Saturday, June 30, 2012

Purse Lover

Samara loves my bag!


Actually, even more than my bag, she loves what's inside of my bag, my wallet!


And my change purse!



In fact, I've busted her (multiple times) taking every single card out of my wallet (debit cards, driver's license, AAA card as well as various other membership affiliation cards) and attempting to unzip the change purse and eat the coins inside.

Her purse and wallet obsession knows no bounds. She will scale any surface to get to her booty.


I bought her own purse complete with fake debit card and wallet, but she wants nothing to do with it. She just wants mine.

Is your kid obsessed with your bag too?

Friday, June 22, 2012

Ahoy Matey! Help Wanted: Pirates!



Ari loves to go to Playtime! where he gets to create art while I see great theater. I recently got an email from Kristina over at Sitter Studio letting me know about a new musical starring the Artist Sitters rom Sitter Studio! These are the same Artist Sitters that create art with Ari at Playtime!

The show was called Help Wanted: Pirates! When I heard the title, I knew my kids would go bananas over it. Even Samara likes to dress up like a pirate at home!

Help Wanted: Pirates! is an interactive kid's show that enlists the help of the audience members to become pirates! Ari and Samara were happy to get in on the action! Check it out:


Help Wanted: Pirates! was written with children in mind. The show takes into account how active kids are, and how they need to move around often. The show fully engages the audience, kids and adults, and invites both into the exciting world of piracy and treasure seeking!




Ari and Samara both had an awesome time at the show!




If your little one loves to be a pirate, this is a ship he or she will love to join.

So what are you waiting for matey? For more information on Help Wanted: Pirates: click here!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Ari Got Into Pre-K, But My House is Still Dirty

Let me start out by saying that The Universal Pre-K process in New York City is totally insane. You apply online through the lovely Department of Education. You're allowed to select 12 choices for Pre-K and you aren't guaranteed a spot. Consequently I spent the months of April, May and part of June terrified that Ari wouldn't be going to school at all next year.

Thankfully, I got an email a week ago from the D.O.E. notifying me that my 4-year-old did indeed have a free place to go play legos next year.

But then it occurred to me that he still doesn't wipe his our butt when he goes to the bathroom, and I began to get nervous.


I started thinking about next year even more, which is a really bad idea for me to do (the thinking part I mean) and I realized that my house is a disaster. I'm going to have to have play dates here next year. I have to find a way to clean it up.

As of now, there is no set schedule around here with regard to daily activities and I'm kind of freaking out.

But then I thought about it...


And I realized that there are other parents out there with dirty houses that have kids in school and babies at home! They have to find a way to clean, take care of the babies, and have their kids ready for school every day, just like me!

So, how do you do it?


Do you clean the house while your son or daughter is off playing with magna tiles and eating tater tots? How does it go down? Do you have a schedule? I have no schedule. I don't even know what a schedule is. Well, I guess I know in theory, and I did make one once upon a time for Ari.

Tell me how it works!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

No! Ages 2,3, and Now

From the time Ari was able to shake his head back and forth he's been saying "no." But upon reflection, I've realized that "No" has meant something different at each age, starting at around two, and now verbally running rampant at four. Each year, "no" has increased with sophistication. Here's how "no" has evolved:

Age 2: No!
Meaning: I just figured out that I can disagree with you! Now I'm going to do it for fun, all the time!

Age 3: No!
Meaning: Don't tell me what to do, even though what you're saying makes perfect sense! I obviously have a better idea!

Age 4: No!
Meaning: Not only do I disagree with you, but I'm going to spend as much time as it takes to get you over to my side. You are clearly mistaken.


Age 32 (Me)
No!
Meaning: I'm right, you're wrong! The end!

Monday, June 4, 2012

Rapture, Blister, Burn- Boyfriend Stealing, and Playtime!

On Sunday, my mom and I had the opportunity to see Rapture, Blister, Burn at Playwrights Horizons, while Ari got to go back to one of his favorite places, Playtime!*

Ari was so excited to go to Playtime, he couldn't wait to get off the elevator at the theater.




Once we got out of the elevator, he bolted for the Playtime desk to check in!




After Ari got his VIP badge to enter Playtime, my mom and I headed to see Rapture, Blister, Burn. We entered the theater and we were very excited because we had orchestra seats! That was pretty awesome!



This was our view of the stage, I felt like I could smell the actors!



As soon as we sat down, I noticed a woman and her husband sitting together. We got to talking, and it turned out that this woman was none other than Digital Latina! She told me her daughter was also hanging out in Playtime with Ari.

Ms. Digital Latina has a good eye, too. She spotted Broadway legend, Tyne Daly in the audience with us!

Now about the show. Watching Rapture, Blister Burn was one of those theatrical experiences I've had where I literally didn't think about anything else but what was going on right then. I found myself trying to predict what the characters would do next.

The story is about a group of women who lead diverse lives. Two of the women went to graduate school together. One woman went off to become a very successful career woman. At the time she was in graduate school she was dating a man who she left back home to study abroad. During her study abroad, her roommate stole her then boyfriend, married him and had children with him.

There are also two other women involved in the story, the career woman's mother, who is elderly and who recently suffered a heart attack, and a young free-spirited pre-med student.

The play chronicles the two women (once roommates and friends) meeting up in their 40s. The career woman begins to teach a course on feminism which the boyfriend stealing housewife and the pre-med student (who used to be the housewife's babysitter) both attend. The career woman's mother joins in on the feminist dialogues while mixing martinis for the group.

During the course, the two former friends realize that they envy one another, and they would like to switch lives.

I'm not going to tell you what happens after that, you'll have to see the play and find out!

I will tell you this, as a woman, I identified with each of the different female characters in the play. I can understand the feeling of wanting a career, yet having that urge to settle down and have a family. I also felt connected with the pre-med student, and her cluelessness about men.

And I particularly related to the relationship between the career woman and her mother. The career woman said multiple times during the play that her mother was the only person in the world who truly deeply cared about her. That really resonated with me.

While we were enjoying the play, Ari had a blast at Playtime. Here are some pictures that Candace from Playtime forwarded me:



After the show was over, we collected Ari from Playtime. He was ready to tell me all about it and show me what he made!


As soon as we stepped out of the theater, we got another pleasant surprise, Lee Tergesen, who plays the male lead in Rapture, Blister, Burn, (that coveted stolen boyfriend) was standing outside of Playwrights Horizons! I told him I was writing a blog post about the show and asked if we could take a picture together. He said, with a dead pan expression,
"well what are you going to say?"
Being a great actor, he totally caught me off guard. I replied:
"I don't know."
"I'm just kidding! It's my thing!" He shot back.
We both cracked up.



Well Lee, it turns out I had a lot to say! It was great to meet you, by the way!

So what are you waiting for? Go see Rapture, Blister, Burn! It's awesome!

*Tickets to the show were provided by the super amazing ladies at MamaDrama, courtesy of Playtime.