New York City in the Morning Light

I love waking up in New York City. Even as I burrow deeper into the warm covers of my bed, I can feel the energy of the City calling to me.

It's only 8AM on a Saturday, but I can hear the woosh of the cabs as they race down Eighth Avenue. I can hear the clanging of the street carts filled with New York hot dogs and salty, doughy pretzels as the vendors make their way to their spots around Port Authority. And every few minutes, I can hear a quick burst of a far away siren as a policeman races to a crime scene at the end of a long night shift.

The City is loud. The City is brash. The City is alive.

I pull up the blinds and let the City wash over me. The early morning light cloaks it with a pastel glow. Everything looks cleaner, brighter, newer. The colors match my mood on this morning as we begin our three-day weekend in New York. So much to do, so much to see... There are cupcakes to be eaten, buildings to be gawked at, people to be watched, subways to be ridden, shopping to be done.

I can't wait to take a bite of the Big Apple. And neither can he.

Unexpected Magic at the Great Wolf Lodge

Today we woke up in 2010 with a heavy heart. After two wonderful weeks full of little girl laughter, sisters blogging side by side, and long leisurely dinners late into the night, it was time for everyone to say goodbye. We dug through the house to find all the dolls and socks strewn in far flung corners and piled everyone in the minivan one last time to make the drive to Cincinnati.

Two hours later, we exchanged last hugs at the terminal and turned them over to the joys of newly heightenned security checks. Instead of turning around and driving two hours back to our deserted house in Columbus, we decided to turn our sad parting into an exciting adventure by spending the night at the Great Wolf Lodge.

I'd been intrigued by the frequent radio ads for "the Lodge" with their deep baritone, but had thought the kids were too young to really enjoy an indoor water park. But now that two out of three are comfortable swimmers, I finally felt ready to give it a try.

I'll do a full review over at Chefdruck Reviews later this weekend once we're home, but so far, we're having a great time and have successfully diverted any sadness. The kids were thrilled by the little bunk bed cabin in our room and they, unlike me, were not deterred by the chilly water of the indoor water park. They went around and around the lazy river until their lips were dark blue.

Unexpectedly, the most fun was had outside of the pool, running through the halls of the hotel with magic wands looking for clues as part of an unbelievably elaborate magic quest. I balked at the price tag ($14.99 for a wand plus a ridiculous $9.99 "activation fee") but I have to admit that it was worth the expense as the entire hotel is filled with portraits that come to life and chests that come open with a slow creak to reveal dazzling jewels. The scavenger hunt was so clever and had so many levels that I saw many pimply teenagers running flushed looking for clues to become "master magi."

I don't think I could handle more than one night here. The crowds, the noise, and the pervasive faint whiff of chlorine are not exactly relaxing. But I'm sure this one night will live on in the kids' memory for a long long time.

Pit Stop Fright

I'm taking a hiatus from Tasty Tuesday this week to stay with the themes of road trips and BlogHer.

Today's road trip tale is from the drive out to Ohio I just did solo with the kids.
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Jack had just fallen asleep in the back seat when Bella called out, "I have to pee." I cursed silently before pulling off on a little country road to find an open establishment with a restroom. I was hoping for a well lit McDonald's but all I found on the deserted Pennsylvania road was a gas station.

I pulled the stroller out from the jumble of suitcases in the trunk and hefted Jack's slumbering body into it. As soon as Juliette saw that Jack had usurped her throne, she started crying hysterically, demanding that I make him move. I held her thrashing body on my hip as I pushed the stroller with my other hand.

The toilet was in the back, and the strong smell of urine wafted out from under the door. When Bella opened the door, she stepped back, reeling from the stench.
"Mommy! It smells so bad. Can't we go somewhere else?"
"No sweetie, there is nowhere else. You'll just have to be quick and not try not to think about the smell."
"Can't you come in with me?"
I looked around at the darkened parking lot around the bathroom and Jack's gaping snoring mouth. If I brought him into the foul bathroom and woke him up with the smell, I would probably scar him for life.
"I'm sorry Bella. I just can't go in with you. You'll just have to put lots of toilet paper down and wash your hands carefully after."
"You never help me. It's not fair!"
"Bella, seriously, now is not the time. Just pee and let's get back on the road."
That's when Juliette chose to chime in.
"My have to pee really badly too Mommy. Can I go with Bella?"
"No sweetie. It is just too dirty. I can put a diaper on you."
"No diaper! No! My a big girl! My want to pee on the potty!"
I looked up at the sky, looking for strength, and chose to go with silence.

