Warning: There are at least a bazillion photos in this post. Proceed at your own discretion.
Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. We try to do a trip to celebrate our anniversary every 5 years. So, a couple of weeks ago we managed to time a trip perfectly in between blizzards to NYC. It was delightful!
Todd on the airplane. Reveling in the super cheapness of the plane tickets I found, no doubt.
Part of a series of photos we like to call "Let's text pictures to the kids that will make them jealous!" Us getting Jamba Juice in Penn Station is jealousy inducing. (Though my kids are partial to the one right by the subway station at Lexington and 53rd which is our traditional breakfast when we tag along with Todd on business trips.)
We dined at Ellen's Stardust Diner where my dear friend Chris-Ian is a waiter and performer. And if you are eating gluten free or vegetarian GET THE VEGGIE LASAGNA!! So. Good!
We took Todd's cousin, Cameron, with us to dinner. Because we like him. Look at how adorable he is!
And then we went to see "Twelfe Night" which was the most satisfying theater experience I've had the pleasure to enjoy in the last decade. It was incredible! They did everything as traditionally as they could without doing it at the Globe Theater. I wish that every kid who has slogged through reading a Shakespeare play in high school could go see this and really understand what a Shakespeare play is supposed to be like! It runs through the end of February. Go see it!
Quick stop at the Times Square Toys R Us to take more pictures of things that would make our kids jealous. We're mean parents.
The next day we slept in, breakfasted late, braved the rain and went to the LDS temple at Lincoln Center. It's so beautiful inside and such a stark contrast to the bustle and noise right outside the doors.
After the temple we headed over to the Guggenheim and saw the Christopher Wool exhibit. This is shockingly my first time at the Guggenheim, but I am a convert! I loved being able to experience the art up close, but then continue up or down the museum and experience it from afar. It made me realize how much a traditional gallery set-up limits the way you can experience art.
And then off to a gluten friendly Indian restaurant where we sent another picture to our kids. This one of Todd enjoying naan. Benjamin would happily live off of nothing but warm naan if he were allowed to do so.
We couldn't figure out why this train was so uncrowded as we headed down to the theater for that night's performance. Then we noticed the sleeping man. Oh, well. On a rainy day in the city, it's tough to find a dry place to nap.
After we saw the new musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" we splashed back up to the apartment we were staying at and put on dry clothes to cuddle on the couch for a bit before bed.
The next day we headed down to Bleeker St. where there were blocks and blocks of places that catered to the gluten free! Two pizza places and three macaron shops all on the same street!!! And this place. It was closed, but I like the signage. I love the village.
And then back to Penn Station to catch the train back to the airport. The monitors just aren't as fun as the big flippy chart used to be, but I suppose progress is like that.
View from the train. I know it doesn't look like much, but it still looks like a piece of home to me.
It was delightful to have a trip for a few days that was just the two of us. And even more delightful to realize that we still really like each other and were happy to spend as much time together as we could. We have many wonderful friends and relatives in the area, but we decided that we wanted to just be us on our trip. It was nice to feel good about that together.
One day at the beginning of August, Todd called from work and asked what was on the calendar the week before school started, because needed to go NYC. I said, "Oh, no problem, I was going to take the kids to an amusement park during that time, and spend the night at a nearby hotel, so go ahead." He said, "Um, no. It's for all of us. My boss's boss in NYC is having a party in the backyard of her mansion in Scarsdale and families are invited.
Now. Do you all remember that movie "Mona Lisa Smile"? There is a scene in it where Marcia Gay Harden's character puts the fear of God into her Home Ec. students by presenting a scenario in which their husbands bring the boss home for dinner on the spur of the moment. She goes on to say something to the effect of "You are being tested as well as your husband. You may very well make or break that promotion he's up for." This is what popped into my mind when he asked if I'd like to go. That, and the idea of keeping our children well behaved in front of all of Todd's co-workers, yikes!!
The thing that eventually won me over was being bribed by a hotel right at Rockefeller Center and tickets to How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Apparently, I can be bought. ;) I still freaked out about clothes and hair for the two weeks leading up to the trip, but it all went swimmingly in the end.
Literally! The boss had a beautiful pool in her backyard and had hired two lifeguards to amuse [read keep track of so the parents didn't have to] the children. So, keeping my boys well behaved wasn't so bad after all. Also, the caterer had planned a dinner just for the children and he basically served them all. The outdoor kitchen/pool house was probably bigger than my regular kitchen or bathroom here at home. I don't think I said anything too awful to anyone, and actually enjoyed intelligent adult conversation where I was not mocked for staying at home with my children for over a decade, as I expected. AND there was a flourless chocolate cake, so this gluten free lady was HAPPY!
We all survived and enjoyed it and then drove into the city, where I finally drove in NYC!! First time in the 35 years I've been going into the city.
