new year, new resolutions

Well here we are again...  It's January.  I'm supposed to come up with some New Year's resolutions.  I really hate this part...  The only resolution that I've ever, in the history of resolutions, actually kept, was to stop biting my fingernails.  And that was like... twenty years ago???  (Truthfully, probably longer than that...)  Last year (or maybe the year before) I resolved to get out of debt, and of course, the overdone, unrealistic "lose weight."  So yeah, none of that has happened. 

Well, that's not entirely true.  I'm still in debt, but I've gotten a LOT better.  I cut up my credit card, transferred the balance to one with a lower interest rate, and I don't use the new one at all.  I've gotten the balance on my car down to $370.42 (as of next week), so it will be paid off next month.  I borrowed a tiny amount of money from Emma's savings account to do that, but hey, she isn't using it right now, so I'll pay it back...  After the car is done, I'll tackle that remaining credit card balance, which hopefully, will be paid off before Christmas.  That's the goal anyway.

I'll be honest, the weight thing would be nice, but when it comes to choosing between something greasy and salty, or something tasteless...er...healthy... I'll pick the greasy, salty fries at McDonald's every time.  Well, those and the large, caramel frappe, but that's another story...  This year, it's going to be different.  I am going to lose some weight, because this time, I have no choice.  We're going on a cruise.  My wonderful sister-in-law called us up and invited us to go on a Disney cruise with her family and my mother-in-law.  Of course we said yes!!  Unfortunately, that was before we realized how much it costs, but that's also another story.  The problem with the whole trip IS my wonderful sister-in-law.  Did I mention that she and her husband ran a marathon last year???  It's just not right...


So in an effort to avoid becoming the only whale sighting on our cruise, I'm on a diet.  Garfield once said that a diet is "DIE with a T!"  He's right.  But I'm going to do it.  Somehow, some way.  I've been watching what I'm eating, and I plan to start exercising when it warms up a bit.  I've only fallen off the wagon three times since I started.  WHAT???  So it's just January 10th!  You can't just go cold turkey when you've been eating crap for like four years straight you know...

Just what the heck happened here???

Yesterday, we celebrated Forrest's tenth birthday.  (pardon me for a second while I throw up...)  Could someone please tell me how this happened???  I know I ask this every time he has a birthday, but still...  I just can't believe that it's been ten YEARS since he was born!!  I don't think it's because it makes me feel old.  I don't know what it is.  I just know that I spent the entire day staring at him, and reminiscing about the whole birth experience, and the way he USED to look!  I mean really, how can I sit here and compare the tiny baby toes of the 6 pound 12 ounce baby that I gave birth to with these GIANT feet??? 

All day long (okay, let's be honest...  and many days before...), I thought about that tiny face, little feet, and that bald head that I held for the first time ten years ago.  Chris and I were still in our 20s, living in our condo, and had just been married for three years.  I remember finding out that I was pregnant (after taking FOUR tests!).  I remember the whole pregnancy, and the nesting that went along with it.  I remember getting up that morning and finding an entire container of melted ice cream that one nervous daddy-to-be had left on TOP of the refrigerator.  I remember the silent ride to the hospital, with two nervous parents not knowing what to expect, much less what to say.  I remember minute by minute every.single.detail. of that day.

I guess it was after he actually got here, my memory and clarity disappeared, and everything since then is a blur.  That's what happens when you don't sleep for FIFTEEN MONTHS!!!  Yep, you read that right...  Forrest didn't sleep all the way through the night for over a year.  To this day, I don't know how I survived.  Seriously, I'm the girl that requires a minimum of nine hours of sleep each night to even be functional the next day, let alone nice.  It took me until he was two to decide if I thought I might possibly want to go through this all over again...  But even with the lack of sleep, and complete void of any "me time," I wouldn't trade ANY of it and I'd do it all over again in a second (which I finally did a couple of years ago when Emma joined our crazy family...)!

