Girl Scouts End of Year Field Day

Before I get all gushy about how much Elisa loved Girl Scouts or how I was the best troop mother, let me just say it like it was. It was a struggle all year long. For both of us. I was glad to have her enrolled after hearing the Daisies were full last spring. But then once it started up, it seemed like Elisa was doing her usual and not showing a ton of interest. Plus for whatever lame reason, I could never really keep track of which alternate Saturday mornings were ours. And then there was the whole idea of being up and out the door by 8:45 a.m. to make it there on time. Yes, there were a lot of obstacles for this mother-daughter duo. But we persevered. She made it to not one, but TWO, sleepovers. We hit several museums and I was amazed when she pimped those cookies out to her teachers and most of the administrative staff at AOC. Elisa really stepped up to the plate with that and I was genuinely proud of her. Then of course I had to explain why she wasn't going to earn an iPad with her sales (those are for the kids who must run a cookie factory on the side), and it seemed like she was losing interest in going to the meetings. We skipped a few. We never brought snacks. It wasn't the kind of involvement I had pictured for either of us, yet I felt like maybe the reward would come next year when she would do more camping type activities and find her groove with so many girls who aren't from her school. I really questioned whether or not it was a good idea to push her towards sticking it out. But little by little she showed more curiosity and when I let her check out the FB pics from the Brownies recent camping trip, Elisa seemed to be sold. She wanted to do another year. So we re-upped and made it to the end of the year field day two weekends ago to celebrate and play. Elisa and her hip hop partner in crime Bea were reunited since they aren't in the same troop, and I was delighted to see how well they got on. There was a lot of laughing and rallying around their terrible three-legged racing. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to do a photo shoot in Brooklyn, so I missed the bridging ceremony where she was announced as an incoming Brownie. But I'm pretty sure that this was the right decision. Sometimes with Elisa I just don't know what she really loves. But I think she had a good time this year and I hope she'll do it for as long as she wants to. However long that may be.

Girl Scouts Field Trip: NY Hall of Science Sleepover

Last December Elisa had her first sleepover with the Girl Scouts. It was a St. Sebastian's Parish Center in Woodside and it marked the first time she'd ever spent the night somewhere without us or a relative.  I knew I wouldn't be able to go with her since I had a photo shoot that day followed by another the next morning. And even though I had faith she would do well, I was still a little nervous dropping her off that evening. A few photos from other mom friends who stayed the night helped give me the assurance I craved that all was well. And by the next morning, Elisa returned tired but triumphant. She had a great time and loved telling us all about it. Fast forward to spring and I was happy to register for the spring sleepover at the New York Hall of Science. Not only would this be the first (and possibly last) time I'd sleep in a museum, but it would be a chance to do something special with Elisa and see if she was eager to continue scouting next year. The jury is still out on that, but I can definitely say she had a good time. Who wouldn't love running around a museum late at night with just a few dozen fellow scouts? Here's the slide show to remember it all by...

After our initial check-in at 6pm, there was a bit of playground fun out back behind the museum. After such a lovely warm spring day, I'd say some of the girls already looked tired, but the playground sure perked them up. Then we went in to start the orientation and get our checklists for the museum adventure.  We started with the pitching cage upstairs and I was immediately impressed with Elisa's arm. That girl can throw a ball! She was the first (and one of the few) to break the 23mph barrier since most were getting about 15-16mp, and she didn't even seem to be trying that hard. Made me think we should investigate T-ball again. Hmmm....we'll see though she has recently expressed an interest in swim team. So many activities, so little time.  And then we were off to the lower areas of the exhibits to start on the pillow case decorating where even the moms got to express their creative sides. We made signing our cases something of a yearbook event with lots of "Stay cool" and "BFFs Forever!" comments. After that, we moved over to build our dowel rod structures which had to shelter all 6 team members and remain standing for 10 seconds. Not that easy, but with help from all the girls, and especially Sabrina who got right in there and made those triangles and joints, it was done in just a few minutes. Quite the accomplishment! 

Then there was the treehouse structure we got to explore while waiting to make our air/land/sea vehicles. Elisa was so distracted running around the balconies and enjoying the views up top that I ended up totally forging her vehicle for her. Oh well. At least I had fun making it. And of course we went with an airplane motif since that would be something cool we could show Papa from our time in the museum. Elisa added the foil overlay and the seat for Waddles the Penguin to sit in and we were done. One more stop at the cardboard construction city with little battery-powered lights and we were almost through with our checklist. Elisa again kind of let the chaos overwhelm her, so we made a very quick A-frame Pet Hospital since the goal was to build a structure that "would make the city better." I think we nailed it. And just in time to run upstairs to set up camp for the night before our bedtime treat of milk and cookies while watching "Big Hero 6." Yes, it was a jam-packed evening for the girls (and moms) but I think things were well paced. By 12:30 a.m. after teeth were brushed and lights went out (a bit prematurely as we returned from the bathrooms downstairs without flashlights!), Elisa and friends were racing up and down the Hall of Mirrors like sleepover pros. But that burst of energy was not to last. By 1 a.m. the place was almost completely quiet save for a few shrieks and coughs. And I managed to doze somewhat peacefully until our 6:57 a.m. wake up call. They couldn't even wait til 7 a.m. as promised?? Oy. That was rough. But we forced the girls up and at it, packing and folding and getting everything back in the bins for our roll out. Breakfast was served up and we had another hour to run around the museum before calling it a day. Overall, I was happy to be part of this event and thought they really enjoyed the evening. Sleepover success!

