A DAY OUT WITH MOMMY...

It's been a little over nine weeks since Molly Rose joined our family. She's an easy baby, which has been a welcome scenario for me. Caroline has been really good, all things considered, with our newest addition. Having Molly here reminds me every day of how much of a "big girl" Caroline is becoming. Today, she and I got out of the house for some along time - just the two of us.

A dance school near our house was holding an open house in honor of National Dance Week. The week's official spokesperson was Angelina Ballerina - a favorite in our house. In addition to meeting Angelina in person, the kids could watch her perform, see a dress rehearsal of "Swan Lake" by some of the school's students, touch ballet slippers and costumes, listen to and act out an Angelina Ballerina story, and take a dance class. I was a ballet dancer for almost 10 years before I was injured, so this kind of thing was right up my alley. I was even more excited when I saw that Caroline really liked it too. It was such a fun afternoon - just us girls!

Caroline looks at the day's program. Later, we watched Angelina demonstrate some dance steps.

Our cousins Morgan and Camryn came along, too. Here are Morgan and Caroline with Angelina.

The interactive story time was a favorite activity.

Here, the girls are getting a chance to try out some of the steps for themselves.

It was a fabulous afternoon!

"ALL THEIR EYES ON ME, IN THE CENTER OF THE RING JUST LIKE A...

...CIRCUS!" When we told Caroline that we had a surprise trip planned for her today and gave her some hints as to where we were headed, we thought mentioning that she would see animals and clowns would give it away. Instead, it took me singing the chorus from Britney Spears' "Circus" to give it away. I sang all the words up until "circus" and she finished my sentence before getting very excited that she was heading into the city to see The Greatest Show on Earth with her Daddy and me this morning! Kind of hilarious, although I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that my two-year-old knows any of the words to a Britney Spears song...

Alas, we had a great day - just the three of us (well, and Steve's best friend Marc, who got us the tickets through his company!) for the first time since Molly was born. Although it's only been a month, it seemed so strange for us to be out without her, but I could tell by the look on Caroline's face from the moment we got into the car that spending a little one-on-one time with her is going to be a really good thing from time to time. She's been such a trooper over the past two months, between the loss of her grandmother and the birth of her baby sister, and so it was really nice to get out and do something really special with just her.

Despite the fact that Uncle Marc plied her with every sugary concoction imaginable and then told her that Daddy would buy her whatever she wanted in the way of stuffed animals, light wands, and hats, she was a really good girl and had such a fun time. I can't wait for us to have our next adventure together - she's getting to be such a big girl!

in Daddy's car, on the way into the city

sitting with Uncle Marc, waiting for the show to start

watching the tigers and eating cotton candy

The elephants were a favorite (she was trying to figure out which one was "Elmer")

All smiles after a fun day!

RANDOM THOUGHTS...

So I am sitting here in my den, and it's 12:30 in the morning. I'm working to print a stationery order for my best friend and business partner Christy, who just had her third adorable baby. She and I timed this whole pregnancy thing perfectly, didn't we? Our newest kids will be close enough in age to hopefully be the best of friends like their mommies, while at the same time there's one of us available to hold down the fort with our company while the other gives birth/recovers. I'm really excited about how her announcement/Christmas card has turned out (I mean, they are such a cute family that coming up with a design and layout was easy):

I want to be able to get these to her tomorrow so that she could send them out ASAP - she's the friend who literally times it so that her card arrives before anyone else's on the first day of December, so it's practically killing her that they are not out yet. She pays no mind that she had a c-section literally nine days ago. I, on the other hand, typically get my act together around the second week in December and have the audacity to print our names on the card rather than sign them myself - even though totally I agree with all those people (like Christy - who made a concession for just this once) who say it's tacky and sends the message that you couldn't be bothered to take the time to write your own name. The truth is, I would do it if I could, but these days the whole idea of finding any more time to put towards Christmas cards could scare me away from sending them at all. Hopefully the recipients can forgive me for this minor indisgretion. But I digress...

Being up so late at night has my mind wandering a bit. I've finished the other designs and layouts I had in the works for this evening, so here's what seems to be helping to keep me up until the printer stops:

1) I really need to get my act together and start thinking about this new baby's room. I have a few ideas, but the poor thing is definitely ranking as "sloppy seconds" on our priority list, which is just plain wrong. Her room is full of boxes from our move that have yet to be emptied or at least relocated, I have no idea what kind of furniture I am going to pick up, and the obsession with which I pursued Caroline's bedding when she was on her way is no longer in existence. I am waiting for an epiphany. As my doctor said at my 28-week appointment on Tuesday, if you have a diaper, a onesie, and a bassinet, you are pretty much set for the first little bit. I know he is right, but I am still determined to not let #2 turn into an afterthought...

2) I am pissed at my Shu Uemura eyelash curler. It has inexplicably broken, a fact that I discovered when I pried it off of my lashes the other day and found them crimped like a bad 80's hairdo. I tried to pick up a new one at Neiman Marcus when I went to my salon nearby to get my hair cut and highlighted yesterday, but they don't sell them there (unbelievably). My eyelash curler is one of my top three items in my make-up case, and the Shu Uemura one really is the best (I have tried them all). Sometimes, I don't agree with the beauty critics when they rave about a certain tool or product (i.e. - What is the BFD with Mabelline Great Lash mascara? I have tried it many times and still don't understand the obsession...), but they are spot-on about this one. My curler is kind of a staple to my morning routine, even when I don't even have time to shower, so it goes without saying that it needs to be replaced - like, yesterday.

