December

This month was filled with tons of activity! I honestly can't remember all the details, so I'll just give  a brief overview.  We celebrated Chanukah. We had a visit from Nonna. Deb, Tim and family came for a visit one of the days when Nonna was here. Nonna helped the girls buy and decorate our Christmas tree. During this time I went to spend a long weekend with Pop pop and Brian in St. Marten. We celebrated my 33rd birthday!  Sophia had her first school Holiday Show––she loved this! Sage's cousin Jacquie and  her husband Andreas came for a visit. I Hosted Christmas Eve dinner for Sophia's friend Yasmin and her Mom Christine.  Finally, Christmas day we relaxed. All I can say is December is usually my least favorite month! I'm happy that we can look forward to the start of another year!

First night

Nonna with all her grand-kids

Enjoying the environment at dinner in St. Marten

One love for us=heart infinite tattoo on my birthday

My version

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Pre-k 103 Holiday Show

Dinner with Jacquie and Andreas

Christmas Eve Dinner at the kids table

November

The month started with a quick visit from Pop pop on his way back from Israel. Not sure if I mentioned that he went with Jenna in October to help get her settled. Here he is after his 11 hour flight with miss Sophia.

 The following weekend we drove up to Syracuse to help Pop pop wrap up some loose ends related to moving from Shalimar Way. Of course we left the night that the nor'easter hit NYC.  Since Super storm Sandy there was a shortage of gas in the city. We still had Leslie's car which had only a quarter tank of gas, this made getting out of the city nerve wrecking. As we turned to get on 278 we hit stand still traffic and we continued to sit in traffic for 3+ hours. I keep praying that we'd just make it out of the city and I hoped where ever we landed had gas. Thankfully, when we finally reached Yonkers traffic thinned. We pulled into the first gas station off the highway and were able to get gas. Then we got back in the car to continue on our 5 hour car ride. We made it to Syracuse that night at 2AM. Wow! What an exhausting experience! We returned Mimi's car this weekend and said our final goodbyes to Shalimar Way.

Uncle Ari and Pop pop came to send Thanksgiving with us. Leslie's brother Uncle Buddy and his wife Robin hosted at their lovely home in Long Island. Others in attendance included: Aunt Jo, Dylan, Elena, Kristen, Sara (Kristen's girlfriend), Ethan,  and Ferrah (Ethan's girlfriend), Robin's 2 sisters,  Robin's mother and partner. We had a great time! We had a tradition turkey as well as a deep fried (this gave the men something to do).

Outside Buddy's house upon arrival

Roo just being cute!

Uncle Buddy taking Sophia for a ride 

Dylan getting ready to deep fry the turkey

master carver

Uncle Tito

Me making fun of Uncle Tito

That same weekend we walked the Brooklyn Bridge, laughed, and felt good! Pop pop officially closed on Shalimar Way. We all felt a sense of relief and it finally seemed like things were looking up.

My handsome man while waiting for the ferry on our adventure to the Brooklyn Bridge

Sage's photo of the bridge

Sophia loving her Uncle

P.S. 17 Henry D. Woodworth

Outside her classroom --Pre-k 103

Our experience with the NYC public has been pretty poor on the whole, due to lack of communication from the school.  However, Sophia seems to be enjoying the experience! Our little big girl is really growing up!

Top row right to left: Xavier, Lorena, Christopher, Imani, Emma
Third Row right to left: Tancred, Chloe, Isaac, Deighton
Second row right to left: Sophia, Sky, Star, Lora, Yasmin
First row right to left: Janet, Sayen, James, Kimberly

First school photo

Blue Hill, Israel, Gma & Gpa, Sandy

Sage, Dad, Jenna and I attended David and Chelsely's wedding at Blue Hill Barns in Terrytown. It was such a beautiful wedding, however it was so painful to be there since Les was really looking forward to this event!

On the grounds before the wedding

It was bitter sweet to bid Jenna a farewell, because I just really didn't want to let her go and I knew I had too. I realize this is all super selfish and of course I want my sister to follow her dreams. Anyway, Jenna accepted placement into a masters program at Tel Aviv University, Israel. She'll be spending the next year + earning her degree and living abroad, and I'm so truly proud of her for following her dream. I/we miss you with every passing moment!

The morning before her flight

Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit! We took a trip to  the Bronx Zoo for Boo at the Zoo––everyone had fun! Sophia was even brave enough to take a ride on the camels with Grandpa. We also celebrated Grandma turning 60. Sage and I took her and Grandpa out to dinner at La Pizza Fresca (a NYC favorite spot for Grandma). Super-storm Sandy hit the day of their departure and they decided to bunker down in the their mid-town hotel. They had power, water, and food.

