NYC weddings and a trip to NJ

I am currently grieving. In my Child Life class "Loss in children's lives" there is a class on the types of loss people experience and the ways people grieve and they are all valid. Well i just spent the past three days with E and N (the kids i previously worked for) at their new house in New Jersey and once again i have no idea when i'll see them again...oh wait you guys don't know the recent news. They moved to New Jersey a few weeks ago, kinda suddenly because their apartment was too small. Right, so now that you're caught up i'll continue. It's been two and half weeks since i last saw them and when they are that little a lot can change. E is 2.5 and N is about 8 months, lots of growing and lots of forgetting. Anyways, i'm grieving, the three of us hung out so much this weekend because their aunt was getting married and their parents were super busy with wedding prep, and now i'm back to nada, just a bunch of stories and memories. There are lots of stories and i'm not even sure where to begin. Here's an attempt and a bit of story separation.

For those who'd rather read about a classic NY wedding:
This to me was quite the wedding. Bridal party and photos taken at the Palace hotel (ie: where Serena lives on G.G. for those in the know, xoxo) and the service, cocktail hour and reception at the Harmonie Club (they consumed 3 floors of a 7 story building)...all black tie. Oh and did i mention it was three days, yeah big rehearsal dinner, and post wedding brunch. All was fabulous though, beautifully decorated, beautiful flowers, beautiful chuppa, supposedly good food...there was no skimping. Oh and of course the wedding was written up in the New York Times which while i'm told is not AS exclusive i'm told is still exclusive enough i've heard of others being denied.My role as the nanny was to the wrangle the two kids. E. being the flower girl and N being nothing but a cute baby dressed in a suit...seriously cute!! lots of awwwwwing when they came down the aisle. Moral of the story, if this wedding was under 100,000 i would be shocked!

For those who'd rather read about the kids and NJ
I need to first explain that E. and N. are rarely affectionate. No snuggling, cuddling, kisses, hugs nothing (this is the opposite of their parents). It took me months before either of them decided i was special enough to get anything remotely affectionate ie: a head resting on the shoulder during a story, or allowing you to hold/rock them to sleep. I have decided that it's an age thing, but also that they only share when they really really mean it. I'm down with that, it means more and usually makes me cry when it occurs because it is rare and genuine. The other day, we are mid conversation about things we like and it goes like this, E says,"I like my bed, i like my toys, i like to play, i like shannon, i like milk, i like baby beluga"...um reverse she likes me and i'm up there with playing, milk and baby beluga...this is a big freakin' deal!! Also, I'm changing E's diaper and she's having an exhausted meltdown when she says, "Shannon....I love you". I had tears in my eyes as i respond with, I love you too E. K, enough of that because when N. decided to rest his head on me while i was holding him the other day and not pinch or try to back flip out of my arms i was in heaven...i was going to be so sad to not see them again.

And finally for those who'd like to read about both
E. was the flower girl and N. was the cute boy who got a ride down the aisle with their mom and dad. Well E. loved being the flower girl, she talked about it for hours before and after the wedding, i'm sure she is still going on about it. Her role was to put handfuls of flower petals all the way down. Well a two year old could care less, two handfuls later she's at the end of the aisle and dumps the whole basket on the floor. No biggie, but when she was supposed to stand at the front she decided to announce loudly, "E. still wants to be a flowergirl. E is not done being a flowergirl", until i dragged her out of the ceremony before the bride had a meltdown over a two year old wrecking her wedding. After we left she wouldn't stop talking about how pretty she looked and how she did such a good job with the flowers (true she was so pretty and she did do a good job...it's just kills me to hear a two year old brag about it).

Right so that's it...NJ although very close to the city is so very far. It's a bit of a fantasy land, right out of a magazine...or at least where these guys live. They have a lawn, and animals running around (ie: rabbits, chipmunks, and foxes). It's a different world where darkness and silence exist, where stars are visible in the sky, birds chirp when the sunrises and kids play on the street together. It also has E and N and no matter how exhausted they make me, i love seeing them.

