It snowed a little and rained a lot more. The winter seems to hang around a bit longer, and I hear people complaining about it every day. Well, winter is actually my favorite season and I really don't mind the cold. I always enjoyed running through winter. Only problem during cold months was that the water fountains were closed in the parks and I had to carry a bottle of water. Otherwise, I always loved long runs in winter. Anyway, I loved the sight of snow and rain, especially after the movie we saw yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon, a perfectly grim day for such mellow activity, we went to a screening of Japanese animated film "Wolf Children" as part of New York International Children's Film Festival. From their line-up, I picked this film because it was in Japanese and not dubbed. The story seemed also interesting, something we could even relate to; it was about a young Japanese woman, a single mother, raising two wolf children. They were named Yuki(snow) and Ame(rain), and their father was a wolf man, half human, half wolf. My only concern was that it was a long movie- almost two hours long. Although Taiyo has seen two-hour movies many times, this was going to be his first long movie in a theater. But since it was Children's Film Festival, there were enough small children like Taiyo in the audience. To my surprise, many of the small people were not Japanese. Are their parents going to read the subtitle for the kids? There was a three-year old next to us who wasn't really thrilled to sit down on his seat anyway before the show. So of course this little boy was so restless and fussy throughout the movie. So compared to his poor blond fellow who didn't understand Japanese, Taiyo was fine most of the time. But on and off Taiyo started asking so many questions why was this and that and I got a bit distracted and annoyed myself that I had to try to calm him down. Sometimes he was asking me things off the movie like, "why is it so dark here?" "why does this move?" moving the armrest up and down. I was surprised that he was acting like that, because the film was simply stunning, funny and touching, romantic and tragic. You'd laugh a lot and weep plenty. The audience was good mix of families and adults, anime fans, Japanese and all others, and remarkably wide age groups. Highly recommended if you can find it. I don't think they have theatrical release scheduled at this point.

After the film, we went across the 57th street to Angelo's Pizza. At 7 o'clock, we were tired. We got there before 4, so we were at the theater for three hours. Location was the winner, and Taiyo hardly says no to pizza. In the past two years, it feels like I've eaten more pizza than the rest of my life combined. Possibly. So we got to Angelo's and obviously many people after the film headed there and it was almost full house. Locations, locations. It seemed like overpriced and mediocre kind of place and it was. But location won. We were not going to walk another block to look for a restaurant, and there aren't many on 57th street anyway. So I had a glass of wine and we had a plain pie but they didn't even bake with basil but sprinkled a few pieces after, so it was easy to pick the greens off for Taiyo and there weren't too many anyway. It was ok, not terrible, not fabulous. I wished they put a little more sauce and cheese- the edges with no sauce and cheese were too wide. Crust was pretty thin and easy to eat. Service was pretty bad. Unfriendly in general. Taiyo ate half of the pie, and stayed in his seat quietly once it arrived. His review may be more favorable to them than mine.

Sun was not out this time at the garden. The camera couldn't capture it but we had flurries coming down. Unfortunately there were totally not enough snow for snow fight, but we spent nice time with the chickens. I can't believe they are leaving us already next month. There's one little chick who seems abused and isolated, and Charlie told me that she just came back from hatching 6 chicks in fall. Bald spots on her head, he told me, was actually from her chicks, he said. So this poor mother bird is so exhausted and abused by her own children, but her girlfriends didn't want anything to do with her when she came back to the group. Poor thing. Sometimes being a mother doesn't pay back so well.

So the wheels of stroller were busted again- perhaps because Taiyo's getting so big? I was hoping the three-and-a-half-year-old stroller would hold up through the summer before completely terminating its use by the time he starts school. I had to drop it off at the Maclaren store in Soho for repair, and they loaned us a bigger stroller. In this, he was not too big at all! After he fell asleep comfortably later afternoon, his feet were not dragging the streets! This loaner is going to spoil us this week.

Before he fell asleep, when we passed by Lure Fishbar at Prince and Mercer, Taiyo was totally fascinated with the view of the restaurant below the street level. "I want to go there," he announced. So I grabbed the stroller and we went downstairs. The place was busy, and it seemed somewhat family friendly to my surprise, since there were people with babies, toddler and above here and there. Otherwise, it looked like just another popular hipster joint. Yes, the food was mediocre as I expected, but Taiyo loved the overpriced french toast($14 for four piece of french toast), and 2 pieces of deviled eggs were $8 only because there were a little bits of caviar on top. Well, the bathroom was kept clean, the service was not extra special, maybe a bit snobbish but efficient, the floor was quite full but food came out rather fast. I probably never go there again but it was not totally bad over all.

