One more Moore

Halloween 2014!

Halloween in NYC is pretty amazing. Theres a gazillion kids running around, everything is decked out and the streets are shut-down for trick-or-treaters. We popped down to 69th street while it was still light and before the crowds got bad.  Have you ever seen anything like it? These decorations against NYC brownstones are so awesome.  Those giant spiders were my favorite! They were huge! I told Chris we need to move to one of these streets that shuts down for Halloween so we can go all out!  This year Tess went as Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. She's already got the unibrow so.... Charlie didn't want to wear a costume, so he wore his Batman shirt that has a cape:  Kate was one of the 9 million girls who went as Elsa:  And Henry wore the Jedi robe I made him when he was 5! ha ha I can't believe it still even remotely fits. (How about those decorations, right??)
We only trick-or-treated in 1 apartment lobby (we did a lot more last year and we'll have to do more next year) but how about this apartment lobby?  We trick-or-treated in a few shops (Kate's not in any of these because she was a sobbing hot mess because she was hungry). But these boys- I love them so~       Such a great night. Best night of the year!  This was earlier in the day when the unibrow was a little more prominent :)  We love you, New York City! 

XOXO

Greenwood Lake

I'm pretty much thinking that swimming with kids at a lake is the way to go. No waves, smaller crowds, less of a chance of losing this guy: He needs his space to run around and be free without me hanging on to him (who wouldn't?) So I usually camp out in one spot and he runs around and occasionally comes back to me. It works. I can't take my eyes off him for 2 seconds because he is so fast, but it works. Henry's been sick and pukey this week and we'd been housebound up until today. We were all looking forward to getting out and getting some fresh air, low-key style. For the first hour or two, just Kate & Charlie swam. Then Henry finally felt up to joining them.I think it was just what the doctor ordered. He was in heaven.

Then there was this little "Lady of the Lake" ha ha 4 of her top teeth came through at the exact same time. She's been sheer misery. We aren't out of the woods yet, but she's starting to nap more than 20 minutes a day so I consider that a PLUS. When Charlie grows up he wants to be a Lifeguard.  A Lifeguard that catches Charlies.  I mean butterflies. And for the record, I love everything about this: That little guy....swoon. 

And sandy, water logged kids? Double swoon. We spent the whole day there. It was a good day. The only way to bribe them out of the water was ice-cream, naturally. Chocolate, Cookies & Cream and Rainbow Sherbet. Henry was the clear winner here. Charlie & Kate were really wishing they had gone for the sherbet; Henry's no fool :)  Kate thought I was kidding when I told her that the sign behind her read "NOTICE unattended children will be SOLD!" 
Greenwood Lake for the win!

You've Got Mail

My in-laws were in town last weekend and one afternoon Kate & I decided to take my MIL on a "You've Got Mail" tour since so many of the locations are in our neighborhood. Kate loves that movie, too - I know I'm raising her right when she frequently asks to watch it :) So this wasn't the shot I was hoping for, I mean what is that a 2x4 in my shot?  But people, look what I was dealing with:  So,...yeah. I'll have to go back when ConEd is done 'repairing the electrical system'. Moving right along.... Cafe Lalo where Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly meet up. I first went here about 15 years ago and have been a handful of times since- it's still the exact same yummy, little cafe. Definitely worth a stop in if you are on the UWS.  You remember Zabars, right? The 'cash only' line. "Now take this credit card and put it through the machine, zip zip!" Zabars sells the most amazing chocolate raspberry brownies. I mean probably one of the best brownies I've ever had- and the combination of 2 of my most favorite flavors, really, if it wasn't 11:15 at night.... Gray's Payaya is where Joe & Kathleen share a hot dog. They sell hot dogs and yummy drinks like pina colada. I listened to the commentary once (you should- it's completely fascinating) and Nora Ephron talked about how they had to pop the glass out of the front so they could film the movie. You're welcome. And wait for it... The "Shop Around the Corner" is now an organic cleaners. It was a cheese shop when the movie was made and now well, moved on to organic greener pastures. And last but not least: The 91st Street Garden in Riverside Park which is so gorgeous and the perfect place to end a movie. Definitely hit some of these places if you are fan of the movie (let's be serious, who's not!) 

