Summer therapy

As the last full week of school drew to a close, there was a definite sense of summer's arrival and the need to dispense with school already. I mean, last year we were done on a Friday the same as another local charter school. But this year, we had the school assembly and then--gotcha--more school on the way. WHY?? So it was with a bit of a letdown that we finished up Friday afternoon without that feeling of relief and settled for a somewhat rainy evening to celebrate La Noche de San Juan at the park with our Spanish crew. We added in a few more friendly faces, including Quinn and Katie and their French amies. The mood was festive and that was helpful to remind me that food and friends are really all you need any time. We'd deal with school later...the temporary rain showers threatened all evening, but only really picked up once we were almost done. I got slightly soaked in a tent-top waterfall as we folded things up, but oh well. I suppose it did cool me off. 

Elisa had her rebound sleepover at Birdie's house scheduled for Saturday night and with Nacho working, I wasn't sure I could take on a sleepover spectacular for Carolina at our place. The girl wanted to invite 3-4 friends and I told her that would have to wait. Unfortunately Elisa had already handed out our address on a slip of paper to Blair, one of the friends, so I had a slightly hilarious conversation with her mom about that. No, you do not have to drop your daughter off at some random street in Sunnyside on Saturday night. Oy, these kids. They seem so mature sometimes but then their hair-brained ideas reveal the truth. They are really just crazy little bundles of excitement trying to scheme their way into a house party for all their friends. In the end, I tried just inviting Kira, but she was out of town so that put the final kibosh on a sleepover. How about a mommy-daughter date? I sold it to Carolina as an anything-you-want-to-do kind of extravaganza and she was in. Could we go to Toys R Us? Why not? Could we eat pizza and make slime? SOLD. We had a graduation party at the park for Chris and so after that we dropped Elisa and Carolina and I took off for a little evening adventure in College Point. We hit Toys R US, then pizza at our old standby Coppola's and then capped the night at Target buying a few slime supplies while I snuck in some shopping too. Then home by 9pm to--whew!--make slime, have a disco party and try to make it to bed before midnight. I have to say Carolina was a breeze and even gave me an out at one point. She told me we could finish her list of sleepover agenda items the next day. No biggie. But I wanted to persevere and make her evening special. The only thing we didn't get to do was froyo, but that could wait. She was happy enough and we both enjoyed our silly evening under the disco lights playing with slime. Of course, upon Elisa's return Sunday morning, she immediately whined that she didn't get to make any. Which was half the plan. We would make more and I decided to spare myself hours of torture and just go ahead and do it. Yes, let me dive into this new brave world of slime with my whole self. It wasn't so bad after all and they were elated. The slime sisters rejoiced! 

We finished off our long weekend with a bit of a birthday swim meet up in honor of Jamie's 44th. Kristin hosted at their pool which meant I could bake up a little something and bring some snacks and we'd have a grand old time just a few of us splashing around. Last year their apartment building offered memberships to the pool for prorated amounts depending on when you joined. It seemed to be the perfect hush hush way to have an outdoor pool in the neighborhood without too much fuss. We didn't join, but only because we were traveling so much and in the end, we went as guests enough times that I probably should have just done it. But I figured I would go ahead and get a membership this year and then, lo and behold, they didn't offer any. Oh well. If it's too good to be true, it usually won't last, right? So having this opportunity to swim was a real treat and we enjoyed every minute of it. The night with a perfect sunny drive home and two tired girls. Summer was starting off right. The next day we slept in way later than I planned and I woke to a text from Marija asking about our plans for this last day off school. Having the Monday off felt like a terrible trick since there were still two days of school left. I wanted to get out and do something but what? Finally we agreed to hit the Hall of Science in Flushing with our Cool Culture cards. It enabled us to have free entry and then pay the $5 each for the playground. We didn't realize their cafeteria was under renovations, so lunch had to wait a bit. But we snacked and played and finally made it to the Connected Worlds exhibit which was closed the last time we came. After pizza nearby, we took them to The Lemon Ice King of Corona for their first visit! A true summer staple and I think they all enjoyed it. Cotton candy flavored ice is still surprisingly awesome and we made it back to Sunnyside just in time for our last gymnastics class with Emma in tow. Yes, this summer stuff is going to be all about long days running around getting to see and do so much. 

Summer's Swan Song

I hate to say it but today might have been the best day of the summer. At least for Elisa. After much hooing and hawing, she consented to a hair cut and inspired her sister to do the same. I took them up to Fernando's salon on Skillman and splurged on some real hair cuts. It also helped that they had two stylists to do the cuts simultaneously so we were in and out of there in no time. Carolina's hair didn't need a major overhaul, just a healthy trim and the stylist actually told me the bangs (which I've been cutting for 4 years) were perfect. He didn't even clean them up. Meanwhile, Elisa was getting her long layered look which was loosely based on Mia the LEGO girl. Yeah, that's right. She wanted bangs and layers to look the same as a plastic figurine. Hmmm. Not sure how that's going to go. But we went for something slightly more mature, and boy did she look older once it was all blown out smooth and pretty. My girls are growing up. 

