Ice skating in NY - a new rink

Temperatures have dropped vertiginously here in New York. Thus, I thought that an ice skating subject would be perfect for today. Although I wouldn't recommend anyone to go now with these inhuman temperatures.

Everybody probably heard of the traditional open-air ice skating rinks in New York (Rockefeller Center, Central Park and Bryant Park). However, there are a few others (usually smaller ones) spread around the city. Last week, as I was walking in the Meatpacking District, I discovered this one, just at the front door of The Standard Hotel, on west 13th street. 

We took the kids over the weekend and they loved it. It's not as charming as the other ones, but I thought that for younger kids it was just perfect. Small, not very crowded and they have a few (too few actually) plastic penguins that the kids can hold while skating. That is really useful for the newbies. And, I was almost forgetting, it doesn't have that annoying music playing all the time.

They also offer some classes on a first come first serve basis. You can then grab a snack at their "Après Skate" cafe or plan to have lunch at the Standard Grill afterwards. Make sure to reserve in advance though, cause it's really crowded. 

F holding one of the penguins

A new puppeteer

Mesdames et Monsieurs, the show is about to start! Our puppeteer now is P. 

If you are looking for puppets from classic children stories you may find some kits at Lakeshore. We have the "Three Little Pigs" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". It's great for the kids to train on how to tell a story that they already know. Although, they usually end up making one of their own, which is extremely amusing. 

F was really into it last year when he was learning "Nursery Rhymes" at school. And now it seems that P is tired of just being a spectator.

Visiting the U.N. headquarters in NY

This week, I finally went to visit the U.N. here in NY. 

The visit is interesting not only because of the importance of the building in itself and its history, but, especially as a reality check. We know that there are tons of problems in the World and that as much as we wished to solve them all, it's not that easy. So, even if the U.N. is sometimes (at least I do) seen as this huge, bureaucratic machine where "important" people meet to talk and talk for endless hours and nothing seems to be solved, it's important to be reminded that without this organization the World would probably be in a worst shape than it is today. 

Our guide was the first to criticize the whole system and the inefficiencies involved in it, but she also said something very important. For her, as a staff of the U.N., if she knows that another child went to bed, fed and safe today, then it is a victory. She's right, big changes come from an accumulation of small victories.

I was extremely moved by the visit and by some facts and figures that I learnt. Did you know that some mines are manufactured to look like "yo-yos" and are then dropped on the streets, so that kids can pick them up, thinking they are just toys, and then they explode? Did you also know that it would take around US$4bn/year to feed 66 million children that are undernourished? If that seems a lot of money to you, then you should know that countries around the world spend approximately US$2bn/DAY in military expenditure? 

There are plenty of ways to help. But I found out that they have a very nice bookshop and gift shop, in which 100% of the sales proceeds are donated to the U.N. They sell toys and books for kids (the same found at Amazon or other toy shops). The variety is not huge, but if you happen to be in the neighborhood and need to buy a gift, it is a nice way to help (no need to pay the entrance to access the store). 

Also, another fun way to make the children help is through the website Freerice.com. It is an educational game and for each right answer, the organization donated 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme.

P.S: The Visitors Centre will close in April for renovations that will take between 2 and 3 years. So if you'd like to see it as it is now, don't wait too long.

Also, I don't recommend taking young children. There's nothing interesting for them to see there, the visit take approximately 1 hour and strollers are not allowed. 

Happy New Year

Hope you had a great start. We had a nice break and are back to our real life. 

Happy 2013! 

Another Christmas tradition: Angel Chimes

The other day I saw in A Cup o Jo, another Christmas tradition that we used to have in my house when I was a child and that I had completely forgotten about: Angel Chimes. How could I? It is the cutest thing to see.

The heat from the candles make the little angels turn around and ring the bells. The sound is lovely. The kids were mesmerized. 

This is our newest Christmas tradition.

Book of the week - The Nutcracker

I was looking for a nice children adaptation of the famous story "The Nutcracker" to introduce it to my boys. And the other day I found this one. In each page there's like a mini-theater in which the characters appear as if they were dancing. 

I found this adaptation a little complicated for F who's 5 years old (P, of course, was just interested in the pictures). He enjoyed a lot the book, but when I finished reading, he looked a little bit puzzled and hadn't really understood what had happened to the Nutcracker. So we went back page by page and I just retold the story with my own words. But I still think the book was worth it, because of the rich illustrations and the way it was nicely written.

Maybe next year I can take F and P to see the ballet, now that they have been introduced to "The Nutcracker". 

Advent Calendar 2012

Last year, I got a little bit frustrated about all the great ideas of Advent calendars that I was finding on the web. It's not that we were out of them (we had 4), is just that I wanted something more special and not as commercial as the ones we had.

So, this year, I decided to create my very own Advent calendar. And, I must say, I'm really really proud of myself. For someone, that didn't even know how to switch on a sewing machine last year, I modestly think that I did a good job.

Hope you like it!