Urban Garden

We are slowly moving into our new apartment. This week we are painting, cleaning and getting our garden ready. Yes, finally, we have a bit of earth (albeit contained within planter boxes) to call our own here in NYC. Our new apartment has a large balcony with a fantastic view of the East River and the Manhattan skyline. This balcony is large enough to hold our mini-garden, and still leave space for us to hang out during the warm summer months. We are incredibly excited about it.

We started our plants from seeds back in April, and just transplanted them to their new home out on the deck last week. The girls are excited to try out their green thumbs.

Here they are before they were transplanted. If everyone cooperates we will have Heirloom Tomatoes (Brandywine), Eva Tomatoes (had to buy those seeds just because of the name:), yellow grape tomatoes, peas, cilantro, dill, sage, chives, mint, rosemary, thyme, and basil.

My cilantro and dill have never turned out, even when we had a suburban life. I can't figure out how to keep them from going straight to seed. If you have some helpful hints, I would love to hear them before my dill becomes a five foot flower tower like last time :).

The girls also planted a fairy garden. They are 100% into fairies right now, and very excited about the idea of fairies coming to visit their balcony garden. Pictures to come of that craziness shortly.

Madeline is 8

This day came faster than I ever imagined it would. My Maddy turned 8 and prepared to be baptized.

She was able to share this special day with her close friend, Laura, who she shares a birthday with. They were born only hours apart, and have been friends since the first week we moved to NYC.

Marc performed the baptism. Grandpa and Grandma Chenn were also able to join us for the baptism. They came all the way from Hong Kong to join us. Grandma gave a wonderful talk on the Holy Ghost.

It was wonderful to have so many friends come and share this day with us.

I love this girl. It has been a joy to be the mom of Maddy. She has an understanding and faith that I admire. She is my peacemaker, and is well aware of the example she is to her younger siblings. She has a desire to choose the right, and to help others. I am so proud of her and her decision to be baptized.


For her baptism, Madeline's Aunt Sherie made her a headband constructed from some fabric and a button of an article of clothing once worn by her Great Great Grandma Angie Warner. Madeline does not remember Grandma Angie, because she passed away when Madeline was an infant. But, she does have a picture of her being held by her Great Great Grandma, which she treasures. She was so honored to receive this gift.

This was such a special, memorable day for our family. We love you Maddy!

Dance

Here are a few pictures from the mid-year parents night at the girls' dance studio. We got to come in and observe a typical class, and then take a peek at what they have in the works for their end of year recital. Of course, the day I come with my camera, Madeline forgets her ballet shoes and her tights :). Oh well.

Eva loves her tap class. She has a lot of energy, and this is a fantastic outlet for her. It keeps her busy feet so happy. She has a great sense of rhythm, and is so fun to watch. Madeline gets more flexible every day, and at times really amazes me with how graceful she is.

Madeline's 8th Birthday

Madeline turned 8 on the 15th of January. Going with our low-key birthday theme, we just had a small get-together with a few friends. They met together for about an hour to have some pizza, some cake, and a lot of giggles.

Maddy and Eva supplied the decorations. As you can see, it was a "snail" themed party. Frogs and worms were also thrown in for good measure. Madeline wanted a snail cake. I was devoid of cake inspiration until my friend suggested I utilize her igloo cake pan...which was genius. I added a cupcake to the igloo entrance for the head, and a snail was born. The girls helped to frost most of it. You can tell it was made with loads of love.

Time for the wishes and the candle extinguishing. Can you believe she is 8? I panicked when I realized that she is half-way to 16.
While we dined on cake, Marc took some time to tell her friends about Madeline's birth story.

After cake, our friends soon left, and we were off to the subway. This was the moment Madeline was waiting for. We gave her an envelope earlier in the day that she was instructed not to open until we were on the subway as a family. The envelope contained a clue as to what birthday activity our family would be headed off to. So, when we finally boarded the subway, she eagerly opened the letter and found...............circus tickets!

It was a first-time circus experience for the children.

Eva and Madeline enjoyed all of the nutritious refreshments. Owen didn't want anything to do with the big ball of sugary fuzz.

Here are a few circus pictures. Eva's favorite was the man who rode two horses at once (by standing on them!). Madeline loved the acrobats. Owen loved the human hamster wheel show.

Happy birthday Madeline! We love you!

Do-It-Yourself

This past week I was in the middle of placing a FreshDirect order when the girls stormed into my room.

"What are we going to eat for dinner?!!"

I am not to be disturbed during my online grocery shopping experience. I am focused, going through my weekly quasi-menu in my mind, trying to evaluate just how much over-priced food we will need delivered.

It was 5:30 p.m, and dinner preparation had yet to begin. The natives were restless and hungry. I scanned my computer files for something quick and easy.

I pressed print, and handed over a fresh copy of a new buttermilk waffle recipe to my 8-year-old. Yes, I must confess, we eat breakfast for dinner; especially on nights when I know Marc will be MIA.

