We're back!

Jeremy and I returned today from our Babymoon today!  We went to NYC for 3 nights, sans kids (thanks to Mee Maw and Poppy!) and had a blast!  Didn't do a whole lot, other than eat really well and hang out with some family.  Did a lot of riding on the subway and in cabs, even a bus or two!  I got a preggers massage, which was lovely, and we had an awesome dinner at Craft, one of Tom Colicchio's restaurants--oh my goodness, was it AWESOME!  Best food we ever tasted!  Well worth the [many] monies spent.

And now we're home... Jeremiah and Jesslyn were thrilled to see us, and happy to come home themselves, though they also had at blast at my parents' house.  We're all (including my parents and the kids) thoroughly exhausted, but no rest for the weary!  Tomorrow, the kids and I have church (CBS, to be exact, or Community Bible Study) and Jeremy's back to work.  But lots of fun was had by all, and it was a great time away before #3 shows up and throws a wrench in what currently defines 'normal' in our house.  ;)  Only 6 more weeks (3 if they're kind, 8 if not...)

Onto your Daily Shots of the Quadruple Threat!

Jeremy... is so happy to be back in his own bed!  After sleeping in hotels since last Tuesday, he's thrilled to be home with our awesome bed (it's the same one the Crown Plaza uses.)  Oh, and of course, he's happy to be back home with his kiddies, but missing them wasn't nearly as physically painful as missing our bed.  ;)

Jess... dumped out the stockings, still hanging on the mantle, in order to raid the candy still held within.  So sue me, I had a craving.  ;)  Out of sight, out of mind is so true!  But I got my fix, and now the kids will have lots of yummy snacks to choose from at lunch time tomorrow.  Oh, and did I mention we're 34 weeks!!  Yikes!

Jeremiah... got a new train today, courtesy of Mommy and Daddy missing their babies, and wanting to spoil them with something other than some cheap souvenir, just because it says "NY" on it.  So he got a Diesel 10 train, and was SO HAPPY!  Maybe that's why he couldn't wait to come home--he wanted to try him out on his train tracks downstairs!  Hasn't had a chance yet, as he hadn't had a bath since Wednesday, so that's what we did when we got home and then right to bed!  I promise, though... tomorrow.  ;)

Jesslyn... got a huge stuffed teddy from Mommy and Daddy, and was trying to carry it, along with their giant, stuffed penguin, around at the same time.  That's a bit of a handful, though, so that didn't work so well.  But she was also beyond thrilled to have Mommy and Daddy home.  She laughed when we walked in and she saw us, she was so happy!  Melts your heart....  =D

Baby #3... has a name!  Well... sorta.  We're pretty confident as to what the first letter will be, and have a possible boy's name (maybe girl's, also.)   That's all you get.  :)

A Whirldwind of a Trip

Last week, we embarked on an excellent adventure. Our first stop was NJ for a wedding where we knew only the bride and groom (a couple other folks we had met once before, but other than that, we knew NO ONE ELSE!) We did make friends with some of the folks at our table during the reception, but up 'til that point, nada. Still, it was a nice wedding, and it was nice to get out away from the kiddies (my parents came along to watch 'em.) We would have taken more pics but the battery(ies) on our camera died and I didn't have our other cam handy. Oh well.

After that, we headed to NYC for a few days. It was a lovely time, as we got to hang out with Jeremy's cousin Mary and her fam in their schwanky Manhattan apartment (which has an AWESOME view! Could have stayed up there, just looking over the city all night.) Again, no pics, because I didn't want to drag out my good camera for just a few shots, and our other camera was.... dead. Yeah. But we had a good time, the food was yummy (Mary made Texas style bbq, as that's where they've been for the past 4 years!) And all of her siblings also came to dinner, which was an unexpected surprise (well, we were pretty sure one would be there, with her new hubby, as they also live in the city, but her brother, James, is nearly impossible to track down. Always globe trotting somewhere.) They even got cupcakes for dessert! Mmm... yes, America, NYC cupcakes ARE worth all the rave. Well, not from Magnolia, but more on that later.

The next day, we did head out into the city a bit, FINALLY venturing into Toys R Us Time Square (meh, it's just a big toy store... Jeremiah was too upset to ride the ferris wheel because he wanted to go in the "beep beep" and not the "truck." Oh well. He did get a Thomas train out of it, so he was happy.

