Next to Normal

My sister Jillian is doing student teaching in DC this semester, and had a bunch of school off this week because of the snow and the holiday weekend, so she decided to take the bus out for a little visit. On Saturday, we went to try and get the Wicked lottery for the matinee, and of course, didn't get it. So we walked over to see if we could get Next to Normal tickets. When we got there, we found that they were having a lottery as well, and of course, we didn't get picked again. But we were able to get cheap tickets for that afternoon anyway.

This is a new musical from 2009, and they won the Tony for best musical score. I had heard clips and knew that it was pretty alternative and different from any other musical, but was still really intrigued, although didn't really know what to expect. Well, I loved it. It is kind of a sad story, and a little more intense than your average musical, but the story line was strong and interesting and creative, and actually seemed pretty real. The whole show flowed really well. There were a lot of songs which made it move seamlessly, the harmonies and arrangements were really cool, and the orchestration, which consisted of piano, guitar, violin, and drums, was great. Like I said, it's pretty alternative, so some of it was kind of rock-ish, but not obnoxious at all. The acting was great, I was totally drawn in, and it had a pretty good resolution at the end... pretty realistic I would say. I really, really liked the whole thing, and was pretty pleasantly surprised about that. I would definitely see it again, and would definitely recommend it.

On a side note... this was one of the coldest days that I have experienced in NY. It was probably because we were out walking around so much, and we had the kids with us for awhile, so we really noticed it. I felt so bad, they were so miserable. They never complain about the cold, so you know when they do, it is pretty bad. The wind was what really did it. It said it was 27 degrees, but with the wind, it felt more like 16 or something. Needless to say, I felt like a terrible mother for having them out in such frigid weather.

My kids

So, clearly, it's been awhile since I have posted all the fun stuff that we have been up to. I finally uploaded all of our pictures so that I could write the posts that have been waiting to be written. As I was looking through the pictures, I noticed a common theme with my children... they are almost always either half dressed, looking like little disheveled ragamuffins, or covered in some form of food. Take a look for yourselves...

Nothing like eating grapes on the table. Asher in his undies, Sayer in half pjs, half sweat pants. Yeah, we're a classy bunch.

Snot face, crazy hair, and a red cheek from running into something

Crazy hair

Covered in pomagranate seeds

Asher, playing his "guitar", shirtless

Mmmm, frosting! (By the way, he has no pants on)

Valentine's Day baking

I decided to make cupcakes for Valentine's Day for the kids to decorate as well as give to their friends. They were yummy. I used the yellow cake recipe from Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and it was perfect and easy. I will be using it again. I used my new pastry tip that Lizza got me to frost them with buttercream. I didn't have a big enough pastry bag to use, so I had to use a ziploc bag, which caused lots of air bubbles. The next ones will be better, but I thought they still looked much better than usual.

With the left over cake batter, I baked a little cake and made cake balls out of it. I got the idea from Bakerella. I thought they were delicious, even though they were a little rich. I think that's actually a good thing, because then you have to stop after just one!

My boys...

Trains are like magic

Enjoying trains with friends. Yeah, they all sat like that for about 20 minutes, mesmerized. I'd say that makes train pretty darn magical.

Crumbs

One day, Nate came home with these...

Crumbs cupcakes. Yeah, they were amazing. The one on the right (mine) was called half baked. It involved cookies, brownies, chocolate, vanilla, fudge, and cream filling. The one on the left (Nate's) is called S'mores. I don't know why people say that Magnolia's is the best, because really, they aren't anything special (the cupcakes I mean). But Crumbs... yum. Those are some cupcakes to talk about. Speaking of which, Nate just called to say that he was right by one down by NYU and asked if I wanted him to bring home a cupcake sampler... um, YES! I'll let you know how they are!!

Awesome Lizza..

As if coming to hang out with us in NY wasn't enough, Lizza had to go and make herself even more awesome by sending us a "happy package", complete with baby toy and blanket, a cake decorating tip that I have been looking for forever, red vines (which I had been craving for a long time... can't find them anywhere in this city. People don't even know what they are when I mention them. Crazy.) Ikea scrub brushes (I may have needed a new one) cars for the boys and mini scriptures with a camo scripture case. You're the best Lizza! Thanks again!

Last Day with Lizza

On Lizza's last day, we went with the kids to the Museum of Natural History. That's always a fun trip to do with the boys. Their favorite is the Whale/Ocean Life exhibit. Afterward we walked a few blocks down to Magnolia's to get an order of banana pudding for Lizza to take home to her husband. Asher and Sayer enjoyed this part of the outing as well!

This is the only picture I got on my camera that day. Lizza got some good ones on hers, but she hasn't sent them to me yet.

We had so much fun with Nate's parents and Lizza!

Central Park

I clicked on a Shabby Apple email today to see the new Central Park line, only to see my friend Andrea posing in all the new dresses. Ha! So random. She's definitely one gorgeous New Yorker, so it's very fitting!

