A beautiful Wednesday- we made it to the Train Show at the New York Botanic Garden in Bronx. It was the first time for both of us- although I was aware of this famous holiday show, I just never thought about it as important thing to see until I had a boy. Even a girl would definitely enjoy it, but the boys and trains! They are just so inseparable. Anyway, the show is totally breathtaking and incredible it is truly worth seeing it with or without kids. All kinds of cool trains run around the beautiful garden and amazing rendition of New York landmarks constructed with twigs, barks, and leaves. There's bridges and waterfalls, and I would imagine it would be even more amazing in the evening. Taiyo was of course totally enchanted and ran back and forth chasing the trains, chanting "Chaka chaka choo choo!" I was also glad that we beat the crowd- I assume that they get really busy in the next two weeks during the holidays.

Back in the neighborhood, we dined at Frankies on Clinton. They are usually too busy and I know they have very small tables, so this is usually not among our choices to dine. But it was early enough and there weren't many other diners. Taiyo was somehow very enthusiastic entering this cozy restaurant. Although it was pretty empty, they offered us the tiny table in the middle. I preferred one against the wall or something bigger, but Taiyo decided to take it. We enjoyed a crostini with avocado and pesto, lentil soup, and homemade gnocchi with marinara and fresh ricotta. Oh, boy, we enjoyed them! After a crostini, Taiyo asked for more. Both lentil soup and gnocchi kept him in his seat quite a long time until we finished them all. Food-wise, this place really give you the best for the money. Everything is so simply but beautifully executed and they taste so fresh and honest. I would go back more often if it was set up a bit more kid-friendly. There aren't much room for strollers- fortunately it's walking distance for us. There's no high chairs and talbes are small and very close together. I won't go there unless it's less than half empty, which is very early in the evening. Still recommended- and service is wonderful.

Our Saturday starts with the most annoyingly edited kids show Doodlebops on CBS. Taiyo loves to watch the strange but catchy music show of two boys and a girl, who got outrageous hair-dues and crazy colors and big fingertips. Stories are childish and stupid, and it is so amazingly badly edited- almost every cut is about a second or two. But Taiyo would be bouncing around playing his instrument. Then we watch Busytown Mysteries, which I like. It's more classic looking cartoon of a town inhabited by all kinds of animals and other creatuares. It's cute. But since we normally only watch Channel 13 for kids shows, I'm always amazed by the commercials that plays on network. How many plush slippers and glittering sneakers kids need? What's the deal with that wobbling ugly bald dancing baby doll with a big belly button? Maybe I'd buy it for someone I don't like.

In the afternoon we went shopping at Pearl River on Broadway. This is one of the greatest store ever for Taiyo. Lots of little water fountain with sparkly balls turning, all kinds of windchimes to mess with, so many cool wind-up toys, cute little Japanese erasers of different shapes from fruits, animals, to cakes! We picked out the coolest wind-up toy with many legs- kind of a robotic insect? Then Taiyo picked up a postcard of Manhattan night skyscraper and said, "New York." I wasn't sure if he said it because he was familiar with the view or he read the print on the corner. Probably both. There was Santacon going, and we came across many Santas on the street heading to this strange and fun bar hopping event. Taiyo said "Hi Santa" to each one of them. We didn't actually run into the Santacon, unfortunately, but maybe it was better for Taiyo for his first impression of Santa is not to be of ones getting drunk everywhere.

We stopped for lunch at Thai Angel on Grand between Crosby and Lafayette. Entry was fairly easy with a stroller, and we were offered a bright table near the doorway. The place wasn't very busy, which is more comfortable for me. It was impossible to find not busy eatery a few blocks up near broadway earlier on the trip. Taiyo first got busy scooping up little ice cubes from his glass. His motor skills are getting refined he didn't spill much water. Service was very friendly and fast, and food was not amazing but quite decent. Price was good too. Taiyo happily enjoyed Ka Nom Jeeb dumplings, curry puffs and pad thai. Then he ran around the restaurant and amuzed the waiter and other diners. He also greeted people walking into the door. He really liked the place it was hard to get him to leave. Recommended.

