Mommy Takes Manhattan

I flew up to NYC on Wednesday the 19th to visit my friend Callie, her husband Chris, and her son Jack.  I met Callie in grad school at Salem College.  Drew and I went to visit them in the summer of 2009 when she was about 7.5 months pregnant with Jack. 

I got to Callie’s apartment around 2pm and was met by the cutest little man in NYC!  We ate lunch and headed out to hit the town.  We walked around Tribeca and got a snack at Tribeca treats.  We ended up walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, something Callie and Jack had never done.  Drew and I had walked it the last time we were there so it was my second time. Jack slept almost the entire time we were out and about walking.  Wednesday evening Callie made a scrumptious dinner and we hung around their apartment.

We headed out late Thursday morning and went up to FAO Schwarz.  Man, it’s an adventure getting a baby and a stroller on and off the subway!  Especially in the winter when you have these huge warm coats and big things in the stroller to keep the kid warm.  I don’t know how people do it by themselves because it took two of us to do it.  We spent over an hour in FAO Schwarz, checking out all the toys.  We got to play the ‘Big’ Piano, the piano Tom Hanks plays in the movie Big.  After FAO Schwarz we met up with Chris for lunch and then we headed to the American Museum of Natural History.  Unfortunately we only had a couple hours before it closed but it was so cool.  I’m not always a museum kind of girl but I really liked this one.  It was neat seeing all the animals.  We headed back to the apartment and met up with Chris’ parents for the handoff of Jack.  Jack went and spent the rest of the weekend with his grandparents in NJ so that we could be a couple of footloose and fancy free girls in the city! 

Friday morning was one of the most fun days for me.  We got up really early and headed up to the Live with Regis and Kelly show.  We got on the standby list for tickets at 7:45am.  At 8:45am they started seating the audience.  There were 17 people in line and we were 16 and 17.  She came and took the first 12 and sat them and then came back for us!  We got taken to our seats at like 8:57am!  Regis wasn’t there but the guest co-host was Ashton Kutcher, which was kind of cool.  The guests were Jason Statham and the Cake Boss.  We didn’t have the greatest seats, we were blocked by the cameras a lot of the time but I it was still really cool to see live TV.  Kelly Ripa is the skinniest person in the entire world.  They threw these white beach balls around during the trivia contest and Callie took one straight in the face.  Too bad they didn’t get that on TV!  Drew watched the show and never saw us.  Oh well, it was still fun!

Friday afternoon we took a tour of Radio City Music Hall and got to meet a real Rockette.  I’ve seen the Rockettes twice so I thought it was pretty neat.  It was cool to go in some random places, like the hydraulics room to see how the four elevators on the stage work.

Friday  night we headed out to dinner, at about 9pm.  So New York City time, so past my bedtime!  We ate dinner in Greenwich Village at like 10:30pm.  It was a fun evening at a cool fish restaurant. 

Saturday we slept in and then went to the South Street Seaport and got tickets at the TKTS booth.  We got tickets to the Addams Family for that night.  We ate lunch at another cool little place and did some shopping.  We also went to Macy’s and shopped in the afternoon.  We met up with Chris again at a little Italian restaurant and then headed to the theatre for our show.  The show was really good but the coolest part was that the lead actors were Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth.  It was awesome to see them act in a Broadway show.  The play was very funny and entertaining.  After the play we headed to Hard Rock Café for a snack and finally back to their apartment. 

Sunday we slept in again and then I had to get packed and we headed to the airport.  My flight was at 1:55pm so they dropped me off around noon.  It was sad to be leaving but I was ready to get back to my own family.  Soon after getting there they started showing my flight was delayed and started making announcements that the plane was coming from Philadelphia and was having maintenance issues.  The short story is that my flight got cancelled and the next flight I could get on was at 8:30pm.  I spent 8.5 hours at Laguardia airport on Sunday.  ugggggg.  Ed and Jamie ended up having to pick me up since the kids were in bed.  I finally got home a little after 11pm.  Talk about a LONG day.  I was so glad to see Drew and be home! 

Here are some of the pictures I took last weekend!

This is Jack’s winter stroller gear.  Callie’s first time on the Brooklyn Bridge.My second time on the Brooklyn Bridge.Looking at the Empire State Building in the distance.Crazy jumping pictures on the Bridge!Callie and Jack in the subway!This guy was so tall!A Barbie foosball table.  ha ha ha.The Big Piano!Jack asleep in his little cocoon.Standing beside a huge turtle at the American Museum of Natural History.Where’s Jamie?Callie was scared and running from the dinosaur in the background!A HUGE whale!  I look like a piece of rice compared to this thing!It snowed Friday morning!Gelman from the Regis and Kelly show was prepping the audience on when to clap, how to clap, etc. Ashton Kutcher and Kelly Ripa!The set.Times Square.We actually went in Saks and tried on party dresses.  We’re wild and crazy girls!Rockefeller Plaza!Hydraulics room!Me and Jenna the Rockette!Friday night Chris brought home flowers for ‘our’ date.  What a gentleman!Lunch Saturday at Fresh Salt, a place I kept hearing Callie talk about and was glad I got to go to!Macys!  I’m actually in the picture but you can’t see me.The ball is actually up there on top, but it’s really hard to see.The Addams Family at the Lunt Fontanne theatre.