Somewhere in the Middle

Lil' C + Lil' S

Once we got back to the Bronx we had lunch and spent time with my grandparents. I also drove Papi to the doctor and pharmacy. Now that Papi is older he doesn't drive anymore so Nana & him tend to use public transportation a lot more. It was nice being able to do something so simple for him. It was cute too because he introduced me to all the women at the health clinic and pharmacy. My grandparents are really good people and they truly appreciate little gestures. It makes me sad that I live so far and I'm not able to do little things for them. But I know they're in good hands being that they live in a community with lots of supportive friends.

That evening I drove to Queens to pick up my cousin, Lil' S. Lil' C & Lil' S have always been close. Our family really tries to make an effort so they can see each other. When we lived in VA they drove down to help celebrate Lil' C's birthday.

Once we pulled into the neighborhood Lil' C immediately saw Lil' S and once I parked the car he jumped out and ran to her. It was so cute to see them running to each another and embracing. Lil' S has matured so much since I last saw her. The last time we saw her she was Lil' C's current age. And now she was like a little mother to Lil' C. Saying things like... "Lil' C you have to be patient." She's a total cutie!

During our last two days in New York Lil' C & Lil' S had a great time playing together. Nana made me some of my favorite Puerto Rican snacks like empanadas & bacalaitos. Sooo good! We also had a visit from Tio C. It was great catching up and we talked a lot about what it's like living in Europe.

Later that evening Titi came over for a little while as well. And Lil' C got to play with Max (her Bichon).

The following morning I packed everything into the car and we said goodbye to Nana & Papi. As I drove away I wondered when I'd return. During this trip I noticed Papi looked so much older than I remembered. And it scared me. I'm incredibly close with Nana & Papi and I want them to always be a part of my life.

NYC

Grand Central Station

Now that Lil' C is a little older I thought it would be a great time to introduce him to my other love, New York City. I wanted to take him to places that as a child made a huge impression on me.

The first thing Lil' C got to see was Grand Central Station. As we walked towards the Main Concourse from the subway terminal I felt a flurry of butterflies like when you blindfold someone special and walk them through the door to their surprise party. You want that person to feel overwhelmed with excitement & happiness.That's exactly how I felt.

Before we turned the corner I said to Lil' C, "Are you ready?" And when we walked into the Main Concourse his response was "Wow!" Lil' C was fascinated with the astronomical mural. If you're ever in NYC, I recommend you take some time and visit Grand Central. It's a beautiful place. The mural design was painted in gold leaf on cerulean blue oil by a French painter named Paul Helleu. It covers the 80,000 square foot Main Concourse and portrays the Mediterranean sky with October-to-March zodiac and 2,500 stars. The 60 largest stars mark the constellations and are illuminated with fiber optics. 

After several minutes we met Lil' C's Nino at the clock and walked over to their apartment. Once we dropped off our luggage we walked to a local restaurant to have some New York pizza. New York has the best pizza (at least within the United States) hands down. It's delicious. Once we got home I got Lil' C ready for bed and he was out like a light. He was exhausted. We stayed up eating Fern's award winning Guacamole, drinking, and talking late into the night.

The next morning my friends got a little dose of what it's like to have little kids. No more sleeping in. lol! Fern is super good with kids and he was a good sport when Lil' C was trying his best to initiate a pillow fight.

Nino made us a great breakfast. And because our friends love their martinis and own more martini glasses than any other type of glass Lil' C was treated to OJ ala F & R style. 

The following two days were spent walking around South Seaport, visiting the Statue of Liberty, and seeing the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History.

When we were walking towards South Seaport we stumbled upon this 9/11 memorial. Lil' C asked me, "What is that Mommy? Why is there a fire here?". For a few seconds I was speechless.  How do you explain what happened on 9/11 to a 5 year old? But I did my best... I told Lil' C that what he was looking at was part of a very famous building that was destroyed by some very mean people. And that the fire was a way to remember all the people that died.

Lil' C enjoyed the boat ride to Liberty Park. The closer we got to the Statue of Liberty the more excited he became. He kept saying "There's the lady, Mommy."

We didn't go into the Statue of Liberty since the line was incredibly long and dark clouds were quickly rolling in. So we started to head back. Once we got off the boat Lil' C saw Spider-man and wanted to have his photo taken with him.

