Silly Girl

A collection of a few of my favorite Audrey quotes lately:

*Commenting on the Volunteer Firefighters who stand outside at stop lights, etc. where our parents live to collect donations*
My brother: "They should just have a hot girl stand out there, they'd collect more money."
Audrey: "No, I don't want to stand outside."

"Get your whole life out of my business!"

Audrey: "How come you let me sleep in your room last night, Mom?"
Me: "Well I didn't feel well, and I wanted to go to bed early."
Audrey: "Oh. And you wanted a friend?"

Me: "So did you have fun today?"
Audrey: "Yea, don't you remember? You were there too."

Me: "Audrey, do you want to play Whack-A-Mole?"
Audrey: "What's Whack-A-Mole?"
Me: "A game where you smack things with mallets."
Audrey: "Yes! I want to smack things!!"

"I can't hug you. I'm Elsa. I'll freeze you."

Audrey's Birthday




Audrey's party was this past weekend. She had a blast, and it was worth the expense and all the planning, but I'm glad it's over. Unfortunately, Audrey and I both came down with a stomach virus a couple days before the party. The worst of it was over by Friday, but I couldn't do anything in the days leading up to the party. I had made a schedule for myself in order to get the cake and favors done and it all went out the window. By Saturday, the day of the party, I was finally feeling like a person again, so I was able to finish the cake at the very last minute. Last minute as in, I had planned to leave my apartment by 2:45 and I was still sticking fondant snowflakes on the cake in my yoga pants and tank top at 2:40. Needless to say, it made things even more stressful.

Everything ended up fine though. Most of her classmates came, everyone had a lot of fun, and I got a lot of compliments on the cake and cookies. I didn't even love how the cake came out. I wish I had had more time to work on it, but I'm not going to stress it anymore.

Frozen Cake

The finished snowflake sugar cookies

The finished party favors: Troll Magic and a cookie

 

 I was really happy we did the party at Chelsea Piers. I hadn't been to a party there before, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but they did a great job. For the first part of the party, the kids did various races on one of the basketball courts. Then they got to play in a huge, awesome bouncy castle. That part of the party especially was a huge hit.

The Coolest Bouncy Castle.

Later, they went back to the party room we were set up in and had pizza and cake. The staff was great - they were on top of not only serving everything, but keeping kids away from the cake and favors. I didn't have to do much, I could just enjoy it.

The next day was her actual birthday, but we had a very low-key day. Audrey loves bacon, so I had bought some for her birthday breakfast, planning to make pancakes to go with it. We were both still feeling run down and neither of us had much of an appetite, so I made the bacon and asked her if she wanted anything with it. She requested a slice of leftover pizza (from her party the day before). So Pizza and bacon it was. Ookkk. She opened her last few presents, and we spent most of the day playing with her new stuff. We went out to dinner, Audrey's choice. She chose the diner, haha. Fine with me. I do wish we had had a little more energy to do more, but she seemed to have a great birthday weekend anyway.

Happy Birthday, my wonderful girl.

Comic Relief

Whenever I've had a bad day and need a good laugh, (or even when I've had a good day but still want to laugh) I have a handful of websites that don't disappoint.

Hyperbole and a Half: Allie Brosh's hilarious stories, mostly about her own life, accompanied by so-bad-they're-good drawings. They're all awesome, but "This is Why I'll Never Be an Adult" is probably one of the most well known. Unfortunately, Allie doesn't update frequently, but the content is funny enough to read multiple times. She also released a book last year: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened.

The Oatmeal: Another website of comics, created by Matthew Inman. This one is updated pretty frequently. The topics vary - observations, stories, even educational stuff presented in a funny way. One of my favorites: the Minor Differences series. He has several books out: How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You, The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances, and a few others.

The Bloggess: Jenny Lawson's blog, comprised mostly of funny stories from her life. One of my favorites is an old one, but the first time I read it I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes: "And that’s why you should learn to pick your battles." Jenny also has a hilarious book: Let's Pretend This Never Happened.

Tumblr Post Compilations: Not any specific site, the link is just an example. For some reason some of these are ridiculously funny.

Pinterest: Browsing the Humor pins on Pinterest is always entertaining. These are too wide ranging to summarize, but I think Pinterest is how I initially came across Hyperbole and a Half.

Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Yesterday, I made a pot of Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. I had a bowl for lunch with a grilled sharp cheddar cheese sandwich. Ultimate cold weather comfort meal. Shockingly, I actually didn't even eat this as a kid. I was so picky. I only learned to appreciate this combo as an adult.

