, I wanted to take the unicorn theme they agreed on to the next level. Enter the Unicorn Cake. Elisa really wanted to make this for the big day and I was intrigued by the challenge. I snuck out to Michael's to pick up all the necessary tools and ingredients and then the hard part--actually finding the courage to start. But we decided to begin work on a night that Carolina had a sleepover. That allowed Elisa and I to start baking the layers and test out the right cake mixes. Yes, I'm a wuss. I used boxed cake mix. But it worked so well with my little tweeks that I have to admit I impressed even my worst critic--me! 
Who knew I could turn this amazing thing out? I mean, c'mon, not bad for a first real effort at tiered cake baking. Elisa and I watched the video tutorial about 100 times and it seemed SO EASY. True story: it was not. But we managed. I only lost my cool once and that was alone trying to frost this motherf'er. The best thing I did was not trust myself to do it under a time crunch, so I gave it all about 3 days and that was perfect. It was ready to go by Friday night and all I had to do was not drop it on the way to the park. And I didn't. Yay me! The girls were so impressed that we pulled it off. It was just like an episode of their favorite baking show "Nailed It." I love that we did this together and that we were able to execute their idea. It wasn't the best looking frosting job, but it was ours. And it tasted so damn good. 
Everything about this year's party felt more under control. Like maybe I'd actually learned a thing or two after all these years of throwing birthday bashes. I had enough time to set up. The candy and decorations were fun and not overkill. The music was a perfect backdrop and the assorted pizzas from Marabella kept everyone happy.  We had unicorn poop marshmallows and slime in the goodie bags and no kid was happier than baby Lane who managed to spend most of the celebration in a box near the coolers. Ha. Elisa's prized possession couldn't hold a candle to the fun she had running around the park with her friends. And Carolina too. The girls both managed to have a good time and at the end of the day, I think this was our best effort yet. Happy birthday to my August unicorn princess lovelies. I love you so very much, XOXO, Mom

Friday, August 17, 2018

Turning Ten

This year we made it back from Spain with plenty of time to spare before Elisa's big day. And boy, did I need it. Though I had the foresight to order a lot of the decorations and party supplies before our vacation, there was a lot of stuff I needed to take care of to get ready for our big girl's big day. This year Elisa really only one item: a reborn doll. These are the lifelike baby dolls designed with the utmost care and the price tag to match. We started looking at similar dolls a few months back and she seemed settled on getting a boy doll and liked one that had a baseball outfit. Considering the hand crafted ones run about $300-$400 on eBay and the like, I was pleased to find a knock off on Amazon for less than $100. Sold! Now what to get her to go with it and of course I needed a few fun things for Carolina to open as well. She had a spectacularly LOL birthday in Spain, but we hadn't yet found the latest and greatest Series 4 (isn't there ALWAYS a new series just when you think you've caught up??!). So I was happy to find a few things I knew she was going to flip about. I also decided a few weeks ago that it would be fun to hit the new pop-up installation Candytopia in the city for Elisa's main event on her birthday. Last year it was Coney Island, so how could you even top that? How about with so much candy you might barf?  It was also helpful that this gave us a chance to make up for the fact that Carolina missed out on the end of the school year outing to the Dream Machine. What a fun day that was and she's been a little upset she keeps hearing about it from Elisa. So fast forward, I had a plan to take us out and about for a family fun day in the city. The presents were all wrapped and the tablescape was set, The birthday blow out could begin...
Candytopia was exactly what I expected it to be. It was a gigantic carnival of a place with large-scale candy-laden rooms themed as if to make your eyes and sweet tooth explode at the same time. The fact that each offered a literal treasure chest of goodies did a lot of offset the more museum quality candy artwork. My girls loved the interactive displays the most with the farting pig and spinning floor big hits, as well as the 100 swing and of course the marshmallow foam pit. Touching the gummy surfaces of the installations was a little bit gross (we were there on the first week, so imagine anything after us! GERMS!) but I have to admit the candyland dream was a decadent way to celebrate Elisa's big birthday. We had a quiet morning at home opening up presents before running into the city. Then it was time for lunch at both Shake Shack (them) and Mandoo Bar (us). Elisa got to have her hot dog AND dumplings and we ended up at Pinkberry getting fray despite the sugar crashing already happening. Keep them pumped, I say!
The evening ended with a run to the park for dinner and an impromptu ice cream cake from our local Carvel in Woodside to cap off a very sweet day. This girl is ten. My baby girl no more and it's very evident in her attitude that the teen years are fast approaching. I suppose I could be wistful about this age and about how fast it all goes. But for me as a mom, I have found my greatest delights in what's to come. I want to see more of this girl as she grows up into a young woman. She has never been an easy child, and I know the next decade will likely prove that even more true. But it's not in my nature to look back and mourn. We are here now and it's just where we should be. So happy birthday to this girl in a young woman's body. The year ahead is going to be the best one yet.