New York, New York!

Tim officially wins the Husband of the Year award this year.  For Christmas, he surprised me with a trip to NYC with my mom!  I think he knew more than I did that I needed a break from the kids.  Living near both sets of grandparents gives me the great benefit of having little breaks hear and there.  But getting away for 4 days meant not having to feed the kids, instead I ate all my meals uninterrupted; I didn't have to put anyone to bed at night, instead I got to read the Hunger Games (highly recommend!) before falling asleep; I didn't have to worry about being on the kids' schedule, instead my mom and I roamed around the city doing whatever we pleased.  Heaven!


My mom and I decided to wait until April to go to NY.  I have such great memories of April in NYC - my daughter, Ava, was born in April 2008 when we lived in Manhattan.  We were having such amazing spring weather.  I remember eating lunch on the grass in Central Park (maternity leave is the BEST!) the day before Ava was born.  And when our stay at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital was over, we popped Ava into her stroller car seat and WALKED home from the hospital.  We lived on the same block as the hospital, so it wasn't a far walk.  But it was so beautiful!  My mom and I knew we wanted to wait until April to go back to NY.  And NY did not disappoint.  The weather was just as beautiful all weekend as the day Ava was born.


Here are some highlights from our trip and some things you CANNOT miss if you go to NY.


Live! with Kelly

 This is me waiting in line outside ABC studios on the Upper West Side.  It's really easy to get tickets.  You just have to remember to request them early enough.  Go to their website to find out how to request tickets.

Kelly's co-host was Seth Meyers from SNL.  Kelly and Seth were hilarious together!  I love them both.  They had an animal expert on that day with all these baby animals - super cute!

9/11 Memorial

Tim and I moved to Chicago before the 9/11 Memorial was built.  It was so neat to see how much had been developed since we left.  The area was totally unrecognizable to me.  So far they have built the North and South Pools (the South Pool is pictured above) where the North and South World Trade Center Towers stood, and you can see the Survivor Tree.  They structure for the 9/11 Museum is built but it's not scheduled to open until late 2012.  There is a Visitors Center where you can watch a video and purchase gifts.  We spent about 20-30 minutes walking around the grounds and Visitors Center.  It's also very easy to get tickets to see the 9/11 Memorial if you order them online in advance.

Theater District in Times Square

We met up with my girlfriend, Jenna, a couple of times.  Jenna and I met when our husbands were in school at Kellogg.  Now she lives with her husband and 3 kids in Battery Park!  She has a great blog, Mommy in Manhattan.  It was so fun to see Jenna and her kids and catch up - I so miss having her two floors above me!  We all went to dinner and saw How To Succeed In Business with Nick Jonas - he did a great job!

Alice's Tea Cup

My mom and I were so bummed that there was a 2 hour wait to eat lunch at Alice's Tea Cup on the Upper West Side.  Next time we'll know to go during the week and not on a Saturday afternoon!

Levain Bakery

How you could live in NY and not know about Levain Bakery on the Upper West Side is a mystery to me.  They have the BEST cookies I have ever eaten in all my life.  My husband's only request when I left for NY was to bring him back some Levain's cookies.  We bought 20 cookies...at 4 bucks a pop...you do the math.  But it was a small price to pay for the man who made this all happen.  And yes, there was a line of hungry New Yorkers out the door and down the street waiting patiently for their cookies.  Totally worth it.

Upper West Side & Hell's Kitchen - My old neighborhood

 One Columbus Place - the place Tim and I called home.  Our apartment building straddled the line between the Upper West Side and Hell's Kitchen.  It was the BEST location.  We lived a couple of blocks from Central Park, there were tons of restaurants down 9th Avenue, and the Columbus Circle subway stop could get you almost anywhere in the city.  I couldn't live anywhere else in the city.

St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital - This is where Ava was born and where our lives changed forever.

Burrito Box - When I was pregnant with Ava I ate here almost everyday, sometimes twice a day!  I just had to go back and have a chicken taco with avocado and salsa even though we were eating dinner in an hour!  I'm hungry again just thinking about it.

I can't believe I got to go back to NY.  It was so wonderful to spend time with my mom and relive all our old memories.  I feel so rested and I'm a much happier mommy!  Thanks Tim - I love you!  You are an amazing husband and dad!