NYC :: imagination

Thanks to google maps, I noticed that there was a spot right next door to the South St Seaport called the Imagination Playground.  Aiden thinks imagination is his favorite nation (see song here: https://vimeo.com/37380097), so I thought it would be right up our alley.  We found a shady spot as the sun was heating things up, and Aiden went to town collecting all the fun foamy pieces to build the ultimate house complete with front path.  After burning off this steam, it was time to find a pizza shop for lunch.

NYC :: statue ferry

Our Staten Island Ferry roundtrip was very anticipated.  It was exciting to scoop Aiden up to the station window to see his first peek at the statue he'd been reading and imagining.  Then he became a squirmy four year old that wasn't that interested in waiting in the huge pack of people waiting to be herded on the ship.  Luckily, once we filed onto the ship, it was pretty open and there was plenty of space for the boys to squirm around.  We walked back through the terminal past the huge fish tanks and onto our trip back.  Aiden was still occasionally pointing out the statue, but it had lost a bit of its charm.  I thought it was pretty cool on our way back there was a big sail boat race around Ellis Island and it turned out it was part of Fleet Week.

NYC :: shows

This morning it's raining muck in NYC and they are commenting that it was a spectacular weekend and it really was!  Aiden wasn't quite sure what the Today Show was, but he remembered seeing Gran and Pop waving to him from the show a while back.  We had a great spot to see the action although we were right off the edge of the main anchor shot.  There are two blurry screen shots below.  Aiden's signs just sort of blurred past.  He carefully picked out those pictures.  Lester came over to check out his signs and he asked Aiden if he'd left his friends at home ;)  After chasing down the camera at a second break Aiden accidentally dumped his mini wheats all over, so it was time to take off.  We cruised down the block and the Fox tv station was previewing the Warrior mud races.  They gave us little flags to wave and the crazy muddy guys splashed across the mini course setup.  J wanted in on the action ;)  We then headed to breakfast at the Stardust Diner filled with Broadway hopeful wait staff.  Jessie's Girl served up our yummy breakfast and sang to KC.  They performed about ten Broadway tunes while we ate (Great rec R - thanks!).  Then we checked out some of the sweet shops along Broadway and headed back to the hotel to pack up.  There was still more fun to come and Aiden kept asking when he was going to see the Statue of Liberty!

zoooo

A quick pause from our NYC photos for a peek at our perfect Sunday at the zoo!  Our friends met up with us and shared the happy news that there is a new kid expected on the block soon - woot!  KC loved the "ot" (also known as otters) swimming right up against the glass.  He looked back at me with this expression and babble as if to say, can you believe those silly guys, mom?!  The zoo's creature features are a hit with Aiden and he stops us "to go learn something"... He figured out how to get his dad to take him on a quick potty break that turned into a lion buying scheme.  His new lion matches his tiger friend.  We are now officially tuckered out from our whirlwind long weekend and ready for some rainy relaxing days...

NYC :: moments

Here are some video snips from a few NY moments:

NYC :: frankly

The highlight of visiting New York is always a chance to see one of my dearest, oldest friends, Frank! His name deserves to always by followed by an exclamation point. He met us at our abnormally large for NYC hotel room, and immediately the boys jumped up from their rest to jump on the bed and giggle. We found the perfect spot to talk and entertain the boys, a picnic in Bryant Park. As the sun set between the buildings, KC pointed and stuffed banana in his chomper. AB and Frank played rock paper scissors followed by a fierce game of freeze tag with mom and dad alternating into the game. Just as the sun was going down we walked back through Times Square and it still seemed like daylight with all that sparkle. Edward Scissorhands charmed/scared Aiden and gave his hair a little faux snip snip. KC was already konked out so we scurried back to the hotel. Aiden had chocolate milk which had him really hyped up so iron shoulders Frank was pretending to hand him over to the cops - Crime = too much giggling. We were greeted by a big plate of cookies and milk, just what every hyped up kid needs, eh? After a few bites, we were in bed and I quote Aiden: "I love New York! I bet we are going to talk all night about all the cool stuff here!" 10 minutes later he was konked out.

