NYC Day 1

Greg and I are back from spending 4 days in NYC!  It was seriously such an amazing trip.  I had SO been looking forward to this little getaway.  We had forgotten what it was like to be away and have some time off from parenting (together, at the same time), and it was so nice to have some time to ourselves!  We found ourselves constantly noting how this trip would have been VERY different had Ben with us.  We were able to walk EVERYWHERE (approximately 37.5 miles walked in total during our 80 or so hours in the city).  We ate when we felt like it, slept when we felt like it, were able to have long dinners without child-wrangling, and got to talk to one another without interruption.

And we couldn't have done it without Grandma Nancy and Shirley who stepped in and took such GREAT care of Ben while we were away!  Ben got constant undivided attention and enjoyed every second of his time with them :)  (Thank you both SO MUCH for making this happen for us!  We are so grateful)!

Okay, on to the trip details.  Day 1. 

We got up early to catch our 7 am flight.  Shirley had stayed the night before so we were able to head out the door without waking up Ben.  We grabbed breakfast at the airport.

And we had such a nice flight to JFK!  The airplane we were on had free On Demand for us to watch, the seats were comfortable, and we were enjoying the novelty of not having to entertain Ben during the ride.  I was able to finish the book I was reading and listen to the entire recording of Hamilton.  (I wanted to listen to it one more time completely before seeing it live)!

After getting our bags, grabbing an Uber and checking into our hotel, we had about 2 hours before our dinner reservations at Strip House (a steak restaurant).  We decided to just head out and walk around until then.  

Around the corner from our hotel:

 

We discovered the most amazing food hall called Urbanspace Vanderbilt just a few blocks from our hotel.  It was like a gourmet food court.  This was the place to BE after work on a Thursday.  Men and suits and women in fancy clothes were just hanging out eating tacos and lobster rolls.  We went back here a few times over the weekend.

Greg LOVED it there.

This dinner was one of my favorite meals of the trip.  I'm so glad I had made reservations (a month prior) because they definitely did not allow walk-ins.  

We started off sharing a lobster bisque (which is even better than the one at Ivar's...which I had assumed was impossible to beat).  Then I had Filet Mignon and Greg had Chili-Rubbed Yellow Fin Tuna and we shared sides of the Strip house potatoes and Black Truffle Creamed Spinach.

The reason I had wanted to eat here was this chocolate cake I had seen on Instagram :)  But by dessert time, I was beyond stuffed.  I ordered it anyway, and took it back to the hotel.  It was absolute heaven.  It lasted 3 days and I still wasn't able to finish it. So dense and rich.

After dinner, we walked through Time Square.  I had wanted to Face Time with Ben and show him all of the lights, but before we could Greg ran into these guys and wanted a picture ;)

Walked through Rockerfeller Center:

 

And since we were close, I wanted to walk over to the Richard Rodgers Theater to snap a few pics outside HAMILTON :)

We ended the cold night with some warm nightcaps at The View NYC (at the top of the Marriott Marquis, followed by a walk back to our hotel.  

Total Miles Walked on 2/25: 5.65

Meal Planning: Week of February 29th

Review from last week: None!  We mostly heated stuff up from the freezer before we left and grabbed take out a time or two:

 

...and our NYC trip will happen in another post :)

Plan for next (this) week:

I arranged for a Blue Apron delivery to arrive on Saturday so I don't have to do a big shopping trip until next weekend.

Monday: Blue Apron Meal: Spicy Shrimp Spaghetti with Cabbage and Toasted Breadcrumbs

Tuesday: Blue Apron Meal: Pretzel Burgers with Hoppy Cheddar Sauce & Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds

Wednesday: Blue Apron Meal: Trinidadian Chicken Curry with Coconut Grits and Collard Greens

Thursday: Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Out to dinner!

Week in photos: Alivia turns 1, Martial Arts, and Lisa's Totally Rad 80's Birthday Party

We absolutely love our membership at the YMCA.  So many fun opportunities for Ben to try new sports and activities.  This month, we started up with "Intro to Martial Arts", which my mom takes him to on Wednesday afternoons.  It's a fun way for him to get some energy out and play games like "Samurai, Samurai, Ninja" (a take on Duck, Duck, Goose).  

Here is a picture from his first class.  It looks like it could easily be confused for a Cheer-Leading practice.

Shauna and Brandon threw a "fancy" party for Alivia's first birthday.  We had fun dressing up and visiting with some friends - some of whom I hadn't seen in years or since high school! 

Me and Kim:

Kim, Shauna and Me

The birthday girl enjoying her cake!

Me and Greg - rare opportunity to be dressed up.

Party boys waiting to sing Happy Birthday (and sneaking frosting).

 Ben loving his color baths.

Fun with emojis

Mira and Callie came over for a play date (Maylee was sick).