Miraculously, Bella peed quickly and we all rushed back to the car. I had just stepped out the back after buckling the still slumbering Jack back into his booster when I noticed the man.

He was driving an electrician van, arm dangling out the window, staring at me with a creepy smile from the other side of the gas pumps. As his van inched along slowly, he craned his head to examine the passengers of the minivan. He seemed to be counting us, looking for a man, I presumed.

I ran back to my door, slammed it shut, and hit the lock button. I could feel his eyes on me as I turned the key in the ignition. I didn't look his way again as I peeled out the parking lot, heart thumping in my chest.

I checked my rearview mirror every few minutes for the next 60 miles, terrified that I would see his yellow electric logo. I never saw him again.

Perhaps he was just a friendly electrician. Perhaps not.

Thankfully I'll never know.

Next road trip, there will be no late night pit stops.

Jet Lag Reflections

At 4:30 AM this morning, I stood between my washer and dryer, waiting for the iron to heat up. It was pitch black outside but my three kids were wide awake in the family room, laughing along with the canned laughter track in response to the latest inane dilemma of Zack and Cody. Jet lag is brutal when you don't understand the concept of Greenwich Mean Time.

The minute we landed, we plunged right back into the minutia of suburban living. The calendar is filled with end of year school activities from Bella's Daisy/Brownie bridging ceremony (the reason for the pre-dawn ironing) to Jack's last day of school tomorrow. Our dance card is rapidly filling up with last play dates and final goodbyes now that we are weeks away from our move. If that wasn't enough, our stress is compounded by the fact that our house sale fell through at the last minute because the buyer lost his job and our house is back on the market.

Instead of dwelling on my growing to do list, I combed through the rapidly fading memories of our trip instead. Two overhead conversations stood out, really highlighting the differences in our cultures.

Conversation #1:
I'm standing in the pharmacy administering some ear drops in Bella's ear (pharmacists in France are very proactive in giving out medicine, even without a prescription - when Bella developed an ear infection and pink eye after landing, the pharmacist hooked us up with medicine that cleared both up in two days) when a man walks in with his wife.

The husband walks up to the counter and asks for a weight loss pill, one of the many weight loss remedies, creams, lollipops and drops advertised in the pharmacy.

Pharmacist: "Cela marche bien ces comprimes?" (Do these pills work for you?)
Husband: "Ouais. Pas mal. Evidemment, je devrais courir, mais j'ai deja essaye cela. J'ai mis mes baskets, et j'ai couru pendant dix minutes. L'horreur." (Yeah. Pretty good. Of course, I should run, but I already tried that. I put on my sneakers and I ran for 10 minutes. A horror."
Pharmacist: "Ah oui. L'horreur totale." (Oh yes, a complete nightmare)

And the slim man walked off with his wife and their weight loss pills.

Conversation #2:
A man walks by with his two little girls who appear to be about 5 and 3. The three year old stumbles clumsily and he catches her saying:
"Oh la! Marie, qu'est ce que tu as? Tu as bu, ou quoi? Tu t'es arretee au cafe pour boire un Ricard?"
"Wow! Marie, what's wrong with you? Are you drunk? Did you stop at the cafe to drink a Ricard (strong licorice liquor)?"

Paris, Nous Voila!

If all goes well with the Gods of travel, as you read this post our entire family is happily settled in a little Parisian apartment where we will be spending the next five days, eating our way through boulangeries, fromageries, cafes, and restaurants.

And if all goes well with the Gods of Wi-Fi, I will be blogging about our long-awaited trip to France, sharing our experiences with you every night.

As soon as my husband quit his job, we began planning our visit to France. My mother lives here, in a medieval farmhouse in the Loire Valley (which I hope is equipped with Wi-Fi as well...) Back when we were single, we used to come to see her multiple times a year, sometimes for long weekends. Bella was a frequent traveler to France and even benefitted from a month-long trip when she was a baby and Steve had a long break between jobs.

But as we added kids, the frequency of our trips back to my homeland (la patrie) decreased radically. Juliette, named after my grandmother a few months after her death, has never set foot in France.

But at last we're on our way to buttery croissants, crusty baguettes, and crepes au sucre. I've scheduled a few posts for the next 10 days in case I can't get Blogger to cooperate, but I'm hoping to be back in a few days with some real live details.

A bientot!