NYC :: central park

It was the absolute best type of day for a visit to Central Park. We were greeted by a singer and quartet under a bridge singing the song that was sung at our wedding. There was a guy making huge bubbles and he let a very excited Aiden try. There were many pigeons to be chased/terrorized and luckily they showed up right when Aiden needed a jolt of excitement.  KC thought the park was a perfect place for a nap.  The big kid playground had streams of sun coming from in between the buildings.  Aiden thought they were good practice for climbing the other "mountains" all around the park.  The Chess and Checkers House is the highlight for Aiden.  He couldn't believe that the nice conservancy ladies had so many chess sets!  He beat me, of course.  Then we were on to other sites, which included Belvedere Castle and the hula hooping violin player that charmed Aiden.

In order to keep the engines revving and the good behavior train rolling, Aiden picked out three "perfect pez places" to pop out the Spiderman pez he'd picked out at the megatoyopolous we'd visited earlier. He was partial to the shady rocks that crop out all over the park. Stop one had a slight modification when KC and I couldn't make it up the slope he'd chosen to perch on top. Stop three was a cool overlook by the boat pond. Our nearly three hour jaunt through the park would not have been nearly as much fun without those pez and my boy who loves em.  The part of the park that I found out is called The Ramble nearly ran us dry - we were almost out of water, cell phone battery, pez, and energy when we finally emerged from the deep forest of twisty paths and steps.  We did manage to make it out to 5th Ave eventually, and a nice doorman helped us hail a cab.  Aiden was hesitant to get in "a stranger's car" at first, but once he saw the tv built into the seat he hopped in out of curiosity.  (Before we left we read fun kid's books that talked about the subway, but somehow he didn't know about cabs ;)  Phew, we made it back to the hotel to meet daddy and one of my favorite people, Frank!

NYC :: toys!

They call the toy store the Center of the Toy Universe and I believe it. We were greeted by a photographer that took our photo in front of the three story indoor ferris wheel. You round the corner and you are greeted by a huge roaring dinosaur and superheroes hanging everywhere. The Lego section had a Hulk and NYC buildings all in thousands of Legos. We made our way through Candy Land picking up Aiden's treat, a spiderman pez.

NYC :: whirlwind

We are on the Amtrak back to DC from our whirlwind two days in New York City! J gave a quick talk at the Harvard Club and didn't even stick around for drinks, so we should give him a super dad shout out for letting us tag a long on his trip. Thanks Sweets! I like to look back on photos so I'll post a bunch over the next few (all iPhone snaps so there are lots to narrow down)... Here was our fun rundown day one:
Arrive in NYC Penn station, check into nice Intercontinental Times Sq, lunch at Juniors (woot egg salad!), daddy takes off for his talk, boys and I trek to Times Sq crazy toy stores, walk up to Central Park, Aiden beats me at Chess at the park house, we accidentally 'ramble' through the deep forest I never knew the park has, Aiden terrorizes pigeons and gets to blow massive bubbles, we meet back up with J and one of my oldest, dearest friends for dinner and freeze tag in Bryant Park, then call it a night with a breeze through Times Sq at night and cookies n milk waiting in the hotel room.
Day 2
Wake up early for a visit to Rockefeller Center, visit the Today Show outdoor set to wave like goofs and spill mini wheats, walk up the block and see a preview of the Mudder races in front of another tv show, eat and dance through breakfast at the Stardust diner full of Broadway hopeful wait staff (thanks for the rec R!), visited some sweet shops on Broadway (yummy Rolos at the door!), checked out of hotel, hopped the subway to South Ferry, gawked at the Statue of Liberty on Staten Island Ferry, trekked up to seaport's Imagination playground (kids build their own structures), pizza lunch, breeze past WTC memorial, head up to Grand Central to visit the Main NYC public library, venture down to the library's Children's Room for a peek at AA Milne's Edward bear aka Winnie the Pooh and crew, make puppets at the library program, venture back to pick up luggage and sneak into the surprisingly tiny line at Shake Shack for the best milkshakes, then back to the train for an easy ride home.
More photos coming soon...

frying pan

Aiden's class took a field trip to Frying Pan Farm to visit the baby animals. They all took a hay ride around the park. Aiden seemed most excited by the playground and his dad playing tag with everyone. Here's Tom driving with Aiden on the back and Hiro and Sofia on the front.

The rest of this week has been sizzling... Playdates, one with a new water table (KC looked like he might as well have been swimming...guess he liked it), sports class (where Aiden wasn't the lucky one to get a basketball in the face although dribbling is not his forte), perfect weather for soccer practice (finally!), and a library storytime (where KC went around hugging even the big kids - Aiden was the BINGO song expert)...

