Wandering Wednesday: Adventures in NYC

Last week the big kids and I went to Lincoln Center with my Dad. 

I am not actually drunk in this picture. 

We went to a dress rehearsal of the New York City Ballet's Nutcracker. 

It was actually more of a working rehearsal, but we got to see the whole second act. I am a huge Nutcracker nerd and I feel like this is the best classic production. (Except for the one that I was in during my youth, which sadly no longer exists.) 

This is the lobby of the New York State Theater (which I think has a different name now, but I refuse to use it, in the same spirit that I will always call Giants Stadium, Giants Stadium and not MetLife Stadium.) 

There was an interactive screen and no other kids. Heaven. 

From the balcony. If only I'd taken a few photos of them here, I wouldn't have to share the one with Ironflower's eyes closed. 

More balcony. 

View of Avery Fisher Hall. 

I made my Dad be in a picture. I swear there's about 12 pictures of him with me growing up and he has the exact same expression and stance. 

The rehearsal was definitely worth seeing, but I think next year all the kids will be ready to see the big production. I can hardly wait. 

And just a few days after that trip to the city, we went in to celebrate Ironflower's birthday at the American Girl store. I swear I've been in the city more in the last two weeks than I have in the last 6 months. 

We checked out many different areas of the store. Which was so, so, so, so crowded. Like, even more crowded than last year. 

Like, so crowded that I contemplated jumping over a baby carriage and knocking a 4 year old out of my way just so I could get to a relatively empty spot to stand in. 

And this one child? Probably 10 or so? Actually shoved past me and another little girl to get to a rack, and when I exclaimed about it, she actually PUSHED me out of the way as she walked back to her grandmother, even though there was plenty of room for her to walk around me. 

I almost said something, but I didn't want to create a huge scene on Ironflower's day. 

It was a relief to get to the cafe. 

We didn't go to it last year, but I'm glad we tried it this year.

It's not as big as one would think. 

Photobomb from Daddy. Notice Katie (that's Ironflower's Just Like Me doll, her favorite) seated AT the table with us. 

Birthday crowns for everyone! 

The meal started out with cinnamon rolls, so Ironflower was so happy. 

My chicken club was pretty good. 

Ironflower's meal came with a hot dog AND mac and cheese. 

Dessert was the biggest hit. 

Ironflower and her loot. 

Wandering Wednesday: One Teeny Tiny Part of NYC

That's right, it's the Wednesday after Labor Day and my kids STILL haven't started school. Which would be a lot more tolerable if the pool was still open. Or I had a nanny. Or I was homeschooling them and not just waiting around for our real schedule to start.

Anyway, we went to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC as one of our staycation days this week. It was really at my dad's insistence and because of his assistance (you should follow him on Twitter). In spite of morning grumpiness and my lack of preparation ( I did not write out an itinerary, or even make notations on a map printed from the web site - I have turned into some kind of slacker this summer), we had an excellent time.

We'd been in the Museum for a while at this point, I had to figure out how to read the map before I remembered to take pictures. 

Hot Guy explains something I don't understand. I probably should have listened instead of taking bad pictures. 

The earthquake map is super-cool. And a little scary. 

See that large shape in the background? It's the blue whale. It is fucking awesome, despite the photographic evidence to the contrary. 

The manatee looks very real. 

So does the polar bear. And somehow bigger than the one at the Bronx Zoo. 

Ironflower by her beloved dolphins. 

Lovebug being a dolphin. 

This is stibnite. I had never heard of it before, but now I want some. 

This doesn't really need a description, right? 

Oh yeah. I recommend having brunch and then go. I brought snacks, which you really weren't supposed to do, but they weren't enough to keep the crew happy so we broke down and went to the food court. Behold the most expensive slice of pizza in New York. 

I swear Lovebug was better about not touching things when he was 3. 

Every time I see a photo of myself I think, "Who's that bitch with my family?" And then I realize that what I think I look like and what I actually look like do not match. 

So cool. 

Hugmonkey was starting to get done with things by this point. 

I promise I'll fix the eyes before I print this picture. 

This room reminded Ironflower that she used to LOVE dinosaurs. Both big kids had imaginary Allosaurus friends and Ironflower also had Tina Triceratops. 

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Trip

We took Lovebug to the city yesterday for his birthday trip. Ever since we took Ironflower to the American Girl store for her birthday, Lovebug has been wanting something similar. So yesterday we went to the big Lego store in Rockefeller Center and out to lunch in the city. 

Hot Guy had a meeting in Chelsea in the late afternoon, so Lovebug and I went to Books of Wonder. I think we could have spent another hour there - and we definitely could have spent more money. 