New York is pretty amazing. 

XO

The Little Red Lighthouse

Just north of us along the Hudson River, and under the George Washington Bridge,  sits The Little Red Lighthouse. It's been on my bucket list since we moved here and last Sunday, when we were looking for a little outing, we decided to go and scope it out.  It's not the easiest place to get to (we drove, took the 181st pedestrian bridge and then walked the rest) but only about a 20 minute, stroller-friendly, walk away.  Did I mention it's a gorgeous green lush walk to the lighthouse? Well it is.  Within minutes of getting there, Henry found his first-ever 4 leaf clover! Lucky, indeed! Our apartment building is somewhere down there... There's a book called "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge" that we'll need to add to our collection of NYC childrens books. You can read all about the lighthouse here:  All in all, a great way to spend our Sunday afternoon! 1 month of Summer down. 1 more month to go!

Wave Hill

Tucked just off the beaten path in the Bronx, are the public gardens known as Wave Hill. We took a little day trip up (it's really only about 15 away minutes by car) a week ago and had a really great time. Wave Hill reminds me so much of the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA, just on a much smaller scale. It overlooks the Hudson River and that's NJ in the background.  We got there right when it opened and the crowds were relatively small.  Kate brought her friend, Felicity and here they are with a litte "here comes the bride" while they thew pebbles from side to side :)  There were grapes growing overhead which was really fun to see.  As I understand it, Wave Hill actually refers to the home that was built for William Morris and sits at the southern end of the property. 

We brought our lunch and ate on the back patio which had the most amazing views of the George Washington Bridge.  After lunch we headed to another building on the property- I can't remember what it's called, but it's where you are supposed to eat if you brought your lunch (not where we ate which is apparently for people who are buying lunch from the onsite cafe- whoops!) Anyway, they had a photography exhibit on fireflys and a few works of art.  There's a poem called "The Yellow Wallpaper" and the artist based this room off the poem.  Our day ended with a roll down the hill :)  Wave Hill was amazing, it's so beautiful up there! NYC friends, it's definitely worth the trip up. Free on Tuesdays and accessible by the train!

XO

Fishkill Farms

Well schools been out for about a month now- the children are actually anxious for it to start back up in September if you can believe it! We are trying to get out and enjoy this amazing weather NYC is giving us, so today we went upstate to the Hudson Valley to pick some blueberries and visit the farm.  Theres a million pick-your-own farms around and I think we hit the jackpot with this one. It wasn't too crowded, it had a lovely store, animals and lots of room to run around. Oh and they had this:  a little outdoor stand where you could order burgers and dogs and the most delicious corn. It looked so good, but our first order of business was the blueberries:  I realized that I hadn't actually ever picked blueberries before. We've done strawberries & raspberries but no blueberries. So we picked,  while others couldn't be bothered: We picked a good amount (confession: I love those little blue containers just as much as the fruit that fill them!) of blueberries then pulled up a picnic table and ordered a burger and corn which was delish! Then we explored the farm. There were chickens,    and bunnies (I wish you could see the big grin on Charlie's face!),  and lots of room to run around and be crazy.  

There was flower picking,  and more flower picking  ("Mom, this flower smells so good, kinda like corn")

There was lounging under gorgeous trees,  and pic's of my biggest holding my smallest,  and pic's of my smallest, who was visiting a farm for the very first time What a ham. I think she liked it. 

Summer can be pretty awesome. 

XO

4th of July in NYC

Hey there! Just wanted to pop in and share some photo's from the 4th of July. It was so great here in the city. And by here in the city, I mean just over the river in New Jersey.   We spent the afternoon at the Liberty Science Center and then drove over to the Liberty State Park for a picnic while we waited for the fireworks to start.  This was the only pic I got all day of this little nugget. Our evening picnic by the water meant she needed another layer of clothing so no red, white or blue for her, unlike her big sis, ha! :)  Waiting to get this party started. Oh wait, there's still time? How about some shenanigans: Tess was on my lap when I was trying to take this picture and then made a mad dash for a fried chicken leg which made Henry laugh hysterically.  That 9 month old baby is SO SNEAKY! How incredible is this view though. I mean, really?  The Birthday Girl in all her glory. Henry teaching Charlie all about Lady Liberty. And our sweet little Charlie who wore his Papa out by making him run after him for a solid 3 hours.  I love all my little monkeys. Our spot made us able to see the Macy's fireworks on the right by the Brooklyn Bridge and the NJ fireworks on the left, which were shot off above the Hudson River. 

