Big Apple Anniversary/Part 2/Food Tour

The first night we arrived in New York we got off the plane starving. Our plans were to try the much raved about, Eataly. This is an ultra sleek and trendy market and home of numerous restaurants (coffee, pizza, gelato, paninis, pasta, wine and cheese, these are all individual places to eat not just what they offer! Choices abound.). It's huge, crowded, and chaotic. We walked in hungry and overwhelmed during the 7:30 dinner rush. Once we got our barrings we put our name on the list (every place had a wait) for the restaurant on the roof. Excellent Italian food and a view of NYC were an appropriate way to start off our anniversary trip. We will certainly be going back to Eataly on our next visit. But this time we will have a plan as to avoid the deer in the headlights experience of this trip.
The next morning we headed out fairly early to the Lower East Side where the Tenement Museum was calling our name. But as we strolled through Little Italy on our way, we could not pass up the chance to grab a bite at Ferrara, a 100 year old Italian cafe. Mark and I each had an Italian pastry and split a savory panini with coffee. I personally don't do well with sweets for breakfast but when in Rome (and when they are this good) why not! Just as a side note, wherever I go I am always aware of how people generally eat in the area. A few locals in the cafe caught my attention by their sweet coffee drinks with whip cream and massive amounts of pastries. I would pass out of a sugar coma if I ate all that with no protein, aspecially at breakfast. I'm curious if this is a daily routine or if they do this every once in a while. You can take the dietitian on vacation but you can take the dietitian part out of vacation. Sorry.
After a late breakfast and a busy day of museums we were not hungry for lunch until about 2:30 or 3. We had made our way to SoHo in search of Housing Works Bookstore when we stumbled upon Back Forty about a block from the bookstore. This is a locavore/farm to table restaurant, not something I expected to find in the middle of an enormous city (there definition of local I'm sure is more than a few miles radius ;). We were quickly enticed to try the appetizer of green chili pork faee nuggets which were bits of pork jowl fried with a green chili sauce served with a pickled red onion. Have you ever had a combination of food that was so well thought out that it brought together flavors in ways you could not have imagined? Mark and I could have ordered platters and platters of these. Instead we moved on to the main course where each of us had a grass-fed burger. And I must say it could have been the best burger of my life.
Day 2 led us WAY uptown to The Cloisters. But before we got to 191st street we stopped in on the Upper West Side and ate breakfast at Vive la crepe! By the 3rd bite Mark wanted to open up a Vive la crepe in our own town! He had fallen deeply in love. Mark had some kind of omelet in his crepe and I had gruyere and ham. Did I mention that these crepes are folded into a cone so you can carry it away and eat on the go? This is a version of fast food I can handle. For dessert Mark and I split a dark chocolate crepe that oozed deep, rich, melted yumminess.
After visiting the Cloisters we made our way back down to Uptown and sought out a place for lunch. Once we noticed we were starving, we simply looked around for a place to eat. One does not need to search far in NYC. There sat Cafe Fiorello with outdoor seating available on a perfect sunny spring day. We split a margarita pizza and each had salads. The food and service were great but the experience was more than that. The temperature was perfect with sunshine but still comfortable in jeans and a 3/4 sleeved shirt. Patrons around us seemed likewise to be having a wonderful day and we all exchanged chatter. Two ladies a table over announced to the rest of us that they had not seen each other in over 20 years and had just run into each other by chance. Another charming couple beside us were from Mexico and in NYC wrapping up a 3 week honeymoon which they spent mostly in Europe. The whole afternoon was nothing less than delightful.
I must note that people everywhere were like what I just described in the previous paragraph. Tourist and locals alike were always very friendly. Mark and I experienced the same thing both trips to NYC. Many times a New Yorker would joke with us Texans about how rude they were. And I would think to myself, "Rude? Here you are talking to a stranger." Don't tell the New Yorkers but their bark is bigger than their bite.  They are a friendly bunch whether they admit it or not.
Saturday we tackled the monstrous Metropolitan Museum of Art. And once again we suddenly noticed we were starving. I knew if we left the museum for lunch I would never get Mark back in. So we dined inside at one their many restaurants. The food was good but not necessarily memorable. But the setting was gorgeous as I ate facing and enormous wall of windows 3 stores high overlooking Central Park.
For our last night in NYC Mark and I chose to eat at our favorite restaurant, Les Halles and celebrate our 10th anniversary. Our waiter greeted us and then noted that he was completely doped up on allergy medicine. I was a bit worried about his server capabilities at this point. But he came though with flying colors and the meal was a hit. Mark secretly asked the waiter if we could move to an outside table for dessert seeing how it was a beautiful night. He obliged gladly assuring us it would not mess up his tip for us to change tables. There we met yet another friendly couple at the table next to us.
Some moments in like are so picturesque you feel like you are in a movie. Most of our trip felt this way. It was great to be together, just the two of us like it was in the beginning 10 years ago.

Big Apple Anniversary/Part 1/The Museum Tour

Mark and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a kid less trip to New York City. And what better way to celebrate never ending love than with an near-endless parade of museums! Hey, don't knock it. It's my love language.