Daylight Savings Time kicked in and the sun was out. It felt like spring at 50 degrees but it was still chilly in the shade. We had chicken duty then a meeting at the garden. The banner was up. Taiyo remembered coloring in the leaves around the flower. The meeting was about the possible future battle with a developer who wants to come into the garden and claim his piece of property. The garden has been there for 30 years and we are going to fight it in the name of "Children's Magical Garden." More iPad apps almost every night. "I'm going to sleep by myself because I want a new thing on my iPad," Taiyo says, as I turn off the light.

It was a place we passed by so many times, not only this location but many others around the city. I thought of checking it out but somehow never did until last week. When I asked Taiyo if he wanted to eat something at Le Pain Quotidien on Grand and Mercer on the way back from shopping at Sunrise Mart, he said yes. We settled at a large communal table in the roomy back room. There were many high chairs available, and they were surprisingly kid-friendly. Taiyo was equipped with a cup full of crayons and a coloring sheet even before his cup of water, and they had a kid's menu. We had roasted turkey and avocado tartines, which were beautifully done little open sandwiches. I appreciated fresh vegetables but Taiyo really didn't care for anything else but bread and some turkey. Mustard was a bit spicy for him but he still liked the sandwich. Food was fresh, pretty, and simply delicious. Service was quite efficient. It's probably more enjoyable off-peak hours, though. By the time we got our food the place was packed and a bit chaotic. I just wish a place like this would make Taiyo want to eat some vegetables. There was even a changing table in the spacious bathroom. Highly recommended.

This week we stopped at another place we passed so many times for the first time- Toby's Public House on Kenmare and Mulberry. Taiyo hardly says no to pizza. The roomy dining room had great natural light, although it was a gloomy day. And it was pretty empty. I wanted to sit by the window but Taiyo decided to settle at a big table near the bar. Well, there were TV's above the bar and we also had a view of their brick oven. The friendly waitress who knew just how to talk to little people brought him a cup full of crayons and some sheets of paper. Taiyo immediately got busy scribing. When the waitress came back he of course told her that the doodle on the paper was his poo. She had a blast and couldn't have enough of Taiyo. Thin crust Margherita pie was delicious and the service was so personal. They have high-chairs available. Only thing that I have to warn you is that the bathroom wall is decorated with vintag Playboy covers. Taiyo would've loved to see the breasts all over the bathroom, but crayons kept him safe at the table.

On Saturday while I did my chicken feeding duty at the Children's Magical Garden, Taiyo stood there in the drizzling rain holding tight onto his little red umbrella. He looked like he was listening to the sound of rain.

And today it was sunny and I felt like we owed ourselves a big day out - we've been a bit lazy this season. So I asked Taiyo where he wanted to go, and he said, maybe to the Children's Museum. On bicycle. We've been there once on a bicycle, but it was during summer. It might be a bit too cold for bicycle, I said. It's ok, he said. It's cold and it's kind of far. It's ok. It was like 30 degrees, but it didn't feel that cold. I was working out sweats before reaching the halfway point on the bridge. We went through South Williamsburg where orthodox Jews were celebrating Purim, I don't think it was supposed to be like that originally, but now it's Jewish Halloween. Kids and Adult in costumes were everywhere. There were lots of loud music. Some men were dancing in circles on the sidewalk. It seemed even crazier than Halloween. This holiday actually made the Children's Museum less crowded and chaotic because large Jewish families with 5-10 kids and uncles and aunts and grandparents and parents didn't come today. So Taiyo was playing with a doll house for a long time, although only doll he could find was a firefighter. Then this woman placed her daughter right next to him and told her to play with it. She took some furniture Taiyo had carefully placed around the house and gave it to the girl. Taiyo snatched the piece back. She yelled at Taiyo that he had to share. The girl didn't seem to be enthusiastic but the mother grabbed another furniture and placed it in front of her and told her to play with it. Taiyo of course snatched it back immediately and the woman started yelling at me that I wasn't telling him to share. I said I did, because I did. But she was yelling at me. I said you didn't have to create a conflict by making her play with the toys he was playing with. She grabbed the girl onto her enormous hip and walked away, cursing. I felt almost traumatized by this experience but I let him play until he was bored. No one else really bothered him. We stayed until closing and he slept through the noise of Purim parties in Williamsburg. I had to pedal against gusting wind all the way I promised myself to upgrade the bike before next long bike ride. He's getting a bit too heavy. I can't believe I was riding with him back and forth from Greenpoint during hurricane blackout just four months ago. It was probably the most workout I've done in months.