Week in review

Last week started with an assembly at AOC in which Elisa's class sang a rap about fiction and non-fiction. God, I love this school. Then we dove headlong into one of the classics of childhood for our nightly reading: Charlotte's Web. I didn't realize how much it would bring up the themes of eating animals and killing things. Oh right. About that pig. Carolina said we shouldn't kill pigs because they are "animals, not food." Girl has a point. So I made some banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies just to calm things down (recipe here)...Carolina also indulged in a Kinder Surprise egg (or two) after we found them in a local grocery store. And I made it to Elisa's field trip and Carolina's class to read in the same week. Oh, and Nacho took off on a solo trip to Spain for 7 days to attend a friend's wedding. Yeah, I wasn't jealous at all. 

Elisa's note for Papa...not sure if this means she's glad he's coming home ("here?") or that he got to go ("there?"). Either way, she "mist" him. 

By the time Saturday rolled around last week, I was dunzo, but we managed to make it to a friend's house for a playdate that morning so a couple of us could go and pick up the Girl Scout cookies we'd ordered. It actually worked out well and I was glad to have the company on a rainy old day. We made it home in time to grab some lunch and regroup before heading off again to see the new live action Cinderella in Astoria.  What a fantastic movie! We met up with Kristin and Juliet and I think we all agreed it was very well done and visually beautiful to watch. That dress. OMG, I wanted to watch her dance all night. But alas, we had to come crashing back to reality. And my reality was that with two kids out of whack and no Papa around, the weekend and next few days were going to be rough. Not sure why everyone has been so whiny lately, but after a few choice words with Elisa, we kind of calmed down a bit. It just seems like this is the age for Carolina to be her most demanding and irritable when she hasn't napped. And then Elisa's stubbornness and eagerness to taunt people sets off a chain reaction and Carolina ends up getting in trouble for hitting or biting or pinching when she's really also the victim. It's always a mess to untangle and I'm trying to be better about not yelling at everyone involved. But man, a few nights I was just beat and ready to give up. I really feel like this winter and our lack of travel has made me a bit tense. Wishing Spring Break was already here, but soon enough, I guess. Fortunately, dance night on Tuesday signaled the end of our separation with Nacho and also coincided with the arrival of the costumes. So we watched them perform in the outfits and then hightailed it home to see Nacho and greet Abuela who accompanied him home from Spain. She arrived just in time to usher in the first day of Spring as well as our (hopefully) last snow storm of the season. Yes, it was a busy week and a half and I'm still recovering. Now if only it would warm up a bit and stay that way. Thanks.

Snowy St. Pat's

Well, I suppose having the earliest St. Pat's Parade in recent memory (I mean, March 1st??! Freezing February has barely left the room) was bound to produce some spectacular scenery. But I was hoping for something more like sunshine and 50F degrees. Not more snow. Jeez. I'm so over this eternal winter I can't even see straight. It's been a brutal one just in terms of the number of continuous days below freezing. I think February was the third coldest on record and I don't need to feel the top two to know that ours was bad. And while the snow hasn't been anything like what our Northeastern neighbors in Boston and beyond experienced, it hasn't been all frosty the snowmen and cups of cocoa. It's been rough. Rough to be stuck in an apartment with two kids and constantly looking for activities that don't cost a small fortune to keep all of us entertained for a few hours away from home. So enough whining...back to the parade. It was supposed to be a real highlight of the month for us. I always love seeing the neighborhood turn out in droves to cheer and wear some green. Sunnyside has always had a strong Irish presence and it continues to this day with lots of families we know from Ireland or with ties to the motherland. And this would be our first year with a real reason to march--Elisa's Daisy Scout troop has a banner that they always carry up Skillman Ave, proudly representing the girls in green. So naturally I was doubly eager and not turned off by a chance of snow. In fact, it looked like just a few flurries as I left the house, though the forecasts were calling for it to continue all afternoon. Little did I realize it would be a real slushiest out there with at least 3 inches after all was said and done. 

Unfortunately, Elisa wasn't in the best mood to begin the day, so trying to rally her to get out and march in the snow seemed like a long shot. But I suited and booted her up and by the time we were out there waiting for the procession to begin, she was mildly subdued. She always seems to have the most trouble getting out the door. Still. Six years later. Ooof. It was a struggle that day. But I made it clear that she couldn't back out for no apparent reason (she wasn't even citing the snow. She claimed to have a headache, then a cough and bellyache). Yeah, no dice.  I think sometimes she just wants to test her powers of control and it wasn't working that day. So off we went to meet up a little early with the rest of her troop, and again, by the time Nacho showed up with Carolina it was mostly all smiles. I snuck away for a few minutes to get some photos of the surrounding hubbub and then they were ready to roll. Mayor De Blasio was back again this year to proclaim his affinity for our all inclusive parade and I was happy to see a few recognizable faces from the groups that marched. It was definitely not well attended by the rest of NYC, but for Sunnyside, the parade means a lot. And even if there were more marchers that watchers this year, it was still fun. But mostly I was glad when we bailed at the top of Skillman and ordered some takeaway Thai food and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with Irene and Jose. That was the perfect cozy ending to what turned out to be a very snowy day.