More Spring blooming around Socrates Sculpture Park

Read Full Post »

Fly a Kite

Every year this park (located near the last Queens apartment that we lived in) hosts a Kite Flight – where kids are invited to make a kite, and then fly it. This year the kite instruction was a bit complex and in ernest mostly parents were making kites for kids… but it was great to get to Socrates Sculpture Garden filled with kites and see the lush gardens blooming along the edge of the park.

some cool graphics to glue to our kites

Read Full Post »

Mother’s Day

Hand made cards, flowers and grilling+chilling at the new picnic peninsula on Pier 5 in Brooklyn. It was a perfect day.

a great view of lower Manhattan from our table!

Read Full Post »

and the Ideas City Street Fair that followed …

After being inside the New Museum for a bit we tumbled out on to the street for a walk around the Ideas City Street Fair. Ezra loved the truck farm (its owners offered us some beans to grow at home) and the Mobile Public Park. The combination of gardening and trucks make his little heart sing. And we learned about new innovations being implemented in our city now — like this cool pool and the possibility of having a LowLine some day. One of our favorite new ideas is the ‘Make Anything Into a Key‘ product by Makey Makey – the kids got to play bananas as piano keys!

the view from inside the museum looking at the fair

lots of solar panels for Ezra to enjoy!

look who’s helping out with the mural!

these bananas really play music!

Read Full Post »

A trip to New Museum on the Bowery

We finally got to check out the New Museum – as it turns out, they offer free admission for kids on the first Saturday of every month from 10-12 in the morning. The kids were invited to do some kid-friendly activities in the penthouse where there is an amazing view of the city. (SO amazing that E & Z’s dad used it as a photo shoot location just days later.) I’ve been curious to check out the 1993 Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star show, since I feel like I’ve lived through those years in the NYC art world. The Felix Gonzalez-Torres piece with lights strung from the ceiling was the most kid-friendly option to view (others were a bit R or X rated). Thankfully my little ones ignored the racey stuff and enjoyed the ‘green pillow tunnel’ installation by the front door instead (installation by Pak Leung and Phi Phan).

Read Full Post »

Fuel Efficient Car Show

It just so happened that – right after Ezra’s march and fight for more electric cars – there happened to be a Fuel Efficient Car Show in Bedford NY. Of course we had to take him to see the Teslas (his favorite car to date) and various other models with fuel efficiency being at the core of their engineering. I think this is the first time he has ever seen a giant bow on the top of a car .. and he kind of loved the idea of getting one some day for his birthday. I think in his 6 year old fantasies he would drive around with the bow affixed to the car forever!

Read Full Post »

Spring in the City

Whew .. a week of work is done and I have a few days to decompress before going back to work again. My blog has been a little neglected due to a hectic schedule, but my friend sent this beautiful instagram of the Orly Gender show being knitted together this week. I cannot wait to check it out this weekend. And while I was working I was back in this neighborhood again where I found tulips growing by the carousel. It was a bit stressful being so near to Times Square while the news broke that the Boston bombers had it as a second target. But at lunchtime I liked to imagine I could be in Paris when I’m in Bryant Park – especially when it’s misty and rainy, and flowers are in bloom.

Bring on the flowers and warmer weather!

instagram by Ina Seow

Read Full Post »

Spring and Momofuku Milk Bar

It’s beginning to feel a bit like spring here, finally. We tooled around with our scooters and had one of those glorious days watching the trees grow fuzzy – like they do when buds on branches start to bloom. The kids love seeing flowers on the trees outside of the Museum of Natural History, and got to frolic in a sandbox in Central Park. We made a short trek to Momofuku Milk Bar for ‘blueberry and cream cookies’ – and check out their ‘candy bar pie’ topped off with a pretzel! At dusk, the sea of yellow taxis against a dusky sky made me reminisce about summers when I use to live in Manhattan (and my nights would start where they now end – around 9 pm!)

(birthday cake and candy bar pie photos from milkbarstore.com)

Read Full Post »

Sagamore Hill and some more Theodore

My husband has an interest in Theodore Roosevelt (check out our previous Theodore encounter here) and was hankering for a trip to the Theodore Roosevelt house at Sagamore Hill. Unfortunately the house is under construction but there’s still Sagamore Hill itself. Sagamore Hill is a pleasant site to hike around – and it has an information center at Old Orchard Home where we could see some movies and old artifacts on the subject of Theodore’s life and presidency. The kids were pretty excited to get Junior Park Ranger badges – which were earned by completing a little test of finding various things around the center. Now that we are chalk full of Teddy knowledge can’t wait to get back to tour his home when the renovation is finished.

Read Full Post »

Long Island Children’s Museum

Wow. This museum has the coolest little “animal diner” where you put plates of various kinds of ‘food’ in front of your animal customer – and the condiments on the bar will light up with a yes or no depending on what your animal likes to eat! Clearly this is another fun museum for climbers and sand diggers, and the music rooms are fascinating. But my kids can spend hours playing with the old rotary telephones with the ‘strange curly wires’ holding the earpiece to the base. Who knew such an overlooked device from MY past would be seen as an antique by my own kids so quickly!

Read Full Post »