GR82BAMOM

Holiday City Kid

2011-12-24T13:46:00.008-05:00

My boy loves Manhattan and Santa probably equally, and he got to visit both in one day.

Call me crazy, but I pulled Liam out of school on Dec. 1st to go to see Santa at Macy's in the Herald Square flagship store. I didn't feel too bad since I knew he wouldn't miss out on much. Besides another mother did it, too. (That always makes it okay, no?) The weather was fairly warm (in the 50s) and we wanted to beat the crowds. It was perfect.

It played out like this: The wonder woman mom of four kiddos walked with a double stroller (for daughters: 6-month old and 2-year old) and her 5-year old daughter in tow, the prego mom with her own 2-year old toddler daughter, and I had Liam and his buddy (from mom number 1) both 4-years old, one in each hand. Whew! Needless to say, my arms got quite the workout.

The plan was to see Santa and then check out as many Christmas window displays as we could. It proved a bit much since we had to squeeze in lunch and all. Hooray for the dollar pizzeria just two short blocks away from Macy's! Liam had karate later in the afternoon, so all we had time for was Santa and the Macy's window displays. Still fun though, even with three school-aged children, two toddlers, one baby, three tired moms, one of which was preggers.

All six of these wonderful children were surprisingly well-behaved and cooperative. Of course, we played the Santa card quite a few times, especially on the boys, but everyone was super excited. (Not pictured are the two little girls in their strollers and the five-year old pleading to these ones to hurry up.)

The countdown!

Would have enjoyed these wonderful displays a lot more had we not flown by them because of the shortness of the line. No complaints here though.

Once there, after some photos opps with Santa, Liam got some one-on-one time with the big man who asked him point blank if he was a good boy and what he wanted for Christmas. Before Santa could even finish his sentence, Liam blurted out, "Star Wars Lego!" which rather startled Santa. He repeated Liam's request looking at me square in the eyes. Nicely done, Santa.

When we got to the ground floor, they took a moment to write and "mail" letters to Santa. Never mind that they had just seen him upstairs in "Santaland" and had made their request verbally. I guess they wanted it to be official, so no mistakes later.

Yes, Liam! There is a Santa Claus!

"If it's in The Sun it must be so."

They also "made" ornaments at the front window display, because, you know...

...ornaments represent Christmas wishes. So fun!

Yes, they wanted to hop on the NYPD motorcycles and no, I didn't let them. I convinced boys that a photo with them was just as cool.

Gazing up at the Empire State Building while discussing how to climb it!

Did I mention that my arms got quite the workout with these two? Love 'em! So fun!

We came home and he was glued to the ToysRUs magazine.

Liam, my darling boy, I hope you love your presents!

Busy Fall

2011-12-15T20:58:00.006-05:00

(Photo taken in the school's parking lot)

Life's been pretty busy around our house this Fall.
Here's a recap:

Liam's school:
Schlepping Liam to and from school every day, I'm starting to feel like a half day is just too little time for him. I have to drive him everyday because the pre-k that's walking distance from where we live closed after the last school year. I have already told him that next year he will be gone all day. To my surprise, he exclaimed, "Oh yes! I love school! I can't wait to go for all day!" Me, too! Perhaps then, I can get to do a little more around here without having to stop projects at the halfway mark. He is growing so fast and learning in leaps and bounds.

He played a turkey in his very first school play and had two lines. All the children did remarkably well considering all the parents had their cameras out constantly taking pictures. We all looked like paparazzi photographing celebrities. So cute! Bill took lots of photos with his fancy camera while I mostly shot video. Oh and Liam had two Thanksgiving dinners: after the school play and on Thanksgiving Day itself.

On our daily drive home from school, he almost always requests pizza. One day, I tried to get him to try a slice with chicken and broccoli, but he wouldn't hear of such a thing. It's plain pizza or nothing at all. I ordered a chicken marsala slice because it looked so darn good. (When you're really hungry, anything looks great.) He shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth and to my surprise, he really liked it. In fact, he closed his eyes, went "Mmmm!" and said that this was his new favorite. So now, every time we drive past that pizzeria he always requests a slice of chicken marsala pizza. I have to talk fast to get him distracted enough so that he doesn't realize that we're driving past his favorite pizzeria.

The house:
Things are looking better and better in our house. Bill has almost completed the installation of the banister in the basement, so it is no longer "the stairs of death." I can't even begin to tell you how many near falls we have experienced, especially by me hauling the laundry up and down those stairs, and Liam with toys he manages to find down there.

The bigger news, though, is our new roof! You may recall that Hurricane Irene dropped a tree on the back of our house. Well, I would love to say that the experience with the insurance company went smoothly, but it didn't. Perhaps if we had suffered severe structural damage like a roof collapse, then the claim would have been cut and dry. We have gone back and forth for months now and we still have some unresolved matters. We are crossing our fingers that they will err on the side of logic and fairness. We are very happy with our new roof. It has created a different feel to our house, making it feel more secure, quieter and somehow warmer. We went with onyx black to match the window framing and white gutters, of course, which will match the "white" siding once we have saved the money to restore them to its original whiteness.

In the kitchen:
I have done some baking, too, from scratch, with good results. Pics and recipes to follow. Pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin (not out of the can), doughnuts, and my boys made me a birthday cake. The cake picture here is of course from a bakery. My mom brought it over on on Thanksgiving Day to celebrate my birthday again. How sweet of her! Another Thanksgiving feast went by, only this time, I have to say, it was the best turkey I have ever cooked, which is saying a lot since I normally cook a fabulous turkey. This year's though was more flavorful and the leftover turkey made for some very delicious soups. I must mention also that Liam helped me by bagging the last minute groceries for our feast. So darling!

Illness:
As predicted, we have had our share of colds and whatnot. It never fails. At the start of the school year, all the kids go through their rounds of colds and viruses, because, you know, "sharing is caring!" Year after year, it is almost guaranteed that I will fall sick anytime between Halloween and New Year's Eve, and this year has not been the exception. You may recall last year's beast of a flu. This time, despite the mild Autumn, I came down with a cold accompanied by a nasty cough that apparently lingers on for months. This has made my life so uncomfortable, causing me to place many important projects on hold, including the crafty stuff and this blog.

Shared computer time:
I do manage to squeeze in a little time to check out friend's blogs, mostly because Liam really wants to see pictures of his friends, etc., but because I am now sharing my computer with Liam, I get very little time on it. I mostly have to wait until he is fast asleep to get anything done. It really couldn't be helped. It was just a matter of time. He begs to see pbs kids, sesame street, qubo, and some other stuff including vids on you tube. The boy can also google and always yells out for me to spell certain words, mostly Star Wars related. It's pretty hilarious as is his growing vocabulary. He really is learning in leaps and bounds. I can hardly believe that he will turn 5 in January.

Liam's wardrobe:
You may recall me mentioning Liam's wardrobe issues last year. His karate uniform pretty much cured him if it. This year, thanks to the generosity of my family in Texas, we have not had to buy a single article of clothing for Liam (except for underwear, socks and shoes). My cousin's three year old son is so big and tall that he outgrows his clothes at lightening speed. As a result, Liam has inherited so many wonderful clothes! We are humbled by their generosity and feel truly blessed. One more thing... you will notice in the pictures that he is diving into the package, well my aunt and cousin also threw in some hot wheels and matchbox cars.What a lucky little boy!

It has been a colorful and fun season around here, and we're glad to be enjoying it this year. Here is
a sampling of our life this Fall in pictures:

Yup! We've been quite busy around here!

Halloween happenings and Strawberry!

2011-11-02T00:26:00.016-04:00

Liam as a Ninja
(Because this year he became a mixed martial arts student)

Our Halloween happenings this month started off with...

...a trip to an Autumn festival where Liam got to ride a pony for the first time...in 85 degree weather, October 13th to be exact. Crazy. (Also crazy: Liam's socks-with-sandals look. Don't get me started on that.)

Liam and I kept busy making ghost lollipops with these household items...

...and they turned out like this!

We hung them on a branch that we picked up from our backyard.

LOVE these kids!

Liam's buddy Frankenstein making a mummy out of my little Ninja

Friday night, we went to the Church's Halloween party with all of his friends from Primary where they played countless games and went on their traditional "Trunk or Treat" in the Church's parking lot (think Halloween tailgating). I actually drove the one block to participate in it this year. Everyone did a great job decorating their trunks and I discovered that I need to do a better job next year. (Sorry, no pic this time. Too dark.)

On Saturday, Bill had to work (poor, unfortunate soul). Liam and I stayed home and watched countless movies while making these treat bags for his school Halloween party. We placed the usual candy treats plus the ghost lollipops. Since it was snowing, I opted to stay in and make treat bags out of stuff I knew we already had. I think they turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself. (Another Halloween motif on the back of the bag, too.)

Here are some pics of our window decor. A skeleton and spooky eyes which might as well pass as angry eyes for the snow we got before Halloween. (Yes, that is our garbage can out there. I couldn't be bothered to throw my winter gear on just to bring it in.) Thankfully, we got less of an inch here in NYC and it all melted before Monday. Hard to believe that two and a half weeks ago, we were enjoying 85 degree weather.

Here he is in school on Halloween Monday. He refused to take off the face mask for a good long while. I kept telling him that we needed to see his smile for the photos, but he insisted that he was really smiling. In time, it grew old for him and he finally took it off on his own, and it was a good thing too, because...

You'll never guess who we bumped into! None other than Darryl Strawberry, retired Mets and Yankees star player (and cancer survivor):

Darryl Strawberry's six foot six frame towering over little Liam.

Daddy had to get a shot with the Strawman, too!

It was so cool that he was in the neighborhood on Monday. The pre-k class was out trick-or-treating at the small mom-and-pop shops in the area, and he happened to be there in front of his restaurant. He spotted us and called out for us to get candy from him. He was super friendly and graciously accepted to have his photo taken as many times as we all wanted. All of the children were, of course, clueless, but the parents, on the other hand, were all just giddy with excitement!

Since Liam has karate on Mondays, and Halloween landed on a Monday, Liam strolled in wearing his Ninja costume, much to the delight of all four instructors. Joshu Julio Arce hammed it up, of course, and posed for a pic with Liam. The sheer joy on Liam's face is priceless.

After class we did some Trick-or-Treating in a couple of shops nearby because that's just what we do here in NYC: on Halloween, we hit up the stores we do business with daily. We get to see who really appreciates our patronage. We bumped into a karate buddy and his parents who sported fun-looking costumes. We even strolled into the local police precinct for candy. Liam has always been curious about the police and this was his big chance to see them up close. (No pic because Liam refused. He felt shy.)

We enjoyed freshly-popped popcorn and cotton candy from a local realtor, and a doughnut from D.D. (Still can't believe they gave Liam a whole doughnut.) We agreed that these were the best treats and a change from the typical Halloween candy. He didn't care for the cotton candy, but he did enjoy half of a pumpkin spice doughnut before giving the other half to his drooling daddy. He ate the popcorn on the car ride home. Then, we went to a few houses around our block and called it a night.

All in all, he ended up with pretty much the same kind of candy that we bought to give out. We really liked the Halloween stickers, erasers, pencils, fruit gummies, and mini Halloween granola bar. It was a nice surprise from the standard Halloween treats. After inspecting the evening's loot and discarding the "rewrapables" (considered unsafe), he ended up with this decent amount of treats all together. The plan is: one piece after dinner each night. Well, one can only wish.

Hope you had fun, my Ninja boy!

Gathering of pumpkins and cousins

2011-11-01T13:55:00.005-04:00

We went to the same farm as last year. It's spacious, they have plenty of pumpkins to choose from, pick-your-own veggies, free hay ride to the field with the pumpkins, a corn maze, blow-up rides, a concession stand and plenty of parking. Once again, because of scheduling conflicts (Bill's work) we missed our chance to go apple picking to our favorite place upstate with the nearby drive-in movie theater. At least we made it pumpkin picking and as a bonus, we met up with some family.

Our hay ride

I couldn't resist, so I brought Liam's black cape and Star Wars light saber for a photo op.

Liam, as always, couldn't resist doing the sound effects.

In fact, he has quite a repertoire of sound effects.

We picked out only three small pumpkins this year, not this large one.
I want to try a new dinner recipe.

We also picked some veggies for dinner that night.

Here Liam is inquiring if these radishes were sweet because they're red.

Love that boy (and the sky, too)!

(Never mind daddy's shadow as he's shielding Liam from the direct sunlight.)

Hurray for finally meeting up with Liam's cousins!

(Boo-hoo that my niece Yvie was stuck in upstate New York.
Mother dearest also MIA. Too "cold" for her.)

Liam and his cousin Jared were inseparable.

Liam's three step-cousins adore him and he loves
all the attention he gets from them.

Long over-due photo!

My husband hunched over with a sack of pumpkins on his back, me (a.k.a. the "bag lady", sheesh), Moe (my little bro) and his fiance, Julissa.

Liam's Uncle Moe!

Still as funny and handsome as ever.
Congrats on the weight loss! Go Moe!

Another hay ride, this time with the family.

(It was one of those arm-extended self shots.

I know I have a big head, but here it just looks enormous. Yikes!)

The three (out of the four) men in my life inspecting a tractor. (Can't wait to have grandpa join in on our family outings.)

Blow-up rides

Ending the day with a candied apple.

Thumbs up!

Our families give this family-owned farm a big thumbs up!

Our little karate kid

2011-10-25T10:21:00.000-04:00

So, to recap, he has gone from orange, purple, white, 4 stripes on the white belt, and now the "high belt". He will earn stripes on this black-and-white belt before advancing to a colored belt which won't be for many months.

Liam, our little karate kid, has just earned his "high belt."

Here he is with his fabulous teacher, Joshu Julio Arce

(of Bayside's Tiger Schulmann)
All the kiddos LOVE Joshu Arce!

Belt ceremony! Joshu exchanges the old belt for the new one as his classmates applaud.

Congratulations to my little boy! We're SO very happy for you! Keep up the good work!

Extreme Sliding

2011-10-20T00:36:00.004-04:00

Here is some more of his monkeying around. This time at the playground doing some extreme sliding (while we waited for our car to be repaired). My little stuntman forwards, backwards and upright:

Lovin' that hair, bubba!

lounging and monkeying around with buds

2011-10-19T23:54:00.006-04:00

He really enjoys having company at our house.

Can you tell how much Liam loves his buddies?

(Note to self: Must learn how to remove the red eyes! Ugh!)

Monkeying around with another buddy!

The energy of these two kiddos is truly astonishing.

After so much running around after Church (despite my best efforts to refrain him from doing so), he and his running buddy just decided to take a break on the floor in the cultural hall.

Speaking of lounging around...
I have noticed for a while now, that little Liam is okay with playing by himself sometimes. I used to have spend every waking moment with him, mostly sprawled out on the living room floor playing cars, legos, superheros, dinosaurs, puzzles, coloring, painting, reading, etc. Now that he has become a little more independent, I can do a little more around the house, that is, until I notice the silence. You know the feeling; when you suddenly stop what you are doing to try to hear what he may be doing. You start to get uneasy when it's a little too quiet and start to panic.