The Bronx Zoo Is Better Than Animal Kingdom

I think I remember going to the Bronx Zoo once as a kid. I wasn't really into animals and my parents weren't really into driving all the way to the Bronx, so it wasn't a family thing. It actually wasn't until I did a project at the Oregon Zoo while in graduate school that I became interested in wild animals and conservation and such.

Which brings us to how I've dragged my family to the Bronx Zoo twice in the past month. And by dragged, I mean they loved every second of it. The kids are already making plans for our next trip. (If you have a bunch of kids and plan on going more than once, I highly recommend membership. It winds up being much cheaper, plus you're helping the Wildlife Conservation Society).

The Bronx Zoo is not only awesome, but its goal is to protect and preserve wild species, not capture wild animals.  And no, this post is not sponsored. I just love the Bronx Zoo that much. It's way better than Animal Kingdom at Disney World, and I looooove me some Disney World.

Those are nyalas. I had never heard of them before. 

This is our gorilla buddy. Pretty sure he was watching Ironflower.

 Giraffes are now Hugmonkey's favorite animal.

Climbing in the Children's Zoo. 

A bit of advice, though: Make sure your 3G is working if you intend to use your cell phone maps for directions. Our trip the other day almost turned into, "The Day We Went to McDonald's in the Bronx" because we got kind of lost. We wanted to avoid traffic - which we totally did - but I hadn't memorized the new directions very, um, well. And my cell didn't work. And despite living less than 15 miles from the Bronx for most of my life, I've only been there 5 times.  So I really had no idea where the fuck we were going. 

But the McDonald's on Kingsbridge has a play space and wifi, so eventually I figured it out. Basically. 

Hot Guy deserves major kudos for not losing it yesterday as he tried to drive in NYC while I freaked out. And also? He's the one that found the McDonald's. 

Next time I'm printing a map. 

Jerseygirl Takes Manhattan, Part Deux*

*If you get that reference, you are old enough to read this blog. If you don't get it, pretend I'm French.

Sorry it's been a week. . .what can I say? I suck. And I started exercising, which requires me to not only find time to do that, but also to shower every day. What really sucks is that I've been doing it for like a month and I haven't gotten my pre-kid body back. I mean, my Goddess, I've also CUT DOWN ON MY CHOCOLATE INTAKE. How come I'm not a size 8 yet? Shouldn't 6 years of overindulgence be erased with 6 weeks of (somewhat spotty) discipline?

But back to my exciting trip to NYC.

So, I get in line to go into the event, desperately reading name tags hoping to find a person who might possibly know who I am. Okay, Jill Asher (the founder) and Linsey Krolick (a managing partner) seemed to recognize my name but, um, that's kind of their job. Plus, they were kind of busy. The space was very cool, but the theater where we had the symposium was rather small. Perfect for the group of brands and bloggers talking about um, brands and blogging, but I wouldn't want to see a movie there.

Anyway, inside the theater we all took turns introducing ourselves. I recycled my joke about "Jerseygirl" sounding cute when I lived in Kansas City, people chuckled politely and I don't think I stammered. So I feel pretty good about that. Especially since the last time I had a microphone and a room full of strangers I had also had ten shots of tequila and a karaoke machine.

Many smart people  jumped on their phones and laptops, tweeting about the discussion and following the other mom bloggers there. I took notes, because I graduated from college in 1993 and that's how we rolled back then. Plus, while I've been blogging for a while (Dirty Little Secret originally appeared on Blogger in 2007), I'm pretty new to the whole advertising/reviewing/perks thing. So the symposium was great.

Then there was the cocktail party. I thought we'd just be talking to the brand people, but instead they had little displays and they all gave us stuff AND talked to us. And when I say stuff, I mean I got 2 free tickets to Wicked. Which we saw when I was pregnant with Ironflower and I love, love, love. Also, I got an adorable Jerseygirl luggage tag from Mabel's Labels. Many of the brands had their p.r. firms there to butter up the mommy bloggers, but Julie, one of the founders of Mabel's Labels, was there herself. And she is kind and interesting and their products really are adorable. Just sayin'.

Also, Cinnabon will soon be coming out with cupcakes. And they are GOOOOOOD.

Bitdefender was the sponsor, they have really good identity protection/anti-virus software and are very supportive of mom bloggers.

Honestly, I was overwhelmed by all the great brands there - Panasonic, Lawry's, Lifetime, iGo (portable cell phone rechargers, people!), Mobi-stories (story books that your kids can manipulate) and Cirque du Soleil and probably some others that I've forgotten.

One important thing I did learn: If  you are interested in reviewing products and that kind of stuff, include all of your contact email and professional experience in your "About Me" section. The easier it is for the p.r. people and companies to reach you, the more likely it is that they will.

Also, I really should have taken more of the cupcakes. They offered me more and I turned them down because I was carrying bags of stuff already. I? Am dumb sometimes.