Diary of a Manhattan Toddler—Part One

I just got home from a week of  following granddaughter Amalia, who’s nearly three, on her daily rounds on New York City's Upper East Side.  I served as social secretary, carriage pusher, snack provider and diaper changer, and although I was exhausted every night, (check out “How to Put A Toddler to Sleep in 100 Easy Steps”—I think “Honest Toddler” is eavesdropping on us),  I realized that—while New York toddlers can’t run out into the back yard for unsupervised play or catch tadpoles in the nearest pond,  Manhattan has more opportunities for toddler fun than anywhere else.

Here’s Amalia in her new (bigger) apartment—in the same building as before, but on a different floor.  After breakfast with dinosaurs, she’ll make her plans for the day.

Yoga at the nearby children’s store “Sprout” happens on Tuesday mornings and some Thursdays, and Hip Hop Dance plus Yoga happens at 4:30 on Mondays, with the same teachers: Rachel and Samara.  They can be found at lilyogisnyc.com.

Toddler Story Time, ideal for rainy days, is at 10:30 every weekday morning at the Metropolitan Museum’s Nolen library, and it’s free and open to all!

Barnes and Noble on 86^th Street is also popular on bad weather days—there’s a whole play area with toys as well as books on the lower level.

Here’s Amalia sitting in on a trial visit to Kidville, at 163 East 84^h Street between Third and Lexington, which has every kind of lesson and playtime for preschoolers (for a price),  even summer day camp.  This lesson was called “Messy Lab” and while it was indeed messy, it was meant to teach about various properties of water.

Central Park is Amalia’s personal playground every day that it’s not raining. She’s crazy about the penguins and seals at the Zoo and has worked up the courage to ride on the chariot on the carousel (not the horses.) 

One day we encountered Nathan the Bubble Man who was making giant bubbles in front of the Band Shell.  (He says his secret is “Dawn” dish soap.)

Amalia was so excited about chasing after the gargantuan bubbles and popping them that we got Nathan’s phone number in case he might be available for Amalia’s next birthday party.

On the way back, we stopped to look at a horse and carriage and Bethesda Fountain—Yiayia Joanie’s favorite spot in Central Park.

And we threw bread to the ducks in the Toy Boat Pond.  (This is probably illegal.)

On another day in Central Park we managed to get an inflatable kite (featuring Doc McStuffins) up in the air.

As Amalia climbed rocks in her patriotic dress, passing Asian tourists snapped her picture.

With the hot weather—at last!--the sprinklers have been turned on in Amalia’s favorite playground in the park, and the little ones are flocking to them. 

One day Amalia came wearing her bathing suit and carrying her friends Nemo and Boots to see if they could swim. (They couldn’t.)

She changed into dry clothes and introduced them to the sandbox…

where she buried Nemo, but we managed to find him and dig him up.

After so much exertion, she wanted ice cream and we had to go to the front of the Metropolitan Museum to find it.  She chose the Hello Kitty ice cream bar (because it’s pink) but when she got it, she wouldn’t eat it, because the ice cream didn’t have yellow eyes like the picture on the wrap.

But at least we got to enjoy a free live concert.

Back home, Amalia had lunch and decided to take a power nap in her new bedroom before embarking on the afternoon’s activities, while her animal friends watched over her.

Next: "Diary of a Toddler Part 2"--Amalia's tips on restaurants and museums. 

A Mother Kvelling About A Daughter’s Novel

Valentine’s Day was the launch of daughter Eleni’s second book, first novel, “Other Waters”, published, like her first book, “North of Ithaka",  a travel memoir, by St. Martins Press.  Despite having surgery a week before, she’s thrown herself into publicizing the book with book signings and presentations in Coral Gables, Florida (at Books & Books) , and tonight in Manhattan at the Barnes & Noble on 86^th and Lexington.  (Tomorrow she’ll be speaking at the Library in her hometown of Worcester MA, and then  on to Boston, Denver and who knows where else.  With a six-month-old baby.  Who’s still breastfeeding.)  To find out exactly where and when, check out her website:  http://www.elenigage.com/

I’m amazed at how many more ways there are to promote a book than there were back in the 1970’s and '80’s when my husband and I were doing it.  Today many of those roads for making your book known involve the internet—a subject I’m going to write about later, when I’ve seen all the ways Eleni’s using them and how effective they are.

“Other Waters” has already had excellent reviews from the likes of Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews (which is traditionally hard to please).  Kirkus called it “A lovely read” in a review that began  “Can goddesses walk among us?  Can an entire family really be cursed?”

But today I just want to kvell—a more picturesque way of saying “brag”-- because today I saw the review of Eleni’s novel, “Other Waters” in the  March 5 issue of People Magazine—the one with “Elizabeth Smart’s Dream Wedding” on the cover.

The review starts with a photo of the book cover and a small headshot of Eleni and People gives it four (out of a possible four) stars.  The review is by Caroline Leavitt and just In case you don’t have a copy of People handy, I’ll quote it for you here: 

“A Jane Austen-ish plot gets a delicious Indian accent in this effervescent novel by former People editor Gage.  Maya Das, a psychiatric resident torn between her parents’ traditional values and her bustling New York City life, finds her world upended when her grandmother’s death ostensibly unleashes a curse.  Maya’s boyfriend dumps her and she’s faced with a malpractice suit, so she heads back to India to remove the curse, save her family and reboot her life.  But in this exotic, mysterious setting cultures collide, love grows more complicated and Maya finally discovers just whom—and where—she is really meant to be.”

Jane Austen-ish!  A family curse! Exotic, mysterious India!  Doesn’t this review make you want to rush out and buy “Other Waters”?  Well, do it now.  You can even buy and download a Kindle version of it.