Jumping Miriam

Most of our Sunday afternoons are spent attempting to stay in pajamas, lay around, and just be with each other! Miriam though, requires a bit more action...

Hands down, the best Christmas gift Miriam has ever received was a small, indoor trampoline (aka. jumpoline). She will jump and jump and jump! She jumps while watching tv, while playing her favorite game of UNO, while playing on the computer, while playing baby dolls!

Her latest love is turning into a Sunday afternoon must... she pulls her mattress of her bed, gets it partially down the hall before needing assistance, has it placed in the middle of the family room floor next to her "jumpoline", then she JUMPS!

AMERICAN GIRLS IN NEW YORK CITY!

In January of 07, Deidrah was playing on the American Girl website. She somehow found that there were actual American Girl stores and that one was in New York. She then found that there were "packages" you could purchase for spending an entire day at the American Girl Place. Immediately she asked if I'd take her... my response, "If you save enough money for the package, I'll taking you." I thought that would end it right there on the spot, being that the package was $280.

Well, she hustled for a year, charting every $10 she earned up to the $280. May I add here, that this girl kicks butt cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry, loading and unloading the dishwasher, vacuuming and is learning the art of babysitting!

My girlfriend, Tracy, asked Deidrah if she could come along with us. Deidrah's response, "Yeah! But you have to save your own money, I can't pay for you too."

So, in February, we loaded up and made the 6 hour drive to NYC! We stayed with my friend Dina Farmer... who is studying at the Manhattan School of Music (MSofM); is an unbelievably amazing Soprano (I guess it's not to unbelievable, she is at the MSofM); and was one of the children I nannied when I lived in Orlando!

It was such a fun trip... Valentine's dinner in Brooklyn with my friends, Dana and Lexie... a whole day at American Girl Place (we got kicked out at closing)... trips to FAO Schartz, Toys-R-Us, M&M Store and lots of clothes shopping (though I honestly was so stinking tired, that I didn't buy a thing!)... a morning on Canal Street in China Town (Deidrah still doesn't believe me, when I tell her that you're supposed to bargain with them; she refers to that as, "The morning Mom was really mean to people, wouldn't pay them what they asked, and almost made a lady cry because she wouldn't pay full price for a handbag!"... Tons of fun with Dina and Drew... Then we ended the trip with a quick visit with our friends, Richard and Kathy Farmer!

Whew!