The next day, Todd went off to work and the kids and I ate breakfast and then headed over to the Intrepid where we met Uncle Mark and saw all sorts of cool things!
We just happened to be at the Intrepid on the same day that there were ASTRONAUTS there from the last Atlantis shuttle mission !! I had a vague sense that something was happening so, Lilyanna and I got in line while Mark had the boys down in the submarine. It turned out that before they got out I had the Shuttle flight commander's autographed head shot and then got in line to meet the female Astronaut. She was very friendly and happy to chat to all the boys while signing. I tried to tell Lilyanna how awesome it was to meet a female astronaut, but she wasn't impressed.
A LEGO replica of the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier.
Mark is a total space program geek, though for some reason knows more about the Russian program than the U.S. program. He's a little weird, that one. ;)
No pictures, but we also went to Serendipity for huge amounts of ice cream and had pizza that was like heaven in my mouth. (I bailed on the gluten free thing for two bites. It was worth a rash!)
Uncle Mark took us back to our hotel and we lounged around until Dad got back and we went out for fancy shmancy Indian food at a place called "Mint". I recommend it.
The next day, I told the boys I had a surprise for them. (It wasn't this very odd sculpture in front of an office building.)
Or going to St. Patrick's Cathedral. We just passed those things on the way. Here is the video of what happened when we arrived at the dummy location. [Warning: you may want to turn down the volume for Nathaniel's initial reaction.]
Not only was the store at Rockefeller Center all things Nintendo, the ground floor was also devoted almost exclusively to Pokemon. Making it my boys' dream store and my nightmare store. Funny how that works, isn't it? Still they were really excited and happy, and we basically had the store to ourselves, because the Today Show had one side of the plaza blocked off for an Enrique Iglesias performance.
And THEN we went to the American Girl Store. We weren't going to buy anything but Lilyanna ended up with a bitty baby and matching bunny slippers for her and her baby. She was obsessed with this video at the time we went.
After this, we hopped on a bus and headed down to the village to eat at a S'Mac, a place that does nothing but macaroni and cheese and will make any of their dishes gluten free! Caleb and I were in heaven! (It's right across the street from Angelica's Kitchen, the Vegan restaurant where Todd and I took his brother and wife and our two little boys 9 years ago.)
Then we headed over the river to NJ to see Todd's parents. We took his Dad out to dinner for his birthday, had a nice day playing and chatting the next day, and then Todd and I headed into the city to see Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. They both looked like they were having tons of fun onstage, which makes any show a delight to see. Also, I LOVED the set design of this show. It was minimal but really well executed!
Todd waiting for our train back to NJ in the wee small hours. Btw, the Seacaucus station is GREAT! It's been practically empty every time I've gone through it! Although walking to the parking lot in the middle of the night alone is a little creepy thanks to how far away it is from the station.
And then after church the next morning, we headed back to Ohio, where we jumped immediately into before school conferences and the first day of school.
It is my fantasy to someday live in NYC. Not forever. Just for a year. There's just so much to do. I'd homeschool the kids and we'd take TONS of field trips. Sadly, at this point, that looks like nothing more than a fantasy. But who knows? Things could happen!
Some of you may remember the trauma of last summer when Benjamin lost a tooth in a hotel room and it ended up going down the drain. And the only way we could cheer him up was to tell him about the tooth fairy who looked exactly like Uncle Chris Ian, except in a tutu, which really wasn't too difficult for anyone to imagine. But it sufficiently cheered up our boys enough that they could sleep that night. Nathaniel recently managed to get rid of his two front teeth, causing him to look Vampire-ish. One of them, while eating lunch was inadvertantly swallowed along with his bagle and cream cheese. We sent an emergency text to Uncle Chris Ian who was performing out in California that week. Uncle Chris Ian immediately replied back with this picture: Seriously. Only Chris Ian would have a sparkly magic wand on hand for emergencies.
Nathaniel felt better and was gratified when he found a dollar coin under his pillow, which he noted he only ever saw at the ticket machines in the NYC subway system. And Uncle Chris Ian works in NYC...
It was all beginning to all make sense to him. Until he saw Todd sneaking in the next night to leave a coin for the next tooth. We reminded him, though, that Uncle Chris Ian was doing a play in CA that week, though, so he needed a substitute fairy to fill in for him. Todd doesn't look as good in a tutu, but under the circumstances he was the right man for the job.
After my life changing decision to not tackle Rupert Everett, Chris Ian and I hugged and kissed Marc goodbye and then headed over to the PATH station to head home.
Have I mentioned that as much as I love the city, I had forgotten a few key things? Like how to be smart and safe. Fortunately, I'd been in the company of two gorgeous men all day, so I thought nothing of my safety as I walked around looking rather fetching (if I do say so myself). I had done my hair. I wore make-up all day. I had on heels. In short, I looked foxy.
I had been in the city a couple weeks earlier, again in the company of Marc and Sukhvinder, and it was a weekend so riding the train home was packed with people and I had no worries for safety.
