Scott came home one evening from his clinical at Mt. Sinai hospital. I was asking him how his day was and asked if he had been speaking much spanish to any of his patients.

He blushed and said, "Yea, I talked to a sweet woman today as I was inserting her IV....and then she blew me a kiss as I was walking away."
Scott has got a way with the older women. They just LOOOOVE his rosy cheeks, dimples and kindness. I find it very sweet.

Look what I scored last week at Grimaldi's...

> (Toddler Sized Grimaldi's t-shirts! So cute.)

Payment you ask? The older, italian owner asked for a kiss, from me.

Grimaldi's...need I say more? MMMMMM...

Happy Birthday Mimi! Another thing that Scott and I have in common...Our Mom's Birthdays are a day apart! I have been pulling what I like to call "Janice Parmenters" all week! I've learned so much useful knowledge from this woman these past 7 years! I've still got A LOT to learn, (a constant work in progress) but...she's simply amazing at everything that she does! She even mowed the lawn today...on her birthday!

Happy Birthday to My Mom...

My mom is the Queen of balancing her family, church and career...and she gives all three areas her ALL. That's 300%! I am amazed at how much she accomplishes and how much she gives to others... putting herself last most of the time.

We hope that your day was special...even with jet lag and the cold that you took home as a souvenir! Sorry!

We were SO lucky to have her in NYC these past 10 days! We crammed all 10 days with FUN and road trips and yummy food! Paisley said, "I miss Grandma" in a New York minute, after she left!
Many posts to follow with all of our sightseeing that we did!

Kindergarten, Here We Come...

...we know we'll have lots of fun...lots of things to make and do...

...reading, writing, counting too...
...Kindergarten here we come, we know we'll have lots of fun!

(the children sang this song at their pre-kindergarten graduation to the tune of

twinkle, twinkle, little star)Ella has quoted her teacher, Ms. Santiago many times this year. She tells them important info. to send on to the parents. Ya think she listens to me the way she listens to her?!

Here are a few of my favorites...
"We don't have school on Monday mom and dad, so remember not to show up!"
"Ms. Santiago said that it is not okay for you to be mean to me."
"If we are late for Graduation, they're not going to wait for us."

Mariella and I went to her bedroom last night to pick out her dress for her graduation. I picked a brightly colored floral dress... bright pink, something with POP! She pulls out her simple, little-black-dress. She's so classy. It was so the right choice. After the ceremony, we celebrated with Madeline, Lillian, Victoria and their Mommies at Alice's Teacup. A fun place to visit if you live here or are visiting! I can't wait to try their "Loco Coco" this winter! Pictures to follow....

Ella and Paisley will see you in the Fall, PS 166! Unlike many, many NYC families (b/c of the economy and people not being able to afford private schools), we thankfully got a Kindergarten and pre-kindergarten spot! I can't believe they will only be a year apart in school!

Day Trip to Long Island

It takes a whole lot of determination, energy, time and moola to leave these city gates! We are so grateful we have these opportunities and enjoy these experiences in the East that I fear may come to an end in 15 months! I'm not ready yet! I've still got a very long list of places to visit. Anyhow...We packed up Saturday morning and headed to Riverhead, Long Island. Scott's fellow classmate, Chuck lives out there with his wife and their 3 adorable little boys. It was nice to get away. It feels so odd to drive for only an hour and be in such different, beautiful sourroundings! Thanks for Panera Scotty! Sometimes we just need something that reminds us of us as newly weds, being pregnant and of home! The reason for our trip was because Scott called me from school last week and said, "It's Time." (for strawberry picking!)

The Golden Earthworm Organic Farm

Riverhead, Long Island

We fell in love with the strawberry fields. (Max 6, Lucien 4, Ella 5, Paisley 3, Colin 2 (not pictured)

Had to wear my, as Paisley described, "strawberry shirt!"

(If I could have a wish for the day, it would be to look at the world through Ella's eyes! Ella took her job very seriously. She quietly picked alone, kneeling on the ground. She found a worm and observed it for awhile. She was quite calming to look at and be around, actually! It was a great experience for her, she may be a country girl afterall. Ah, who knows, this child surprises me everyday.)

(Can I just eat her when she's done with that?)

Have you ever bit into a strawberry that just bleeds, thick, red, staining juices? I hadn't.

We also fell in love with the beach and the park that faced it.

It is always nice to have locals take ya to all the best stops! Thank you!

And then we made PIE!

Today was a really good day...

It seems like we hardly ever venture out of our neighborhood anymore. Everything we need is pretty much at our fingertips or within walking distance at least. Either that or I'm just way too exhausted from carrying laundry and groceries around town. But with Ella's school having a day off, Scott at his 2nd home (Mt. Sinai Hospital) and the beautiful weather, it was the perfect day to just GO somewhere. We had a lineup of activities with a few of Ella's school friends. The plan was a hit, all places visited were within walking distance to one another by coincidence! Hooray.

Central Park Zoo (Eastside and 6oth)

There was popsicle sharing

And Louis, from Ella's class and his mom Janet joined us! (We nickname them Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong when they are together...his parents are musicians)

The penguins were especially cuddly and lovey today.

But what just melted our little hearts were these monkeys.(I don't even know their proper name.) This baby. Oh this baby. I have never understood a Mommy ever in my life better, than I understood this one. What's that say about me?! She would let her youngin' take two small steps, look at him very nervously and scoop him up. And then 10 seconds later that baby would be squirming out of that mommy's arms, to learn and explore. She would hesitate and then let the babe have a minute, while the mama looked at all of the people watching, probably thinking "If you hurt my baby, I will hurt you." She would hold him down and wipe crust out of his eyes, or pick the bugs out of his hair...while he fought it. My favorite was when she got to the point that she was just tired of this little toddler wanting to be put DOWN! So she would scoop him up and nurse him to distract him, so she could at least sit on her rock without feeling like he was going to fall off or be taken away! We love watching any kind of mom with their babies! I'm guilty of nursing my girls to keep them from making noise or just being too tired to chase them around, just like an animal does!!

This Sea Lion Exhibit is the real one, that is characterized in Madagascar and several other movies, I think! Love this Zoo. It's small, it's clean, it has fabulous animals, reptiles and birds and now we live so close to it! So worth the scenic bus ride.

Next we headed to this art exhibit that I'd been really wanting to go to. We met our good friends, Rebecca, Madeline and Lillian. Look at Park Ave. Armory's Website for real pictures. Mine won't do their's justice. GO if you live here in the city...especially if you have kids. You see, touch, jump, lay, smell... It ends June 14th. My kids wouldn't leave, we all wanted to live there.

I love feeling like a child again.
Getting their OM on in the Lavender Room.

We stopped for a slice quickly before we finished the evening off by attending one of their classmates Piano Recital, where Ella hooped and hollered after every piece played on the Steinway Piano. Oh the "Joy" that child was blessed with. It was a ritzy joint.
Sitting pretty on someone's steps, waiting for the M66 Bus to get us back to the Westside!