I put a couple servings in the fridge to have for dinner with Audrey one night this week and the other half in the freezer. It's one of my favorite soups - it's easy, healthy and of course, delicious. There's actually no cream in this soup. There's only 2 tablespoons of butter in the whole pot, and even that could probably be omitted if you don't eat dairy, and the chicken broth could be replaced by vegetable broth if you're vegan/vegetarian.



Yummmm

 


Excuse my paper plates - classy, I know. :)

Patience

I read two great articles lately that were similar to what I had in mind when I wrote the "Overwhelmed" post a while ago, although these are much more eloquent and in depth. "To the Furious Mom in the Target Parking Lot" and "The Difficult Empathy of Parenthood" both sum up an incident the writer witnessed in which a mom lost her patience with her child and snapped at him/her. Instead of judging the other woman, though, the writer sympathized with her and recounted incidents in which they too lost their temper momentarily and the guilt they felt afterwards. (To be clear, I'm talking about snapping verbally, not physical abuse.)

Taking care of another human being is hard. Recognizing how hard it is, sometimes, can't be done unless you've been there yourself. There is no such thing as a perfect mother, and I love that these articles show that everyone has their moments.

Favorite quotes from each:
"Having a child is a series of tiny successes and failures, all microscopic to the onlooker, all specific to our households alone in ways that cannot quite be explained. We are luckiest as parents when there is no audience to our failures. Failures are the hardest to explain, and yet those are the very instances when we are most desperate for a little understanding, a little empathy."
-The Difficult Empathy of Parenthood

"My anger leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and guilt in my heart. I hate that feeling, and I bet you do too, but sometimes the world just bursts into flames and you can't do anything but stand there, burning."
-To the Furious Mom in the Target Parking Lot

And remember ...

:)

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas ...

... But if the white runs out, I'll drink the red :)

I'm going to give a few of my coworkers a bottle of wine and these wine tumblers for Christmas this year. I'm really lucky that the four women I work with on a daily basis are awesome. Being a single mother has obviously affected my work life - long lunches for court errands, leaving early to pick up a sick child, having to alter my work schedule to accommodate my daughter's preschool schedule, and most importantly, just being there for me to vent. So I wanted to do something small to show them how much I appreciate it.

I came across these wine labels on Etsy and would love to add them to the wine bottles, they're awesome.

"Your family is backing away slowly, maybe calling a priest. Take me upstairs & lock the door to the bedroom. Drink until the homicidal thoughts pass." Haha!

Bits of Our Weekend - Halloween!

This past weekend was Halloween. I loved Halloween as a kid. Dressing up and trick or treating was a blast of course, there were always Fall Harvest type events going on at school and in the community, and most memorably, my family had Halloween parties every year.

Two of my three siblings and I are close in age but our birthdays are spaced out through the year. Instead of having three individual birthday parties, my parents held one big Halloween party. Back then we lived in a big house with a semi-finished basement, so the party was set up down there. One part of the basement was turned in a little haunted maze, another area was reserved for games and the main area was set up for dancing. My parents owned their own DJ company back then, so they provided the entertainment. Even my grandmother got involved. One year she did up her makeup to look like a corpse, popped her head through a hole in a table and scared kids walking by.

So I have fond memories of Halloween as a kid. The excitement wore off as I got older, but now I get to enjoy the holidays as a parent. Not only is the holiday itself fun, but the build up to it is exciting - parties, Halloween themed events at preschool, checking out decorations in our neighborhood. I decided to take off work for Halloween this year so we could head out to the Poconos. Our neighborhood has awesome decorations, but its so insanely crowded. It has apparently become known for its Halloween enthusiasm, because people from other neighborhoods/boroughs come to Chelsea. Last Halloween was the first year we really went trick or treating (the year before was Hurricane Sandy, so we stayed in and the prior year Audrey wasn't even a year old so we didn't do a lot). We could barely walk, so I wanted to try somewhere less crowded this year.

 

Some awesome carved pumpkins at Chelsea Market

We went trick or treating in Stroudsburg, in the neighborhood I grew up in, and I'm glad we did. There were a ton of kids, but the streets were closed to cars so it was easy to walk, although the sidewalks weren't bad. Audrey had an entourage - my parents, sister, younger brother, man-friend and a family friend Audrey adores. My stepfather also invited his coworker and her daughter, who is only a little older than Audrey. The little girl showed up in the exact same costume as Audrey - same Elsa dress and crown. So the two Elsas had a blast together. It seems every other little girl was Elsa - I counted 30 in an hour and a half of trick or treating :)

Queen Elsa and Uncle Ian.

