operation chaos hits indiana

initially i hesitated about delving too far into politics on this site where anyone who may or may not know or understand us can see. on second thought, this is OUR family blog and our views shape who we are as a couple and a family. no apologies!

so with that said, before tim had to head back to nj, we headed to the county courthouse to cast our early votes in the indiana primary. tim will still be out of town on may 6 (election day) and i had today off so i wanted to vote also.

we officially took part in operation chaos, which was initiated recently by rush limbaugh. operation chaos challenges republicans to get a democrat ballot in your state's primary and vote for hillary even though you'll vote for mccain in the general election. the purpose of this strategy is to strengthen republican interests in an election year because the more the dems duke it out, the more harm they do to themselves causing disarray and confusion within their own party. as the weeks and months go by and a democrat does not emerge as the nominee, it just strengthens mccain as he waits on the sidelines and has had all this time to focus on winning in november.


a year ago it was hard to imagine that a republican could win in 08 considering how many people dislike w and "want change." however rush has dedicated fans who agree with his sentiment and are taking his assignment seriously... after obama swept 11 states in a row, his lead evaporated in mid-march as hillary closed the gap. lately obama stumbled by ripping on small town america and he has been hurt by his spiritual adviser, rev jeremiah wright who is a complete nutjob and keeps talking and talking and talking. i bet they wish he'd go back on that cruise! we don't, it is all very entertaining!

so it is going to be an interesting year. i love election time, so exciting!

peace out from our wee-publican

a love affair with hair

i continue to wonder, will i know when i should cut this baby's hair? i don't want to wait until it is in his eyes bothering him or looks ridiculous, but i can't bring myself to cut it yet. i keep thinking it might just turn curly one of these days which would be so cute.

it is curly when wet (so incredibly cute)

he has a monster cowlick for a 5 month old. i am scared if we cut the hair and cowlick, it could take another year to grow back and possibly lay flat (if ever)! the only thing that keeps it somewhat tame is combing it with water and then slicking baby hair gel through it while keeping him suspended/upright so it dries so it doesn't get all matted and crazy on his playmat. somewhat of a challenge so he usually goes au natural with cowlick pride. who ever heard of holding a baby so his hair gel can dry anyway??!!!

cute!!!

it was so nice to see declan's chubby little legs last week with the warm weather... we opened up the windows, kept the heat & a/c off for four days in a row and pulled out some little summer outfits.


the next peyton manning... if he will ever take the football out of his mouth.

weekly get-together

jenna and parker visited thursday and we walked around the outdoor clay terrace mall and got dinner. i changed into my playclothes before we left and came down to this cute shot!

birthday lunch with mom

my mom took me out to lunch for my birthday last week after my nyc trip, before she headed back home to michigan. it was a beautiful day in the 70s so we sat outside at my favorite spot, taste and enjoyed the afternoon. thanks to everyone for the cards and birthday wishes!!! it was a wonderful week!!!

birthday trip to nyc

so tim and i had the best trip to nyc over the weekend. put your feet up and grab a beverage, this is going to be a long one.

last time i was there was 10 years ago and i just thought it was so-so because i was very partial to chicago (cleaner, by the lake, more affordable, friendlier people). however i totally love love love it after this weekend! i love the busyness, the buzz, the streets on a grid, beautiful central park, the insane people watching, the endless restaurants, the death-wish cab drivers, the casual-urban vibe of the locals, the SHOPPING! here's how it all went down:
friday
my flight landed early in newark, tim picked me up and it was late so we hit "the mall of short hills" in NJ which is so high-end it is basically not a mall. they do not have normal stores there except for macy's and i think i saw a gap, oh the horror. they have stores like gucci, prada, dolce & gabbana, neiman marcus, tiffany, ralph, max mara, hermes, babystyle, etc. frequenters of this mall would die if they saw our local castleton square mall which we call hassleton scare! nuff said. we ate at legal seafood, delicious food and a nice date - just the two of us! we stayed at this resort in basking ridge where tim is for his conference. i felt bad he has to basically live in the same hotel room for four weeks.
saturday
up early to catch our 9:07 train from basking ridge into penn station, nyc! i must be out of the loop because i always thought new jersey was kind of a gross state and that it all looked like newark. not so! it is so beautiful, they call it the garden state for a reason. the train ride through all the small towns with the big beautiful old homes and trees was really neat – such a contrast from the flat newness of the midwest.
we arrived at our hotel, the marriott on 49th & lexington on the east side at 11:30 after some creative circumnavigating around the papal traffic. i think is weird how many people come out to see the pope in his popemobile. we chatted up the woman at the front desk of the hotel re: the papal visit and she said she was going to give us an "everyday blessing" and upgrade us to an executive suite and let us check in super early at 11:30! something about how it was what was in your heart that mattered. whatever her rationale, we eagerly accepted the marriott blessing. true story, we owe her! here are pics of our very spacious suite. tim and i found it ironic that if this room were an apartment it would be at least $4000/month b/c of its size and location and we couldn't afford to rent it!




we headed out for a day of walking, exploring and eating! we first headed 20 blocks north up to 69th and 1st to tim's old apartment. he lived here for a year after college and loved it. his street was beautiful!


then we headed 5 blocks west to central park, stopping along the way for lunch at patsy's pizza to split a pizza and diet cokes. delicious and a nyc institution from what i understand. it just so happened that one of the places i wanted to hit was kitty-corner from patsy's, serendipity. i don't care how touristy or cliche it is, that frozen hot chocolate is out of this world! they even sell it at williams sonoma now so i can actually make it at home in the blender! they are really known for their desserts at serendipity, the inside is decorated all crowded and antique-y. Tim got a caramel sundae. we laughed taking these pictures at how funny it would be if they were time-stamped. those who know us know we both eat really fast. we probably put these huge desserts away in 5 minutes! but we also did walk about 8 miles too, i felt no guilt whatsoever!

anticipation

5 short minutes later...



we made a quick stop at dylan's candy bar, owned by dylan lauren, ralph's beautiful 30-something daughter. what a fabulous concept - how smart she is! i'm not a candy fanatic, but this place is just so cute i had to check it out. it is 3 brightly-colored floors dedicated to candy, new and vintage. declan will love it some day, this place is any kid's dream. everything in the store was inlaid with candy!



we spent a few hours walking through central park. it was a warm, sunny gorgeous day in the 70s so the park was alive with people of all shapes, sizes and origins. i was very bummed my camera battery died before i could get a picture of the two of us in the park. but i did manage to get these pictures which DO NOT do it justice, it is a marvelous place.

view looking down 5th ave, park on the right/$$$expensive residences on the left




we did more walking and walking and walking (looking north up park avenue)...

and shopping (really just looking)...

and walked to rockefeller center. saw the plaza where the today show is always broadcast outside. there was no time to take the subway down to soho so we'll have to do it another time. we pretty much covered the upper east side and the park in the time we had. we headed back to the hotel to put up our tired, blistered dogs and rest for an hour before getting ready for dinner.

we purposely picked a restaurant we could walk to. we dressed up and walked up 12 blocks to davidburke & donatella. blocks going north/south are really short in new york so it's not as bad as it sounds, trust me, i was in heels.



the restaurant was very special. decorated in white lacquer, kind of mod, with hot pink upholstered chairs, lots of artwork and waiters in suits. we met some new friends, a cool young couple from florida, as our table was basically connected to their for all intents and purposes. space is at a premium, we were packed in there with people close on both sides. our new friends, the mancusos, are expecting their first baby, a boy due in 7 weeks so we talked babies, our weddings, honeymoons, and other things we had in common. the girl works for jnj, just like tim. they invited us to visit them in st augustine, hopefully it will work out someday if we are in the area.

tim had let the restaurant know it was my b-day so the dessert had a candle and special happy birthday sign made out of chocolate. i thought i ordered a toffee opera cake, but this chocolate park bench creation came out! it was so artistic and cute.


i also had to admire the woman's dessert next to me. she ordered the petit fours (i'm sure i spelled that wrong). there were all these tiny tarts and pies spilling out of a pretend little oven. i was very amused and she didn't mind that i took a picture!

we left the restaurant at 11 and it was still pleasantly crowded with some people just starting to order dinner. i am a night owl so i love when restaurants stay busy late and we're not ones closing them down


we passed on getting drinks with the mancusos because they were going way over to the west side of town. we walked toward our hotel and stopped in randy gerber's whiskey bar (aka, mr. cindy crawford). this is probably the first of all his clubs. it was just like the old days when we'd stay out late! here i am drinking my first cocktail in over a year, a blueberry stoli and soda.

since my pregnancy i've only had an occasional wine or beer... it just never felt right to drink vodka and breastfeed. :)

you might be wondering about the rest of our family. little declan-man stayed home with grandma nancy. she so kindly came down to care for him so i could enjoy a birthday trip and tim could have company during his long conference. he was really good for her and they created good memories. i couldn't have asked for a better birthday gift, thanks mom from both of us! we didn't worry for 5 seconds about declan which was like the icing on top of our weekend.
note his A-dorable preppy madras shoes from aunt jaime, the M hat from g & g

sunday
slept in until the glorious hour of 10AM. lazily got ready and grabbed breakfast at a local ripoff diner. only bad point of the whole weekend, but when the mgr asked us how our breakfast was, we said “pretty bad” the guy pulled $40 cash out of the register, handed it to us and we walked away. the only thing i’m going to say to paint the picture of this place is that tim ordered a ham and cheese omelette and it was velveeta cheese in overcooked eggs with curly fries (for breakfast?) and they forgot the toast - it was $15!!! just strange. i understand big city prices, but you better get a decent product delivered in return.

we had more time to walk around so we ran into the famous buttercup bakery. We watched from outside the window as they frosted tantalizing cupcakes until we couldn’t resist and popped in for an after-breakfast dessert. their bakery cases were filled with fresh, homemade cupcakes of all varieties and colors, huge layered cakes under domes and other sweets. i loved that they had my all-time favorite throwback, banana pudding with nilla wafers - YUM! tim got a slice of yellow cake w/ vanilla frosting and i had a german chocolate cupcake. mm mm mm.

we headed to penn station to catch our train back to jersey. then tim brought me to the airport and i caught my late flight home to indy to see my little babe.

this list was compiled with my friend tina in mind, but i'm sure others might find it mildly amusing. i did a lot of observing while in nyc and took mental notes on trends. things always hit here big time before they become commonplace in the rest of the world.

what's in in nyc
bugaboos
bugaboos
bugaboos
havaiana flip flops (mostly girls)
rainbow flip flops (guys or girls)
converse sneakers on girls, white or navy
foreign nannies
babies
long messy hair pulled back loosely and pinned with barrettes
leggings
gay men with children
bugaboos

what's not out
cupcake bakeries
big sunglasses
big purses
the pope
pashminas ---my friend wrongly predicted in 03 that pashminas were out, not so!
effen black cherry ---apparently it is not in bars here, i will not accept that this was the vodka of 02, i will live in the past b/c it is and will continue to be my signature drink :)

big apple bound

i'm off to nyc tomorrow for the weekend to visit tim. it is my birthday next week, 32.


my mom/grandma nancy, will be watching declan. though we hate to leave him behind, nyc is really not a place for babies. even miranda on satc moved to brooklyn when she had a kid.