So this book exist, and it's no joke but that's exactly how Taiyo goes to sleep right now. I told him that if he can go to sleep on his own, he'll get a new app on iPad in the morning. If you can go to sleep without mama, mama can look for a new thing for your iPad to download. This 'getting a new thing' on the iPad still occurs magically overnight, but I still try to tell him the truth. Hey, these things don't just appear from nowhere. I buy them for you. Anyway, it's still like getting a mystery present; he is so excited when he finds a new app on iPad. I have to start reviewing these apps- there's some great ones, trash, and everything in between of course. So, thank you iPad, for helping me raise my child. With the happy thought of finding a new icon, Taiyo went to sleep by himself third day in a row.

On Saturday we encountered lions in Chinatown for Lunar New Year celebration. I love these loud noises and crazy looking lions that makes me feel lucky. So we watched some lions and snapped popping firecrackers on the street. Three boxes for a dollar, these little pops are great cheap entertainment- it also helps little ones to work on motor skill. One little box was enough fun for Taiyo; we came home with two more boxes for another day.

So far I've been working 6-day weeks this year, which I thought it was fair for me to take a day off on Presidents' Day. And you know what, I am the president of my little company. So yes, I took a day off. I spent a relaxing day visiting my friend Virginia in Queens who had a baby two months ago. Taiyo loved their place, with lots more room to run around, and big TV with cable service and a comfy large couch in front of it. So he loved the visit and it also game me a chance to look back and think of the beginning days. It was terrifying time but then you look back and think it was the easiest time. I could put him down and at least he won't go anywhere. He won't ask me million questions. He won't say he wants no green stuff on his food. When I started this blog two years ago, I thought we'd be eating at so much more variety of food by now. But he has regressed very much over the past year. On the way from Virginia's place in Forest Hills, I made a mistake of telling Taiyo I saw a Diner ahead. His mind was set for the diner. I told him there seems more choice a block ahead, but no. He just wanted to go to a diner. I don't know why he loves a diner, but he does. Any typical crappy diner, such as this one, T-Bone Diner.

I seemed like the joint was there for a long time, and I wondered if the food was always crappy like that. Anyway, when I opened the menu it was one of those typical diner menu with hundreds of things that makes me dizzy, but today's special 'home made' turkey meatballs with spaghetti may be all right, I thought. Taiyo wanted to have pasta. And the food was edible but pretty gross. Turkey meatballs were kind of strange and very much surely not home made. By the way why diners are allowed to lie on their menu that all baking are done on premise. What baking? So probably 'Home made' doesn't mean anything either. But Taiyo liked it. He sat down and ate. The waiter seemed quite tolerating of the restless little person. The booth was comfortable. There was a middle-aged couple on a first date after meeting on-line in the next booth. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but the man was talking so loudly into my direction I got to enjoy listening his online dating stories. So with a little added entertainment, it wasn't horrible dining experience. I just wish the food was a little more decent.

Friday night, I regretted that I signed up for chicken feeding duty Saturday morning. But Taiyo and I were troopers. He was totally up for chicken feeding and sidewalk shoveling. At the garden, the beautiful new snow was knee deep for Taiyo. He was totally up for a new challenge. He trekked across the garden making track marks. But after 10 minutes he was crying because snow got into his rain boots- he didn't even have snow boots or thick gloves. So his thin gloves were also soaking wet and he was crying that his hands hurt. I finished the chicken feeding quickly and we had to get out. He whined all the way to Tiny's because I couldn't carry him with two buckets I had to return. But I was quite proud of him trekking into the deep snow by himself. He didn't feel like shoveling when we got back to the restaurant, of course, and that was ok with me.