Day 1: Story Land

After traveling from Connecticut to New Hampshire for 4 1/2 hours by car with three children in the backseat we were thrilled to get out and play at Story Land. Isabella LOVED the carousel. Then it poured on us. Once she was wet she became very quiet and still...seriously, I think her arm stayed in that position for, like, an hour. And then she got to "drive" a car, and she was happy again. What a trooper!

Traveling with Toddler by Train

I was a little nervous taking two trains to Connecticut last weekend with just my two hands, a baby, stroller, and all the stuff we would need for a fun weekend in New Hampshire. Isabella was a trooper, as always, and only ran off once on Amtrak while I was trying to stow the stroller in the luggage compartment. Gotta love modern entertainment on long trips with a toddler!

Enjoying the Cousins

Devon & Isabella

Devon took the two photos above. I thought he did a great job!

Roman took these two photos. Notice the smudge: little fingers on lenses.

Weekend in Connecticut

Waiting for the train

Early riser: we were up before anyone else, so we enjoyed the fresh air, morning dew and birds singing.

A 30 mile bike ride to celebrate the summer solstice. It was reminiscent of our 300 mile/6 day ride four years ago (Pittsburgh to D.C.).

Fun Moments

Stroller entertainment...Whatever works!

Isabella loves the moon.

Almost got it!

Isabella loves to help me in the kitchen. She now pulls the chair up near the counters and "helps". Luckily the faucet is a great distraction when I need to use knives or work at the stove. Speaking of knives...I lost a sharp pairing knife a few weeks ago. Not exactly the thing to loose in a house with a toddler, but I've search everywhere (in the kitchen). I feel like I'm loosing my marbles too! Totally weird!

We went to the zoo too!

Of the four of us moms and babes I'm the last to post about our adventures in animal land. You can see almost the same exact posts here, here, and here.

Isabella's favorite animals this time were the sea lions...she kept asking for "more".

Big Apple BBQ

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party in Madison Square Park. We got there the last 15 minutes or so before the vendors closed up. Brian and I separated and picked up the best barbecued meats right before the lines closed. I loved the pulled pork sandwiches. I highly recommend going next year and going late in the day. We ate from Ubon's from Yazoo, MS; The Salt Lick from Driftwood, TX; and Blue Smoke from NY, NY. Unfortunately, The Pit was already closed when we got there. Two years ago we ate from them and it was fantastic (also the longest lines).

And then we finished off with some Red Mango frozen yogurt. So very delicious!

Picnic Ideas

One of the few blogs I check on a regular basis is {frolic}. And I really, really like the ideas posted today for a rowboat picnic.

I really, really like picnics. Is there really anything much more grand than munching on delicious fresh food with friends mingled on blankets in the green grass on a beautiful summer day? I think not!

"Honey?" "Yes, Sweetie."

Andrew's Local Honey is a new(er) vendor at the Union Square Greenmarket on Wednesdays. They were handing out samples of their creamed honey and it is fantastic! It is so thick that it is hard to spread, but Brian and I spoon it out and eat a little at a time. It's like candy. Love it!

KAAS Plates

The last time we were wandering the West Village I hopped into a tiny, intriguing shop that sells decoupaged plates. The work Kaas does is so beautiful and unique! The plates are much prettier than the photos.

"Our work involves the art of decoupage under glass. Each piece is put together by hand using reprinted images that we have collected from frequent trips to flea markets, antique shows and estate sales."

Mini 10K

Can you see me?

On Saturday I ran my first race of the season, the NYRR New York Mini 10K, a women's only race. It ended up being the hottest day of the year (so far) and very humid. I thought I would average just under 9 min/mile since my longest runs this year were only 4 miles and I figured the heat would slow me down. But I did really, really well.

My finish time was 52:48 and average pace was 8:30 min/mile. There were 4104 participants and I placed #675 and in my age group there were 1492 women and I placed #248. Not bad, eh? The Olympic womens running team was also a part of the race; which I thought was pretty cool.

The best part of the whole race was around 2.5 miles. I had just conquered the huge hill of Harlem Hills and was heading down when I spotted Isabella on top of Brian's shoulders. I waved and blew kisses as they cheered me on. I loved it more than anything!

Will Power

Sun Run on May 19, 2007

This article from the NY Times got me thinking about my will power. I use to be really good about self-control, but it seems to gone the way of ... I don't know...but my self-control definitely isn't as strong as it use to be.

I really like the idea that the article mentions how if we exercise our will power muscle in one area, it can strengthen it in others as well. So, I've been putting it to the test.

To have my will power work well I've had to put together a good schedule and stick to it most of the time.

Here's my morning schedule that I've been doing for about a month:

5:30am wake up
6:00am outside running
6:30am read scriptures
7:00am wake up Brian (and baby usually wakes up too)
7:30am make healthy breakfast
8:00am shower

My goal is to be in bed by 9:30pm (although it is usually 10pm, which is still really good for me).

With having a baby there are never guarantees of a schedule, but I'm doing pretty well so far. I've been feeling fantastic, happier, healthier, and more energized . Which makes me a much better wife and mother.

Since I've started running on a regular basis I've been much better about not giving into my cravings for chocolate, and sweets in general. For a month I had a chocolate fast. And felt great. Then more recently I went without any refined sugars for a week. Which was much harder, but I had so much more energy. There was a stronger part of me coming from within. If I can choose to not eat sugar, I can do anything. I felt very empowered.

The same carton of ice cream was in the freezer for weeks. That hasn't happened in years.

Here's a good blog from a Columbia student who is going without sugar for a whole year. I'm very impressed. I'm thinking of trying it for a month. Baby steps, right?

CSA Here I Come!

Photos from Roxbury Farm's website

Yesterday was my first time to pick up from our local CSA, which comes from Roxbury Farms. I was kind of nervous, kind of excited. I love the idea of eating fresh, local food. But I have high expectations and hope to get great produce. Although, I really didn't know what kinds of food I would expect to get yesterday.

I grabbed some escarole and made this dish last night for dinner. I've never used escarole before, so I was excited and proud of myself.

Now I have to figure out what to do with the broccoli rabe.

We also got a large bag of mixed greens and 7 Mutsu apples. We eat apples, but not that many.

But I'm super excited to eat all this fresh food. I've been contemplating starting a new goal of eating at least one serving of leafy greens each day. I think my weekly visits to the CSA will guarantee it.

Gayle & Tamara's "Cookie-Off"

I had so much fun with all the ladies (and kids) at the "cookie-off" yesterday. And I had chocolate chip cookies coming out of my ears. Boy was I stuffed!

Dining Out

Outside Doughnut Plant

Enjoying ice cream while waiting in line at Grimaldi's

While my mom was here we went to some of our favorite restaurants/eateries. But there are still so many I want to take her to, so she'll have to come back soon.

Ghenet--our favorite Ethiopian restaurant (and we've tried many)
Grimaldi's--one of our favorite pizzerias (Lombardi's is also good, Angelo's is good for Midtown, when I meet Brian for lunch)
Tabla--good, flavorful food. American food with Indian spices.
Doughnut Plant--I'm not a huge doughnut eater, but these were, um, AMAZING! The coconut creme was the most fantastic doughnut I have ever tasted.
The City Bakery--just for a couple shots of hot chocolate, of course.
Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory--while waiting in line for Grimaldi's
Hummus Place--so good and so cheap!