i live in a small space, yes i do. I live in a small space, how 'bout you?

The title of this post should be read as if you were chanting like a high school cheerleader. Go ahead, try it again. I'll wait....Wasn't that much more fun?

I live in a small space. Let me clarify, for our family it is a small space. I have to clarify, because it seems one can no longer make statements like that without angering the internets. Without said clarification, angry emails can be hurled my way like blocks of cheese, saying I am a liar. I like to avoid angry emails unless I'm feeling particularly feisty. I'm not feeling so feisty right now. But I am craving cheese. It's a bit of a dilemma.

Anyway, I got to thinking about our home in Colorado. Probably because WE FINALLY HAVE A CONTRACT ON THAT HOUSE. After 10 long months. Thank you economy. As I was thinking about that home, I was reminded how different our current space is.

Here's a few of the differences:

Colorado: 6 bedrooms
NYC: 3 bedrooms (one of which was converted from a dining room)

Colorado: large family kitchen
NYC: tiny kitchen that gets me hostile if more than 2 people are in it

Colorado: living room, dining room, office, family room, media room...
NYC: den (and... there is no more. That's it.)

Colorado: 4 full bathrooms
NYC: 2 full bathrooms (3 boys share one and Lily shares with Rod and me. As a result our bathroom is usually covered in pink toothpaste.)

Colorado: Total square footage of 5000sq feet
NYC: Total square footage of 1200sq feet

Different, right? But to be honest, I think we have adjusted quite well. Yes, Lily still calls our apartment, "the hotel" but it feels more like home now. Here are some reasons I prefer our tiny space to our larger Colorado home.

• I used to use my cell phone to talk to my kids. When we were all AT HOME. We were so spread out in that big house. Now we're usually in the same room.
• It was possible to go the entire day without seeing one of my kid's faces. They hid in their tricked out media room for hours on end. Now we literally run in to each other approximately 1,387 times a day.
  
• I used to find out what's going on with my older boys via their Facebook status. Now I just overhear then talking on their cell phones with their friends because their bedroom is next to mine. Side note: I've learned A LOT of valuable information.
• Our whole family used to be home-bodies. Now we are explorers. Our life goes beyond our 4 walls. It has to.
  

I don't think I'm just looking a the bright side. These are things I genuinely love about moving to a small space. In fact, if we ever move again, I don't want a huge house. I like this better. We are a family, probably more now than ever.

Clearly, I've drunk the Kool-Aid.

i think i've lost another one

As I've mentioned before, my older 2 boys are not fond of the camera. And by "not fond" I mean they treat me like I'm the evil paparazzi and they're the famous movie stars who complain about how I'm invading their sense of privacy. It's not pretty.

But now my 3rd son, Jackson, is headed that way as well. It must be something that happens to boys around puberty. You know along with all those other things. Anyway, this is what happened on a recent walk.

Ugh, There is that camera again. They tricked me. This time Dad has it. I'm going to give him the evil eye to see if he understands how I feel about cameras.

OK. He clearly does not get that my life sucks because of this.

I'm going to try and out-maneuver him.

And fake to the right...now.

Dang it! He's fast for an old man.

I'll just try standing behind mom and that enormous pink scarf she has on.

there were no dancing circus monkeys at this party

I thought it would be fun to have Lily's 7th birthday party here at home. And by home, I mean our tiny apartment. We'd decorate like crazy, then count the minutes until all her little girlfriends from school arrived. I thought she'd think it was special and I'm all about making a memory. OK, who am I kidding? I just didn't want to spend $1000 on a party for a 7 year old.

Welcome to New York City, the home of the best bagels, pizza, and out of your mind birthday parties for children.

In the city, you can rent out museums for sleepovers, have your own personal chef create a special meal for you and all your pre-pubescent friends, or you can learn the proper form for the downward dog at your very own yoga party. The possibilities are endless and the list goes on and on...and usually ends up costing at least $1000.