God is the one that's ultimately responsible for all of this, and I'm so very thankful the he blessed us with these two beautiful, healthy children.  I also have to smile and be thankful that He has guided us in raising them.  Forrest is such an amazing blessing in our lives!! He has such a crazy, funny personality, and he is so enjoyable to be around.  He succeeds at everything he does!  He plays baseball, and does martial arts.  He gets straight As in school, and is in the advanced reading and math group.  We don't have to remind him to do his homework because he has learned to be responsible and he gets it done right after school.  He helps me out with Emma, and he is so good and patient with her.  She absolutely ADORES him!  She copies everything he says and does.  We couldn't be more lucky to have him in our lives!!



Halloween 2010

Even so, I'm still traumatized that he's turned ten.  When I look back at where we were when he was born, I can't believe how much has changed!  Last night, I started thinking about where we'll be ten years from now.  Yeah, that was scary...  Ten years from NOW, Emma will be a teenager, and Forrest will be halfway through COLLEGE!  He will have been driving for four years, have graduated from high school, and could potentially be dating the woman that he will marry!!!!  EEEKKKK!  I have to stop it, and I mean NOW!!



Pitching for Thunder - spring 2011

But when it came time for bed, my birthday boy asked me to lay down with him for a while.  As we lay there, completely squished in his twin-size bed, I couldn't help but remember that ten years ago, that very day, I was doing the same thing.  Sure, it was a little different...  Then, he was asleep on my chest in the hospital.  Now, he's stretched out next to me, trying not to move since there is so little room in his bed.  *sigh*  I wouldn't trade those moments for anything, because I know that ten years from now, I won't be able to climb in bed with him until he falls asleep. 

out of the mouths of babes

You've always heard that, right? Now that I have children, I know that it's so very true! Since Forrest was born, I have heard more funny things than I ever would have thought possible. I've also become more aware of some of the things that I say and do that I didn't think about before. I knew that children learned from their parents, but there are so many things that Forrest has learned that we didn't intend to teach him...
Sometimes it's just a facial expression, like wrinkling your nose. Sometimes, it's repeating what was said or done. The first thing we actually noticed was when he would take a drink from his sippy cup, he would let out a huge "ahhhhh" after each swallow. I thought it was funny, but then I suddenly realized that he had picked that up from US! Not that it was a bad habit or anything, but we didn't even realize that we were doing that. In fact, I'm STILL not sure which one of us does that, but he's learned it somewhere!!!

Then there was the time that we were eating dinner. I had gotten up to rinse my dishes, and Chris went to do the same. As he stood up, he dropped his fork on the floor. Forrest didn't skip a beat, and sarcastically piped up "That's good, Chris!!" Chris was FURIOUS with him, but I was laughing so hard that I was crying!! I tried my best not to let Forrest see me, but it was just too funny and I couldn't stand it. Chris was giving me the evil eye, and I just had to tell him that he couldn't get mad because Forrest had heard that directly from him. Chris is eternally muttering to himself whenever he does something stupid, and all Forrest did was say something that he had heard before. How can you fault him for that?

And it's not just MY kids! A while back, we met my sister-in-law in Chattanooga and took my two oldest nieces to the aquarium for the day. At dinner that evening, I took the girls to the restroom. As Hanna (7) was pulling down her jeans, Sydney (3) pulled up her dress and sat down on the toilet. Hanna got a little indignant and said "Sydney! I was getting ready to go!" Sydney's response? "You're too late, Honey Bunny!" (Picture the Men on Film doing two snaps up in a circle...)  I could have DIED! It was so great, and I never would have imagined that coming out of a three year old's mouth. She picked that one up from her mom. So funny!!

Then there are the NOT so good things that get repeated... Forrest has spit out a few cuss words here and there. Fortunately, he didn't learn those at home (unless it was on the TV), BUT he wouldn't tell exactly where he heard them either... One afternoon, I found myself having to explain what bitch means (at least the actual meaning of the word), and then having to tell him that it is often used incorrectly and the way he had heard it used was NOT nice. I really didn't want to have to explain to him the meaning of the word, but I figured I would be best to get it out of the way. There was also the time that we were at Chris' company Christmas party when he came up with another little jewel that nearly made me melt into the floor!