Liberty Island and Top of the Rock

I went with Lizza to Liberty Island and to the Top of the Rock. I don't know about Lizza, but I had so much fun with her. I love chatting and laughing with Lizza. The top of the rock was SO awesome. We went on a really clear and sunny day, so we got some awesome views of the city. I can't wait to take the boys up there so they can get a better idea of the city that we live in. Central Park looks so cool from up there, and I know Asher would love it. After the rock, we went and got some Famous Famiglia pizza (which I love). That was actually another highlight of the day... just sitting there talking about random things while eating pizza and salad and drinking a huge fountain drink of diet coke. The absence of children was also another big bonus. Oh, we also went to Ground Zero on the same day we went to Liberty Island. I still had never been there, so it was neat to see. We also went into the memorial museum which was really great, if you can call anything from that day great.

Overlooking Central Park. It looks so dead and ugly right now. Sad.

Empire State building

George Washington Bridge (our neck of the woods)

Same view as above except I zoomed in on the riverside church tower (which is the tall thing sticking up in the center-ish of the bridge) that is right down the street from my house so you can get an idea where our house is.

Dear body...

Just because you are pregnant, does not mean you need to take every little cold or flu that comes along and turn it into something much worse. Like last semester when you got a cold, instead of just needing to blow my nose, you made it so that I felt like I wanted to die and like I could just stay in bed for the rest of my life. And this last week, it definitely wasn't necessary to turn our little cold into a sinus infection, so now I feel like my head is going to explode and like the top of my nose and eyes are severely bruised. It's all just getting a little old. Don't you think? Please just keep that in mind for next time around. Thank you, and that is all.

Poor me... but not really

Lizza, Nate's sister, is really into the food network. I enjoy it as well, but Lizza and her husband Zach love it. Lizza planned a lot of her trip to NY around restaurants she wanted eat at. On the Friday that they were here, she got reservations to one of Gordon Ramsey's (of Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares) restaurants, Maze, at 5:30pm. We didn't have a babysitter for that early, so I said I wouldn't go. Well, turns out it was amazing, of course, it was their favorite restaurant of all the places we went while they were here. They got to do a tasting menu, where the chef plans everything and they bring it out to you at certain times, and they are all very spectacular. They said it was such a cool (and delicious) dining experience. :( I was sad I couldn't go. Yes, I felt very sorry for myself. Oh well. I can't complain too much. The other restaurants I got to go to during their visit were:

Carmine's, Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, Serendipity 3, and Harold Dieterle's (winner of Top Chef) Perilla. Mesa Grill was my favorite out of the ones that I went to. Yum! We also we had brunch at a yummy French restaurant on 68th and Columbus, can't remember the name, but yum-my. And to make it even better, Asher and Sayer were perfect little angels, which was convenient, as the place was a little fancier than we were aiming for. We went to Magnolia bakery a couple times, mostly to get their banana pudding, which is oh-so-scrumptious. Nate and I also shared our favorite neighborhood sushi and pizza places with Lizza, as well as our favorite market which has the most scrumptious fresh juices and pastries. Mmmm... so much good food in NY.

Pics from Serendipity:

Awww, for cute!

Sultry version

Nate's dad and Lizza

Lizza and Nate in front of the restaurant

Me and Lizza

A Little Night Music

Nate's parents and his sister Lizza were in town a little bit ago, and on the first night, we went and saw A Little Night Music, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbery. No, I do not recommend it. Yes, I do recommend seeing a live show with Catherine Zeta-Jones and/or Angela Lansbery in it... they are both so talented.

The actual musical is all about sex and infidelity, and I personally thought that most of the music was boring. There were some characters that were funny, and there were some parts that were entertaining, and there were a few songs that I enjoyed, but other than that, I thought it was a boring, pointless story. But... seeing those two actresses live was a great experience that I do not regret. So, thanks Chris and Heidi (who left at intermission with Nate) for the tickets. Sorry it was lame.

It is...

...A BOY!

That's right folks, we will be livin' the crazy life with 3 boys in a 500 sq foot apartment. We are actually really excited and think that it will be super fun. Before we found out, I thought about it a lot and decided that I really didn't care one way or the other whether it was a boy or girl. I honestly couldn't decide which one I would rather have. I would like a girl someday, but we are just fine having a house full of boys. Nate is excited that his bluegrass band is shaping up nicely, and I found a blue bunk bed at Costco that also has a trundle bed, that has my name all over it. Now we just have to decide on a name for the kids. Ugh. Never easy.

FINALLY...

...the suspense is over. We know what we are having!! Is it a boy? Is it a girl? WE know, but YOU have to wait. Yes, I am that mean. I want to hear your guesses. I always love to hear what people think. So, go ahead, take a guess. Am I going to be driven mad by 3 adorable and sweet, yet rambunctious boys? Or are my crazy boys going to be softened a bit by a precious baby girl? I will let you know tomorrow if you were right, or wrong.

(Those of you who have already been privileged with this information are not allowed to participate)