One thing we did learn about NYC while there is that it's really difficult to traverse with kids. At least, if your kids are stroller bound, and your stroller is heavy (as ours is...) Yeah. It was way more hassle than it was worth to take the bus or subway anywhere, and cabs made me nervous, too (since the kids wouldn't be in car seats, and they drive crazy...) So we walked quite a bit. And it was all good. At least we were able to justify the cupcakes we ate later that day, right before we headed up to the Top of the Rock. I will say, though, Magnolia is totally NOT worth the hype. The cupcakes were so dry! The frosting was good, and necessary, but I do not pay $3 for frosting, so I was disappointed.

Top of the Rock was fun! Jeremy's Uncle Chuck and his family was able to meet us there (they live in NJ) so we had some company to enjoy the sights with (and help watch the kiddies!) We timed it right around Sunset, so we could see the city during the day, and get a nice view of Central Park, yet still be able to see it fully lit up, and watch the sunset. It was a little more crowded than last time I went (around 8:30, I think) but by the time the sunset, almost everyone was gone, and we could take it all in ourselves (and Jeremiah and Jesslyn could entertain everyone with their little dances.) 'Twas a good time had by all!

Those were the highlights of NYC. Off to RI we go! This part of the trip was crazy. We basically were there to eat. And eat we did! The night we got there, we had a bunch of RI favorites--fried clams, clam cakes, and lobster rolls. The next day, sampled some Portuguese fare at Sagres. We had papsicos! (Portuguese hard rolls... can't get 'em here in VA!) And Sumol (a Portuguese soda. You CAN get it here in VA, but there are only two places that sell it, and both are a little hike [and overpriced...]) We also had quejo fresco, a soft goat cheese with a texture very similar to greek yogurt--very fresh, indeed! And of course, we had to have the caldo verde, or Portuguese Kale Soup. Not as good as homemade, but nice, since there version is very smooth and refined, whereas our version is more rustic.

For our entrees, Jeremy had what I had wanted to order, which was a Portuguese Steak. They put fried eggs on top of EVERYTHING in Portugal, so of course, that's how it came to us! And the fried potatoes were nice and crispy, like thick potato chips. I had the "bacalhau" or salted cod. It was cooked with potatoes, olives, and LOTS of olive oil, with, of course, fried egg on top. It was yummy, but I would have preferred Jeremy's dish. Oh well. Maybe next year, when we go to the Azores to visit my Grandparents (my Avó and Avō) I can have it then!

We did visit Battleship Cove, because I thought Jeremiah would think it was cool. Well, he played along with that idea for all of 5 minutes and then decided he'd rather run around on the waterfront (pics coming soon...)

We also took a trip to Fogland beach, which was our beach of choice growing up. We didn't spend a lot of time there, though, since it was VERY chilly, with a stiff breeze coming over the water. I wanted to stay, since the kids obviously did, but it was just too cold for me, and we didn't have the proper outerwear to justify it (and I don't care how tough Jeremy thinks he is--wearing just a short sleeved polo shirt and shorts in cold like that is crazy.) But it was nice to stop by and see the place.

We didn't really do much else. I was able to find fresh malassadas (or malasadas, depending on who you ask,) and it came with a huge breakfast (2 eggs, 2 strips bacon, 2 sausage, 2 french toast, 2 pancakes, potatoes AND the malasada... crazy!) for $8! Jeremy got a chourico, cheese, and egg omelette that was a steal at $5. Jeremiah was perfectly happy with just his malasada, though. :)

Before heading to Pittsburgh (why did I think that would be a good idea....) we had breakfast with a friend of mine from High School, Ali. I don't think I've seen her in... 8 or 9 years now? So that was a nice way to end our trip. :)

The Pittsburgh part of the trip was not the highlight, that's for sure. Endless traffic, en route, miscommunication about a reunion meal at Jeremy's ol' college campus, meh food that kept me near the bathrooms, swarms of bees that wouldn't go away, chilly temps, and uncomfortable shoes made for a rough day. And I didn't even get the sandwich I wanted (a Pittsburgh staple: meat, fries and coleslaw, between two huge piece of Italian bread,) so it was a bust for me. Oh well. Next time (yeah right... not a lot of reason to go back at this point.)