Grandma and I at the Zoo

Sandy thankfully did not have a direct effect on us, so we decided to do what we could by reaching out and helping. We donated goods and blood. We also took in some of our Westchester family (Tim, Deb, Dylan and Nora) since they lost power. We had a big camp out in our 950square foot apartment (laugh). Anyway, I really am glad we can all come together in times of need! The kids still got to dress up and celebrate Halloween and we even went to a Halloween party in our buildings lounge. After the kids went trick or treating again in our building. I'm really liking the benefits of this building!

Sage's amazing craving skillz

Dylan, Rylan, Nora, Sophia

R.I.P. Mimi

September 17, 2012 we suddenly lost our Mimi and my Mommy, Leslie L. London. Living without her will be forever hard and she will forever be missed! She was the most giving and vibrant person! She is present in all my thoughts and actions.  I will continue to make sure that her memory lives on in all the things that she taught me--A little video of her kids to remind us of her.

My reading from her service:

I wanted to begin with a quote by Swami Parajnapad that describes my relationship with Leslie:

   "When water joins with water it is not a meeting but a unification."

I remember the first time that I met Leslie. I was 3 years old. I have a vivid memory of that moment. Little did I know that right then and there that my life had changed. All I knew was that I felt an instant connection, that we synchronized. Soon I discovered that she was the most giving person, amazing  mother, confidant, support system, mentor, and best friend anyone could wish for. I loved my mommy more than any words can express.

Life sometimes takes unexpected turns, as mine did when I first meet her 30 years ago and as it did when I lost her. I think Joni Mitchell said it well in her song Good Friends:

Sometimes change comes at you 
Like a broadside accident

There is chaos to the order

Random things you can't prevent

There could be trouble around the corner

There could be beauty down the street

Synchronized-like magic

Good friends you and me

No hearts of gold

No nerves of steel

No blame for what we can and cannot feel

No nerves of steel

No hearts of gold

No blame for what we can and can't control

Good friends you and me, good friends you and me.

Sophia's interpretation of loosing Mimi

After sitting shiva Sage returned to NYC. The girls and I remained at Shalimar Way for the rest of September and traveled there often in the months of October and November to help with the arduous task of clearing out the 8000+ square foot home for the impending sale (I mentioned the house being sold back in my July post). It was a very emotional time filled with love, sorrow, pain and some crazy nonsense! I don't know if any of us will ever fully recover, but we are certainly trying to integrate our lives into this new reality. I know that the bond I have with my father, siblings, husband and children is forever strengthened and that I could not go on without it––love you all FORVEVER!


Side note of a few things that I want the girls to remember:

• Services for the family started at 9am. That morning Sophia insisted she needed the "right shoes" to go with her dress. Thank GOD for Target being close by and open at 8am!  I ran (drove) with Sophia to get her the perfect shoes which were purple and sparkly––Mimi would have approved! 
• Sophia placed a small container of earth from Israel (which is an honor, usually given to a grandchild).
• Sophia insisted on watching each person in the cemetery place earth on the coffin.
• Rylan loved to spend much of her time saying to all of us that "There is no Mimi in the world".
• Aunt Jenna believed that during this time that Rylan was her "savor".
• During our frequent trips to Syracuse the girls spent some time with their Nonna  and a lot of time with my friend Carrie Wilson (Ms. Carrie) and her son Alex. Ms. Carrie is a friend from my Syracuse mom days. 

Govenor's Island, Sophia's 4th Birthday, Labor Day Weekend

Finally, we took the ferry to Govenor's Island a NYC shared public/park space. You can hang out there for the day and during the season they host many fun events. You can check out the history here: http://www.govisland.com. We just went for the day to walk around and enjoy the amazing view of lower Manhattan.

Sophia had a fabulous Fourth birthday! The event was hosted by yours truly in our building's lounge. All her friends came from Busy Bee's (Miah, Adjei, Will, Walt, Leo) and a few new neighborhood friends (Grace, Jane and Jasmine).  We had face painting and played an updated version of pin the tail on the donkey, it was called pin the sticker on the birthday girl's elbow. Of course we ate, sang happy birthday and had pink frosted cupcakes---it was a great celebration!

Jasmine and Sophia new beasties

right to left: Grace, Will, Walt, Leo, Jasmine

Labor Day weekend we went to a wedding in Syracuse for Sage's cousin--it was a fun big traditional Greek wedding! It was great to visit with the Neulander, Young and William families--yikes that is a lot one weekend! But so happy to have a life filled with family and love! We did a horrible job taking pictures this weekend, but below are  two that we captured.

soaking up a little sun

girls with Nonna in matching dresses made by Nonna 

Bronx Zoo, Roo is 2, Swim Lessons & Trip Upstate

We made our first trip to the Bronx Zoo! Nonna, Deb, Tim, Dylan and Nora joined us so that we could have a joint celebration of Rylan and Nora turning 2. Wow, I can hardly believe that our little Roo is 2!

Sophia and Dylan

On Roo's actual birthday Sage took the day off and we spent the day together at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Rylan has been obsessed with riding the carousel this spring/summer. We took her on Jane's Carousel, had a nice lunch, and completed the day with some chocolate ice cream.