We usually don't have horrible dining experience because my aim is to have the best dining experience ever than to fight the impossible beast. If the place was too crowded or the clothed tables with neat table settings were placed too closely together, I may avoid it. Fancy busy restaurants may not want to have a two-year-old hopping from one empty seat to another. This is why sometimes I would compromise and end up in a diner. Remedy Diner on Houston street, which I have written about in the past, is actually Taiyo's favorite. They would pretty much allow Taiyo to jump around on every empty booth, until I'm too embarrassed and have to stop him. But food is seriously bad.

This was their lasagna. It was surrounded by peach colored salty goo, and had two-inch-thick meat layer (have they not been selling enough burgers?) had pasta sheets with cruncy overbaked corners, and generous amount of cheese as if they wanted to cover the evidence. It was so thick and inside was cold. Taiyo ate some of it, and he thought crumbling saltine crackers into mushroom barley soup was the greatest idea ever. And waiters who are all latinos are usually quite enchanted with Taiyo. So we probably go back there again.

Saturday was another warm day, and I loved the mellowness of this holiday weekend. We took a bike ride down to the Imagination Playground at the South Street Seaport. I didn't notice before, but this time the air quality was so noticeably bad most likely from all the tour buses idling near by. But of course Taiyo didn't care. He got very focused in the sandbox scooping up sand into a bucket. I brought a bucket and a scoop just in case, but this is another very nice thing about this playground-there's always plenty of tools to play with in the sandbox. Older kids were building some very interesting structures on the other side with large form blocks. Later we met a boy about a year older also named Taiyo, also half Japanese with a Japanese mom. When I heard her calling his son Taiyo, I had to exclaim, "Your son is Taiyo? Mine, too!" His mom said she never met a boy with the same name. Well, I hadn't either. Taiyo followed the other Taiyo, calling, "Taiyo, Taiyo!" but he was pretty much ignored. On the way out we saw caroling older men by the tree. It's Christmas all over town already.

We stopped at Keg No. 229 on Front Street for lunch. Among the few establishments on Front Street, this was Taiyo's choice. It was like a stylish sports bar, that didn't look kid-friendly, but we were offered a high chair immediately, and Taiyo gladly settled in one. Bench with nice cushy pillows was comfy, too. It was three in the afternoon, but it had a small group of young people gathering at the bar. The ambiance was kind of loud, which wasn't a bad thing for a toddler who wants to scream for no reason from time to time. The bathroom was the darkest one Taiyo was ever been to, and he was a bit scared. It was also scary for me too since I really couldn't see how clean the bathroom was. The food was pretty good- crab cake eggs benedict with breakfast potatoes. Potatoes were seasoned enough but Taiyo carefully dipped some ketchup to eat them. Eggs benedit was tasty although I wished the crab cakes were thicker. They have nice list of beer and the staff were very nice and friendly to Taiyo. Recommended.

In the evening we went to the New Victory Theater in Times Square for "Untapped!" It was Taiyo's first real theater experience. In the elevator an old lady asked me, "Isn't it a bit late for him?" The show was on at 7pm. "Oh, no. He's up until midnight regularly." Oh, yes, he was so excited to be seated right by the stage. They offer a booster for little people in orchestra section. The show was actually recommended for age 6 and above, and we were the only stroller parked downstairs, but Taiyo was of course totally into it. He loves tap dancing himself! We watched five cute aussie boys tapping(too bad they are gay, I was thinking), mixed with beat-boxing and rock music, and Taiyo screamed here and there, which made the performers chuckle sometimes. First 30 minutes weren't too bad, but the next 30 minutes got a bit more stressful for me. Taiyo started jumping from his seat onto me, then climbed back onto his seat, and started all over again. He also turned around and tried to get attention of the boy behind him, who ignored him. I asked him if he wanted to leave, but he shook his head. He also kicked the man next to him numerous times, who didn't seem to mind too much- he got three kids next to him. Anyway, we survived the show and ushesr by the door said, "He was so cute!" Well, this was the theater for kids, and his behavior was all acceptable. We'll be back for more.