Needless to say, we're SO glad to be home. I won't do a trip like that for a while. Poor Jeremiah was so desperate for stability and his own bed, instead of a different hotel room every other night, practically. Yeah, too much in too little time. But it was fun. Unfortunately, we're all sick now (and were partly on the trip, as well!) so it's hard to be cheerful at the moment. :( Hopefully, we're getting this all out of our system now, so we don't have to worry about it come the holidays!

And with that, I sign off. 2 a.m. is too late for bed when you're supposed to be getting as much rest as possible. Ah, screw it. Too sick to care. :p

NYC!!! HOLA!

That's "hola" as in "holler" but with an "a" at the end...  

There was a time when I didn't know that, either...

Wow, what a trip!  It was such a blast.  Here's the play by play.

Saturday morning, 1:30 a.m.

Go to bed.

5:30 a.m.

Wake up, stumble around, shower, pack last minute things, make "London Fog" (that's what Starbucks calls it, at least.  It's just Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar.  And my version cost less than $.50.  $4 a drink? I don't think so.)

6:15 a.m.

Kiss husband/kids goodbye (kids still sleeping...)  Drive down to end of pipestem; wait for travelling buddies.

6:25 a.m. 

Wonder if anyone's going to show up.

6:28 a.m.

Wonder if I missed an email that said to meet somewhere else.

6:30 a.m.

Liz and Uyen show up, followed by Shelley and Kristen shortly thereafter.  Load up, drive off!

7:00 a.m. 

Arrive in D.C., park, wait in Bolt Bus area.

7:05 a.m.

Run with Liz and Uyen to Starbucks for coffee.  Yes, I've quit Starbucks, but for someone who's used to getting up at 8:30 instead of 5:30, coffee with shots of espresso necessary for survival.

7:15 a.m.

Still waiting in line at Starbucks... okay, people, let's not have lengthy conversations with the baristas... And baristas, stop flirting with the clientele and make my &$%#@-ing drink!  

I did say I'm not normally up at 5:30 in the morning...

7:20 a.m.

Get drink, add lots of milk and sugar, run across street to board Bus.  Thankfully, it's still there.

7:30 a.m.

We're on our way!

7:35 a.m. 

Driver explains the rules of the Bolt Bus.  No drinking alcohol unless you have enough to share.  Make sure to wipe the seat if "your aim is less than perfect." No removing of shoes from ripe feet.  Got it.

9-ish a.m.

Coffee has struck, must use bathroom on board.  Aim is fine, no need to clean anything.  However, Purell dispenser is empty.  Mine is on diaper bag (did not bring!) Thankfully, Uyen came prepared.  Crisis averted.

10-ish a.m.

Driver stops at rest stop in Jersey.  Since it's Jersey, I stay on bus. ;) 10 minutes later, back on road.

11:30 a.m.

Arrive in NYC!  Unload, thank driver, get bag, fight crowd on sidewalks.

Noonish

Unload at hotel, take a breather, plan route on subway map to CHINATOWN!

12:45-ish?

Head out to subway, find right train, board.

1:00

Arrive in Chinatown.  Walk towards dim sum restaurant.  Avoid crowds/vendors on sidewalks.

1:15

Arrive at Jing Fong restaurant.

1:17

Seated in restaurant.  There is a couple seated with us--both from Europe.  One from Germany, one from Sweden? I think? Food begins arriving immediately.  

1:20

Eat.  Mmm.... soooooo good.  

At this point, lost track of time.  Eventually, we're all stuffed, and leave the restaurant.  I learn that Kristen wants to stop and buy a handbag (y'know, the Chinatown kind.  :)  At some point during the walk, Kristen turns around and starts following this little Asian guy down the street.  We follow, and it seems like we're walking forever.  They disappear around the corner, and we see they've gone into a shop.  But the shop is empty, for the most part.... (And I'm thinking, "What the heck is going on?")  We follow him into the backroom of the shop, and he opens a door in the wall (didn't look like a door--looked like part of the wall,) out come several gals, so that's reassuring.  He takes us down a dark staircase, and opens another door.  On the other side is a room, probably about 12 x 12, if that, full of people (30?) and handbags covering the walls.  Woah!  It was pretty crowded, so I stay with Kristen while everyone else heads back upstairs.  Most people in the room follow suit, and it's a more comfortable space to move in.  We shopped a while--Kristen found a couple of "Coach" bags, and I found a "Dooney" that was nice.  Score!  We go to leave, and have to wait for one of the "sales" guys with a walky talkie to unlock the door.  We emerge, alive and well, with our new bags, and continue on our NYC adventure!

