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Who knew under all that hair that Skippy was really a chihuahua? HA! I took him for a long overdue haircut yesterday and told the groomer to cut off as much as possible. It’s just been so hot here that poor Skippy is constantly panting. I don’t have a recent photo of Skippy with his long hair, which is probably best as I might get reported for animal abuse! I took him to the local groomer, a place I’m not totally crazy about (apparently it has been 2 years since I took him there!) because I don’t really like how they cut. But I spoke with the groomer and she was very friendly and seemed to generally care about her clients. I told her she could cut it all off, even the face. I wasn’t aware that they could cut off his whiskers! I think he looks super cute! We took him to the park afterwards and Sienna was so very responsible with him. She didn’t let go of his leash at all and didn’t even go play at the playground because she just wanted to stay with Skippy.
It’s hard to work with kids and animals! I couldn’t get them both to look at the camera at the same time. I tried again this morning:

Now if only I could get Neo to pose! HA!

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Sunday was my 41st birthday. Yikes. They say that once you have kids, it’s all about the kids. I don’t think that should be true. It should be mostly true but I don’t think you should forget about yourself either. I have always made a semi big deal about my birthday during my adult years (I always hated having a summer birthday during my childhood because no one was ever around for parties so I made up for it as I got older) although not as big a deal as some other people. A simple group dinner with some good friends always made me happy.

It’s true that my birthdays of the last 3 years have been pretty low key and I have learned to appreciate the little things. So this Sunday, I appreciate that I was able to sleep in (until 9 am!! Haven’t done that for awhile.) That my beautiful daughter and husband greeted me with birthday kisses in bed (and let me go back to sleep!) That Yves made me the cutest birthday card! That Yves made me breakfast! That Yves took Sienna to the playground even if it was the shortest trip ever. Sienna was excited to get back home and have birthday cake! HA! That my parents bought me ice cream cake for my birthday without a fuss (it’s their tradition to buy the birthday cake and it’s almost ALWAYS cake with fruit from the Chinese bakery and my mother is not a fan of ice cream cake.) And that I got a ton of birthday wishes on my Facebook page! Ok, so I know FB tells you the birthdays of your friends coming up but it was still nice to receive all the well wishes.

As Sienna gets older, I do plan on making a big deal about my birthday again. Definitely for the big 5-0. Oy. Let’s not think about that now…Maybe the big 4-5. 😉

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The Pool! We all really enjoyed the pool, especially Sienna. She was so confident with her floaties, going in the deep end and everything. Whenever the noodles were available, I snatched it to use and Sienna even used it once.

The Eats! The most stressful part of the vacation was figuring out where to eat. There were lots of options and part of the problem was reading all the reviews online. Every place had both bad and good comments so it was still hard to make a choice. The hotel gave coupons for a few restaurants like Beach Bun and Burgers and we actually went twice. The first time was better than the 2nd but the cook was different so I think that made a difference. There was also Blue Fugu Japanese Steakhouse. I thought it would be fun for Sienna to see the chef cook food in front of her. She really wasn’t that amazed. The food was good but like all Japanese Steakhouses, pricey. We probably wouldn’t have gone if we didn’t have a coupon. Plus we met a woman who recommended Buono Pizza for Italian, which we ended up going to when we saw the Thai place we originally planned to go was too expensive. It was really good! We both got sandwiches (not pizza) and they were huge. Of course there was the Waffle House, an Yves favorite. We went there almost every morning for breakfast. The last standout is a Thai restaurant we went to the very last night and if we discovered it sooner, probably would have went back. Nori Thai which also has sushi. The food was very good. The one place we went to that was a real disappointment to me was a seafood restaurant called Friendly Fisherman. I was bugging Yves to go to a seafood restaurant and we didn’t go to the one I really wanted to and went to this one out of convenience, well, we paid for it. The food was tasteless. There was also Bella Habana, a Cuban restaurant that everytime we passed, I told Yves we should go there. Finally got him to go and he LOVED his dish (fried cow) while I thought my ropa viejo was just ok. At least Sienna loved the chorizo.

Most lunches were mainly in our room.

We only ventured away from the pool and beach a couple of times. One time to check out the Pier, which was disappointing because it really wasn’t much and it’s “aquarium.” I use the quotes because I feel aquarium is used loosely. It was basically a big room with tanks in it. Literally took 15 minutes to walk around and only because we slowly looked at things. At least we ran into a pelican. One afternoon we went to a playground across the street. Bad move. That lasted 5 minutes! It was too hot and no shade. We went back to the pool. HA!

The hotel had a parrot named Houdini and Sienna went to say hello to him every chance she got, which was several times a day!

And somehow Sienna managed to get Yves to buy her a Minnie Mouse doll at Wal-mart.