What I find so funny about this photo is that Lil' C has no idea who Spider-man is. He's too young to watch the real "Spider-man" movie. If he did, I think he'd be sleeping in our bed ALL the time. lol! I think it's so cute how he's posing just like Spider-man. After I snapped this photo I asked Lil'C, "Do you know why Spider-man was holding his hand like that?" His response was "I don't know, why?"

Before it started to drizzle Nino & Lil' C played for a few minutes in the fountains.

When we got back home Fern asked Lil' C to draw a photo of the Statue of Liberty and this is what he drew.

The following day it rained so it was a perfect day to spend at the American Museum of Natural History . Lil' C enjoyed exploring the Hall of Meteorites.

We had fun weighing ourselves and discovering which planets we would definitely have to begin dieting. lol!

2,075 Trillion Pounds! Looks like "On the Street" Supersta needs to lose a few pounds! lol!

Lil' C's favorite part of the museum was the Cosmic Collisions Space show at the Planetarium. He was so excited but also a little worried. Lil' C kept asking if it was going to be super loud and I assured him it wouldn't be any louder than a regular movie.... that is until the huge explosion. sigh. He covered his ears for about 5 minutes after that. Lil' C had a million questions for me throughout the movie. It was comical. "Mommy, what is that?... What's happening? What are those rocks going to do? How come those rocks are flying through outer space? Why is that on fire? What's going to happen to the dinosaurs? Where are those rocks going? Are they going to hit planet Earth? What's going to happen to the planet Earth? Mommy, is it over now? Now is it over? Is it over now Mommy?" and on and on. I'm telling you it was non-stop. lol! Lil' C barely let me answer his questions before another one popped out of his mouth. There was just about a second or two in between questions. I barely heard the commentary to answer his questions properly. lol!

The Museum of Natural History is huge. We saw lots of exhibits but focused mainly on the meteorites and fossil halls. It was really cool to see all the dinosaurs.

When we got back, Fern & Lil' C worked on a drawing together to remember what they saw during the Cosmic Collision show.

I had never thought of asking Lil' C to draw pictures of what he saw throughout the day. It's such a great way for young kids to record their travel memories.

The next morning we hopped on the subway back to the Bronx to spend the last few days of our trip with my grandparents.

This is the 6 train. The same one JLo used to ride when she lived in the Bronx. We left Manhattan at a great time and managed to miss all the commuter traffic. But I was still surprised to see that we were the ONLY people on the train.

Our trip into the City was really fun. I know Lil' C may not remember everything about this trip but I hope he remembers a few highlights. This was just a little taste of New York. There is still so much more I want him to see and do...tour the Guggenheim Museum, Met, Empire State Building and of course I can't forget about taking a walk on the Brooklyn Bridge, watching a game at the new Yankee Stadium, and seeing a play on Broadway. Slowly through Lil' C's lifetime I will show him why I love this city so much.

More Sleepovers

The drive to New York went by quickly. Before we headed to the West Point area to visit my girlfriend, SC, we stopped at Michaels. If there is one type of store I really miss it's craft stores. Europeans just don't have craft stores like Michaels, AC Moore, and Jo-Ann Fabrics. So Lil' C & I took our time and walked through all the aisles stocking up on art supplies and discovering lots of new crafty items.

Seeing SC was great! It's so much nicer to actually see your friends instead of just talking to them on the phone. lol! The last time I saw SC was when we lived in New York. Too much time had passed. Her little girl, E, is no longer so little and she now has a cute five month old baby brother. Lil' C & Lil' E got along great. They immediately bonded and began working on art projects. Lil' C had picked out some wooden treasure boxes at Michaels and they wasted no time painting & decorating them. Looks like SC & I passed on our love for craft projects to our kids. ;)

The next morning we had breakfast, said goodbye to the C family and drove to the local post office to mail all my Trader Joe & Michaels goodies. Once everything was packed we drove to a cafe to meet with my sister-in-law and her family. My sister-in-law just had a baby so Lil' C and I were excited to meet the new addition to the family. Meet Lil' H... She's so adorable.

 

After lunch we left and headed for NYC to see my grandparents.