 

Audrey and her new friend. They called each other Elsa all night

 

Audrey said I should be a princess kitty

Post trick or treating dinner at good old Friendly's.

The weather the rest of the weekend wasn't great, so we didn't do a lot outside of my parents house. I ran some errands Saturday (party preparation - snacks and baking supplies and decorations, oh my) and Audrey hung out with my mom. Saturday evening man-friend and I had some grown up hot chocolate and watched Chef. We went home Sunday afternoon.

Mmmmm

Our Halloween in the Poconos increased my indeciveness about living in the city. The build up to the holidays in the city is unbeatable, but the day of - holidays you go out to celebrate especially, 4th of July, Halloween - are always intolerably crowded. I could never move back to the Poconos, but there are parts of New Jersey that are appealing. In a perfect world, I'd keep my apartment in the city but also have a country place, as well as a car to make getting back and forth much easier. But since I don't live in fantasy land, I obviously need to make up my mind sooner or later.

Yes, Please!

I'm very excited to read Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please, which came out Tuesday. I'm currently rereading Michael Cunningham's Flesh and Blood, one of my all time favorites, but Yes Please is next on my list.

I've read some excerpts here and in People magazine while in my dentist's waiting room, and I've loved everything so far, so I'm sure the rest won't disappoint.

My favorite excerpts so far:

"It's a wonderful day when your child gets old enough to be bribed. It's a whole new tool in your arsenal."

"Decide what your currency is early. Let go of what you will never have. People who do this are happier and sexier."

"Watching great people do what you love is a good way to start learning how to do it yourself."

"You can create something and the world will be forever indebted to and dependent on you."
-Courtesy of The Huffington Post

"When your children arrive, your heart becomes a room with wide-open windows. You laugh hard every day. You think about the future and read about global warming. You realize how nice it feels to care about someone else more than yourself. And gradually, you start to see the world a little more. It can be hard, this life. Beautiful too. Mine is beautiful, mostly. Lucky me."
-Courtesy of People Magazine

Also, Amy recent did an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit - worth reading.

No, I will not donate ...

.. to your scholarship fund, NYU. Not now, probably not ever.

I've gotten several emails/calls lately under the guise of reminding me about my five year reunion, when really they just want to hit me up for donations. I'm starting to get a little annoyed.

Let me start off by making it clear that I paid for almost my entire tuition. I received next to no financial aid, although my parents made well under $100,000 a year when I applied. But apparently, the only way to get anything more than a couple thousand bucks is to be at poverty level. There was no way my parents could contribute a dime to my education either, but the powers that be determined that didn't matter. I made my choice to go to NYU knowing what kind of debt I'd be graduating with, though. That isn't my complaint. What I do resent is the badgering to donate to the scholarship fund.

First of all, they call it "Give BACK to NYU." What exactly am I giving back? I wasn't gifted my education. I paid for it. And will be paying for it for many years to come. Does this mean that my cable or cell phone company is going to start hitting me up for donations because they too provide a service that I pay for?

Second of all, WHO exactly is this money going to?? Like I said, my parents couldn't contribute a dime to my education, but I didn't get anything from this scholarship fund, so how do they determine who gets a free or greatly reduced ride and who gets saddled with hundreds of thousands in debt?

Third, I particularly scoffed at their second argument for donating (Their 6th most popular reason, 'I hear you, but I'm broke.') Seriously? If I have $18 and change to spare, and I'm going to donate it instead of, you know, putting it towards that $180k in debt I have, I can think of many, many more worthy causes. Homeless children. Animal shelters. Cancer research. NYU's scholarship fund falls very low on my list of causes I'd give what little money I have to.

If more people had donated, maybe I WOULD have gotten scholarship money, you say? Well, they didn't. If this campaign for donations means future kids who are more like me, who don't fall below the poverty line but would still have to take out massive loans to go to college, can have their load lightened, great. Good for them. But for the time being, let the people from my class who DID get the help, either from NYU or their parents, build up that fund, and let me worry about getting this massive student loan debt off my plate.

