First School Job

Brandon asked me to help him with making drawings on the posters he would need to recess the next day. As it turned out, him and Liam were hiring managers and those who wanted to be Ghost Hunters, could apply to them to have a job. Oh those 2nd graders! :)

Why Play Football

With Super Bowl approaching, school sent a flyer home stating that kids can bring cans of soups for Hummelstown food bank and they can put a can to a team they hope to win (places for two teams in the school lobby)

Brandon is trying to explain to his Dad why he needs to bring soup:

- So, I bring the soup for a food bank. And each team will have their own food bank and whoever has more - will win. 

Why play football? :)

Love-Hate Relationship

It is interesting how Brandon acts around Kyra - he never wants to acknowledge/let he know he cares about her, but when he writes.. You can see all of it. In a big book of writings like this, Kyra was mentioned 3 times, more than me (twice).

Lego Creation

Way too complicated for me to put together! And he did it with no instructions

From Gator Boys

When Pop worked at the car show, he got a t-shirt for Brandon who likes to watch Gator Boys show. Two guys signed it. How cool! And of course, he wanted to wear it the very next day to school :)

I Am Overschooled :)

Yesterday I spent my whole morning at kids' school. First, I helped our Mrs. Decker in Kyra's class. Majority of my work was making journals for two months, working with their folders and just paper stuff. However, while I worked, I could hear kids doing their jobs. When they had writing, Mrs. Decker was walking around and checking everybody's work. It is interesting how some children get stuck on only certain things they want to write about.

There are a few children, who are stuck on sports, horses and Mom. When Mrs. Decker told Victoria, she needed to write about something else but Mom, what do you think she chose? Dad.

6 kids out of 17 started new level 6 journals. Kyra was among them. It requires more writing and less illustrations. She does not particularly likes to do that but she is progressing well enough :)

Brandon asked me to have lunch with him, so here I went. I got in line with 2nd graders and they were so helpful in telling me how things worked. First, Brandon did not even acknowledged me, following Valerie like a puppy (so cute!) but after we got in line, he got me next to him. Majority of conversations were, believe it or not, about upcoming Superbowl. And they are only mostly 7. Even girls talked about it. Oh, brother.

What a fun, fun morning!

Who Am I?

We are playing Headbandz.. Jimmy got A Dragon. While he asked many questions, he did not guess the animal. Kyra said he needed to ask if that animal was extinct! :)

Kyra got a chicken. When we answered that yes, that animal lives in a barn, she asked if that was a parrot. :)

Jimmy told Kyra he would guess whatever she has in her mind with 20 questions. What do you think she thought of? Her own kids.

What Is The Name Of It?

I am not sure if I mentioned last year when we had a conversation with kids about proper names for their private parts and Brandon immediately gave them nicknames - peanut and virginia. Now, all private parts are called peanuts in our house and no, size really does not matter. :)

Reasing Of 6 Year Old

K:- Mommy, I want to have Mrs. Zahora for 1st grade teacher next year because she looks nice and she has blue fuzzy chairs! 

K:- Mommy, new girl's Grandma is so short, I thought she was a kid.

Me: - Well, some people are shorter, some taller. It does not matter. Personality does. My friend Renee from work is super tiny but she is awesome - fun and smart.

K: - How old is she?

Me: - 22.

K: - Do you think if she eats more, she might still grow taller?

Basketball Update

Yesterday when I was picking Brandon up from his practice, Jill Hofsass came up to me and said Brandon was ready for playing on the team but it is not until 3rd grade. She said he picked skills like that (she snapped her fingers) and she wished he could switch to different level.