Don't get me wrong, if you have those kind of parties for your kids, I have no problem with it. In fact, please invite us. It's just that I can't justify spending that kind of cash. I'm trying to buy groceries here. And Bobbie Brown makeup. And I sure could use some botox.

So after realizing my lack of options, I resigned myself to having the party here at home- something almost unheard of in Manhattan birthday party land. When I told Rod, he thought I might be a bit crazy. But then I ticked off the financial data and he thought I was beautiful. I mean...genius. I don't care. I'll take either.

We actually had a great time. We only invited the girls from her class because there is not quite enough air in my apartment for a party with the entire class. And you know what? It turned out great. I found the key to having a birthday party in a small space is provide lots of activities for the kids to do. If they run out of activities, they will run laps in your apartment. Note to self: Need to plan about 10 more minutes worth of activities next time.

I gave you a sneak peak yesterday, but thought I'd share more pics with you today.

I borrowed this idea from Lola B. I had all the girls decorate Peep birdhouses out of graham crackers. A spring version of a Christmas gingerbread house.

Lily and I assembled the houses before the party, so the guests would just have fun decorating them with jelly beans and royal icing. FYI- It takes exactly 15 seconds to get a sugar headache from eating too much royal icing. I know this first-hand.









We used pink peeps and edible Easter grass. However, I would like to debate the word "edible" that was on the package.



It tasted quite a bit like a combination of hay and styrofoam. It was not delicious like the word edible would allude to.

The cupcakes were my only splurge. They are from Two Little Red Hens Bakery.



I ordered 18. Lily's party was for 6. I'm sure you understand the math here. They are delicious.

And a little girl's party would not be complete without the sparking pink lemonade.



This also makes a fantastic beverage for a big girl's party if you splash a bit of vodka in it. But I'm not telling you how I know that.

All the girls went home with their bird houses and these tiny gift bags full of candy necklaces, bubbles, and sparkly pens.



There you go. A NYC birthday party on a budget.




I don't think she really cared that we didn't have one of those fancy schmancy parties. Do you?

happy birthday to the most wonderful man in nyc

Happy Birthday to my husband, Rod!

Photo taken by Kim Reierson

is this the never-ending winter?

I'm really hoping we've seen the last of this season's snow here in NYC. I am weary of it. And although spring weather will require some definite work on my feet (read: in major need of a pedicure), I am ready for some warmer weather.

I am usually not a snow girl. I really don't like playing in the snow and the mere forecast of snow usually sends me into an eating frenzy that includes large quantities of chocolate. I've even been know to tell my daughter (when she was younger) that playing in the snow was only for boys. (I'm sure I'll get some lovely emails for that comment.) But I decided to turn over a new leaf and make the most of the recent snowstorm. I told Lily that her father and I wanted to take her outside to build a snowman. After she picked herself off the floor from fainting, she grabbed her coat and was eager to go along.

Once we got to the park, we started building a snowman. Fortunately, Lily watches Nick Jr and was able to recall an episode of Max and Ruby where they built a snowman. She taught her father and I how to properly roll the snow into a ball. Who says TV is not educational?




In the end, Lily was not real pleased with our snowman and kicked it down, but I'm sure she still has fond memories of the outing.

While we were there, we checked out the other snowmen that people had built in the park.



I think those people deserve points for the leaf toupee. Very creative.

And it's quite clear that this snowman's artist had Chinese food for dinner last night.



This was the best one:



Clearly it was built by someone who would be up for mother of the year since this snowman was complete with carrot, licorice and button eyes. I'm making a mental note for the next snowman outing.

Hope you enjoyed the snowmen pics.

Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to participate in "Bits of my Weekend."
Remember to take pictures of your weekend and post them on your blog next Monday.
More details here.

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

My little sister Jennie came to visit us for Christmas. It's been great having her here. Right now she is organizing my tiny kitchen. That's true sisterly love, isn't it? She is also bunking with my six year old Lily every night. That goes beyond sisterly love. In fact, it probably qualifies her for some sort of world peace award. I'm checking into it.

