Hodgepodge

1. "Like" Rosenberry Rooms on FB and they will donate $1 to JDRF. I lost my Aunt to juvenile diabetes so it is a cause close to my heart:

http://www.facebook.com/RosenberryRooms?v=wall

2. I'm headed to Wolfgang's Steakhouse tonight with my sweet husband. It's my favorite steakhouse in the city. We've had a rough few weeks dealing with some very difficult family issues (please keep his family in your prayers) and we are so excited to get a night out together! He is also taking me to the top of the Empire State Building tonight. We've lived here for 3 years and I've NEVER been! So excited! 

3. I am having the hardest time selecting our Christmas card photo. I mean they give you 200 images of your child and I'm supposed to pick ONE? =) Thanks to all my twitter friends that helped pick out J's outfit. He looked adorable.

4. A friend insisted I should do my duty and try out the Best Chocolate Cake in the world. She sent me this link and I feel like I should listen to her. I still haven't done it...what's wrong with me?

5. This is a great article for new NYC Moms via Mommy Poppins, one of my favorite NYC Mom resource.

6. Are you excited about Halloween? I can't wait to share J's costume with you. You are going to die! It is pretty funny!

7. I've been doing a lot of research lately on train tables. Does anyone have one that you just LOVE? Santa and I have been in discussion that J should get one for Christmas. What are your other favorite toys for an almost TWO year old! 

8. Girl Mamas, check out Mac & Co on Zuily today! They also have Little Giraffe and Halo Sleepsacks! : http://tinyurl.com/298c4jf

9.Have you signed up to win 50% off your TOTAL order from InvitesNow? You seriously could save hundreds of dollars if you ordered your Christmas cards, baby announcements or invitations for a party! Order all your Christmas presents!  Click here to sign up: http://magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan.blogspot.com/2010/10/invitesnow-stationery-giveaway.html

10. We went apple and pumpkin picking in Chester, NJ on Sunday. The weather could not have been more perfect and it was such a great excuse to get out of the city. Want to see my cute little guy? Ok, how about a couple (or 11 pictures of our trip....enjoy!)

The High Line Park

A and I recently took J to Chelsea Market and for a walk on The High Line. What a fun afternoon in the city. If you are coming for a visit you should definitely check it out. We started off our afternoon with a black and white milk shake from Ronnybrook. So amazingly delicious. I had to fight my two boys to get a sip! We couldn't pass up a chance at a fabulous Fat Witch brownie. We had a great time walking around exploring all the great shops.

After all of our treats, we headed up to The High Line. We were able to take an elevator with the stroller and then were treated to the most amazing views. The High Line was created in 1930 in an effort to remove dangerous trains from the street level. To read more about the history, click here.

This is the viewing area up above the streets. I love these pictures! My sister said it looked like J was playing in the streets!

 

The Standard Hotel, famous for the windows that allow you to see it all. We failed to see anything X rated, thank goodness.

The view

Rainy Day Activities for Toddlers in NYC

What do you do with a 16 month old  (he's 16 months today!!) when it is raining outside? You have to get CREATIVE! Here are a few of the things we have come up with in the past. Do you have any other ideas?

1) Play with toys, puzzles and read books (20 times each, a day)
2) Play in the bath tub (just for fun)
3) Take our wagon and push car in the hallway for "rides"
4) Hang out in the lobby with the doormen
5) Go to music class with our friends
6) Go over to friend's apartments
7) The train table at Barnes and Noble on 86th Street
8) Play with cooked spaghetti noodles in our highchair
9) Use a playspace pass at Kidville for the gym
10) Manhattan Children's Museum
11) Go to lunch/dinner at kid friendly restaurants like Brother Jimmys and Cilantro
12) Storytime at Barnes and Noble or Giggle
13) Finger painting
14) Coloring with crayons
15) Dance party!
16) Put the rain cover on and just GO! 

I would love to hear your ideas of what to do when you can't go outside?

