FUN IN THE CITY

It was so great to be back in the city! You could just feel the energy everywhere. I was really excited to introduce Kielle to my friends and family. We had something planned for every day of the week. I was all set to hit the streets running - until we realized that there was a cold front coming in... Now a Georgia cold front is 50's maybe 40's - a New York cold front... 20's. We were not prepared! I had only brought my jean jacket and Khyri's fall coat. I figured we would layer if it got nippy... not so much. Danielle snapped into action and was able to call a friend to borrow a heavy winter coat for Khyri and I was able to use her bubble coat. I don't even remember the last time I had a bubble coat! hahahahah but I was warm!! So with Danielle's umbrella stroller and my maya wrap, we set out into the city.

Don't let the sun fool you - its freezing

GOTTA EAT!
We had a lot lined up. First up: an early dinner at BBQs with a bunch of friends. This was our first venture into the city. I forgot about the whole NYC parking thing. You could be going to a restaurant on 23rd street and might find a parking spot on 28th... yeah hoofing it. We luckily found parking 3 blocks away - but one of those blocks was an avenue block (If you know anything about NYC avenue blocks are like 2 long regular blocks arrrggh) Good Lord.

Look mom! I'm a New Yorker

 
Arhima had Khyri holding her hand and I lugged Kielle in her carseat. Now my Kielle is a chunker... I swear my arm was almost numb by the time we made it to the restaurant and I had worked up a serious sweat. But we made it and I was extremely happy to see my folks!

Shout out to Arhima, Tarah, Jamila, Reggie, Scharon and Stephanie! Its always good to hang out with the crew and joke around. Reggie is not comfortable around babies... and I think Kielle can tell!

SIGHTSEEING
One of our anticipated outings was to the American Museum of Natural History! It was a horrible rainy day but Jamila and Arhima braved the weather and met us. I remember going to this museum every year in elementary and middle school. The exhibits are still the same hahahah. I totally remember the Native American wigwam and tee-pee section!

I'm listening Auntie Jamma... teach me everything you know.

The museum suggests that adults pay 16 bucks and children 9. That suggestion was too much for me bwuahaha so I donated 10 bucks. We had an awesome time. Besides having to battle with people to get on and off the elevator, it was great to see the different exhibits and learn some interesting facts. Khyri enjoyed seeing the animals. I think that museums might be better than zoos for toddlers because the animals are stuffed so they are easily spotted ahahaha. There is nothing worse than going to the zoo and the wildebeest is hiding behind a bush or the meerkat is burrowed deep and won't come out. Everything was in plain site at the museum hahaha. Definitely worth the 10 bucks.... maybe even 16 :-)

Khyri's hands down favorite part of the museum was the new high tech glass elevators. *sigh* so simple... ahhahahaha

We had a little bit of a scare when we were leaving the museum... I thought I had lost the car. I couldn't remember where I parked - which by the way was 4 blocks from the museum. I was soooo nervous that I had gotten the car towed. How do you make that call??? Good thing it didn't happen. After 15 minutes of walking up and down a few blocks I found the car and all was good.

PAPA DOT

Kielle finally got to meet my dad - Papa Dot ;-) She looked so tiny in his arms. Papa Dot and Khyri had a good time catching up. I think my dad was really excited to see how much Khyri has developed a personality! It was really nice to see my dad smiling and enjoying Khyri - it almost made me want to move back home - almost.

Ahhhhh Riverside Park! Memories.

My guinea pig Aisha is buried in this park.

STATEN ISLAND
One afternoon we journeyed out to Staten Island to meet Great Grandma Ruth, Aunt Deloris, and Cousin Stuart. Khyri had a great time running around in the backyard, watching the Yankee game, and playing with Great Grandma's fruit magnets!

 

Khyri fell in LOVE with the fruit magnets

MEET THE TWINS
After visiting with the family, we went to check on my friend from undergrad Chinedu. She and her husband Maks had fraternal twins in February. I had seen plenty of pictures and video of the twins but meeting Little Miss Veronica and Master Victor in person absolutely fabulous!!!

When I say these are the two yummiest children!! Its amazing to see double of everything hahahaha. Poor Chin was nursing around the clock - I can't even imagine. She's a trooper. I know Maks and Chin are gonna have tons of stories in the future with these two. They already have started to show their personalities. Amazing. Who would've thought that the Director/Writer and the Producer of Black Theater Company's Spring 1999 masterpiece DAX - The Black version of GREASE - would have four children between the two of them! Times sure have changed :-) I guess we're all grown up now huh!??!

CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE
We capped off the visit by driving to Philadelphia on Friday and coming back Monday. The ride down was ok. Kielle slept most of the way - but not that Khyri... nope he was WIDE awake the whole time. This was after we spent an hour in at the playground. Khyri is like me and my Grandma... We will ride and stay awake the whole time - and yet I still get lost everywhere I go! hahahahha I guess I'm looking out the window but not really paying attention. The ride was only an hour and a half. I did have to stop once to nurse Kielle and change her. But all in all, not a bad ride.

The little people got to hang out with Aunt Pat, Cousin Kimiyo and Cousin Kenya. It was so much fun to see them lounging in the house and being really comfortable. Aunt Pat calls Khyri Fluffer Nutter and when she finally got to see Kielle in person, she named her Stuffer Nutter!!

Kielle's kinda cool right Aunt Pat?

Aunt Pat got to give Khyri his first bath in a big tub (Yes I still fold him into the infant tub - there's no need to waste all that water! haahaha - don't judge me) and also help him with brushing his teeth. Kenya just loved playing with Kielle in her outfits! hahahahha

 

I'm pretty - even when I'm sleeping!

Danielle let me borrow her doubler stroller for this leg of the trip and that was a lifesaver! The first night we struck out walking to the corner store to get our mega millions ticket hahahaha. We didn't hit the jackpot *sigh* but I did win 2 bucks. Hey its a start!

The highlight of the trip was witnessing Khyri Mosley get out of the pack n play numerous times. I thought this was a fluke, but its now come to light that -yup- he is an escape artist. I don't have video of him in Philly, but I've got this video of him escaping from his crib at home (courtesy of Auntie Netta).

DELTA FLIGHT 235
On Monday we headed back to Jersey. Our flight was at 7pm so we had enough time to go back and hang out with Cadence and Aria before flying out. I must admit I was PETRIFIED of traveling with two kiddos on the plane by myself, but Danielle was THE BEST! She walked me all the way through security to the gate. We checked our one big bag and the two carseats at the ticket counter so the only thing I was carrying was the diaper bag and two munchkins. When Danielle left, we had about 45 minutes to burn so I tried to tire Khyri out by walking up and down... and up and down... the terminal. I had Kielle in the maya wrap and I held Khyri's hand. We looked out the windows at some of the planes taking off, and I bought a banana for the flight.

They always allow people with infants to board the planes first, but I decided to board the plane dead last. I know that Khyri does not like sitting still. I figured its better for us to be the last ones on the plane so by the time we sit down and buckle up its time for the cabin doors to close and we can get to moving. My plan worked!

The flight was only about half full - plenty of open seats. For this flight, I had to buy Khyri his own seat since I could only carry one child in my lap, and Kielle had that prime location on lock. So here we are sitting in a row of three - Khyri at the window, I'm in the middle and a man in the aisle seat. Let me go back... the plane was half full. Why is this man still sitting here?!?!?! The row in front of us was empty, the row on the other side of the aisle was empty and the row behind us was empty - but we're squeezed up in this one row like sardines. Seriously!?!?!  Stay cool... Kahlillah Stay cool... The flight attendant announces that the passengers are free to move around and change seats since there clearly are open seats before we taxi away from the gate. I turn to my left and look the man straight in the eye and say "It won't hurt my feelings if you move" I added a smirk and maybe a little chuckle on the end to make him feel at ease. He promptly got his butt up and switched to an empty window seat in another aisle. I mean really!??! who prefers to sit crowded up next to two children for 2.5 hours?!?!? Man - GET UP! ahahhah.

Once we were all settled, the next 2.5 hours were filled with me singing 'The Wheels on the Bus', "If You're Happy and You Know It', and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider' over and over and over again. I cycled in some books, changed some diapers, and Khyri was captivated by the snack tray coming through the aisle. The last 20 minutes was the hardest part of the flight. For most of the flight Khyri was able to roam around in our row and stand in his seat and look out the window. But when the plane started its descent, everyone had to buckle up and sit down. not.a.good.look. Khyri pitched a fit moaning and groaning, etc. I simply tightened the lap belt and made Khyri sit down - of course by this time he had wedged himself face first into the seat of the chair. His ears started popping so I wedged his sippy cup down there to help with the pressure, while I nursed Kielle.

Next thing we knew... we landed - and I had survived!!!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

After Chapel Hill, we hit Interstate 95 and made our way to Danielle's house in Silver Spring, Maryland. We were hoping to strike out early so that we could by pass the infamous DC traffic. We stopped at a rest stop right on the Virginia border and after that headed straight up to Maryland.

