Weekend in NYC

Well that was lovely. After a second "snow" day (the boys didn't have school on Thursday because of all the ice, so I took them to see "Hotel for Dogs", leaving Sofia at D's house and taking D's daughter instead), I finally sent all my kids back to school on Friday, and David and I took off for NYC.

We got into the city around 3:30, just in time to check in to my most favorite hotel, The Library Hotel. And because last week was my birthday, they upgraded us to a suite:



The front windows jutted out over Madison Avenue, so we had a terrific view all the way up and down:



David had pre-ordered bottle of Proseco (Italian sparkling wine, my favorite), so we immediately relaxes and got a bit tipsy:
. The hotel has wine and cheese every evening from 5 - 8 pm, so we kept running down for snacks.

We had a reservation at Ruby Foo's with my college chum R. So we toddled over, a few blocks in the cold weather to clear our heads. Dinner was fun, although the food was just ok. Sushi, of course.

R came back with us to the hotel after dinner, and we all sat in the Reading Room. I love listening to David and R talk, but I was also exhausted. So eventually I was sound asleep in bed.

Slept delightfully later than usual (about 8:30), and was not woken up by anyone prying my eyelids open and saying "Grits" incessantly. Ah. The hotel also has a continental breakfast in the Reading Room, so we sat down there eating and reading the newspapers.

Showered, dressed, and started walking. It was COLD on Saturday. Looked at great-coats (long overcoats) for David. At first he kept looking at the cashmere coats, very nice and very expensive, but I reasoned with him and he ended up with a nice dark-camel colored wool/cashmere blend from Men's Warehouse. It looks great on him, and now he can wear a coat over a suit and not freeze.

Quick stop back at the hotel, then took the subway down to 12th & Broadway to go to The Strand Bookstore, a humongous new/used store. Didn't find too much, but I did get the Robert Altar Torah translation, and a book about grammar. Then we stopped at a music store nearby and bought a ton of DVDs.

Walked all the way back to the hotel. Warmed up with cocoa in the Reading Room. Then David settled in to watch a DVD ("Across the Universe"), but I was restless and wanted a hat. So off I went to do a little shopping on my own. The hotel is about 2 blocks from Grand Central Station, so at first I tried there, then I headed over to 5th Avenue. I was having a lot of fun, so I called David and told him I'd meet him when he was ready for supper.

Bought a hat for $3 at HMV, adorable little cap. Didn't buy much else, but did a lot of looking. Met up with David around 6:30, and we headed over to Le Marais, the kosher steakhouse in Time Square.

It didn't open until 8, so we made a reservation and walked around more. I was freezing, having switched from my coat to my cape, so we bought a sweatshirt that I could give to Sammy, and I wore that under the cape.

Dinner was yummy, and then we went back to the hotel and watched another DVD (Ocean's 13). Slept late again, another hour reading the newspaper over breakfast, shower & dress, and then we took the subway to the Lower East Side.

David's grandmother grew up on Rivington Street, so we started walking there. It's no longer a very Jewish area, at least right there - the kosher places and bookstores are a few blocks south. Now it's very Asian, and we ended up watching a Chinese New year Parade going down Allen Street! It was a lot of fun.

Stopped for felafel, and walked around the gift shop at the Tenement Museum, but did not go on a tour. And then we walked all the way back up to the hotel, form Delancy Street to 41st. Long. Stopped for a quick bite of sushi along the way. Did a bit of shopping. Got hot chocolate at "Max Brenner: Chocolate from the Bald Guy" (yum). Bought gifties for the kids and for my friends who had watched the kids over the weekend.

Eventually we made it back to the hotel. Had wine and cheese, relaxed a bit. Went for late-night sushi at Monster Sushi. Good.

Monday morning, my mother called at 7:30 to ask a lunchbox question, and it did take a while to fall back asleep, but eventually we got up at 9:15. Ran downstairs for breakfast, came back to shower and pack. Left the bags in the room (checkout not until 1:00 pm - another reason to love this hotel). Walked over to 47th Street, where my husband bought me a very lovely bracelet. Stopped at Kosher Deluxe for chicken wings and shwarma. Raced back to check out of the hotel. Drove home, stopping in West Hartford to pick up deli for dinner.

At home, the kids were very happy to see us, and all three began melting down for mommy. Sofia would not let go of me, Micah claimed he'd injured his leg, Sam had a belly ache. Apparently they were all fine until we walked in the door.

Since Mom had let Sofia nap a long time, I went to sleep and let Sofia and David stay up watching a movie. I had to wake up at 3:15 to drive my parents to the airport, for their flight to Jamaica. They were very nervous about the weather, but they got out with no problems; they even got on an earlier flight.

Came hope, slept for another hour, and took the kids to school and did some grocery shopping. Back to reality now.

Today I have to figure out what to do with the boys and Sam's classmate A from 3:!56 until 4:45 when Tae Kwan Do starts, since I got a call last night that Micah's piano teacher quit! That's the second teacher this year - I paid for 14 lessons in October, and we are still only about half-way through. Ugh. But I think they have another teacher they are contracting with.

The kids had a nice weekend without us. My friend D picked them all up from school (after I dropped Sam at school on Friday, I left all their suitcases and sleeping bags on D's porch). Sofia loves their house, because D has a 5 year old daughter and great girly toys. Then D met up with my friend N, and N took all three overnight - she has a boy Sam's age, and an 8 year old daughter who wishes Sofia was her sister.

Apparently Sam was the only one who could put Sofia to sleep, which was nice. They all had fun playing with their friends. Then my sitter, E, picked up my minivan and then my kids, and she had them overnight here at our house. Sunday, she took them all to Bugaboo Creek for lunch (she waitresses there). They had fun. Then my parents came up and took over.

So now it's back to the regular schedule. We got notice that Sofia's IEP review is next Thursday morning. I'm interested in hearing from everyone about how she's doing as compared to the written goals. I know she's doing great in real life - she's definitely getting better at combining words - Want More Juice Please!

Oh, and the other day, I once again heard glass clanking: