At least twice a year, (here and here) and once a summer for sure, I go to New York. I've been doing this since 2003, when Meg started school in Manhattan. It worked out great because I could fly on my brother's passes (or buy cheap tickets, of which there were plenty back then) and I would stay in her campus apt. Since then, I stay where I can. Either with friends or I rent an apt. I've gone with one or 2 friends, Kenny, my mom, the Loop and sometimes with people I've never met. I've gotten lost dozens of times, stayed in a hotel that I'm SURE had a meth lab, been bumped off lots of flights, but have never had a bad time. I've been lucky enough to eat at the restaurants of my favorite chefs (I'm a Top Chef junkie), I've seen dozens of Broadway shows, seen tapings of Letterman half a dozen times, and of Jon Stewart, Martha Stewart (even went to her trial), Conan, Jimmy Fallon. I've been to free concerts by Norah Jones and John Mayer. I got to see the hot dog eating championship, went to the Mermaid Parade and crashed a wedding in St. Patrick's Cathedral. I even danced on stage for part of a Broadway show. All this to say that I'm more excited this year than any other time before and feel like this trip will top all the others. I get to bring Reid.
This isn't his first trip to the Big Apple. Last year his whole family came with us, as well as another family, and we had a great time. (Until we left and they stayed for what was supposed to be an extended time for Eddie's work, read about that fiasco here). This IS, however, the first of what I predict to be many, many Mamie/Reid/Papaw trips. Hopefully, we will be able to add Helena and Bonus, too. This trip will be all about watching him experience the joys of travel. Candy stores, toy stores and speed boats are all on the itinerary.
To help pass the time on the planes (we have a couple of connections, but nobody is griping!) I made a few games that would be light weight enough for me to carry and cheap enough to throw away if he really didn't like it. I made some letters and numbers, laminated them and cut them out so we could play school. I drew a road on 4 pieces of card stock and laminated them, too. Then I downloaded some clipart of buildings and signs and printed and laminated them, put velcro on everything and there you have it. A handy, dandy road and city scene.
You probably think that I'm just gonna buy that baby anything he wants, fostering a sense of entitlement and greed. Puh-leeeease! I'm not that way. *wink* I fully intend on letting him pay for part of what he wants (even if it is only a verrrrrry small part). He's gets paid for helping to keep his sister awake in the back seat, so he's been saving his change to buy a car. A real car. He probably has about 2.50. Anyway, I made him a little coin wallet so he can carry his own money and help pay for whatever he feels like he HAS to have. It took about 10 minutes to make this. A couple of squares of leftover fabric, a zipper and that's it.
I lined it with a coordinating fabric (really just a shirt I cut up because I thought it went well together) and used a little twine to make pulling the zipper easier. If you are my DIY Christmas list, you're probably going to get one of these!
The other thing I made was more practical than fun. Reid has some allergy issues and so does Gwenn's little one. I needed to bring some Benadryl, but without the weight of a whole bottle or the expense of the individual doses. Surely if Miss Pinterest can do it, I can, too. I gathered up some straws from McD's and got out the bottle of Waladryl (you didn't think I bought the real stuff, did you?) that I already had. I used some heated needle nose pliers, heated them over the flame on the stove and clamped the end shut. I used a match to heat the end up a little more and melt it together. I then used a syringe to pull up a dose of medicine and put it in the straw. I clipped it to the right length and then sealed the other end. It wasn't as easy as it sounds, it took a few tries to get the heat just right, but is was a lot better than going to the store and shelling out $$ for medicine I already had. I also did a few Motrin just in case someone started running a fever. All it cost me was some time and a sticky counter top. It weighs next to nothing and I can carry it on.
In less than 12 hours, I get to start making Mame-ories with Reid. This is why I live, this is what I was made for. Don't think for a minute that I am not humbly grateful.
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