Sometime later...

Take subway back up to Time Square.  Walk around a bit, try to figure out Central Park is walking distance away.  Kristen stops to ask cute cop for directions. ;) He lies and says it's only 10 minutes up, but we don't know any better, so we head on our way.  (We're not sure exactly how long it took, since we stopped in a few shots to check out the souvies, but it definitely took longer than 10 minutes.  Also noticed t-shirts were 7 for $10.99...

4:30-ish. 

Arrive at Central Park.  Enter park, find soft place to sit--sit on rocks.  Relax.  Ahhh...

4:45

Start to leave park, take subway back to Time Square; walk back to hotel.

5:15

Arrive in room, take few moments to relax before getting ready for dinner.

6:15

Supposed to be downstairs 5 minutes ago.  No time to ask front desk to make up pull out bed, or bring more conditioner (yes, I meant to do those two things, and was irritated with myself for not getting down there in time to do so.)

6:17

Try to hail cab, little luck.

6:18

Car service car pulls up, says he'll take all 5 of us for $20 (cabs should only take 4, so it was a good deal) Liz and Kristen, (I think?) pile in front seat, rest of us in back.  

6:30

Arrive at Eatery NYC for dinner, with a 6:30 reservation!

6:45

Finally able to order, waiting for food.

7:05

Food arrives, we devour.  It was good, but nothing worth writing about. :)

7:30

Time to leave--gals going to 9 to 5, I'm off to the Rock!

7:33

Friends to meet have not yet arrived, other gals catch a cab and head to theater (though I'm told they gave up on the cab ride after 10-15 minutes of going nowhere, and proceeded to walk the rest of the way on foot.  Thankfully, theater was pretty close.)

7:37

Paul & Fabienne arrive, and off we go!

8-ish

Sun begins to set, and we arrive in Rockerfeller center.  It's very pretty.  

8:30

At the top of the Rock!  The view is breathtaking--cameras don't do it justice.  You'd need an Omni screen, or an IMAX to get the scale and feel right, at a minimum!  It was awesome!  I tried to get some steady shots, but nighttime is tough with a camera.  Finally figured out to use the top of the binocular thingies to steady the shot.

9:15

Wonder how far away Empire State Building is, if the view is any better, and how long it would take to get there.....

9:20

Leave the Rock, start heading towards Empire State Building!

9:45

Arrive at Empire State Building.  Not as crowded as originally thought.  Should be up there quickly.

9:55

Get off elevator at 80th floor (still 6 more to go, but that's a different elevator. Boring ride by the way... Rock was better.)  Get in back of HUGE line... start to worry about time.

10:10

Halfway through line, still worrying about time.

10:13

Staff guy announces elevator line will take about 30 minutes.  Or, the stairs are open.  Only 6 flights.  Should take 2-3 minutes.  We leave the line.

10:14

Up first flight of stairs.  Piece of cake.

10:15

Up 2nd flight.  Not too bad, I can do this.

10:16

Up 3rd flight.  Really?  3 more?? Grrr...

10:17

Up 4th flight... Omigosh, this sucks.

10:18

Up 5th flight.  Only one more! You can do this!

10:19

Start 6th flight.  Legs burning.  Look up, and 6th is really 6th and 7th and 7.5th!  What a scam! 

10:21

Exit staircase.  Force to climb 4 more steps to viewing level.  %$&@#!!! 

10:22

Catch breath, see view (through crowds of people,) have to catch breath again.  ;)

Eh, it's no better than the Rock.  Still awesome, though.  But way more crowded, with far less space for all the hundreds of people trying to look.  Really windy.

10:28

Watch seagull flying over head.

10:29

Watch said seagull use the air above our heads as a toilet.  Crowd goes, "Woah!!!!!" and duck for cover.  Wind blows seagull poop away.

10:30-ish.

Hear from gals at show, but between wind and reception, hard to hear what's going on.  Decide to leave ESB.

10:45

Legs hurt.  Tired of walking all day, yet still feeling energized.  Stop in Walgreens to buy gatorade.  Tastes so good.

11:00 

Arrive back at hotel.  Roommate isn't feeling well.  Off to corner deli for drugs (Pepto Bismol and such.)

Sunday, 12 a.m.

Chat about show, Mommy hood and who knows what else with roommate. 

1 a.m.

Get in bed, read gossip magazines, still chatty.