The drive was absolutely stunning. This photo doesn't do any justice. The most beautiful parts of Upstate NY that I drove through were really hilly and windy roads with lakes and bridges. It was just gorgeous. Everything is so green and lush in the summertime. And the fall season is even more spectacular. Lil' C had fallen asleep so I just relaxed and took my time driving.

Within an hour and half we were in the Bronx with my grandparents. We had already spent two weeks with Nana but this was our first time seeing Papi since we left for Belgium. My grandparents are the best at spoiling us and making us feel completely at home. ;) 

Since we also had plans to spend the weekend with friends in Manhattan we were in a cab just a few hours after arriving at my grandparents. I've got to admit I was a bit exhausted. We were really on the go.

While we were in the cab driving to the subway station Lil' C looked over at me and said, "Mommy, why are we in this car with this stranger?" I started laughing. Something that was so natural to me was so foreign to him.  I explained to Lil' C, "This man is taking us to the train station so we can visit Nino & Fern in NYC. And Lil' C... NYC is one of the greatest cities in the world and Mommy is going to take you there."

Can we have a sleep over?

Saying goodbye to my parents was sad. And even though we've been practicing our airport goodbyes for 16 years now they're still hard. Lots of tears were shed as Lil' C & I said goodbye to Mema & Grandpa.

The next leg of our trip was definitely a go, go, go vacation. It was super hectic the first few days as each night was spent with a different friend. It helped we traveled super light... just 2 small carry on suitcases for 5 weeks. I still can't believe how light I packed. Despite my best efforts it was challenging keeping track of Lil' C's toys & clothes especially when he played dress up with Lil' E.

Lil' C has been asking me for a while if we can have a sleep over. A sleep over at 5 years old? What... isn't this a little young. Or am I just getting old. lol! I thought sleep overs start around 8-10 years old? I decided to take advantage of our situation and told Lil' C that we were going to have a sleep over at my friends house in NJ. My NJ girlfriend has three kids so for sure it would be a party! Lil' C was super excited and so was I. Of all my friends back in the U.S. I talk to Rox the most. We're been friends since we met in Germany. As the years have passed we've become very close. This girl can make me LAUGH and she makes the best cookies/pastries I've ever tasted. I remember right after I gave birth to Lil' C she sent me a big bag of chocolate chip cookies with a note that said, "Every new Mom needs chocolate".

It was still light outside when we arrived in New Jersey so I was able to appreciate all the beautiful old homes. Every home was different and surrounded by big oak & maple trees. You know those trees & gardens you only find in older, established neighborhoods. Very pretty. The drive reminded me of family drives to Long Island. We got to my girlfriends house around 8pm and she kept her kids up for Lil' C. They immediately connected and started playing. Lil' C was soooo happy! As soon as the kids were set, my girlfriends husband made me a Watermelon Mojito. Absolutely delish!! Before I could finish SP would have another one ready for me. Ohhhh... they were soooo good. I've been buying watermelon every since I've returned for the pure purpose of mixing a batch of this sweet concoction. Thanks a lot SP for getting be addicted to these! lol!  My girlfriend made me an amazing dinner... seared scallops, pasta, with an incredible cream sauce. It was a perfect summer night and we sat on her porch eating, talking, and laughing while our kids played. Around midnight the kids fell asleep while my friend and I sat talking into the wee hours of the night. Lots of good fun!

The next morning we woke up, got dressed and had breakfast at a local diner where everyone knows one another. I ate these amazing pancakes that were more like individual cakes. Very yummy.

After breakfast we walked to Trader Joes, my favorite grocery store. Rox's little boy, GP was such a sweetheart and he helped me shop while my girlfriend waited outside with the other three kids. I stocked up on my favorites like various types of granolas and sea salt pita chips. I also found lots of new items that I knew S would love. 

Once we got back from our shopping trip it was time to say goodbye. Poor Lil' C started crying. He was having such a blast he didn't want to leave. I think Lil' C would have been perfectly happy to live with my girlfriend and her family. Before we left New Jersey we snapped a few pictures & loaded the car with plenty of home-made goodies to eat on our two hour drive to New York.

Charming Little Durbuy

Sunday, we went to the Fête de la Bière, du Pain et du Fromage in Durbuy. The day was beautiful too... one of those perfect sunny, crisp, clear autumn days. Fall has definitely arrived. The Fete wasn't very big but we were excited to explore a new area.

