Easter Weekend

After making it back home on Friday evening, we really hit the ground running for Easter weekend. I helped organize the Easter Egg Hunt at SGP on Saturday which was a great time, and my first event of the year.  My personal goal was that no child would show up and not find an egg. After last year's disappointing hunt, anything would have been better. So we devised a plan where the eggs would be hunted and turned in for candy before being run back out to the field for hiding, thus keeping them in constant rotation. It was a little messy at first with all the eggs scooped up and the kids waiting in line to get their reward. But after about 20 minutes, things calmed down and from what I could tell, everyone seemed to be finding eggs and having fun.  The day was bright and sunny, though not terribly warm (high in the upper 50s), which made it all feel springier than the past few weeks.  Nacho brought the girls on his own since I was already there helping set up, and I have to give him kudos for following the crazy toddler around while I kept checking back in with the volunteers.  As for our two, Carolina didn't care about the eggs at all, but she was happy to be out and running free.  And after Elisa found her eggs and got her candy, she played my little helper throwing the eggs out on the field for more kids to find.  So yeah, I'll call this hunt a success! 

Afterwards, we came home for a rest and while Carolina napped, I boiled up some eggs. Yes, I was going to make this a full-fledged Easter extravaganza. And unlike last year when I felt a little conflicted about how to deliver this holiday message when so much of it seems wrapped in the Jesus-died-for-you cloak of Christianity, this time I was just happy to color some eggs and call it a day. The eggs. The bunny. It's springtime. There is just a natural urge to beautify things and celebrate all the newness of life. I might not have worked in the resurrection theme, but that's okay. We'll get there one day and maybe then my kids will surprise me with their own interpretations. So for now, we're cool with the Easter Bunny paying us a visit on Sunday morning and hunting eggs in the living room. Nacho was working all day, so I had the girls to myself to entertain.  Fortunately, they slept til a little after 7 a.m. so the day was starting off pretty good and we went to check and see what was in their baskets and hunt more eggs in the living room.  Again, Carolina was pretty clueless about finding the eggs or caring, really. And Elisa might be the only kid I've ever seen get mad about having to find eggs. She started off all giddy at the prospect, but after a couple of minutes, she was cursing ("Tartar sauce!"--thanks, SpongeBob) and actually humpfing around upset because there were still more to uncover. What a weirdo.

After our little hunt at home, it was time to bake a few cupcakes (I stole the idea for the Peep-topped confections from something I'd seen at the SGP event) and head over to Carmen's house for an Easter lunch and our third and final egg hunt. Yes, this was starting to feel like quite the Easter weekend afterall. The roasted lamb and fresh pasta lunch tasted great, and Carolina chowed down on some of the meat. That girl can put it away when she's hungry much to Carmen's delight. The wine was flowing and we had a nice roundtable of ex-Pats (I was the only American) all discussing their traditions, some politics and NYC schools. Of course, schools are never far from my thoughts this season so there was lots to talk about.  But then the kids were begging for more eggs, so off to hunt we went...

And after a few eggs were found and shared (the big kids seemed to be swapping eggs to make sure they each had a variety of colors), we came back in for dessert. I busted out the cupcakes and Gianluca offered up the wonderful Italian dessert, a pastiera, that he bought from La Guli bakery in Astoria. We drank some port and I almost forgot I hadn't taken Carolina home yet to nap. Yeah, it was that kind of day--a rare deviation from the nap schedule--that I can only chalk up to her easygoing attitude and willingness to hang with the big kids. It was really kind of amazing. After Nacho got off work and swung by to get us, I was reflecting back on the day as we quickly fed them dinner and threw their butts in bed by 7 p.m. It had been 12 hours with 2 kids and NO naps, and I hadn't lost my mind. And just for that brief minute, I had hope. Hope for a future where I am not a slave to naps and being at home for part of the day. And then just as quickly, it was dashed as both girls woke up multiple times crying through the night.  Elisa did her usual no-nap craziness moaning and shouting out before I could run in and soothe her with the comforter.  But poor Carolina was just plain sobbing and so out of sorts, she really didn't know what to do. They both finally caved around midnight and after that, it was a pretty quiet night. So yes, in the future, we will frolic and play and not worry about heading home to rest. But for now, I'm still trying to sort out our lives and make time for all that we want to do and that which we must do. And this past weekend was a bit of everything...and a lot of chocolate.

Spring Break...