we don't have any structured plans outside of saturday reservations at this swank place: davidburke & donatella i would like to walk around soho, get cupcakes from magnolia bakery, ride the subway, window shop on 5th ave, take pictures in central park (straight up tourists), eat a slice of pizza, perhaps one of those famous hot dogs off a street cart, enjoy a frozen hot chocolate at serendipity, and generally take it all in. wow - it appears i plan to do a lot of eating!

i wanted to go to famous "norma's at the le parker meridien hotel" for brunch on sunday, until i saw the prices. i'm up for a splurge occasionally since we don't go out as much, but this place is worse than the ivy in la... $20 for pancakes, $15 oatmeal, $22 for bagel and lox, $28 for an omelette, $31 for foie gras brioche french toast (gross btw), and $8 for oj. they actually have a lobster fritatta w/ 10 oz of caviar for $1000!!! only in ny! check out the mouth-watering and insanely priced menu at www.normasnyc.com
no norma's for us, i'm sure we'll stumble upon a few bagel shops.

i will post more when i get back, must pack! ttfn.

playdate with mr. parker

my friends jenna and ashley came by to hang out and keep me company last night seeing as tim is gone. we played with the boys and had a casual dinner. jenna and i are pros at holding & bouncing our guys on one knee while eating with the other hand! because magically babies know when it is dinnertime and will suddenly be incapable of playing independently!

thanks again girls for the visit - we looked fw to it all week!


trix, note matching trumpette socks above.

hot lunch

before tim left for his long trip, we enjoyed a wonderful family lunch at my absolute hands-down favorite breakfast/lunch spot here called "taste." it truly rivals any restaurant you'd find in a big city and i love, love, love it. there are many fabulous restaurants here, but this one is extra special. if it were in chicago, it would be the new orange, or bongo room, or toast (to name my faves). actually i've been gone for awhile now so i don't even know if bongo room is still the weekend-breakfast-destination-to-cure-hangover it once was. i could be so 2005 and not even know it. that is for you trix.

anyway, whether i get a salad or sandwich, i must always order the pommes frites (fries) which come out in a tin bucket with basil mayo and i generally don't say no to dessert at this place either whether it be a giant cupcake with buttercream frosting, warm carmel bread pudding, blueberry cobbler, or a big frosted sugar cookie with sprinkles. declan hung out in his new ride while we dined al fresco on the patio. can't wait for more warm days like this!

take me with

tim left for an extended business trip today to new jersey for several weeks. declan hated to see him go.

lucky for him, he fit nicely in the suitcase... but unfortunately mommy made him stay back in indiana with her.

my guys

we continue to be amazed at how fast this baby grows. at his four month checkup, he weighed in at 17 lbs/3oz and 28 inches long. 95th percentile for weight and literally off the charts for length! we have ourselves a healthy boy! though he normally prefers to be busy and engaged by us in some way, he took a few minutes to chill with his dad yesterday.

hopefully he doesn't look too ghetto in his diaper (we were transitioning to pj's), i think it is such a cute shot! i love my guys!

my man mitch

we are mitch daniels supporters, also tim's nickname is often mitch. last time mitch daniels was elected when we moved down here, their campaign had green tee shirts that said "my man mitch." we thought it would be fun to have one! we have written to their campaign headquarters and asked one of his re-election campaign volunteers when we ran into him on the street but we can't seem to find any tee shirts this time around. if anyone knows where we can score one (we've even checked e-bay) let us know!

oh, and we also support mitch daniels for gov, he is very progressive and has done a lot for our state in a short amount of time... we don't just like him for his clever tee shirts!

all i can seem to find is the haters - BOO!!!

spring fever

today was almost 70 here in indy and it was gorgeous! we could not wait to take declan on a walk. it was really his first walk of his little life. we did go to florida in january but he was so little he probably didn't even know he was outside!

after our long walk we came home and i had him in the bjorn outside for another hour so we could measure our beds for mulch delivery. ahhh, life in the burbs! it was awesome to be outside after a long winter and serious cabin fever!