Maybe that's why I didn't hesitate to take them both out for a last city swim of summer and mess up that perfect hair. It was pretty, but nothing beats a great day out in the city exploring and doing something new. We had never been to McCarren Park Pool so today was the day. And it was worth the wait. There was no wait to enter when we finally made it in around 1:40pm and the locker rooms and facilities are recently renovated compared to the prison camp feel of Astoria Pool. Ladonna and Miles also came along on this summer swan song which made it all a bit more fun. Nothing like a change up of friends to make the day go fast. The wading pool is similar to one section of Astoria, but there are lots of other parts for bigger kids.  And Elisa and Miles had a blast hopping over the rope to jump and swim and get their kicks out with a little more space in deeper water.  Carolina also had fun doing her "tricks" in the shallow water which amounted to mostly jumping up and sitting down, doing some walking on her hands and forming a V with her legs up. After just over an hour's worth of swimming, we had to leave the pool for cleaning time, but even that was okay. The kids took our suggestion to go for a walk and off we went.

We headed down 12th Street towards the waterfront in Williamsburg without any real agenda. Ladonna was game for a little excursion, so we headed over to the East River State Park to let the kids play around. I was surprised to see so much development in that area even though it was three years ago when we were there last. I know, I know, that area is booming and continuing to boom. But seriously, the playground with the hill of grassy steppes was a perfect backdrop for us to sit and watch the kids run through the sprinklers on the play area at the bottom. They chased one another with cups of water and we debated the finer points of living in NYC. And the plethora of reasons we should move. No one wants to leave, but we all know it's coming. Or at least that's how it feels some days. Will we end up here after all? Who knows. But we're here now. That's what matters. And in that spirit, we hit the 16 Handles fro-yo store on the way back towards the park and the car. As we approached McCarren Pool again, Elisa started begging to return for a later afternoon swim. Miles joined in with the pleading and before you know it, we were suited and showering off for another round. It was true we had nothing better to do anywhere else, so why not? This time, we ventured into the deeper area and after a while, I started swimming with Elisa. I wanted her to watch me go under without pinching my nose. Since she first had to give up her swim mask this summer, she has been reluctant to let herself swim without holding her nose shut. But I knew once she did it, she would be thrilled. And today was that day. She let go and started to blow outwards. It was magnificent. It really was. Just as we were heading out of the pool, she had her epiphany. And that joy and excitement carried her all the way home, through the evening and into bed. She told me again and again she was so happy. She was proud of herself. And I was too. Today was her last hurrah before school starts in the morning. I'm so glad it was a good one. 

Heating up!

Just when I thought it was safe to assume summer was going easy on us, it got hot. Like REAL hot. The Summer Social at SGP was spared the hot weather this year, thankfully. We had a really nice turn out with lots of people and delicious cocktails, and made some cash for the park which made me feel like all my efforts had not been in vain.  But sure enough, just days later, the index rose and kept going up. We managed to see the Minions movie and run around Central Park with ice cream to keep cool.  Samarra even came for a late afternoon visit to the park to say howdy. It was great seeing her again and our conversations about where we'll all be in a few years time left a lot to ponder.  But by the time Nacho finished his training in Atlanta and flew home, we were cranking up the oven we call New York City. Since we knew we had Bix and Riley's party in the afternoon, our first order of business was to hit House of Inasal in Woodside for a Filipino lunch. Several Sunnymom friends have been recommending it and the bright color of the ube ice cream sandwich was a definite point of interest. So we gave it a shot and I'm glad we did. Elisa tried almost everything including the fried pork rolls called lumpia, the chicken empanadas, the sweet pork sausage served with rice, as well as my marinated chicken breast which she kept going back for. It all tasted great. Nacho asked for a really authentic pork dish and the waiter didn't hesitate. So he got the pork belly, ears and liver with chopped onion and peppers. Um, yeah...smelled okay, but I didn't try it. The next day we felt equally adventurous and thought it would be fun to hit Astoria Pool on the hottest day of the year so far. Why exactly? Well, I suppose it was a good idea, but everyone else in Western Queens had the same thought. It took over an hour just to get to admitted to the locker rooms! Yes, we were the fools that stayed in line. But hey, by that time we had committed ourselves and the girls to swimming and so it felt like we couldn't turn back. I'll even say it was worth it for the 2 hours we managed to relax and cool off. Because when it's hot as Hades, all that matters is that you dip your body in liquid that's cooler than the air. And it was. It might have smelled vaguely like a port-o-potty in places, but who cares, right? We are urban dwellers after all and we do what we have to in order to survive. Speaking of, I think we might need a new A/C unit...