Well, one day I tiptoed out into the living room and caught Liam lounging on the sofa "reading" a magazine (a catalog of toys). He loves that tattered magazine. He was so into it that he didn't even notice when I took this pic. Now, normally I look around to find the evidence of his mischief (like him opening the mail or daddy's packages because he says that he never gets any, scribbling in the books or on the wall, or climbing the bookshelves), but there was nothing this time. No mischief. No "dennis-the-menace" antics. He really just felt like flipping through his magazine. Whew! Deep sigh of relief!

Oh, my almost five-year old darling little boy! I love your energy levels, your inquisitive little mind, and love how you love your buddies!

Rewind (Part 3)

2011-10-04T22:25:00.001-04:00

The calm before the storm.

(This pic was taken the day before the hurricane hit us.)

We picked up what we thought was a heck of a lot of pine cones in our backyard just a couple of weeks before the hurricane hit. Liam and I first gathered enough to fill a small basket. Well, after the hurricane we picked up a double-sized shopping bag, and as of today there are still more to be gathered. What am I going to do with it all? Well, I have a project in mind. My name is Martha, after all. So stay tuned.

Rewind (Part 2)

2011-10-04T22:23:00.004-04:00

The Beach

Did I forget to mention that we went to the beach this past summer. Well, we did make it out, but only once. Oh well, at least we can say that we went after all. I really would have wanted to go more frequently, but I didn't want to expose my sensitive skin to the hot blazing sun until I was fully recovered from the noxious weeds incident. It took a long time to heal, so we didn't make it to the beach until late August. Oh well, maybe next year we will make it out to the shore earlier in the season.

Look at my boy swimming in the ocean!

Woo! Look at him go!
Good job holding your breath, Leemie!

Impressive, until you realize that he was just crawling!

(Meaning he had his hands on the bottom while the rest of his body just sort of floated.

The kiddos were just wading along the shore.

Thank you to our friends who invited us

to their private beach on the Long Island sound. ;)

(Just days before the hurricane hit us!)

Liam's First Day of Pre-school

2011-09-27T08:00:00.004-04:00

First day of pre-school September 8, 2011

He had been ready for this day for a very long time.

We just love how these photos turned out. Bill's getting pretty good at the photography.

Thumbs up!

(double jointed, just like his mama)

He usually dresses himself, as in, he picks out the clothes he wants to wear, often times putting together the silliest ensemble. This day, he made his selection with very little coercion from me. Considering his wardrobe issues, I had been talking to him for weeks on his wardrobe. We had agreed on jeans and a short-sleeved polo. I assumed he would be wearing his cool-looking Converse sneakers, but despite my pleading with him, he went with the dorky "sneakers and sandals" look. It's just not worth the fight. Anyway, I just really hope he drops that horrid look quickly.

He was happy to walk away from us with nary a look back as soon as the door opened.

Liam's cubby!

"It doesn't say Liam!"

(His teacher quickly made him one with the name he goes by.)

Daddy was so happy he could take the day off for Liam's first ever day of school.

We dropped off our humongous bag with the requested supplies, took a quick look around, and left at Liam's request: "You can't be here." My little Leemie..... Mr. Independent..... and here I thought he would be such a clingy little mama's boy for having nursed for so long (three and a half years, people!). Nope. Quite the opposite. I was the one who walked away teary-eyed and cried all the way back home. I probably cried more that day, than when the tree fell on my house. Go figure.

Since he is a January baby and the cut off here in NYC is December, he gets to be the older kid in class. Everyone points out that it is a good thing. I thought he would grow bored, but by all accounts, Liam LOVES school. Whew!

He was absolutely thrilled when he came to the realization that he would be going to school every single day. I must also confess that I am also ever so slightly thrilled about the two and a half child-free hours. Now, what to do with my free time without my little sidekick.....

Rewind (Part 1)

2011-09-26T02:01:00.006-04:00

Time to rewind. I should have posted this a month ago, but August was a very busy month around here, thanks to Mother Nature. So, yeah, I'm now playing catch up with the blog.

Family Trip to Sesame Place

Summer isn't summer for Liam without a trip to..... you guessed it..... Sesame Place. We did the same as the past two years: racking up the points on our credit card and booking a room for one night at the hotel right across the street from the park. Liam seemed to be okay with the picture-taking, so this time around, I carried my little point-and-shoot camera inside a waterproof container.

Photo taken after their fifth ride on day one. Their expressions are priceless.

(Video of Liam and Daddy on day two)

Noteworthy: Liam and Daddy riding their one and only roller coaster a total of 14 times in two days (five times on day one and nine times on day two). After one of their last rides, we were curious about their video (there is a camera attached to each car), so we took a look at how it turned out. Liam looked like a fearless little pro. Towards the end, he acted like he was driving it. I'm afraid he will be one of those people that raises their hands when going down a roller coaster, which I could never do. Needless to say, we just had to buy the DVD. It's also up on you tube.

In case you didn't know, they have dry rides and wet rides. We usually do the dry rides first. Grover's Vapor Trail is right at the entrance, so we spent a good amount of time there. Then, we hit a few other rides before Liam and Daddy tackled the nets. Bill said the nets were quite the workout.

Can you see Liam and Daddy
getting splashed on in this video?

After the nets, we moved on to the water rides. Our faves still are: the lazy river, the family raft slide (not pictured here) and of course, the splash "castle".

Despite Liam's protest in wanting to continue enjoy the wet rides, we did manage to catch a show before having dinner with the characters.

He was chosen to dance in the parade (day one).

A trip to Disney World is out of our reach, so this is it for now. We hope next summer Daddy's schedule will allow us to venture out to other amusement parks within the tri-state area, but only if our wallet allows such an expense.

Finding humor

2011-09-14T10:02:00.018-04:00

Without a doubt, it has been a rough year. We have not, however, lost our sense of humor about it all. Let's say it's a coping mechanism for us. After all is said and done, laughter is the best medicine.

March
Spring brought me such a NOT nice surprise. To say that I loathe bugs, insects, any creepy crawly things is an huge understatement. I kid you not when I say that one day I completely lost control and found myself yelling at the top of my lungs to some invading insects, "This.. is.. MY.. HOUSE!!!!!! This included some stomping, like a child throwing a fit. We called pest control. Problem solved.

May
I spent Mother's Day weekend in the hospital with a really bad kidney infection. I ended up with a roomie that reminded me of a Chatty Cathy doll. Really. She could not.. stop.. talking. Oh- and she kind of looked like her, too.

June
I had a really bad reaction to poison ivy, oak, and sumac. A friend said that it happened to her several times in her youth. I had just finished parking my car (from having been to the ER) and was walking home with Liam when she said that her reaction to poison ivy was so bad she looked and felt like the "swamp thing", with all the oozing and everything in the heat of summer. Despite the severe swelling and my own oozing face, I managed to laughed out loud. Some people that passed us by at the exact moment I laughed, gave me such an alarming look. There I was, no doubt looking indeed like a monster and laughing out loud, too. Yep, I must have been just as scary as the "swamp thing."

So, I was on some strong meds for the inflammation and whatnot, that made me really dizzy. Exactly a week later, I tripped over some slippers and fell flat on my coccis bone, very nearly braking it. It was quite a trip, too. I started from one end of the living room and ended up falling in the dining room. When I think about that fall now, even I laugh out loud. If it would have been caught on tape, it definitely would have made it on AFV.

August
A freak hailstorm shattered the rear window of my car. It happened only in this area. Manhattan apparently experienced bright sunny skies during our hailstorm.
Bill: "Maybe you should have ran out there and moved the car to a safer location, like the underpass of the LI expressway."
Me: "I thought about it, but considering the hail was the size of golf balls and baseballs, we would have gotten hurt. Don't you think?"
Bill: "Well, you guys could have worn the bicycle helmets."
Now picture us, with bicycle helmets running out into the hailstorm as everyone was running away from it.
Um... no.

Lastly, the hurricane called Irene that put a tree on our house. Bill and I called several tree removal companies for estimates. We had to make sure they were licensed and insured. During the selection process, he said we should forget about this one particular company because he thought they were "shady". Then, I said that I was "leaning" towards another company anyway. We both turned to look at each other and suddenly started laughing, only my laughter ended up in bawling. Two days later, one of our neighbors came over to ask us why that tree was "still sitting on our house". My immediate thought was, lady- please don't make me scream in your face. We explained that we were scheduled for the removal on that Thursday because all the tree removal companies were booked solid. I guess we needed to call a tree removal company the moment the tree fell on the house. She also told us that she thought we should all "chip" in and remove all of the trees from that abandoned property next door. Hurricane season is not over and heavens forbid another one of those trees should fall onto mine or our any of the neighbors' houses... "knock on wood".

One of my favorite websites, Scouting NY, did a post on what New Yorkers would consume as Irene passed over New York City. I seriously could not stop laughing. Apparently, New Yorkers refuse to accept the possibility of the power ever going out. Why didn't I think about taking photos of our empty supermarket shelves? It really was a comedic sight. People planned to hunker down as if a blizzard would be hitting us instead of a hurricane. We are not used to monster hurricanes up here in the northeast. Some thought of having fun with it, like Super Bowl weekend. Even I get it.

So this is the list of Martha's series unfortunate events of 2011. I seriously hope I won't have to add to it. If I do, I might have to ask the reader/s (if any) to vote at the end of the year on the one considered worst.

Hey, humor me, I have got to laugh to keep from crying. Sure, there is a subtle (or maybe not so subtle) hint of cynicism, but I have to find some humor in it all somehow.

Remembering

2011-09-11T15:35:00.006-04:00

I am remembering today. I don't talk about the horrific events of September 11th, 2001 unless someone asks me to tell my story. Even then, I make it very short. I would rather suppress than relive those sickening and frightful moments. I have shared my story with only a few people. Today, I have copied and pasted my 9/11 story onto this blog. I thought it would be fitting to post it on this, the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I put it all out there, as they say, one last time before locking it in the vault until who knows when. Once it is posted, I may or may not decide to keep it up on my blog, but it stays, at least for today, on our day of remembrance here in New York City.

I was born in New York City and I have lived here my whole life, except for the year and a half I spent serving a mission in England and Wales for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I never, ever thought in a million years anything like this would happen here in this country.

I am probably alive today because I turned down a job offer at a bank on one of the top floors of 1 World Trade Center just a few years before that horrible day. I was no where near the WTC on September 11th 2001 and was therefore not hurt because of a simple clerical error. I guess you can say that I was at the wrong place at the right time that day.

I was working at 7 WTC, the third building that collapsed later on that afternoon. The bank I worked for sent me to a two-day seminar. I was given the choice to either go to 1 World Trade Center or the Met Life building in midtown Manhattan. I chose the latter because it was a shorter commute. I arrived bright and early that morning to the midtown office for the seminar, only to be informed that since I worked at 7 WTC I had to report to 1 WTC and that if I left quickly I just might make it in time. I turned around to leave when I saw everyone in the office run towards the windows.

We were up on the 36th floor of the Met Life building and had a clear view of 1 and 2 WTC. Some were speculating that perhaps a news helicopter had lost control and crashed into the building. Not likely, I thought, considering the severity of the impact. Then, we all witnessed the second plane hit. We saw the ball of fire all the way from midtown Manhattan. I felt like the whole experience was being played out like an action feature film. I couldn't believe my eyes. Just then, my brother called me who was working at the time at a city hospital in Queens. He asked me where I was and when I told him that I was in midtown, he frantically told me to leave Manhattan by any means necessary. To quote him, "The U.S. is under attack by Muslim terrorists! They have hijacked five planes and are striking New York City and other major cities! Our hospital is on code red and we’re getting ready to receive the overflow of victims." I have never heard my soft-spoken, easy-going brother speak so alarmingly. I immediately turned around to leave.

I made it to the ground floor and made my way to Grand Central Station. Everyone was either walking swiftly or at a stand-still, but they were all on their cell phones. My legs started to buckle and so I sat down at the bottom of one of the marble staircases, also trying to call home. When my calls didn’t go through, I thought of all my options. I knew that I had to avoid the subway system all together, so I decided that the best way home was to take a bus or just walk across the Queensborough Bridge and then take a taxi the rest of the way home. When I walked out into the street, I made my way to Madison Avenue. Again, everyone I saw was either at a standstill or walking hurriedly, but everyone was looking towards downtown. When I turned to take a look, I saw a grey haze. People all around me kept saying repeatedly, “I can’t believe it! This isn’t happening!” I hopped on a bus (the last bus to leave Manhattan into Queens), took my seat, and kept calling home. My mother’s call suddenly came through and she told me the horrifying news that the both 1 and 2 WTC had fallen. The bus somehow decided to take a different route and ended up leaving me just a block away from home.

When I got home, my time was split between watching the TV, answering the landline phone, checking my e-mail messages and frantic voicemail messages from friends and family inquiring as to whether I was okay, but I was far from okay.

I will never be okay and will never be tired of asking “why”. I didn’t record the news on TV and I didn’t care to buy the newspaper the next day like millions of people no doubt did for the simple reason that I did not want to have photos of those murderers. Two or three days later, the plume of smoke from the still smoldering debris blew in a north-eastward direction and it could be smelled from Queens. I could smell it from our apartment when we opened the windows. I lost my appetite in more ways than one and having a full night’s rest for many nights was very often difficult to achieve when thinking about the pain and suffering of all those immediately affected.

I couldn’t go anywhere near downtown Manhattan, not for at least a couple of years. Any attempt prior to that would make me kind of sick. I finally had the courage one day to go to Ground Zero, as everyone calls it, and I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of reverence and loss. The pain was still very much palpable. To this day, it still feels like hallowed ground and it will no doubt always feel that way to me no matter what is built there.

I do admit that I experienced something like survivor’s guilt for a while. There is no way to reconcile those sickening and frightening feelings than to alleviate some of the pain by saturating oneself with the stories of valor and camaraderie of that day. All of those stories have helped me in some way over the years. Prayer, service, temple attendance, and living the Gospel has also aided in the healing. After all is said and done, I am a New Yorker and a strong, smart and faithful Latter-day Saint woman. All of New York City was in mourning for a very long time, but life goes on and we New Yorkers picked ourselves up, some quite literally dusted themselves off, and we all went back to work to care for ourselves and our families. We are taught to love our enemies. Maybe one day I can learn to forgive, but one thing is certain, I cannot ever forget.

Irene

2011-09-06T12:11:00.009-04:00

While some people yawned during Hurricane Irene, calling it hyped up and boring, a tree fell on my house. (Seriously, I can't understand that way of thinking. Don't people watch the news and take into account other people's feelings and sufferings?)

Neighbor's tree on our house

(Photos taken from our backyard on August 28, 2011

during the eye of the hurricane)

It was hot and muggy that Saturday night and we were all tired (from all the hurricane prep work), sticky and very uncomfortable, especially Liam. After he fell asleep on our sofa, Bill carried him upstairs to our bedroom, the only room in the house with air conditioning at the moment. We planned to only have him sleep there for a little while and then move downstairs to the basement to sleep there together for the rest of the night. Bill and I remained awake watching the news coverage downstairs on the first floor. Then, just before three o'clock in the morning on Sunday, we heard the boom. Bill immediately ran upstairs grabbed Liam and brought him downstairs to the basement. We grabbed our 72-hour emergency bags, some food and water, and hunkered down. Liam was crying and scared for a bit, but then we popped in a DVD and he was fine. He fell asleep again moments later. Bill and Liam did manage to sleep for at least a few hours, but I remained awake the whole time. I tried closing my eyes, but I just couldn't. The ferocious winds and powerful gusts kept me awake the whole time waiting for another boom.

