First Adventure of 2013 - "The Event of a Thread" at Park Ave Armory

Our current bedtime routine is a family love fest. Savvy stays up late now that she's an old lady of almost 2 and a half, so Rob is usually home for bedtime. That leaves the three of us in our bed singing songs and tickling while we get Savvy in her jammies and get out her last ounces of silliness before she starts to calm down. Then we read ONE BOOK. But Savvy insists we all take all take a turn reading it. 

After a last minute trip to the bathroom for tooth brushing or using the potty it's time for lights out. That's when Savvy abruptly stops loving on Daddy and banishes Rob to the living room. "GO IN THE LUMI DADDY!"

It's our special time. "Big hug. I love you soooooo much," she says. "Let's talk. Let's talk 'bout what we did today." And so we recount the days events while we hug and I "itchie" her back. 

This is the time that I will miss the most when the new baby is born in March. This ultra lovey dovey Mommy/Savvy time in the quiet darkness of our bedroom. On days we don't anything and the talking "'bout what we did today" doesn't include anything more exciting than a trip to the supermarket, I get sad that pregnancy has slowed me down and kept us from having as many adventures as we had during the first half of 2012. 

After shedding a few tears Wednesday night about this very dilemma, I was excited to learn about an Ann Hamilton art installation at the Park Avenue Armory featuring giant swings when I checked Facebook Thursday morning. Indoor swings! A perfect mother daughter date! The exhibit closes this Sunday, January 6th -- definitely check it out if you're looking for last minute weekend plans.

Upon entering, you're confronted with a table of caged pigeons and performance artists reading from a scroll. Their voices are amplified in dozens of speakers placed in paper bags throughout the space. The swings hanging from the expansive space are connected to a large white curtain through a series of pulleys and ropes that make it sway. Even the swings sway on their own because they're interconnected.

Savvy wanted to ride by herself. The swings didn't go very high, but they certainly traveled 20 feet back and forth without so much as a push from me :)

She held on like a champ. 

 Notice in the video that I'm more afraid of her solo riding the swing than she is!

The best shot I could get of us swinging together. 

 Sav's favorite thing to do was push me on the swing. I got some serious distance! And she didn't get hit by the swing even though she would chase me after pushing. Always backed up enough afterwards. Phew.

So grown, yet still so small.

That night when we recounted our day in the darkness of bedtime ("We went to a art 'stallation!"), I told Savvy that I felt so blessed to go on exciting adventures with her. "When your new baby sister is born, things are going to change a lot. Instead of going out on adventures, there will be lots of new adventures right here at home that will keep us busy for a while."

"But we can take my baby shitter with us!" (Yup, that's how she pronounces sister. Love it!)

"That's right, Savvy. We can take your baby sister with us." My first born is wise beyond her years. She always knows what I need to hear.

Book Review: One Shot Away

Remember how one really bad week in high school felt like an eternity that would impact the rest of your life?  Those heavy feelings of teen angst and determination to overcome the odds came rushing back to me as I read T. Glen Coughlin's latest novel, One Shot Away. The tagline for this teen novel is "A Wrestling Story", but it is much more than a tale of competition amongst a high school wrestling team.

Though their hardships are especially dismal - Diggy is struggling to make weight while dealing with a father who acts more like an abusive and monomaniacal coach than support figure; Jimmy, the star athlete, could face jail time and lose his posh girlfriend for doing his dad a shady favor; Trevor has to balance the death of his father and perceived betrayal of his mother all while fending off a jealous teammate who will go to great lengths to make sure he doesn't control their weight class - the three main characters are sympathetic and their circumstances paint a hyperbolic picture of universal senior year struggles, thus making the book appeal to an audience far wider than high school wrestlers and fans.

The book gave me an exciting glimpse into the lives of people I didn't know in high school. I knew my school had a wrestling team, but I didn't know anyone on it, nor did I realize what a commitment the sport was -- counting every calorie, working out obsessively, competition amongst your teammates as well as your competitors. It's intriguing. And the prose read like a fast-paced movie and kept me hooked -- my heartbeat accelerated right on cue as I held my breath during the climax of the novel when you're not sure if one of the characters will live or die during a cold-weather drowning incident. Coughlin's prose is fast-paced, articulate, smart and exciting! (A refreshing departure from the dumbed down, repetitive, dialogue-heavy prose of popular teen novels like *cough cough* the Twilight series.)