Jennie and I took Lily to see Mary Poppins on Broadway yesterday. It was actually the first Broadway show for all of us. And it did not disappoint. It was amazing. If you are ever in the city, you definitely need to get tickets.

We took a little picture of the 3 of us before we left.



I have no idea where Lily learned to pose like that.

Another picture of Lily and my sister Jennie. As you can see, Jennie is hanging on to Lily to keep her from darting into traffic. Thank you Jennie.



It was unbelievable. The set, the cast, the theater...All of it was glorious. My only complaint might be that the theater didn't let us know that it was intermission. We thought the show was over. Yes, we are Broadway virgins. The lights went up and we grabbed our coats, while casually discussing how great the show was. As we walked to the door, we noticed no one else was leaving. Instead, people were buying 4 dollar bottles of water and Mary Poppins mementos. So we casually walked back to our seats pretending that we meant to get our coats on because we were cold. Or maybe I just did that.

The second half was even better than the first, so if you go to the show make sure you don't leave at intermission. I'm just trying to help you out in case you are Broadway virgins. Or are blonde. Unfortunately, my sister and I were both, so we really didn't have a chance.

the most wonderful time of the year

We figured since we now live in New York, we should go see the heralded Rockefeller Plaza Christmas Tree. I'm sure it's actually called a "Holiday Tree" as to be politically correct. But since this is my blog, I don't have to politically correct. Christmas. Christmas. Christmas.

Rod and I took Lily (age 6) and Jackson (age 11) out for an evening of Christmas-time fun. We had a great time, but both the kids wigged out at one point because of the crowds, thirst, hunger, an itch attack over their entire body... And because I am such a great mom, full of Christmas spirit, I yelled at them to buck up. But no one gave me a second look because the streets were full of parents doing the same thing. Ahhh, don't you love this time of year?

We decided to go on a Saturday night. Because we are crazy. Here's a shot of the tree over the heads of a million tourists.



It was quite beautiful though.



We didn't go ice skating at the rink by the tree because we may be crazy, but we are not that crazy. The line wrapped around the square forever.

We actually had a great time, especially once we found this guy:



Do you see Lily eyeing him? Fortunately one of these guys were about every 100 feet. To assist our food-deprived children.


And guess who was riding a bicycle down the street?



Here's some of the windows. They were quite beautiful.

Bergdorf Goodman was my personal favorite of the evening. You'll definitely want to click on the picture to see all the amazing details:








Sorry, that last one was Anthropologie. I can't help it. I have a built in radar that pulls me towards those stores.

You know who had a dud of a window?
Barney's. It looked like a school art project. Seriously?



But, Bloomingdale's windows were great.








And in case you are still on the fence as to Robin's gender preference, let this settle it for you once and for all.

a message to my daughter

Dear Lily,

You are only six years old. This move has brought out an excitement in you that I'm having trouble containing. In a 1200 square foot apartment. Even though this attribute is exhausting, I actually love your enthusiasm towards life. You adore absolutely everything about New York. But I'm noticing you need a few lessons. I thought I'd share them here with you.

1. Please stop chasing the pigeons. They are not "purdy" birds. They are dirty birds that pick up the germs of the city. Also, if you chase one more of these into oncoming traffic, I think I might have a heart attack.

2. If you find gum or candy on the street, please do not pick it up no matter how sparkly it looks. Same rule applies if your own gum or candy falls out of your mouth onto the street. The "5 second rule" does not apply in NYC.

3. Rats are not cute. I realize that's confusing because they are covered with fur. But again, these are germ infested inhabitants of this great city. Also, do not tell me when you see one of these rats on the subway- especially if you are going to describe them as "fuzzy and orange." I can't control the automatic scream that comes out of my mouth when you do this. And I'm trying to be a cool New Yorker.

4. We live in an apartment now. That means that there are people that live below us. They do not appreciate your gymnastics routine- especially after 8 pm. I have received a call from our doorman to back this up.

