New York, New York!

For my birthday, Fred took me to the city. We left Friday afternoon by train.


It was nice to leave the icy tundra behind

and go to warmer weathers. We didn't arrive in NY until close to nine and Sunday we wanted to be to the bus station by ten, so Saturday was the only day we had. The train was delayed for technical problems, but Desi did well.

Did you know that most Manhattan hotels do not have pools? I did not. I got my daughter's hopes up that we would swim. We found out there was no pool, but when we told the hotel they made sure we had a room with a tub. So she did get to go swimming...

Kind of.

The hotel was indeed the nicest place I have ever stayed at. I have never been to a place where everything cost money. They had intimacy kits for eight dollars...something Fred and I didn't have to worry about. It's a little too late for us for a condom. Just a bit.
Desmina totally dug the bed. It was cute. She was just chilling. I wish I got a side view of her cuteness.

Next day, we headed out to meet John for breakfast and see the city. Weather was perfect! The high was in the 50s. So nice to walk around without all the snow gear. Desmina loved it! She was able to run around without any constriction. Well we did put her teddy bear backpack on her which has a tail/leash. She loves it and we feel like it's the best way to be independent yet safe in such a fast moving city. I thought we would never get a harness. We stay make her follow the rules and hold our hand to cross the street.




We met John at a vegan bakery called Baby Cakes .



We ordered a blueberry muffin, a blueberry crumb cake and a cinnamon roll for breakfast and split it among the three of us. Actually Desi just had the muffin. Don't want to see her on a sugar high. After we left, I ordered a lemon cupcake to go.

John and me. I went to high school prom with him. He was high school valedictorian in the year behind me. See his shirt? It says ambiguous. He is very proud of his shirt.

We went to the park and let Desi play.


We saw our first drunk. He was yelling at the top of his lungs. Ahh, to be in NY.
Desmina also met a lady who kept giving her food. She would then come to us with her stash of candy, a boiled egg, a banana and powdered donuts. We tried to return it, but I don't think the woman spoke English.


There was a line at the mission city while Desi was playing, but by the time we were ready to leave the park, they had gone inside. We felt bad for throwing all that food out.

We walked over to Teany's for lunch. It is Moby's restaurant. I ordered the "chicken" salad melt with lavender lemonaide and Fred ordered the "turkey" sandwich. It was very good. Desi wasn't interested in the food and Fred couldn't eat much. They just picked at his sandwich. I totally chowed though. Desi was more interest in the flowers. Forgive the dumb lok on my face. I was trying to get her to pay attention to the camera.


After lunch we walked back to the hotel and let her sleep. Wait! I forgot to tell you about our subway adventure. First we got off too early. Fred didn't realize that Delancey was a few stops down so we had to pay to get on the subway twice. Being the cheapskate I am, I was a bit annoyed. They happened to be working on the subway that day, so the F train changed to the A train. We had to take the A train a few stops past our stop and then get off of the train that was the A train (but should have been the F train) and on the F train heading uptown to get back to our stop. Following me? Fortunately, the people on the subway was very nice and explained to us what was happening. We couldn't understand the guy on the train. His voice was too deep. We arrived at our destination at the perfect time. Thank goodness we left early. The ride back to the hotel was much easier...only one train!

After Desi's nap, we walked around town some more before dinner. We searched high and low for a journal for Blanket. I still don't have one. We did manage to get the supplies needed for our house blessing. We just need to get the rose oil, and we are set.

Empire State building from below.

We had dinner reservations at seven at Blossoms. We arrived half an hour early. I didn't feel like walking more. I was having weird lateral cramps on top of braxton hicks. We asked if they could seat us early. They told us to wait 15 minutes to get the table ready. It turned out it was a misunderstanding. They thought we had seven people in our party. They felt bad so we got a few freebies.
For our appetizer, we had seitan satay. I ordered the Porcini Filet, Fred ordered the Seitan Scapollini and we ordered tofu for the little one (which she just destroyed in her fingers). For dessert, I ordered cheesecake. Since the only thing Desi would eat was the strawberries from my cake, we asked for strawberries. They brought it out in a neat blossom design. Of course, she didn't bother to enjoy the presentation and just dug in. We didn't have to pay for any of her food, the cheesecake or our drinks.

After dinner, Desi walked for half a mile! She was having so much fun on her hunt for babies and dogs. I knew that was something I could deliver.

Okay, I look horrible in all the pictures. It wasn't a good photo weekend of me. Kind of sad that I didn't get any belly pictures either.


Next day we woke up later than I wanted to. I didn't sleep to well because Fred kept going to the bathroom. He didn't feel too good and didn't eat much at all that day. We wanted to wake up and grab breakfast out. Since Fred wasn't feeling too good, Desi and I just ate at the hotel. It was a bit steep price to pay, but Fred insisted. Desmina totally got the royal treatment. They kept bringing her out berries. They better with the price we're paying for breakfast! Fortunately, they didn't charge for her, but did for me.

We didn't get to walk around the city like I planned either even though we left the hotel early. We just walked to the station and waited for the train to come. I had to laugh at the announcements. There was a reminder that we shouldn't let anyone help with our baggage unless they were wearing a uniform. Um, duh?
It was a good thing we left after all because our train arrived early and the guy in the approved uniform helped us score some good seats. We were later joined by a NYC firefigher who I think was hoping I would go into labor. Desi absolutely adored him and he returned the feelings. He helped the trip go by faster since Desi's attention was all on him.

We even exchanged numbers. He seems pretty cool and you can tell that he is family oriented . He talked about his nephews often. He lives in VT, but commutes to work weekly and he misses them while he is in VT. They live in NYC.
I was a little worried what he would think of a nursing toddler, but he thought it was great and good for her immune system. Nice to know someone in the paramedic field know the benefits of extended nursing. Okay, I wasn't worried but I didn't want to hear some stupid comment. I was a bit embarrassed though when Desi was pulling at my shirt trying to expose my nipple so that she could nurse. She has never done that. She usually is very patient and lets me take lead.

I think she was showing off. She kept trying to get him to blow raspberries, or zuperts as she calls them, on her belly. She kept lifting her shirt up, exposing her belly. We seriously need to teach the child modesty and Stranger Danger.

By the time our stop arrived, Desi about had it with traveling. She was quite irritable and tired of being in one place for long. She was happy to be outside, only to be swooped up again and strapped in her car seat. Not music to our ears. All this traveling did help her go to bed with no fuss, sometime that is very rare in our house. Fred and I were able to chill and watch The Departed. Powerful cast, good writing and excellent music.