NYC!

Life has been busy here. The show went well and is now behind me and I'm trying to catch up on housework and the business of Christmas. However, yesterday Hubby took the day off and we stole away to NYC.

We took the train in and Buttons was in heaven.
She loved the fact that there were no seat belts.

We went to Radio City Music Hall.

We visited the tree in Rockefeller center and the minute we turned the corner and saw it, the sky sent down the largest snowflakes I've ever seen.

Yes, we went to THE Christmas Spectacular. And yes, it was indeed spectacular. My favorite part was when the Rockettes were dressed as toy soldiers and did an amazing domino type of fall. I think Buttons enjoyed it, but it was also quite loud.

Hubby and I have been to NYC a few times, but it was Buttons first time ever and she enjoyed it. We even stopped by Macy's hoping to get her on Santa's lap, but yeah, no deal. So, we went home singing Christmas songs and truly enjoying our first taste of Radio City Music Hall. However, we tasted roasted chestnuts for the first time and didn't like those at all.

Ok, back to housework and Christmas mayhem. How are your holidays? Are you stressed? Are you ready? Are you sane and keeping away from all of this crazy hubbub?

The Ride Home

After spending 12 hours on the road back home from our Thanksgiving celebrations, I can tell you we visited many rest stops. The food is almost always the same: most likely fried and just plain awful. And can anyone tell me why and how people spray the toilet seat in the women's room? It's beyond me.

However, the three of us had a wonderful time snacking on grapes, singing along with our mixed tapes (our rendition of "Do-Re-Mi" is wicked awesome) and making rather silly jokes. Buttons is now a fan of Desmond Dekker and I really love singing "The Green Grass Grows All Around" with Bob Mc Grath.

Hubby and I shared driving. Buttons and I shared naps. Buttons shared her dream of being a horse rider in the circus and she plans to carpool with her friend S. (who will be an acrobat). We had a pretend wedding (she's been very into this topic) and asked many questions.

We also made plans for decorating our house for Christmas and when we're going to bake cookies. Buttons asked Hubby's help writing a letter to Santa that went along these lines "please help yourself to these cookies that I made with my mother". Now, if we could just get her to speak in a British accent, she'd be perfectly proper. And you know what? She doesn't sprinkle on the toilet!

One too many

Buttons has been a real trooper since we've been visiting relatives. However, today was the fifth out of six days without a nap and yes, it was one too many. She doesn't want to leave all of our relatives and I agree it's been a great trip, but we need to get on a schedule.

She had 2 major fits today and that's not like her. And roaring at me? Not acceptable. So Mom, Dad, brothers, in-laws, grandparents, friends I enjoyed our time together, but we must be moving on now.

To Russia, with Love

We're off to St. Petersburg, Russia this weekend. I'm still pinching myself. I'm old enough to remember the cold war and the iron curtain, so to actually go to Russia is a bit amazing and surreal. I'm in the midst of packing for it and I still can't believe it.

Poka!
(Bye for now!)

Notes on Packing

I've never packed for an extended stay anywhere. The thought that goes into this adventure is taking up too much of my brain power lately. I have many questions and many people have helped with the answers.

How do I pack when the temperatures will vary depending on the country I'm visiting?
Don't take too many clothes, but make sure they all work together and layer.
Black goes together.

What kind of toys should I bring?
Send a box to yourself over in Europe and have Buttons pick out a portion by herself.
I have yet to do that, but as the packing reaches its climax, I'm thinking it's a good idea.

What should I pack so I don't stand out too much?
Black clothing always works and avoid sneakers.
Well, I'm not taking tennis shoes (probably) or jeans and I have a fair amount of black which is European, but is also good for hiding stains. When I told Buttons we won't be taking jeans she asked why and I told her that people in Europe don't wear jeans as much and she said "but I do". Yup, you do and we'll take a pair for you. I know when she's 13 her need to fit in may be in high gear, so I'm definitely going to honor her desire to be herself and not conform. It's a good lesson for me too. Besides, when I told a friend I was trying not to stand out, she gave me a look that said "who are you trying to fool, you will stand out no matter how much black you wear". Yes, a large blonde woman with a thin, handsome man and a dark-haired Chinese American daughter full of questions and silliness is not going to fade into the woodwork (or stonework) and I'm ok with that.

How much should I take?
Pack like you're going away for 2 weeks, not 2 months.
Ok, I put that in a previous post and I'm putting it here again to try and get it into my head. It's not easy advice to follow, let me tell you. I refuse to take less than 7 pairs of underwear and am a little inclined to take 10. But you know I'm going to do laundry at least once or twice a week since I'm not taking too many clothes.

Anyway, I could go on, but I won't because at this point, it all seems rather boring and annoying and I'm just ready to be on that plane. Save me now from my crazy list of things to do, to remember and to pack. Please.*

*Ok, I realize now I'm asking for a bit of sympathy about packing up for a fabulous long trip to Europe and Russia. Yeah, I don't expect the comments to be too nice. I'm very lucky and thankful, but also a bit crazed right now.

Spilling the Beans...

As some of you guessed, we are going to Belgium. Hubby is going for work and all of us will stay for an extended period of time. I'm really geeked about it, but the packing is overwhelming to me right now. A good friend suggested I should pack as if I'm going for two weeks. Unfortunately, I bring too much even for two weeks. So, if you have words of wisdom, sock it to me.

My mother-in-law is in town until Saturday and I'm a bit under the weather, so here are a few pictures of the places Hubby's work will be taking us soon in lieu of a "real" post...


Antwerp, Belgium

Paris, France

Toledo, Spain

St. Petersburg, Russia

(Yes, I will be blogging so I can keep you posted while keeping my sanity.)

Wordless Wednesday

Lovely picture, but I can't take credit for it. It's where my mind is right now though.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Buttons has always been a good traveler. We always say she traveled home from China better than we did. However, I must remember that you cannot place your child in any set category such as "lover of pineapple" or "great traveler" because these things can change. So you're probably looking at the pictures and thinking "she looks so happy". Yes. That was the trip back home. The first leg of our flight to see relatives for Thanksgiving was hell. Buttons threw a tantrum and was not to be consoled for almost the entire flight.

You wanna know what set her off? The beverage service. She wanted both her orange juice and hubby's orange juice. Then she went into a crying, kicking, hitting fit and wouldn't stop for anything.




She settled down a bit before we landed and was in heaven that we would be taking the "choo-choo train", a tram in the airport, and fell asleep almost immediately on our second flight.





While we were waiting for my brother to pick us up, one of the women on our flight commented on what a good flyer Buttons was. Yeah, this time. But categories? I left those up around 9,000 feet.