What a great job he is doing! So proud of him! :)

Thinker

I remember feeling annoyed at some point after gazillion of Kyra's questions but after talking to Michelle (I should say long time ago), we came to realization that we should not get frustrated but glad that girls are thinking things through:
- Mommy, how will the staff get behind the counter? How do they come in?
- How does a band make a name and how do people know they are a band?
- How will Dad know when it is time to go meet you at the train station?
- How will Mrs. Decker know I made a drawing for a new girl in a class?
- Is softball called softball because girls play with a softer ball?
- When Mommy has twins, does she get to hold the first one after he/she is born?
- Do cats have special hospitals where they deliver kittens?
- When you buy a house, do you pay money directly to the person who sold it to you?
- If you touch lava with your foot, will your foot be broken then?
- How long can you keep the house you live in? Who puts the sign on if an owner dies? (wow for that one)

Should I also mention that some questions come out of nowhere, right before bed or when we are in the car.
I love to see how she matures and knows/remembers/thinks about everything.

I Am Loved!

Not that I did not know that before :) But today I REALLY felt loved, appreciated and needed. Nothing special was said. When it was time to go upstairs for bed, Kyra asked for a piggy back ride and she gave hug with hugging me with her whole little body. She started kissing me, instead of another way around. Her nose has been running so it was little bit wet and when she tried to kiss me on the nose, I tried to kiss her on her nose (which was wet) :)

I am ticklish at my sides, closer to my neck and she was happy enough to use that against me :) She was giggling the whole time and I laughed from tickling/kissing to the point I could not breath.

I honestly think it might have been one of my most favorite memories of how it felt to be a Mom of a girl like Kyra. Love her to pieces!!!

Teeth Attack

There is a lot going on with kids' teeth lately. Brandon is just about to get his front top teeth. They might erupt any day now. Kyra has lost two bottom and her top two are wiggly.

Today I took her to Dr. Grater. He said that there is no need to extract her teeth due to crowding just yet. To wait at least she is 8-9 and only after doing x-ray of the whole mouth to see if she misses any of adult teeth. Ortho consultation is recommended closer to turning 7.
Will be done.

Determination

I love it in my not-so-little-anymore girl. Since kids had off school for Martin Luther's Day, I wanted to take them somewhere so they don't just sit home. Paramaunt gym seemed like a good idea. Brandon was all over the place, climbing in, over, under, in, jumping on a trampoline, creating Ninja obstacle course. Kyra was on the bar the whole time, 1.5 hrs. She did not want to do anything else but to practice her stride circle. I am surprised she did not get any bruises/blisters. 

It was hard. Her leg kept getting stuck and she did not even get frustrated. A few times she was getting close, may be knowing that she was getting close to getting it, saved her from it. 

Anyhow, in the very end she did it twice in the row. Barely, but did it. She was determined to ring a bell at her Tuesday class at gymnastics. What a promising reward :) I hope she will.

I am writing now after her class. I am such a proud momma! Kyra worked so hard at it and she has scratched knees but she RANG the bell! Moms of the girls from Team 3 told me that not all the girls can do that stride circle and Kyra - sloppily, but she can. SO proud of her determination!

Pinewood Derby

I have never heard of it before Boy Scouts, but as I found out, it has been around forever. (since 1953?). I am not sure why we went to Michaels' in the first place because we already had a block of wood but Jimmy wanted us to go. Brandon saw Batman car and that was all that he wanted. We ended up getting it and after boys worked at sanding and painting it. It turned out pretty cool, we all liked it a lot. 

Tell me it is NOT cool!

There were total 20 cars.

First two waves Brandon came first. At 3rd wave he came 2nd and since then his time went down. They also found out there was something wrong with the wheel and tried to fix it as best as they could but the car never came first again.

Waiting at the finish line

At award ceremony
Those are colors of Cub Scouts:
- blue (from sky) on forehead for spirit of bobcat. Reminds you to do your best;
- yellow (from sun) under eye for light of Bob Scout trail and bright spirit for scouting;
- white (for purity) on nose for help to know right from wrong;
- red (for courage) on chin reminds you to speak the truth;
- green (for spirit of nature) on each cheek to guide you to live in harmony wtih outdoors;
- white (for love and guidance) on parent's nose is to remind a scout that a parent is always in spirit with scout, will help achieve scout goals and keep him on track of life.