For someone like me, more than a decade beyond high school problems, Coughlin makes it easy to reflect on the time in your life when you realize your parents are flawed and are responsible for your flaws, when the activities you do after school define who you are to the point where you can't imagine life any other way, when a prank can leave devastating effects, and when graduation looms, that feeling of melancholy that resides in you when you realize you don't have to look back on HS life if you don't want to.

One Shot Away is recommended for teen boys, and I think this is a great book for parents to read with their sons.  Parent/child relationships are in the background of each character's struggle and could be used as a jumping off point for discussing your own relationships. I know it's difficult to get high school aged kids to read for fun. I think this book could remind them that quality literature can be cool - this book is gritty, honest, even a bit sexy (there is mention of "hooking up" and one minor character happens to be a motel prostitute but its all a very tame PG/PG-13). Definitely check it out!

One Shot Away will be released on October 2nd and is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Read an excerpt here.




Disclosure: I was provided an advanced copy from Harper Collins' Teen for review purposes. The author is a family member but we never discussed the book's themes and all opinions expressed are my own.

Girlie Milestones ~ Wordless Wednesday

1st Haircut and 1st Nail Polish:

My girlie girl is becoming a little lady.

After putting it off and putting it off, I decided to trim her hair myself for her first haircut. Super easy.

She loved the blow dryer!

A few days later, time for toes.

I used Sally Hansen Quick Dry polish. Dried SO fast. Toddler proof, for sure!

The tears came because Savvy wanted to paint Daddy's toenails too, but he refused.

Popsicles then and now ~ Wordless Wednesday

What a difference a year makes!

Inaugural popsicle of 2012 - a wonderfully creamy honeydew flavor

First Popsicle EVER in 2011 - Not quite getting the hang of it...

I was doing great when mommy held it. What happened?

TOO COLD!!! TAKE IT TAKE IT!

Sunken Meadow Park, the Yorkville of Long Island beaches

If Jones Beach, with its overcrowding, drunken revelry, loud music, sky-writing advertisements, loud club promoters and frozen fruit bar salesmen, is the Times Square of Long Island beaches, then the beach at Sunken Meadow Park is the family-friendly, quiet, slow-paced, safe Yorkville.  It is the perfect location for a beach day with kids!


View Larger Map

Being on the North Shore facing the Long Island Sound, there are no waves or strong rip currents. So as parents, we can worry a teensy bit less* about our toddlers' safety and give them a bit more autonomy thanks to the lack of crowds.

Rob, Savvy and I met up with our bffs Stephanie and her daughter at Sunken Meadow Park last week to soak up the sun, convince the girls that going in the water is fun, collect seashells and throw rocks, and eat ice cream.

We stayed a few hours, but you could easily spend the entire day here as a family, as there is a sizable playground, nature trails, picnic areas and a cafe, and an expanse of beach for playing in the water or taking a long walk along the picturesque coastline.  The North Shore of Long Island is notoriously rocky, so definitely bring water shoes for the kiddos and shoes you don't mind getting wet. After heading from our blankets to the water and back a dozen times, my feet couldn't handle the rocks and shells any longer so I started wearing my flip flops in the water.

Such a fun, beautiful, pristine Long Island staycation adventure:

Looking West. Next time we'll walk to the bluff!

The LI Sound according to Savvy:
"Not pool! Not bathtub!"

Our friends collecting shells.

Both kids in the same shot! Success!

My husband is allergic to the sun and HATES the beach.
He loved Sunken Meadow Park though!

Looking East. 

Love her face.

Obligatory family self portrait

The lady in the yellow hat. This woman knows how to relax.

Posted this pic on Instagram and my husband complained
that he looked too skinny...

There's a glimpse of the guns he's been building up with his trainer :-P
(Happy Rob? Now the Internets know you have muscles.)

Now THAT'S a watersport I could handle.

Must punctuate the day with ice cream :)

Kissing cuties :-*

Savvy's still reeling from the kiss!
What a fun day!

*Of course you still have to watch your kids the whole time!