It was a great first 4th of July in New York. Hope you had a good one, too!

XOXO

Marathon Monday

A few weeks ago we drove up to Boston for this years marathon. I promised the children after last years marathon that we would absolutely be back this year.  Theres just nothing like it, we were so happy to be there and cheer on the runners. And did I mention how inspiring it is? I mean, really???? What'd you do today? Run a marathon, with one leg? I couldn't run it with 2 legs! Amazing. I love the look of the man in the suit in the background. We all felt the exact same: total amazement.  Go cheer on the runners if you ever have the chance. It's incredible. And only in MA do you make a wrong turn and see this charging at you:

Naturally.

I love Boston.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

I loaded up the children on Tuesday for an after-school field trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see the cherry blossoms (which were amazing). It reminds me so much of the Huntington Library that we used to go to all the time when we lived in LA. The kids kicked off their shoes and ran around like crazy people (success). My kind of fieldtrip- where there wear themselves out!

We spent a lot of time at the water fountain throwing pennies in and making wishes. Charlie also enjoyed digging up other peoples wishes. Ha! This photo is still making me laugh:  A woman taking a selfie and a complete stranger taking pictures of Charlie and me taking a picture of the both of them.

This is the ONLY picture I have of 3 of the 4 kids. Love that I caught Henry in the middle of losing his glasses. Hahaha!
XO

MoMA

I signed up to chaperone Kate's kindergarten class to the MoMA yesterday. In all my years that we visited NYC and since we've lived here, I had never been! We saw some amazing works of art: Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein. These kids, I tell ya, they get to go on some pretty incredible fieldtrips!  I don't know if modern art is Kate's thing. More than once she said to me "they call that ART?!?!" (not the Picasso- the more subtle art- the strip of red painted wood hanging on the wall). There is a Van Gogh that Henry has been dying to see so we'll have to use the free family pass they gave us and check it out on our next visit.  This is Kate's partner at school. That means they get to hold hands when they walk in the hallway or go on a fieldtrip. He really is such a sweet boy. Kate was crying at the Halloween party and he put his arm around her and gave her a little squeeze. Today she leaned over on him and stayed there- I said, "Kate, why don't you sit up" and he said, "I don't mind : )"  I let them play on my phone on the bus ride back to school. He's moving in a few weeks and I think Kate will be really sad. For now, we are happy they get to be friends. 

World Autism Awareness Day

I'm sure you've heard that it's World Autism Awareness Day today! I talked a little bit about it on my Instagram account this morning but I just wanted to say that we are so grateful to have Charlie in our family. Our family would not be complete without him. I'm grateful for the many teachers & therapists who work their tails off everyday to ensure that Charlie is given the resources and education he deserves and needs. It's not always easy to have a child who is autistic but I'm grateful that it's manageable. He is learning & growing so much. He started full time school 5 days a week the day he turned 3 and the results are nothing short of a miracle. The education & therapy is working and for that I am grateful.
We love you, Charlie. XOXO