Everyone was getting pretty tired with the drive, but this leg was a little shorter. Everything was fine until we hit bumper to bumper traffic. It literally took us 45 minutes to go 3 miles. It was the absolute worst. To top it off, Kielle is not a fan of the car seat anyway so she was hollering like a banshee. I had to keep my left middle finger in her mouth so she could calm down - poor thing. It was stressful but we were looking forward to getting to Maryland. I was especially excited because Khyri's Godmother Ukindra was gonna come out and visit us.




When we pulled to the house, we once again, unloaded and set up in the basement down stairs. Danielle's sister Daria has two girls Amaya and Alisa. Poor Khyri was outnumbered. ahahhahaha good thing Daria's husband Greg was there to throw a little more testosterone into the mix hahahah.

The little ones got a lot of attention in Maryland. Danielle's nieces LOVED the babies! hahaah I think Amaya wanted to keep Kielle. While the kids ran around in the living room, the babies got some much needed personal attention.

We only spent one night in Maryland and then we were back on the road the next afternoon around 2pm. Khyri and Cadence both seemed to know that this was the last leg and soon we would have a 'home base' in New Jersey. So with excitement we road on...

In four short hours, we were pulling off the New Jersey Turnpike and pulling into Danielle's driveway. We made it! We made it! We made it! Cadence jumped right into her routine and she and Khyri played hard core! The toy of the day was the Dora tunnel. ahahah

Even Kielle looked relieved that there would be no more driving for awhile. We had a nice setup at Dani's a crib, changing table, even soft night time music. It felt just like home. Kielle and Khyri fell right into place. We had a fun filled week ahead of us, but at least we had one place to come back to every night.

6 UNDER 6

The drive went smoother than expected! We cruised up Interstate 85 pretty quickly. There was no traffic. After hearing 'cracker, cracker' 8 million times and having to make sure Khyri wasn't touching Cadence's car seat in the back, we made our first pit stop right outside of Charlotte. According to the GPS we were 2.5 hours away from our first stop in Chapel Hill - my friends from undergrad Amy and Alex's house.

Here's video of the 'carseat squabble' (Still learning this blog stuff - I don't know how to rotate the video)

 
We pulled over to eat, nurse, and use the restroom at a small Wendy's. This was a good choice, because the toddlers were able to run around and stretch their legs while Danielle and I nursed. The folks at Wendy's even gave the little ones a balloon  It must have been senior citizen hour or something, because the place only had old people eating -it was weird. The good thing though - old people love children. After Wendy's we filled up the MDX and were back on the road.


 
We pulled down the dirt road (yes dirt road, this is country Chapel Hill, like no cell phone signal country...) in front of Amy's house around 6ish. Now, let me state that Amy is all mom :-) Yes she has a PhD, yes she's a professor at a NC college - but her true expertise is children! Besides having two children of their own Elijah and Eden, Amy and Alex also foster children from time to time. Amy's awesome.

Anyway, before Danielle and I could blink, Amy had scooped up the two youngest and brought them in the house.

The kids of course went straight to the toys. Danielle and I caught our breath and relaxed for half a minute. That night we ordered pizza and everybody got settled in. There was no rush or anything, since we planned on staying in Chapel Hill for a full day and heading out on Friday morning. Right and I mean right after the kids went to bed, I hit the pillow. I was ti-red.

The next morning Khyri woke up and tried grits for the first time. I think he liked them - or maybe he was just hungry. You can't tell at this age, everything is in flux hahhahaa.

All day, the kids played in the house and outside. Seriously it was like Christmas for the kids. Trampolines, play kitchens, musical instruments there was so much to get into!

Cadence kept calling the backyard the playground... I can totally see the confusion. This was kiddie paradise.

We got a nice surprise when one of my Besties Nia stopped by to visit with us!

I think she's fallen in love with Kielle. With 6 kids running around, I wonder if Nia caught the mommy bug haaha there were kids everywhere.

 



 
Khyri continued to test me by playing on the steps so... he had to go to the naughty corner. (side note: I love the naughty corner idea. You can do it anywhere - in a restaurant, in a store - anywhere! there's no shortage of corners hahaha). He has to stay in the corner 1 minute for each year of his life. He never lasts for 2 whole minutes though.. I'm a softee :-) But boy doesn't he get DEEP in that corner. hahaha


  

After a restful play day Friday, we all loaded into cars and went out to eat sushi. Yup - ALL OF US! We went around 5pm which was good because the place wasn't packed yet and Elijah happily asked for a table of 10! We enjoyed sushi and noodles and a surprisingly no fuss dinner. We did a lot of rotating taking people to the restrooms but other than that we had a peaceful meal.

table for 10 please

We stayed in Chapel Hill for two days. It was fantastic and I think gave me and Danielle a little bit of confidence to keep on rolling... If we could handle 6 under 6: Elijah 5, Eden 2, Khyri 2, Kielle 2mo, Cadence 23mo, and Aria 4mo. We could handle anything! We got this! hahahahah. Next stop - Silver Spring, Maryland.