 Two buddies

 After ceremony Brandon setting up his car

 Lane 4

 Brandon did not get a place but he get a certificate for the Battiest car :)

 There is is

 His awards

After seeing that his car was loosing, Brandon started getting upset but after awhile he kind of got over and just had fun. I am glad they at least gave the boys certificates. It is at least something for them :) 

What I Got Home To

Next morning after NYC, after I gave kids my presents, Kyra gave me hers. How cute it is! How can you NOT love the expression of love of 6 year old?

In the first picture Kyra is giving me flowers. On the second of we are in the Melting Pot.

 These are the back sides of her drawings

Last of NYC - 4

Another building that made me use my Google skills - Ethical Culture School. Really? Who comes up with the names like that? Apparently, it is another private school in Manhattan, where education costs $40,000 a year. 

I wish I could take a few pictures of Columbus Circle, which is at the intersection of Central Park West and Broadway. Actually, (thanks to Wikipedia) now I know that it is the point from which all official distances from NY are measured.  

Photo of Columbus Circle in 1907 (2 years after completion)

In the center of the circle, the monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus. It is 70foot tall and it is a marble statue of Columbus and around it bronze reliefs of his ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

New York may so sadly have lost the original Twin Towers but two skyscrapers at Columbus Circle that are worth to look at. They may not be as spectacular tall as originals but they still look stunning! These buildings are world headquarters of the Time Warner Corporation.

I wish I knew what building that was. I loved the shot from this angle, it seems like this building is touching the sky :) 

From there I walked to a souvenir store and got kids and me a pencil with NYC skyline on it. I love to write with pencils and it is just another reminder of the trip :) 

To remember for future - one of cafes (5th ave and 36th st - W Cafe) looked good from the outside and inside was even better - quiet background music, clean, comfy, welcoming staff.. I had half sandwich and minestrone soup which were delicious and when it came down to deserts.. it was soooo hard to choose. There were so many of them and all so good looking! I ended up with eclair which looked nothing like traditional eclair but was very yummy and I got 2 cupcakes with a topping that looked like a wrapped present for the kids. 

Before leaving I wanted to take a look at Empire State Building. How disappointing to look at it from the bottom of the building vs. from far. I could not see much of it. Oh well! 

What a good trip I had! Even though the weather was nasty, it really did not matter. I still had fun anyway :) See ya in 3-4 months, New York! :)

NYC-3

Russian Embassy. Should I just say it was all done? I expected big disorganization and rudeness which is terrible to say. There were no clear directions on the doors outside about which out of 3 doors you need to come in. I got in the right one by asking other people. It should not be like that. I will say the lady who was going through my papers was very helpful and quick. When I pick up my passport in about 3 months I have to remember to get into middle door. (just a little reminder to myself)

My next stop was supposed to be Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, just a few streets up from the Embassy. Not sure why, but honestly, I expected something like Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow but this one looked like one of the typical building, I did not even see the roof like on the picture. The gates were closed. I was surprised to see them, looking like bars, in the first place. Oh well..I saw it. Time to move on to Penn Station.

Again, I went through the Central Park, just going towards Upper West Side along Jackie Onassis Reservoir. I am always amazed by the numbers- facts - this reservoir is about 150 years old and covers 106 acres with about 1 million gallon of water! Just think about it! It used to distribute NY water supply but, obviously, not anymore. And what an original reason to name it by this lady - it was because she enjoyed jogging in this area. Hmmm...

I know.. All those pictures look like they need some color added. It is just because of the yucky/rainy/foggy weather that you can not see a lot of the skyline. But it is still breathtaking after small Hershey town :)

Foggy skyline in the background

 Love how ducks lined up to another side of the Reservoir

Unbelievably, how many old buildings in NY. This one was built in 1888. Right now, actually it is up for sale for only 20 million dollars. Would you like to buy it? :)

Those two - it is pretty cool how the windows are wrapping around the corner and the second building looks a lot like buildings in Saint-Petersburg.

On the way I passed Museum of Natural History. To say the truth that would not be my preferable museum to go. Not natural history. 