I hadn't a care in the world as Chris Ian and I waited for the train with no crowds around us. I began to be aware of the situation when a gentlemen on the PATH train outright leered at me while Chris Ian and I were talking. It wasn't until Chris Ian got off at his station and I looked around that I realized I had forgotten how to scope out a safe situation. Midwestern suburbia has definitely weakened my street smarts. I was the only girl on a train full of men. And I looked good. More than one man was leering at that point without my Filipino male companion by my side.
This may seem improbable. I'm not the kind of girl that gets oohs and ahhs of admiration over my looks. Ever. And it's been a solid decade since anyone tried to pick me up. (Except that one guy at the bookstore when I had two small children and a husband at home. It had been so long that I nearly wept with gratitude for his apparent admiration.) (Oh, and the guy at the gym that one time.)
Lest you dismiss this and think it was all in my head, let me tell you what came next. The guy who was responsible for opening and closing the doors sat across from me and said, "You look tired, honey." I weakly smiled, and replied that I was. At which point he said, "You want me to hold you so you can sleep?"
I laughed and told him no thanks. And then he got up and moved to a different car. Apparently, it was a rough shoot down.
When I got to Newark to wait for my husband to pick me up, I was again the only woman on a street corner full of big burly men. It occured to me that I was something of an idiot. And then I wondered if anyone would mistake me for a hooker. My hair was big enough. But my heels weren't high enough and I wasn't showing enough cleavage. That was something of a comfort.
I have been wanting to see Blithe Spirit on Broadway, ever since Todd mentioned to me months ago that it was coming!! Hello?! A chance to see Angela Lansbury on stage AND Rupert Everett!! Too good to pass up!
So after our day in the city with our boys, Todd bundled them home, I shopped a little and then met two wonderful friends for dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. Chris Ian, a.k.a. the tooth fairy to my children, works there and took us to meet all his fellow singing waiters and waitresses. Again, snobby me was a little appalled at the idea of going to such a touristy place, but we had SO much fun!! You can't not have a good time at Ellen's, specifically if the entire staff is stopping by the table to check on you. All of the staff take turns singing either a song from the 50s or a show tune, and all of them are working there way into showbiz, so they are goooooood! One of the guys there had just been hired to be one of the Hyenas in The Lion King tour. There were lots of other similar stories. Anyway, fun, fun, fun! You should go if you're in town. (And order the strawberry shortcake! Perfect proportions of cream, strawberries and cake. Mmmm.)
Chris Ian and Marc were delightful company! The two of them kept humming the theme from "Murder She Wrote" in anticipation of the show. For me, it was all about Rupert. Who despite recent plastic surgery is dang good looking on stage and in a tux.
"I'll take one of those, please."
The play was delightful! (And should at least be nominated for a Tony for the lighting design.) Angela Lansbury is amazing considering she's 84 years old, and according to Rupert when he appeared on the Today Show, she never misses a show, which guilts the rest of the cast into having to do every show as well.
After the show I convinced Marc and Chris Ian to be theater geeks with me and to wait by the stage door for the actors to come out. I was not leaving without a signed program and a close up glimpse of Rupert.
I can't remember which one of them came out first. But...
Angela came out of the theater, and she was a delight! She smiled and talked to everyone and signed any program or poster handed to her. (She did refuse to sign anything not from the show. She didn't want to encourage people who hadn't been at the show and were just glomming on to the awaiting theater crowd.)
Rupert came out (snicker), signed a few programs (mine being the most important) and then waltzed away all by himself, casually down the road. One very handy thing about being in the company of a man who is 6'5" is that he can see over the crowd and when I had lost sight of my darling Rupert was able to spot him immediately strolling down the sidewalk. All. By. Him. Self.
Do you hear me?!
No security.
No friend.
Alone.
Marc suggested that then was my chance to tackle him. I would be lying if I said that the thought was not instantly appealing to me. But then I had a sudden vision of having to call Todd to come bail my out of some precinct in the city. I didn't think he'd find it very amusing...well, not for a few months at least.
I struggled inwardly at my decision to not throw my arms about Ruperts waist at a stampeding run, but then he got in a car at the end of the block and my turmoil was over. The moment had passed and I wasn't going to have to explain any ridiculous behavior to my ever-loving-and-ridiculously-patient husband.
Though I may forever regard Rupert Everett as "the one I let get away".
The oh-so-sassy Chris Ian and Marc waiting by the stage door. Rupert!!! He signed my program and made eye contact, and yes, Marc, is shorter than you. You still win.
Angela Lansbury!! Also signed my program and looked at me when I told her how delightful she was, and didn't complain about the fact that I was draped across the hood of her waiting car to get said signature. And yes, Marc and Chris Ian continued to hum the "Murder She Wrote" theme song. I wonder if you can get sheet music for that...
