Thanksgiving Recap

I can't believe the holiday weekend is over! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I usually anticipate it for so long that when it finally does come, it just races by and I'm left awaiting next year with that much more excitement. I just love the time shared with family, the food, and all the preparations that begin for Christmas. Thanksgiving is so much fun and this year was pretty awesome.

We went to my aunt's house in Balston Spa, NY - about 3 hours north of the city. My hubby drove up with Aiden and my mom and brother.  I was nervous about the road trip because of the baby and I'll admit keeping him happy in the car was really tough. He hates being strapped down into his car seat and he will just start to SCREAM if he wants out. I fed him some yogurt and apple sauce on the way up and then tried to give him a little expressed milk in a bottle but he was having none of that. We pulled over so that he could nurse and then he slept the rest of the way there - THANK GOD.

My aunt prepared a beautiful dinner for us. When we arrived she had appetizers out with egg nog and apple cider. She made this awesome pumpkin dip that we had on sugar snaps and I got the recipe so I can't wait to try it. There was also an olive, roasted pepper and romano cheese spread that we had on crostini bread that was so yummy! Not to mention the deviled eggs... I love deviled eggs! After that long drive it was so easy to fill up on appetizers and it was a good thing we still had a few hours before dinner.

Baby Aiden did really well among all the familiar and not so familiar faces. It takes him some time to warm up to people but once he does, he is really a fun, delightful baby. My aunt set up a mat on the floor and we spread his toys all around and let him have some play time. I was worried about him being over stimulated but my aunt, uncle and cousins were really careful not to be "all in his face" and let him slowly warm up. He was laughing and playing with everyone soon enough! I was so happy that my aunt got some time with him... she is like a second mother to me so our bond is really special. She got Aiden an adorable outfit and some board books which I LOVE. She has a Yorkshire terrier named "Little Lady Lucinda" (yes, that's her full name) and Aiden was enamored with her! He kept following her with his eyes and reaching out to grab her. I was so nervous that he would pull her hair and she would retaliate but everyone helped keep an eye on them. I think Aiden is going to want a dog when he is older!

When it was time for dinner we said a family prayer and were ready to dig in! Turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, veggies, it was all so good! I made a dish called "pastelon" which is sort of like a lasagna but with sweet plantains instead of pasta. Aiden had some pureed sweet potato and turkey so he got to enjoy Thanksgiving food too :)

My cousin and hubby decided after dinner that they would go do some "black Friday" shopping. I was asleep when they got back but my cousin bought a pretty nice camera so I asked him to take a few family photos of us outside. With the pine trees and snow as our back drop, the photos came out pretty good and I think they will make a great Christmas card this year!

Overall, it was a great time and I'm so thankful! Thankful for my amazing family, my husband and my sweet boy.

Our Family "Staycation"

stay·ca·tion/ˌstāˈkāSHən/
Noun: A vacation spent in one's home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.






This is my new favorite thing! I love, love, love to travel and see different places but since having the baby, travel has kind of been on the back burner. It just takes so much to get the baby ready and out of the house so I can't imagine (right now) getting organized enough to take him on a plane or out of the country. I know that lots of people do it and we will soon, but for now a "staycation" is good practice. This weekend we had such a fun one!



We went to Glen Cove, Long Island for a quick getaway and it was so relaxing! The drive from the city was under an hour and we were able to bring Aiden's play mat, his CD player with night time music, his bath time supplies and bath time book, and all that good stuff. I had read some mixed reviews about the Glen Cove Mansion but I was very happy with the accommodations. It was clean and pretty and we had a KING SIZED BED! I mean, come on... I have mentioned before that we co-sleep and Aiden pretty much takes over the bed so it was nice to have the extra space.



We enjoyed time at the indoor heated pool and a great dinner at Pub 1910... then we lounged in our room and got to bed early. Aiden woke up about twice throughout the night which is not much considering how our nights have been lately thanks to teething. Then we enjoyed the breakfast buffet - it was so yummy. I ate pancakes, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, fruit and pastries. I completely lost control and loved every moment! We mashed up some banana for Aiden at the breakfast and he was a happy camper. After breakfast we hung out around the hotel for a bit and then took the drive back into the city.

I really love Staycations =)

April Island

I enjoy a nice getaway as much as the next person... okay, maybe a little more than the next person... I love, love, love to get away especially if there will be a beach. Now, just to get in the mood, I'd like you to navigate away from this page and take a small musical break with Lenny Kravitz -- click here

Welcome back! Isn't that a great song? Anyway, lately I have been craving a tropical getaway and with work and a 3 month old baby to take care of, that really hasn't been possible. I am in such a need of cool, salty breezes... sand between my toes and a frozen drink with a little umbrella. I need to lay out with a good book and soak up the sun... (don't worry I won't send you on another musical break but that is a GREAT song by Sheryl Crow)

I have resorted to taking little imaginary getaways and have found a cool place I like to call "April Island". Yes, that's right - it's named after me cause it's my friggin island okay? There is a small, beachfront villa where I am staying and I sleep right on the beach in a hammock under the stars. There are no people on April Island except for the occasional massage therapist, hairstylist and gourmet chef. I spend mornings sipping my coffee indoors and afternoons sunbathing and swimming... I spend evenings reading, writing and eating great food. I don't need to get there by plane or by boat - I can just teleport there because let's face it - if I can have my own island I can also have super-powers. My 3 month old is always welcome on my island because he makes the vacay that much better. We spend countless moments just staring into each other's eyes and life is pretty darn great.

