Thursday, June 17, 2010

.....our little own jazz fest....

.....one of my favorite things about our life is that on a Tuesday afternoon around 3pm, when I have a few hours to kill between napping and dinner; I can send a text message carousing neighbors to join us outside and we can go from this......


......to this.....


.....it never stops amazing me how NYC living is so communal....I can have days alone with the girls if I want or we can always find someone to hang out with....always.....

.....if you look close enough behind our wrought iron doors, you can see me and Callie coming back outside after a diaper change....poor baby missed her photo op with her friends.....so she made up for it when we arrived at the zoo.....


.....I never get tired of looking at her sweet face.....her big, bright blue eyes that are so poignant.....her porcelain skin, her humorous and dramatic expressions......I love her so much....

......Sara and I took the kids to the Central Park Zoo for 45 minutes.....we only had a chance to visit with the seals and the penguins, but that was perfectly OK with my girls....


.....it's funny because the first time I took Elsie to see the penguins, she was 6 months old.....we sat inside watching them swim for almost an hour and she giggled and laughed at them diving and whizzing past her.....at 2 1/2, she still loves the penguins.....if it weren't for William and Callie, she would have stayed and watched until the penguin's went down for bedtime......

......little Callie was entranced by the seals.......she could have waved at them until she passed out of exhaustion.....



......we found another little friend that wanted to hang and watch the seals too......


.....and when we got kicked out at closing time, Elsie and William were not happy about the situation....


.....however, our city never ceases to please and oblige.....we heard it from a distance.....the small quartet of hard working musicians drawing crowds.......perched under the trees next to the hill we sled in the winter....the sound of their jazz melodies already putting me in a happy hour kind of mood......and happy we were because the music hypnotized our little ones.....



.....little Callie was so patient, as she (many times) is the last one out of the stroller......she wanted to rock out with the band too.....my, oh my, how both of my girls get feverish about music......


.....Elsie started her little hip sway on the bench next to the tourists having dinner.....


......the music was so fantastic....I immediately thought of my Dad and the trips he and I have taken to New Orleans....the last time we were there, we listened to live music the entire trip.....I'll never forget how riveting the music was we heard that weekend....one of our cherished father/daughter trips that he and I have loved to do together.....

.....so, Dad, you will be happy to know that both of the girls wanted to leave a token of appreciation.....


......except Callie didn't quite understand the concept of leaving the money in the tip bag.....


.....she got the in part, but also thought it was free reign to take the money out too.....


......at first I didn't realize how many dollar bills she was taking out and discarding all over the concrete......I was trying to keep up with where Elsie and William were off to.....


.....and then it made sense when Elsie had explained, "sneakers make me run super, duper fast" when she refused to wear sandals as we were heading out the door......she always needs her sneakers to keep up with William.....he can run like the wind.....

......then back to Callie who had another wad of bills in her hand......time to set the camera down and intervene.....


......Elsie needed a rest, too, after chasing William.....she was so winded.....plus, it was getting close to seven o'clock......and on Tuesdays, that's a special hour around our neighborhood.......

......Rathbones is our favorite watering hole, favorite place in the neighborhood for burgers and is a 30 second walk from my bedroom.....I can (literally) on a Saturday be folding laundry on our bed and can look over at Stefan and suggest, "Rathbones?" and we are sitting at our favorite table, otherwise known in our home as the rockstar table in less than 1 minute......simply taking 1 minute, rather than 30 seconds because I may need to throw in a bib and some extra wipes for ketchup covered faces in my handbag.....

.....it's a sentimental place for us.....at 8 weeks, Elsie was newly introduced to her Aunt Erica at Rathbones while my brothers joined me at the rockstar table after a day of sightseeing.....I drank my first beer at the rockstar table after being pregnant with Elsie in the company of great friends while Mimi cuddled our newborn.....both of my parents have eaten and loved the burgers here; my dad holding the record for suggesting we go back to Rathbones for dinner after we were still digesting our lunch......and we did......and had the same waitress, which was a little embarrassing.....and anytime Stefan and I want a quick pitstop for a snack or a brew, we go to Rathbones and end up having the best conversations....there is just something about this place that has made it our chosen establishment......

.....and I pout for a second or two if I don't get the rockstar table- because it's the most spectacular seat in the house.....

.....well Tuesday night, we got the rockstar table....


......our neighboring outdoor patrons were very patient with the excessive "HIs" and waves, not to mention, they caught Callie's sippy cup about 100 times.....but on Tuesday nights, it's 2 beers and 2 burgers for the price of one.....which puts everyone in a very festive, I am getting such a bargain kind of mood.....Elsie was especially excited that William's Mommy and Daddy were also having dinner with her Mommy and Daddy......and we liked that too.....

.....and speaking of Sara, we are looking forward to her big birthday bash on Friday......all of our 305 East 88th Street gang will get together for cocktails and celebration.....and then our family is off to the beach.....again....an opportunity to hang out at the Jersey shore with the Waags.....

.....Stefan and I breathed it all in again tonight.....we had a spontaneous date.....we bumped into each other outside as I was running errands and he walking home from work.....we had a beer at Rathbones, followed by a Mexican meal that took us back to Texas for 20 minutes.....and we enjoyed what Stefan phrased as having a life after work again......he looking swagger in his suit and me cool and casual in my flip flops and Yankees cap....loving summer, loving impromptu moments, loving the city, the noise, the hustle, the bustle, the people.....

......the music all around us......