The restaurants around there were too crowded after the show, and some had only revolving doors indicating "no strollers." We weren't going to wait for a half hour for a table at Ruby Tuesday, so we went to Burger King instead. He was happy enough with the bourbon burger with sweet sauce. At least we got very fresh french fries, and of course Taiyo dipped them carefully into ketchup. I said we are taking a cab! after that, and Taiyo went yay! The traffic was everywhere and it wasn't easy trip. Taiyo was so hyper jumping around. We were stuck for a while on Houston and I realized that I should've told the driver not to take the Second avenue down to Houston- he doesn't live in the neighborhood! Taiyo was still jumping around when we got home and I was truly exhausted. So the next day spending most of the time at home wasn't so bad for me. You can't see it in this picture Taiyo took at the laundromat. Do I look kind of tired? Or I'm just getting old.

My Thanksgiving tradition started Wednesday, making a trip to Union Square greenmarket to pick up some fresh herbs and vebetables. Taiyo slept through the whole trip in comfy sports utility jogging stroller. Late afternoon, we met up with Lynne and headed uptown to see the balloon inflation for Macy's Thanksgiving parade. We saw Snoopy, Spiderman, Hello Kitty, and some other bunch. It was so crowded we had enough just going through one block, half of the event.

We stopped at Cafe Con Leche on Amsterdam between 80th and 81st. It's a cute small latin joint. We were offered a table in the back with a bench, which was of course great for Taiyo. They also offered us a high chair, but Taiyo was already stretched out on the bench to check its comfort level. Taiyo's mind was all set for rice and beans. They brought his water in a paper coffee cup with top with a straw, which gets high points for being a kid-friendly restaurant. I settled on pork stew. It tasted pretty good, but pork was too cruncy and chewy for stew- the lighting was too dark to decide it was actually grilled pork with sauce or meat was simply dry and tough. But otherwise, service was friendly and Taiyo was happy with his rice and beans. He also chugged down more than half the plate of plantains Lynne ordered. The restaurant is pretty small and tables are close together- strollers may have hard time manuevering or finding a spot, but over all nice place to dine with a kid. Fairly recommended.

So it was Thanksgiving day. My plan was to do much of the cooking while Taiyo takes nap- we walked out early afternoon to pick up a few more things from a store, and he seemed pretty much ready for a little napping. But after half an hour I realized I'd better get back first and put my turkey in the oven. Then Taiyo was super upset that we didn't stop at the supermarket. While I threw turkey into the oven, he sat in the stroller in the doorway and kept screaming "SOOOOPER MAAARKKEEETTTT!!!!" into the street. Finally we rolled out again but Taiyo was super upset and kept screaming. When we got to the Chinese market on Clinton, the guy at the fish deparment gave him some chocolate and finally Taiyo stopped screaming. He held two chocolate, one on each hand, and sobbed for a while then fell asleep. I ran back thinking that I got two hours to get most of cooking done. So I thought. But only one hour late Taiyo woke up, and he was very needy. He had to sit on my lap, and wouldn't let me get up and cook. So until Mark and Steve arrived to distract Taiyo I wasn't able to get much done and it was a bit stressful after that trying to get everything ready in two hours. But all was well in the end with roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, my famous stuffing with cashews and sausage, garlic mashed potato, caponata, roasted zucchini and turnips, pumpkin and corn salad, and yuzu-tuna wrap. Taiyo made a mistake stuffing himself too early with cheese and crackers, but he still enjoyed turkey and cranberry sauce. Then he went totally high after green tea cheesecake and went running outside, taking hands of my guests one by one.