Durbuy is a charming little city nestled among trees & a petite canal.

Navigating through the winding, cobblestone streets exploring antique shops was my favorite part of the day. Of course, Lil' C's favorite part of the day was rolling down a big hill. He could have rolled all day.

We also spent some time walking around Durbuy's topiary gardens.

I hope to visit Durbuy again especially if the good weather continues. We saw lots of signs for kayaking which would be lots of fun to try for next time.

On the Street with F.U.

Last night when I got home from La Fête de la Bière, du Pain et du Fromage in Durbuy I found an e-mail from my Baltimore friend TD asking me, "Is the last guy in the slideshow Fern?" with a link to the New York Times.

Hmm.. my curiosity peaked. I checked out the link and YES ... it was Fern!

How crazy is that? Actually... the more I think about it it's not crazy at all. Fern is the most fashion forward male I know. Seeing his photo was such a coincidence too. Just last week as I was telling TD about my NYC adventures I mentioned how cute Fern looked when he left for work... visualize white pants, red gingham shirt, navy blazer with a matching tie and cognac colored shoes and matching bag. Adorable. It was such a perfect summer look. I told TD how I need to enlist Fern in helping S with his wardrobe.

To be honest I'd never heard of "On the Street" with Bill Cunningham. I don't get the New York Times. Newspapers drive me crazy. There's just too much paper and it's everywhere. I think I'd prefer to be an online newspaper girl. Anyway... I did some research and this is what I discovered. Each week Bill takes to the streets of NYC to photograph people wearing beautiful clothes. In his photos, he records the connection between fashion shows and how people interpret those ideas. If you're into fashion it's fascinating really how people translate what they see in fashion shows into wearable everyday clothes.

After I watched the "On the Street" video clip, I called Fern and asked him why he didn't tell me he was starting a modeling career. lol! He casually mentioned that Bill takes his photo quite often and this just so happen to be the first time the photo was published. What Fern was most excited about was that he was being included in the "Men in their 20's" category!

You can see his photo (last one) on this week's edition of "On the Street".

Take me to the Alligators.

One of the places we took Lil' C while we were in Florida was to an Alligator Farm in the Everglades. Lil' C is fascinated with alligators and snakes so I knew it would be really fun. It was a small farm which was perfect since the heat & humidity level were in the triple digits and the mosquitoes were in full force. It was so hot that the sandwiches I packed were more like paninis. It was crazy hot!

The first event we saw was an alligator show. We learned about the differences between alligators & crocodiles, the anatomy of alligators and the health habits of these creatures. It was really interesting actually. But when the woman (about my size) dragged an alligator in front of us and teased him his jaws snapped so fast the whole crowd gasped & jumped. After the show we got to hold a small alligator. Lil' C had no fears and was one of the first to want to hold it.

After the show we went on an air-boat ride. This was my favorite part of the day. Riding through the marshlands was so much fun. Before getting on the boat they gave us headphones to protect us against the noise. We had no idea what to expect. We started out pretty slow and I didn't think we would actually need the headphones.

We saw lots of little alligators and a few big ones. It was a bit scary to be so close to these killer reptiles. lol! 

But when our driver told us to hang on, the noise level increased dramatically. Despite putting on the headphones the noise was super loud and we were going through the marshlands at high speed. Poor Lil' C hates noises so he stared crying. I put my hands over his headphones to block out the noise but he was still upset and kept his head down the entire time. It was a shame because it was so much fun. The air-boat was flying through the marshlands. We had a group of kids from a local camp in our boat so our driver was doing these crazy turns where the air-boat would spin around spraying water all over us. I love roller coasters and fast rides so I loved it. My sister & I kept laughing every time we'd spin around.

Lil' C couldn't get off the air-boat fast enough. Once we got back to land we headed for the snake show which Lil' C loved.

He enjoyed holding the snakes and couldn't wait to hold Banana (the non-poisonous yellow snake). I was a little concerned Banana weighed more than Lil' C but the woman said it was fine to have Lil' C hold him. So he did and he loved having Banana hang from his neck.

Once we said goodbye to Banana we went to see the Alligator Feeding Show. The alligators on the farm are fed very infrequently but for the show they throw a few rats into the area just to please the crowd. I've never seen alligators jump before but wave a rat in front of them and they jump just like dogs grabbing a biscuit.

