Brooklyn Botanical Garden - Cherry Blossom Festival

Unfortunately the Cherry Blossoms were not in bloom for the festival but either way it was a beautiful day to be outside and spend time in the Brooklyn Borough.

This was finally the opportunity for my dear high school friend Jenn and her sister Lisa to meet Noah. Thank gosh Lisa's boyfriend drove us there - it saved a lot of time.

Traveling with a baby requires well thought out planning especially considering everything I need to bring for the 'just in case' moments.

This was my first time at the BBG. I imagined it to be in a far away place from Manhattan but in fact I have been much closer to it when I visited BAM. In anycase, the weather was cooperative and I got a crash course in flora and fauna of the garden.

The 200 cherry blossoms if in bloom would have been spectacular and is appropriately named the Cherry Esplanade.

There were outdoor tents with entertainment ranging from J-Pop music, samuri dancing and Japanese theatre. My only complaint of the experience was that the food was not authentic sushi, as a matter of facts it was catered. I should have known from the packaging.

>> I wonder how many other people picked up on this misleading cuisine no-no<<

John met up with us later on. We had a chance to walk around ourselves and look at the flower arrangements, a common Japanese art. Fortunately, the tulips were brilliantly showing off their colors.

Below is Noah nestled between the original sushi pillows. His Tita Jenn bought him the salmon roll one on the left. I wonder how he was propped up like that?

 

gotta love a beautiful day in central park with good company, chinese food and limitless people watching.

I was always curious who lived below us. The former tenants told us about Sandra from Guyana -- older woman about my height who was remarkably friendly with us from the moment we moved into our new apartment. I did not know she was looking after the woman pictured above. Her name is Bess and is surprisingly 101 years old. You would not think it for a moment if you met her. She is as sharp as a woman half her age and is quite witty.

John met her a couple weeks and I had to witness her myself. Who knows how long she has been living in her current apartment. It is that of a time warp with appliances that seem like they are from the 50's.ly Unfortunately it also seems like she is living on very little. My first sight was of her bed room - a small t.v. dinner tray beside her bed and opposite a bureau lined with black and white photos and colored photos of what seemed to be Sandra's grandchildren. I did not get a great look but Bess was quick to tell me that the next time I visit she would tell me about each photo.

Bess was very enthused to see Noah and I did not hesitate to let her hold him -- though with my hand and Sandra's to help her balance him. She asked for his name and her response was 'No-ah do you No-ah?' I cracked a smile immediately!

Sandra as mentioned before has always been helpful and very thoughtful. Anytime she ran into me in the hall she would offer to help me carry anything I had in my hands. She always commented, with her Guyanan accent how fit I looked and how charming Noah was. She even slipped a Christmas card for us under our door. At one point John and I were getting rid of a heap of clothes and other unneccessary things. She brought all of the boxes and bags down to the garbage and notified me later that she kept some stuff. Since then I have made it a point to set items aside that I think she could use as well as Bess. Eases the pain of having to lug it to Goodwill although have been doing so anyhow.

As for Bess, I know she has many stories to tell and if I had a chance to stay longer she would have had me sitting for hours. I am looking forward to visiting her again.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


(plural)
Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh
La ale-lah pwad-rig son-ah jeev

To start our celebration of our Irish heritage we went to a new pub Johnny Fox's that opened a couple doors from our apartment. I ordered a traditional Irish breakie that consisted of blood sausage, sausage links, a fried egg beans and large fries. Not meant to be ordered more than once a month! John had shephard's pie though is not comparable to their wings and $3 Buds offered every day.

A man with an Irish accent came up to us and gave Noah his own collection of shamrock ladden things - headband, hat and Guinness shamrock. I could'nt help but donn him with his new items and take pictures!

Most major parades go along 5th Avenue so we followed it by the park . The sound of bag pipes always get my eyes to welt up and it did not help that practically every county represented in the parade had their own bag pipe group.

Kiss me, I'm Irish
Tabhair póg dom, is Éireannach mé
Toe-er pog do, iss air-in-ack may

Central Park Perks



69F and sunny

Even with the slight chill in the air I was one of the few people wearing a tank shirt. After taking Noah to see the audiologist we went out for the second time to Central Park East. It was a spectacular day to be outside and I was in the company of hundreds of people milling around and relaxing on benches.

It is easy for us to forget that just blocks away from our apartment is the historical Central Park.

A few facts of the colossal green space:
http://www.centralpark.com/pages/general-info.html

843 acres or 6% of Manhattan
57 miles of walkways
14 lakes and ponds
48 buildings/structures
12 museums bordering around the perimeter

The Park stretches from Central Park South (59th St.) to 110th St. at the northern end and from 5th Ave. on the East Side to Central Park West (8th Ave.) on the West Side.