Tuesday Tidbits

Yuck! A rainy day here in the city! J and I went to his gym class this afternoon. He did great holding on to the rings and it wore him out enough where he actually took TWO naps! I've had Baby J on a 2 nap a day schedule since he was very little (he sleeps 7pm-7am and then would nap at 9:30am and 2:30pm, each nap lasting 1-3 hours, but averaging about 1.5 hours each.) However, since he has been sick I think he is trying to drop a nap. He is 14 months and I'm not ready! Any tips and/or suggestions to make it through this transition period are much appreciated. I am so used to being able to schedule my day and now it is just a mess because he is so off schedule! What's a type A Mom to do?

This past weekend we had lots of city adventures. On Saturday, we went to the Peanut Butter & Co. It's been on my list of restaurant in the city to try (there are so many of them)! Check out the pic of their menu. It is a tiny little restaurant, but we were able to grab a seat and they even had a highchair for the little one. I had the Elvis (peanut butter, honey and banana grilled) and A had the Peanut Butter BLT! Crazy huh? Baby J was recently cleared by his doc to have peanut butter, so he had the lunchbox special (a classic pbj). He LOVED it! It was so much fun. If you are a peanut butter lover, I highly recommend checking this spot out! You can even buy their peanut butter on their website, or here, here, here, here or here. They even a cookbook! We followed our lunch up with a walk in Soho and met a good friend from home for drinks. Then we headed over to Cozy's Kids for a much needed haircut for the little guy. He was getting a little bit of a mullet. =)

On Sunday we decided to do another "New York" thing. We took the subway downtown and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I had done it once before, but the weather was perfect and J and A were first timers. We headed down under the bridge to grab a famous Grimaldi's pizza. It was quite delicious, but my favorite pizza in the city is still Lombardi's, followed closely by Totonno's and my local spot Roma. Such a fun weekend with my boys!

I went ahead and ordered J a few things for his Easter basket. I bought him this Chirpy Chick Roger Priddy book to add to his funny faces collection, this bunny finger puppet book , these quacky cups for the bath (he loves to stack right now), and this cute little egg set. What are you putting in your little ones Easter basket?

Question for y'all. So J is 24 lbs and 9 ounces and is 14 months old. He can wear some 12 month clothing, but mostly we are wearing 18 month clothing, even though they are a little long. I'm guessing this spring and summer he'll be in 18 month for most of the time. He's been in 12 month since well before Christmas and he really hasn't grown much since he started walking. What size would you guess he'll be in for fall clothes? After 18 is 24, but when will he hit that? That's a HUGE jump! I've found a few cute options, but I'm scared to buy. Also, can someone please explain the difference btwn 24 months, 1T, 2T, 3T. I think I get it, but really I need some good explanations as to when my child will be wearing each size. =)

A friend sent me this article about being Southern in the City, if you are from the South and live here...you have to read it!

Have you entered my stationery giveaway? Click here to learn more about Take Note! Designs and The Paper Cafe and to enter the giveaway. For those of you that have already entered, The Paper Cafe is also offering MMM readers a 15% off discount on your order at the end of the giveaway, stay tuned to find out the special code. Although, you may want to wait until Friday to see if you are the lucky winner of a $50.00 gift certificate for Take Note! Designs products from The Paper Cafe. Click here to enter now, be sure to follow the rules!

Here are a few more of my favorites:

One More Down-Roll Tide Roll!

The Tide pulled off another victory today! RTR! My sister is in town this weekend and we enjoyed watching the game and having a BBQ lunch at Brother Jimmy's. I love Saturdays during the fall. We've been watching football all day long!

Last night we got a babysitter and went to saw Rock of Ages. It was AMAZING! We can't quit singing 80's music today. Has anyone else seen it? Constantine from American Idol is one of the main characters and it was such a fun musical.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

If you were wondering about Baby J's cute t-shirt, it's from Sweet Pea Tees. Check their website out here to buy one is your favorite team and Check their blog out here.

Lilly Pulitzer Fashion Night Out September 10, 2009

Would anyone like to join me at this fab event? Click the picture to make it larger and for more details!