Forrest was throwing a tennis ball with one of Chris' co-workers. You'd almost have to see where they were doing this, but it was at the entrance to the company showroom. The front door is about five steps up from the main floor. Forrest was at the top of the steps by the door, and Jay was on the landing below him. They were getting a little wild with their game, and Jay pegged it really hard back at Forrest. Mind you, Jay is standing five steps below Forrest, so it seemed like the ball was thrown a bit low. At the top of his voice, Forrest yells "Don't hit me in the NUTS!!" I could have died right there... I can PROMISE you that he didn't hear THAT terminology at home! I was pretty cool about it, but when I asked him where he heard that word, he refused to answer me. He knows when I ask him where he heard something that it was a word that shouldn't have been repeated, and he won't get anyone in trouble over it.

Or there was the time this past baseball season when his coach made him bunt (he'd had all of ONE lesson in how to do it), and he struck out.  Chris was NOT happy about this!  The game ended shortly afterwards.  It was about 12 degrees and raining outside, so I rushed Forrest off to the car to get the heat going.  Chris was getting the gear together, and was a bit behind us.  As we got into the car, Forrest says "Daddy is PISSED OFF!"  What do you do?  I had to laugh!  So I said, "Yes...  Yes he is...  But let's don't say that word, okay?  It's not a nice word.  And where did you hear that word anyway?"  His answer?  PAWN STARS!!  Oops!!

More random quotes from Forrest:

Me: "So who are your best buddies at school?"

Forrest: "Well, Nick, Caleb, Spencer and Roshan."

Me: "What about girls? Aren't you friends with any girls?"

Forrest: "Well, it's just that they all got vicious somehow..."

Forrest (singing "Jingle Bells"): "Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh, O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way. Bells on bobtails ring, making spirits cry..."

Me (laughing): "Making spirits CRY? It's supposed to be a happy song!!"

Forrest (working on a research project on Squanto-4th grade):  "Do you like my picture Daddy?"

Chris:  "Yeah, babe.  That's great!"

Forrest:  "I drew him some nipples."

(Chris and I about to D.I.E.)

Forrest:  "WHAT???  I figured Indians don't wear shirts, so he needed some nipples!"



Squanto and his "naughty bits"



Really?? Every 7 years???

I was once told that your body changes (drastically) every 7 years.  Hmmmmm...  As I'm getting older, I'm not sure I like this.  I guess it makes sense, although it wasn't as noticeable when I was younger.  My teeth started falling out at 7, puberty at 14...  I don't really remember what happened at 21...  Maybe I was just in a drunken haze...  But now 28...  THAT was a monumental year!!


When I was 28, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.  Oh joy!  That was a blessing!  My sister told me when I hit 30 that I would completely fall apart (she's 7 years older than me).  Well, I didn't even make it to 30!!!  ARTHRITIS at 28????  It started with my hands.  I noticed that when I was not using them, they would get to where I couldn't squeeze them or make a fist.  It would be like that in the mornings, or if I was just laying there watching TV for a while.  My doctor was the one to break the fantastic news...  She said that it wasn't carpal tunnel because it wouldn't affect my pinkie, so it had to be arthritis.  Well, GREAT!


Not long after that, my knee started bothering me.  It hurt to walk on it, and it was swollen up to twice the size of the other one.  I was just SURE that I had done something to it.  (I had no idea what, since I don't believe in exercise so I just don't do it...)  I made the appointment at KOC, and after several x-rays, I was informed that it was arthritis.  Even better!  It's SPREADING...


Other than this, I've been fairly healthy.  I'm not out sick from work, and I rarely have problems outside of an occasional sinus infection (except for the time that my boss decided to come to work with the flu and share it, but that's another story...).  It's all good.  At least it WAS until this past February.  Did I mention that I was 35??


In February, I got the stomach bug.  Well, at least I thought it was the stomach bug.  Emma woke up in the middle of the night, and she had thrown up.  That was a first for her.  She's never thrown up in her two years of life (and I don't count spit up-that's not vomit people!).  I didn't feel bad at all until early the next morning.  When the alarm went off, I just didn't feel right.  I decided early on that I was going to stay home from work.  I figured I'd just keep Emma with me, and it would be all good by the end of the day.  I felt a bit like throwing up (which I HATE to do worse that anything on this earth!), but thought if I stayed still, maybe if would pass.  Ummmmm....  not so much...  It was all down hill from there.  I finally decided to just go throw up and get it over with...  Let's just say that wasn't the end of the story...


I won't grace you with the gory details, but I didn't just throw up.  There was more to it.  You can figure it out...  So anyway, I never threw up again, but the rest of the fun continued on for WEEKS!  I would be fine as long as my stomach was empty, but the second I ate something, I felt AWFUL!  After two weeks of this, I had finally had enough.  I looked (and felt) like death, so I dragged myself to the walk-in clinic.  The doctor started talking about my gall bladder.  Oh joy!  Now THERE'S something I'd never thought about!  He gave me some pills to take that would help keep my food down, and sent me on to my regular doctor.  Well, two months, five doctor visits, $190 in OV co-pays, two scripts, $16 in pharmacy co-pays, an ultrasound, a gall bladder function test, and one surgery later, I'm happy to report that I'm feeling just fine...


I am NOT looking forward to turning 42!  Maybe by then, I will have built up some personal time again.  At least I have six more years to worry about it... 

The terrible twos...

So here we are...  My precious little girl, the one that I prayed for, has turned two.  Oh my goodness...  I'm completely horrified that my BABY is two-and-a-half already!  How did THAT happen???  She was just born yesterday!  Geez...  She has grown so much that I just can't believe it!  Her hair is all the way down to her butt when it's wet (I still haven't cut it).  She's got the most beautiful curls you've ever seen!  Gorgeous blond ringlets...    

Just LOOK at those curls!!

And the sweetest smile that will just melt your heart...  






It's a good thing she's so cute because there are days that I'm about ready to pinch her head off!!!  She has started this earlier than Forrest did, but my precious baby girl is going through the terrible twos!  There is seldom a day that goes by when I don't get some note from the daycare that says that she bit, hit, scratched, or pinched one of her "friends" at school.  (I put that in quotation because I seriously don't believe that you would treat an actual friend that way!!)  She's just plain AWFUL!!  One morning as I was dropping her off, the teacher was talking about how she can "hold her own" in her class.  She made some comment about how she's learned a lot from her big brother.  I had to point out that she hasn't learned ANY of that from Forrest, but has learned it at SCHOOL!  (Either that, or it's just inborn evil that can't be cured.  That's always a possibility.  BUT I digress...) 

It's pitiful, actually.  Forrest takes SO much abuse...  She treats him much like she treats her "friends" at school...  And he's so great.  He just sits there and takes it.  He never retaliates at all.  In fact, she acted so awful one night in the grocery store that I swear he is the sole reason she's still alive today (she should be very grateful)!  I got the car buggy thinking that it might keep her entertained for a bit, and hopefully, I would be able to get my shopping done. 

Forrest, God love him, even tried to squeeze into the thing with her.  Yeah, that lasted until I got to the shampoo aisle (the first aisle in the store, in case you were unaware).  She managed to undo the seat belt, jumped out, and ran wild through the body section in Kroger, all the while grabbing shampoo and deodorant off the shelves.  He chased her down and brought her back (the first jewel in his crown), and I put her in the baby seat up top.  After the kicking and screaming, a serious discussion (really, why did I bother with a two-year-old??), and a lot of snot, she agreed to sit still in the car.  Uh huh...  That lasted all of two minutes...  Then she was out again, and trying to grab stuff out of the cart.  When I took something away from her, oh Lord the fit!!  Picture this... (I'm channeling my inner Sophia) There we were in the dairy section... me, Forrest, and Satan...  It was a sight to see...  She was on the floor, kicking and screaming, arching her back, the whole bit.  I pretended that I didn't know WHO this crazy child was for a few minutes while I sorted through coupons and picked out my cottage cheese.  Finally, there was no ignoring her...  I picked her up (still kicking and screaming), and I got the look.  You know the one?  The sympathetic, "I'm so sorry...  I know what you're going through" look from a lady nearby.  I politely asked her if she would like a two-year-old.  She smiled, declined, and said "Oh honey, I can smile because I've been there and done that.  But no, I don't want to do it again!"  Well, great!  If you can't give your children away to the patrons at Kroger, who CAN you give them to???  This is when Forrest kicked in.  He went to the front of the store, and came back with another buggy and a bag of Skittles.  He put her in the empty cart and fed her Skittles as we went through the store.  She really does owe him her life...  (Besides, if you can't eat the food you're buying while still in the store, what's the point???) 

Chris is amazed at how defiant she can be.  She gets so angry when you tell her no, she will hit or bite you.  Or even better yet, she will bite HERSELF!  Yep, that's another sight to behold...  She going to be a great mom because she's already got the "evil eye" thing down.  You wouldn't believe the look she gives me when she doesn't get her way!  This is what happened at Christmas when I told her that she couldn't have another sucker (at 8:00 in the morning...). 

And THIS is what happened just last week when it was time for her bath...

Please note: This happened AFTER she refused to get out of the car and threw a fit for 5 minutes in the driveway.  When I went and got her, she threw herself on the floor, just inside the front door.  That went on for another 5 minutes before she was spanked and dragged upstairs.  The video doesn't even do it justice...  I didn't show her whole body because she was naked from the waist down.  You can't get the full effect without seeing the legs kicking as she carried on...

One more note:  This fit continued for another 10 minutes after I stopped filming...  *sigh*  I know, I know...  You wish you were me.

The Facebook Phenomenon

I'm going to go ahead and say it...  I'm a Facebook junkie.  Whew!!  There it is...  It's out there.  I said it.  Not that the people that I know and love didn't realize this already.  It's funny, actually.  I only set up a Facebook account because a friend of mine sent the invite.  At the time, I was all into the My Space thing, which apparently has gone the way of the dinosaur.  So anyway, I set up this Facebook page and never touched it again for over a year.  I guess I got bored one day and logged in, and I ended up actually updating my information, and adding a profile pic and such.  I remember a friend writing on my wall, "Look who's finally pimping out their Facebook page!"  It's been down hill since then...

I kept the My Space page for some time, but I finally just deleted the whole thing because I just never logged in to it any more.  Besides, it seemed like no one was using it.  They were all on Facebook.  So I am now officially a Facebook junkie!  I love to log in and see what my friends are doing, see their pictures, and just catch up.  It's true, most of my Facebook friends aren't people that I see on a regular basis, but at some point in my life, I have called them friend.  Just because I haven't seen them in a while doesn't mean they aren't my friend still, right?  I've found friends of mine from middle school that I have wondered about over the years, but we had lost touch.  I've loved finding them and getting the chance to find out where they are now, how they are doing, and seeing their families.  It's cool to get to hear from a friend that you last saw in seventh grade, and see her husband and children.  I've also been able to keep in touch with all of Forrest's teachers, which I LOVE!!  I've loved ALL of his teachers and I want to be able to keep up with them and let them know how he is doing.  Plus, I like to know more about them in their personal lives.  They are much more than just his teacher... 

I even set up a Facebook page for my husband, and I've always laughed because for someone that NEVER logs in to his page, he has something like 90 friends now...  But I think I've finally converted him.  He has finally realized that he can log in and talk with his buddies that he never sees about fishing (or whatever it is that guys talk about), and (SHOCK of all SHOCKS!) he admitted that he actually LIKES Facebook now!  He has even POSTED on his WALL!!!  (**WARNING - the world might be coming to an end...)  He was actually asking me how to blog last night...  Okay, now I KNOW the world is coming to an end!!!

Now in talking with friends and family, I've heard several of them say that they have "rules" when it comes to Facebook.  It usually involves not friending co-workers, family, neighbors, etc, but I haven't applied any of those rules to my page.  I'll accept a friend request from people that I know (I do have the whole thing restricted because hey, there are pictures of my kids on there...), regardless of whether it is a co-worker or neighbor or whatnot.  Unfortunately, there have been times when this has come back to bite me...

Sadly, there have been a few things here lately that have bothered me about Facebook.  I probably shouldn't care, but I'm bugged all the same.  A while back, one of my neighbors had a party at a cabin in Gatlinburg for her husband.  The girl across the street is probably her best friend, and obviously, she and her family were invited.  No big deal, right?  I'm usually invited to these neighborhood functions, but I didn't really think a thing about it.  I didn't know her that well, so whatever.  But the Monday after the Gatlinburg weekend, the news feed blew up with ALL of my neighbor's pics of the cabin in Gatlinburg.   ALL of them were there!  ALL of them...  We were the ONLY ones that weren't invited.  Not that we would have ended up going, but that really hurt my feelings.  I know it probably shouldn't have, but it did, and none of them even noticed.  In fact, as I write this, there is a party planned for this weekend, and once again, I haven't been invited.  *sigh*

Then there is the matter of getting deleted...  I can get VERY political on my Facebook page.  Now I don't go and post stuff on YOUR page, so if you don't agree with me, then don't look at my page.   You don't have to delete me!  Heck, you can even hide me from the news feed if it bugs you, but why would you delete me?  I could see if I posted stuff that you disagreed with on YOUR page, but I don't, so WHY did you delete me??  The other day, I actually emailed someone that deleted me and flat out asked why she did.  I mean really, if I have offended you, I would like to know about it...  The last time we had any correspondence on Facebook was just after she got engaged, and I was congratulating her and telling her that she would make such a beautiful bride.  Is there something offensive in saying that??  So anyway, she emailed me back to tell me that while we were "buds in high school," we hadn't talked in a while, so she was just de-cluttering her friends list to make things more simple for her.  Ummmmm, okay...  So no, I haven't seen her in a while, but how are we GOING to talk if she deletes me from her friends list?  I can only surmise that it has to do with my political views, and she must disagree.  That reasoning just made no sense...

There was also the time that I sent a friend request to a friend's mom.  Her daughter and I were close friends (along with two other girls) in high school, and we all even went on vacation together after graduation.  So I guess she didn't realize that when you accept a friend request that it sends an email notification.  She accepted my request, and then DELETED me!  (I guess she didn't realize you can just hit ignore...)  I didn't really think a whole lot about it at the time.  I used to go by my middle name, and now that I'm married, I've got a different last name.  Plus, let's face it, I'm old and I don't look the same as I did in high school...  So I friended her again...  But this time, I included a message telling her who I am and blah blah...  and she did it AGAIN!!  Now I get that she's a big ol' democrat, but really...  She's probably 60-something years old...  Can we all be adults here??

Then there is my sister...  I'm still not sure what's up with that one...  Yes, she's also a big ol' democrat, but she is my SISTER!  That would be FAMILY!!  She has either (a) deleted her entire Facebook profile, or (b) BLOCKED me altogether...  I seldom see her, even though she lives in town, but she's still my sister and I love her.  Again, I'm left to think that if I've been blocked, it's because of my politics...  *sigh* 

So I guess I'm currently having a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  There are so many good things about it, but I've been noticing the bad things too.  I've had to block all of my co-workers from viewing my wall posts (that earned me a delete too).  Should I be this sensitive?  Probably not, but I am.  One thing is certain, I'm learning a lot about my friends, whether it's GOOD, BAD, or UGLY...

Our trip to New York

Yeah, yeah... It's been a thousand years since I've blogged, but I've been B.U.S.Y. It started with work completely blowing up. A girl that worked here got fired, so we've all taken on some extra work and some of our job responsibilities have shifted. The good news is, we hired someone new and she is wonderful, BUT it took a little time for her to get acclimated and up to speed. Now that she is, things are beginning to settle back down, but it's been hectic since New Year's. Oh, and an update on my resolutions... I don't think I've stuck to ANY of them!! But on to bigger and more interesting items-our TRIP...

Chris and I decided that this year, we would use our tax return for something fun for a change. For the first time since we moved into our house, we didn't use it for carpet, windows, a new AC unit, tile, etc. Originally, we were going to take a long weekend, just the two of us, to go to Miami to fish for peacock bass, and the on to the Everglades. In case you're wondering, this is what one looks like...

Well, that dream ended pretty early on... It got so cold this past winter that there was a giant fish kill in Florida and a bunch of the bass died off. They aren't native to this country, and they require really warm weather, so when it got down to freezing in Florida, that was all she wrote.
We decided that we would figure out a fun alternative, so the idea of going to New York City was born. We agreed that we would take Forrest and that Emma would stay home. I thought that would be the best, and Forrest has been so great with Emma that he deserved some one on one time with us. Well, Chris didn't have to ask twice... I booked it ALL!! You can just refer to me as a tour guide from here on...

Day 1:

Flew from Knoxville at 6:00 (getting up at 3:00 am isn't as fun as it used to be... or was it ever fun??).

Forrest's first flight!!

going down the runway...

Landed in Newark, New Jersey airport at about 10:30 am.

Rode the Air Train from Newark to Manhattan. Not unpleasant, but it took about 1 1/2 hours. This was a smart move on my part. A cab would have cost over $100, but we got there for about $36.

Exited the train at Penn Station, New York. The first thing we was after coming out of the station saw the Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden.

Walked nearly 20 blocks to the hotel (not the smartest thing on my part, but I didn't know where the hotel really was...). For future reference, I will call the hotel and find the cross street. The MAILMAN didn't even know the street numbers!

Left the bags at the hotel and walked to FAO Schwarz (another long walk...). Note to self: wear more comfortable shoes... The giant piano from the movie "Big" is there. There are actually two girls that are paid to dance on it about every 20 minutes. It's on sale for the bargain price of only $250,000.00.

 Forrest was sooooo excited to go to FAO Schwarz! He saved his money for months...

Back to the hotel, then on to dinner, Toys R Us, M & M, Hershey's (which is conveniently across the street from the M&M store), and finally, the Empire State Building (again, not smart on my end-the line was over two hours long).

Forrest discovers the giant Toys R Us store in Times Square (it has a Ferris Wheel INSIDE!!)

 the M&M Store-whoever thought this up was a GENIUS...

 The Empire State Building BEFORE we went in... We were in line for 2 1/2 hours to get up to the observation deck. Note to self: go at a different time, or don't go at all! It was beautiful, but not worth the wait!

The Chrysler Building as seen from the Empire State Building observation deck. By the time we made it through the line, it was completely dark outside.

Day 2:

Breakfast at the hotel, and on to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This was probably one of my most favorite parts of the trip. I was smart enough to buy reserve tickets before we left, and we only had to wait about 25 minutes in line (as opposed to the folks in line for over three hours!).

We got there early, so we had time to walk a few blocks up to the World Trade Center site. The last time I was in New York was just after the 1993 bombing, but the buildings were still there. It was such a sad place to be, knowing that so many innocent people lost their lives there...

the view of our Lady from Battery Park

the view from the ferry

Just to get an idea of how BIG she is... Forrest is sitting on her big toe! This was a mold of her foot that was taken during renovations in the 1980s.

Ellis Island

The luggage room at Ellis-passengers were told to put down their things and go upstairs for the medical check. What an amazing place!!

Day 3:

Breakfast at the hotel, and on to the Museum of Natural History.

 Forrest was amazed at the dinosaur exhibit! This was the first time he had ever seen life-size dinosaur bones. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time, so we barely made it through any of the museum, and we were there for over two hours!

Next stop: Yankees game!! They played the Cleveland Indians, and won 11-2. A-Rod hit a grand slam homer in the bottom of the 7th inning-his 20th career grand slam!

the view from our seats

the newest A-Rod fan!!

After the game and dinner, we did a walking tour of Grand Central Station.

This was such a fun trip!! I think we crammed everything possible into four days that you could. There were so many things there that we didn't see, but the mom side of me wanted to get as much educational stuff in for Forrest that I could. Plus, I was more excited to see how HE would react to it all than I was for myself. I hope that we can go back again soon, and maybe take a few more days. I think we'll have to do more saving than just the tax return for that one...



Day 4:

Unfortunately, this was our last day. We did manage to squeeze in the King Tut exhibit before our flight. I didn't get any pictures though... We weren't allowed to take any.

We took the train back to the Newark airport (which only took 30 minutes on the return trip-go figure...) and spent the remainder of the day in three different airports. This was a looonnnnngggg day!!