Things you should always have in Manhattan or our first taxi ride

Oh, the magical world of real life! We have not tuned in on the cues of weather. And , alas, we paid for it. Literally. Out of all the thousands pieces of advice we received, we have not heard anything about the weather ATTITUDE. 

The morning started nice and early. We were out of the apartment by 7 am, since I am gone all day long, I like to feed Yeva right before I leave for as long as she wants to ( and she WANTS to) 

The morning was perfect : sunny, blue skies, warm... I took a lunch break : we had splendid time together : beautiful afternoon. Kids headed back for the park as I went into a sunny studio... 30 minutes later a HEAVY downpour was flooding the streets of Chelsea neighborhood of NYC. And it continued to be so even at 6 pm when I was done. By 6:45 it was clear that the rain was NOT going to stop, and while we WERE smart so bring 2 umbrellas, we also were smart enough to understand that it is NOT enough to cover all of us for the 35 minute walk back home. I went back in my memory to the first day in NYC when we bought a stroller, and a suggestion of a salesrep to purchase a raincover, to which we answered : " Oh, later..." He looked surprised, but didn't press, and we were SO PLEASED with ourselves that we "didn't give into the temptation" of a "not really needed " object. We figured : small rains, not a big deal, a stroller hood would be plenty, a couple of umbrellas - we are all cool. Well, we learned : IN ROME DO AS ROMANS DO. Everyone carries umbrellas or raincoats. We didn't really have either. And little guy fell asleep on the stairs of my studio ( well, what else to expect if a little luvbug had to get up at 4 am UT time, he's still jet-lagged), and we didn't bring maya-wrap... Soo... We ended up getting a taxi. Justin had a lot of fun hailing down a cab. And then stuffing all 5 of us in the back seat. And then putting a stroller that is MADE FOR WALKING into a cab's trunk.  And then putting all the 1 000 000 bags that we had in the stroller in the same tiny trunk. And THEN... bobbing for 20 minutes in the end of the day traffic where it would take us 3o minutes to WALK (but it was raining , so we were justified). SOOOO... Going back to "IN ROME, etc ..." , tomorrow, we are going back to the store and BUYING the raincover. ALWAYS carrying enough umbrellas and/or raincovers ( I am actually observing that people here have HUGE umbrellas, maybe , I'll get one of those too). And... I am actually going to invest in a pair of flats. Crazy, isn't it? But... the truth is, that when it is raining here, you are getting very wet. So, might as well ruin a cheap pair of shoes. I am noticing that flats and flips are the most popular styles...

PS. We now know that we DEFINITELY DON'T want to own a car here. Ok with us... We never really were fans of personal transportation...

Destination - NYC

We are here! And we LOOOOOVE it here. So good to be back! It's been long 7 years, and - oh-so-good-to-be-back! Kids are absolutely in love with the city, and so are we. This feels like being home : the life-style, the looks, people... Ah...

There are a few new angles that I saw , now that I am here with the FAMILY , not by myself.

First - people. Wow, they are nice. I NEVER have anyone help me with the stroller , or open the door for me in Utah, even though I AM the only one who walks to everything there. You'd think that people would help out more, since EVERYONE comments that they see me all over all the time. Yeah... They just comment as they slam the door behind them in my face ( well, into the stroller "face" actually). Here.... Oh, where to begin... Opening doors, helping to lift the stroller on the curb, helping to push if stuck, letting me go first on the small street, DOUBLE bagging the groceries... Those are just a few things. Wow, THANK YOU.

Second - people again. Nice again. Smiles, suggestions, comments, HELP. Wow and thank you again. Yesterday we got stuck in the rain ( I KNOW now where Utah weather got it craziness from :) ) - and , first, a very nice couple , that was hiding under this tiny canopy waved us in, even though there was barely space for 2, they moved so that "THE BABY would be out of the rain". Then , as the downpour was increasing, we decided to make it for a cramped McDonalds just a few steps across. Believe me , there was NOT enough space for ONE person there. BUT. As I was running, THE DOOR OPENED FROM THE INSIDE, and people were shouting - "come on in, come on in, get the baby inside! ". So , where the was not enough space for ONE, they made space for FIVE of us ( two sitting in a huge stroller). In Utah... Let's just say, I walked soaked more then ones, with cars signaling and hands waving "hello" to me. Get the difference?

Third - downtown apartment. I LOOOOOOOOOVE living in apartment. It is TINY, but we have everything we need, and the best thing : we are close to everything! I don't feel I need a big place here, since we are gone ALL day long, but having a place that is NEXT door to a supermarket ( TWO actually) , and health food stores are ALL OVER WITHIN 2 minutes. Which brings me to the next point : FOOD. I've never realized HOW MUCH EASIER it would be eating Healthy in NYC then in Utah, OR LA. Crazy, isn't it ? But true. It is so much easier and CHEAPER to eat in NY then anywhere else where we've been. Organic food is the same price in the health food stores, with minor differences. BUT! Where you pay a little more for a produce, you pay A LOT LESS for packaged raw foods. Like $2-3 difference in favor of NYC.

I LOOOOVE farmer's markets ALL OVER THE PLACE. I mean - ALL OVER. Two steps one way - there is a market, two steps the other - there is another. CHEAP. And FRESH. Wow. Blessing and blessing for ME. Oh, and did I mention NO WASTED PRODUCE? You buy what you need WHEN you need it! Awesome!

A couple of things that surprised me : I forgot what humidity feels like. The first two days we were constantly sticky. But now, as we adjusted , I LOOOOOVE it. My ( all our skin) is amazingly supple and soft. And another : THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO HERE! I LOOOOOOOVE that ! Kids are loving everything! In a couple of days that we were situating and discovering, they kept asking if we were going to stay here for longer :) You bet we will.