Brief History
http://www.centralpark.com/pages/history.html

CP was the first public park in the United States and was modeled after London's equally grand parks.

1853 City of New York was granted rights to develop park by authorizing eminent domain to work with 700 acres of land.

1,600 landless residents were displaced including Irish farmers and German gardeners who lived in shanties.

1857 first landscape design was held by Central Park Commission in which the 'Greensward Plan' was selected. It was developed by English born Calvert Vaux and envisioned an English landscape.

Winter of 1859 was when the park officially opened to New Yorkers. By 1865 7 million people visited annually.

Strange yet not so strange


After taking Noah to his monthly doctor's appointment I went across the street to buy lunch. The weather was pleasant enough to sit outside of the store and people watch. We were on 2nd Avenue in the 90's and there was heavy traffic coming from the highway exit.

I noticed a man carrying an archaic television in his arms. Next thing I know I hear the news being broadcasted over the sounds of horns honking and 16 wheelers passing by.

After having my coffee the curious part of me wanted to find the source. The man was leaning on scaffolding of the building and at the bottom of the light post was the t.v. It was plugged into wires protruding out of the base. The man bellowed out, "you want a color television?" and I responded "no thank you" with an amusing smile.

I took a picture with my camera phone.

Happy Daylight Savings Day!


We wanted to take full advantage of the extra hour of daylight and went on a family excursion to J-town (Japan Town) otherwise known to everyone else as St. Mark's Place. Our other destination was to go bargain hunting at the well known flea market on 11th Street and Avenue A.

Besides the outdoor vendors selling hats and sunglasses, one may notice all the Japanese restaurants nestled inbetween the seemingly misplaced punk rock stores. After doing some research I learned that St. Mark's was once the hub for all things punk rock. http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/2006/07/26/a-semi-japan-town/

Above is a picture of John with Noah at one of the new additions to J-town, a self serve eatery of American favorites. You have a selection of hamburgers with all the toppings, my favorite the corn dog, chicken nuggets and other fast food treats. The concept of it is very Japanese. Insert $2 worth of coins in the desired section and you have yourself a tasty snack made on the spot.

The Avenue A flea market is not to be missed! Every weekend a parking lot half the size of a football field is transformed into a paradise for anyone in search of a piece of the past or bargain prices on anything imaginable.

John bought an Iron Maiden concert dvd filmed in 1983 in Germany. I bought a set of fondue forks to replace the ones for the family Christmas Eve fondue feast. I could not help myself from buying a pair of spring flats that seem like they are from the 80's as well. I guess I can wear them while we watch Iron Maiden --- for kicks -- hee hee!

Afterwards we met up with our friend Kym (pictured with Noah) and completed the afternoon a meal at the corner restaurant. We had ourselves one of the best smoked mac and cheese dishes though cannot beat Mom's famous recipe.

Going crazy for EBAY!

My obssession started off with Fisher Price toys but I have now graduated to children's clothing. I cannot even begin to tell you how many great deals I have won thanks to lots of practice on my bidding skills.

I just won 5 pairs of shoes for $2.99 -- S&H only $6.00. Though Noah will not be able to appreciate them until he is 1 years old I can check off 5 less pairs of shoes I need to buy full price. Be the first to bid and aim high -- most buyers tend not to want go any higher.

Some of the items may have been lightly worn while others are brand spankin' new! I also have a $14 bid on a pair of adidas - never been worn and also Vans (black with red V logo) for $6.49 (S&H $4.05).

Wish me luck!

Fisher Price flashback

Thank you Lisa for reminding me of the original great toys we grew up with.

I visited my friends house and she showed me some Fisher Price items she purchased through ebay. A few days later she mentioned that she was looking for FP little people that were made of wood. The older toys were made with wood.

I went online to search for some sites that might have these little people. I came across a collector's site that itemized practically every imaginable FP toy dating as far back as 1930's. There was some categoric language that I had no clue about but I was having such a fabulous time looking at toys. I remember playing with each of the toys - the register, barn with doors that moo'd, dog with the coiled tail that you can pull and so many more. I felt like I was in a time warp!

What was your favorite FP toy?

Gung Hay Fat Choy!


Happy Chinese New Year
Year of the Pig

Jing Fong is the largest Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. It is inexpensive, quick and a great place to congregate with a big group of friends and gorge on very tasty dumplings with all sorts of fillings.

A friend of mine was visiting from DC and figured it would be a great place for us to meet along with other friends we have not seen in a while. Of course I warned everyone that the streets would be overflowing with folks wanting to celebrate with a dim sum feast.