This is a photo of NY Historical Society. Totally my place, especially currently they are having exhibit called WWII and NYC. I would love to see it. 

Those two - I just like the angle of both buildings. The first one on the right- another intimidating looking church - corner of West 76 st and Central Park West  -  it is Fourth Universalist Society of NY. (Never would guess it is a church by the name of it). Second one - might be a hotel or or a apartment building, I am not sure.

NYC-2

Next from Times Square to 5th Ave - Rockefeller Center. I did not realize that this center consists of 19 commercial buildings from 48th to 51st streets and there is even an observation deck! I would like to do it next time instead of may be State Empire building! How could I not know??? 

Okay, those two pics are from the same place.. But.. from a different time frame. The first one is from this trip and the one below is from March 2004. I swear.. I did not gain 50lbs. as it appears here. About 5-7. This time it was super cold so I took a hat off before the shot and I have a long scarf that is bundled around my waist for warmth. Yes! 

                              

Not sure why I look grumpy here. 

 Almost next to the center there is Saint Patrick's Cathedral. I do not remember how it looked from outside and I could not see this time because of construction that seemed to occupy half of Cathedral's territory. It started to be built in 1858 (!) and now... if you go to their website you can take Google virtual tour inside of the Cathedral. How COOL is that???

Honestly, those two images were "borrowed" from Google. 

                                      

Lady Chapel area

This is my photo. I like it. 

As I kept walking along 5th ave, besides very expensive stores there were quite a few churches. What an interesting location for them. I am not sure why but some of them looked kind of intimidating to me. Like waaaay too official. (Saint Thomas Cathedral)

I really liked the decoration on Bulgari store. They say it is to attract customers this holiday season - it is a giant serpent wrapped around the store which looks like enormous piece of exquisite jewelery - it sparkles and glitters as if it really is made of precious stones. So cool!

That is the last picture before you go into Central park, looking back at the 5th ave.

I decided to go in Central Park rather than continue walking along 5th avenue. Obviously, it was not suitable weather nor I had time to walk through the Zoo, but I just walked along the paths. 

This is a dream house, it even has a Madonna bench in it :) From this view it looks like Japanese building hanging from the edge of the world. I like the angle I took the photo from.

I asked somebody to take a picture of me while I was throwing my 11 cents in Conservatory Water. Only later I realized I was more concentrated on throwing a coin at the right time rather than making a wish.

This picture was taken, again, in March 2004 at the same place - Conservatory Water. I am not sure if I threw any coins or made wishes at that time...

                             

Alice in Wonderland sculpture. I did take a picture of it this time but it looks empty (and still the same) without anybody on it. I wish I could climb on it this time as well :). March 2004

Just a pretty shot of the Conservatory Water. Imagine the view people who live in those apartment building have every day???

After that, the path took me to 81st st, where Metropolitan Museum of Art was. Outside it looked like one gigantic construction site. I just did not have time to go inside to see the collections but I did peek inside the main hall. What I really liked that they had recommended admission $25 but no set price - you pay what you can. It is amazing that non-profit organization in a city like NY does it.

Just like NY Public Library, this building dates back long time ago - 1866 and has numerous collections of sculptures, painting, drawings, photographs etc.  

 That is one exhibit I would LOVE to see.

I found this...Structure?? pretty interesting.. like a small house accidentally squeezed between two big buildings. I must be crazy - I researched this building, and I should say Google maps with street views rock! I thought it was Embassy of Ireland because of the flag but no.. It is just an apartment building which does not answer the question with why there is Irish flag on the building.. Hmmm!

Very interesting looking Solomon Guggenheim Museum. Relatively new - from about 1939 and has, as websites states, eccentric paintings. Right now, for example, there are exhibits by Kandinsky and Picasso.

Just 2.5 blocks away from Russian Embassy. I stopped to have lunch at this place called Heavenly Rest Stop which is next to a very nice looking church. They had such a big selection of items that it took me like 10 min just to decide what I am going to eat :) What I really like that I never tried was quiche - it was to die for. Pear bread. Yum!  My belly was full and I was ready for real business that brought me to NYC in the first place..