Lately, I have been turning over my dinner recipes to the girls for some prep-time help. They search through the cupboards for all of the ingredients needed, so when I finally make it into the kitchen everything is on the counter ready to be measured. Madeline has even started helping me wash and chop some items, which I absolutely love.

After I handed over the recipe, the girls scurried off to the kitchen to begin their nightly hunt for ingredients.

I took a little longer on my grocery order than I should have, and then ended up answering a few emails. Before I knew it, 20 minutes had passed, and the kitchen had fallen silent. I realized that I needed to investigate.

"Girls, are you finished getting out all the ingredients for me?"

"SURPRISE!!!" came their reply as I rounded the corner and entered the kitchen.

I found Eva and Madeline perched on the counter top, hovering over a bowl filled with their very own creation.

"Mom! Mom! We made it ourselves!! We got all of the ingredients out, then we put all of the stuff together, and made this all by ourselves!!!"

-"Oh, WOW....really?" I was excited and worried all at once.

I looked around me. Baking soda, baking powder, egg shells, buttermilk, flour, salt, butter wrappers, and measuring spoons/cups littered the counter top. It seemed that all of the essential ingredients had indeed made it into the mixing bowl.

-"Did you follow the instructions?"

"What?!"

-"The part that tells you how to put the ingredients in the bowl."

"Ummmm...." Ok, I had my answer.

Oh well, no time to criticize the cooks, we needed to celebrate this initiative!!

So we fried some bacon, whipped some cream, warmed some syrup, heated the waffle iron, lit some candles, and hoped for the best.

The waffles were absolutely delicious. Not a shell in the batch. This may be our new Sunday dinner. I can take a nap while the girls concoct their signature waffles :). Did I mention how awesome it is to have a 6 and 8-year-old in the house? May they never grow up.

The Nutcracker

I have been anxious to see the New York City Ballet perform the Nutcracker for the past three years. So, you can imagine my delight when the girls received tickets to Balenchine's Nutcracker from Santa in their stockings. Obviously, the girls would need some chaperones to this event....and Marc and I were happy to oblige :).

Owen stayed with a babysitter. I wasn't sure of how he would respond. He has been able to make it through several Broadway productions- but those have dialogue and a lot of action. The ballet is different, and not exactly 3-year-old boy friendly.

The production was unexpectedly amazing. I mean, I knew it would be fantastic, but I was absolutely in awe of the set, the costumes, the choreography and the music. Even the concert hall which houses the production is breathtaking. I thoroughly enjoyed this special evening out with Marc and the girls. It will be remembered as one of my favorite outings of 2009.

Top two photos are obviously not mine.....they are taken from the nytimes

Christmas 2009

Our Christmas Eve celebration started off with a mid-afternoon visit to a beautiful cathedral on Manhattan's upper east side. Every year they have a Nativity program complete with donkeys, llamas, and sheep. The entire nativity is reenacted and sung by children of the congregation. It was unbelievably beautiful and well done, and the building acoustics were incredible.

After getting up to take Eva to the bathroom, I found one of these beauties parked in the corner, and had to get a shot. The baskets you see in the background, contained cute bell Christmas ornaments that they handed out to each of the children at the conclusion of the program. You don't want to know what the red bucket was used for.

To heighten the holiday experience, we let the kids take the bus on the way home. I am not a fan of buses here in NYC- I will take a subway over a bus any day. I feel the drivers (and the riders) of the buses are an especially grumpy group NYC'ers that I try to avoid. Plus, most of the time I find myself out-walking the bus as it stops frequently for passengers and for traffic. But, that is another post entirely....the point is that we got into the holiday spirit and granted a MTA Christmas wish by letting the munchkins ride their beloved bus- and they even managed to find three seats in a row in the back of the bus during rush hour, which is truly a Christmas miracle.

When we arrived home, the kids unwrapped their Christmas PJ's from grandma and grandpa, and we read, "T'was the Night Before Christmas." Eggnog was served, which is a Call tradition. I have determined that Call blood must run thick in Owen's veins....he is my only child that enjoys a good cup of nog. Maddy and Eva are always finished after a few sips. We put out our cookies for Santa, Madeline drew Mr. Claus a picture, and we called it a night. The girls and Owen went to bed with loads of excitement in their little bodies for what the morning would bring.

The morning came early........and as you can see, Owen slept well. Here are some images from our day:

Making a masterpiece with new marker set from Santa. Also in the background: a new Walkie Talkie.....that was definitely the highlight present of the day for Eva.
"I got vegetables from Santa??"

Someone was very excited about a her new fleece blanket from Gma and Gpa.

Taking a spin in his new "El Toro" bike. He thinks it is a Spider Man bike- I guess because it is red? Don't tell him the truth.
Saying "thank you" for gifts, and wishing Merry Christmas.