So the rest of our week was pretty much like this...lots of time outside at the local playgrounds running around and then hitting the driveway and backyard to throw the ball and frisbie and chase Carolina around with her uncontrollable shrieking run. There was a little retail therapy at Target, a first time lunch at Sonic (food + playground = happy kids), Dad's birthday lunch at Five Guys Burgers which Nacho crashed on his drive to us from the airport. And then it was time to bake a pie, eat some smoked pulled pork and load up the car again. It didn't feel like a long time in some ways because my mom wasn't feeling well and we didn't get to the beach with the weather being so cold and windy. But I'm hopeful that we'll be back down in a couple of months when things warm up a bit. And then it will be time for another round of May birthdays. So, this Spring Break trip will have to tide us til summer vacation. I think I can handle that.  And with the crazy game of standby travel having worked in our favor both ways, I honestly can say I'm almost too brave these days. No seats? Sure why not gamble. It seemed to pay off on our way home and I still don't know quite how. But the girls were awesome and even the fact that Nacho had to take the jumpseat and miss out on our antics in the back was okay. They were such good travelers and I was almost pinching myself. I really look forward to doing more of this as they get older and making travel a normal part of their lives. It's a real privilege and I hope it keeps our families close to us. Being part of dad's 65th birthday celebration was just one of the reasons we went. But also because as Elisa would say, "I miss dem very much." Love you guys. See you soon.

Carolina Birthdays Part I

Earlier in the month, I realized that it just wouldn't feel like March unless we were planning a trip to North Carolina to celebrate my nephew and dad's birthdays at the end of the month. So when I figured out that Elisa was off for the whole week between Palm and Easter Sundays, it felt like the right time to take a little trip. Nacho was off work last Friday so we hightailed it out of town on the first flight to the Raleigh area. Part of what I love about our flight benefits is that they allow us to be so flexible with dates. But what's sometimes confusing and a bit risky is that the flight loads are always changing...right up until take-off sometimes. And when you fly standby as we often do, it can mean trying all day or multiple days to get out of town if the weather sucks or flights cancel for other reasons.  That said, we made a mid-morning decision to skip the Raleigh-Durham flight which was showing oversold by 1 and head for the Greensboro-bound flight with double digit vacancies. A one-way rental car was about $50 and that sealed the deal. At least we had a chance, and it was only about an hour and a half drive to Stacey's home in Apex, NC.  But of course, this all sounds much more logical in hindsight. Nacho and I had to make the decision as we were literally packing the bags and heading off to the airport. I'm glad he's my traveling partner, because it all went incredibly well. We even managed to grab a few burgers from Pat Lafrieda's at LGA while we waited which were pretty decent. Kinda makes up for the fact that he missed out on Jordan's birthday dinner at Lucky 32, a Southern comfort food mecca, on Sunday night. Oh well. I think I ate enough pulled pork and Johnny cakes for both of us...

Making it down to Jacksonville with Mom and Dad yesterday was the next leg of the journey.  It was a fairly painless 2 hour road trip mostly because I had more success getting the girls to nap than on our crazy dance party-fueled trip from Greensboro. They both passed out within the first 30 minutes which meant a pleasant, if quiet, trip down I-40 with me riding alongside them in the back seat checking Facebook on my phone in peace.  We made it in the door and the first thing I grabbed was the tub full of Little People and dumped them in the middle of the living room. It worked like a charm and for almost an hour, the girls were engrossed in their own world. How come they never play like this at home? Is it the power of the Little People? I don't know and I don't care. It works. Even this morning after our 7 a.m. wakeup call, I found the box of toys (and a few Tinkerbell movies on Netflix) kept everyone happy and busy. I lounged around in my borrowed faux leopard robe (Mom insists it's new and only cost $4--good thing) sipping coffee and relaxing. I'm a little disappointed the weather hasn't been better this week since it's usually a good 10-20+ degrees warmer down here. But it's been rainy and gray and cold all weekend which means that playing around in the yard and heading to the beach aren't high on my list of things to do. We'll see if that changes later in the week. But for now, this is enough. Hanging out with the grandparents and hoping that they don't get too spoiled with candy dishes and treats galore. We'll be ready to run it off in the park when we get home.

The week in review

So just because it's officially spring and it feels nothing like it, I thought I would post a few pics from this week that was. First, on Monday, I made it out in the snowstorm (hopefully our last for a while) to participate in the General Meeting for our local park, Sunnyside Gardens. I'm serving as Assistant to the Vice President this year and as such, I'm enjoying the behind-the-scenes aspect of the meetings and organizing events. It's been such a crucial part of our lives here in the neighborhood for the past few years and it's probably the biggest reason I can't even contemplate a move to the 'burbs. I would miss our friends and that park too much.  So I thought it was time to get more involved and see what I could contribute. Finishing the meeting early and heading over to the wine bar to cap off the night didn't hurt a bit either. Can I just say one more time it's awesome to have such like-minded friends?  We chatted about schools and kids and plans for the park events, and I have a feeling there will be more of these evenings in my future.  Snow or no though, the night was chilly and by the next morning it was time to make some lentil stew and hang out inside...