Bowling...yes a NYC experience

Bowling is a very normal thing for pretty much every city in North America, but here in NYC finding the space to put a bowling alley is pretty rare. Two places in NY that i'm aware of have bowling, Chelsea piers (child friendly) and Bowlmor (pretty sure children would be scared of the escort looking waitresses). So as a celebration of C's birthday and being done classes we went to the infamous Bowlmor. It's a double decker bowling alley, full bar, restaurant, dance club, yadda yadda yadda. Monday nights are black light bowling or was it just dark and strobing lights, i forget already, they have a wicked WICKED DJ and all you can bowl from 10-2am. ps: 4 hours goes by fast!

Turns out i'm a TERRIBLE bowler, or at least a terrible sober bowler. If i thought you would all be interested in hearing how many times i threw gutter balls in the first two frames i'd share that, but the best part was when i repeatedly bowled leaving one pin standing, seriously like 5 times in a row. This became really annoying, thus making Shannon really annoying. New tricks as to how I could get that last pin, no avail, but i did get a sweet bruise on my knee. anyhoo, i did get a strike, please refer to the non- posed picture...i am obviously very animated during excited moments. And we had a great great time, we will go bowling again.
Next adventure is possibly the Child Life conference in San Diego next week...this weekend is a trip to NJ...whoop whoop!

free time = no time management

It's funny what happens to a person when they go from being so insanely busy to having time for themselves. Nothing gets done. example a. the blog.

I went to paris a few weeks ago (yeah weeks now, crazy!!) and had written two posts about it, both i'm not satisfied with, so opted to not post at all. The thing is is that Paris was amazing, the reason i went was amazing and i really do need to write because well it's paris!!
So here goes, a combo of two posts and hopefully you guys will be happy to see i've resurfaced to have NY fun! ps: ignore how it appears this was recent, it's from a few weeks ago.

I took a vacation last weekend, waaaay to short, but I am still in deep with school work so I couldn’t exactly add more time away. My fabulous cousin L. got married in Paris (where she lives with her husband...ahhhh HUSBAND!!) and I was fortunate enough to be invited and then taken (THANKS M&D!!). Of course there has to be a bit of drama before i take off, what's the point of writing if there wasn't.

Riding to JFK in the Stupid Shuttle (aka supershuttle, which i will never ride again, I will take recommendations seriously about taking the train). Shuttle arrives, I ride with 5 other people getting to listen to “air radio” and their very serious discussion about UFO’s. This was painful, especially because I think I was the only person whose primary language was English (all French) who didn’t seem to care or understand. BUT the clincher (please don’t shoot me) we drove the entire way there in 25C heat, on the highway windows down…all stop and go traffic, painful, brutal, slow, stinky…no air movement all of us sweating except for the driver, I guess. I never complain about being hot as I’m a cold cold person (in more than one way) and usually regret requesting cold air, but I was about to walk to the airport because outside would be cooler (and faster?). Yes new york has started the sweltering heat and it’s only the end of april…ah I’m so excited! (side note and update...it is now very chilly in NYC...averaging 12C a day)

K, but seriously I would never miss talking about Paris especially because it was such a fabulous occasion. Living in Paris would be incredibly romantic, and a marriage is equally so.

Setting: wedding in a small chapel off of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, views of Paris, hoards of tourists watching, ahhhmazing. Reception on a boat anchored in the Sienne (sorry D. i don't know my boats) at the base of the Eiffel Tower. Lots of eating, dancing and drinking.

Day two required recoup, but also the cheesiest touristy activity...a trip down the Sienne on the Bateau mouche. As cheesy and touristy (the tour is given in 5-8 languages the entire route) as it is, it is the best way to see parts of Paris. Paris is gorgeous!!

I could gush and gush about Paris, but i'll stop, everyone needs to make a trip there and i have every EVERY intention of going back again. Not enough time to wander and explore, not enough time to get my french working again, just not enough time.

I am just very happy I was able to see my family (including my grandad who had never visited paris) as we appear to be geographically drifting further and further away. But don't worry, for now i'll be in NYC for a while...this place is fabulous, even if i have to listen to radio shows about UFO's.