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A couple of weeks ago, before my gluten free quest, we had the luck of having lunch with two of our good friends on two separate days. Yves was finally able to join Pete and I on a weekday lunch outing! Since we can no longer count on Lento’s as our go to thin crust pizza place, we tried Vezzo’s which I’m sure is related somehow to Gruppo’s, which me and Yves have gone to before. We ordered a pizza with carmelized onions, homemade meatballs and olives. It was quite tasty but the olives were a bit salty. The menu said black olives but kalamata olives were on the pizza. It was still good!

The day after, we had lunch with Joy and went to a panini place I’ve been wanting to try, Press 195. I like my steak and avocado sandwich and the frites and the dessert (nutella and banana press with ice cream) we got but I don’t think it was as awesome as I was lead to believe by some reviews I read. But I believe a lot of the reviews were for their Queens location. They did a good job with the kid plates by including sliced apples, which Sienna ate all of! Plue, there are over 40 sandwich combinations! I’m glad I got to check it out!

The frites were ok

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What an exhausting week it has been! Aside from discovering I have Hashimoto’s and deciding to go gluten free, we also started some serious potty training for Sienna. Mind you, we got her a portable potty last year or maybe even earlier than that and some underwear soon after. She showed some interest last year for a bit but nothing ever really became of it. Potty training has been something I’ve been dreading since she was born so I didn’t really push it. Truth is, I was just being lazy about it. But I gave myself a deadline that she was definitely going to be trained by the end of the summer. That would make her almost 3.5 years old and there was no way I wanted her still in diapers at that age.

Anyway, last Sunday evening she said she wanted to wear underwear. Ok! I figured it was time to go for it and to go for it full strength. Enough of this already! She had an accident soon after I put them on her. That’s ok, it was the beginning. Monday, we decided to stay home and played in the back area. She had several accidents that morning. By the 3rd underwear change, I decided not to change her out of it so quickly and let her be a little uncomfortable in the wetness. I wasn’t sure how well that was working because after a few minutes, she just went about her business playing. That afternoon, I had my doctor’s appt and Yves said she didn’t have any accidents at all! Woohoo! Ok, maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all! Tuesday morning, accident. Right after she said uh-oh, a big stream came down her leg. Oh, bummer. But Tuesday was more successful than Monday. By Wednesday I was pulling my hair out. I wanted to get out (mind you, it was beautiful sunny weather we were having!) and also go shopping to fill up the kitchen with some gluten free options. I decided to go for the gold and venture out with Sienna. I put on her underwear and then also a pull up. I wanted her to wear the underwear so that if it gets wet, she will feel it better than if it was just the pull-up. I also bought a bunch of extra underwear, pants and pull-ups with me. We headed out to Trader Joe’s. Once we got there, we went into Michael’s first to use the rest room. She went on the potty! Went shopping at TJ’s, drove home and no accidents! Woot!

I also have to add that I ended up going the M&M route and only started it on Wednesday. It worked for 2 other moms I know and somehow I ended up doing it. Yves was really resisting doing it and I agreed. We both felt that you shouldn’t have to get a reward for doing something that you’re supposed to be doing but I’m just going to look at it as an incentive. Everyone needs incentives, right? Well, it was working!! So far it has only been pee in the potty although quite a few times she claimed number 2 was coming but nothing ever came. Never came into the potty that is! She had a poop accident at the playground on Thursday. I wasn’t surprised. She was threatening poop all morning. But after that, everything has been really uphill! She did not have any accidents from Friday thru today (except for one minor one and we’re talking really minor!) Her diaper was even dry this morning! We are so proud of her! She didn’t even want to put on a night diaper either. By no means do we know this training is over. And I have to be prepared for some regression. We’ll see!

And to add to the exhaustion of the week, Sienna has been getting up at 5 in the morning! She has done that occasionally every now and again but now it’s been close to 2 weeks! So we thought taking away her afternoon naps would help her sleep in longer. We started that on Wednesday and she is still getting up at 5!! ARGH! I have no choice but to ride it out and hope this phase will end. And to top all that off, I received a consuming freelance job. This week has flown by. I wish I could just sleep…

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An audible gasp can be heard from chefs, bakers and restaurant workers around the world!

Ok, I’m being overly dramatic but yes, I am going to try going gluten free. That means omitting wheat (durum, semolina, farina, bulgur, cake flour, matzo, couscous, etc.), rye and barley from my diet. A big no to bread, cake, cookies, pizza, spaghetti, beer, etc. But I can still have rice, potatoes, corn for all my carb cravings.

I decided to go this route after being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis., an autoimmune disease that mistakingly attacks my thyroid gland. While it is not life threatening, it does affect by general being. I got diagnosed by the rheumatologist who basically told me I just have this and that there is nothing I can do about it (since I already take medication for my hypothyroidism-connected to Hashimoto’s but not interchangeable, I’m still a little confused about it but a good article is here). That pissed me off. I waited 2 hours in his waiting room (better than the 3 hours at my first visit) and then another 15 in the exam room for him to tell me this and not have a treatment or any advice for it? Something he could have told me over the phone (which is what he said he was going to do after my first visit and told me he wasn’t going to put me through the wait again. HA! I can’t help but hear ka-ching as insurance money dives into his deep pockets). Anyway, I did some online research and many people who have this disease has said that when they went gluten free (with Vitamin D and fish oil supplements) they felt so much better and ‘reversed’ the disease. I put reverse in quotes because doctors say this disease has no cure.