This weekend we're going to start spreading the news... just a hint on where we are headed...

science

The Science & You exhibit was a perfect match for Aiden's age. Setup in an old foundry we were greeted by a cheery lady that showed us the prep station for good scientists - mini lab coat - check - clean room blow off vacuum - check - and scrub in station - check - Aiden took these jobs seriously and I told him that Uncle Woah scrubs in for his job and his eyes widen as he asks whether Woah sings the ABCs to be sure he's scrubbed long enough. The room was full of interactive exhibits like a cooking station to learn about nutrition, antibodies and white blood cells to drop your germs inside and learn about immunity, and microscopes, centrifuges, sieves and other tools for simple experiments. Aiden wanted to go back which means the exhibit was a winner and since it was nearly empty it was a winner in my book.

yards park

Mother's Day delivered in so many ways... I had a chance to see the many different joy bug faces my kiddos make mostly thanks to our first trip to Yards Park.  The impromptu decision to let the boys try out the super splashy kids fountain worked out well.  We tried to just let KC watch, and then tried just walking him around on the edge, but eventually the little quiver lip whimpers won and I striped him down for a dip in his diapy pant.  Oh boy, top mom award from KC!  He looooveed it.  My day started with a delicious, ingenious idea to take a peanut butter sandwich and make it into a crispy french toast complete with flake cereal crunch on the outside. Yummo, and my peanut butter loathing husband was going all out.  A light lunch was followed by a trip to the Dairy Godmother (I have a tshirt now!) for their Breakfast in Bed custard flavor - maple custard, waffle cone pieces, and bacon!  So good, and after sharing a bunch with Aiden, I couldn't resist a round two - chocolate covered pretzel ice pop! Then I have my thoughtful chef husband to thank for the idea to bring some Loco Moco to Virginia (I think it's considered Hawaiian diner food?) - rice topped with gravy, terayaki sauced hamburger with a runny egg on top.  Yum, my husband can make a mean custom burger...  In between all the treats, I visited two yarn shops and I officially have a yarn stash now!  woot!  Thanks to the guy who makes me a better mom for a special day (and putting up with that ice cream shop lady trying to make it seem like you never hold your baby - you are not that stereotype!)  I love you!  Aiden understood that it was "try not to wack mommy in the face day" and did manage to keep a surprise treat he made for me at school. It was a cutout of his fingers to look like a butterfly with his silhouette in the center.  He was super proud to give it to me.  KC didn't really get the memo on mother's day this year, but he did charm the ladies at the yarn shop with his full face smile.

sand day

The new sand was spread at the neighborhood beaches this weekend and to celebrate they had an event 'for kids by kids' - We cruised up right after soccer with KC napping in the car. All the cheering and sticky orange eating tuckered him out. The event was more elaborate than I expected! Aiden was still in his uniform when a big kid, also named Aiden, asked if he wanted to try the donut on a string race. A "sandy sugar donut" swung around as Aiden tried to take bites with a huge smile on his face at first which then turned into desperation when he discovered how hard it was to munch. The sand pile still had some coins to dig up - and later tricky J hid a dollar bill in the sand and Aiden was so excited he found 100 cents! Aiden competed in the sack race coming in second after a spill at the beginning. The kid versus parent tug of war drew a crowd. Aiden wanted his own tug against his dad ;). It was a perfect sunny sand day!

preserve

We live in some strange times for moms and I want to preserve this piece of writing below. I also want to thank my mom for keeping me level headed and loving my kids as much as I do. I love you Mom! You taught me what she mentions below and more... and I'm grateful.

Am I Mom Enough?
A Motherhood Wish List
Posted by Kara Baskin
May 10, 2012 09:30 PM

It’s so tempting to get riled up by the Mommy Wars, isn’t it? The Time magazine cover story about extreme parenting, Are You Mom Enough?, featuring a beautiful mother in skinny jeans nursing her preschool-aged son, is infamous by now. It made me, along with the rest of the Internet, explode with righteous indignation. Mom enough? How dare they! This isn't a contest! But, wait ... what if it is? And I don't even own skinny jeans!

The story also made me think about what I wanted to teach Andrew—I mean really teach him. I’m not talking about the trendy must-dos that crop up each year about feeding and sleeping and discipline, insecurity porn concocted just in time to fill a fresh generation of parents with self-doubt. No, I’m talking about the things that I want to impart in average, totally inextreme moments, when my breasts are covered and my skinny jeans are in the wash.