Ben came up to me one evening and told me he wanted to "be by himself with me".  So we read books.  With this particular book, Ben is able to read about 80% of it on his own!

Lisa's birthday was last weekend, and she has had several years of having extremely fun and unique parties!  (Last year, for example, we were trapped in a room with a zombie).

This year, she and Evan rented out a roller-skating rink and we all had a BLAST!  Since it was kid friendly, we decided this would be the perfect time for Ben to try skating for the first time!

It was 80's themed, so I tried to make my hair as big as possible...which was more challenging than I expected.

I brought a cake :)

The boys :)

Me and Benny.

Skating for the first time is HARD.  This is how most of the night went:

And by the end, he only required one hand to hold and was doing a great job!  He had the BEST time and told us afterwards that he felt so proud of himself.  (I was so impressed that he never gave up, even if it was super hard).

Me, Lisa and Crystal

The cake lady at the bakery convinced me to get trick candles ;)

The party was from 8:30 - 10:30 pm, so Ben predictably crashed on the ride home.

Meal Planning: Week of February 22nd

Review from last week:






We made some AMAZING burgers on Valentine's Day w/ Gruyere cheese, arugula, pickles and aioli. 

Carnita bowls.  

We also went out to eat twice: Once because I had to take my car in for repairs at the dealership on Monday night and the other because we had a Groupon that needed to be used on a weeknight.

Tonight is breakfast for dinner :)

Plan for next week:

Saturday: Butter Chicken with naan  

Sunday: Lagered Chili

Monday: Leftover butter chicken

Tuesday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese (with bacon)

Wednesday: Leftover soup and salad.

And then we are off to NYC!!!!!!!

Meal Planning: Week of February 15th

Review from last week:

It was another good week of Blue Apron:

Chicken and mashed potatoes with carrots and a maple syrup glaze.

 

Lamb quesadillas? 

Salmon over black rice with avocado and oranges.  Yum.

Plan for next week:

Saturday:  After writing up last week's meal plan, I learned that Ben's school was doing a "Parent's Night Out" on Friday night.  So Greg and I are taking advantage and going out to dinner!  We shifted things around, froze the pork and we are having Mexican Pork Carnitas on Saturday night instead.

Sunday: Burgers

Monday: Leftover Carnitas.

Tuesday:  I've  discovered these southwest chopped salad kits at the store recently and we have found them to be SO delicious and the perfect thing to add to a meal when we are feeling too lazy to cook.  So tonight: Grilled chicken with Southwest Salad.

Wednesday: Lemon-Avocado Toast with Poached Eggs and a side of bacon. (A take on this, but I really just do my own thing).

Thursday: Pasta, arugula, Parmesean, slow-roastsd cherry tomatoes and crispy prosciutto.

Friday: Friday night is Lisa's birthday party. We are planning to grab dinner out on our way down to Seattle.

Week in photos: School Squad, Maureen's Birthday and Superbowl Sunday

A picture Shauna snapped of Ben wearing Alivia's headband :)

Pretty rainbow I saw on my way to pick up Ben at school.  It seemingly ended RIGHT at Ben's school!

Having the best time with his buddies at school.  What a wonderful change of pace having him request school every day (vs crying when he had to go).  What a difference a few months can make!

Apparently this is their "spot".

I think they were learning about maps.

A picture Ben painted: "A Stormy Day"

Making Valentines!  This has been a passion project for him.

Ben, Greg, Laryd and myself played SO much football outside during the Superbowl  (mostly them, a little bit me).  It was so fun!  We are thinking about signing Ben up for flag football that starts at the end of this month - in addition to Intro to Martial Arts that he starts on Wednesday!

We went out for dinner for Maureen's birthday last weekend!  It was so much fun! 

Meal Planning: Week of February 8th

Review from last week:

We did NOT cleanse.  Decided almost immediately upon waking up (hungry) that cleansing is stupid.  Remind me never to even consider that again ;)

The taco meat I made last week was great and so easy.  Definitely will make again.

The creamy herb chicken was also great!  Greg especially liked this recipe.

Moroccan lentil soup for lunch all week.

 

Catfish over Freeka with Collard Greens (Blue Apron).  Thumbs up.

 

 I usually am not a wing fan, but these were DELICIOUS. 

 

 Steak tacos with mole verde.  Bomb.

 

Plan for next week:

Sunday: Superbowl....which means we will likely be eating all day long at the Christensen's house.

Monday: Mexican Pork Carnitas and Cauliflower Rice

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Blue Apron Meal: Mexican Spiced Salmon with Black Rice, Avocado and Orange Salad

Thursday: Blue Apron Meal: Lebanese Lamb & Beef Arayes with Roasted Broccoli & Labneh

Friday: Blue Apron Meal: Seared Chicken & Mashed Potatoes with Maple Glazed Carrots & Pan Sauce