NYC!!

I was waiting for that day. :) First, when I learned I had to go to apply for a new passport to replace my expiring passport in person, I was upset - too many arrangements need to be made and too much money need to be spent but it did not turn out to be so complicated :)

I got up early. Super early - 4.20am to be in time for 5.17am Amtrak train. It did not have Wifi and, apparently, a conductor was a new to his profession but the train jerked like nothing else every time it stopped or started to move.

I got to the city at 8.30am. Weather was was than nasty - grey, dark, rainy/drizzly, windy. I decided it would not spoil my day - I had all warm things packed so I was good to go! I got out at 37th st and...

?????

The first surprise was waiting for me  - ToysRus was not open till 10am. Seriously??? Is not that the city that never sleeps? and their main store in the country is not open until 10? what a disappointment!!

First, I went along 42nd st and saw two museums on the way, right next to each other (which funny - were open at that time!) Ripley's Believe It Or Not was one of them. It looked kind of fun with all the weird things to see inside but after I saw the pictures of it online.. I am kind of happy I did not go there :) it looks fun but creepy! :)

Next to it, was Madame Tussuad Museum. I would totally did it if I had somebody take pictures with me :) and if I thought I had enough time to do everything till 2pm :)

Next I went to visit New York Public Library. ( I know, not that I could have borrow a book, but to see what it was like inside!!!)  It took me awhile to understand how it all worked. While I was waiting for it to open at 10am (yes, too!), I saw huge banners hanging on another building a block away that said NY Public Library, so I walked there. Actually that one was called Mid-Manhattan library. Huh???

It had a few floors and open till 11pm! (Wow!). I checked a couple floors and did not find anything I would not find in Hershey library. Plus, honestly, the whole impression from this one was cold and unfriendly although neither of people acted this way towards me. It was just an impression.

I walked back to NY Public Library that got open by that time and.. The building is nothing but magnificent! It is made out of marble and has high ceilings. This is panoramic view. (gotten from Google)

This is one of the Lions from inside of the Library and it was build out of 30,000 Lego pieces. What an awesome job somebody has! :)

 Street light outside of the building

Lights of the stairwells

Long hallways                                                                                   Beautiful!

Map division

Main reading room

 In McGraw Rotund a there are breathtaking paintings on the walls and on the ceiling.

 Ceiling

In the end I realized why both libraries had the same name but they did not look anything alike - the first one was like community library and the actual NYPL was more research oriented.

It is more than 100 years old and just by numbers, when it was open in 1911, there were 75 miles of shelves.. WOW! Now, it has about 50 million items and serves about 16 million people annually. It is the biggest library in the US after Library of Congress. Hard to imagine whose numbers!

The library is also represented by two marble Lions in front of the building. Their names are Patience and Fortitude. They have been here since the library was open. Their nicknames have been changed several times but ended up with those because those qualities were important for NYers to have during depression. As a tribute to Lions' popularity and the cause they stand for, the Library adopted them as mascots and they are trademark of the Library. How cool!

Okay! Next on my list was to stop at ToysRus on Times Square. I did not plan on buying anything, just to walk around and see any cool stuff I could see. Obviously, it is a huge building and has everything from and to. (real size T-rex dinosaur, ride on a 60 feet Ferris wheel, 40,000 sq feet Barbie house (believe it or not, I missed it and bunch of buildings built out of Legos).

This guy was in video section

No way without gigantic gobstoppers at Wonka area :)

\

60 feet high Ferris wheel

 Real size T-rex who was growling

Lipstick building that took 302 hours to build and consists of 72,480 Lego pieces. Blows your mind!                        

Of course, Statue of Liberty

This building is at Columbus Circle but I no matter how I dug for the name of it, I could only find the name for the building that is in front of it. So, not sure what it is.        

I loved this King-Kong climbing up the building! :)

Also.. this store had expensive items like Super Star Destroyer (3152 pieces) - $400 or Death Star 3803 pieces also $400. I have not seen it in Harrisburg area..