When we got there the wait was one hour long. Thanks to "Filipino time" it worked to the late comers advantage and we were eventually seated. The banquet hall was at maximum occupancy and our guess of the number of people was some where around 1,000 people.


The tubes the kids are hold shoot out confetti and quite honestly a quick rush . They definately can cause harm if misused!!

Chinese New Year is celebrated throughout the next 2 weeks with dragon dances accompanied by drums going through the streets.

I found it amazing to read about the exodus of Chinese making their way home to celebrate with their families in China and over 2 billion people will use every form of transportation to do so. It is the largest migration of people in the world!

Not just about the roses........

V-day was always bitter sweet for me. I had expectations of a romantic day spent with whomever I was involved with at the time.

I was in NYC in 2000 with my then roommate and was walking past the MTV studio. A representative approached us and asked if we wanted to be on TRL - Total Request Live, a popular show that broadcast the top songs of the week. We did not have any clue what it was at first.

Our excitment grew as we were led through the MTV studio. I happened to have a pink sweater on, which stood out in the crowd and I found myself being interviewed by Carson Daly. At the time I did not have a love in my life so my response to his question about not having a Valentine was, " Yes, I am single and it was invigorating."

I am not sure Carson Daly expected such a response because he was quick to brush off my response and ask another person in the crowd the same question.

Seven years later and the meaning of Valentine's Day is not so much about flowers but a day for people to appreciate the ones they love. I know love should be expressed more freely and not just one day a year.

John and I ordered from Tony's Di Napoli, set up a picnic area in our living room and feasted on a lobster and seafood dish.....it was grand and stress free.

i realize that babies cry and it is not always because they are in pain but rather to inform mom that they are hungry or need a diaper change. to be honest we have been spoiled since noah has been such a laid back baby. the minute he cries we tend to panic.

john and i decided to see stranger than fiction, with will farell and dustin hoffman. in short - i loved the storyline but it fell short of my expectations. with little time before the movie we ate at burger 9 --- not as good as johnny rocket's in the milford mall but the fries made up for the burger shortcomings. i am no burger conisseur but i prefer the the thinner patties. sorry to the vegan/vegatarians if i am being too descript about meat.

i can only imagine what it was like for moms before there were cell phones; a lot of agony being seperated from their kids and fear that the babysitter would call. while we were watching the movie i received a picture text of noah wrapped with a comforter on kym's couch. i finally gave a sigh of relief and was able to finish the rest of the movie without any interuptions.

Visiting MaMARIA and Inspecta X (aka Malcolm Bayani)


Kym, Noah and I had our own adventure to Natick, NY to visit newborn Inspecta X. Malcolm Bayani was born January 26th - 7lbs 12oz.
Bayani is a Filipino word, which means hero although there is far more meaning to the word.

http://www.tribo.org/history/bayani.html

Thank gosh Kym is patient because I was ready to turn around and go straight home after spending 15 minutes trying to find each other. We wanted to meet in Port Authority but it was not nearly as easy as we anticipated. I went up and down the escalator stopping at each of the 4 floors at least twice, making rounds through the station. The elevator did not exactly give me access to every section of the station and I ended up carrying the stroller down a few flights of stairs before finding Kym.

We opted to take a bus to Nyack, which drove along the Hudson River but was not necessarily the best decision. Of course our next visit will be much easier now that we know our mistakes but the train would have been easier.
Malcolm's mom coined the nickname Inspecta Kissy Face because he puckers his lips after his feedings. The name caught on and I decided to call him Inspecta X. The visit was exactly what I needed even if it was rather stressful getting there. It was great to be around another mom, to share pointers, experiences and coo over each others babies.

I am looking forward to the coming months when Biggie Smalls (Maria's nickname for Noah) and Inspecta X get bigger and can have play time together.

Gato the cat.

We always had cats in the house. My beloved cat Spot (siamese) was my soul-feline. She slept with me, kept me warm during the winter nights, welcomed me when I came home from school and even had two litters of her own in my closet and drawer.

Gato joined us in the mid-90's thanks to my brother. He was from the mean streets of Miami before joining the ATO house. When he came to us - we already had two cats, Spot and Cujo (Spot's son) and he was quite a loner. He showed his hunting skills by leaving rodents at our door front or somewhere in our yard.

Now he is going on 17 years old and is showing it. He has many battle wounds like his most prominent torn ear. Mom has a resting spot set up by the radiator in our dining room. I am touched that he uses one of my first works of crochet as his blanket.

We wanted to go hiking but the winter chill limited us to a walk along the West Haven shores. I think the last time I was there was while I was in high school. I remember West Haven used to have one of the best Fourth of July fireworks display around.

John picked up a pile of shells from the mound seen in the background. Nothing like the shells I have seen in the Philippines, Belize or other beaches but it was great to be along the water front. Our walk lasted 10 minutes and that included our walk to the beach....