Well, all and all, we are IN LOOOOVE with NYC , people and LIFE itself. And... stay tuned!

Wether the weather...

Long, long time ago ( well, not really THAT long, just a few years back) one WISE person gave me an amazing remedy for sickness,
kid-craziness, aging, losing your head - you name it , it pretty much covers it. And the remedy was contained in one simple sentence : " Get out of the house before noon every day, no matter WHAT weather is like outside and no matter what your house looks like inside, for at least an hour". I must say, I held true to this rule and it really works for me. I modified it a little bit : I make sure I am out by 12:30 or before ( somehow those 30 minutes make a HUUUUGE difference when you have a babe), and I DO make sure my house is CLEAN before i leave. So, no matter what, no matter how, but it MUST be clean before 12:30 the latest with the kids fed-dressed-cleaned-schooled out- fed again-cleaned again- and the clothes STILL clean, waiting outside patiently ( NOTE : STILL clean). And YES, I held TRUE to " No MATTER WHAT the WEATHER is like outside". I always considered the weather being just that - the weather. A couple of raincoats and a raincover, cheap jeans and shoes - nothing really interesting. Until today. I learned THE weather has personality.

I got up and ready nice and early, with my dearest Mr Hubster helping cleaning the kitchen. Kids ready early. Babe slipping through the process. Stroller ready. Maya wrap - check. Raincoat, raincover, shoes - check, check, check. Rain stopped. Clouds left. Babe woke up. We're up and out before 11. Life is great! 10 minutes into our route I noticed THE clouds. But nothing major. Nothing a raincoat wouldn't fix. However in two minutes I realized that MAYBE we should turn around. So we did. And so did the clouds. Well... We waited a bit and decided to proceed with original destination. After all - errands are errands. 3 minutes after we turned West, so turned the CLOUDS. Considering I was still close to home and the amount of clouds coming in, I decided , that after all it MIGHT be a smarter solution to go back. 5 minutes after our turn around the sun is shinning brightly. NO clouds.

 At this point I am quietly cursing myself for my personal doubts, as I would be to my destination, finished and on the way back in this amount of time, instead of being 1/2 way there. SO! Determined I - and we all untimately - go. About 10 minutes into it the clouds are starting to gather up. But just small clouds. Besides, I already played this game. Right? Riiiight.... WROOOONG. Within a minute a couple of raindrops turn into a massive rain. I BARELY make it in time to open up the raincover and cover the stroller, zip up kiddos raincoats. And by the time I reach for mine, I am SO SUPER SOAKED. But I get it anyway. Put it on. The rain STOPS. But there are STILL clouds AND now , considering that it actually DID rain hard , I decide to turn for home - with the intention to change and go back out. DRY and WITH the raincoat on. 3 minutes into the walk back, the sun is out. I feel really "fashionable" wearing the raincoat with the sun shinning. I take it off, and the raincovers. I found it , actually, rather pleasant to be out - wet in the sun with the after-the-rain smell. Ahhhh... Something about early summers... As we are walking back , I notice that the clouds are gathering again, and think to myself, how smart I am for going back . Maybe we'll just wait it out for 15-20 minutes , and I STILL will be out again before 12:30.

 So, about 1 minute away from the house it starts sprinkling - just a couple of drops, nothing major. And we are a minute away. Less. We'll make it home. Or not. I decided to be SMART and cover the kids UP, BEFORE it hits, in case it does. So , they are nice and warm like bugs in their little world. The raincoats are zipped. And I am just 40 or so seconds away from the house, plus already wet, some sprinkling would not really make THAT much of a difference. And then it DOES. In 30 or so seconds away from my house I got down poured on. AGAIN. I mean - 40-gallons-per-one-freakin'-second - for-at-least-10-seconds wet. And then it stopped. I opened the door to the birds chirruping AFTER the rain. WET. ANGRY. Decided that since the weather cannot decide what to do, I WILL. STAY HOME. So I did. It hasn't rained since. What am I to conclude, but that the weather purposely lurred me out of the house far enough so that IT could get ME WET!?... Twice.

Alive in me...

I've learned , once again, of the Beauty of Spirituality and the power of Divine Love. I've been a little nostalgic over the last couple of weeks. Today is the 10 year mark of my wonderful grandfather passing away, whom I was very close with ( as I spent 1/2 of my childhood with my grandparents due to my parents' jobs and travels). I longed to go back to my childhood. To re-live, again, my wonderful , careless years, filled with love and endless happiness. I cried more over the last 2 weeks then , probably, over the last year. What wouldn't I give for one more evening, with a cup of tea on the table, a beautiful fruit vase, and endless talk about the day passed... Warmth, peace and LOVE. I remember my grandfather's tears when I was leaving for the airport to go to US. I never thought that would be the last time I'd see him, or my grandmother. She couldn't bare the life by herself - she always said that she wouldn't be able to live without the grandfather. And she held true to her word. My grandparents were an amazing couple - a pure example of LOVE and beautiful marriage. My grandfather took wonderful care of his family. Being an orphan, going through the war, captive in Germany, and more, he created his life just the way he imagined it to be, and he surely did an amazing job. He's always been an example of a person of high achievement and a person whose kindness radiated miles around him. I always wanted a man like my grandfather, and I am surely blessed. 

I desperately wished for them both to be here, to see what I see, to help me with their loving , caring and very much wanted and needed advice. And at one point I felt that they ARE near me. Felt it stronger then ever. I saw the glimpses of them in the bird that chirruped on our doorstep today. In the sun that was warming us. In my children's eyes... Thank you, for being close to me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being by me. I love you. A part of my heart will always belong to you. You are alive inside of me.