New York Adventures--Quick Update Style

Well, time is flying and I'm not posting. So, here are some photos and quick captions to document the past few weeks.




There is a great study hall downstairs in the I-House. Sometimes, the kids and I go down there to do our homework. We actually can last for up to an hour--which any mom will tell you is a long time and which is actually enough time for me to crank something out!





We joined the Natural History Museum! It was a great deal $110 for the whole year and you get two adults and two children in free every time. We love the Natural History Museum! Cosmic Collisions is amazing--the kids have seen it three times!



Our toaster caught on fire!! We had been thinking that the "pop up" function was not working so well, and we were right. I smelled smoke one day and realized that the toast never popped up. Then flames burst out, then toaster went into the shower very quickly! Did I mention that we were toasting the toast in the bedroom as the plug in the kitchen didn't work--thus toaster in the shower and not the kitchen sink! (Plug now working in the kitchen--FYI).



We love playing at the playgrounds right by our apartment--Riverside Park is great, Morningside Park is great--Chris and the kids play a pick up soccer game with people from church there every Saturday morning.



We have seen and thus been caught up in a few protests. This picture captures two of them actually. One was with Chris and the kids down town about Israel and Palestine. The other was regarding the Sean Bell killing and police officers not being held accountable. The later was truly an experience. We were up on 125th in Harlem when protesters blocked an intersection chanting "Take our streets back". We were not at all scared of the protesters--we agree with their protests! What was terrifying was the police response. It was so scary to see the police rushing in from all sides, arriving in van-loads--literally 12 police officers jumping out at one time for a peaceful protest. I was so angry.



Family time in a one bedroom apartment has a whole new meaning. This type of adventure is not for those families who are set in their ways and not up for it. It has been great, but not like the parenting style that I am used to. Pretty much, it's me and the kids 24/7, and when we are all at home we are with Chris too. It's great though. Really, if we had one more bedroom, I think that I could live this way long term. The best part about this whole adventure has been learning about ourselves as we have taken ourselves out of our normal lives and plopped ourselves into a whole new setting!! You learn about yourself, your relationship with your loved ones, and so more. I recommend it to everyone--well to those who feel that they are willing to take risks. It has been great, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!



Chris' surprise birthday party!! Yes, I actually think it was a surprise--amazing! We had all of the interns, plus our new and old friends there! The biggest adventure involved obtaining the cake from Costco. I knew that I had to have a huge cake to feed so many people. Going to Costco from the city is like nothing I can ever explain!! Suburban housewives across the country, we can never appreciate how easy we have it until you try bulk shopping city style. I won't go into details, but just let me say that Chris' birthday cake from Costco traveled by car, bus, and subway in the RAIN (as in pouring buckets) to finally arrive at his birthday party a week later. Only my friends Mehrsa and Tammy who helped me obtain the beastly cake can even begin to understand the effort involved in getting that cake to the party. We had a great time though, so it was worth it!