We were worried about five big trees that are too close to our house. Four of the five trees in question are on our neighbor's property (you know, the abandoned property with the noxious weeds and the boarded up little house that looks like a shack). The tree that fell on our house was one on our neighbor's property on the far side of their backyard actually leaning towards the other neighboring house. Instead, it fell on our house.

The tree hit the roof on the back part of our house. Another tree's branches broke the impact of the fall as that tree came down so that the actual fall onto our house was not as severe. Its own branches also cushioned the fall on the roof. Another factor that might have broken some of the impact is the brick chimney, but we will have to get a professional take a look at it to see if it took a bad hit. Our antenna as well as our neighbor's were also knocked down, though ours is still working. (Yes, we are antenna people. We can't afford satellite or cable TV and the antenna picks up loads of other channels in addition to the standard network channels, including HD radio.)

As for the tree itself, having had a closer look at that tree, it doesn't look particularly strong and healthy. We have been told it is a locust tree and those are very week trees with soft wood. Their leaf system reminds me of poison sumac and it really creeps me out. We could see that its roots were small and thin, either from not being healthy to begin with, or probably from over saturation from the record-braking rainfall we have had this month alone prior to the hurricane. The other neighboring house on the opposite side of my immediate neighbor had complained about that tree just three days prior to the hurricane, but the bank that has taken possession and is supposedly "maintaining" that property refused to do anything about it because they are "still foreclosing" on that property and until they actually have ownership papers, they "cannot" and "will not" do any major stuff to that house.

Part of our food and water storage for emergency use at home.

Our 72-hour emergency kits, also known as "Go Bags"

I still can't believe that a tree fell on our house. Of course, it could have been worse. It could always be worse. Even though I'm so sad right now, I am still so grateful that nothing more serious happened and that we came out of this okay. We prayed and prayed that we would be safe, along with our house and car.

Oh, and we didn't lose power. That was a good thing since our refrigerator and chest freezer were still full.

The tree is now off the house (as of Thursday). That's a good thing, too. We were worried that the weight of the tree would cause more damage. As for the removal of the tree, it actually took a crew of six men, one lift, ropes and pulleys, chain saws, and a machine that I can only describe as a "muncher", ironically called "Hurricane". Those men were all over our backyard and the two neighboring backyards. It was quite an operation since they needed to be careful not to cause any further damage to our house.

Now we're in the middle of the more daunting task of not just cleaning up, but dealing with our insurance company. We pray that all goes well, and that we will be make all the necessary repairs.

We also need to take action with regards to that "abandoned" neighboring property. I want all of their old, crooked, unhealthy trees removed, all of their noxious weeds that poke and hang over our wired fence dead, and that house declared condemned and knocked down once and for all. That's not too much to ask for is it?

Shaken Up and Scared

2011-08-23T19:29:00.006-04:00

We interrupt the blog posting to bring you up to date...

Early this afternoon, just before 2pm, I was in my kitchen looking out into our backyard while talking to my husband on the phone who was out on his lunch break. There was some background noise from our neighboring houses. It was no doubt one of the landscaping companies working on someone's yard.

Suddenly, I felt something like vertigo coming on. I thought maybe I was just a little lightheaded, but why, I asked myself. Then I thought maybe it was just the neighbor's gardening equipment gone awry or the strong odor of the gasoline mixed with the scent of the freshly cut grass that was somehow getting to me. But, I was hearing too much noise from around and inside the house. I thought of the possibility of Liam monkeying around with my pots and pans in the kitchen behind me, but I looked and he wasn't there. I took two steps to look out into the living room to see him sprawled belly down on the floor with some toy cars. I called out to him and asked if he was all right. He reacted and sat up right away. He looked at me and asked, "Mama, what's that jiggling?" I grabbed him and just held onto him.

My mind was racing and I was scared. I wanted to cry, but I knew I had to keep it together for Liam's sake. I didn't know whether to react and run out into the backyard with Liam, get ourselves to a doorway or monitor the things around us to see how long this was going to last or if it was going to get stronger. So, I just stood there and looked around me. The pots were shaking under their lids, the pans, strainers and other kitchen utensils/gadgets that are hanging on a rack against the wall were rattling and swaying back and forth. I looked at the sink to see the water in the pot I had been soaking also swaying and running over. It felt like it lasted at least a couple of minutes.

All the while, Bill was repeatedly asking what was happening to us here. I finally told him what I had felt and what I was seeing. He said he felt something, too, but thought it was from sitting out in the sun for too long, or perhaps construction around the building. We ended the telephone conversation because he was going to call work to see if any announcements had been made about evacuating his building. He then took the elevator down from the rooftop garden where he was having lunch.

I turned on the TV and flipped the channels, but there were no reports, just the soaps and court TV. I finally found one network channel that started reporting on the quake, Fox I think: Virginia 5.8 earthquake felt all the way up to Massachusetts. Terrifying.

Later, I asked Liam what he felt. He showed me by lying down on the floor the way he was at that moment and then jiggling in place. He said he had heard "something from the basement." He asked me if it was the neighbors monkeying around. When I explained that it was something under the earth shifting and moving, he asked, "Did the astronauts do it?" My little guy, trying really hard to understand.

What a day. I still can't believe it. I don't think I will ever forget the sounds and images of my house shaking.

What a year I've been having. Before this earthquake was a hailstorm on August 1st that shattered my rear car window (more on that later). I'm almost speechless, definitely shaken, but stirred up...

This scripture came to mind: "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;" (D&C 88:119)

I'm going to check on our 72-hour emergency kits to see if they are up to date. I'm so grateful that the Church has been reminding us for decades to get these ready. New York City calls them "Go Bags." Whatever we call them, it's time to have them and a plan ready.

Homemade pancakes: take two...

2011-08-17T14:13:00.010-04:00

A few posts ago I wrote about my bad experience at making pancakes. They were too brown and not at all flavorful. I used the standard boxed mix and I should have known better. The pancakes stuck to the molds, too. It was basically, one inedible mess. My husband and son ate them though because they love pancakes and they are so ridiculously easy to please. They will applaud any and all of my efforts at baking anything sweet or otherwise and they will eat the end product regardless of how bad it turns out. Bless their hearts. Anyway, I had to make it up to them and prove to myself that I could do it. So, I'm happy to say that I redeemed myself.

Here are the pancakes, made from scratch, with a recipe I found on the food blog of one talented baker who used to live in the same neighborhood as we did in Brooklyn. She got it from MyRecipes .com. We topped them with a pat of butter and warm maple syrup. Oh, and I used molds and a pancake batter "pen" (an exclusive tool that my husband picked up from W.S., though I'm sure a squirt bottle would do just fine).

Ambitious little Liam thought he could actually eat both pancakes. I think he was just excited about the shapes.

Liam picked out the Jedi Knight’s X-Wing Fighter
and Darth Vader’s™ Tie Fighter

I went with Han Solo’s™ Millennium Falcon ™
and daddy had all three (plus Liam's leftovers).

New York Pioneers

2011-08-16T09:00:00.018-04:00

Pioneer Day was last month on July 24th. It is significant because it commemorates the day the early LDS members led by the Prophet Brigham Young, entered the Salt Lake valley seeking to escape religious persecution in the eastern United States. LDS members on the east coast don't really do much to commemorate the day, at least not nearly as much as the folks out in Utah. It's a national holiday there. Other than reading about it, watching a broadcast and maybe baking something special, that's really it.

Well, the members here in this little neck of the woods, decided to do something about it. There was a weekend long celebration at the Plainview Stake Center in Long Island. Many of the members who oversaw the building of the Church here were present to share their memories and stories of their ancestors. We had a picnic, activities, and wonderful displays. It all culminated with a special fireside that Sunday evening.

New York, after all, was the first stop for the pioneers traveling from overseas. It was suggested by the Church leadership during that time that some of the New York Church members stay behind to help these early pioneers replenish their supplies for their long journey.

Then, of course, over a decade later, there was the Church's participation in the World's Fair from 1964-1965 in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens. The Church had originally purchased a smaller plot. Another participant could not raise enough funds for a larger plot near the front entrance of the park, so the Church snatched it up immediately. They built a huge edifice replicating the three eastern spires of the Salt Lake City Temple and had a large pond in the front with floating begonias that were donated and imported every few days from California. Some thirty-six panels of the Mormon Pavilion construction were later used in the construction of the Plainview chapel in Long Island.

My mother and a few other family members immigrated to this country from Colombia just in time to catch the tail end of the World's Fair. They had their photo taken right in front of the Mormon Pavilion. They walked through admiring the various dioramas, murals, and the huge Christus statue. They also sat down to watch the film "Man's Search for Happiness" while asking themselves, as many did, if it could all be true. They might have even shaken hands with one Elder Walter John Bailey, an Australian missionary who later would return in the early to mid 90's as the Mission President. After filling out a referral form, a couple of missionaries called on my mother a couple of years later. And the rest as they say was history. My mother, one of my aunts and my grandmother were baptized.

Closer to home, the Valiant Girls that I teach every Sunday, dressed up like pioneers and read about the pioneers of Winter Quarters on our Wednesday activity day. That Sunday, the whole Primary made butter during a special sharing time about the pioneers. The teacher poured heavy whipping cream with a little bit of salt into a couple of small mason jars and the class took turns in shaking the jars for about twenty minutes until they had made butter. The teacher then buttered rolls and handed them out at the end of the class.

Fun Pioneer Day experiences! Let it not be said that the east coast LDS members don't commemorate Pioneer Day, because we do, in our own special way.

Walter John Bailey, former Mormon Pavilion missionary (1964-1965),

NY NY South Mission President (1994-1997),

and current Temple President of the Sydney Australia Temple (2008-)

with President and Sister Nelson, current NY NY South Mission President

Daddy and Liam doing the three-legged race

Liam doing the hula. Just two of the many activities Liam and daddy participated in.

An old photo of the Mormon Pavilion at the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Park, 1964-1965

From the Mayor and Governor's offices

Three out of five Valiant Girls dressed up in Pioneer garb. Totally their idea.
(Photo credit: Liam! Not bad, huh!)

Excuses, excuses

2011-08-15T14:53:00.003-04:00

Whether it be to celebrate a friend's birthday, catch a Cyclones game or two, or do a little shopping, there is always an excuse to return to Brooklyn.

Birthday fun outdoors!

Some of Liam's Brooklyn buddies!

Lots of water games, hence Liam in the same swimsuit.

(I don't think he has worn much of anything else this summer.)

Cool mural at the Brooklyn Cyclones' stadium

"Meet the Players" event

(Make no mistake, these guys are huge.)

At bat, Jose Reyes of the New York Mets
(recovering from an injury)

Jose Reyes coming into home

(He did what he could for the Cyclones, but they lost anyway.)

Air guitar to a Jonas Brothers song

(It was "Summer Camp" day and the stadium was loaded with elementary school-aged children.)

Daddy and the team mascot

(nearing the end of the game when the summer camp children had already exited)

House slippers, water shoes, flip flops, Chinese fans, hummus, baklava, halva, smoked almonds and dried apricots (from my favorite Turkish deli), toy cars and one pink shirt for mama (picked out by Liam)

My sentiments exactly!

Water fun

2011-08-10T10:56:00.002-04:00

So, we have visited quite a few "water parks" in the area (i.e. playgrounds with sprinklers), and we think that this one, by far, is the best one. Liam loves the blue umbrella and the yellow buckets that fill and spill. There are plenty of benches, a huge grassy field with lots of sun and nice shady spots (for a picnic lunch), a separate playground (not as nice with the wood chips on the ground), and a beautifully manicured garden. They have a huge library across the street. Sometimes we visit there first and then the water park as the reward. And we don't have to chase the Mister Softee truck because he's always there! It's not exactly close to where we live. It's a bit of a drive, maybe 15 minutes, but it's so worth it.

Our child's safety

2011-08-05T16:57:00.006-04:00

Liam is pictured in the middle.

There is more to Liam's karate class than mixed martial arts. They learn how to defend themselves when confronted by a bully and they learn not to be a bully themselves. They get plenty of exercise, too. Liam is now up to ten push-ups, done the right way, I might add.

Recently in Liam's karate class, the children were taught what to do in case a stranger grabs them by the arm wanting to take them away.

They must immediately drop to the ground, kick the abductor and scream out repeatedly: "This is not my daddy (or mommy)!"

My eyes tear up and I get a lump in my throat each time they are taught this in class. I imagine that for most kids, this must have been a real eye opener. Well, it was to me too. I have always taught Liam not to talk to strangers or receive anything from them, to never run too far ahead of me, and to never hide in the clothes racks while shopping. As a matter of fact, I rarely take him shopping for that same reason (the hiding in the clothes racks). He is a very active little boy and does not want his hand glued to mine the whole time we are out. I thought I had covered my bases with regard to strangers and such, but what if...

So, every scenario possible was played out in class, each time with them immediately dropping to the ground kicking and yelling repeatedly, "This is not my daddy (or mommy)!" If they were to just yell, scream, or cry, they could just be mistaken for a child throwing a tantrum in front of their mom or dad! I was called in to help out in one of the classes, so I had to grab the kids by the arm. Despite the teacher having gone over and over what they must do, most of them (mostly the youngest students), just stared up blankly, slowly went to the ground and barely kicked. Their "screams" were barely audible. On the other hand, some of them thought it was great fun. Liam was somewhere in between. After this exercise was over, I tried very hard to stifle my tears as I walked away with the other parents off the mat.

Heaven's forbid any one of these precious children, or any for that matter, ever find themselves in a real life situation like this one. My prayers go out to all those children and their families that have been through it. I shudder to even think about it. Heaven help us. Reader take note and train your little loved ones accordingly.

Friday Fun

2011-08-01T16:29:00.002-04:00

While mama gets everything ready for the usual Friday afternoon summer BBQ, my boys play with their "light sabers" out in the backyard. Our little Padawan is getting pretty good. It's hard to tell which one is the master and the apprentice. What's even funnier is that whenever either of them start to feel cornered, they do the "force", meaning they put their hand out in front of them in a claw-like manner and then the other person is suppose to writhe in pain. It's a Star Wars thing. Very entertaining, though. They do sometimes play with their sponge swords. You know, to give daddy a break. ;)

Behold the battle!

Arepas

2011-07-20T08:00:00.005-04:00

I love arepas. They're delicious, so easy to make, and get devoured pretty quickly around here. I have made them many times before, I just haven't bothered to take pictures. I made some arepas a few days ago, and since my camera was charging on the kitchen counter, I thought why not take a few pics to show.