3 middle aged moms *wink wink*  and 6 kids under 6

NORTHEAST BOUND

I try to get back to NYC at least once every year. Normally I fly, but no-no not this year! This year I planned a whole northeast tour with the munchkins. It all started because my friend Danielle drove down to GA to visit her mom. I had the bright idea to ride back to NYC with her and fly home with the kids 11 days later.

One more thing... Danielle has two kids of her own: Cadence and Aria 

Keep in mind Danielle and her children had been in Georgia for 3 weeks - so they had a lot of luggage. We all had to squeeze into her Acura MDX (One time for 3rd row seating!). I had to pack bare bones. No frills, no extras. I basically packed for half of the trip knowing that I would have the opportunity to wash clothes once we got to Danielle's house in Jersey. I managed to get all of our stuff into one - yes one large rolling suitcase. I was impressed with my packing skill.

Khyri was all ready with his GT book bag filled with books and snacks. Kielle had on her travel outfit complete with a headband and everything. Me?!!? I already looked a hot mess with a teal bandanna on my head. 

Khyri is New Jersey bound

The plan was to get on the road at 10:00am. All we needed to do was pack up the car and get everyone settled. Everything was packed the night before so surely it shouldn't take that long right?!?! wrong. We had to install car seats, do a quick snack check, and make sure our luggage could fit. Everything was in -- except the double stroller. Strike one. Decision time. I decided that we wouldn't take the double stroller that we would just take the small umbrella stroller for Khyri and I would carry Kielle in my maya wrap. Nope. The Umbrella stroller wouldn't fit either. Strike two. what to do... what to do... what to do??? We hit the road with no stroller. That's right  - no stroller. Our thinking "Danielle has an umbrella stroller in Jersey. We'll be ok." So on Wednesday March 16, 2011, all piled and strapped in, we hit the road around 11:15am.

Packed like sardines

Little Miss Cadence is ready to roll

The MDX backed out of the driveway loaded down with Me, Danielle, Khyri (2 years), Cadence (23 months), Kielle (2 months), and Aria (4 months) on the way to New Jersey. I started the drive. First stop: Chapel Hill, NC.

THANK GOODNESS FOR FRIENDS

"Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life." 
I found this friendship quote on the internet and I started thinking about how much friendship means to the Mosley family.  

Being only children, Keith and I were always surrounded by friends growing up. For me, my friends and my cousins were close to me like sisters. Even now I view friendship as an extension of sisterhood. Keith and I both have our core group of friends that we can count on for any and everything. They are the crew that listens when you cry, laugh with, and heaven forbid if I'm wrong (which hardly ever happens for the record) they'll tell me I'm out of order. hahaha

Living in Georgia away from our family forces us - in a good way - to rely a lot on friends for support, laughter, airport runs, furniture pick up, holiday meals, and now babysitting :-) We are really thankful for the wonderful group of people that we have surrounded ourselves with. I was talking with my friend Danena during one of our "mommy's gotta get rid of this baby weight walks" about how great my friends are and how lucky Keith and I are to have great support here and she said "You guys have great friends because you are great friends" *CHEESE* We really do put a lot of time and effort into cultivating and maintaining friendships, so I gotta admit - its nice to hear that comment and know our friendship to others is appreciated.

Here's my motto: Once a friend, always a friend. My "big sister" from Tufts tried to get rid of me (graduate schmaduate...hmph), but I didn't let her go and we are still tight as ever. My "Smyrna sister's" father was my father's best friend in college. We've literally known each other all of our lives. My "2-time pregnancy pal" has been my friend since middle school. My "I don't deal with foolishness and I don't succumb to peer pressure" high school homie always has my back and gives me great advice. And then there are my exciting new friendships: My "Maid of Honor road dog", Khyri's "#1 Auntie", My "stay at home mom sidekick", and  My "follow your dream inspiration" are just a few good friends that I have been blessed to meet while here in Georgia.

I look at Khyri and Kielle and I think about the great friendships that they will have. As they go to school, join teams, and go to summer camp they will meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends. Just like mine, some of those friendships will last a lifetime.  I'm excited to see these little people develop - its going to be a great ride...

Master Khyri and Little Miss Cadence

3 months

8 months

Master Khyri with Master Alex and Little Miss Syndey

Master Khyri and Master Aziz

Master Khyri and Little Miss Gabi

Khyri 2 yrs old and Kielle 2 months old

And of course... 
The best friendship of all.