Midweek was it's usual run of days on days of trying to entertain the girls while not sure how much outdoor time we could take. This 30 and 40 degree weather is just making me miserable, so when it got to the upper 40s, we hit the south side park again and made a quick stop for pizza on the way home. I will say it's nice to have the days noticeably longer now, but it's also a tease when we're stuck inside one more afternoon trying to waste away the remaining daylight hours.  So much for my stay-at-home-glamour post, sorry. Yeah, sometimes, this dreary sprint to spring feels so demoralizing because it's all so close and yet, so far away.  And today was no exception with its snow blowing in my face as I marched around downtown Brooklyn with Nacho after his naturalization ceremony. I can't say we've waited for this day the way that other families have--for many years it wasn't something he was entirely sure he wanted to pursue.  But still, by the time the thing was filed, the paperwork approved (yay me! I guess I'm still a paralegal at heart) and the interview over, there was a sense that this was the last hurdle in our long immigration journey. 

Who would have thought that the boy with an H-1B visa teaching flight instruction in St. Louis would end up a pilot in New York City with a wife and two kids? Nacho came to the U.S. in 1994 as a student and except for a year or so back home to try to find work, has made his entire adult life here. He is well versed in all things American having watched plenty of South Park and Simpsons, and he has almost lost his accent all together which confuses people trying to guess his nationality. They never pick Spanish. But that's okay, he knows where he comes from and luckily, this acquisition of U.S. citizenship won't impact his native nationality. But it will make him a bona fide citizen here and a voter which I think is very important.  Visas and greencards may not sound romantic, but they contributed greatly to our love story. And so today was really the culmination of all that paperwork and waiting and wondering--and it all turned out okay! More than okay, really.  We have built a life here that we are both very happy with and having this extra bit of stability and permanence is like icing on the cake. And speaking of, to celebrate we took advantage of our babysitter for Carolina and Elisa's extended hours at preschool and grabbed lunch at Ganso, a hip little ramen house in Brooklyn.  It reminded me of all the lunches and dinners we've had in the city and how normal that all used to feel. I'm ready for more of that in our lives and hopefully this will be the year that starts to happen.  Because having these children in our lives is truly amazing, but not having to share our fabulous salted caramel and black sesame ice cream for dessert was even better.

Labels

Not that anyone but me noticed (or cares), but I've decided to start adding labels to each post in the hopes that it will give some searchable guidance or keyword assistance to previous posts. Basically, I will try to find 2 or 3 main themes or tags for each post that will appear underneath the time stamp.  And then on the sidebar at the bottom right, you will find those labels listed alphabetically with the number of related posts listed in parentheses.  So for example, if you really wanted to know what I thought of the Roosevelt Island tram or carousels in New York City, you'd be able to look for those tags and voila! one click and the posts appear. Like magic. I've kind of always thought that labels were dumb and arbitrary (and they still kind of are), but the more I blog, the more I see them on other blogs and like them. And with almost five years of posts to sift through, I realize that I can't always accurately remember exactly what year or season something happened anymore. It would be nice to have these little cheat sheets so I can pull up all museums or parades or visits to North Carolina in one fell swoop.  I'm starting with most recent posts and heading backwards, so the tags and their directory will be under revision for the next several weeks until I am caught up.  So that's it. Keep reading and don't mind me and my labels. Unless you like them. Then let me know what a genius I am for finally using something that's been available all along. 

St. Pat's Storytime

When I greeted Elisa with green pancakes yesterday and told her it was in honor of St. Patrick's Day, she replied, "Again?!" Uh, yeah...about that Sunnyside St. Pat's parade...see it wasn't actually on St. Patrick's day.  To be fair, the timing of the parade does always catch me off guard as well, coming so early in the month. But the real point is that no one minds another excuse to wear (and eat) some more green. So yesterday after breakfast, I got Elisa ready and we were off to meet up with Monica and Bix and Tania and Zara to head into Manhattan for a storytime reading from another playgroup mom Micki.  Among her many talents, Micki organizes and curates several book projects including this one at the Village Book Nook which was part of an exhibit called The Gathering Place in the West Village.  Despite the fact that the local train bypassed our stop causing us to make a u-turn at Canal and we forgot we were still at East 24 8th Street and not West 24 8th Street (a NYC rookie mistake), we made it there only about 20 minutes late. Whew! It's true nothing is ever as easy as it sounds in this city, but with friends in tow, it was all possible. And the extra time just gave us more opportunity to discuss school choices for Kindergarten--the neverending topic these days.

Given the theme of the day, it was easy to keep the kids' attention with talk of leprechauns and rainbows and pots of gold. Elisa shouted out a few times during the readings which made me smile a little because I so rarely get to see her in that kind of mode.  She was eager to sit and listen and it made me realize she really is growing up and learning how to interact in her own way.  After the stories there were crafts including coffee cup art, making necklaces and designing paper shoes with strings. We finished up the outing with lunch at a nearby restaurant and a quick dash to the playgrounds at Washington Square Park with Monica's sister and family. Considering Nacho was more than happy to stay put at home with Carolina while she napped, I'd say it was a win-win for both groups. Elisa and I don't get to spend a lot of one-on-one time together anymore especially doing things in the city, and so it's nice to see how easy it is when it's just the two of us. Yes, there was still some whining and crankiness, but overall, it was a pleasant day made better because we had friends to share it with.