Arepas are pretty popular in Colombia and Venezuela. Here in the U.S., we have dinner rolls, bread sticks, biscuits, or corn muffins to accompany a meal. In Colombia, where my parents are from originally, we have arepas with scrambled eggs for breakfast, a hot chocolate and a fruit cup. Arepas also replace the bread sticks you would have with your loaded salad for lunch. At dinner, they go really well with a shredded beef or chicken entree, or just about any kind of stew. In Venezuela, they stuff them with the precooked shredded beef or chicken (or cheese), making it a meal on the go. You can also make them with or without salt. In some parts of Colombia, they make them big and flat, salt free, and serve them up with butter and crumbled salty farmer's cheese on top.

The package is labeled "precooked" cornmeal and you have your choice of white or yellow. I prefer the yellow just because I like adding cheddar cheese to mine. In Colombia, they use the same cornmeal to make empanadas and tamales. Sadly, this cornmeal is only available in supermarkets and "bodegas" (convenience stores) in Spanish-speaking communities. If you're lucky, you might find it in the ethnic section of your local supermarket.

Oh and in case you didn't know, today is Colombian Independence Day. So I invite you to go out and buy some "arina" for making "arepas" to have with one of your meals today!

1 cup cornmeal (labeled "precooked")
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup warm water (very warm, but not super hot), (more as needed to have the consistency of play-dough)
shortening (or butter, but shortening is better) for the griddle pan

Mix the cornmeal and the salt. Stir in the cheese. Add the water slowly stirring until the water is absorbed. Dough will be sticky. Wet your hands and start to knead the cornmeal mixture. (Keep a bowl of water nearby to wet your hands as often as needed.) You can taste the dough to see if you need to add a bit more of salt. Make balls the size of golf balls, then flatten with the palms of your hands. Make the round disks about 1/4 of an inch in thickness. Heat your greased up, flat griddle pan on medium flame. Place arepas. Cook on medium to low heat about 6 to 8 minutes. They are ready to flip once they have formed a slightly stiff, but thin chewy crust with some light brown spots on the bottom. Serve warm. (Makes about 6 arepas)

YUM!!!!!

Birthday weekend wishes

2011-07-13T09:00:00.046-04:00

My husband got his birthday wishes granted this past weekend. He got the BBQ, homemade cookies and the next morning, he got his pancake breakfast. It was completed with a trip to an inventor's event. Big deal, you say? Read on.

Day One - Friday Evening

Firstly, we grilled Australian lamb on Friday (The meat had been marinating all morning in a mix of grated garlic and onion, lemon, rosemary and thyme, and freshly ground black pepper. I also brought the meat almost to room temperature before grilling to ensure tenderness. The salt was added just before grilling so as to not toughen up the meat.). I served it with succotash on the side. Odd pairing, but tasty combo.

I made the succotash from grilled veggies: corn, zucchini, red bell pepper, onion, unsalted butter, salt and pepper. It was adapted from a R.R. recipe I found in this month's magazine.

We had Star Wars themed cookies for dessert.

The dough was terribly sticky and I'm pretty sure I followed the recipe exactly (actually I halved it). It felt like it needed more flour. Decorating them was tricky. It required time, the right equipment, and much needed common sense, all of which I didn't have. I made a glaze instead of icing because I didn't want to use raw egg whites. That's probably where I first when wrong.

They were meant to look like this. I cannot show you my finished product for fear of embarrassment. Hence the stock pic of the cookies.

These were, by far, the best ones of the lot.

Day Two - Saturday Morning

On Saturday, we had a pancake breakfast with Star Wars themed pancakes. Again, I cannot show you the finished product for fear of embarrassment. Apparently, I can't even make pancakes right. The batter stuck to the molds making them difficult to come off and the temperature was too high, so they turned out a little too brown. So, stock pic here. Next time, I will spray them down with some oil spray for baking, even though the molds already claim to be nonstick.

Day Three - Sunday Afternoon

Then on Sunday we took a drive over to Williamsburg in Brooklyn for the Red Bull Creation event.

It was an event where inventors had to produce a motorized vehicle of some sort (without using fossil fuels) in just 72 hours. Bill was in geek heaven. The winner was this enormous one-word text message printer (think dot-matrix printer). One of my favorites was an adult-sized see-saw or teeter-totter that spun around.

This was Liam's favorite.
You could drive while lying on a hammock!

Another favorite of ours was this 3D printer! Here Liam is holding a blue guy that was produced by this printer. Also available in red, orange and yellow. Each sold separately. Around $1,600

Taking in the sights and sounds of the event.

Did I mention how uncomfortably hot it was this past Sunday?

Here, with the Empire State Building in the background.

At this point, Liam was pretty much begging to go home...

...until he saw this big truck!

Liam and mama danced to the audio-visual mixings of these guys, Eclectic Method.

Liam and mama also stayed in the shade most of the time by this mural...

...where he created this piece (with a little help from mama)...

...and I created this one.

Here he is hammering out the last details. There's even a you tube video of Liam at the mural! He is seen in the beginning at 16 seconds and then again at 21 seconds. He's the cutie in the red shirt, of course.

In the end, my husband and I both agreed that this little boy is our favorite creation.

Thanks be to God for our miracle baby boy!

We ended that weekend with a brief visit with some old friends, the Herreras.

We stood in front of the door to our old apartment and reminisced for a few minutes.

Oh yeah, we also needed to pick up a package that was wrongly delivered to our old address.

All in all, it was a fun birthday weekend. Here's to many, many more birthday celebrations.

The Fourth

2011-07-12T15:57:00.007-04:00

Today I have this song in mind as I post about how we celebrated Independence Day. Liam and I find ourselves humming or singing these lyrics throughout the day. (Not exactly a poetic masterpiece, but fun nonetheless.)

...You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July!

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-oh-oh

...Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through...

DeWitt Clinton Park on the west side was recommended as a great spot for viewing the fireworks. It has a playground and a field with astroturf. We got there extra early to get a good spot, have our picnic and for Liam to get some playground time. When we got the police nearly turned us away because the park was closed and only available for the elderly and disabled. Luckily, we had Welita with us, so they let us in. We dropped our stuff somewhere in the middle of the field and headed to the playground only to find that it had closed at 4pm. Bummer. No one was allowed to walk anywhere around the park except on the field and to and from the bathrooms.

There were only about 25 families or so on this super wide field. It was great to have all that space around us, especially for Liam to run around and burn some energy before the fireworks. We played, exercised, relaxed, and even had ourselves a picnic. Liam got a free putting lesson (see pics below). Before that, Bill ran a few laps around the field in his finger shoes. (He sure attracts a lot of attention with those ugly things). Later, he made a run for some ice cream cones. (So much for all the exercising prior). The sky at dusk was spectacular with its colors changing from orange to red, pink, purple and then to sapphire blue. Everyone was seen taking pictures with the quickly changing sky in the background. The large overhead lights in the field were turned down the moment the fireworks started. We were a bit disappointed with the partial views, especially Bill because he had brought his camera gear with him.

Still I think it was the most relaxing time I have had for a while and Liam sure had a blast. He wore himself out completely, which made it all worth it. After the fireworks, he fell asleep in the stroller upon exiting the park, I'd say about a block away. (Our car was parked several long city blocks away.) He didn't wake up when Bill put him in the car or even when I peeled his clothes off at home, put his pajamas on and put him into bed. I love it when that happens!

Here are some pics of our fun-filled evening on the fourth of July:

The Curl and more playground fun

2011-07-03T23:58:00.009-04:00

Liam is crazy about this "curl" at the playground. Ever since he mastered it, he can't get enough of it. It is located at a super big playground in our favorite park about a 10 minute drive from where we live.

Like I said before, if it were up to him we would be going there every single day, basically just to ride this thing.

Love that hair!

Ride 'em!

Taking lunch orders...

... so long as it does not include carbonated drinks, and "hot cheese" because it's "not healthy"

This is how we're keeping cool!
(Same day, different playground)

Yes, he does have a right leg.

My brave little boy! (Water was super cold!)

Another day, another playground.
This time closer to Welita's house.

More lunch orders!

So crazy about this kid!

Lovin' the grillin'

2011-06-26T12:15:00.001-04:00

This is how we're grillin'!

This is our humble grilling beginnings. Some day we will be able to afford a proper grill, but in the meantime, we are having fun just being able to grill on this in our very own backyard. Yippee! It has become a regular Friday evening feast, rain or shine. My brother grills just about all year. Maybe we'll follow suit!

By the way, any leftover veggies get chopped up the next day and thrown into a pita pocket with a couple of heaping tablespoons of hummus and some spinach for a delectable sandwich.

So happy! We are lovin' our summer so far!

Our C2 premiere, a real eye-opener

2011-06-25T13:19:00.007-04:00

Last night we went to the premiere of Disney's Cars 2. What an experience that was, and I don't mean it in a good way. Let me just say, first off, that it is disappointing to see society becoming so complacent when it comes to important issues like moral values and really, just getting your money's worth. Not me. As a matter of principle I can't and won't put up with it.

First of all, the movie theater (not the whole theater, just the room where we viewed the movie) was not air conditioned. It's a hot, muggy summer evening and you expect running A/C. They said it was broken in that room and that they were "trying to fix it." Yeah, right.

Hot and sweaty, but happily waiting to see Cars 2

The lights dimmed and the previews for upcoming movies start showing. All the children started clapping excitedly in anticipation of the main feature. Now, brace yourself. The first was a preview for a rated-R movie about a menacing vampire and all the horrific violence that it entails. My husband immediately shot up and ran full speed to see the manager who pulled the plug, but not before we were subjected to the second preview: a raunchy, slapstick comedy rated PG-13 with adult situations, language and scantily clad women. I can't even begin to tell you how upsetting this was for us. I was so angry I could chew glass. The loss of children's innocence! It's just not something that you can repair that easily. My husband came back, the lights dimmed again, and rated G and PG previews were shown. The Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation short came on. Every Disney movie opens with a short film. Then, we finally got to see the movie Cars 2, almost 45 minutes later.

As far as the movie itself, it was just okay. I hadn't seen the trailer on TV (and I normally do check reviews), so I had no idea what it would be about. If I had known a little more about it, we probably wouldn't have gone to see it at all. It played like a Bond movie, with Mater being the star in this sequel. It's a pretty good-looking movie and all, it's just that I am seeing a trend I don't particularly like in the Disney sequels. In my opinion, most are a tad bit on the dark side which I consider inappropriate for children. Too much violence, torture, mean-spirited-ness, and the word "death" is thrown around way too much for my liking. Some of these movies play out like mobster tales. Yuck. The story lines are getting too complicated for children to follow and the visuals are way too fast. There just isn't enough pacing and breathers. Disney/Pixar's John Lasseter had better get his act together and start thinking about the children that are actually watching these movies and their sequels. Otherwise, we may just forgo the whole movie theater experience and wait to rent it out from the library, if that.

Anyway, so after the movie, we had a serious talk with the very apologetic manager about those inappropriate trailers and left the theater with a full refund, three free movie passes, and two free drinks. He said that no one had complained all day. I can't believe children were actually subjected to those disgusting previews all day long prior to our showing up that evening. Unbelievable. Buyer beware and speak up. Stand up for what you know is right.

Oh yeah, Liam says he wants one of these for home.

Daddy's weekend

2011-06-20T15:18:00.009-04:00

We were a little bummed about him having to work on Saturday, but we still showed daddy a fun Father's Day weekend. We actually managed to squeeze in an evening baseball game, complete with fireworks at the end! It was the Brooklyn Cyclones' opening season game against the Staten Island Yankees (Minor League teams). The Cyclones lost, but not before scoring at least another homer in the last inning, closing the game at 3-2. It was so nice to be able to drive around our old neighborhood and reminisce a little, mostly about our friends, the views, the awesome library (our library here is not only small, but seriously lacking), the shopping, and all the eateries. Traffic was horrendous on the way back because of two accidents on the roadways and it took us all of two hours to drive back home. We had to stop midway to empty out Liam's bladder from an entire litre of soda he drank at the game. Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Happy Father's Day to the best husband and daddy!

With our friend, Bro. Young
(die-hard Brooklyn Cyclones fan!)

My little baseball fan!

Fireworks to Katy Perry's "Firework"!

All the little boys (and not so little, ahem) liked having their pictures taken with the cheerleaders.

Liam, not so much.

Daddy's back in the Bishopric, this time, as Second Counselor, but thankfully no extra meetings or interviews were scheduled on Sunday, so we got to spend the entire day together. I made him one of his new favorite, super healthy lunches: pasta with vegetables and peanut sauce (a RAVE diet recipe). So yummy, even Liam likes it. Then, we took a short drive out to one of our favorite parks in this area. Liam sure loves that park, "the playground with the curl". (Pic and vid to follow soon.) If it were up to him, we'd be going there every single day. It's a 98-acre wooded nature park with a pool, separate barbecuing area, several athletic fields, golf and a huge playground area with the nice squishy turf. While Liam ran amok, daddy took a nap on a nice sunny bench. On our way out, we saw this vintage auto and stopped to take some pics. The owner, at seeing Liam's excitement about his fancy trophy car, came to us and gave Liam a toy replica of it. So cool!

Such a fun weekend!

Oh yeah, you should know, that the festivities of our Father's Day Weekend started on the rainy, late afternoon on Friday with, yes, another barbecue. We really couldn't help ourselves, rain or not. We had turkey burgers slathered in BBQ sauce, organic hot dogs, veggie kabobs, corn on the cob, and our favorite grilled peaches. Next time, we will try really hard to hold off and take some pictures of our grilling feast before we start devouring it.

Chillin' and grillin' poolside

2011-06-15T13:08:00.004-04:00

While trying to keep my cool about the incident with the noxious weeds (see previous post), we still managed to show our son a good time. This is how we beat the mini heatwave last week.

He got a kiddie pool in January as a birthday present. I didn't think it would be so large, but I wasn't about to let ourselves sit around and stew during that mini Spring heatwave, not while we knew we had a pool. (Yes, it's kind of deep, but I would be sitting no more than two feet away the whole time.) Liam was excited about it, so despite the uneasiness, we decided to fill her up. Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, that is the same swimsuit Grandma Bette bought him three years ago. Liam is so slender that it still fits! I wouldn't be surprised if he could still squeeze into it next summer.

"Ha! Goggles!" (Russell from UP!)

So happy!

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Hit it!" (The Count at Sesame Place, Langhorne, PA)

Push ups!

Daddy's turn!

So funny!

So cold!

Time for grilling!

It brings me such joy to be able to use our backyard for things like a kiddie pool, a garden, and a grill. Yippee! We get to grill! These are things I never had growing up as an apartment dweller.

Last week, we got super excited about our teeny, tiny barbecue grill. We picked it up (unused!) from the recycling room at the old apartment building in Brooklyn where we lived before. (Can't tell you how many times we scored great stuff from that room!) We bought "natural" charcoal briquettes and a charcoal chimney (great tool for only $16 at the H.D.) to light them up naturally, instead of using the toxic, smelly lighter fluid. Once they were lit, we poured them into the bottom of the grill and we were good to go. On the menu was organic beef burgers, organic hot dogs (Nature's Promise organic brand from the Stop & Shop), corn on the cob, vegetable kabobs, and grilled peaches. It didn't even occur to us to take a couple of pictures of our barbecuing debut. We were so hungry and busy stuffing our faces.