When we got home Lil' C had plenty of stories to share with Nana & Mema.

Celebration Highlights

Both of my parents celebrated their birthdays in July. Being there to share the day with them was a special treat. Having family dinners are such a rare event for us that when it happens we savor the moment.

My grandmother also came to visit for two weeks which was great. She couldn't wait to see Lil' C.

Every year my girlfriend from VA spends a week in Florida and we just happen to be there at the same time. Her son & Lil' C are about 2 weeks apart and were good friends when we lived in VA. We made arrangements to meet at a local water park and Lil' C was so excited to see his friend. The minute they saw one another it was like they had never been apart. Very cute to see them together. While we were at the Water Park it started thundering and they immediately closed the park. It actually shocked me how quickly they close parks. So we spent the rest of the day at my parents place. It was great catching up with my girlfriend.

My girlfriend loves European style clothes so I bought the boys matching little boy shorts. Too cute!

The Alligator Ate It

Lots of good times were spent with my family in Florida. It wasn't a go, go, go type of vacation. More like pull up a lounge chair, grab a drink, and hang out with friends & family for some relaxation and good fun. The whole time we were with my parents they kept asking me. "Are you sure you don't want to go anywhere?" And I'd reply "Nope, I just want to hang out at the pool and relax."  But occasionally there would be a bit more excitement.

One day Lil' C found a fishing rod in the guest room closet and when I asked my Mom about it she mentioned it was my Dads. So Lil' C asked my Dad if he would take him fishing and of course my Grandpa agreed. The only problem was there was no bait. Well... my Dad is a Master Improviser. He wasn't going to let that stop him from taking his grandson fishing. So he opened up the refrigerator and grabbed a chicken leg leftover from the previous day and viola he had his "bait". lol!

Now there is a rumor going around my parents development about an alligator being in the lake. Some people including my sister & Lil' C swear they've heard the alligator. So even if the fish don't like the chicken surely an alligator would.

Lil' C had a great time fishing with his grandpa. And they patiently waited for fish. They never actually caught a fish but something did eat the chicken bait.  Lil' C is convinced it was the alligator.

Look out Vera Wang!

My little fashion designer at work. sigh. ;)

One of the highlights of going to Florida was being with my sister again and going shopping with her! We spent two days looking at wedding & bridal gowns. Lots of fun!

As we drove to the first bridal shop G talked to Lil' C and explained how they didn't allow children to play or touch the wedding gowns. Lil' C promised not to touch anything unless the sales consultant said it was okay. I hadn't really thought of how Lil' C would react to seeing so many elaborate princess dresses. But he surprised us all. He was interested in the dresses but not in the way we expected. As soon as we walked into the first store he was completely taken with a dress with gold roses. So much so he asked me for his notebook and began to sketch the dress. He sketched over two dozen dresses and put codes on them to indicate what color the dress was. Sometimes Lil' C  would ask my sister not to change dresses until he finished his sketch while other times he would wander the store searching for dresses he found beautiful. All the gown consultants kept commenting on how we had a little fashion designer on our hands. It was incredibly cute.

Here are a few of his sketches.

The little drawings next to the dresses are the matching veils. And the W stands for a "White" dress.

I love how detailed he was with the different designs.

 

I think this last one is of me. ;)

G looked absolutely beautiful in all the dresses. Of course there were some dresses that received more oh's & ah's. The mermaid style wedding gowns with the Spanish mantilla veil were my absolute favorite.

I love the lace overlay on this dress especially the way the lace pattern pops. There was one gown in particular my sister tried on that had champagne colored lace over white silk.... it was just breath-taking.

I love how in this photo you can see my Dad in the background. Can you see the book he brought with him? lol! You can tell he's a man that has shopped quite a bit with the women in his family. Smart man bringing a book. He knew we would be a while. ;)

In addition to looking at wedding gowns we also looked at bridesmaid dresses. My sister is actually going to chose a color and dress designer and all the girls in her wedding party will choose the style they want to wear. I must have tried on at least 35 dresses. They were all beautiful but there were certain styles & designers I preferred. So far my sister hasn't made any decisions on her gown or the bridal party. But one thing I know for sure... She's going to make a beautiful bride!