5. Elevators are fun. Especially when you live on the 31st floor. But other residents of our building don't like it when you push the wrong buttons. Something about elevators makes people grumpy. In fact, your father almost got in a fist fight last night on the elevator.

6. Show tunes are allowed to be sung in the laundry room. However, other residents, who do their laundry when we do, are not part of your cast. They don't want to participate with you no matter how loud you keep singing.

7. And finally, even though it drives your brothers crazy, it's ok with me if you continue calling where you live "New York Big City."

Love,
Mom

a whole lot of nothin' going on

I wish the above statement were true, but it's not. It sounds divine doesn't it? "A whole lot of nothin' going on." I close my eyes and think of that statement and instantly I'm transported to a beach in Mexico where a cabana boy named Juan is serving me ceviche with homemade tortilla chips, poolside. Let me clarify "poolside." I am IN THE POOL when he hands me my ceviche and chips. Yes- that would be the epitome of a whole lot of nothin' going on. Eating ceviche. In the pool.

But NOT HERE. No sir. This household has a whole lot of EVERYTHING going on right now. As you know we're preparing for our move to the big city, but we also thought we'd jack our activities up another level because I kinda like the feeling that my head might explode from everything that is going on around me.

Last week, my son Jackson (age 10) accompanied my husband to Ethiopia to check out some of the wells charity:water has built. I didn't mention it last week when they were actually gone because it would have been like I was saying, "HEY INTERNETS! My husband isn't home. Not only is he not home, but he is in another country! Feel free to come on over and terrorize little ol' me!" Actually, I do think I could probably fend for myself. After all, I recently shot my first hand gun and was a pretty good shot. Here is the proof.



Do you see that? A shot right in the jugular, and three to the heart. The jugular, people. That's all I'm saying.

But, back to the Ethiopia trip. It was amazing. Jackson was able to visit remote villages and schools that had recently received clean drinking water. To see the change this made in their daily lives was quite sobering for him. I wasn't able to communicate with them that much because of poor Internet connections. But after about four days of only a brief text or two, I texted Rod and requested a picture. My 10 year old son is ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. I would like proof of life, please. He was kind enough to answer my request:



It just warmed my heart. I'm so happy my 10 year old experienced Africa. You can't go to Africa and not be changed. There is something about that place. About the people. Africa changes you. I should know because about 25 years ago I spent a summer there with some college friends.




That's me on the right. And yes, my hair was permed. It was the '80s. Enough said. If you were able to zoom in, you'd also see that I was probably in desperate need of an eyebrow wax. Apparently the 80's were for perms and furry eyebrows.

I'm happy to say my husband and son are back home, safe and sound. I have loved hearing all their stories. I'm thankful for the opportunity they had, even if it was at a crazy time in our lives. I'm thankful Africa made an impression on them. I hope we are all able to back there together someday.

PS. I apologize for the excessive use of CAPS in this post. But I have a whole lot of somethin' going on here!

can't put a price on togetherness

Since we are moving from a 4800 square foot home in Colorado to probably an 1100 square foot apt in NYC, a few things have to go. Well, actually a lot of things have to go. I have been selling things like crazy- nothing is off limits. In fact, whenever my six year old can't find something, she screams at me, "Did you sell it!!??" She never believes me when I say, "no." She's seen me do it too many times over the past few weeks.

In fact, she now understands the concept that you can make money when you sell things. She proved this by discussing the homeless man that often stands at the edge of our interstate exit. She told me, "He should get an apple tree, so he can sell apples. Then he'd have money." I keep her window rolled up, so she can't holler at him. I don't think he'd appreciate her financial advice.

But selling things have really made me realize what I hold dear to my heart. Do I really care that I have to get rid of a TV or two? Do I really care that I can't have a pool table or separate dining room in our new apartment? Do I really care that I have to switch my king size bed to a queen size? Not really. None of that matters. What truly matters is family. What truly matters is that me, my husband of 20 years and my 4 children will all be together. Even if 1100 square feet will give a whole new meaning to the word togetherness.