Beach Week Begins

This year our beach week in Emerald Isle, NC started off with a Saturday morning flight down to Raleigh. Stacey and Mark were off to Asheville that weekend and we weren't able to make it down any sooner, so I decided that we wouldn't pit stop but instead head straight on to mom and dad's to see how we could help get things organized. Barb was flying in that same morning and would be resting up at her hotel by the time we arrived a few hours later. One kink in our plan was that as soon as we landed (literally minutes after), Nacho got a call for overtime and would need to return to NYC that afternoon to make it back in time for a flight the next morning. He would be done late on Monday and able to rejoin us by Tuesday afternoon. I knew there wasn't a chance of turning it down, but still the timing wasn't great. Oh well. I plugged on and made it with the girls to Midway Park in about 3 hours. After a quick trip to Sam's Club, we swung over to pick up Aunt B and grab some dinner from Smithfield's before heading back. The next morning we were in good shape to be ready for the beach by 3pm when we could check in. That first day is always a bit crazy, but there's something nice about the first few hours at the house. Every aspect of the place is new and the discoveries are constant. The week is just starting and we can't wait to see everyone...

Evening Out

Between world events like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hitting Texas and Florida and this disastrous presidency, I'm feeling a little tense these days. Add the start of school and now homework and yes, things are sometimes a bit more than I can manage in a day. It doesn't help that with these new routines, Elisa has started up again. We are in a never ending battle to get from 4-8pm without arguing. So far, I'm losing. So I've once again turned to baking and oddly making slime (so sticky, so squishy) to help relieve some stress. We are plugging ahead with some more odds and ends to help Elisa out, but they will require time and right now I'm just feeling a bit impatient. It was great to have a few phone calls with friends to hear other perspectives on parenting kids with different learning abilities to know I'm not alone in chasing down some answers. Also, having a drop-off birthday party/impromptu happy hour with Nacho helped too. 

The next day we had the park's annual Yard Sale with some great coffee from Brookside Market!

I didn't buy much (except all of Manuela's jewelry for the girls) and I managed to squeeze in a meet & greet with Rep. Joe Crowley led by SWAG host Kristin Burns. Go K!

A late invite to Tania's for dinner and lots of board game fun was just what I needed to round out the day with friends

Carolina naturally came down with something the next day, but it turned out not to be strep...only rest required and a few days home from school. Sigh

The week also included a primary election for mayor (go DeBlasio) and a haircut/color to perk me up and yes, more baking...

Since we've been planning our NC beach week for a few months now, I knew we'd be trying to leave this weekend to get there in preparation. But at the last minute, flights on Friday night weren't looking good. And then Nacho took a trip that would put him back that evening as well. So I made the executive decision to postpone our travel until Saturday morning. Which meant we would have time to make it to Spanish class AND catch the first AOC event of the year--movie night with Despicable Me 3. The girls were fully onboard with that change in plans and since pajamas were encouraged they spent the better part of Thursday evening picking out their clothes. And eye masks. And slippers. I packed it all up and whisked them off for a fun evening hanging out in the gym with a few dozen friends. Tomorrow we're off so glad we got to kick start the weekend with a fun night. 

Celebrating September

September is right up there with favorite months in my book. School starts, summer blissfully ends and it means I get the kid-free, sweater/jeans weather I've been dreaming about. Or almost. A few more warm days won't go astray, but really I love fall so much I look for any excuse to get outside with cooler temps and enjoy the city. Since Nacho and I weren't able to go out for our actual anniversary on the 28th, I used a lunch date once school started as a good trade off. We went to Bunker the Vietnamese-inspired eatery in Ridgewood that I'd heard about from Fallon and a few others many years back but had never made it to. Now they serve lunch so getting there without kids for a nice meal was an option. Always happy to see some beautiful, inspiring street art as well and have added the artist to my Instagram roster of people to follow. And yes, the food was pretty good even if the vermicelli noodles were overdone. The meats were grilled nicely and the pho was banging. So you can't have it all...

Another day, another walk. This time we hit the west side and had lunch at Pepe Giallo's new location before taking the 34th Street/Hudson Yards 7 stop home

New 'dos at Melo Yelo were a big hit even if the trims weren't quite the transformations I expected

Post movie fooling around

Carolina learned to ride a bike in no time after a lazy summer

Nacho and I drove to Jackson Heights for a little lunch before a market run at Patel Brothers. Finally tried Maharaja Sweets and their lunch buffet thali was amazing. Next time I need to save room for more dessert--their gulab jamun was the best I've ever had

Elisa's eye exam finally happened and yes, she needs glasses. Girl is far sighted which means she'll need these lenses to see up close, and um, read. Doh! 

The second week of September also meant bus service finally started and with it a little bit of chaos. Fortunately, we parents know the drill and by a few minutes after 7:30am we had a whole group of kids on the run to our stop since the bus blew past them by mistake about 10 minutes earlier. Then we all stood and waited while wondering if the stupid thing was going to miss us too. But after about 25-30 minutes of delay, we saw our bus pulling up and the relief was real--parents happy to not have to drive and kids reluctantly excited to get to school by bus for the first time this year. So yes, September is in full swing and we are going to enjoy the hell out of it. More to come!