When it rains...it pours

DAY 11: Wednesday, October 28, 2009

With rain in the forecast for the second day in a row, we started the day with a strong contingency plan. Having gathered pumpkins at Union Square on Friday and purchased paints from Duane Reade on Saturday, Tucker and I spent the entirety of Henry's morning nap decorating our pumpkin family. Initially, we planned on painting each one to resemble one of the five of us, including our sweet dog Charlie who's staying at Camp Slagle with GP and Papa, but after Tucker threw one of the family members across the room as if it was a ball, we changed our plan. One pumpkin became a traditional Jack-o-lantern; another became a patriotic pumpkin; the third became a lesson in combining blue and yellow to make green; the next one became a lesson in combining blue and red to make purple; and last but not least, Tucker's pumpkin became a scary, scary, scary pumpkin. Check it out below:

When Henry woke up, the pumpkins were finished, so we found great joy in having a picnic lunch indoors. Tucker sported Thomas the Train underpants. Henry had on his skeleton shirt in the Halloween holiday spirit.

After lunch, we were on to the thrill of turning the furnace fan on high and laughing at the funky flip hairdos it created...Then, we played a little more before afternoon naps and quick walk around the block...at long last.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

DAY 10: Tuesday, October 27, 2009

If children go crazy in other parts of the country when it rains, then they go crazy 10,000 times faster in Manhattan. They use up the space they have in a nanosecond, mostly because there is less of it, and then commence on tormenting their caretaker, whether that person is a mother, father, grandparent, nanny, manny, or babysitter. By lunch today, our first real day of rain, I was on the edge, so I put raincoats onTucker and Henry, and we hit the streets. In no way could our outing be confused with an adventure, but it was definitely a quest. The mission--find bad weather gear for the stroller and more food for the fridge.

Buy Buy Baby on 7th Avenue met the first challenge and gave Tucker and Henry a makeshift indoor gym to explore while I shopped. (See photo above.) I audibly thanked God for putting understanding staff members in our path, even a few who played games with them! While there, we outfitted the stroller with a wind and rain cover and bought footmuffs for both kiddos, and I made the decision that if any children come our way in the future, I'm coming to NYC to prepare--so many useful gadgets!

Next door, we found Stevia at Whole Foods Whole Body store. (It's in the regular grocery aisles in Atlanta, but apparently, New York law mandates it be sold with herbs and dietary supplements. Perhaps this outing could count as continuing ed?!?) We almost made it outside, when I realized Henry's hat was missing. We made a sweep through the six or seven extraordinarily narrow aisles, annoying at least a dozen health-conscious yet entirely disgruntled shoppers, but came up empty-handed. We went back to Buy Buy Baby. No cigar. Then we tried Whole Foods Whole Body again. Bingo! It seems Henry thought his hat added just the right touch to a display of women's scarves. Maybe he's beginning a career as a display artist. Or maybe he's just a toddler. Hmmm...

Onto the grocery store... We gathered several items, including tasty spinach crepes that were being showcased by a demo chef, and headed home. At least the outing, while not an adventure, used enough energy to prompt naps!