Here’s my wish list.

I hope I raise a child who says “thank you” to the bus driver when he gets off the bus, “please” to the waiter taking his order at the restaurant, and holds the elevator doors when someone’s rushing to get in.

I hope I raise a child who loses graciously and wins without bragging. I hope he learns that disappointments are fleeting and so are triumphs, and if he comes home at night to people who love him, neither one matter. Nobody is keeping score, except sometimes on Facebook.

I hope I raise a child who is kind to old people.

I hope I raise a child who realizes that life is unfair: Some people are born rich or gorgeous. Some people really are handed things that they don’t deserve. Some people luck into jobs or wealth that they don’t earn. Tough.

I hope I raise a child who gets what he wants just often enough to keep him optimistic but not enough to make him spoiled.

I hope I raise a child who knows that he’s loved and special but that he’s not the center of the universe and never, ever will be.

I hope I raise a child who will stick up for a kid who’s being bullied on the playground. I also hope I raise a child who, if he’s the one being bullied, fights back. Hard. Oh, and if he’s the bully? I hope he realizes that his mother, who once wore brown plastic glasses and read the phonebook on the school bus, will cause him more pain than a bully ever could.

I hope I raise a child who relishes life’s tiny pleasures—whether it’s a piece of music, or the color of a gorgeous flower, or Chinese takeout on a rainy Sunday night.

I hope I raise a child who is open-minded and curious about the world without being reckless.

I hope I raise a child who doesn’t need to affirm his self-worth through bigotry, snobbery, materialism, or violence.

I hope I raise a child who likes to read.

I hope I raise a child who is courageous when sick and grateful when healthy.

I hope I raise a child who begins and ends all relationships straightforwardly and honorably.

I hope I raise a child who can spot superficiality and artifice from a mile away and spends his time with people and things that feel authentic to him.

I hope I raise a child who makes quality friends and keeps them.

I hope I raise a child who realizes that his parents are flawed but loves them anyway.

And I hope that if my child turns out to be a colossal screw-up, I take it in stride. I hope I remember that he’s his own person, and there’s only so much I can do. He is not an appendage to be dangled from my breasts on the cover of a magazine, his success is not my ego’s accessory, and I am not Super Mom.

I hope for all of these things, but I know this: None of these wishes has a thing to do with how I feed him or sleep-train him or god-knows-what-else him. Which is how I know that these fabricated “wars” are phony every step of the way. I do not need the expensive stroller. I do not need to go into mourning if my "sleep-training method" is actually a "prayer ritual" that involves tiptoeing around the house in the dark. This is not a test. It’s a game called Extreme Parenting, and you can’t lose if you don’t play. And, really, why would you play? You have children to raise.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Lauren!

Lauren loves to interview Aiden each month about being a kid.

I thought I'd interview Aiden about his mom.

1. What's mommy's best feature:
Her long hair.
[JB: So that settles things in favor of not getting a haircut.]


2. What's the most fun thing you've done with mommy?
Help built a Wild Zoo Connect Playmobil.
[JB: Do we even have one of those?]

3. Whats the funniest thing mom ever did?
Tell all those jokes in the car.
[JB: But he's always telling us not to make jokes. See, he likes them!]

4. What's your favorite thing to do with mommy?
Play chess, though she doesn't play very well.

5. What should we make mommy to eat for Mother's Day?
A heart-shaped pancake that says, "Mother's Day," or "This pancake is for mom." We should put it on the counter or shelf so she can find it.

6. What's mommy's favorite thing to do with you?
Read with me.

7. How old is mommy?
Hmmm. I'm not sure.

8. Take a guess.
Ummm...I guess 61.

9. Okay, then hold do you think GranGran is?
Probably about 100.

10. Complete this sentence. My mommy is a good mommy because...
...She lets me play with Legos.

11. If you had an infinite amount of money, what would you buy mommy as a present?
A pretty vase.
[JB: Maybe he'd splurge for one made out of real plastic.]

12. Where would mommy like to go on vacation?
New York City.

13. 3 words to describe mommy?
Medium [JB: As in size.]
Beautiful
Nice

14. What's a nice thing mommy does for you?
Takes me to chess.

15. What's mommy's favorite food?
Peanut butter, of course!

16. What's her favorite hobby?
Going to Yahoo Mail on the computer.
[JB: I guess that kills time when not knitting or taking Aiden to chess.]