Date night with Kate

I did it. I dusted off the camera and took it out tonight on my date with Kate. I just downloaded over 350 pictures. I haven't done a dump of photo's in almost a year. There were pic's of Henry's baptism, our summer vacation, Kate being born, Christmas pic's, etc.,. I'll have to share those soon. But for now, I wanted to share some photo's from my date night with Kate! We took the train down to Grand Central Terminal (I always want to call it Grand Central Station but that's not technically what it's called). It's pretty incredible here. I used to to take the Amtrak from Boston to NYC back in my working days  and always came through here. It's vast and grand and the architecture is jaw dropping. Anyway, this wasn't our final destination, just somewhere that we were passing through. We hopped off the subway and walked a few blocks down to The Morgan Library & Museum.  You should know this about me: The Little Prince is my all-time favorite children's book. I read it for the first time about 25 years ago (that makes me sound really old) as an early teenager and then ended up reading anything by Antoine de Saint-Exupery that I could get my hands on. My brother-in-law brought me back a french version of the book back in 1997 which I cherish so much (not that I can read French). When I heard there was going to be original manuscripts and early illustrations for the book at the library I knew I had to go. No pictures were allowed in the exhibit (I only have this really bad one I took with my phone right before we went in) but I have to tell you one of the most amazing things I saw was actually nothing by Antoine de Saint-Exupery but rather the original screenplay by Orson Welles from the early 40's. As a 27 year old, he had just finished Citizen Kane and wanted to make "The Little Prince" into his 3rd movie. They reached out to Walt Disney for a collaboration and from what I gather the two of them butted heads and the movie was never made. It was seriously so fascinating. Anyway, I've never read this book to my children (all my various copies are in our storage unit) but I think I'm going to check it out from the library this week. The book has so many sweet and tender messages in it, I know they'd love it. The exhibit is free on Friday nights from 7-9 for any of you locals who want to check it out (you really should check it out).We walked back to Grand Central and thank goodness Shake Shack was still open because I promised Kate some ice-cream for our date night! A strawberry shake and cheese fries was the perfect ending to our date :) Kate doesn't usually ride in the stroller much these days but I knew we'd be home late and she'd be exhausted. The second the express 3 train left Times Square, she was out like a light.

Happy Friday!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. It's going to be in the 60's here so we'll most definitely be outside! (One of these days I'll start taking pics with a real camera again and not my super old iPhone 3! ha ha!) 

Happy Spring!

On my way to the bus stop this morning, I passed the sweetest little flower shop. I've passed it many times before but today they actually had heaps of flowers out on the steps. My fellow New Yorkers will probably want to kill me when I say that this winter was totally doable (maybe because I was cooped up & in the house for a majority of it!) Last winter was such a beast in central Mass. We FROZE to death and got ridiculous amounts of snow. I mostly feel grateful that our heat was/is free and we stayed toasty warm! My tulip bulbs have bloomed, and I'm not going to lie- I'm so glad 'winter' is behind us. Now, if the rest of the city would start blooming, then we'd be golden. Here's to warmer, brighter (in more ways than one!) days ahead!

xoxo

Hi there~

I've got some bread in the oven, a sleeping baby and a frosty bevy by my side so I thought it'd be a great time to pop in and say hello and upload a few photos. Tess turned 5 months on the 10th. She's growing and is adored by her brothers & sister.  She is definitely a 4th baby. I've fallen victim to the fourth child (or 2nd or 3rd!) syndrome of pretty much not properly documenting any milestone in her life. We've been thinking about starting her on solids. She's ready. There was no camera set up, no bib put on, oh no, this mama just grabbed a bag of some squeezable fruit in a panic when said baby was crying in the aisle of Target and spooged some into her mouth. It worked. She liked it. And stopped crying. She bought me an extra 15 minutes to checkout. Badda-boom badda-bing. Classy act right here. (Chris, if you are reading this, I started Tess on solids). Henry had his first Blue & Gold Banquet in scouts which was really fun. It takes a lot of work to run scouts and I'm grateful for all the leaders involved. Henrys now working on his car for the upcoming Pinewood Derby which will be happening end of April.  I think their badges are pretty cool, too!  The children wanted to make a cake so we made one and sang "Happy Birthday" to Daylight Savings Time. Henry said he's 'tired' of chocolate cake (how can that be humanly possible??) and requested vanilla with vanilla frosting. Loving longer days. I think the worst of winter is behind us. Fingers crossed. 
We had the most gorgeous day of warm weather recently which also coincided with the children getting out early for parent teacher conferences so we went to our favorite slide in Central Park. We had a hoot here last Summer and could not wait to get back. Today is officially the last day of Winter. Wow.  There are 21 playgrounds in Central Park and by golly we are going to hit every single one of them if it kills us! I had no plans for St. Patrick's Day but last minute we made some little shamrock pins for the children to wear and to give to their teachers. Remember when I made them for Henry's class? Each.And.Every.Child? I was koo-koo!! The Empire State Building was all lit up with green, of course. New York is amazing. Really amazing.  Tess is starting to stir & I've got little ones to get from school soon. Hope you are all doing well! xoxox

P.s. Still in a splint-6 weeks later. Oy.