One evening, we even had some background music from a block party on the other side of our block. So, after our little family pool party, we grilled and danced as we feasted. Liam sure does love dancing with his mama (ala Dancing With the Stars)!

Such enjoyable evenings! Hoping to have many this summer!

Stoop

2011-06-15T12:52:00.000-04:00

You may recall this photo from last year. I can't believe it has been a year since we bought our house! Here Liam sits on this old brick stoop which as you can clearly see had old, crumbling mortar. We had the money all saved up to professionally redo the stoop with our neighbor, but then my mother-in-law passed away and we used that money for Bill's airfare to Sydney, Australia.

In collaboration with our next door neighbor, we agreed to slap on some cement to cover the whole thing. A couple of weeks ago, we dove right in and just did it. We fastened all the loose bricks and filled in as many gaps as we could, and then poured on the cement. Needless to say, it was not as easy as we thought it would be. We are fully aware though, that this is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a permanent solution, but a temporary fix that we hope will hold up at least a year, until next year's tax returns.

We thought we would have a little fun with it though by placing Liam's hand print, much to his delight of course. Bill thought we should also add our thumbprints.

Slowly but surely, we are getting things done and getting this place together.

City girl learns the hard way

2011-06-11T19:56:00.008-04:00

This city girl has a lot to learn. Recognize this notorious trio? I do hope so, for your sake.

I have lived in an apartment building almost my entire life in New York City. I have never had to worry about such noxious weeds in my old Queens neighborhood or in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. These are the ones you encounter in the woods somewhere while hiking or camping. Right? Well, last Saturday I had the displeasure of meeting them right here, in of all places, my very own backyard.

There is a low wired fence between our house and the neighboring house that has been unoccupied for many, many years. That house, if you can call it that because it kind of looks like a shack, is all boarded up, and since there is no maintenance done, the backyard quite frankly looks like a jungle. I honestly don't know how anyone can get away with it and not get penalized.

Anyway, since it is not yet in our budget to replace this fence, I periodically have to go and remove the weeds that poke through and hang over the fence onto our property. I didn't think to wear gloves, so I just yanked them out. I innocently touched my face, neck and shoulder blade. Why? I had my hair pulled up, but the "fly-a-ways" brushed up against my skin, so I naturally smoothed them away from my face and neck. After I finished weeding, I noticed a dark, sappy residue that resembled pine tree sap on my hands. When I went in to wash my hands, I noticed that it wasn't coming off easily with just plain soap and water, so I used a scrub brush and worked really hard to remove it all.

The next day, I felt a little itchy, but since I normally have dry, sensitive skin, didn't think much of it. By the evening, my right eye was getting swollen. Went to bed, only to wake up the next morning with more swelling around the eye and most of my face. Large red blotches started to appear. Since it was hot that day and we hadn't yet installed the A/C, I thought it was sun poisoning or some other heat-related condition.

Well, I woke up on Tuesday with my right eye completely swollen shut and a super swollen face. My sunglasses didn't even fit because my face was so distorted. I grabbed Liam and marched over to my primary care physician. As soon as he saw me walk through the door, he told me to turn around and get myself to the hospital because it was too severe a reaction and that I needed to be treated at the ER. I drove to the doctor and then to the ER with one good eye. I never realized just how hard this would be, but I made it to the ER safely, with Liam in tow I might add, and was seen immediately. Thankfully, I was in and out in about an hour. They shot me up with a steroid and gave me a prescription for more steroids in tablet form to take at home along with an antibiotic. I was instructed to take Claritin during the day, Benadryl at night, smooth on hydrocortizone cream on my face and Calydryl clear on all other affected areas (namely: my neck, shoulder blade, ears, forearm, feet, and the three fingers on my right hand). I wash thoroughly with Tecnu on the really ugly parts and my usual all-natural calendula body wash on the rest of the affected skin. I also found that I had to take Tylenol for the throbbing pain. We installed the A/C that night and I pretty much sat in front of it and a fan the whole time. The steroids have kicked in slowly and my eye is only just slightly puffy today. The rest of me is still pretty much one huge ugly mess.

Needless to say, sleeping has been challenging this week, but the real heartbreaking part is not being able to hug, kiss or snuggle as needed. If Bill or Liam accidentally touch me, I remind them to immediately scrub their hands with hot soapy water. We sleep head to toe to make sure, we don't touch. All in all, this has been an experience I will never forget. I will never forget to put my gardening gloves on and keep them handy every time I need to work in the backyard. I will never forget to look at these pictures so I become completely familiar with them and recognize these poisonous weeds when I encounter them.

"Leaves of three, let them be." Ha! I guess I needed a little more info than just that little rhyme. Watch out for a stem with three leaves because it could be poison ivy or poison oak.

Just in case, here is another look. Beware and please engrave these images into your head.

A few of his favorite things

2011-06-10T11:08:00.012-04:00

These are just a few of his favorite things that we have managed to do before this week's high temperatures suddenly descended on us.

He has been such a little trooper helping me around the house, and willingly I might say, as he volunteers to help every chance he gets. I decided to surprise him with a little trip to Corona (in Queens, a short walk from Flushing Meadows Park) for the iconic lemon ices. Here he is also holding one of his favorite toys, a light saber. He lugs that thing just about everywhere. At night, takes along one of the lighted ones with the sound.

I just love how this pic turned out! I'm SO in love with his smile! Just don't call him "cute" or "adorable". He says that's for babies, instead, handsome big boy will do.

Several trips to the farm, at just a five minute drive, is an absolute must. We go just about every week, sometimes twice. Here he relaxes on a bale of hay, holding a stick in one hand and a couple of rocks on the other. He does the same in our backyard (except without the hay, of course). I am constantly picking up sticks and rocks all around the house and tossing them back into the yard.

There is an authentic-looking tee-pee set up right now at the farm, though I'm not sure long long it will be kept up, maybe just for the summer. Though I tried to explain that long ago Native Americans actually lived and slept in shelters like these, I don't think he actually grasped the idea. He is just amazed at the shape and sheer size of it. Note to self: I've got to take some books out of the library with pics.

Here he is with one of his buddies from Church, also four years old. People kept asking me if they were twins even though they don't look alike at all. Their lean body structure and high energy levels are the only things that could pass as identical. On this day, I realized how difficult it would be to have twins. 'Nuff said.

Bill has half days on Fridays for the summer, beginning with the Friday before Memorial Day, up until the Friday before Labor Day. We met up with Bill in Manhattan and went to eat at his favorite vegetarian eatery. It's an unpretentious little place on Sixth Avenue off 14th Street in Chelsea, just a few store fronts from the Drummers Collective where my husband practiced and worked when he first returned to the U.S. (from having lived most of his life in Sydney, Australia). According to him the "decor" hasn't changed at all. You wouldn't really know that you can feast on delicious vegetarian dishes from just looking at the signage or the storefront. You walk right up to the counter where you order from a menu that is taped onto the counter. This is what we always order when we are in the neighborhood: the dumpling medley complete with brown rice, tofu and steamed veggies with Tahini and soy sauces on the side. It's not exactly Liam's favorite, but it's ours and it's really inexpensive, too. Delish!

What better way to soak in the sights and sounds of Manhattan than on daddy's shoulders?!

And of course, summer isn't summer without an ice cream cone from a Mister Softee truck and a pic of him devouring it. This time it's a cherry-dipped, chocolate-and-vanilla-swirl cone! Yum!

Ever heard of the Ramones? Here is Liam looking at one of their actual autographed drum sets at a store front on 14th Street. (Sigh!) My sweet, little drummer boy, perhaps dreaming of following his daddy's dreams. Ahem! Well, he also says he wants to be an astronaut, a paleontologist, a Mr. Softee truck driver and a race car driver, so we'll see.

I think Liam has finally grown accustomed to me pulling the camera out constantly and taking pics of him, so now he actually volunteers sometimes to have his picture taken. Here he is on the Church's front lawn in the same suit he wears, Sunday after Sunday. He has great clothes, but he insists on wearing the navy pin-stripped pants with matching vest and a pin-stripped short sleeve shirt that obviously doesn't match the suit.

The following Sunday I made pretend I couldn't find that short-sleeved shirt, so to his horror he had to wear a plain white long-sleeved shirt. He is also sporting a sun visor he decorated at the end of his last class.

My little karate kid is still going strong!

He got a third stripe on his belt! Hooray!

(His dedicated instructor is doing really well, too! Congrats, "Joshu"!)

Finally, here he is with another little buddy, a Filipino friend, running around the cultural hall at the Church building. He tags along with me to my Valiant Girls Activity night twice a month. He's my little side-kick and best friend!

So, that's pretty much it. Last month's health drama is now behind me, I am regaining my strength and working on reversing the anemia. I now pace myself, stay hydrated, and try not to sweat the small stuff.

Easter bucket instead of a basket

2011-05-14T15:39:00.001-04:00

Lest you think we skipped Easter all together because of my illness.....

Liam got an Easter "bucket" instead of a basket this year (We had given him a wicker egg prior years.) I figured he could use the little Toy Story pail in the backyard or something this summer. I stuffed it with a Sesame Street "going green" book (that I purchased on Good Friday which also happened to be Earth Day) and a few other goodies: a spinbrush (most expensive item at $7.98 plus tax), Spiderman socks, pencils, and chocolate bunny (inside bucket). All for around $15 from our favorite store. Gotta love their $1 bin section!

Thankfully, his Church activity was planned the prior weekend, complete with egg hunting and all.

My little boy is growing up so fast. Hope to plan more fun things next year.

A bad Easter and Mother's Day

2011-05-09T16:30:00.007-04:00

Both Easter and Mother's Day were bad, really really bad. But it was all my fault.

It all started about three weeks (maybe a month) ago when I started to feel symptomatic. Uh oh. I knew immediately I would have to get myself to a doctor and start a 3 or 7-day round of antibiotics. My husband's insurance changed and now we have a $2,400 deductible. Since I knew we didn't really have the money for a doctor's visit, I did the foolish thing and tried to play homeopathic "doctor" with lots of water, cranberry juice and apple cider vinegar (yuck!). Of course it didn't work and I began having extremely high fevers on and off during the course of three weeks, which included Easter Sunday.

Tuesday afternoon I called my doc and had him phone in a prescription for an antibiotic. I took two of those on Wednesday. Since I still had a high fever and had a lot of back pain, I did the unexpected. I actually asked my husband not go to work on Thursday so he could take me to the emergency room. This tough nut felt sick enough to just go straight there. After a few tests, it was determined that I had pyelonephritis, a really bad kidney infection, and that I did the right thing in going to the hospital. I spent four days/three nights at the hospital and was released late in the afternoon on Mother's Day. Yeah, Happy Mother's Day to me. A dear friend who watched Liam for me said that it was too bad I spent four days/three nights at "the hospital and not a couples getaway." I agree. If only...

Today, Liam woke up with a fever. He has been putting up with bad seasonal allergies for two weeks now. Since he's only four, I can't give him any over-the-counter allergy medication, at least not until he's six years old. Well, it must have gotten infected now. If the fever doesn't break and he doesn't show signs of improvement, it's off to the pediatrician tomorrow..... sick as the pair of us are.

One thing is for sure. I will never take my health for granted. Never mind the house, my weight goals, the kid begging for this that and the other, and the husband. I need to take better care of myself, not skip meals, drink lots of water, take my vitamins, rest and exercise. I know better than to just let myself go. I used to be kind of cute, you know! More importantly, a precious little life depends on me. He was well taken care of, but it broke my heart to be separated for so long.

Oh, and I can't wait for that hospital bill. Hope they have a payment plan.

Here are some cell phone pics:

The hospital ward's complementary package with toiletries
(socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo/body wash, lotion, comb and tissue box)

I also got a nice back massage before bedtime at 9pm.

The view from my window. I couldn't get the pretty 3-tier, stone waterfall on the other side because of the glare.

(It was man-made by the hospital employees.)

My boys visiting me and relaxing while watching some cable TV. (We sure miss it.)

Liam also played constantly with the hospital bed and declared that we MUST buy one for home.

Liam holding the cookies that were brought over to me every evening before bedtime.
(I saved them for him, of course.)

Notice his keen interest on the movie we were watching...

What movie? Wouldn't you know it...

Star Wars Episode One
(the one with little Anakin, Liam's doppleganger)
He has only seen it fifty million times.

Just a matter of time

2011-05-09T15:07:00.004-04:00

We knew it would just be a matter of time before we would acquire a drum set of our very own. Now that we have a little more space, it was the next logical thing to do (according to my husband). This second hand set sprung up mid March at an insanely low price for an electric set, so he did not hesitate in snatching it. Here he is trying out the drum set in our living room before I relegated it to it's new living space in our basement. Words cannot describe his happiness. He even took it to Church, that's right, Church-- to the ward talent show.

Sorry no pic and the vid is too large to upload here. If you can imagine it, here is how the "skit" played out. The curtain opens while the slow prelude of "Pass Me Not" (by Gladys Knight and the SUV Choir) plays and you see his drum set. Out comes Bill pretending to sweep the stage. As he's sweeping, he spots one drumstick and then another. He slips them in his back pocket. He keeps sweeping and then spots the drum set. He sits and immediately starts playing the moment the music speeds up. He arranged it so that the audience could hear the drums just a tad bit louder than the song. In the end, he could not help himself and he did some terrific rock star quality drumming that, of course, wasn't part of the end of the song, but was fun.

Now, it's only a matter of time before Liam starts up drumming. Thank goodness that drum set is in the basement.

Here's my little man at the drums during daddy's practice time before the talent show.

He had to set aside some time during practice for some monkeying around.

Liam also participated in the talent show. It was totally his idea. He grabbed this bugle, packed it up in a little backpack and brought it with him. He had planned on doing the Superman theme, but when the moment came, he went with the Star Wars theme (no big surprise there). He didn't actually play the bugle, he only hummed into it. Still, very cute!

What a charmer!

2011-04-04T10:19:00.008-04:00

My 4 year old little Liam hums a ballad every time he comes over to kiss mommy. Which ballad you ask? None other than the ballad from Star Wars, you know, Princess Leia's theme. Indeed, what a little charmer! I totally didn't see this coming.

On the playful side

2011-03-30T16:54:00.003-04:00

I leave my camera unattended and this is what happens. From what I gather, they took pictures of each other.

The sinister look

The look I get when they really want a snack before dinner.

Best smiles ever!

I think I will call these "like father, like son." (Sigh.) How I love my boys! I hope they will always be best buddies.

Crocus

2011-03-25T13:05:00.002-04:00

Spring has sprung, but you wouldn't know it from the snow and sleet we got just a couple of days ago. Thankfully the snow didn't stick and these little beauties that popped up all over our backyard stood defiantly. -As we have!

These cute little flowers are a happy reminder that it is almost a year since we've bought this house. I also see them as little rewards for having survived a long brutal winter here. Believe me when I say that we all breathe a collective sigh of relief for having endured such a harsh winter and this fixer-upper we happily live in, and the fact that the weather will, without a doubt, start warming up. We can't wait to get to work on our backyard.

we (heart) plantains

2011-03-15T16:42:00.009-04:00

We have a craving plantains right now, especially me. Since our neighborhood does not carry them, we will have to wait until I get a chance to go to my mom's corner supermarket. In the meantime, I can certainly write about them and reveal a couple of recipes. You know, for posterity.

