A few reasons I love my neighborhood

Just two years ago we left our quaint cute neighborhood of Park Slope to become official home owners in  the neighborhood of Prospect Heights. Prospect Heights. Some great parts, and some not so great,like like our street, Washington Avenue. Picture a street lined with liquor shops, beauty parlors, and unemployed people just hanging out, with what it seems like, nothing better to do.  Luckily, we do have our friend Chip who is aggressively working to change it by accosting every business owner on Washington Avenue, offering plenty of unsolicited advice. If only they would listen.

There is a silver lining though. Besides the fact our best friends live just two streets away, lucky them too, just one additional block away are the things I will miss most not only about Brooklyn, but New York. I will start with the Brooklyn Museum.

This is just a few feet away from us. Every first Saturday of the month they throw a huge party from 5pm-11pm. Admission is free, they play fun dance music, and serve drinks. And one of my favorite things about it is, it attracts a pretty great crowd. In addition, at least once a week Tom, Luke, Addy, and I just come here to hang out on the grass and watch the fountains. Sometimes if they are lucky, I pack a lunch.

Lucky for us, right next to the museum is the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. I love coming here mainly for the fact for just a minute I forget where I am. I love New York, but sometimes I hate it too. The Botanic Gardens especially in the spring, are like heaven. Note the azalea's, peony's, and wisteria. There is also a Japanese pond where giant fish wait for little ones to feed them big hunks of bread. Unfortunately for them, Luke's bread never makes it to the water.

A few other honorable mentions in my neighborhood go to the Brooklyn Library, almost done with its renovations, Tom's diner, and quite possibly the prettiest subway station entrance in New York, the Brooklyn Museum stop.

Moments not recognized enough

I have been a mother now for almost 16 months. I can't believe it has been that long and other times it seems so much longer. So often my day comes and then goes and I don't stop to think about how lucky I am to have a child, how much I love him, and especially how much joy he brings me. I had one of these quick moments of recognition just yesterday as we were coming home from Boston. It might have been because I was in the car with him and there were not many distractions, but in between my naps and his, I spent time just entertaining him. He did many cute things; jammed to the music, played peek a boo with his favorite silky slip,& patty cake (he is getting good at the rolling). But the exact moment that filled me with the most happiness was his infectious laugh while I tickled him. I took that second to really enjoy him and consciously think about how he has changed my life...for the better. I hope that I don't take these moments for granted in the future, because they really do grow so fast.

Four generations

My dad has been trying to get my grandparents out to visit for quite some time now. My grandpa was stationed here during the 40s and has only made it back for one trip since.  After some  convincing, they did it. Of course along with a 10 day cruise that left from Red Hook. My parents flew in on Thursday night and spent some time catching up with their grandson. We also went to the Natural History Museum that day but both Grandpa and I forgot our cameras.

Luke was really excited about this one. He didn't take it off all night. Thank you Grandma!

The next day we picked up the first generation, Paul and Alice from the airport. The poor things took the red eye and didn't sleep a wink. Alice, (my grandma, Luke's great grandma) had a pretty bad cough that even kept her from catching up when they got to our pad. They were good sports. That day my dad took them to see my Grandpa's old naval hospital in Queens and some other stuff, I stayed home and sewed. They hit their hotel pretty early that night so we ordered in some Chinese and watched What Not to Wear. Perfect.
Saturday we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, even though Paul doesn't care for flowers, we got him there, and he was actually somewhat impressed.

Next we stopped at the farmers market just down my street, which also happens to be one of my favorite things about my neighborhood. We sipped hot apple cider, ate yummy cookies, and got home just before it rained.

Of course we couldn't miss brunch at Tom's restaurant. Tom's restaurant: great breakfast food, amazing and friendly service (free chocolate sodas for the family from Utah!), and unbelievably kitschy decor. All this right below us! The nice amazing husband that I have later took my dad and grandparents on a mini car tour of New York. It was perfect, they got to see everything without having to leave their car.

Sunday, we went to church, and then took the train into the city to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. My grandparents are marathon mall walkers so this was like a 5k to them. They powered right over it.

Luke didn't do so bad either!

