Seeing New York-Holiday Window Displays and Santa!

I'm going to be honest. We could have just seen Santa and our night would have been perfect. But I feel a sense of urgency when it comes to experiencing all things NYC because I don't know how long we'll be here to experience them. If I had my way this would be our last Christmas in New York. So I bundled Blake up, forced him into his stroller, wondered who I was really doing this for, and headed to the city.

We strolled along 5th Avenue, stopping briefly to look at the window displays.

By the time we hit Rockefeller Center, Blake was about done. I kind of felt like I was just rushing around, trying to take a quick picture, mentally checking off things from my bucket list.

The best window display in my opinion was at Lord and Taylor. The others were neat, but Blake didn't seem too interested in them. He cried when we left Lord and Taylor's!

In order to cheer Blake up, we stopped for a New York slice...hahahahaha! (You should've seen the looks I got as I tried to take a picture of this.)

Our final stop was at Macy's. After looking at their window display we headed inside to see Santa. We weaved our way through the store to find the elevator...the elevator just for strollers and wheelchairs being operated by an employee. Shocker!

We stepped onto the 8th floor and walked to Santaland.

singin' tree...kind of creepy

It was there we experienced several miracles: no line, happy Santaland workers who were excited to see us, and a 20 month old who actually sat on Santa's lap sans protesting and tears.

All in all, it was a chilly, but fun night. We even saw a free concert in the subway! It was some of the best music I've heard in the subway. So good that we missed our train!

This will go down as one of the best NYC experiences we've had as a family!

Adventures with a 1 year old- Bathtub art

I saw this idea on pinterest, perhaps one of the most addicting websites ever. I was hesitant at first because I didn't want Blake to put any of this stuff in his mouth. But I think we are finally past that stage, except for the occasional acorn.

To make these bath paints, just mix shaving cream and food coloring together. I mix mine in little plastic containers. You can also use a muffin tin. Blake loves doing this before bath time. And I have to say it gives me a good ten minutes to just sit and relax. I'm in the bathroom with him, but I don't sit on the edge of the tub because the tub is dry and not slippery.

Just a little warning: The food coloring has stained the grout on our shower wall, but it tends to fade after a while. And I have noticed that Blake's hands and wherever else he gets the paint are stained as well. It usually fades or is totally gone by the end of his bath. Totally worth it to me for all the fun he has with it.

Apartment Search: NYC edition

If you put the same effort into remodeling this apartment that you did capitalizing every other letter in your post title, then maybe I'd want to rent your apartment. Also, cats aren't that exciting.



Don't you dare classify a studio apartment as a 2 bedroom apartment. A studio apartment means there is a room. One.

 WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?!

 Wow! Only $1450 a month and it comes with a talking closet!

Wow, it's near allllllllllllllll? That's grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat! 

Here's a little advice: the creepier the pictures look, the less likely I am to rent your apartment. Oh, and put the toilet lid down.

 Looks more like somewhere they'd film an episode of Law and Order:SVU

 Cabinets in the kitchen? Why, that's unheard of!

Hey this looks nice! A 2 bedroom for $1395?

Nice kitchen. Ohhh a dishwasher! 

 And look at the outside of the building! 

Maybe I've found somethi...oh. Wait. You said this is what the building looks like, but google maps street view shows me this:

 Scam.

laundry day

Can you tell?

too much to ask?

2 bedrooms
a dishwasher
a washer
a dryer
a small patch of grass to play on
walking distance to a grocery store
no pests
$1500-ish a month in rent

You will literally get laughed right out of your broker's office if these are your criteria for an apartment in NYC. You can have one of these. Maybe.

to leash or not to leash

It seems in the last few weeks, Blake has decided he hates his stroller. And forcing him into it usually makes me regret deciding to take him somewhere. So I've been contemplating getting him one of those "this looks like a monkey backpack but it's really a way for me to keep you from running out in front of a car" leashes.

But then I saw this:

And I laughed as I realized Blake would be exactly like the kid on the ground. As soon as I tried to pull him in the right direction on a walk around the nabe, he'd collapse to the ground and I'd be stuck either dragging him along or hoisting him over my shoulder and carrying him home (both resulting in judgmental looks from passersby).

Personally I think the little backpack leashes look silly. And before I had a kid I never thought I'd consider getting one. But I totally understand why parents use them. Especially if you are going somewhere by yourself and need to be able to keep track of multiple children.

I don't look down on parents who use them. If they work for your kid, great! If they don't (see picture above) then good luck finding something that does. I'm currently searching for a solution myself.

weekly winter activity

Finger painting day naturally coincides with bath day.