We also took a quick day trip to Robert Moses beach with the Nonna and The Yorktown Heights Youngs.  Seriously, I need to move to the beach ones of these days! Something about the sand and ocean makes feel at peace.  Sophia really loved the beach and ocean! Roo is slowly warming up to them both.

It was a lucky lottery year for Sophia! She not only got into pre-k, but she also won 5 free swim lessons from the city at the newly renovated pool in our neighborhood.  Both girls have become very comfortable in the water and will hopefully to be swimming soon!

The final week of July we made a trip Syracuse to celebrate my Great Uncle Mirca turning 80. All of my siblings came for the event and to say goodbye to the house on Shalimar Way--Dad and Les are in the process of selling! They moved into the house right after I started at Northeastern University. It wasn't the home I grew up in, but it was the house that I always came home to. I will surely miss all the great, difficult, and wonderful memories that we had there! Goodbye Shalimar Way!

June

I forgot to mention back in the May posting that Roo is sleeping in a big bed. The transition went well. She's sleeping in the bottom bunk and Sophia is on the top. It makes their room seem big (ha)!

In other exciting news Sophia won a lottery spot for public pre-k at P.S 17. This year 30% of  the ~29,000 students that applied will go without placement. Several of my friends did not get a spot.

The school is just blocks away and I'm completely excited and nervous for this change! It's been a happy, but hard four years filled with tons of transition––here we go again!

The highlight for this month was a visit from Aunt Jenna & and Mimi. Aunt Jenna has been in Israel for the last nine months––I missed my sister!  The girls and Sage were all sick during the visit, so it was pretty low key. However, one day we did manage to adventure to the South Street Sea Port. Both girls were in a bad mood until lunch when they were accidentally served Sangria instead of cranberry juice. I am not kidding, this totally happened. It's made us all laugh––unbelievable! Beware of your drink orders if you ever go to RED.

We celebrated Father's Day by having a BBQ with some neighborhood friends Rebekah, Sam and their two girls Grace and Jane. It was most definitely a memorable BBQ. Broken dishes, spilled food, yelling kids,  and then a colossal fall down cement stairs by Sophia. Luckily,  she did not hurt get hurt in any major way––just a few scrapes and bruises. Needless to say that was the end of the party for us. Maybe next Father's Day I'll just take Sage out to dinner (insert smile here).

Sophia's Co-op Busy Bees concluded. The  year ended with class photos, a graduation ceremony and a final performance of the Three Little Pigs. This Co-op has been such a wonderful experience! I am looking forward to doing it again in the fall with Roo!

The gang: Adjei, Sophia, Will, Miah, and Walt

class photo in her pj's to boot

 June 28th the newly renovated McCarren Pool re-opened. It's a free public pool just a few block from our house.  It's been a pretty big deal around here and has received a lot of press.  It made New York magazine's  number 2  in the top 10 things to do in NYC this summer. Of course Sophia couldn't wait to go swimming and insisted on waiting in line opening day of the  pool for over 3 hours. Glad we did it! We got to be apart of this historic day in a small way––it's a good memory already!

Party Time

The month of May was filled with celebration! We make another trip to the Syracuse, this time it was for a 60th birthday. It was a surprise party for Sage's step-mom Wendy––she was definitely surprised! This party also coincided with our nephew Dylan's birthday and mother's day weekend. It was so great to see everyone and yes we saw everyone. We ran around like chickens with our heads cut off as we zoomed back and forth between family––family I hope you can see how much we love you! Yes and much as I love you all next year for mother's day weekend I'm requesting a visit to the spa (insert smile here).

What a beauty!

Peace, Love and Mimi!

Sophia and Dylan opening Dylan's birthday gift-ha!

Back in NY Sophia meet a new friend, Yasmin.  The two of them had an instant connection. I love the freedom kids allow themselves––they have no barriers or walls. This is the first person she really connected to in such a deep way. Really cool to see!

New Besties

 We had a quick overnight visit from Uncle Tio and his girlfriend Daniella. They came in for a friend's birthday event.  It was the first visit Uncle Tio made to the city on his own. Ah, my little brother is so grown up! It was fun hanging out, we even managed to give them a mini taste of our killer neighborhood.

At the Wythe Dinner

We also continued our NYC tourism. The month we ventured to Central Park. We'd intended to explore the park by going to the top of the park at W110st.  First we got on an express train ––we weren't thinking...so we ended up in Harlem. Then we got on a local train, but needless to say it was on an express track, and you guess it it did not stop. So we thought we'll just get off the subway and explore the park near Columbus Circle. Much to my surprise this part of the park is actually designated the children's area. The girls had a blast! We saw a life size Elmo, live music,  a break dancing performance, a few statues, a magic show, a beautiful fountain, avoided the brief down pour of rain and played on the playground. Tired and happy we had a great adventure! Below is a clip of Sophia and a very friendly violin player.