Winter Break

The kids had last week off of school, so we decided to pack in as much fun as we could. I miss all of the adventures that we used to take together in the city. Now that they are in school all day, we spend most of our time recovering and staying close to home. I guess that is not unusual...just an adjustment. Here is how we decided to spend our week together:
Monday: Empire State Building. We can see this building from our front stoop, and the kids are often asking to go up in it. So we finally geared up for the long tourist lines and did it. It took about an hour of waiting, and the kids were ready to leave after 15 minutes. We dawdled as much as possible, but soon headed to a Korean restaurant for lunch. Yummy! Adaline ate these tiny whole fish--we were impressed.
Tuesday: Sledding with friends. We had a wonderful time in Prospect Park sledding with lots of friends.

Wednesday: Swimming. We just joined the local YMCA and went for our second swim. I must take a picture of the kids (but not me) in the mandatory swim caps. Hilariously cute.

Thursday: Bronx Zoo with friends. There were not many animals outside because of the cold, but there are so many indoor exhibits that there are plenty of animals to see. And the kids get exercise wandering around the huge place. They always love the bug carousel.

Friday: Play dates. We had two play dates with school friends that were supposed to happen at the same time, but ended up being back-to-back. We practically had to drag the second friend out of our house at bedtime because our kids were melting down so heavily. She was insisting on a sleepover, but we stood strong. It was definitely one of those moments when you realize, "Have we done too much this week?" They had fun, nevertheless!
Saturday: Art class at Pratt. We signed the kids up for an art class because it is close to home and fun, but also so that we could partake of the practically free adult art classes that coincide. Unfortunately, the adult class filled quickly, but the kids enjoyed their second class this week. This is us admiring the sculptures on the campus:

Saturday bonus: Birthday party at the ice skating rink. I cheated and took the kids out with my boots on. I didn't get caught until the very end, and the referee or whatever you call him was very angry with me. It was worth it because I do not care for the knives-in-my-feet sensation that I get when I ice skate. Jamison couldn't help because he twisted his ankle a few weeks ago and it is still healing (ice skating is not so friendly on the ankles, either). The kids eventually were able to skid along by themselves. Arthur started to get the feel of pushing off with his foot--moving from "walking" on skates to actually skating--right before we had to leave. He is hoping to go back soon.

We ended up at neighbor's house after the party until late last night--topping the week off with a bang. The exhaustion and tantrems today have been lovely. I can't wait to see how the kids do going back to school tomorrow. We might need another week off to recover from this one :)

Oh, and that picture at the top is a big mound of snow on Pratt's campus...all black and nasty but still fun to play on!

Snow days

Arthur and Dad have been sick all week, so it was up to me and sis to play in the snow. The first day was pretty rough because the snow was falling so heavily (see picture #2). The next day was sunny and beautiful. I had to continually convince her to sled because she kept wanting to build snow houses. And I don't have an excuse to sled unless she's with me :)