It has long been said that plantains are the "cousin" of the yellow bananas. Walk into a supermarket in a predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhood and you will find several kinds of "bananas":

- two kinds of bananas (your standard yellow, and green that later turn to standard yellow)
- mature yellow plantains (which are sweet after they are cooked)
- green plantains (not sweet) that later mature to sweet yellow plantains
- green "bananas" (usually packaged in a plastic bag that resemble the yellow bananas that we all know), but these in particular are not sweet at all and definitely do not turn yellow. I would take a chance and say that they are somewhere in between, leaning more towards the plantain side of the family. You peel them like a standard yellow banana, but they need to be cooked. Usually they are boiled in a little bit of water and then mashed with a little bit of butter and salt (and a little bit of the water it was cooked in) like your making mashed potatoes. Yummy! It makes a nice side to grilled meat or chicken. I would serve this as a side for my beef stew instead of rice .

Back to the plantains. There are several different ways to cook plantains to suit all tastes, that is, if you have a taste for them to begin with. It takes a little bit of practice, but it's oh so worth it in the end. Anyway, it's nice just to experiment and serve something different for dinner. Aside from the bagged plantain chips from the supermarket or corner grocer, these are my favorite ways to eat plantains. (I have made them all, except for that last one.)

Fried yellow plantains (or "Maduros")
Always a favorite side at a Spanish-style restaurant, and rightly so.

2 large yellow plantains
1/3 to 1/2 cup corn oil (or lard)
salt, optional

Heat oil. Cut ends off of the yellow plantain. Make a slit lengthwise and remove peel. Cut on a bias about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Using tongs or a fork, gently place slices in frying pan. Cook at medium flame for about 5-6 minutes turning over once. Remove and place them on paper towels to drain excess oil. Serve immediately.

Stewed yellow plantains
I rarely let my green plantains turn yellow because we always like to have tostones (recipe to follow). Still, it's another option. When I was still living at my mom's, we used to have this on the weekends as a side to my version of huevos rancheros (scrambled eggs with onions and peppers on top of a toasted corn tortilla).

1 large plantain
water
salt

Rinse plantain thoroughly, with peel still on. Cut ends off. Make a slit lengthwise, but do not remove peel. Place plantain in about a cup and a half of water with a little bit of salt. Boil until knife pierces the plantain easily. Drain and discard peel. Cut into bite sized pieces and serve with my version of huevos rancheros .

"Tostones" (or "Patacones")
My family's favorite! Liam likes this salty snack the best. Hey, better than chips, no? Americans eat French fries and home fries, we eat tostones! In Colombia and Venezuela, they are also known as "patacones". It is a great little side.

It is a little bit labor intensive, but practice makes perfect and with practice comes speed, too. I try not to think about the process, but the end result. Yum! Removing the peel is not exactly easy. It takes time and practice. If you place the plantains under running hot water for 1 minute, the peel will loosen slightly and it will be easier to peel. When done right, you will not lose any of the plantain. I usually just peel it with my hands. You can try it with a knife.

You will need to purchase an inexpensive "tostonera". It is a kitchen gadget made of two pieces of wood and are attached with hinges. Liam calls it a kitchen clapper. Ha! It is used to flatten out the plantains to make beautiful circles with crispy edges after fried. If treated well, the inexpensive tostonera may last quite a few years. Back in the day, my mother used to use the back of a saucer. I, on the other hand, have my eye on the ultimate tostonera!

2 large green or unripe plantains
3/4 to 1 cup canola oil (or lard)
salt

Heat oil in a large pan. Place plantains under running hot water for 1 minute. This will loosen up the peel. Dry them up with a kitchen towel. Cut ends off. Make slit lengthwise, but not too deep. Remove peel. This part is tricky and will definitely require some practice. Cut into 1 inch rounds. Using your tongs, place them in oil. Cook for about two minutes on each side. Remove and let them cool slightly (30 seconds). Then, flatten with the tostonera. Return flattened rounds to hot oil to finish cooking. Cook until crispy and light golden brown. As soon as you remove them from the oil, sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.

Note: If you have a deep fryer, you can do this: You can mold the once-fried rounds to make a "cup" and drop them again in the deep fryer. Remove and drain on paper towels. Then, add a filling like shredded beef, shredded chicken, shrimp, or apple pie filling.

"Mangu"
This is usually served as breakfast in the Dominican Republic.

I have never been there, but the family that lived next door to us growing up was from the Dominican Republic. Since my brother and I disliked my mother's cooking and their kids disliked their mother's cooking, we often swapped. I honestly think we had the better part of the deal. We thought it was great fun as kids. The parents put up with it for a while, just so that we could eat. "Mangu" was one of my favorite dishes of theirs.

This one is simple to make and requires a potato masher, the one that is used for making mashed potatoes. A fork can also be used to mash up the cooked plantains. Once mashed, I place two eggs, sunny-side up, and add a couple of spoonfuls of caramelized onions on the side. If you want to go all the way Dominican (and you have an extra artery lying around), you can have a slice or two of fried cheese* (a special kind of hard, rubbery, salty cheese that turns soft and retains its shape when fried but does not melt and spread out like most other cheeses) and fried salami (from the Dominican Republic). Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to fry these last two additions. Throwing them onto a nonstick skillet also works well. You can also flavor the olive oil and butter with a clove of garlic and pour it on the cooked plantains while mashing.

2 green or unripe plantains (one per person)
water
salt
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled (optional)
1 pat of butter (optional)
1 large onion (red, yellow or white)
1 teaspoon vinegar (optional)

Cook onion in one tablespoon of olive oil. Add a splash of vinegar (optional). Cook until soft. Set aside.

Place plantains under running hot water for 1 minute. This will loosen up the peel. Cut ends off. Make slit lengthwise, but not too deep. Remove peel. Cut each plantain into quarters (four equal pieces). Boil in water (about 4 or 5 cups. Cook until tender. Remove plantains and place them in a bowl. Add salt and optional olive oil and butter that has been flavored with the garlic clove. Mash with a potato masher or a fork. Spoon onto a plate. Serve immediately.

*A search engine will yield up the brand names and a myriad of pictures mostly of the end product. "Queso frito", "queso de freir" or "queso para freir" will provide some very yummy pictures.

Next time I cook plantains in any of the three ways detailed above, I will recruit my husband into taking some photos of the entire process and insert them in this post.

"Mofongo"
This is also a popular dish in the Dominican Republic. I have never made this at home, never. I think it's too labor intensive. This is one dish that is definitely to be eaten this at a Dominican restaurant. When I was still living with my mom and my brother, once a year around February (close to the Dominican Republic's Independence Day) I would go with my brother to a "restaurant" where we could actually see them make it right in front of you. It is basically fried green plantains with garlic and pork "chicharron" (pork crackling, not to be confused with the yucky bagged salty snack). A deep fryer works best if you have one, otherwise a deep frying pan. A large mortal and pestle (a wooden "pilon") is needed to pound together the plantain and the crunchy pork. Some restaurants serve the mofongo with a chunky meat sauce on top. I like it with a spoonful or two of caramelized onions and a crispy salad on the side.

The pork skins for the crackling can be purchased at your butchers. It is not available at the local supermarket. One pound is enough, just be sure there is a little bit of meat still attached.

1 pound of pork skins
corn or canola oil (or lard)
2 green or unripe plantains (one per person)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt

Cut pork skins, skin side down, into strips and make several slits about one inch apart, but don't cut right through to the skin. Season with salt and refrigerate for about an hour. Preheat the deep fryer to 375F. Using tongs, place them into the hot oil and fry them until crispy, golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle salt on them and set aside.

Smash the garlic (slightly smashed to break up into pieces, not mashed into a pulp) and slowly cook it in olive oil 1-2 minutes. Set aside.

Place plantains under running hot water for 1 minute to loosen up the peel. Cut ends off. Make slit lengthwise, but not too deep. Remove peel. Cut into chunks and place them into the hot oil using your tongs. Fry the plantains until cooked through and golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Using the mortar and pestle, pound the plantains, garlic and pork cracklings. Flip the mortar over onto a plate and serve immediately.

For more yummy plantain recipes, I like a website called
Aunt C l a r a ' s Dominican cooking.

karate kid

2011-03-04T16:46:00.003-05:00

My little man is a karate kid. One day while we were exploring the surrounding neighborhoods, we came across a great-looking karate school. They were in the middle of a class and it could be viewed from the windows outside. Liam showed great interest, so we inquired within. After informing us of all the particulars, we decided to do the trial class. The photos below tell the story of his very first class. (Note: The photos with him in the baseball pajamas were taken in January when he was still having "wardrobe" issues.)

After much deliberation we decided to join, mainly as an outlet for all his energy. Other parents enroll their children or sign up themselves for various other reasons: bullying (for the bully or the one on the receiving end), shyness, obedience issues, weight loss, general fitness and of course for self defense (teens and adults).

He started out in the cubs class which is mostly "athletics." His uniform was included, and let's just say, it pretty much cured his wardrobe issues. He got three belts in less than two months which sounds impressive until you learn that it's all according to the age. When we signed Liam up, he was given an orange belt because he was still three. The following week, he turned four, so he was given a purple one. Then, quite suddenly, the cubs class was suspended, so now that meant that Liam had to go into the older kids class. Now he dons a white belt. The stripes on the white belt are earned as he progresses in skill. I don't know how it is in other schools, but that's the belt system at this school.

I do appreciate that they remind the children every class that they can only do karate in class and not on each other outside, at home or on their dog, etc. They also enforce the obvious: do your best, work hard, don't give up, eat well, get plenty of rest, be disciplined and responsible. Sometimes I'm not sure if Liam is getting it, but then I see him nodding and repeating it all, so I guess some of it is starting to sink in. He is the youngest and therefore the smallest in the class, but he is doing a good job of keeping up. He's happy, eager to learn and from what I have noticed, he is quite the social butterfly.

I just love this last photo! His expression says it all!

Four

2011-03-03T15:22:00.005-05:00

I can't believe my baby is four. Every year on his birthday (January 17th), I feel the same way because I just can't believe how much he has grown. My little thinker, entertainer and best friend seems to be growing at lightening speed right before our very eyes. It has been nothing short of amazing to see his developmental milestones. I thank Heavenly Father every day for our little Liam, my miracle baby.

Those born in the frigid winter months all agree on how difficult it is to celebrate their birthdays. Weather and illness always seem to get in the way. I just as well start celebrating Liam's half birthday which would be in July! Anyhow, we celebrated Liam's actual birthday with a pizza dinner and cake, as requested by him, but had to reschedule his actual birthday party for the following Saturday because he came down with a high fever. Also, family and friends were concerned, as we were, about the large snow accumulations. Parking was scarce and some, including us, hadn't even dug out their car from that last snowfall. Our guests ended up parking at the Church parking lot a block away from our house. At least that lot was clear. It was only for an hour or two so it was okay. I'm just glad the weather held up.

The birthday theme was Toy Story, of course. Everyone had done it last year, so it was our turn, I guess. When we asked Liam about a theme, we just got the predicted blank stare, so it was really up to us to decide. We all know he eats, lives, breathes Star Wars these days, but the thought of an all out light saber battle with his friends was a huge deterrent. So, "Liam's Roundup" it was.

On the menu was homemade chili with tortilla chips, chicken drumsticks in barbecue sauce, raw veggies, fruit, carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and cake ("bizcocho Dominicano" from our favorite Dominican bakery, courtesy of "Welita"). We printed up pictures of the characters and plastered them around, played Toy Story trivia and pin the tail on Bullseye. I made the toothpicks with the Toy Story characters and inserted them into the cupcakes. Super cute! The chili and bbq chicken was delish. Aside from the usual kid's birthday party madness, everything went pretty much as planned. I just wished I had taken more photos.

The free birthday scoop!

(Yes, that's a light saber, a birthday present from earlier in the day.)

The pizza dinner!

Liam's plain cheese slices had his name on them.

(The "pappernoli" slices were mommy and daddy's.)

Our wonderful birthday boy!

(I'm so sorry I didn't get a picture of the cupcakes with the characters on them before they were gobbled up.)

Just a few of our terrific friends from the new ward,

plus "Welita."

Thanks for the yummy cake, Welita!

Old friends and new!

(Pictured are a few of our dear Brooklyn friends whom we missed so much. So glad they were able to make it!)

A cool birthday gift that has kept us relatively sane this winter. We kept it up for a whole month!

We have spent endless hours of fun with this toy during our very long winter. We highly recommend it!

Liam's double light saber.

The lights and sound effects from these new light sabers, plus the drama from the Jedi and Padawan pictured here, are an epic win. So fun! Only, I can't tell who is the Master and who is the apprentice!

White

2011-03-01T14:31:00.005-05:00

We saw way too much white this winter. I think we had about eight or nine large snowfalls. I lost count after the fifth one. Liam, of course, had the time of his life rolling around in it every chance he got.

Here are some pics of Liam that his daddy took of him out in the backyard just after the first big snowfall of the season. Happy as can be! I'm just happy that it's all melting away.

Today, I planted the baby pine tree that we got for free last Christmas and some tomato seeds in small planters. They are sitting near the windowsill in the dining room for now. As soon as they are big enough, they will need to be transplanted into larger pots and so forth until they are mature enough to withstand being transferred out into our backyard. I am seriously praying for a green thumb this year. Speaking of which, I can't wait to start seeing green again in our neighborhood. Looking forward for Spring to make its appearance. Two consecutive months of cabin fever is way too long.

Celebrations

2011-02-10T18:03:00.010-05:00

Let's lump up the year's end activities in one post, shall we?

That horrendous flu back in the beginning of November took a lot out of us. I was still in recovery mode when my birthday rolled in. Thankfully, my birthday came and went rather quietly. We celebrated with Junior's Cheesecake which didn't exactly help my cough and congestion, but I was craving all sorts of comfort foods. Finally recovering from that monster flu was enough reason to celebrate.

We managed to rake and clean up the backyard nice and tidy. We put up the blinds in the living room. We also got to work full speed on the dining room a week before Thanksgiving. We wanted it ready once and for all, especially for our holiday dinners. I wish people could have seen us running around like chickens without a head to try to get the dining room ready just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. Bill and I looked like we could have been on a reality TV show with a time clock ticking away. Between bastings, I was vacuuming and helping to remove the painter's tape. Bill was cleaning up, moving furniture, and trying to install the baseboards. Thank goodness Welita was here to help me with Thanksgiving dinner.

We kept it really simple: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and my long-overdue birthday cake from my favorite Latino bakery. We had plenty of leftovers since we ended up having dinner alone with my mother, so we bagged the leftovers and set aside the carcass for turkey soup the next day. A tradition in my family since childhood. Yummy!

He started with dessert, but upon seeing his daddy with a turkey leg, he immediately requested the other one and went to work on it.

I had to tickle Liam to keep him from digging his little fingers into my cake again.

Liam helping Welita make turkey noodle soup
(I got the fake smile. Clearly, he didn't want to be disturbed.)

Two weeks later, we picked up our Christmas tree.

Liam is holding one of two baby trees that we got as a bonus.

