v.2

There has been a lot of things going on the past few days and I have not had a chance to update the blog. I want to make sure I get this down before I forget and hopefully make a more detailed post when things calm down a bit.

Saturday we went to dim sum with the gang to Chinatown’s Golden unicorn, our usual place. We ate like pigs because the bill was more than usual. Sienna was with Grandma and Grandpa and they took her to the playground and had their own dim sum in the neighborhood. Sunday we took Sienna to the Prospect Park Zoo in lieu of going apple picking. We are not ready to invest the 1.5 hour drive to upstate. It was cold and windy but we buttoned up Sienna and she seemed to really have a good time.

Monday Sienna spent some time with grandma and grandpa again so I could get some work done. I got a typing job from Alison, I’m tying up the final details for Carrie’s Save the Date card and the freelance brochure design from Nice Spots is back! There was a little bit of an episode on Monday when my dad brought her upstairs to change her diaper. Once Sienna saw me, she just wanted to be with me and didn’t want to leave. I brought her down for lunch and managed to leave so I can run some errands in the ‘hood. It actually worked out. Whew!

And speaking of episodes, Sienna had another one Sunday night. She had one the previous Sunday night as well but this one seems worse. She would cry out in the night. We try to ignore it and usually she stops and goes back to sleep. She kept crying and stopping then crying and stopping. Last Sunday night I actually almost slept on the floor in her room so I can soothe her everytime she cried out for me. Yves made me realize that was just silly and something I should not get her used to. He’s right and I guess my brain wasn’t functioning at 2:30 in the morning. I figured this was the 18 month regression a month later since she was born a month early. I was dreading the next night but nothing happened again until the following Sunday. (I hope this doesn’t become a Sunday thing!) Yves went in and I went in but she kept crying and then stopping and then crying. Yves compared her to the snooze button on  alarm clock. Just when you fall back asleep, it goes off again! It was especially hard for Yves because he had work the next day (last week was Columbus Day).

And now yesterday the plan was for my parents to watch her while I do more work/errands. She had a bit of a runny nose when she woke up and felt a little warm. I gave her tylenol. It was another cold and windy day and with the runny nose, I didn’t think the playground was a good idea. She was a bit cranky when my parents came over and Barney was the only thing that let me leave. I went over to Trader Joes and the craft store for yarn for my projects. My dad called and she definitely had a fever so more tylenol for her. She didn’t take her nap and the only thing that kept her relatively calm was watching TV. I spent the whole afternoon watching Sesame Street with her. Whenever I tried to shut it off and get her to play with her toys a little bit, I get whining and crying. I figured she’s sick and gave her special TV time because of it. She threw up a little bit after eating a little lunch and wasn’t interested in food after that. We put her to bed at 6!! There was a few cryings but for the most part, the night went fine. I hope she is better today!

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I finally got around to doing a Gocco print of the Bob shirt I attempted to make here with the EZ screen print. I have to say that out of all the Gocco prints I’ve made, this is the one I’m most satisfied with probably because of it’s simplicity. If you or anyone you know wants this same shirt, just send me a shirt and I’ll print it on there!

It came out a little off center but don’t think it’s really a big deal. She sported it on Saturday at pumpkin picking.

I’m also happy to have started AND finished a monkey embroidery shirt for Sienna. I bought the t-shirt stabilizer months ago and did not use a hoop for this. It took me about 3 nights of doing this. I can’t say embroidery is my favorite thing as the process is much slower than crocheting, my eyes don’t see so well for precision needle sticking, the backs look so sloppy and I just plain suck at it. But you know, it came out pretty cute even tho the mouth is a little messed up!

(I just realized that these 3 shots were taken with 3 different cameras! ha!)
She sported the shirt today at the playground but with a sweatshirt on, couldn’t really show it off!

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Saturday we met up with Tammy, Mark and Vitamin Z at the Queens County Farm Museum for some pumpkin picking (or pumpkin picking upping as corrected by Yves as we weren’t literally picking pumpkins, just picking them up off the ground) I was unsure about the place, it being Queens and all, but it wasn’t bad! It was actually perfect for Sienna. Not too overwhelming but enough things to entertain her. There were farm animals (a cow, sheep and horses) and some sort of birds roaming around (which I thought were turkeys but no one agreed with me) and chickens and roosters. There is a corn maze but there was a sign that said it was a bit muddy so we didn’t bother. And we picked up lunch at the lone food stand where they made gyros and kebabs which were actually pretty good! Go figure! Zack ended up having to leave a bit early as he was cranky from being woken up from his nap to meet us.

running after the unidentified birds

Mark and mini Mark

Zack as snuggle bunny

Sienna kept trying to pick up huge pumpkins!

So many pumpkins! Which one to pick?

This one!

Tammy & Mark choose 3 pumpkins. I asked what they were going to do with them and Tammy said roast the seeds. She asked what I was going to do with ours and I said ‘decorate it and let it rot!’