We enjoyed sleeping late today. It was a beautiful warm day and I took him out to Guitar Center on 14th Street. This place is a heaven for him with all kinds of music instruments! He went crazy in drums department, then we picked up a new uklele (on sale for $30!). Last one was broken after being banged around in his rock'n roll action.

We lunched at Japonica on University and 12th St. The bench was confortable with a pillow and Taiyo immediately jumped on it for a while, but he decided to take a chair on the other side of the table. They brought him a plastic cup and a straw with a tiny pinwheel, which was of course a high point for a kid-friendly restaurant. It kept him in the seat for a while. There was too many things on the menu, but I settled on lunch special box with eel and avocado donburi and shrimp tempra roll, and steamed shumai appetizer. The box was not quite impressive with mixed green and pinapples, and I felt there should've been just a little something like hijiki instead of edamame, but overall it was a great value. Taiyo immediately cleared eel- he couldn't wait for his fork to arrive and started grabbing it by hand. Then he of course enjoyed nice big shumai and finished all the pinapple. Dining room is fairly spacious and strollers should be able to find a room to park. Recommended.

Taiyo is turning into quite an entertainer. The other day he put on Dora's mask to crack me up. Later when my staff arrived he continued to wear the mask and greeted everyone with "Hora!"

As a single mother who works too much, I normally devote sundays as the day to do stuff out there with Taiyo, visiting zoos, parks, or museums, and trying out some restaurants we haven't been to. But yesterday, I couldn't convince him to leave the house. He just enjoyed hanging out in the house despite of the construction noise outside. Continuous playing of kids DVDs was annoying but I didn't mind hanging out insdie all day- maybe the first time since hurricane. Taiyo played his guitar, keyboard, danced around, wore his penguin hat and danced around some more. We briefly left for grocery shopping late afternoon, and I was hoping that he'd take a long nap. He fell asleep only a few blocks away on the way back, and woke up when I carried him upstairs. We decided to order in for dinner.

Last week I tried GrubHub.com for the first time to order. My order from Moustache on 10th street was estimated to be delivered in one hour. It was delivered in hour and a half, and soup was hot but "pitza" was cold. The next GrubHub asked for the first time review, so I told them what happened. No, I would not recommend it to my friends because it wasn't a great experience. They were sorry and send me $25 gift card. So I tried again yesterday. This time I went for Goodfella's Pizza on Rivington and Orchard. It's only four blocks away, and was expecting better result. Estimated delivery was one hour again. Hour and a half later, I was beginning to wonder where my food was, so called 800 number for GrubHub. I was holding for five minutes to speak to a rep, then finally the food arrived. You'd expect to have the pizza hot from a pizza restaurant, expecially when the rest of the order was a salad and garlic bread. Not this place. It was just kind of warm. Salad was rip off for $12, mesculan green and some sliced strawberries. It was supposed to be served with balsamic reduction, but it was just plain balsamic vinegar that came with it. Though it was nice to see Taiyo discovering strawberries and arugula together was a great match. The goodfella pizza was supposed to be the popular item, but it had too many chunks of too raw garlic and we couldn't eat half of it. The garlic bread was more like some bread with cheese on top, and guess what, they weren't hot either. Food was terrible, and expensive, and it came so late. Nothing good about this restaurant.

We finally made it to the 'Bring Your Own Kid concert' at TribecaY sunday morning. The place was packed with babies, toddlers, and mommies and daddies for Brady Rymer and The Little Band That Could. Their music was fun and rocking, and the little girls first occupied the floor. Taiyo was serious observing and studying the band. Then he was jumping around with the other kids for a while and then started snapping pictures of the band. Yes, the above picture was one of his shot. But because of not having enough lighting he wasn't able to snap good photos and he was frustrated and threw the camera on the floor. I took it away from him and he started screaming. The music was loud enough his loud scream wasn't that noticeable- also it was getting close to the end of the show there were other kids screaming here and there. So I just let him have his fit. I shook my head and said, no, I'm not giving you the camera. He was finally through by the time the band finished. We watched some artworks in the lobby before heading out. It was pretty cool beginning of the day.