1:30 a.m.

Sleepy time.

8:30 a.m.

Wake up, throw clothes on, head downstairs to get good table for breakfast.  Eat.

9:35 a.m.

Get in line for elevator... It takes forever to show up.

9:45 a.m.

Head back to room, shower, pack, leave.  Receive text message from Jeremy that swine flu confirmed in the city.  Remind everyone to thoroughly wash hands.  Eyes roll.  :)

10:40 a.m. (I think.)

Uyen and Liz split from us to get ready to catch bus.  Kristen, Shelley and I get on subway to go to Staten Island Ferry.

11:20 a.m.

Arrive at Staten Island Ferry terminal.

11:30 a.m.  

Ride ferry across river.  Feel wind blow through hair, bask in warmth from sun,  take pictures of Statue of Liberty.
  

12:00 p.m.

Disembark.  Get Slush Puppies (I got red! I think it was supposed to be watermelon, but it just tasted like sugar water.) Wait for ferry to take us back.

12:30 p.m. 

Back on ferry.  Enjoy view from other side of the ferry.  Get hot dogs and nachos to munch on en-route.

1:00 

Back at the terminal.  Start schleping to subway.  

1:15 

On subway.  Plan to buy cheap t-shirts in Time Square, then head back to hotel for bags before getting bus.

1:30 

Arrive in Time Square.  Packed out.  Takes a while to walk through crowds.  Running out of time.

1:40

Shelley and Kristen head back to hotel to get bags.  I look up, t-shirt place is two blocks away.  Buy shirts quickly and head back down towards bus.  Buy hot nuts along the way (will later almost choke on said nuts... but I survive.  Ha ha, nuts!)

2:10 p.m.

Arrive at Bolt Bus stop.  Load up, find seat.  Kristen and I go for NYC slice before leaving. Mmm... pizza.

2:25

Back on bus with slice in hand (well, in a box, but you get the idea.)

2:30

Bus leaves.  Back to DC!

2:45

Stop somewhere downtown.  Another stop.  Boo.  Use stop as opportunity to get book from suitcase.  Yay for reading material!

3:00

NOW we're headed to DC!  Driver relays rules whilst in Lincoln Tunnel.  On this ride, we can tap on driver's shoulder and whisper in his ear to ask him to raise/lower temperature on bus.  Guys, no such luck.  :P  

7:00

We obey rules and arrive in Washington DC!  

7:15

Leave bus terminal.  Parking only $10?!?!?  Sweet.  Drive home.

7:40

Arrive home, Kristen and Shelley get their things.  Goodbyes are said, and I go in to see my kids/hubby.  Amazingly, house is still standing, kids aren't filthy, and they're even dressed!  House is even picked up, and front lawn mowed.  Awwwww.....

Glad to be home.  Had an awesome time, but missed my family.  It's good to be home. :)

Final thoughts:

~I will definitely do the Rock again.  Empire State?  Ehh... maybe.  But only if I were willing to pay extra to go up the additional 20 stories.  That might be cool.  But it was too crowded and not well organized, so the "experience" wasn't as nice as at the Rock.  Plus, the Rock had this cool light room that sensed where you were in the room and lite up accordingly.  It was like being in a video game.... 

~We're quite proud of ourselves for figuring out how to navigate via subway, but weren't very happy they diverted some of the trains we wanted to take.... We managed, but it was a pain.  Oh well.

~The dim sum was AWESOME!  Will definitely be back for that.  And store-bought/frozen just isn't the same.  No comparison.

~Uhh... I got the handbag bug!  Will have to stop in Chinatown again for more bags! Hey, I don't even care if they're not the "real" thing.  Since I can't afford the "real" thing, I don't mind having something that at least LOOKS nice (and, as far as I can tell, is pretty well made.)

~Central Park definitely demands more time than we gave it, but it was nice to see at least a little of it, and enjoy the sights and sounds that go along with it.

~Souveniers in Chinatown are much cheaper than in Time Square.  Except for t-shirts--those were the cheapest right around 48th and Broadway (in Time Square.)  

~While the city may never sleep, drugstores do.  They were all closed by the time I got back to the hotel, unfortunately.  The one near the ESB, though, was open 24 hours, but that would have been a little bit of a hike from the hotel.  So if you need essentials, or just cheap drinks, stop there before heading out for the night.

That's all for now.  Two hours is enough time to spend on one post.