At first Sienna didn’t want to go up to the chickens or the cow. We had to convince her it was ok.

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Bronx Zoo 9/04

I think Sienna is afraid of elephants. Not the real kind as we haven’t taken her to the Bronx Zoo just yet but the fake bad looking ones. I think this because twice this week she got really upset when there was an elephant on Sesame Street (again, the fake kind). I just googled elephant and Sesame Street and I think the elephant is Elefante but I can’t be sure. Anyway, I usually put on Sesame Street in the morning so I can take a shower and get dressed in relative peace. Tuesday’s episode wasn’t as bad as Friday’s episode. On Friday, she clinged to my leg crying but still looking at the TV. I had not yet taken a shower yet so could not just leave (like on Tuesday) so I changed the channel instead to Fifi and the Flowertots, which is one of her favorites. I figured I could sit with her for a few minutes and then make a break for the shower. Nope. Everytime I tried to make a move, she would cry and cling to me. Sigh. Barney comes on after Fifi. I hate Barney. The kids on that show overact besides being dressed like real nerds, the nerdy nerd kind not the cool nerd kind. I even got upset with Yves when he was taping Barney shows for Sienna. Sienna likes Barney. I just think Sienna doesn’t know any better and would prefer to expose her to more cool shows like Jack’s Big Music Show or Yo Gabba Gabba. Well, on Friday Barney was the only thing that let me run into the shower. Sigh… Granted, she still ran in for me while I was in the shower but then it held her attention again while I was getting dressed. Damn you Barney!! What is your hold on children?! Are you secretly a cult and brainwashing them? I still hate Barney and vow only to use him when I am desperate. You haven’t gotten me Barney!!  (shaking fist in the air!)

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Sunday we took Sienna to the Atlantic Antic. We went last year as well but she was confined to her car seat stroller. She was running around loose this time and quite enjoyed herself! She got a balloon and was a dancing fool!

Yves took this cute series of photos:

We didn’t find the yummy empanadas we got last year tho. Sienna gobbled up the spinach pie from Sahadi‘s and then we ended up getting those mozzarella on corn bread sandwiches that you always see at street fairs (which I never got before!) It’s a bit sweet but good and Sienna really liked it. Here is one of her dancing sequences on video (e-mail or comment for the password!). This one is my favorite!

Dancing Fool from Lisa on Vimeo.

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Miss soon to be world traveler got her passport on Friday! It came shockingly quick as we went on the 19th to apply and the postal clerk said 6 weeks! It’s all fancy with watermarked photos in color on each page!

We need to fill it up now mommy.

And here Sienna is all busy at my desk ‘talking’ on the phone with my mouse. She loves to sit at my desk and ‘type.’

And here is poor Daddy as a horse.

Daddy the horse from Lisa on Vimeo.

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Saturday we checked out the newly opened Brooklyn Children’s Museum in Crown Heights. Last weekend was the grand opening and they were still having a special where families arriving before 11 get in for free. No problem there! Not that I wouldn’t mind paying but the time works well for us and we were there waiting to get in at 10 am when the doors open. Such a very cool place! There’s a section called Totally Tots (for the under 5 crowd) and there was a slide, an art area, water area, sand, ‘theatre’, book nook, dolls and a noise making area. So cool!! It got quite crowded in there by 11 with mostly parents hovering over their kids. It got to be a little much for Sienna so we went to check out the other areas. They had a mini Brooklyn neighborhood with a bus and a bunch of stores (grocery, chinese store, caribbean store and L&B Spumoni gardens where you can make your own ‘pizza’). There was a bunch of different nature areas and we also checked out the cafe (not much of an eatery.) Membership is really cheap too but the times don’t work out for us. They close Mondays and Tuesdays, open from 1-6 the rest of the week and only Saturday and Sunday are they open 10-6. I’m hoping since it’s because they just re-opened that they just have short hours. Hopefully they will add more hours as they work out the kinks because this is a perfect place to take Sienna during the winter on a weekday!

Playing with the blue sand with daddy.

Playing with the sand next to other kids

Of course the slide is one of the first things she goes to!

Imitating the python?

Pointing out the parakeet

She’s always on the move!

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We’re fortunate enough to have a car and the opportunity to go to vast amounts of playgrounds in Brooklyn.  I believe we take full advantage of that! Within the last month, we’ve gone to at least 9 different playgrounds! They all have relatively different layouts, different play structures and different people with pros and some cons for all of them. During the summer, we went over to Bay Ridge a lot and went to 3 different ones over there with Owls Head being our favorite. You can close off the area and there’s always a good amount of kids there (not too little and not too many). The sprinklers are in a separate section and the bathrooms are new and clean. The one at 83rd and Colonial is right behind my alma mater, Fort Hamilton High School. The last time we went there (to meet Layla and Rawya), the marching band was practicing. It sent chills up and down my spine hearing the band play. (I played the flute in the HS band.) I found myself looking for the teacher to see if it’s the same one even though it was over 15 years ago (it wasn’t). I think the sprinklers in this playground are Sienna’s favorite because she usually goes right into them.

