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NYC For A Day
What I Learned in July
I can’t even comprehend the fact that summer is almost over.(Almost time for fall + holiday mins, woo hoo!) I realllly look forward to summer all year – the beach, (Beaches-n-Cream,hello) being able to take trips with the kids, and most of all, NO CARPOOL. If you’ve been following me for a while then you would know that carpool is not my BFF.Least favorite part of the day, so I enjoy my break from carpool for few months. We are probably skipping Meet the Teacher night again to sneak in one last trip to the beach. (Is that terrible?) School starts so early, and I just can’t even handle it. We have to soak in every last drop of summer possible. Our neighborhood pool has been chatting about staying open later this year which is super exciting + I hope is true.
As much as I love summer, I hate when it’s overwhelmingly hot. Air conditioning is my favorite thing ever, and I love having air conditioned indoor birthday parties – HA! So this whole being incredibly hot/air conditioning ramble brings me to the first thing I learned..
1.There are some people that enjoy being miserably hot. So, I have shown up to sessions at parks this summer, and it’s ridiculously hot…like almost 100 degrees, right. And there are people in the park running or sitting and reading. on purpose. in the heat. I don’t even understand it, especially the exercising thing. It’s way too hot people. (I think I’d rather read in the air conditioning at a coffee shop)
2. I am not the biggest fan of the dentist, and you can laugh, but one thing I do is have them but the x ray thing on me (it’s heavy + calms me) and then a blanket on top of that. I also listen to podcasts on my headphones to distract me. All this being said, I just saw that you can get your own weighted blanket 
3. WaterWipes
4. So a friend of mine posted on her fb that her kids had never had Burger King crowns..and I was like, oh my goodness, neither have mine. Mainly because I never eat there – ha, so you know, I have to take them! And those crowns, hours of entertainment.
5. I went to visit a friend in Princeton, NJ this summer, and we took a day and rode the train in to NYC. It was the most peaceful ride. Riding a train to work every morning just sounds so awesome and peaceful. Some were sleeping/snoring, others were reading. So much better than fighting traffic. Although I will tell you, when you are waiting for the train, and those express trains come by, we were like so scared, we were about to cry.
6. NYC is so much busier in the summer. Michael and I took the kids during spring break and it was absolutely not as crowded at all. (See our Central Park photoshoot here + more about our big road trip here) So I’d highly recommend trying to take kids a different time of the year than summer. I thought spring break would be big, but nope. It was a lot quieter.
7. I have to admit, taking taxis is the way to go if you’re going to be in NYC for just one day. We really didn’t have time for a ton of walking with our strict schedule. (We had a shared google doc with everything laid out and timed before the trip) We got back to Penn Station within 2 minutes of our train leaving so we didn’t have any time to spare. And it’s sooo hot in NYC in the summer with all the asphalt, concrete and buildings, so taxis are just way better. (And as you already know, air conditioning is my bff. That, and Smartwater
Sweet Tea in NYC
8. You can get sweet tea in NYC. Yep, my dear friend wanted some sweet tea, and she knew just where to find it, Chic-fil-a. I thought for sure it wouldn’t be sweet, but yep, it was.
9. Princeton, NJ is a beautiful town. This was my first trip to Princeton – loved seeing all the buildings, walking around the shops right next to the university + seeing all the huge, old historic homes.
P I N this to pinterest
P I N this to pinterestP I N this to pinterest
Images of Princeton, NJ
10. You cannot be late to a Broadway play. I had never been to a Broadway play on Broadway (only when they travel) so I was shocked to see all the signs about not going in after it’s started. They are serious – you cannot be late. If you have to go to the bathroom, you just better hold it! We went to see Wicked and got there a few minutes before it started, whew. It was so, so, so good, and everyone gave them a standing ovation at the end.
11. There’s an app for the Hamilton lottery called Ham. It’s a nice app because it lets you know when the lottery opens, makes it easy for you to enter and then lets you know when it closes. Somewhere said around 10,000 people a day enter the Hamilton lottery so I wasn’t surprised when we didn’t win. But hey, never hurts to try.
12. Yelp Eat App. I love this app, mainly because I can order Sassool before I leave the house, and then go pick it up. There are some restaurants that deliver on the app, too. San Jose just started delivering to our house, and I love their fajitas. (This app is dangerous, people! You know I love having things delivered.)
13. Lisa Frank Pajamas? This is hilarious + so excited about these! Click the photo below to see all of them.(photo via target)
14. The Luke Skywalker Landspeeder. If you have a little Star Wars fan, this is pretty much amazing!
15. I went through a lot with my nervous system after my heart surgery which I now know is super common after going through trauma. I’ve had an amazing primary care doctor, and I’ve felt really blessed to find their practice. (Beverly Medical Center on Creedmoor Rd, Dr. Goode) I had never had a panic attack in my life, and it scared me. Going through something traumatic kind of depletes your body of vitamins and minerals, too, which makes the whole cycle of your nervous system not working well keep going. Supplementing with minerals, magnesium, aswaghanda, and amino acids has gotten my body back on track plus healing my adrenals, too. My favorite supplement that is super calming is Stabilium . It’s a fish oil, and I just really love it if I feel my nervous system kind of revving up a little bit. All this being said, I decided to be really brave this month and get on an airplane and fly to NJ, knowing I’d be nervous about flying by myself and hoping my nervous system would stay in check. I was sitting in the airport before my first flight, and saw this post. (She went through something far more traumatic) I started crying right there in the airport. The words of a Moana song of all things just made me remember how much God loves me and fights for me, and how He’s healing me through all of this, what do I have to be afraid of?
I have crossed the horizon to find you.
I know your name.
They have stolen the heart from inside you.
But this does not define you.
This is not who you are.
You know who you are.
“You are not defined by your darkest hour. You are greater than what has been stolen from you. It is never too late to heal.” – from Kimberly Poovey’s article.
I’ve only had a few panic attacks, but I think it just surprised me that my body would just give out, in a way. And I share this because I’m now realizing just how common this is and how so many women go through this with the stress of having and raising children, on top of any traumatic events or high stress that might be happening in their lives. I’ve had so many good friends share what they’ve been going through and things that have helped them, which has been so super encouraging.
16. A journaling Bible. I love the idea of a journaling Bible for your kids – one with your prayers for them in it. Owen was baptized yesterday, and so I went to Lifeway a few days ago to get a Bible with his name + baptism date imprinted on it. It was a journaling Bible and I did include some notes for him inside, but I love the idea of using this Bible for prayers for him. I do have some just regular pens, but I’d love to figure out what I can use that’s colorful that won’t bleed through the pages too much.
A few articles on journaling.
Bible Journaling For Your Kids
17. One thing I forgot to mention about NY, the Mac Makeup Studio was a super fun experience! We did some make up tutorials, got a list of all suggested mac products we should use, and had super glam make up for the rest of the day. You can book an appointment online, and we got the earliest appointments that day.
View of the Empire State Building from the Refinery Rooftop. Make reservations online if you visit this beautiful restaurant.
As Seen in People Magazine + The Bump
Raleigh Maternity + Newborn Photographer
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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Newborn Photographer featured in the Bump, Let The Kids Dress Themselves and several other blogs. Because we chat a lot about our personal lives on the blog, we may receive commissions from affiliate links.