Bits of our ... Month

I hadn't done a weekend post in a while because, to be honest, the first few weekends of the month were rather uneventful. It rained a couple Saturdays in a row, so other than gymnastics, we stayed indoors. Most of our Sundays were spent at the park, running errands, etc. One Sunday we went to check out a party supply store in the Village to see what they had as far as Frozen party decorations (mostly a waste of time, same stuff that I found on orientaltrading.com, but twice as expensive - although it was fun to browse the costumes) and then hung out in Washington Square Park for a while. Another Sunday, man-friend and I went to see St. Vincent, which was very good, while Audrey was with her father.

Trying on ridiculous hats at the party store

 

 


One of our wonderful walks in the pouring rain to gymnastics

This past weekend was the first in a while we had more going on. On Friday, the practice group I work in had a Halloween party, and kids were invited. So at lunch, I went and picked Audrey up from preschool and brought her back down to my job. She changed into her Elsa costume there and then we went to the party. She loves my coworkers, and got a lot of attention at the party, as well as tons of sugar. My coworkers bought her a little Frozen purse to go with her costume, and she went home with it stuffed with candy.

 

She looks like she's rapping with this pose.

 

This was the reaction to "You've already had more sugar than you're usually allowed to have so no, you cannot have any more."

We went to the Halloween Harvest at Luna Park (Coney Island) this past Saturday. We lucked out with some gorgeous weather. The park was decorated for fall, and a lot of kids came in costume. They also had a bunch of activities going on, outside of the usual rides and games, such as pumpkin picking & painting, trick or treating for kids, free caricatures, among other things. One useful fact I learned: the park right next door, which you can literally see from Luna Park, is a whole separate thing. Any credits or wristbands you buy at Luna Park aren't valid there. I knew the Wonder Wheel was separate, but didn't realize all the other rides were as well, so I bought more credits than we actually needed, thinking there were tons more rides for Audrey than there actually were. Luna Park only had a handful of rides Audrey could actually ride, but at least the credits were good for games too. We played more games than I ordinarily would have, mostly because we had still a bunch of (nonrefundable) credits to use after Audrey was done with the rides.

 

 

This stuffed slice of pizza was one of the prizes we won. Probably one of the best carnival game prizes ever.

Next weekend is Halloween. We're both very excited. One of the perks of having a child is the new approach to the holidays - remembering what it was like as a kid, getting to see your own kid enjoy it, the preparations leading up to the holiday (picking out a costume, decorating, Christmas shopping). I'd stopped caring about holidays in my twenties pre-Audrey, so its fun to be excited about them again.

Little Black Dress

I'm in love with this Ann Taylor dress. I originally saw it on an episode of The Mindy Project and thanks to Google, was able to track it down online. Marked down to $129 with an extra 40% off sale items ... trying to talk myself out of it.

Loooove

Fruits & Veggies

I've had this link in my bookmarks for a while and randomly clicked on it this morning. I forgot how surprising this was. Each of these pictures is a representation of your daily recommend fruit & vegetable intake:



From "Here Are 10 Pictures of Your Daily Recommended Servings of Fruits & Vegetables"

 
Doesn't seem like much, does it? Most days I get at least this much into my day, although this weekend was lacking ...
 
Related: Jack LaLanne ate at least ten raw, fresh vegetables daily. Although some of his other habits were probably a little more strict than I could ever tolerate, I'm inspired to make sure I get at least the minimum fruits & vegetables daily.

Links & Pictures

Mash-up of pics and links ...

Excuse my dirty floor. I swear I vacuumed shortly after I took this pic. Anyway, I caught little miss Maddie under the table like this. I walked around to the other side to see what she was doing ...

Sure enough, something naughty. She's obsessed with trying to steal the cat's food. She prefers it to her own, apparently. We've had to feed the cat on paper plates lately because whenever she managed to get to his food, she'd eat it then promptly to destroy the plastic bowl. She went through three of them. I ordered him a new one, and this time went with metal.

One of the kids in Audrey's preschool class brought in a lawn gnome for show & tell. I don't know why I found this so funny, but I did.



Currently reading one of Stephen King's recent books, Mr. Mercedes. Love that he referenced It, the movie that was based on one of his own books. Being able to use your own work as a cultural reference is pretty bad ass.



I probably used many of these as AIM away statuses back in the day :)

Love this article about hyper-parenting

And this similar article about parenting. To sum up both: Calm the hell down.

Emma Watson's awesome HeForShe speech (this links to the text, with a link to the video at the bottom)

Mmmm, ice cream.

Will definitely have to watch this

Love seeing how quickly this map is changing