Rawya and Sienna

Swings and raspberries at 79th street.

Here’s a cute video of Sienna and Yves at Owl’s Head (comment or e-mail me for password)

“I don’t want to” from Lisa on Vimeo.

Now that summer is officially over and the cold weather is coming, I wanted to go to the local playgrounds more often. My least favorite one is the East 14th Street one because there are always old men there smoking cigarettes (and it’s small). YUCK. We only go there if we have errands to do around there. The Bedford one isn’t bad but there are also old people hanging out there as well. So far no smokers among them at least! And recently, we’ve been going to the East 36th street one to meet up with local mom Jana and her 2 little girls Emma (2.5) and Leah (11 months). I like that one even tho the first time I went, there was a lot of garbage around and the bathrooms aren’t very close.

stay clear of the smokers!

she can go up and down this slide all day!

East 36th

We also go to the Bay Parkway one when we have to go to Caesar’s Bay for errands. I didn’t like it at first because it’s pretty big and there were lots of older kids there running around. The second time we went (Saturday), it was better.

This wooden walkway became a slide for Sienna!

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We finally headed over to Brooklyn Bridge Park so I can check out the waterfalls art exhibit. There has been some controversy surrounding it. It seems the salt water splashing up from the ocean is killing all the greenery and turning it brown. I still wanted to check it out before they shut it down. What can I say, I have a thing for waterfalls. Well, it wasn’t on! I was a little bummed as I just wanted to see it even though Yves thinks it’s a farce. Oh well. We headed over to the playground! We don’t come down this way too often as it is a little bit of a trek but I do love this area. The Brooklyn Bridge is my favorite bridge so any shot with it in the background, I love! Like this one!

And to be fair, here’s a shot with the Manhattan Bridge in the background. I think Sienna liked the sounds of the train as she kept looking up and pointing to it whenever the trains came by and saying some semblance of the word ‘train’.

We decided to go to Bubby’s for lunch. The good thing about having lunch at around 11ish, there isn’t a wait! By the time we came out, there was a little bit of a wait for a table. I give it a A+ for the super kid friendly atmosphere (they even gave Sienna water in a plastic cup with a lid and a straw! This was given with our water for the table!) and the fact that the men’s room also had a diaper changing station! And they get another A+ for great food! I got a turkey blt and Yves got a grilled ham and cheese. My turkey blt was awesome! Yves’ was good but a little bit on the salty side (from the mustard and the pickles, not from the ham!) But the fries were fabulous! Needs no ketchup fabulous! And for Sienna we got a side of french toast and apple cider. She ate more than I thought she would!

I also want to document something that happened last Friday, the 12th.  Something I call the ‘poop incident.’  Normally Yves does the bathing duties during the week but he was working late that night (as well as Wednesday and on Saturday!) So I’m bathing Sienna, everything is going as it usually does when I smell a foul odor. Sienna farts. No biggie, not the first time. I joked with her that I didn’t see any bubbles! Then next thing I know, I hear a plop. Then another plop and Sienna is standing there looking back toward her butt. She’s taking a poop in the bath!! I was so dumbfounded I just did not know what to do! This has never happened before nor have I even read about something like this in all the motherhood stuff that I read! I was frozen in shock. I didn’t know whether to laugh or freak out (I did both!) I went with my first instinct and got some toilet tissue and scooped it up. Yes, I know, not a very smart move as the tissue fell apart once it hit the water. Oh well. I just proceeded to pick it all up with the tissue anyway and threw it in the toilet. Thankfully it wasn’t a mushy poop! I drained all the water out and basically re-bathed her. What a memory!

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Today is Yves’ birthday! Happy Birthday sweetheart! We’ve already started celebrating! On Sunday my parents took us out for dim sum in the neighborhood and we came back and had carrot cake. That is one of Yves’ favorite cakes. It was good but way too much cream cheese icing. They layered the cake with cream cheese icing in the middle, we never had it that way before. I guess they made it special for birthday cakes.

On Monday, Yves took off work (since he had to work on Saturday) so I took him out to lunch to the Mill Basin Kosher Deli. The reviews were good and they said it’s Brooklyn’s best kept secret. It was good, I wouldn’t say it was great. Yves got pastrami on rye and I got stuffed cabbage and pierogies. We also shared a side of french fries as they looked interesting when the waitress brought them out for another table. I wanted to try their pierogies to see if there was a more local place I can get my fix. They don’t have anything on Raymund’s!

Yves’ classic look of ‘what the hell is that? And why did you order it at a Kosher Deli?’

Not exactly what we would call overstuffed. Guess we’re just pigs!

I liked the fried onions with it but I could have used sour cream!

These must have been some big potatoes!

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