Day 1 began with The Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side. This building was condemned in 1935 but never torn down. And there it sat for decades as a time capsule. This is the BEST museum in NYC if you want a real taste of the city. You literally get to step into the lives of immigrants and see how they lived and follow real life stories. The two families we followed lead right up to real people living in New york today. As we walked the stairs we touched the banister that about 7,000 immigrants used between the 1800's and 1935. But the side effect of such amazing stories of triumph is that you will leave there feeling like your own generation is a bunch of whiny, spoiled wimps! Hard times are not when you are unable to buy the newest iPhone!

Later that day we ended up at Francis Tavern in the Financial District. You may ask how a colonial building from the 1700's survived amongst the skyscrapers shinning of modern prosperity in the financial district? Well, George Washington took his men here for a celebratory meal at the end of the Revolutionary War. In a city that has been remade and torn down for bigger and better time and time again, only I would search out for the oldest and smallest! They are still serving food and there is a museum inside.

Day 2 sent us WAY up to 191st street! Tyron Park is beautiful in the springtime. And nestled in the back sits a hidden Manhattan gem, The Cloisters.

This museum incorporated recovered architectual pieces from the middle ages into it's building. Although they are all well labeled, the conglomerate is really seamless and you feel transported to Europe all for a $2.10, 20 minute subway ride.

Religious art reigned here with several pieces of architechture from cathedrals (1500's-1600's). Even the windows were stained glass from ruins.

And then there were the infamous medival unicorn tapestries. If your kids read the Magic Treehouse books. This is THE ONE!

Day 3 we hit the Metropolotan Museum of Art which is bigger than my neighborhood. There is so much more museum to the left of this picture that I could not fit in the screen. I suppose this is about half the museum. And no, we did not see it all. That might have prevented an 11th anniversary.

We hit the Greek and Roman art since we've had a lot of that time peroid around our house this year. Here is old Cesear himself.

And we couldn't pass up Ancient Egypt. Here is Queeh Hatsheput (she is the only woman who got to be Pharoah!). She is a favorite of ours.

Next up: Part 2/Food Tour

P.S. My spell check seems to be stuck or not working at this time. I'm sure there are a few things wrong in this post but I am kind of over it at this point so you will just have to live with it! :)

Cliff Jumping Is a Viable Hobby

Sometimes you just need to jump off a cliff. How bad could it be? Some even say it's a thrill of a lifetime.

When I look back at my life there are a few cliffs I wish I would have jumped off. In college I wish I had taken the time to go work at Walt Disney World for a summer. Instead I took heavy loads of classes as a summer pastime. Disney World does have a college internship program and I seem to have genetic material in place that makes me immune to the song, "It's a Small World." Seriously, I can listen to that song over and over again without losing my mind. Clearly I missed my calling. But still I did not take the time to explore the opportunity.

Another wild seed I never did sew was in college degrees. My love of literature and history made me consider these as options for majors in college. But since I had no desire to be a school teacher it didn't seem practical. Yuck. I have a bit of disdain for the word, "practical." Because all too often I am more practical than I want to be. I fear it's a side effect of trying to be wise. In hind sight I could have taken the time to minor in one of these subjects but I was too goal oriented on my career path to see this as a viable option.

I could go on about missed opportunities but instead I'll pause here to carpe diem and jump off this cliff before it too passes me by. You see we absolutely love the school Savannah attends. It's one of those situations where you walk in the door, meet the people and think, "This is home." As far as schools go, that is a rare find. But this voice inside me (AKA, God) began to whisper notions of homeschooling this past January. I thought this voice to be a bit of a jokester at first since we are content where we are. What would be the point of leaving?

But as Mark and I began to talk about it, many reasons came to light as to why it would be wise to take this year off and home school (hey, maybe it can be wise to jump off a cliff!). And finally we got a deep-felt peace about homeschooling next year and dare I say...even excited about it? What it all came down to was this question, "Twenty years from now would I regret taking her out of a wonderful school for a year? Or would I regret not taking a year off for us to journey together through learning and spending time together with each other and extended family?" The hardest decisions are when you have to wonderful choices to choose from.

Casting off fear of failure and knowledge of being within God's will we are leaping off a cliff with joy into the adventure of homeschooling for 1 year!

P.S. I have no idea what's going to happen next. And that's ok.

The Dinosaur in Our Kitchen

Archer: Cake.
Me: What?
Archer: Cake. (As he points to his mouth)Yummy.
Me: Did you eat some cake?(I know for a fact that we have no cake in the house because if we did, I would be eating it!)
Archer: Yes.
Me: Where did you get the cake?
Archer: Kitchen. Dinosaur.
Me: You got the cake from a dinosaur?
Archer: Yes. Kitchen. Big one.
Me: You got cake from a big dinosaur in the kitchen.
Archer: Yes. Yummy! (said with a big smile.)

Alrighty then.

Carry a Tune

Archer's version of "Jesus Loves Me"

"YES, (loudly) Jee zus of's ME (even louder)!
YES, Jee zus of's ME!
YES (even louder) Jee zuz of's ME (perhaps the loudest)
The baba ta me SOOOOOO! (practically screaming the last word)"

Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat

Well, you get the idea.

Amused and Bemused

Although today is Mark's birthday, I can't ignore that I am about 6 months behind in blogging. So instead of doting on Mark in cyber-space I will have to do it in person later. Because today I am working on a 2 month old post, Archer's birthday.

I have said many times that Savannah never ceases to amaze me. The wheels in her head are always turning and her brain is on fire! Yes, Savannah amazes me daily and Archer well, he amuses the heck out of me! From the day he flew out of the womb (and he did, but his birth story is another tale) he has bemused and amused me.



Mr. Arch spends his days singing at the top of his lungs Jesus Loves Me, ABC's, Jingle Bells, and Old Mc Donald. The funniest is Jingle Bells, "Jinga bell, jinga, bell, jinga bell...HEY!!!!" Loud emphasis on the "HEY!!!" If at some point in time you hear this in your living room, know that I am running with him in the stroller somewhere within a 3 mile radius of your house. He's that loud!



His next favorite pass time is making out with his mom. And honestly I can't wait until he is 16 and I get to tell him that! Since infancy he has required, sought, and given more hugs and kisses than I ever dreamed a human could need. I complained about my neck hurting after a busy stressful day the other day and Archer came up to me and kissed my neck saying, "all better." So sweet. That's just the way he rolls. He will spot any "boo boo" on me and seek to make it better with kisses. Likewise he makes up numerous boo boo's of his own that need to be kissed. However sometimes they are real like just a few days ago when he took a bite of spicy sausage. He stuck out his tongue and said, "Hot, boo boo, kiss it." Laughing I told him I wasn't going to kiss his tongue and then he was of course heart broken. Needless to say, in the end I kissed his tongue!

Bemused. Everything about him has been different from Savannah. And I don't mean this in a good verses bad sort of way but more of a what-in-the-world-do-I-do-about-this sort of way. I found myself at square one with child two. That means that when you see I have not blogged in a few month, I am busy trying to figure things out. The funny thing is, he is getting easier every day. I forsee a day when we will enter a new stage where he is the easier of the two children. But for know I am madly in love with this cuddly ball of amusing challenges.

P.S. Archer's counting this week, "7, 8, 9, 10, 11, A, G, Z, B." Man, and I was beginning to be very impressed. Well, at least he got part of it!

I am a Toddler

Wednesdays are usually Archer's favorite day. Why? Because he get's to rock out like nobody's business at Kindermusik class with one of his favorite people, Mrs. Donnis (and me! I'm there too of course!) There's singing, dancing, instruments, friends, loudness, and sillyness. What toddler would not love such a weekly opportunity.

But this paticular Wednesday morning. Archer was happy playing in his room at his train table. I called him over to me so that I could put his shoes on.

"No." he firmly replied. (Poor child, he still thinks that's an appropriate answer to my commands. He will learn!)

Still being patient I called him over again and assured him he needed to get his shoes on so that we could go to his favorite thing, kindermusik.

"No," this time with dramatic head shaking.

Five minutes later of this charade I was holding him down while he cried as I crammed his shoes on. He kept yelling "train, train, train, no shoes, no shoes, no shoes."

Without any sympathy I wrestled him into the carseat threatening his life if he did not cooperate and off we went to Mrs. Donnis' Kindermusik class. At this point we were both in less than a party-like mood. But I knew once we got there he would have the time of his life even if it took him a while to get over his fit.

We pulled into the parking lot and his face lit up, "kinmusik, kinmusik, instamints (instruments), fun, fun!"

Frustrated and in my best I-told-you-so voice I said, "Archer, I have been telling you all morning that we were going to Kindermusik. That's why I wanted you to put your shoes on, so we could go."

And he did have fun. That boy seriously does rock out in class. And then the rest of the day he repeats, "Donnis, fun. Donnis, fun."

I put him down for a nap and opened my bible study and noticed this week was labeled, "control." Great. Let's learn about relequishing our plan and submitting to God's. Yikes.

Suddenly this morning's events played back like a movie except I was the 2 year old. I literally saw myself throwing a fit over God's plan. How many times have I been so distracted by the mild nuseance of putting on by shoes that I failed to see the purpose was so I could go somewhere great. Well, that number is not for public knowledge. Sufice to say, way too many.

And how many times have I been so content playing with the same old toys (good toys no less) at home that when God tries to move me to something new (and far beter) I hesitate because it was not my idea or I am fearful? If I could look up from my own personal desires (ultimate sign of a toddler) then I would see God was leading me into something far better, even if it does enatil a mundane car ride and getting out of my pajamas or even a little discomfort.

Fear, control, self-centeredness all describe my toddler and myself.

The remedy? Faith and submission.

Exodus 4:10
But Moses pleaded with the Lord, 'O Lord, I'm not very good with words. I never have bee, and I'm not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied and my words get tangled.' Then the Lord asked Moses, 'Who makes a person's mouth? Who decided whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see?' Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with youas you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.' But again Moses pleaded, 'Lord, please! Send someone else.'