See? Even Jodie Foster isn't excited about crimped hair...

3) I'm excited to decorate our house for the holidays. When we bought it, even my Jewish husband Steve thought it had the perfect spot for a Christmas tree (right in the front window of our living room), and couldn't wait to put lights up (even then, the neighborhood just felt like the kind of place where people get into the spirit of things). We buy a real tree, and it's from a stand run by a really nice family at the Catholic church where I grew up and went to grade school. Caroline is getting into the holiday for the first time, which is really cute. I'm trying to temper the whole Santa-which-gets-out-of-hand thing by explaining that it's really a birthday party for a baby named Jesus, but as one of my other best friends Kristy mentioned, she'll probably still miss the meaning and focus on the fact that she might get cake at said party. She knows my two-year-old so well...

Okay, so my printing is done. Now my mind is wandering towards thoughts of sleep. Thanks for staying up with me!

MY NEW FAVORITE PARK...

Caroline and her good friend Madison catch a ride on a swing together!

Yesterday, we went to an awesome new park with a group of our little (and big) friends. It's not too far from where we live, in one of my friend's neighborhoods. The park is brand-new, with a fully wheelchair-accessible playground (complete with a rubberized surface!), swings for kids of all sizes and abilities, a picnic area, a Bank Shot basketball court where people in wheelchairs and on their feet can play together, tennis courts, and a dog park, as well as walking paths and open fields. It's truly a place where all people can go to have a fun day outside without feeling limited by any challenges they might face.

The coolest part is that it's dedicated to an amazing boy named Mattie Stepanek, whose life was sadly cut short by a rare form of muscular dystrophy. Though he didn't live to see adulthood, Mattie did more to make a positive mark on our world than most people who live to see eighty. Mattie spent his time here spreading a simple message of peace and friendship that only a child's eyes could see or voice could speak, much of which was compiled into several poetry books that he wrote. He inspired so many to live their lives to the fullest while focusing on what was most important, and although he was wise beyond his years, he had a way of sharing his message in a manner that all could understand.

When the park was dedicated this past Saturday, a statue of Mattie in his wheelchair - with his service dog standing at his side - was officially unveiled within a peace garden that's adjacent to the playground. The ceremony was attended by everyone from people in his family, to people who live in the area, to dignitaries and news crews, to Oprah Winfrey, who became a friend of Mattie's several years ago.

His mom, who also has muscular dystrophy, lives in a house across the street from the park. I couldn't stop myself from glancing over there from time to time when we visited the park yesterday, wondering what she thinks of having such an amazing place being named for her beloved son just outside her front door. Being a mother myself, I can only imagine that such a sight is all too bittersweet - a beautiful but painfully constant reminder that her child is no longer here with her.

When we arrived at the park and first went over to look at the statue, I got a bit teary-eyed myself - not because I knew Mattie personally, but because of the effect he has had on my own outlook on life by encouraging everyone to "always play after every storm." Caroline, meanwhile, just noticed that he looked like he was in "Mommy's wheelchair!" and wanted to pet his dog. Then we went off to play with our friends and take in the beautiful day, just as Mattie would have wanted all of us to do. How amazing is it that a simple day at the park could so easily be the most fitting tribute to such a special boy?

A NEW PLACE TO WASTE...ER...SPEND TIME WITH THE KIDDIES IN ROCKVILLE!

A staple on the New York City family scene, Kidville is the place to find lots of the resources that savvy parents and children from birth until age 5 need and want. I've been seeing it mentioned for awhile now in Cookie Magazine, and occasionally mentioned in US Weekly (aka "my newspaper") when different celebs and their kids have stopped by. The company, which has four locations throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, is taking the next step by expanding their franchise so that those of us who live outside of NYC can take advantage of their creative classes, kid-friendly facilities, and more.


Kidville is coming to Rockville, Maryland in September 2008. For those of you who are familiar with the area, it will be located in Congressional Plaza, in the space above The Container Store that was formerly occupied by Tower Records. Although their national website doesn't have updated information about the location, the program guide that arrived at my house already has me excited about what it's going to be like.


They are going to have really fun-sounding classes that have gotten great reviews at the NYC locations, including "Ballet Tea Party" (dance), "Construction Junction" (building and creativity), "Savvy Scientists" (experiments), and "Silver Spoons and Plastic Plates" (cooking), plus lots more. The facility will also house a full-service kids' salon and a boutique. Although the classes are a bit pricey, their sessions are long (16 weeks), and come with a free annual membership so that you can take advantage of any special programs they hold, or use their indoor playground for a full year. They also will have Kidville University (pre-school), host birthday parties, and have several different summer camps (think "Superhero Training Camp"!). I personally can't wait to try it, and it will be closer to our new house. If you're in the area, be sure to check it out!