Thank gosh for our own Noah sitter.

Having Kym over last week was a godsend. I have had some free time of my own to dilly dally around my neighborhood grocery shopping and doing other chores that are not so easy to do with Noah.

Even though I stay in the vicinity, I still find myself frantically calling her every 10 minutes for fear that Noah is crying. It is a relief that he seems to sleep during her visits though that will soon change I am sure. She will be giving him lessons about important African American people and historical events in no time!

This is a call for other folks who would like to take a go at looking after Noah.

Biological link

Being adopted, I often think about my relation to my family. I dealt with the uncomfortable stares knowing we look nothing alike, feeling scrutinized and . My frustration stemmed from the fact that people could not see us simply as a diverse family. It has taken me years to accept that we are a blended family.

My good friend asked how I felt being Noah's Mom who is, that I know my only biological link. I had a moment of relief thinking to myself, "I am no longer alone." I will always be curious what I looked like or what my temperament was as a baby although am comforted that I can pass on my legacy that I continue to build.

According to the Chinese zodiac Noah is the Year of the Dog. Some may be skeptical but I have a fascination for the fortune telling system. Either way it is entertaining to read and determine if there are any commonalities.

Check to see what sign you are based on the year you were born!

Are you Yin or Yang, what element are you, interested in the history of Chinese zodiac? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Zodiac

http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/zodiac/zodiac.html

Year of the Dog

1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006

People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people¡¦s confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit.

In 2003 I went to the Philippines on an academic summer exchange program. 30 other Filipino Americans and a Mexican American took part in the 2 month language, culture and history program at the University of the Philippines - Dilman in Quezon City.

I desperately wanted to learn Filipino and also do some self exploration. Our daily schedule consisted of language class, workshops on culture and lectures on history, economy and other subjects of interest.

Another aspect of the exchange program was to complete a research paper and I chose to write about international adoption. This allowed be to do some soul searching about my own adoption and had the surprise of my life.

The Inter Country Adoption Board (ICAB) oversees all Filipino children placed with families internationally. After a couple meetings with the director and socialworkers they arranged to have me to visit the orphanage I lived in for the first 5 years before going to the US.

We met with the director who remembered me once I showed her my Philippines passport. I look back now and realize that I was not necessarily prepared to hear anything about my time at the orphanage. This explains why I allowed them to speak in Filipino. I did record the conversation but will have to find someone to translate it.

One of the questions I did ask was the origin of my name. I believed that my biological chose my name but it turned out that the former director, a missionary from Seattle, WA had a niece named Lorelei and wanted to name the next girl of the orhapange Lorial. I was a little disappointed but realized that some of my unknown past was a fabrication of my own thoughts.

Another question I asked was what they recall about my biological mother. This led into more details about my birth. She told me that I was born during a typhoon, which explains my fascination with thunderstorms - my mom can attest to this. She also said that because of the storm they had to wait three days before they could go outside and pick me up. The roads were not paved back then and my biological mother lived further out from the airforce base. Apparently my biological mother did visit a couple times but afterwards the orphanage never heard from her again.

When I tell people I am adopted one of the questions they ask is if I want to meet my biological mother. As far back as I can remember I have always replied no because of the language barrier but especially because she made her decision and I respect it.

I will always be curious about her and how much I may look like her. If I did meet her I would assure her that my life has been absolutely wonderful. She gave me life and also gave me a chance for a better life.

Below I am pointing out a picture of myself I found along the wall of the orphanage. It was taken the day I left for Manila in September of 1980. They have kept it up all these years, which was pretty amazing. I finally felt a connection to the orphanage and has been memorialized on the board.

Babywearing Bonanza
www.babywearingbonanza.com

I came across the Babywearing Bonanza while I was doing a search for events for new parents. It was also free!

We broke the cardinal rule of baby wearing and natural parenting by walking into the event with the Baby Bjorn. Minutes into our arrival and while I was registering a woman beside me asked what was wrong with the Bjorn. We knew we were in for an ear full.

We were informed very quickly that the Bjorn was probably the worst baby carrier for a couple reasons; it does not offer enough shoulder support for the person wearing it and as the baby grows it puts too much pressure on the spine that can later cause damage.

I tried on a baby sling, which was a 10 ft long cloth. I immediately was not to keen about its design particularly because I felt like I was gift wrapping myself in heavy cloth and I was thinking about what it would be like to wear this in the summer with a 20lb baby.

Moms and Dads were wearing many different types of slings, pouches, ring slings, structured carriers and mei tais. I did walk out with a mei tai, which is modeled after Chinese wraps.

For more information go to: www.simplyslings.com