Welita also came over for Christmas Eve and stayed over till the next day. We had turkey dinner (frozen from Thanksgiving) and pumpkin pie. Boring, I know, but my husband is crazy about pumpkin pie, little Liam too (but a la mode). I wanted to make my husband's family's traditional Christmas lasagna, but I just didn't have the time nor the energy to embark on such a project. Actually, I didn't have my late mother-in-law's recipe. Next year, I will make sure to have all of the ingredients to make my mother-in-law's best loved dishes for our holiday dinners.

We decorated graham cracker houses with premium candy (instead of the yucky dollar store candy), so we nibbled away at them carefree for days after Christmas. Liam made out like a bandit with some great toys and clothes. We got a great deal on a game cartridge and he loved his truck. He also got some great clothes from a dear friend, and my aunt and cousin sent him a box full from Texas. We stashed away the rest of the toys we bought on sale before the holidays to give it to him for his birthday the next month.

Our Christmas family photo.

Liam was in the middle of his wardrobe issues and we couldn't wait any longer. We took a break from decorating our tree and took the pic.

Our window decor

Hooray for our new windows!

We were given these glitter pine cones and two baby Christmas "trees". I gave a baby tree to our next door neighbor. Once they are bigger we can plant them outside in our backyards, respectively. We were told they would grow as tall as the Christmas tree we brought home.

Daddy helping Liam play with his new video game cartridge

(that I bought for $6.49, tax free and free shipping, yipee!)

His hips are so slender that he actually fit in it.

Liam was thrilled to see that Santa ate the cookies and drank the milk.
("Santa" was in such a hurry that he accidentally misspelled reindeer.)

Welita's cool Christmas sweatshirt

Modeling a few of his gifts.

(The other cute clothing was slightly bigger and has been put away until it fits him comfortably.)

We tried really hard to put Liam down to bed on New Year's Eve, but he knew something was up and wanted in on all the action. He fought bedtime tooth and nail and so the little stinker stayed awake to ring in the new year with us. (Picture me rolling my eyes now.) To his delight, we rang in the new year with his tambourines and maracas. We even heard fireworks around our neighborhood. Super fun!

"Cheers, Welita!" He finished his sparkling apple cider before I was finished pouring the last glass. (And yes, he peed in bed that night. Happy New Year to me. Grrr!)

We watched Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on the tele and Liam danced the night away.

He wasn't tired at all as evidenced in this pic. I just might have to sedate him next year. Kidding!! Or feed him tons of turkey (Tryptophan!!).

Thus ended 2010 and a decade that brought us:
- the good
(Bill's wonderful conversion, our marriage, our baby boy, Bill's calling as an LDS Bishop and our new house)
- the bad
(September 11th, and the passing away of dear family members: my wonderful mother-in-law Bette, Bill's sweet grandmother Mary, and my favorite uncle Gonzalo)
- and the ugly
(the beast of a flu that Liam and I caught at year's end).

This decade, so far, is starting out happy and hopeful too, especially as we continue to celebrate our little Liam's many milestones.

My pint-sized Star Wars fan

2011-02-06T00:54:00.007-05:00

Bill is a HUGE Star Wars fan, mostly of the original movie. It is no huge surprise that Liam also became a fan of the movies and especially, the music. He stands on the couch with a stick acting like he is the conductor. Maybe following his grandpa's footsteps? He even has the Darth Vader breathing down. It kind of sounds like an old man snoring. The real question is, should I be worried that Liam's happy music is Darth Vader's theme?

My worries were quickly put to rest this week as I saw that Star Wars fans come in all sizes, even pint size. Just this past Wednesday, a fun You Tube video popped up of a Volkswagon commercial that is to appear during the Super Bowl tonight. It features a "pint-sized Darth Vader" walking around his house trying to use "the force". It is SO Liam! The mini Darth Vader in the commercial looks to be the same age as Liam and with the same mannerisms. We really got a huge kick out of it and have lost count as to how many times we've seen it. Liam had tons of questions, of course, (nothing new). "Why is he small? Where are his black gloves and light saber?" We're just hoping he won't ask that we get him the same costume. The one on the video looks pretty expensive.

Once in a while here at home he still wears the costume daddy bought him for that Star Wars concert we went to back in November 2009, even though he has outgrown it physically. He was still able to squeeze into it for Halloween and sported a really nice black cape that Welita made for him.

Here he is showing off his best "Star Wars face" at the "Trunk or Treat" in the Church parking lot.

OH, and lest I forget. There is a "Jedi Training Academy" at Disney Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World and he has been begging us to take him. If or when we do, it will have to be on our rewards points and it should probably coincide with "Star Wars Weekends". A trip to the Jedi Academy would be a dream come true for both the father and the son. Just don't count on me pinning the Princess Leia's buns on my head. (Shudder!)

I get the feeling that this love of all things Star Wars isn't a phase he will be growing out of any time soon, like maybe never, like his daddy.

Orange

2011-02-05T13:17:00.008-05:00

Not sure how to introduce this next post, without yet another lame intro, save to say that orange is my new favorite color. I think it's such a happy color. Maybe it's getting to me because our wood floors have this orange hue to them and I tread on them all day long. Speaking of the color orange.....

We had planned to go apple picking at the end of last summer, but instead went pumpkin picking in the early Fall. Basically, we missed our chance to go apple picking to our favorite place upstate with the nearby drive-in movie theater. Instead, we ended up going to F&W Schmitt's Family Farm in Melville, NY, not too far from where we live. We had a fabulous time in their orange sea of pumpkins.What a sight.

There was a Fall festival going on with blow-up rides, but we weren't interested in that at all. We just wanted to get to the field. Liam loved the hayride to the pumpkin picking area while we loved that it was actually free. We skipped the corn maze, because like I said before, it creeps me out a little. Instead we waded through the pumpkins. The pumpkins, big or small, were 69 cents a pound and we also went vegetable picking (eggplant, tomatoes, green peppers and string beans) for 99 cents a pound. Not too bad considering you get to experience the fun of picking them yourself. A month later there were other kinds of vegetables for picking, like radishes, but who eats those anyway?

Here are the irresistible pumpkin-filled photos that I took that day. What a pretty orange color! It's true what they say about orange being a happy color. And I need to see a happy color now, during the dead of winter, among the piles and piles of snow, to help cure this horrendous cabin fever.

First, he ran towards the bigger pumpkins. Too heavy.

Then, he spotted the smaller ones
and grabbed hold the first one.

One, of course, isn't good enough. He started thinking about all the pumpkins he wanted to pick up for his friends.

Here he declared that he needed help carrying "all of these".

He spotted Welita and went to get some love from her.

He said that he also wanted this patch of grass for our backyard. Me too, kiddo!

He always snags whatever hat or cap Daddy is wearing. That day it was this hip black one.

At the real pumpkin patch

Daddy, the budding photographer, holding a tomato that Liam picked.

He sure loved picking tomatoes right off the vine. I'm glad he got a chance to do this since the tomato plants in our backyard died in September. (It's probably the soil which is why we will try composting to fertilize our soil first before we try to grow anything.)

Daddy, Welita and Liam in the distance picking veggies.

Huge string beans!

We steamed these later that evening for dinner.

The hayride back to the farm's main entrance.
See how happy! I'm convinced it's the power of the color orange..... and the fresh air and sun, too.

Fun ride for Welita!

My little pumpkin standing by the enormous wheel of the tractor.

Finally, ending the day with candied apples. It was a first for Liam and me, if you can believe it.

What a happy day with my family! We ended up with one big pumpkin and four little ones.* We really liked this farm and would love to go back again for pumpkin and vegetable picking in the Fall of 2011, but with so many great farms out in Long Island, maybe we will try another..... or maybe we won't. Maybe you can't get any better than this one.

* The little ones were sweeter and tastier. The big one was a real pain to cut into, so I'm doubtful we will ever buy a big one again. I have made pie four times and still have lots of pumpkin in our freezer. I would like to attempt to make a different pumpkin dessert, but these guys are happy with pie, so pie it is.

Green

2011-02-04T11:25:00.005-05:00

Still cooped up and still catching up. Liam is doing a great job entertaining himself with his birthday toys and I am slowly trying to catch up with this blog. Only a few more lamo intros and some pics to document the last few months of 2010.

Did I mention that there is a farm museum only a short driving distance away? We went a few times last year. It was great for those days when our trips to the zoo were canceled, to be able to hop in our car and drive a few minutes to at least pet some farm animals. It's great just to be able to "unleash" Liam and let him run wild. My favorite part is just wandering about aimlessly and taking in all the greenery.

This farm is a NYC landmark and a working farm at the same time. Their crops, along with the free-range eggs and honey is sold at the world famous Union Square Green Market every Friday. Some is sold at their little shop next to the glass greenhouse for local residents. This farm also boasts a vineyard, an orchard, herb garden and is home to Italian honey bees.

Here are a few photos taken on two of our trips to the farm: (How nice it is to see all this greenery in the midst of all this snow and ice on the ground right now!)

There was a small fair one weekend at the farm. He loves carousels. Liam was shocked that he could only ride this (pay-per-ride) carousel once.

Friendly farm animals

Friendly and it seems like they love having their photo taken. Here comes another curious one.

I think this one is named Franny.

Cute little house and barn.

I imagine the previous owner might have been a little girl.

Hooray for free-range chickens!

He keeps pulling on this thing, every time.

Love, love, love this little boy!

His first scarecrow sighting. A million questions followed.

This pic was taken on a beautiful patch of green in their apple orchard. The gate was open and we wandered in. Moments later, we were shooed away by the farm workers because the fence was live. Good thing I never let him touch those fences.

Still curious about this cart.

The honeybees! A safe distance away.

The peppers!

We didn't do the maze because it kind of creeps me out (The Shining).

Looking for licorice. (Inside family joke.)

"Where are all their pumpkins, mama?"

Small. but very pretty vineyard

Liam: "Hooray! I love this farm, mama!" (Me too, kiddo.)

Yes, he littered. And yes, I made him pick it up.

Muah! Right back at ya!

Love you, sweetie!

Juno at FAO

2011-02-03T11:06:00.005-05:00

I have mentioned before that we love Juno Baby around here. We were thrilled when the company announced that their merchandise is now being sold at the world famous FAO Schwarz! We went for the opening and their special puppet show back in September. (We loved it so much we went again the following Saturday.)

It seemed like we were the only ones "ooh-ing" and "ah-ing" at the displays in that crowded store until we made it to the second floor to view the show. We were greeted by the original puppets from the DVDs and a large gathering waiting to see the show. I think I might have been more excited than little Liam. The actual show was sort of an introduction to Juno Baby's new line for preschoolers called Juno Jr. My absolute favorite part of the show, was the rendition of their new hit song, "Tweet." Shoppers and store workers were drawn to the show when they heard that piece. It's that sweet. You only have to listen to it once and you're hooked. Beautiful!

Can't wait to get my hands on the new Juno Jr. DVDs and CD. We have all the rest of their Juno Baby merchandise. How? Just lucky, I guess. We actually won a couple of giveaways. Plus, we got a consolation prize for the contest we entered back in the summer. It included DVDs, CDs, plush toys, magnets (not sold), and a nice navy canvas tote. The second giveaway (that we won just this year) with the Juno Jr. DVDs should arrive here in a couple of weeks. Yippee!

Holding hands with Juno herself.

Second floor

Nice bird's eye view

By main entrance

Window displays

Meeting some of the Juno Baby puppets and puppeteers

Meet Murphy, Liam's favorite

Of course, we can never leave without catching this favorite FAO Schwarz show

"Playing" the big piano

Walking in Manhattan while holding hands with mama

(Two of my favorite things to do in the whole world!)

Saying hello to the people on the double decker tour bus

Checking out the artwork of a street vendor and wishing we could buy one of each.

Taking in some of the sights and sounds.

Here he is just mesmerized by the drumming.

(He's the son of a drummer, after all.)

You never know who you're going to bump into in the NYC subway!

Rooftop

2011-01-29T09:11:00.002-05:00

If it's not one thing, it's another. Because the house doesn't give us enough to think about, we need to worry about the surroundings.

We noticed that there were a few tree limbs hanging precariously over our house. Thanks to our dear friend Brother Bonilla, the most troublesome branches were removed in the summer. With the heavy snow and large accumulations lately, I shudder to think what those limbs would have done to our roof. I saw a news report a couple of days ago of some people having to climb onto their roofs to remove all the snow because of water leakage. Thank heavens, Brother Bonilla is also a roofer. He took a closer look at our roof and said we are good. Whew! The removal of the other limbs will have to be done professionally by a tree lopper at some point.

As you can see from the photos, it made for a rather entertaining afternoon watching the two of them up on the roof. Even the children helped with carrying some of the cuttings to a safer place in the backyard, until we could get around to cutting them small enough to fit into our trash bags or boxes.

Two months later, the pile was still there in November. As soon as I felt better from that horrendous flu, I had the missionaries help me. It was their service project for the week. Bill's been so busy at work and on other, shall we say, more urgent projects (like patching up our front stoop). That mess had to be taken care of once and for all, before any backyard animals got any ideas of taking up residence in there. Thank goodness it's well and truly gone. That spot is now reserved for our compost project. Thank heaven for our friends the Bonillas and the missionaries!

And while on the rooftop that warm summer day, with his trusty tool belt (that Liam and I gave him for Father's Day last year) Bill gave the antenna another look.

We decided on forgoing the cable TV expense and opted for the standard network channels via the rooftop antenna. My husband bought one drastically reduced at Rad.Sh. along with all the cabling and installation hardware. This project still needs a bit of tweaking, but so far, we are content with the results. We actually get additional channels as well as HD radio, all for free. And while I will sorely miss the HGTV, Food Network, NatGeo, and Discovery channels, we are happy for free TV. And one less bill to pay makes me want to shout hooray from the rooftop, metaphorically speaking, of course.

Our cold and warm feet

2011-01-27T14:22:00.002-05:00

I have lost track of many snow storms have we had so far this winter. Maybe eight. I'm totally bummed, but not so much about the snow. I'm sad that I will have to retire my totally awesome funky-looking and warm snow boots. Water is starting to seep in at the toes.

As I sit here at the computer with cold, damp feet and mourning my favorite and lone pair of snow boots, I can't help but wish I could warm them up on a warm sandy beach somewhere. Walking on a warm sandy beach is definitely on my top ten list of favorite things in the whole world. So, indulge me on this next post as I reminisce about our one and only trip to the beach last year.

(Please excuse the lame intros to these next few posts as I am trying to catch up.)

Let it not be said that I did not go to the beach in 2010. I have made it to the beach at least once every summer my entire NYC life and I was not about to break my tradition. Going to the beach is very important to me. It's therapeutic to me. It was the week after Labor Day and all the children were back in school. The weather forecast called for mostly sunny skies with temps in the mid 80s. Liam had been begging to go all summer. I simply could not resist taking our postponed trip to the beach. It was our very last chance. So, I did it. For probably the first time ever with my little boy, I was spontaneous and granted his wish. I rounded up all of our usual beach stuff in record time: towels, blanket, swimsuits, beach toys, change of clothes, Liam's water shoes (which I spent half the summer looking for), drinks, fresh fruit, sandwiches, Liam's usual snack foods, and my salty snack (because there is nothing better than a salty snack at the beach... I think it's that salty air that makes me crave it big time when I'm there.)

