New York Economics

Last post of the evening. I was in New York this past week for work. Spent one day in "The City" (everyone on the East coast knows that "The City" refers to New York City, I get a big kick out of it), then spent the next day traveling to and visiting March of Dimes in White Plains, NY.

Apparently spring break has the same effect on NYC as it does in southern climates, high demand of hotels lead to decreasing supply and thus higher rates. I still do not know who on earth would go to NYC on spring break and not go south, but whatever. So the best hotel rate I could get was $320 a night, for a hotel we usually get for $249 or so. The hotel closest to my company's office was running $400 -- ouch!

So I opted for one in mid-town, $320 a night. I had to be a big hick and take a picture of the room -- you can fit the entire room on one photo, it was so small. I thought you all might enjoy seeing what $320/night can buy you in NYC.

The Logic of Lindsey

Last night Wayne and I went out to a nice dinner with another couple and his nephew, Travis, and his girlfriend Elizabeth watched the girls for us. They had a good time w/them, got them off to bed on time and even got Lindsey to sit on the potty once before bed.

Elizabeth was with Lindsey in the bathroom when she convinced her to sit on the potty. Lindsey tinkled for a little bit, then started getting off the toilet. Elizabeth asked, "Are you sure you don't have to go more?"

Lindsey replied, "No, that's all I drank!"

Weekend in Wisconsin

We spent this past weekend in Wisconsin, visiting with the Lau/Schafer/Hoyt families. It was lots of fun watching Marissa and Paulie play together -- the fact that they are only two weeks apart in age means they go through a lot of the same stages at the same time.

Little Paulie has glasses due to being far-sighted, a condition that he will hopefully outgrow. I found it interesting that when Marissa was smaller (and still today, sometimes), she would take pacifiers out of other childrens' mouths, she apparently just thought they didn't belong there. But she never once tried to take Paulie's glasses off. Lindsey didn't seem to notice them until the morning we were leaving she turned to me and said, "Hey Mommy, did you know Paulie wears glasses??" Wow, hadn't noticed those adorable little frames with his dark brown eyes peeping out!

This morning the kids all had one last time by and in the pool before we all went our separate ways. Lindsey used her little water wings and an innertube to dog paddle her way from one end of the pool to the other -- pretty good feat for an almost 4-year-old! (Considering she was swimming in water that is 5 feet deep on one end).

Marissa and Paulie never actually got into the water, but walked around the outside at different paces, alternately giving little toddler screeches at each other. Here's how it went:

Paulie: Aaahhh!

[pause]

Marissa: Aaahhh!

Paulie: Aaahhh!

Marissa: Aaahhh!

[giggle giggle]

Paulie: Aaahhh!

[pause]

Marissa: Aaahhh!

[more giggling]

It was entertaining an entire hot tub full of adults; thank God they were all tolerant of the noise!

Doh!

Homer Simpson has been resurrected in the Floria/Horsman household.

Marissa has finally learned the word "No!" And, as when Lindsey learned it, the only way to say it is loudly and with a scowl. Yet it doesn't quite come out "no," it comes out with a "d" sound in front of it, so Marissa is channeling Homer Simpson -- "Doh!" "Doh!"

She gets quite emphatic about it, striking away whatever thing we were trying to give her, or shaking her head emphatically from side to side while saying "Doh!"

We try not to smile and laugh when she says "Doh," it only makes her more mad, which is even cuter.

More Snow?!

We've been recovering from back-to-back snowstorms the last week of February that left us in quite the winter wonderland. Our office actually closed on Thursday, March 1st, and Wayne's didn't re-open until Monday the 5th. (We did re-open on Friday, though the staffing was quite slim.)

Here are a couple of snowy photos of a walk in the snow the weekend of March 3-4th. We had a good time making a snowman after the first snowfall, which was promptly buried by the second snowfall.

Bible Stories

We always read a story or two to Lindsey before bedtime. Lately she's been pulling out her children's versions of the Bible, most recently the New Testament. She'll turn to a page that has interesting pictures, then ask us to read the story around those pictures. (Thanks to aunts Sherrie and Kristi, by the way, who provide these tools of religious learning which our children would otherwise have absent from their lives because of their heathen parents.)

Yesterday she picked out the pictures around a group of men glaring at Jesus and asked me to read the story about the angry men. Sure enough it was the Easter story, and I wasn't so sure about reading this to her. After all, it deals with death, a concept that she knows no further than "Spiderman is going to 'kill' his enemies," something the boys in her pre-school playact. And to be killed means that you fall down.

So I started at the Last Supper and read through to when Judas betrays Jesus, he is captured and crucified, then the stone is rolled away from his tomb and he re-appears to the apostles. This version did a great job of putting the story in terms children could relate to, by calling Jesus the apostles' best friend, and they were very sad when their friend went away, but happy when he came back. (Friendship is a concept Lindsey definitely understands.)

When I turned the page to keep reading, the one on the left showed the apostles looking up at heaven to where Jesus ascended to God, while the angels asked, "Why are you looking up at the sky? Jesus is still with you." The next page had a picture of the apostles standing around smiling, while Jesus appeared as in a thought bubble over all their heads. (Cheesy, I know, but something that young children would understand.)

I barely got through the first page when the angels told the apostles "Don't look at heaven, Jesus is not there," when Lindsey gasped and pointed to the page of Jesus in the thought bubble. "Look!" she said, "Jesus is with them! They are sooooo happy!"

Now there's the meaning of Easter.