We decided to turn the tables and have Aiden interview me about his mommy. Here are Aiden's questions with my answers.

1. Two words to describe mommy?
Little but tough.

2. What do you like about mommy?
She makes every room feel warm.

3. What flowers should we get her on Mother's Day?
A dozen tulips.

4. Here's one with a yes or no answer. Should we get her a new bed?
No.

5. How old is mommy.
32
Aiden: Oh, yeah.

6. Do you think we should buy here a pet pig?
Yes, a porkbelly.
Aiden: We could get all our pork from it. If we gave it George's marvelous medicine, it would give us like a dozen pork units.

7. Do you think we should make a vase for her?
Maybe. I was thinking we'd do a painting project instead.
[Note that we did his questions to me a day later, so he's pretty set on vases.]

8. Then should we paint a vase for her?
Yes.

9. Should we have her birthday party theme be flowers?
I think she's prefer a Darth Vader birthday party.
Aiden: Dad, she doesn't like Star Wars. It's too scary for her. She doesn't even know about lightsabers or Naboo.

10. Where should we go on vacation?
Mars.
Aiden: We don't even have astronaut suits!
JB: Okay, then how about Peoria, Illinois?
Aiden slaps his head and falls on the floor.

cousins

We had fun getting together for Trevor's birthday for dinner and the playground! Thanks! Happy 2 T!

quick

Do you ever have one of those weeks that just flies by, but somehow you think every day is Friday except for when it is actually Friday?! That probably doesn't make sense. Anyway, this quick week was full of play dates with friends that have a new dog and KC's new obsession with pointing out dogs and saying - "daaag" even at the doggie photo card in the line at Trader Joe's. KC picked out what I'm calling his mother's day present to me. First, he cooperated with a quick visit to Pier One and then pointed and squealed at this rug hanging up high - the price tag said $79 marked down to $7?! Turns out no one has my and KC's taste and they had marked it down to make it the perfect new sink rug. Aiden calls it a butterfly costume on the floor. KC made a new friend Avery at story time and they kept toddling over to each other to give big gentle hugs. Aiden learned how to climb the super tall lifeguard stand at the beach. We cruised to Ikea to get a new desk for daddy and ended up with a new grass colored rug for KC. We hit the Lego outlet for a special treat. Sports class involved balloon tennis which made KC into a squirmy maniac. Soccer practice was drizzly and then cut short by a storm warning. I had my last knitting class, a mom's night out at the local pub, and a giant cinnamon loaf delivered by my super duper husband - so mother's day started early ;). TGIF!

S.S. CoCo

Aiden made bag head boy into a robot he dubbed S.S. CoCo (pronounced coo coo). S.S. was a nod to the pirate movie he saw with his friends on Sunday. It means Super Shiny - of course, naturally... And every good robot pirate needs a red paper monkey right?! He had what he described as 'so, so many buttons to check' so every time he asks me to push one he has to take off the bag to examine which specific function it has... So complicated, that coo coo.

monday monday

It felt like a true Monday running errands, finishing a sweater gift, and watching these exotic looking flowers float down from who knows where... I couldn't see the source but the petals stuck to my windshield all the way to pick up Aiden. We walked the neighborhood looking for more and cruised all the way to the beach. KC is so fun at the beach now and luckily is more interested in chasing shoes than trying to head towards the water.

roundup

The bigger two Brennan boys are rounding out the weekend fun with a play date meetup to see the new Pirates movie in the theater. I get some extra cuddles with my bug who I think had a fun weekend breaking in his new kicks.

We snuck away for some shopping and then during nap I even snuck away from all three boys to go on the Lake house and garden tour. Some of these houses were ah-maze-ing... Just stunning before and after remodels on a few too. They took a ranch and transformed it into a five story vaulted ceiling third story walkout with infinity hot tub...um, yes please. No photos allowed, but my daydreams are full of memories of all the cool details.

We also tried out Aiden's bike at the park down the way and discovered we need air in the tires and a big seat hike up! I remember when he could barely reach those pedals. KC was happy he got a chance to try too. The high school students get free reign to paint the street which makes the ride like a look and find.

I think the highlight of KC's weekend was getting to sit next to his soccer loving brother in the official pirate ship/bench. He clapped like a good pep squad leader.