Nicole and Charlie Fish in Cincinnati

Week of Sept. 17

Wed: Charlie and I were leaving the apt. this afternoon and who was literally standing right outside our front door? Edie Falco (Sopranos) and her son- I just smiled. So cool… I keep seeing her, maybe we’re supossed to be friends

There is a HUGE festival going on in Little Italy, The Feast of San Gennaro- it’s 2 weeks long and a big deal there. We went and checked it out- each restaurant has a tent set up selling food, there is music, games, etc- very fun- neat to see.

Thurs-Sun: Steve & Megan Spiela come to visit. Friday we took them on the lower manhattan tour

and then it was out on the town with Brock too.

McSorley’s

The Burp Castle where you have to be quiet

Luna Park- outdoor bar in Union Square, very cool

Dinner at Rosa Mexicana- yum! Steve didn’t even remember this meal the next day

Hot chicks

We partied a bit too hardy and were home by 11:00pm (not naming any names, but I’m sure you can guess who was overserved) (not me).

Saturday we were moving slowly… we finally got dressed and headed to the festival in Little Italy- it started pouring as you can see-

drowned rats

Another night on the town Sat-

huge budda at TAO restaurant- this place was really delicious and trendy, but very loud

here we are at a bar Happy Endings which used to be a called Xie He Health Club and why it’s named Happy Endings? you can guess

Megan in one of the old steam rooms that is used to hang out and drink now- such a weird place

Mulberry Street Bar- many scenes from Sopranos were filmed here- you can see it’s time to go home.

Thanks for visiting Steve & Megan- we had too much fun!

Sun: I really wanted to venture to Target to get some Halloween decorations. Bill was nice enough to agree to go with Charlie and I. I was sooooo excited to go- it’s been months since I’ve been and was going into major withdrawl. We took the train to Brooklyn, about 8 stops, and then walked a couple of blocks to my mecca. It was inside of a mall??? weird, but I thought ok- it’s Target… Boy was I wrong… it looked more like Walmart-yucky people, stuff all over the floor, shelves a mess… With tears in my eyes we fought the crowd (there were hundreds of people here). It was 2 levels and so much stuff everywhere- there was barely anything on the shelves. The workers couldn’t even unload it from their carts without people taking stuff right from them. We got a few Halloween things and got the heck out of there- it was terrible… I definitely won’t be back while we live here. I sure miss my nice, huge, quiet Target in Cincy.

New blog feature- I’ve seen lots of dumb/funny signs around the city, so I’ll start posting them like Jay Leno…

 

Yummy House???

Seriously… do you think this is enforced????

Sept 13-16

We spent the weekend in AZ to visit Aunt Allie and check out her school (ASU) and volleyball team. It was HOT! We had a great time with my parents and Allie- her school is great and we enjoyed watching the v-ball game. We had fun swimming and relaxing in the lazy river at the hotel.

Aunt Allie’s dorm room

definitely a devil

on the football field- very cool

at the volleyball game- Allie is in the top middle of the pix, with the warm-up suit on

Charlie and his new favorite guy, Sparky the devil

Charlie & Aunt Allie- such a cool aunt

Charlie got to go to the football game with Mimi, Papa & Allie while mom & dad crashed Claire Hubbard’s wedding

Even though it looks like Bill was overserved, it was actually the other way around

Funny Charlie story- Recently Charlie gets upset when Bill and I are talking- he says “no talk mama, talk char char”. During the trip when we were just sitting waiting for our flight or in the car, he would say “talk cho chos” which meant he wanted us to talk to him about Thomas- pretty cute.

Baby celebrities

Adam Klaus 3 months

Week of Sept. 10

It’s been raining all week here and muggy… I feel that the city is mourning the upcoming anniversary of sept. 11. There are posters all over for candle light ceremonies, protests, etc- all over. News cameras are everywhere. It’s been on the news non-stop.

Monday Charlie had his first day of Cooking Class. I know, it’s crazy to have cooking class for a 2 year old- but I couldn’t resist signing him up. I figured we should take all of the over-the-top NYC classes before we move away. Only in NYC would his teacher, Chef Tracy, be a real chef from the Culinary Institute of America (where Matt is at school). It was lots of fun and he even wore a chef hat and apron.

After class we were playing in the gym with lots of other kids and I hear, “Nicole, Nicole, Nicole”… It’s Charlie, yelling my name- not “Mama”, but “Nicole”- pretty funny, but not a habit I want to create.

Tuesday we started our fake “preschool” class at a different “school” that opened up literally right across the street. It is just 1 hour/1time week, but it’s structured like preschool. This place has thought of it all. There is a gift shop/clothing shop when you walk in, they give you cards to swipe to check it, there is a “stoller valet” guy that takes your stroller and bag and gives you a number (like coat check). The class was awesome- so fun. Of course Charlie was the biggest, loudest, wildest in the class- but I’ve decided that Manhattan kids are robots. Kind of like Stepford Wives… there are Manhattan Robots (this is how I feel better about myself and my child).

