Local Fair at St. Catherine's

August 17, 2013

A fun night at the local fair!  Hudson and I rode most of the rides.   Hudson won stuffed animals for Henry-  it was so sweet!  Hudson was a dart champion and probably popped 10-12 balloons at the dart game.  Henry wanted to ride too-  you will be there soon sweet boy.  

Good times!  I love you my loves.   xx Mamma

Mamma and Hudson Special Day at the Palisades Mall

Friday Jan 18, 2013

Hudson, today you had no school. So, we had a special day together. We went to the Palisades Mall in Nyack, NY. Wow! What a fun place. We rode the Ferris Wheel, did this insane and I mean insane ropes course and played games at Dave and Busters. Now, that's an outing!

Hudson, I have never seen anything like this obstacle course in my life and in a mall! It's the worlds tallest indoor ropes course. Crazy. 5 levels. 85 feet high. We were hooked up to harnesses. I can't believe we did it and you did this at 4! I was shaking and sweating, I was so scared, but I was being brave! You were scared too but kept saying "but this is fun mamma!" I don't think you will ever forget that. Wow! I said "We are very brave Hudson!" There are no pics because we had to empty our pockets before we got on. The one pic is us on the Ferris wheel.

I love you my adventurer !

xo Mamma

A Day in Chinatown...

July 12, 2012

So, Mamma, who is 38 weeks pregnant, braved the heat with my baby and we adventured into Chinatown.  We took the subway down to Brooklyn Bridge in TriBeCa and walked to Chinatown.  We stopped at a great park on the way and you had fun playing while I sat in the shade.  Then, we walked to the Chinatown Fair.  There is a lot of history at this place and it just reopened in 2011.  We had so much fun and played all the games.  You won 400 tickets two times in a row on this spinning shell pirate game.  You were so excited and I was so excited for you!   You love going to game places - Mamma does too.  I love games!  Uncle Rhoni and I grew up playing games non stop.

I love you amore, Mamma

The Supreme Court in TriBeCa (my old hood)

Mott Street - Chinatown 

Chinatown Fair - Video Games - This place was established in 1958 - lots of history!

Chelsea Piers

June 29, 2012

We went to Chelsea Piers today.  It was fun!  There is so much to do there.  The open play area we went to ended up being for toddlers so we went to the 300 bowling alley and played games.  Then, we walked along the Hudson for a bit and looked at the boats.  You really had to ride this horse below.  xoxo I love you Hudson river boy, Mamma

It Doesn't Seem...

November 14, 2011

So, you are in this phase where you play games before night night. Let me explain. We say prayers, lay in bed, kiss and hug, and I say "I love you. Night Night." Right when I leave your room, before I even get to mine, you start, "Mamma, Mamma, Mamma, check on me," until you start crying if I don't come in. I will walk out and immediately before I even get to my room, it starts over. I think this is mostly a game because you don't do this when Annette is babysitting. There is some validity to it. I think you don't want to miss out on anything, I truly think you want to be where Mommy and Daddy are, and sometimes, I don't think you want to be alone. You also don't have Annette dim the lights when she is babysitting, but you make Mamma and Daddy dim the lights and keep them on. Are you manipulating us? Absolutely. Are we letting you? Basically. Why? Because we love you so much and you have us wrapped around you finger most of the time. However, by the 10th "Mamma, check on me, check on me, check on me," Mamma starts to get upset and this is when it usually ends. I have tried different tactics - not speaking after I say night night. Doesn't really work. I have told you that you have to nap after school if you play these games and it takes you too long to go to sleep. Doesn't work. I have told you that you would get a point if you would get in your bed and go to sleep. Doesn't work. You don't get out of your bed, so that's awesome and positive. You just scream my name for 30-45 minutes, sometimes an hour before you go to bed. If I don't come in after about 2-3 of the name calling, you will call "Daddy." Then, he will come in and you will say, "I want Mamma. Send Mamma in."

Tonight, you were screaming "check on me, Mamma, check on me," and I came in there and you said, "You don't want to check on me. It doesn't seem that you want to check on me." It doesn't "seem." You are too much Hudson!!!

I love you with all my heart. All the way to the moon and the outer galaxies.

xoxo

Remember, my love, you are so fortunate to have a comfortable place to lay your head, in a safe home with a Mamma and Daddy who love you. So many kids around this world, do not have any of these things. Cherish the time that you can get into your bed and have that time to yourself where you can unwind, relax, pray, get warm, cuddle with your pillows and get some Z's. One day, you will be older and you will know what I am talking about.

Your Sensitive Heart...

November 5, 2011

Video Games

Hudson,
I have two interesting incidents regarding video games. First, we went to meet Melissa and Jack for lunch. The restaurant has a very small space in the back with games. You love any place with games and especially games that dispense candy. Jack was playing this crazy video game with guns and what not so you played the one next to it - it was a karate game. Neither of you really knew what you were doing. You look at the screen and press the buttons. So, I decided to let you put a quarter in and you started pressing the button and this lady was karate chopping and kicking her legs and beating people up. You got very upset and starting bawling. You didn't like it at all. It made me so sad!! However, I was happy to know how sensitive and sweet you are. I also understood why you didn't like it. These video games are too violent these days and our children should not be exposed to all of it. You know when things are bad and not right. You have an intuition about it, even though you love to play with swords and guns, which drives me crazy, but you are boy. Jack just kept pressing the buttons playing away, while my baby was so upset. It's OK to feel upset, confused or sad.

This same thing happened when you, me and Daddy went bowling. There is a game area. You decided you wanted to play the motorcycle game where you ride the moto and navigate your way through a race. We put the quarters in and Daddy played next to you - there were two side by side. Of course you did not want any help and you didn't know how to pay and couldn't steer properly so the guy on the motorcycle kept crashing and running into things. You got upset and started crying saying you didn't like it. Sweet baby. It really upset you that the man kept crashing.

Baby, you have a beautiful and sensitive heart. Don't ever change. A person with a sensitive heart can have sympathy for others. Never be afraid to say your feelings or get upset because it is OK to feel that way and try to understand why you are feeling that way. There is nothing more manly about a strong, yet sensitive man.

I love you sweet baby. Mamma

Fair Day!

October 12, 2007