lucky

With the exception of one unfortunate haircut (which, for language barrier reasons only, does much to tempt me away from the Chinese-run hair salons), the last few days have been filled with good things and happy experiences. You might say a streak of Irish good luck has found its way to our house in time for St. Patrick's Day. So I really can't complain about the last few days:

* The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, so we used that as a great excuse to go walk around Manhattan's beautiful and historic Gramercy district.


* While in that neighborhood we walked around the perimeter of Gramercy Park, which is the only private park left in New York City.


* We also stopped at a Gramercy playground, where Garrett went for a ride on the swings. He also got his first delicious taste of cream cheese after a visit to a local bagel shop. Yum yum.



* We got our federal tax return, which only proved further that Garrett was indeed a very happy addition to our family last year.

* Two words: Vision Insurance. ...and the happy announcement that Blake's company is now offering it in their benefits package. New, much needed glasses...here we come!

* My nursery lesson on Sunday went, dare I say it...swimmingly. We learned that we should be thankful for fish by going "fishing" for pictures of different kinds of sea creatures, looking at some sea shells, eating goldfish crackers, doing a finger play about a little turtle who lived in a box, and reading Swimmy.

* On Sunday after church, we lowered Garrett's crib for the first time. Turns out he's pretty thrilled with the new arrangement:

* The laughing wore us all out, so we curled up on the bed and took a nap. I woke up first, and found my two boys looking pretty adorable snoozing together.



* Today New York's African-American, legally blind Lt. Governor, David Paterson, is going to be sworn in as the new governor, replacing an apparently immoral and humiliated Eliot Spitzer. I haven't lived here long enough to truly dive into New York State politics, but from the 24/7 news coverage of Spitzer's prostitution scandal, I've already come to like the even-tempered, calm-mannered, likable Paterson. I think he'll do great things for this state.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you're all wearing green and enjoying the 247th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade which, even as I type this, is marching its way up New York City's 5th Avenue. I know we sure are!