Tuesday night we went to dinner with Brock, Pat, and Jay & Erin to celebrate Bill’s b-day and drink margaritas at his favorite restaurant, Dos Caminos. We had a great dinner and bar hopped around SoHo. We stopped at this small little Asian/Japanese bar that specialized in Gin and had Gin-Gin Mule, a ”spicy gin & ginger mojito” . So delicious that I stole the menu so I could try to make the drink at home. I can’t wait to go back and have another one. It was a great night!

On our way home Bill saw  Celebrity sighting # 15  …. Chris Masterson from Malcolm in the Middle. I have no idea who he is, so I’ll have to take his word for it…

Wed- It was a beautiful, fall-feeling day today, but I am missing my Cincy girls- The moms here just are not friendly and I was so wishing I was in Cincy at the park today with them.

Funny Charlie stories: The other day I was drinking a beer and Charlie came running in the room yelling “no mama, no drink dada juice”- Hilarious!

It’s the 6th anniversary of September 11th today and the city is sad. It is a rainy, gloomy, hazy day which fits the mood of the city. Since we are temporary New Yorkers now, I have a totally different perspective of the attack-

Our apt. is only about 5 blocks from where the Twin Towers should be. Our view from our patio would look so different and I can’t help but think about that today and what that day must have been like. Even though New Yorkers are sometimes rude and don’t make eye-contact… you can feel their saddness today. Charlie and I walked down to Ground Zero to pay our respects and it was a  sullen sight.

There were 4 huge bells a few blocks from our apartment- I heard they were going to ring them for each person that had died.

There were American flags everywhere and so many fire trucks & firemen we couldn’t even count. The ceremony was being held in the park across from Ground Zero- we didn’t go there. This is actually the first year it isn’t being held on the site (which many people are upset about). I’m not sure if it was on your tv today, but for 4 hours they read and showed a picture of everyone who had died.  We walked past many families crying- I can’t imagine how they are feeling. I am sad for those families and the city today- and everytime I see a fireman I want to hug him. New York will have a place in our hearts now that we have lived here and I hold a new appreciation for Sept. 11.

Here is a picture of what it looked like at night with the flag lit up.

They had 3D lights of where the twin towers used to be from the ground up to the sky- pretty incredible. Here is a view of the “light” towers from SOHO.

Here is a view from our bathroom- imagine what our view would have been like…

Week of Sept. 3 

Happy September to everyone! The summer has flown by… I must admit I’m looking forward to cooler weather and covering my body with sweaters & jeans

It’s been a beautiful week in NYC- 75 degrees, sunny… We tried to go to the park the other day and this is what we found

This picture doesn’t even do it justice- there were literally hundreds of people there… Charlie and I were too scared to go in, so we went to a different park- YIKES! Only in NYC would hundreds of people “play” in such a tiny space-no thanks.

Friday- My Aunt Kim, Uncle Gary & their friends stopped by to visit with us. They were in town from Milwaukee on a fun weekend getaway. It was great to see them! 

Saturday Sept. 8: We walked to Brooklyn today to hang out with the Boser family. Walking over the Brooklyn Bridge was awesome- a must do for anyone coming to visit…

We hung out with Brock, Michele & Manning and got to see their apartment and neighborhood (DUMBO). It really nice with a great view of the city.

Sat. night Bill and I went to the Modest Mouse concert at the Mccarren Park Pool in Brooklyn, NY. This place was the weirdest- It used to be one of the largest public pools in the country- 6800 people could fit (yuck), but now it’s used for concerts- you watch the band in the pool… http://www.mccarrenpark.com/history.html    pretty cool- we had a great time.

Sunday- I took Bill on a surprise outing during the day as a b-day gift. We went on the Sopranos tour. It was a 4 hour bus tour to New Jersey- Let me tell you, their were some hard core Soprano freaks on there who knew all of the trivia. It was interesting and lots of fun, but we realized that even though we have seen every episode, we don’t know anything about the show.  Before we got on the bus, “Vito” was there selling signed pictures & books-

The last stop was the Bada Bing (strip club). Little did we know that it’s really a strip club and we were going inside, and there were strippers stripping- YUCK. We had a drink (of course) and sat at the bar and hurried out… No souvenirs for us!

Aug 24-Sept. 3: Florida

Charlie & I spent 10 days at our house in FL. Bill came for the weekends and Mimi, Papa Mark, Papa Tom, Grandma Karyn, Aunt Aamie, & Uncle Aaron were there too.

We had a great time swimming, looking for shells, going to the beach, eating & drinking, & sweating- boy was it hot!  Our house is looking so cute and we are really enjoying it.

It is so beautiful by the ocean- the water was warm and clear. 

Beautiful sunset

Charlie fell asleep holding his train- so cute

Don’t ask

Baby celebrities

Frank Sunderhaus

Lucy

James (2 years)

Sam at the Red’s game

Real Celebrities: 

August 29- Brock Boser took these pictures of Ashton Kutcher right by their office. He was filiming a movie called “What Happens In Vegas” . I wish I had seen him!

Thanks Brock! (geez I feel like Perez)