We parked just steps away from the boardwalk. Nice! I could hardly contain the giddiness as we walked across the boardwalk and down onto the beach in the anticipation of stepping on that warm sand. Oooooh, blissful!

From what we could see, there were all of about twenty people at Long Beach, including Liam and me. We so wished daddy could have been there with us. We set up and then ran to the water. The perfectly warm waters were so inviting for a good swim. Too bad about no lifeguard on duty. Oh, yeah, and the toddler in tow. (Sigh.) But we ended up having just as much fun if not more, wetting our feet in the warm water and running away from the waves, much to Liam's delight, and still getting pretty wet in the process. Here are our little piggies in the warm, wet sand.

We walked along the shore, my little boy and I holding hands. There was a sweet, sweet moment I will never forget. Liam looked up at me and said, "I like holding your hand, mama!" -squeezing mine really tight. (Sigh.) I'm so crazy about this little boy! We gathered some sea shells and then headed back to our blanket.

Wrapped up in our towels, we started our snack fest. Here is little Liam having his salty snack. He is relishing every moment since I never buy these things for snacks at home. Then, the fog started to roll in, practically kicking us out of the beach. And so we bid farewell to the delicious ocean air and the warm sand on our feet until the summer of 2011.

Now back to our regularly scheduled snow shoveling..... and cold feet.

Our little neck of the woods

2011-01-26T17:34:00.012-05:00

So, what have we been up to in our little neck of the woods?

A lot, actually. The house always keeps us very busy. Due to illness and the crazy snow and ice-filled weather, it feels like we have been on house arrest or something. We have some extra time to do some more work around the house, mostly rearranging and stuff like light repair work. I have found some extra time on my hands to catch up with my own stuff, like this blog. We still have boxes yet to be unpacked. There is all the reorganizing, shifting of stuff from one room to another, things that are either brought up from the basement or down. There is the daily maintenance mixed in with remodeling. We also factor in time to tour our neighborhood and the surrounding areas, and to scope out the less expensive places for shopping which are very few. Some may totally believe that I know this city like the back of my hand, but it is just not the case, not exactly. There is so much to see and discover and rediscover. It is super fun to rediscover places and things with my husband and our son. Speaking of which, there is little Liam who needs constant attention. He is an only child, after all.

The house
I won't get into it too much, save to say that we have accomplished a lot and the house is taking shape. It requires a lot of time, money, and creativity (which we think we have a lot of). Little by little we are getting things done. The big news is that we got new windows. I was so worried about braving a winter with the old windows. It was a huge expense, but I'm sure glad we did it, as it will only increase the value of our house. As far as the interior, we are trying to finish one room at a time. Our bedroom is pretty much done, except for the new curtains and shades we want to buy (but can't afford right now). Oh yeah, and a headboard. We still need to work on the baseboards and paint the window frames and doors on the second floor. Get new curtains and shades for Liam's room and the back room. Paint the banister, speaking of which, we need a new banister for the basement stairs. We have bought the materials and all we need is a big block of time to install it. New curtains and blinds for the first floor and install the baseboards. The kitchen and the bathroom are still untouched and will remain so until we have the money to hire out a contractor to renovate them and we don't see that happening in the near future. I do want to, at least, remove the yucky wall paper and paint the ceiling in both the kitchen and the bathroom. As far as the exterior, we need to redo our front stoop. We had the money set aside for that project, but had to use it to purchase airfare for Bill to go to Australia for his mother's funeral. The backyard needs repair work, too. We want to repave the patio and put down some lawn. Like I said, we bought ourselves a fixer-upper and it will take time to get things looking the way we want them.

Our neighborhood
We are having a great time exploring our neighborhood and the shops in the surrounding areas. People have been friendly and welcoming. We are happy making friends in our neighborhood and in our new ward. During the week, Liam and I get together, more often than not, with a couple of the other moms with small children in the ward who are also fairly new to the area. Our local library is a bit of a walk, but not too bad. The parks around this area are great with lots of greenery and full of trees. Membership into the private swimming pool and recreational facility is way out of our budget, so we did the sprinklers at the playground a lot. We also have nearby a farm museum, a marina, a wildlife refuge and an environmental center with various programs for children of all ages. The very large Flushing Meadows Park (home of the U.S. Tennis Open) with its remaining World's Fair landmarks is also not very far. Here are a couple of snapshots on one of our outings to that park. How nice it is to take a moment (right now as it is heavily snowing yet again) to remember the warmth of last summer!

Pointing to where Grandpa lives

Liam
Dear, sweet, little Liam is...
- not so little anymore. He's growing way too fast.
- absolutely thrilled to finally be in Primary.
- four years old as of January 17th and we are hoping to celebrate it very soon. (Done! Jan 29, 2011)
- in karate class.
- into Thomas the Tank Engine, Toy Story, Star Wars (BIG time), and playing dress up.
- still the energetic and funny child that we all love.
- into anything that will make him laugh out loud. He has a tremendous sense of humor.
- no longer wanting his food served on plastic. He wants real plates, glasses and cutlery. (I know! Scary!)
- waking up dry most mornings.
- still calling his mama, honey. (Oh well, it's better than being called "babe", like he used to.)
- growing to be quite the little thinker
- wanting a sibling..... badly.
- very independent as far as accomplishing tasks.
- creative in dressing himself and comes up with the strangest ensembles known to man.
- practically doing his own laundry.
- always eager to learn and to help around the house.
- "in charge" of vacuuming and loves the big messes that he can suck up with the large shopvac.
- loving our kitchen. He loves to "cook" and watch me run around in the kitchen preparing meals.
- inquisitive. The questions are non-stop.
- such a good little boy. We are just crazy about him.

He loves his new friends, and misses his old Brooklyn friends terribly, asking after them all the time. In the beginning, he would constantly say: "This house is broken. I want to take our things to Brooklyn. It's not broken over there." Then, just this week, he finally said the words we thought we would never hear: " I like it here, mama. I like my house and the backyard, but not the mosquitoes." Darn. He still remembers those pesky mosquitoes that gave us a whooping last summer! What a pain in the neck! His dream come true, or so he tells me all the time, is to have each and every one of his friends over to play in his tiny room and in the backyard. Soon, baby. First, we will have to get some grass and do something about the mosquito situation in the summer.

Comfort

2010-11-14T22:00:00.002-05:00

There is so much catching up to do here on my blog. I will eventually come around to posting what I want or need for the sake of record keeping, but not today. Instead, we are too busy dealing with the flu.

I got hit really hard on Tuesday. What a doozie! I could barely lift my head. The headache, fever and body aches were of epic proportions, unlike I have ever felt in my life. I honestly don't think I have ever had a flu like this before. It was very difficult to muster up the strength to get up and provide for myself, much less for anyone, but it had to be done. I have a beautiful little boy whose life depends on me. My mother offered to come over and help, but for once in my life, I refused. I didn't want her or anyone to catch this beast of a flu. In her already delicate condition, it would have surely sent her immediately to the hospital. With my husband unable to stay home from work, or even get out early for that matter, we were pretty much on our own. Previously when I got ill, it was timed so perfectly that it almost always happened over the weekend, and my darling husband would be there to help. Not this time, no. I just had to get sick during the week when I was on my own.

We ordered takeout and prayed a lot. Prayer was definitely comforting, and so were the meals we ordered. There is nothing better than your favorite comfort foods when you are sick, Liam would also agree, but his idea of comfort was something entirely different. He felt nostalgic for something we had both relinquished some time ago, like back in the summer.

There was a momentous occasion in July that I didn't blog about, partly because I did not want to draw too much attention to it. It was significant because precisely on July 4th, both Liam and I declared our independence. It just happened, cold turkey. It was entirely his decision. For the record, I breastfed Liam for three and a half years. There, I said it. As alarming as it may sound to the general population, I just didn't have the heart to wean him sooner. He just didn't feel ready. Before when he got sick, breastmilk was his one and only saving grace, the only source of nutrition that he would be able to hold in his stomach. Whenever I got sick, I ate more so that I could breastfeed him more. I know it seems bizarre or somewhat backward, but in my heart I truly believed that my body miraculously produced the antibodies that my son needed so that he wouldn't get the same illness. I wholeheartedly believed it because it would always work. My son would either not get sick or he would get sick but for like a day or so.

Fast foward now to the present. I got the flu and Liam soon followed. He got it just as bad as me. Poor little guy. As crazy as this sounds, I too missed breastfeeding. It's that innate desire in me to bring him immediate comfort that way. He has sought comfort though in staying really close, as in, -nudging his flushed face and grabbing me with his hot, feverish little hands- close. Well, if that closeness gives him comfort when he is ill, then I will let him. He is still a babe afterall, so this kind of nursing is fine with me and I am not ashamed to admit it.

China doll

2010-11-13T08:00:00.007-05:00

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary last September 17th. We traditionally look at our wedding album and after Liam goes to sleep, we watch our wedding video. We giggle in delight to see ourselves looking our very best and so in love. It's also really fun to see our family and friends celebrating with us. Every year we spot something new and fun.

At one point in the evening while we watched the video, my husband let out a deep sigh and said, "Honey, you looked so beautiful on our wedding day. If I had the money, I would have a china doll made of you in your wedding gown." I was left teary-eyed and speechless. I know I'm not china doll material, but this was one of the best compliments of my life. Oh, how I love this man!!

So far so good

2010-11-12T17:49:00.003-05:00

I can't get over the small size and severe cuteness of his underwear. I giggle every single time I pull them out of the drier. Well, so far so good on the whole potty training. My little man has been waking up nice and dry every morning since July. Next is letting him sleep through the night in his "big boy" underwear. He says he's ready. I'm not so sure, but here we go. This package of "glorified diapers", otherwise known as disposable, night-time, training underwear, will be our last. Wish us luck!

My big boy! (July 2010)

(Please ignore the risers that should have been painted white by now. It's on the to-do list!)

Bette

2010-10-20T13:53:00.013-04:00

Bette Ann

My mother-in-law left this earth on her 70th birthday which was September 27, 2010. She had bravely battled cancer for many years and had always gone into remission. Sadly, there was no remission this time.

My husband flew out the very next day to Australia, as did his sister from Arizona, and arrived there pretty much at the same time. Together with my father-in-law, they planned a private service just for close family and friends followed by one for the general public. She taught at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music for many years and, more recently, only from home.

By all accounts, the service went well, conducted by my husband who was also the first speaker. Everyone marvelled at how well he did. Little did they know that he had the experience from being a Bishop in the LDS Church. He spoke of the miracle of the resurrection and how families can be together in the eternities. At the conclusion of his talk, he sang "Familes Can Be Together Forever" to nary a dry eye in the room (or so I was told). He was accompanied at the piano by an old classmate. I wish we could have been there, but our finances would not allow for all of us to fly down there. So, why particularly that song? We had mailed her the LDS Children's Songbook for her birthday a few years ago. She said it was her favorite because it had sort of a "jazzy feel to it." Being the professionally-trained musician that she was, she would have known and recognized it. All of her best friends spoke. There were musical numbers performed by some of the premier musicians in Sydney as well as her students.

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to meet her back in December 2008. She was somewhat frail then, but mobile, still recovering from major surgery performed in August of that year, but she looked very happy to meet her youngest grandson and me. I had not met her before then because she had been unable to fly here to New York for our wedding. She was in the middle of cancer therapy at that time. Shortly after, she went into remission.

Liam and Grandma Bette

While we were in Sydney, she played the piano for Liam all the time, mostly songs from Sesame Street, but also some classical pieces that Liam recognized from his Juno Baby videos and her favorite Christmas carols. She was wonderful at teaching children. She even had Liam hitting a couple of notes right on queue and he was just a month shy of two years old! Then again, Liam most likely has music in his blood already, or so we hope. Oh, how I wish she could have taught Liam to play the piano! Hopefully, she will be his muse when he does start taking lessons.

Though she was beautiful, she wasn't very fond of having her picture taken. These are just a few photos that my husband was able to take of her while we were there.

On our way to the Paddington Market in Sydney

One of many students

Bette, we love and miss you. God be with you 'till we meet again.

Life happens

2010-10-07T11:27:00.003-04:00

That is my excuse for the lack of posts lately. Life happens. Sometimes I wish I had a "pause" button, so that I could have a little extra time to catch up with all of the madness. For starters, we have had a few issues with the house regarding home repair. No big surprise. Estimates needed to be collected for this, that, and the other. Also, every time the weather changes, we cringe at the thought of what will happen next. Then, there were, of course, some last minute summer activities that we had to squeeze in before summer ended. There's also potty training as well as the constant disciplining of my tough little guy when he gets too rough. These have all exhausted our time and energy. We also had some sad news in our family, the passing of my mother-in-law. These will all be handled as separate posts.

Baking success

2010-09-09T18:04:00.005-04:00

While baking expert friends will yawn at this post, it is here because I feel pretty darn good about this latest baking experience. I baked Banana Walnut Muffins..... from scratch. Like I said previously, I said I would and I did it. I am happy to report that I followed my friend's famous recipe with one small exception, I added a quarter cup of chopped walnuts. I did call her mother (another baking genius) with a couple of questions relating to the eggs as to whether they should be room temperature or not. I asked her a few other relatively dumb questions which I will not write here so as to not embarrass myself.

I set out all the ingredients, bowls, pans, utensils and then..... walked in and out of the kitchen several times before taking a deep breath, rolling up my sleeves, and just doing it. I wasn't sure whether to fill them up all the way or two-thirds like I would making cupcakes. The next time I think I will fill them up almost all the way for the nice mound on top. I made a tray of minis for Liam*. As you can see from the picture below, only three were left. Huge hit! I'm so happy that I chose this recipe as my first try at baking something from scratch. Special thanks to my friend Kelly for the recipe and to her mom for the pep talk! It was a pleasant experience overall, and I will definitely be baking more, especially now that I have better lighting in the kitchen.

*After scarfing down his seventh mini muffin, Liam finally discovered the walnuts, much to his disappointment. Still, he ran back for more minis. They're just that good!

Babies

2010-08-28T09:00:00.004-04:00

Lest I forget to document yet another funny memory with my little boy.....

Another comical moment at the hotel (which daddy missed because he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow) was when we turned on the TV to watch a little bit before bedtime. We caught a preview for a movie called "Babies". This conversation ensued:

"Let's buy a baby, Mama."

"Oh really? Where should we buy one?" Thinking he was just referring to a baby doll.

"Maybe at ToysRUs, Mama, but not a toy baby." Holy moley! You mean a real one?! I tried to keep it cool.

"You mean a real one, sweetie?"

"Yes, Mama." Think fast. Think fast.

"Well, sometimes people adopt (new word for him) babies and that is expensive." Whew! I thought that would make him think for a little bit and then drop the subject.

"Then, let's make one!" Say what?!

"Well, Liam, you can't make one because you are too little and you're not married, but Mama and Daddy can make one."

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea." -Then, he rolled over and went to sleep.

Oh, boy, Daddy and I have a lot of thinking to do.