New York bound

So, my family and I are headed to NYC for Christmas this year. I’ve been to the city 5 or 6 times, my parents and sis have been once (in recent years anyway), my bro-in-law never.



For any of my readers that are NYC residents, any tips/tricks/ideas for us on things that are special/different at Christmastime? We will be there 4 full days, plus the afternoon of the day we arrive. We have tickets to the Radio City Rockettes show and to a Knicks game…..everything else is pretty much up in the air at this point. My niece is 6 months old, so her schedule may dictate a bit, but we are prepared to drag her all over!

Hugs

I somehow, somewhere stumbled upon Rocks in My Dryer a while ago. Can't remember where or why....doesn't really matter. She does some fun things and posts interesting articles. Most recently Shannon has begun hosting guest bloggers who write about what they want her readers to know.

The article she posted today was great. It is something that I've posted about several times before (being single but desiring a marriage and family), but always walked away from my posts feeling like I've been whining and having an emotional breakdown or asking you to join me in my pity party. Tammy so eloquently spells out what I've been trying to say.

Pretty much all of the article resonates clearly with me. The one part that really stuck out to me today is the lack of human physical contact. Going to ACU and having chapel every day, I probably got 50 hugs every single day of my college career. Now, 10 years later, I might get a half dozen a week. It is something that I really miss. So, don't be surprised if I intiate a hug next time I see you!!

And please go read the article.....it might give you some other ideas on how to relate to us single gals.

Safety Advice for Moms and Dads

At work each month, we have a staff meeting. Over the past few months, we have started each of these meeting with a "safety moment" highlighting some particular topic of safety.

The one presented today was a great idea and I thought I'd pass it on to you.....we were talking about children getting lost at the zoo, mall, etc. A mom has come up with temporary tattoos that are personalized with your cell phone number that you can rub on your child's arm before you head out. That way, if you are separated somehow, there is an instant way for contact with you. The website is www.safetytat.com. It also has several different options for identifying food allergies, autistic/non verbal children, etc which could prove very helpful in situations where your child is not well known.

Another idea mentioned was to take a photo of your child as you are entering the amusement park or whatever (on your digital camera or phone - which you all carry all the time, right?!) so that you have exactly what the child looks like that day and what they are wearing (because really, do you remember what clothes you put on your child each day?)

One last item of note was to somehow mark or label your stroller -- so many look alike and it could keep you or someone else from just walking off without looking closely that it is your child in the stroller! We label our suitcases when we travel, but many strollers probably don't have any sort of identifying marks on them or contact info for you.

All these things would be meaningless if someone was maliciously trying to take your child, but could prove very helpful if you are accidentally separated!