NY Aquarium

The NY Aquarium is right next to Coney Island. I want to return when the weather is warm so we can do both the boardwalk and visit the Aquarium after the renovations are complete.  

Currently,  the aquarium is under major renovations because of the damage from Hurricane Sandy. This still did not stop us from having a great time!! It was the kids' first time at an aquarium, so I actually liked that it was small and we were able to see everything in 1.5  hours. We got to touch coral, feel the sharp teeth of a piranha, observe hundreds of beautiful fish from all over the world swim together, watch sharks up close, watch a sea lion show AND experience 4D spongebob! We did not stay for the animal feedings, but they also do penguin and sea otter feedings. Unfortunately, the walrus exhibit was closed because of the construction. 

We sat in the 3rd row at the Aqua Theater for the sea lion show and the kids were AMAZED! During the show, the Sea Lions come around to greet the audience and if you sit in the front, they bark right at you! Henry and Em were definitely surprised! 

Also, PACK YOUR LUNCH! The cafeteria is under renovation, so there is no place to buy food. There are outdoor picnic tables, so dont forget to dress warm (temp is a bit cooler because of the ocean breeze).

Henry and the Piranha

shark tank

Em up close to the shark tank

PACK YOUR LUNCH! Cafe is under renovation.

Sponge Bob 4D! Bubbles and vibrating chairs...

PERFECT DAY!!!

It was a GORGEOUS 60 degrees today! Not only was the weather PERFECT but I also had a GREAT day! Wish every day was like this!

Day went like this: dropped Henry off at school, went to yoga in the AM, drank a mocha flavor Shake-o!, went for a run around the Jackie kennedy reservoir, kids got to enjoy this beautiful weather with their friends and the BEST PART WAS DINNER DATE WITH HENRY (&EM).

It was my first time taking both kids out to dinner by myself.. and it was a SUCCESS! We went to bareburger and Henry had a cheeseburger with fries and I had a fried chicken sandwich. Emilia slept through part of dinner, but when she woke up, she had her first taste of fries... and loved it! This is deifinitely a "mom of 2 milestone"!

Preview of Spring in NYC

It was GORGEOUS this past weekend! The snow is still on the ground from the last snowstorm and yet it was mid 60's in NYC.  We are so lucky to call CENTRAL PARK OUR BACKYARD!! We got tickets to watch The Princess, The Emperor and The Duck at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park. It was such a great show! Super cute theater and you can even have your birthday party there. We then walked through central park and of course ended the afternoon at the playground! Central park has playgrounds every 5 blocks, AND they are the BEST CITY PLAYGROUNDS in the WORLD.  

waiting for the puppet show to start

The Princess and the pea

outside swedish cottage

Gorgeous Central Park

Diana Ross Playground

Lucky Emilia!

Hanging with our cousin E!

Play ALL DAY! at wild west playground, OUR FAVORITE!!

Henrys first Classroom Valentines

Henrys class is having a valentines day party and exchanging cards with the other friends in his class. 

 There are TONS and TONS of cute ideas for classroom valentines. Here are the two that I really liked:

Henry really loves ALL vehicles and I already had mini wooden cars in my closet, so I chose the car valentine. Also, I wasn't sure how other parents would feel about getting unpackaged foods (goldfish) so I went the safer route. 

Finished product!! Henry helped glue, tape and sign the cards! I hope his friends love them!

Paw Patrol birthday!

My sweet handsome baby turned 3 this week!! And we are celebrating with a paw patrol party. Ideally, I would love to have thrown this task to a party planner- and just show up! But I'm on a strict budget. After all, he is ONLY 3 and will love any party with cake.

Tips to a successful party:

PLAN AHEAD- I started 2 months before the party date. The party is on the Saturday of MLK weekend, so I decided to send out invites early in case anyone was thinking of leaving the city for the long weekend. This gave me time to shop around for decorations, party goods and cake!

STICK TO BUDGET - so important in throwing a party. You can get lost in the costs when planning a party, and having a budget really keeps you focused.

PARTY CHECKLIST- now the fun stuff! What is on my list and where did I find it??

• ENTERTAINMENT: always the toughest choice! We went to a party over the summer and Henry watched his first magic show and fell in love with it! We decided to hire a magician for his party also! Few months later, his school had a fall fair and they had the most talented childrens magician. Of course, we hired him for our party too!

• CAKE: I kept a strict budget for my paw patrol cake. I was going to go with sheet cake from whole foods with an edible paw patrol picture on it, but that costs ~$80! I figured why not pay a little extra (and just a LITTLE!!) and get a cake I really LOVED. I emailed like 10 different bakers before I found someone I loved! and within budget!! I found my baker off of Instagram! and she IS AMAZING!

• PAW PATROL THEMED GOODS- plates, napkins, banner, tablecloth, candles, cupcake toppers, stickers are all from orientaltrading.com- my favorite place to shop for party goods. Lots of options, good prices and occasional free shipping!

• BALLOONS- preordered and prepaid from party city. I went to the store to pick them out and pay for it, but the prices in the store are higher than they are online. Thankfully they PRICE MATCH! 

• DRINKS- juice box, beer, wine, water bottles, sparkling water, diet coke ALL from FRESH DIRECT. I didn't want to drive around the city picking up these bulk items, so I did what I always do with heavy items...ordered them! I even FOODKICKED some items.

• GOODYBAGS- Our awesome party treat bag includes: paw patrol masks (amazon- although a bit cheaper at party city), stickers (orientaltrading), party size play doh (michaels), fireman hats (amazon) & lollipops.

• FOOD:  pretzels, freshly popped popcorn (love my airpower) cut fruit & ordered 9 pizza pies!

MOST importantly, have fun!!! Things never go as planned with kids. Just loosen the reigns a little and let the kids be kids at the party! If your child eats ONLY cookies and cake, let them, just for one day. Everyone will have so much more fun!

We are set to party!!

Back to Reality!

We are back from our short vacation to the Dominican Republic! It was such a great time and I found it to be so relaxing! Rich said it wasn't as relaxing for him (maybe it was because he didn't sleep one night to play in the casino...?) We stayed at The Reserve at Paradisus Punta Cana Palma Real and LOVED it. The resort was BEAUTIFUL, food was DELICIOUS and the weather was AMAZING 4 out of the 5 days. I loved it so much, I wanted to learn more about the timeshares and condos there! But we didn't... because we hate having to sit through those presentations. I will totally return to the Paradisus in Punta Cana!!

I ate soooo much on this trip, that I am going on a mini diet! Im going to challenge myself and when I crave anything sweet, I will quench that craving with a glass of water! During my maternity leave, I joined a water challenge where you had to drink half your body weight (in lbs) in ounces per day. It was easy back then because I was home AND nursing so I thirsty all the time! When I went back to work and life because more chaotic, my water consumption was dipped A LOT! Im lucky if I get to have a glass of water at work! I felt so much more nourished when I was hydrated and Im hoping to get that feeling back!