My friend Tracey, mom of two and super fit cover mama, never has luck with hotels in Manhattan. I’m thinking that the next time she’s in town, I’ll actually clean the guest room and let her stay in there.
Why? After flying from LA and arriving late at night her hotel told her they overbooked and she would have to stay at one of their sister hotels - the Milford Plaza. Poor Tracey. Her situation went from bad to worse.
I’m a native New Yorker so I remember those silly commercials about the Milford Plaza being the “lullaby of Broadway”. Yeah, sure. But because I’m from here, I have never had a reason to set foot into that hotel. Until today. Oh wow. I can’t believe I’ve missed this all these years.
I just love that their website states: “Whether you’re here on a well-deserved New York vacation or on business, the Milford Plaza New York Hotel is waiting to welcome you and ensure that each and every visit meets or exceeds your expectations.”
So Tracey and I go to lunch where I once again eat more than she does because I have no shame. I’m sitting in front of a serious fitness professional and I’m stuffing chicken and avocado which has been bathed in dressing in my mouth. (A little back story: Last time Tracey and I got together I had a chicken cutlet the size of Texas on my plate.) *sigh*
Visit: www.TraceyMallett.com
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Luke woke up this morning… early….
Not really a problem because I have been up since about 1AM.
But 6:30 is pretty early either way.
Sunday is Grandparents’ Day. Natalie will be back Sunday afternoon in time for the brunch I am making (yes, I cook!) for my mother and grandmother.
But until then it’s just the little voice of Lukie coming from the other end of the apartment. I went into his room a few minutes ago and there he was standing up, smiling and excited to see I was coming to take him out of his crib. (He’s still in a crib because I’m not a fan of the kids climbing the living room furniture while I’m sleeping.)
I picked him up to change his diaper and on the way, he reached out to turn on the bedroom ceiling light (they use a little bug lamp that stays on throughout the night). I stopped and thought about how lucky I am to have a happy and healthy baby. So very lucky. Changed his diaper and got him some milk. Back to bed for Luke. There’s no way he was starting his day at 6:30!
Speaking of his crib… Luke knows he’s the only kiddo in the house so he took a bunch of Natalie’s toys to bed last night. If only Natalie knew Luke had one of her Grover dolls in his crib. I’d never hear the end of it. Thankfully I never have to worry about Natalie sharing with Luke but Grover is very special. I’m lucky I can hold Grover long enough to put him in the wash.
Nat is another healthy and happy child. I really did lucky out. She has ezcema but that’s the worse of her health problems which obviously isn’t much of a problem if you were to compare that with what some children in her pediatrician’s waiting room have to deal with. 
I get a lot of emails asking where Natalie is… why she’s “never around” or “what do you do with your kids when you travel every week”. One email said it “wasn’t healthy to be apart from your kids so much.” I guess it depends on what you think is healthy.
I never travel for weeks without seeing my children. I have only spent more than 2 nights away from my home twice since Luke and Natalie were born. When my daughter is away from home it’s just to her great grandmother’s house. Same for Luke. Seems pretty healthy to me. Neither of my children have a babysitter or nanny. This summer Natalie went away after she turned 3 to spend time outside of New York. Sounded good to me. She was able to adopt a donkey, meet new children, and have a few experiences that staying in Manhattan wouldn’t have allowed her to do.
I do appreciate the genuine concern over the health of my children but they are smiley happy babies who like to eat twigs. 
Posted in The Kidlets | No Comments »
So wait… after finally getting your child into a preschool (if you don’t live in Manhattan or well.. quite a few cities… you will have no clue why we breathe a sigh of relief after hearing a voice after hours of busy signals) and you take them to their first day you hear get the privilege of hearing some parents GOOGLE the parents on the class list. No really.
These parents GOOGLE other parents before they allow their kid to attend a play date at their house.. and some parents don’t stop there.. they actually perform background checks on other parents to determine their net worth.
I’ll save everyone the trouble. My background is quite dull. There’s nothing interesting to uncover.
My father didn’t invent the Post-it and my mother doesn’t know any funny jokes. My maiden name is not Astor and when I was 20 I wasn’t bailed out of jail for stealing collector’s edition Pez dispensers from a pop museum in Amsterdam.
What is true and if you dig deep you may find out? I once had a Calico cat named Samantha but Sister Victoria (yes, as in a habit wearing nun) took her to another family after a few weeks because I was afraid of Samantha’s claws scratching me. (Years later, I had a declawed cat named Shea who was given away when Roman said when we moved in, I couldn’t bring her since he had severe allergies. *sigh* The things you do for love.)
So what do you really need to know before you Google me pre-playdate? If you send your child to my house for a play date there are a variety of snacks and toys available… My daughter knows how to share. And sometime soon, my son will learn as well. I’ve never had plastic surgery and as far as I know, I make the best oatmeal raisin cookies in zip code 10024. I don’t order take out and hide the delivery trays pretending I made the dinner. So if it’s bad, it’s all me. Same goes if it’s the best meal you’ve had in six years. (And then I’ll just wonder which minimum security prison you’ve been in for the past few years because I’m the first to admit my culinary feats only extend to bake sale material.)
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