My mom wearing the shirt I made her for mothers day.

I like this picture, Luke looks a bit odd but I like the bridge in the background.

At the Brooklyn side of the bridge lies my favorite pizza shop, Grimaldis. Famous for thin crust pizza, and super long lines. We waited for over an hour. Hard to convince my grandparents it was worth it. Turns out to my grandpa, it wasn't. He matter of factly stated it didn't come close to Pizza Hut. Apparently they are not hard to please, or are they?

Killing time in line.

Once we got inside, we waited an additional hour for our pizza, even I wasn't convinced it was worth it. But on my 4th slice (they are thin, I swear), I was happy!

Monday my grandparents took off to their crown princess ship. Very big, and it seems a step up from the carnival cruise line, the only one I have ever been on. That night we thought it would be fun to pack a picnic dinner and go to Staten Island. Now don't be mislead, Staten Island isn't really a destination, but I needed something from JoAnn's, and yes they do have them in Utah dad, but not in New York. They also have great Italian Ices, 7 elevens, and the Verrazano bridge is a nice sight. Unfortunately after Joann's, it was too dark to go to the park so we had the picnic in the car.  5 people crammed in a small car with food on their laps wasn't perhaps the most enjoyable way to eat a meal.

I couldn't even take a proper picture of it.

This is us at Ralph's Italian Ice. You can't really tell that is where we are but I like this picture for the fact my mom looks pretty great and I look like a younger female version of my dad. strange.

My dad drove home so Tom and I got to spend some quality cuddling time in the back. It is pretty tight. Imagine eating dinner back there, luckily we sat in the front for that!

The next day (their last day) my mother finally got her way. We shopped all day long. Tom and my dad went to the annual stationary exhibit, and we met up with my dad later for fun at 34th street. As much as I hate that location, it does prove to be one stop shopping for those with a limited budget. For lunch I had to take them to one of the halal carts on the street. We all had chicken pita sandwiches and  to McDonald's to eat them. I justified it by buying some french fries for Luke.

My halal: rice, chicken, salad, and pita.

Luke enjoying his meal. How nutritious. I promise, he gets at least one serving of vegetables a day.

Wow! what a post. Hopefully the rents will get some enjoyment out of my recap of their weekend. I had a great time!

Am I a bad mom?

I hesitate in admitting that this is a picture of Luke watching a DVD. When Luke was very small, our computer was in the bedroom with his crib. I heard that some videos including Blue's Clue's, actually have proven studies that claim they make your kids smarter. So with the idea that I want my child to learn while distracting him from whatever I need to get done, I thought it couldn't hurt. I was so impressed that he could stand at the foot of his crib and watch between 1/2 hour and 45 minutes of Blue and Steve. Now I am afraid that I have permanently damaged him. He now has upgraded himself to the computer chair and as you can see zones out to now almost any video. I try to keep them somewhat educational, baby French, Right and Left brain development, and now baby signing. But do they really work? I ask myself that daily, but when it comes down to it, it is so much easier than constantly trying to come up with something different to entertain him. Sometimes I feel better when I see him clapping along to a song, or smiling when it gets to his favorite part, but mostly he looks like this.

My dad recently read an article that babies shouldn't watch TV before the age of 2. Something about the fact they can't differentiate between reality and what is on the screen. But I am pretty sure when Luke climbs on the chair, grabs the computer remote, trying to activate a movie, he knows  what he is up to.

Crafty fun

I have a fairly new church calling which I am really loving. For several reasons really. My top two being I love getting to know the ladies and having the opportunity to reach out to those I typically wouldn't, and CRAFTING. We have started up a few clubs that meet once a month. Our first project: envelope pillows. Very simple for a first project. Luke clearly enjoys his.

Our second project: freezer paper stencils. So easy, and so fun. Find fun shapes online, or even with cookie cutters (Katie's ingenious idea), trace them onto freezer paper, cut them out, iron the negative stencil on your fabric, paint, dry, iron again, peel, and whala, a great gift!

Next month we will be sewing tote bags.Lotta Jansdotter has a great book out with several fun projects that seem quite easy including the bag, apron, oven mitts, and more. I can't wait!