And can I give a shoutout to the positives of Facebook? I put in my status that I was going gluten free and asked if anyone else is and loving it. I got such wonderful and helpful positive responses. Sure I know I can easily find a lot of info online about going gluten free,  a little too much so it’s wonderful to be able to just go to some of the resources people I know use. And to find out that someone else I know also has Hashimoto’s! I would not have found this out without FB.

Anyway, I don’t know how strict I have to be gluten free but figured I at least try to be in the beginning and see how I’m feeling and then eventually add some gluten back in. Just to see. It’s going to take some extra work going GF, especially going out to eat. I’ll just take it one day at a time!

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So the last weekend in March was a bit chilly so we opted to go to the Staten Island Children’s Museum. Both Yves and Sienna really enjoy that one. We got there around 10:30 only to discover it was closed! They were having a special Easter event out on the front lawn so the museum was closed for that. The event starts at noon and we were told we should come back for that. Well, what a bummer! Sienna was really upset and even started crying. Poor thing! Since we’re not from the area we had no idea how to occupy our time in order to come back for the special event. We were a little upset about this closure, especially since we checked the website right before we left! So since the museum is on a cultural center (Snug Harbor), we walked around that area. Unfortunately Yves wasn’t really dressed for being outside but he toughed it out and we managed to pass an hour by. By the time we walked by the museum, it seems like they started the festivities even tho it was before noon so technically, we could have checked it out. But because we were kind of mad at the museum, we decided not to and just go to lento’s for lunch. Good news for me! Yves realized that their pizza is subpar to the Bay Ridge Lentos (and our own) that he declared we are not to go back there again! Yay! (I always thought it was subpar and I think Yves was still holding onto the memories of the BR Lentos.) Now we need to find another lunchtime place for our future visits to the Children’s museum. Anyone know of any??

Walking into the ‘scary jungle’


Sienna kept saying “Come here duck, I want to pet you.”

Yves kept saying “Come here duck, I want to pet you.”

This tree tunnel will look really pretty when the leaves come in.

A castle!

Hello? Anybody home?

Found a magic stick!

Found a stage!

Snug Harbor from Lisa on Vimeo.

I do want to say that I e-mailed the museum to suggest putting special events and notices on their visit us page. I had checked their calendar when we came back later that day to make sure it wasn’t something we missed. It did say there was a special event but it did not say the museum was closed! They were nice about it and even sent us 5 free passes for another visit.

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Easter Sunday I had in mind to go down to the newly opened Pier 1 of the {still renovating} Brooklyn Bridge Park for a picnic with Yves and Sienna. Sienna had a slight fever of 100.3 so we opted not to go. Her fever was gone on Monday so I felt it was ok to go to the Etsy Labs and had some time to check out the area before going to the labs. Not what I had imagined but very pretty anyway. There is still a lot to be done with the park and I’m really surprised about all the things they are planning! A beach! A tidal pool! Here’s the plan!

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Yesterday was Easter Sunday and a beautiful 70 degrees. It’s too bad Sienna had a fever in the morning and threw up twice in the afternoon! My poor baby! ;-( She is better today, thankfully! Friday was the 2nd annual Easter Egg hunt that Starr so graciously organized again. It was a big difference weather wise than last year! And Sienna was pretty good with getting a decent amount of eggs unlike last year!

She’s ready to fill her basket!

On the hunt! She shared her find with Sylvie.

Look at all that she got!

Nico’s loot

Phoenix shows off some bling she got in one of her eggs!

Nico raiding his eggs!

Sienna was asking Nico if she could sit next to him. His only concern was his candy! LOL

Izky shows off a cool dinosaur head egg!

Chocolate face!

Carter stops by and is wearing the shirt I made him!

Sienna’s getting pretty good riding the scooter (Izky’s)

Pizza afterwards. She didn’t get any on her shirt!! Which, btw, is a Peeps shirt I made for her that I will blog about soon!

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Wednesday I had what I thought would be my final dentist appointment (which turns out to be my second to last). He was putting in my permanent cap for that unexpected root canal I had back in December. He only used temporary cement to test out the cap before I have to go back in and get permanent cement. Anyway, since my parents are in Denver, I didn’t have anyone to watch Sienna so we decided to drop her off at her daddy’s work for a couple of hours. She was really excited about it. My appointment was at 10:15 and we left at 7:30 just to be sure because of the extra train transferring. Everyone at Yves’ work loved her! They gave her all sorts of presents (dolls, balls, backpacks!) and Crusher even came along! Yves had work to do so when I got back from the dentist, we had to go to lunch without him. We got home a little before 2 and Sienna willingly took her nap! Such excitement for the day!

On the way!

On the way home

Train cuteness

Train talking

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