Max Brenner and Times Square

Matt and I snuck away for a few hours.  Our plan of attack was to grab cheap broadway tickets from the TKTS booth in Times Square, grab some lunch and then walk around a little bit.  But those plans changed once we saw that the TKTS Book line was 2 hours long and we only had 1 hour before the show we wanted to see.

So we skipped the show and ate lunch at Guy's American Kitchen and Bar in Times Square which was overpriced but yummy.  We then walked around Times Square, Bryant Park and took the subway down to Union Square to walk around and stop in Max Brenner for some cold treats.  It's the first restaurant I've been to where you can actually make your own s'mores....by roasting your own marshmallows right at your table.

So fun!

Times Square.  This place is always hustling and bustling.  Traffic is always atrocious, especially if you are stuck in a taxi in Times Square.

Grand Central Station.

Free Magic Shows and Bryant Park.

A make your own ice cream bar.

Malted Shakes.

FAO with the bro

We spent another day that Matt was in town going to FAO and walking in Central Park, eating ice cream, climbing rocks, walking through the zoo and stopping for some water fun at a park.

A little fountain the plan in.

She was curious and scared at the same time!

Mikey loved running under the fountains.

Manhattan, Staten Island and Brooklyn oh my!!!

My brother took a few vacation days and decided to spend them with us in the city before we move to CT.  It was super hot while he was here but we decided to forge ahead and sight see and do stuff around the city.

One of those days we hit 3 out of the 5 boroughs.  Manhattan of course, then we took the subway down to walk around Battery Park and took the Staten Island ferry to get great views of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan.  We hopped off the ferry and hopped right back on to the walk to the South Street Seaport and enjoy some lunch and views of the Brooklyn Bridge and East River.

After lunch we walked to the Court House and continued to the beginning of the Brooklyn Bridge.  We were standing there in the scorching hot sun, sweating, deciding if we should go for it and walk the 1.1 miles across or just succumb to the 95 degree heat and go home.....so we went for it.  It's something I've been wanting to do since we moved here and I knew if we didn't do it while we were right there and had the opportunity that I'd regret not doing it.

It was awesome!  Lots of great views....and it was breezy over the water.  Much cooler than standing in the middle of the concrete jungle.

After walking across we stopped for some fresh ice cream at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, and the kids finally got to ride on Jane's Carousel!  They loved it and after we let them run around the open green space before hoping on the East River Ferry to high tail it back home for a late dinner.

A very busy but fun and exhilarating day!  Now....the only hiccup was that I forgot my camera and my phone....so I've had to rely on pictures my brother took!

The walk begins.

Views from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Mikey was not into getting his picture taken or sitting in the stroller or walking...so I carried him the majority of the way.

View of the East River and Hudson River meeting.

Free cold water straight from the tap in Brooklyn.

It was finally open!

East River Ferry ride with Matt.

First chore!!!

Mikey and Katie love to be in the kitchen when I'm in the kitchen.  It never fails.  Normally I wouldn't consider this a problem except my kitchen is barely big enough for one person.  I just can't move with two little munchkins at my feet in such a small space.  It drives me crazy!!!  So today I decided rather yelling at them that they are in the way while I'm trying to put the clean dishes away, I decided to put them to work.  Granted it took 3 times as long as it would have taken me, but it kept them occupied and they did a great job at sorting all the cutlery.

It's never to early to start.....bring on the chores!

Didn't mean to cut that much-oops.

So after giving Mikey a haircut / buzz for the summer I all of a sudden had a pile of Katie's hair on the dresser too.  What did I just do?

She was just sitting so nice watching the Bubble Guppies and I had the scissors in my hand and decided she needed a little trim.  I noticed for the past few weeks that she was looking more and more wild no matter what hair style I gave her.  So I trimmed the back just a little to be a little more even with the front and yup... I cut off about and 1 1/2 inches of her hair.  I panicked a little when I saw the pile of hair. So now she is sporting a cute little semi-bob if you will.

Once upon a time

Scott tells lots of stories he makes up to the kids....something he got from his Grandpa Bob.  Mikey recently picked up on it and now he loves telling stories to everyone too.

It starts like this "Once upon a time...." and always has Optimus Prime in his story and some aliens and going to Papa's house.

Lots of birthdays

With our fair share of friends we also have had our fair share of birthdays to celebrate!!!
During the month of June it felt like we had a birthday every weekend....oh wait we did!

I remembered to take pictures at 2 of those parties.  We partied with Mikey's friend Evan (from school) at the Little Gym and the kids love the cupcakes and running around!

We also celebrated Mael and Anais 3rd birthday.  It was a princess and pirate themed.  I love the cake that Marie made and she had yummy cupcakes too that were colored with beets!  Love that!

Move to new house?

For the last few weeks we have been talking about how we are moving to a new house.  Mikey talks about it daily and wants to move into his "new house" with "Bailey" and "have my own room."

He even asked to get out the luggage and has been packing and un-packing on a daily basis.  It's cute to see what toys make the cut.  Some days the luggage is packed to the gills and other days he picks a few special toys he wants to take.

We have talked exhaustively and extensively about the movers and how they are going to come and pack everything up including all the toys and deliver them to our new house.

He is so concerned that some of his toys will not make it.  Bless his heart.  Everything is going to be packed and everyone is coming with us too....Daddy, Mommy, Michael, Katherine (recently he has been using his full name and Katie's full name too) and Bailey.

Picking a few select toys and he threw in his cup because he said he will get thirsty.

Foodie

It's been a while since I've done a food post and since I love food this post is long overdue.  I thought I'd share some easy, quick, simple, and healthy recipes I've recently made. I'm always on the look out to make new recipes, meals that are easy and light.  Do you have any favorites?!  I want to hear about them!!


These peanut butter oatmeal butterscotch chip cookie dough balls were a hit.  They disappeared almost as quickly as I made them.  Hence why there are only 5 left in the pic. below.  Both Scott and I and the kids loved them. A great easy snack and healthy! It's no bake too! The recipe is (Here).

These are a new favorite and I make a new batch about once a week.  They are super healthy, and have lots of protein to keep us fuller longer. They are so much cheaper than the protein bars in the grocery store and I actually know what's inside them. I add 3/4 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup almond butter and I didn't have apricots on hand so I used raisins.  I wrap in wax paper and store in fridge. The recipe is (here).

 These protein pancakes are a personal favorite of mine.  I usually have this breakfast at least 2 times a week.  Supposedly, if you mix egg whites and protein powder together you get a cake like consistency.   The recipe is (here).

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try since I had a zucchini to use up. These were delicious and paired great with a salad for lunch.  The kids even liked it!  The recipe is (here).

NYC fruit stands!

The warmer weather has been around here for a while now.  As soon as the weather warms up these cute little fruit stands pop-up everywhere.  They are literally every 2 to 3 blocks.  My favorite stand is this one right down on York Avenue.  I find that the closer these stands are to the subway on Lexington Ave. the more expensive they become.  They are so convenient when you just want to snack on a banana while walking or grab some blueberries for home.

I love these little things about New York.