I don't even know where to begin. Matt gave me the best birthday present ever. As my loyal readers know, my birthday was in February. Matt stealthily put together an overnight getaway to NYC sans the girls. Unfortunately, things got crazy at work and he had to postpone the gift. But finally, things came together and yesterday afternoon we left for the Big Apple with Ellie and Annie in safe and wonderfully generous hands. (For a more in-depth and funny account, see Matt's blog.)
Thanks to Jocelyn (who came Friday afternoon) and Bryan and Cindy (they watched the girls all Friday night and all day Saturday) - each of whom actually came to our house and took care of the girls. I cannot believe their incredible generosity. They are simply angels. I am so, so grateful.
We started the trip driving in my trusty car to New York. What followed was a comedy of errors that would be almost impossible to relay in narrative form. Instead, I will give you the good and bad news. Enjoy!
The Good News - No whining, crying and complaining from little voices in the car on the way up.
The Bad News - Matt was on the phone with a work conference call for the first 1.5 hours of the trip.
The Bad News - my car overheated as we were in crawling traffic approaching the Lincoln Tunnel to get into the city.
The Good News - at least we didn't have a crying baby and a fussy two-year-old with us.
The Bad News - neither Matt and I know anything about car repair and having Matt's dad on the phone trying to help isn't really all that helpful.
The Good News - we have roadside assistance with our auto insurance, which covers tows up to $50.
The Bad News - the tow cost us $116.
The Good News - there was a car repair store incredibly close that was open and took the car overnight and began working on it first thing Saturday morning.
The Bad News - the delay forced us to skip having a more leisurely dinner.
The Good News - The fact that our hotel was literally four buildings away from the theatre and there was a McDonalds in between so with 30 minutes before showtime we were able to check into the hotel, grab a bite to eat, and find our seats with 10 minutes to spare!
The Good News - the show was great! Mary Poppins was fantastic - we particularly were impressed with the amazing set design, (which apparently and for good reason won a Tony) the actor who played Bert (he simply was incredible) the choreography for Supercalifragelicious.....(quite impressive and precise), the effects (Mary flying, Bert walking on the ceiling), the new songs (50% of the songs in the show were not in the original film), the actress who played Mary (so likable, such a good character), and well, there could be more, but that's all I'll say for now.
The Good News - our hotel - Hilton Times Square - (which we got on priceline for a steal) was very nice. We got a complimentary upgrade. It was one of the largest hotel rooms I've seen - and we were in New York!?!?! Not only that but the view was amazing! We could see the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and the Brooklyn Bridge. It was just a gorgeous view.
The Good News - we slept 8+ hours without a baby waking us up. In fact, when we turned off the light to sleep there was beautiful, perfect silence. Ahhhhhhhhh.
The Bad News - we didn't see the terry cloth robes until we were about to check out. We would have loved to relax in them.
The Good News - the problem with the car was identified quickly and the repair was made quickly too! Our original plan to leave the city by 3pm was not ruined by the car disaster.
The Bad News - but our budget for the month will be ruined. We spent several hundred dollars paying for the repair (I cannot even put it into $s because it's too depressing)
The Good News - we made home with no traffic (I've never seen the Jersey Turnpike so empty in my life - honestly, it was amazing) in 4.5 hours.
The Bad News - the girls were already asleep so we couldn't see them.
The Good News - Bryan and Cindy were still alive and weren't completely run down from watching them. They may even choose to still be our friends. Plus we feel rejuvenated and had the incredible opportunity to be take a break from being Mama and Daddy and just be Shelly and Matt.
The Bad News - Annie will wake up in a few hours to be fed and will probably do it again one other time tonight.
The Good News - because of the wonderful time I've had - car disaster notwithstanding - I feel renewed and up to the challenge.
4 comments:
wow, despite the bad news portions, I am glad you got to get away! Every little bit counts these days! -Julie
A memorable trip to be sure! Glad it all worked out and you both handled it so well. I loved Mary Poppins as well. It's just such a "fun" show!
Oh how fun. That sounds like a great weekend getaway. Sorry about your car! I'm glad it didn't ruin things for you. :)
sounds like the shupes have some serious favor-collecting to do! i'm glad you were able to get the car problems resolved so quickly and didn't even have to miss the show!
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