the beach
July 31, 2009, 9:20 pm
I told Huck today how lucky he was to live so close to the ocean (though sometimes that hour- and-a-half subway ride doesn't feel so fast) because when I was a kid growing up in Kansas I could only imagine the fun of spending an afternoon at Coney Island. This week we were lucky enough to go twice, and that meant a whole lot of playing in the sand, riding the waves, posing for pictures, eating ice cream cones, complaining about unexpected sunburns and then sleeping really, really good at night.;)
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[ 2 comments ] ( 27 views )the family who bikes together
July 25, 2009, 3:43 pm
After several months of walking alongside (or behind) Huck and Troy on their cool bikes, I finally decided to join them. Yesterday we went to Target and got me a purple 24" Schwinn Ranger and the next thing I knew we'd become a bike riding family. I'm pretty sure I've gotten more exercise in the past two days than I have in our entire 17 years of marriage. We are lucky enough to live right across the street from an incredible bike path along the Hudson River (which spans the entire west side of Manhattan), which means it's very easy for the three of us to jump on our bikes and go for long rides together. I can't even describe how good Huck is on his bike. Generally he rides between Troy and I in a single file line on what can become a very crowded path, and somehow he knows just what to do. Troy has helped him become a very independent and confident bike rider who can go for miles and miles without complaining of being tired. And, I might add, he sometimes passes us with a fierce look on his face that quickly becomes a proud smile. Which is contagious.;)
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[ 4 comments ] ( 33 views )big apple visitors
July 20, 2009, 6:59 pm
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My oldest friend Krishna came to visit from Kansas with hubby Todd and almost seven year old daughter Addie. We four had fun running around the city eating great food, listening to great music, riding great ferries and taking great pictures in just under 48 hours. Krishna and I were Very Best Friends (VBFs) throughout our childhood (and even roomed together in college), her a tall blond and me a short brunette, kind of like our children. Watching Huck and Addie was very humorous to me. I think of him as so mature and grown up most of the time, but next to her he seemed ridiculous! She put up with his four year old ways quite sweetly, and I think he's hoping they get married one day.
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Here we are nowadays ...
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And back in the olden days ...
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Thanks for visiting, Schmidts! See you next summer.[ 2 comments ] ( 31 views )
inside the mind of huck
July 16, 2009, 7:20 pm
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After a month of rain, we New Yorkers are having a very beautiful spring this July. Until today’s humidity arrived, there wasn’t a single air conditioner being heard in the entire city. The days go by so happily when we spend them outside, and that’s what we’ve been doing a lot of lately.
And with that weather update out of the way, here are some of Huck’s latest observations and comments on random subjects that come with no warning.
On Nose Picking ...
We sing a lot of Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time” in this house, and the other day Huck took the tune and sang, "If I could just lay here and pick my nose ..." He really gets a lot of joy from that activity, and lately when I ask him if he needs a tissue he answers, “Nope. I’m just going to put it back into my nose.”
On God ...
Here's what I heard Huck tell Troy the other day. “Maybe when Jesus grows up he can find a woman and they can get married and be God’s mommy and daddy.”
On Favoritism ...
Lately Huck has felt the need to articulate to both me and Troy how much he loves me more. He looked at Troy the other evening at dinner and said very seriously something like this: “Daddy, I love Mommy more than you. I love her more because she loved me first. She gives me more love. When I first started loving Mommy, I didn’t like you so much.” And he went on and on some more. Then yesterday Huck told me, “I love you infinity and I love Daddy a trillion. “ Which is not bad.
On Love ...
Today before Troy went to work he did his usual routine where he says to Huck, “I need to tell you something,” as if he’s in trouble, and then when Huck gets nice and close to him with a slightly concerned look on his face Troy shouts, “GOSH I LOVE YA!” followed by crazy laughter, hugs and kisses. As Troy was out the door he said, “I love ya, kiddo,” and Huck said the same thing back. Troy left and a few seconds later Huck looked at me and said, “I love that kiddo that just left.”
On Halloween ...
He'd like to be an eyebrow this year.
On Max ...
A few weeks ago we began having a serious conversation about putting our 15 year old dog Max to sleep. He’s become more and more incontinent, has lost a lot of hearing and sometimes has trouble walking on our wood floors. Huck became very upset at this news, insisting that he loves Max and wants him to live forever, though they’ve actually never had a relationship at all. Sometimes I’m not sure they even know the other exists. Before we made any decision I asked Troy to take Max to the vet for a professional opinion. A physical exam, several blood tests, a urinalysis and 233 bucks later the doctor called with the good news: Max is a perfectly wonderfully healthy old dog who he would feel very uncomfortable putting to sleep.
Huck is so relieved.
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[ 4 comments ] ( 44 views )saving lots of money
July 10, 2009, 11:11 pm
Going kayaking on the Hudson River with your family: free.;)
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Cute family portraits: free.
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Dancing under the stars to music at Lincoln Center: free.
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Photography lessons: free.
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Realizing you now have someone who can take pretty good pictures of you and your husband in front of nice backdrops: really great.
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[ 8 comments ] ( 43 views )billie jeanie
July 9, 2009, 8:28 pm
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When I was 13 and 14 I loved Michael Jackson passionately. I will spare you the details of my love except to tell you that I stayed home "sick" from school on the day of the 1984 Grammies so that I could "prepare" to watch him win awards live, pretending to sit in the audience with him next to Emmanuel Lewis and Brooke Shields. And I tape recorded and then transcribed all the words to the "Thriller" video (didn't have a VCR I guess) into a notebook which I read obsessively in order to feel like I was watching the real thing. And I had a white glove that I wore out in public sometimes. And a Thriller button that I wore all the way into my freshman year of high school. You can imagine how popular I must have been back then.
Since Michael Jackson's death, we have had a non-stop dance party going on in our living room. Occasionally we pull up some MJ footage on YouTube and try to copy his moves, all the while telling Huck little anecdotes about him and our young selves. This one's our fave:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqtNpSdN-Os
So it's no surprise that Huck has suddenly become a strange little Michael Jackson fan. Today as we walked down 181st Street on our way to Dolphin Park he sang very loudly "BILLIE JEANIE IS NOT MY LOVE!" over and over again, all the while doing a fancy jig with one of his hands that should have been wearing a sequined glove. He makes his voice very high and knows to throw in little yips and screams now and then. He practices the moonwalk several times a day and is convinced that he's got it. And he starts many sentences with, "My friend Michael Jackson told me ..."
1984 Janelle would LOVE this kid.
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[ 2 comments ] ( 43 views )summer so far
July 9, 2009, 7:41 pm
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[ 2 comments ] ( 36 views )happy fourth of july!
July 4, 2009, 1:13 pm
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We spent yesterday celebrating the fourth of July a day early with our fave friends John and Shana down at Coney Island, one of our favorite places to be. We spent some time at the New York Aquarium and the beautiful beach where the three boys frolicked in the ocean, we rode some rides (including the frighteningly old Cyclone roller coaster that made Troy's neck stiff) and walked on the boardwalk, we ate lots and lots of Coney Island type food (which you can't really survive on for long but it sure tastes yummy), barely survived an incredible five minute thunderstorm, and ended the day lying on the beach watching fireworks under the moon. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing (which we hope to repeat many more times).
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[ 4 comments ] ( 55 views )