We stopped for brunch at Josephine on Greenwich and Harrison. It was spacious and sure enough, almost every table had a kid or two or three. We were not offered one, but they had high chairs. The nice leather bench was comfy and easy to climb up for Taiyo. Immediately Taiyo took a picure of a little pumpkin on the table. We went for french toast (oh, yes, we were in a French cafe, oui, oui) and corn soup. French toast was of course big hit for Taiyo, and it turns out a perfect finger food despite of almond slices and powder suger on top. He ate pretty much ate the entire plate, and finally decided to try the soup, which was almost gone. "Yummy!" he exclaimed, and finished the rest. It was comfortable dining experience, and food was very nice. Recommended.

Just down the street we found this amazing playground in Washington Market Park. Three gyms with interesting designs, a wooden choo-choo train, and a tunnel. Taiyo ran around the park, made some friends, and truly enjoyed every corner of it. He protested when I finally grabbed him to head home after two hours. But within a few blocks he was sleeping in the bike seat.

I was feeling a bit burned out. I lost a staff (again!) and last week some very inappropriate candidates showed up and I was totally discouraged. I just couldn't deal with this process of interviewing, and then training whoever I get. I decided to take a few days off. It was a great little break- since it's the most beautiful time of the year. We went up to the Central Park Zoo, biked around aimlessly, took a long train ride to Hall of Science, and cheered for runners of NYC marathon. It was a bit too warm for the marathon yesterday, but neverthless, it is the greatest street party this city offers. As soon as we got off the bridge, Taiyo started chanting, "Go runners! Go runners!" Then he blew his whistle. For ten years I lived for this race. It was never easy, but always fun. Since the opening of SOY, I always ran with "SOY" headband- people cheered for me "Go SOY!" everywhere. I feel that I need some cheering again these days.

We stopped for lunch at Dokebi on Grand between Bedford and Driggs in Williamsburg, right by the marathon course. Taiyo was immediately comfortable in this Korean joint, climbing up on the benches here and there. It was fairly quiet when we walked in, but more families with little kids and strollers walked in after us, proving that this is a kid-friendly establishment. Spacious dining area has lots of room for strollers, plus room for them to run around- which they did. Taiyo soon joined two other toddlers running around the restaurant, and they also enjoyed climbing up on hays and slapping big pumpkins here and there. They had interesting fusion brunch options, but we went for bibim bahp. It was delicious, although Taiyo only ate rice from the bowl. Nighttime would be a different scene there, but for a brunch it was very accomodating for a little one. Service was moderately kid-friendly; Taiyo got a glass of water with a straw immediately, but I had to ask for a bowl and a utencil for him. Overall, it was nice experience, in a sunny restaurant. Recommended.

A few days ago we had lunch at Souvlaki Gr on Stanton near Essex, where my old laundromat used to be. It's a cute restaurant with interesting Greek themed interior. They were established as a food truck first before they settled at this location not long ago. Taiyo just woke up from unsatisfying nap when we got there, and was rather cranky, but soon felt comfortable with the presence of owner's young boy in the restaurant. They did have a high chair, but Taiyo decided my lap was a better seat. We ordered Greek fries and a bifteki sandwich. I wasn't sure if Taiyo would like the greek fries, topped with feta cheese and oregano. He loved them and didn't ask for ketchup - it was salty enough and tasty! The sandwich was fairy small- which was good actually since fries were a big plate. Taiyo only ate the pita bread, which was fresh and tasty. Well, the sandwich was indeed fresh and tasty. Just a little tricky to enter with a stroller, but yes this place is recommended. Easy on the wallet, too.