Here is a list of things April Island is certainly not lacking:
*Chocolate covered strawberries
* A library full of books
* White wine
* Good music
*A huge water slide
*Beautiful tropical fish
* Anything else I can imagine up from thin air

Just writing about it makes me want to take a break and go there right now... So that's it for this blog post. But seriously, do any of my readers know good baby-friendly getaway locations? Until then I'll be on April Island :)

Summa Time =)

I was born in California but my whole family will tell you that I am a New York girl :) I love the city, the ability to jump on the subway and go just about anywhere, I love the restaurants, the people and most of all, I LOVE the art in New York City. We have Broadway, museums, fine art fairs all throughout and of course the summer music is the best. I am really excited for Summer!! It's my favorite season because I love to just hang out in casual cargo pants and flip flops for 3 straight months. I am super duper excited and am making my fun summer plans already.


* The Beach! - The two main things that keep my "California girl" side alive are my love for the beach and the Lakers. I love, love, love the ocean and the salty/sandy smell of the beach. I like to lay down right in the sand and ride the waves daring myself to go further and further back as I can find the courage. I love walking on the smooth sand right near the water and squishing my toes in it... I love sunbathing and reading a book with the sound of the waves in the background. This year, I will be rocking my "post baby body" in a cute one piece bathing suit - red and blue stripes from Old Navy.

* The Getaways! - My husband has already planned a little getaway to a bed and breakfast in Long Island for us. It will be our first time away from the little prince overnight. I'm excited for that! We are also going away as a family for my aunt's wedding this month and have a few more getaways in the works! Yay!

* Summer Reads! - Books are so fun during the summer. I am excited to put down the pregnancy and parenting books I've been consumed with and start reading for pleasure again this summer. I've got to read "The Help" before the movie comes out.

*Cookouts! - Several kids birthday parties and family events centered around BBQ this summer. I can't wait. I love food cooked on the grill, Iced-Tea, Lemonade and fruit galore! yummy!

*Iced Coffee! - I am starting to make it at home but will frequent D&D to pick up my favorite iced lattes. It's just a small pleasure that keeps me happy.

*The mani/pedis - I go for manicure and pedicures a lot more often in the summer especially to keep my feet "flip-flop worthy". It is sooo relaxing and I love my little nail spot.

MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE thing I am looking forward to this summer ---
*Walks with my precious boy -- I just love taking him out in the stroller and plan to spend lots of time exploring with him. He is so alert already looking around at everything and reaching out to grab things in front of him. I just adore him =)

This Mama is super duper excited for "Summa, summa, summa time" (See Fresh Prince adn Jazzy Jeff song here)

What are some of your favorite things about summer time?

XO,

April

Getaways -- yes, pregnant women can travel !

Before you go crazy and ask "should you be traveling?" I will start off by saying that yes, it is perfectly safe for me to travel until my 7th month of pregnancy and after that it's cool as long as I stay in the country. I don't know why some people think that you can't travel when you're pregnant but it is totally fine. The concern is that towards the end there is a chance you will go into labor... in that case, you don't want to be at a resort in Costa Rica or something. LOL

Anywell - I am trying to take advantage of the next few cold months and visit some fun places. Once the baby comes, there will be no trips for nearly a year and I love, love, love to travel. My husband and I went on a Caribbean cruise in the Spring of this year and it was great! I love traveling with him because we are the same "type" when on vacation -- LAZY. I am not one of those people who gets up at the crack of dawn to see everything and participate in every activity. I like to slowly get out of a peaceful slumber, have some coffee, read the paper and play my day out by ear. One or two museums a day is more than enough and FOOD is super important on vacation. It' s really great because Jay and I don't get on each other's nerves when traveling. We both have the same idea of how a vacation should be - though he does like to "do the activities" a little more than I do. But it's easy to compromise and we always have a good time on our trips.

This month, we are taking some group trips with friends and that is always a nice thing that I enjoy. Even though some of my friends don't have the same traveling style that I do, it's usually great cause I will go to some extra activity and they will meet us for a late breakfast after we sleep in the morning :) I LOVE to go away with our friends and/or family and we really aren't that type of couple that needs to be "joined at the hip" the whole time. I am perfectly fine relaxing at the hotel while he does whatever activity with our friends or visa versa... and we don't need to be on the "same team" for sports and games either! Actually we prefer to be against each other HA! My last "friends" group getaway was to the Poconos in early October. We had "field day games" and it was fun except that I was in my first trimester of pregnancy and still had the morning sickness in full force. Nonetheless we had a great time. Before that, it was a getaway for the 4th of July about two years ago to Lake George. One of my most memorable trips ever!!! So you get the idea!

This weekend, we are driving to Boston with our good friends Esteban and Caroline. Esteban is JJ's best friend for many years and Caroline is his lovely wife and my good friend... Here is a picture of them:

Since Jay and I got married, we've enjoyed the company of others couples (we miss you Danny and Jillene!) and we've had some good times. We have done a weekend getaway to D.C. before so I'm really excited about Boston! We are staying at the Radisson right in the center of the Boston theater district. We are going to hit up the museum of fine arts and the freedom trail. I love museums and historical sites so I'm really excited!!

When we get back from Boston, we are going away to Canada next weekend! This is also a trip with friends - our Symphony Chorus family! We are doing a mini-tour in Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal and going to be singing for audiences out there. We have been part of The Symphony Chorus for 2 years now and this group of people is really a blessing in my life. Not only have my talents developed but I feel that I have grown as a person while being a part of this group. At one time, Jay and I were sort of "in between" churches and this group was our fellowship with other believers. Here is a picture of TSC:

We've made some life long friends and I'm so excited to pack up on the bus and spend the weekend blessing others through music! We are also going to visit some cool sites, the capitol building and all that stuff so I better get the snow boots ready :)

I definitely can't wait to embark on some new adventures before Baby Picon arrives and next year, he will be joining mommy and daddy on their trips! We must see the world!

xoxo,

~April