NYC!

About a year and a half ago, Pops went to the preview of the Book of Mormon musical. 

He was in love. 

He jumped online and bought tickets to the closing weekend performance. I was dubious at the time. 

#1. These tickets were NOT cheap. 

#2. I wasn't sure that I wasn't jepordizing my salvation to attend such a blasphemous show. 

Over the months Pops has blasted the musical through the house and I have to admit the music is really catchy. As the big day approached we decided to make it an anniversary retreat. We flew Glama out to take care of the kiddos and Pops booked us accomadations in the Marriot in Times Square. 

This is the view from our hotel window.

With a view like this, and being the lumbering pregnant lady I am, I saw very little need to do much beyond lay around our fabulous hotel. However, on the other hand, we had to take advantage of traveling without a hoard of children so we did hit a few of NYC's *MUSTS*. 

First off on Pop's list, Federal Hall.

You know, the place where George Washington was sworn into office. The actual building is gone, but here is the stone Washington stood on for the ceremony...

...and the bible he placed his hand upon while taking the oath of office. 

Very Exciting.

Right across the street is the New York Stock Exchange

And 23 Wall Street. In its hayday the headquarters of JP Morgan and company, now a Halloween costume shop. Pops was disgusted that the very institution where JP Morgan provided liquidy to the govenrment before the Federal Reserve was established back in the 1880s, was now a seasonal shop. God bless commerce!

We also circumnavigated Ground Zero and the new Freedom tower that is being erected.

That evening we dined at the restaurant on top of our hotel called , The View. 

The food was DELICIOUS, and the restaurant rotates 360 degrees in an hour. 

Very cool.

First up on the docket Saturday morning, a session at the new Manhattan Temple.

Followed by a stroll through Central Park, where we bumped into Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife (in blue) and about 30 of his security detail.

And what else do you do after bumping into the Prime Minister of Isreal but go to the Carnegie Deli for a bowl of matzah ball and borcht soup?

That evening we met up with some of our favs. Pops went to the Book of Mormon Musical preview with his buddies Dave and Ben. His best buds both soon moved away. We were VERY glad that David and  Shannon could meet us in NYC for the big night. We joined them for dinner at McCormick and Schmit's, their past regular lunch place. 

It was SO good to be with old friends! We miss them terribly.

Here are the guys.

The Musical is seriously good. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.

I LOVE this guy's smile. 

It was WONDERFUL to spend the weekend ALONE with him. That hasn't happened in 9 years. Love our kids, and we talked about them a lot, but it was fun to just be together. 

Let's do it again!

Word Economy

Tadpole's nightly prayer:

"Heavenly Father, I am thankful for everything I'm supposed to say in a prayer, except for bad guys. Amen".

Dedicated to the Honey Crisp

I *LOVE* Honey Crisp apples.

Obviously more than I love my sanity. 

The window was narrowing for Honey Crisp harvest and I counted my weekends and knew I needed to strike or loose the chance to pluck my own sweet gem of goodness straight off the tree and let it burst in my mouth. I probably eat an apple every single day, but as Honey Crisp season approaches I cannot even gag down one of those tasteless store bought apples.

So what's a girl to do? Pops was unavailable for back-up, and I couldn't be swayed. Maybe you have to have experienced an outing with Little Chief to fully appreciate the courage and effort it takes to leave the house with the little guy... not to mention the other 3 Toads and the bulging 5th. Add to that the hoards of New Englanders that descend on orchards on Autumn Saturdays. But the call of Honey Crisp cannot be ignored. So I came up with a plan. 

#1 Get to the farm right when it opens.

#2 Park *right* next to the farm store.

#3 Buy the apple cider donuts (all 3 dozen of them) 1st thing to avoid long lines and tantruming children later.

#4 Stuff a donut in everyone's mouth and toss the rest in the conveniently parked van.

#5 Hop on the hay ride out to the orchard.

#6 Cut straight to the Honey Crisps and pick 1/2 bushel (This took A LOT of self control. I normally go for MUCH more, but knew my limitations. I couldn't carry 2 giant bags of apples and a tantruming 2 year old out. I also knew I couldn't be trusted to make the socially acceptable decision between the apples and the fit throwing 2 year old, so 1 giant bag it was).

#7 Cut through the pumpkin patch for photo opp.

#8 Get out before the crowds descend.

Everything went off exactly as planned. 

So perfect that we completed steps #1-#8 in 45 minutes.

 I benevolently allowed the Toads 15 whole minutes to play at the play ground for falling in line behind my plan. No dawdling for us... we still had our monthly Costco trip ahead of us.

Here are my conquering Toads. Look, everyone made it without melting down! Even me!

The hay ride is a must. It is what Tadpole and Little Chief LIVE for.

Oh! Sweet! Honey Crisp!

A little tricky if you are missing one of your front teeth...

Okay, maybe this one was a little less sweet...

I am proud to say that apple picking is a ritual for Superkid. 

He can't imagine autumn without it.

See, I even let the troops take a break in the pumpkin patch.

I am delighted to have a fridge full of goodness and I have loved every single sweet orb. 

We had a great time. 

 I have to say that I miss all of my apple picking pals and leisurely days in the orchards. 

Okay, we are going to have to do it again, even if the Honey Crisps are past.

Time to Buy Stock in Beef Futures!

It's a *BOY*! 

That's right, 4 boys and 1 girl for the Toads. 

We're excited to meet the young chap in a few months. ...although Pops has me a little worried with the stories he tells of how he and his twin brother ate as teenagers. We already pack it away when it comes to hamburgers, steak tips and roast beef.
I can only imagine the scene around here in about 7 years!

And now for names! Now that we have 6 of us weighing in on names, it is getting a little tougher to pick a good one.

Superkid insists on "Hyrum"

Abizella is still holding out for a girl. When Pops told her we're having a boy she shrugged and said, "We'll see. You thought I was going to be a boy too."

Tadpole suggests either, "Moren"  (rhyming with his best friend Soren's name) or "Sticky" 

...he says it is fitting because everyone knows babies are sticky.

Little Chief doesn't know he is about to be de-throned.

Pops sides with Superkid. If it's not Hyrum, then it must be Don-Carlos.

I think I might need to consult another think tank...

In Case You Didn't Know...

*BLUE* is the new PURPLE

And *Freckles*...

...are definitely *IN*

 ... and adorable.

Tadpole *FINALLY* Gets To Ride the School Bus!

And the FIRST day of Kindergarten finally came!

Abz was very kind. She took Tadpole by the hand and showed him the ropes. 

He was 100% happier than last year when he sadly waved good bye to his best friend.

Little Dose of Optimism

The other day I was helping Tadpole pick up his blocks. 

While on my hands and knees I ripped my *only* pair of maternity pants on a nail. 

BOO! 

I may have vocalized my frustration. Tad chimed in, "Don't worry Mom" and then broke into song, 

"If something goes wrong, turn it around!" 

"Now Mom, how can you turn around your ripped pants?"

 I felt like I was making a guest appearance on "Mr. Rogers". 

 I scratched my head, "Hmmm... I guess I could roll them up and cover up the tear!" Tadpole nodded approvingly, "Way to turn it around Mom!"

I love PBS Kids. It's *really* the 3rd parent around here.

2 thumbs up for the new show "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood".