Stanley's trip is almost over :(

We had the pleasure of going to the NY Hall of Science and to Brooklyn Bridge Park. I think Stanley really enjoyed playing with the different experiments & learning just how old some of the "latest" inventions really are.

He learned about prisms, mirrors, energy and of the main attraction..... 1001 Inventions. There he learned about where a lot of the things we use today come from, who invented them & so on.













He learned about space & learned even more about earth's geology. He got to touch a rock from Mars and see the Mars Rover in action.





Then he learned about Alvin the deep sea submarine and got to touch the controls.





He learned about John Glenn, the astronaut and saw a real Mercury rocket with the capsule that John Glenn sat in. Then he learned about the 1964 World's Fair.





He learned about gamma rays & how to avoid them




He learned about x-rays and even did his own. Which got hung up on the wall.





Then he learned about molecules & ions and sound waves. Him & Meredith danced to create waves in the sound.







Yesterday we went for iced cream under the Brooklyn Bridge. First of all, this is the best ice cream I have ever had. It was simply sinful how good this iced cream was. We go back all the time for it because it's just that good. It doesn't matter that there is a Baskin Robbins 5 minutes away in either direction either.

Stanley was so happy to get to see the bridge before he left. He was so grateful that his teacher & family gave him permission to stay with us a few days longer.





And behind him, with the gold statue on top, is the municipal building. It's a really beautiful building. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/html/resources/man_munibldg.shtml

We sat down & ate our iced cream. Ok.... ate may or may not be a nice way to put it. We pretty much inhaled, like we were Hoover vacuums, the iced cream.





Then we walked around a little bit. We saw the Manhattan Bridge and the Empire State Building from under the bridge too.



We looked over the side at the East River & saw the lower Manhattan skyline.



Today is Stanley's last day with us and we're so sad to see him go. We're excited, though, that Stanley gets to go home to Juan with some story of adventure.

In honor of his send off, we went to Coney Island. We played in the sand and as always...... Stanley had way to much fun. The kids took turns burying him and then Stanley filled up a bucket with some authentic Coney Island sand and some shells to take home with him. I apologize in advance if the low tide smell came home with him.



We returned home, rested for a little while and then decided that because it was a special occasion we should have dinner backwards. We should start dinner with dessert. What better way to send Stanley off. No? And that's exactly what we did.



Tomorrow Stanley starts his journey home. We hope that we did a good job hosting Flat Stanley & we hope that Mrs. Froetschner lets him come visit again next year. Except that next year..... maybe Stanley can visit us when it's a little warmer. Maybe in like September or the end of March. And we promise that next year Stanley won't get a broken foot.

To Juan: There are 2 Flat Stanley's. One is the original one you sent to us. After a few to many mishaps and realizing that my bag was just not big enough to keep him safe, we made pocket Stanley. Kind of like a mini-me for Stanley. Also, Stanley's cast should be able to come off sometime after March 31, 2011. He should probably have another x-ray first though.

How is Sean 8 Months old already

Seriously. The passed 8 months have gone by so fast and so slow at the same time. Happy 8 months old to my sweet baby boy.









We love you Sean!!

I chose to stay at home

When I made the decision to stay at home to raise my kids, I chose to leave a very successful career that (at the time) not many folks had entered as of yet. Much less a young woman. I chose to say "to hell with my education." I'm grateful to have had a good education that I worked very hard for. I traveled. I came & went as I wanted. I did what I pleased. That part of my life taught me a lot. I'm very grateful to have been very good at what I did and was very successful, but......

I met my (now) husband and my life was put into perspective. A career and education weren't everything. In fact it meant nothing if I no longer LOVED what I did. I didn't love the work anymore. I loved the end. I loved the status is the field that I had, but..... I just didn't love what I was doing any longer.

When we got married & decided to have children, we decided that if we could afford it, I should stay home. We both believe that our kids are only this small once and one of us should be home with them, if it was possible. It wasn't an easy choice. I felt a lot of guilt when I decided to stay home. I had a lot of questions.

How would I contribute to our finances? Would I always feel like I was spending Rob's money? Would Rob think less of me? Would my kids think less of me? How would I pay for gifts for Rob when/if he deserved them? Would I feel like less of a person with no career? No income?

In the end, Rob reassured me that he believed, like me, that a mom should stay home with her kids if she wants to and is able to. He also assured me that the decision was 100% mine. Plus..... I didn't love what I was doing any longer. So after realizing money isn't what made me happy, but raising my kids would (most of the time), it was a no brainer.

I chose to stay at home. I chose to be a full time mom to my kids. And in the end, this career is harder than any other I can imagine. It's way more challenging than the exams I took to get certified. It's way more challenging than presenting your findings in front of a jury and being questioned by an attorney. I must redesign my entire life on a daily basis to accommodate everything everyone in my family needs & wants. I must constantly put my life into a balance and make sure everyone is healthy. I don't get sick days. I don't get vacations. Most days I don't even get a lunch 1/2 hour. I hardly get to meet with friends over drinks for lunch. Happy hour is one spent with no children crying and everything in its place.

Why do I bring it up? 


On Saturday as I sat waiting for story time a woman brought up to a man that hospitals were taking used law books. I mentioned that it was then tax deductible. That woman said, in a very dismissing tone, "Yeah. I'm sure he knows that. He's a lawyer." I turned my head and said nothing. I didn't make a scene. But in the end those few words really rubbed me the wrong way.

Who cares what he did for a living? I was merely pointing out something that may or may have been known by a man looking to make a donation. He could've been the Purple People Eater for all I care.

But why did she say it? I wonder if she thinks less of stay at home moms. I wonder if she feels as though a career makes the woman. Does she just think less of folks that aren't business owners or lawyers?

In the end none of it matters. I made my decision and I'm certain I made the right decision for my family. Being a business owner & leaving behind a career she worked very hard for and worked very hard to get through school for was her decision.

I just wish there wasn't such a stigma attached to being a stay at home mom. I wish more people realized that a lot of us had very different lives before children. A lot of us weren't bred simply to be wives & mothers.

I have the pleasure of spending my days trying new things. I spend my time reliving exciting things from my childhood and seeing them through fresh eyes. One pair brown and one pair blue.

Right now, as a matter of fact, Rob & I are watching Disney movies with Meredith. I am watching my daughter eat a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, holding it with freshly painted blue fingernails. Sean is taking a much deserved nap.

It doesn't get much better than this.

My role as teacher

Today at Meredith's school, I great pleasure (insert eye roll here) of speaking with another mom who told me that being a stay at home mom is so easy. She also went on to ask why I didn't have my kids enrolled in more "things", more classes. You know, because all I do is stay at home.

In the course of the same conversation bragging about how much money she spends to make sure he kids get the "best", she told me, again, how she was going to be spending $30k for pre-k for each of her kids because she wanted the best for them. Then she went on & on about how her 4 year old had to interview for the school. Yeah..... that shaking you felt was my jaw hitting the ground from shock.

As I rolled my eyes so far into the back of my head I could see my brain, I started to think about it. Why in the world would anyone spend $30k for a pre-k class? That to me is just insane. I also kindly pointed out that my kids don't need to be enrolled up the ying yang to experience life. I told her that her kids must miss out on a lot by not doing "stuff" and just being kids.

The more I thought about it the more I felt empowered by my knowledge that it doesn't take money to make sure my kids have the best. It takes love and experience to give my kids the best.

My role as their mother is to be their 1st teacher. My role is not to teach them to do great things. My job is expose them to things that make them see how great they already are. And no one needs to pay me $30k to do it! I mean it would be nice to have an extra $30k, but......

So she can spend $30k for pre-k. And she can continue to enroll them in class after class. I'll continue to spend my $2.25 (or whatever the MTA decides to charge) for a train ride & expose my kids to the world!

Where has Stanley Been?

Stan has been on quite the adventure lately. He's been to Times Square. You know... the crossroads of the world.









First he saw Madam Tussaud's wax museum and Ripley's Believe It or Not. And as he walked down the block he passed the Amsterdam Theatre.







He was so excited to see the New Year's Eve ball that drops every New Year's Eve. There was so much abuzz in Times Square. It was really quite the sight to see so many people & so much happening all at once.







As we searched for a place to eat lunch, we stopped in the Hard Rock Cafe and saw lots of cool memorabilia. We didn't stay though. The wait for a table was just to long.



As we walked we passed Nasdaq. We stopped to watch some stocks scroll passed us.





We ultimately decided to have lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp. We had lunch and enjoyed it very much. Stanley thought he was funny by diving into my beer. Humpf.....





Afterward he needed a nap and so he laid down with Sean.



After lunch we headed further up and stopped in Hershey's. Then we looked across the street & saw the biggest M&M we'd ever seen.









Have you ever seen a wall of M&M's? Who knew there were so many colors?





And I guess it wouldn't be a good day without an M&M dressed as Danny Terrio.



Stanley was so excited to see Mickey just walking around. Even I had no idea he visited NYC. I always thought people from NYC visited Mickey, but I guess he needs a vacation too. Right?



Then of course Stanley played a mean joke on me again. I thought his little adventure into my drink at lunch got him into trouble. Nope.... he was just introducing himself to one of NY's finest.



As we walked back to the train, we saw the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. Unfortunately that day it was to windy to go up to the observatory decks in the buildings, but he did see their majestic height & architecture.





And just before we got on the train..... Spongebob walked by. Apparently he's amphibious and also needed a vacation from the pineapple. Who knew?



On February 26th we went to a fundraiser for GiGi's Playhouse. It's a center for children with down syndrome & their families. Stanley had a good time and even met Miss. New York.