Trains, Dinosaurs and Fish

This weekend was action packed. The week before I had to travel for work and came down with the worst stomach bug ever! I really hope no one gets it because it is awful. After feeling run down for what felt like forever we really made the most of this weekend.

The weather was incredible, eighties all weekend so in order to celebrate that we hit Travel Town at Griffith Park, which is always a winner with Hank. You can explore giant, old steam engines and ride on a little train around the grounds. I imagine his love for this place will only grow as he gets older, but even at 16-months he loves it.

Later that day we headed down town for our second trip to the California Science Center. This place is wonderful for kids, but a bit crowded on the weekends. It took us a bit to figure it out but now we head straight for the lower level to this incredible aquarium that they have. I would say it rivals most big aquariums and Hank adores it! He could chat with the fish for hours if we let him.

To avoid the crowds we quickly headed over to the Natural History Museum which is also a wonderful museum right next door. Who knew? They have a new dinosaur exhibit that was great, although I think Hank mostly just enjoyed running up and down the halls and riding the elevator. We probably could have saved money and just headed to the grocery store for a similar impact but that's alright because this place was really great as well. I can't remember the last time I visited a museum like this. I am so impressed with this whole campus of museums right next to USC in downtown Los Angeles. They are really a great way to spend a day with your kids.

Saturday night I enjoyed a lovely ladies night with good friends at the Korean spa and then to dinner. On Sunday we spent some time at the park where Hank was downright smitten with a good friend's daughter. He let this little girl hug him and kiss him a few times over. They kept crouching down and sitting next to each other and it was overwhelmingly adorable. Hope everyone else had as lovely of a weekend as we did.

Tete-a-Tete

Soaking

One of my favorite things about Los Angeles is the abundance of Korean Spas. For just $15 you can soak for an entire day if you had the time. I don't get to go that often but whenever I do I am always thinking, 'why don't I do this every day?' It's that good.

My two favorite spots are Olympic Spa and Natura Spa. There are not a ton of photos out there of these spots. I don't think they would take kindly to you taking photos since everyone is naked, but the above photo at least gives you a sense of the place (this is Natura FYI). Both spots have several pools - hot, extremely hot, and cold. And you are encouraged to move between all temperatures. Plunging your body into ice cold weather doesn't always feel good while you are doing it but afterwards you feel incredible.

They also have these different rooms to relax in - the oxygen room, the jade room, the clay room, plus your basic steam room and sauna. I've heard women whisper about the benefits of these various rooms. One woman in her fifties told me that the secret to her perfect skin was spending an hour nightly in the oxygen room at Olympic Spa. That is a big time commitment but her skin did look good.

If you go I encourage you to at least once get a scrub. It's unlike any traditional spa experience you've had. These women exfoliate every last bit of dead skin off of you. Perhaps the best part is both spas have heated, relaxation floors where you can lay quietly for hours on end. It's such a good deal. New York has the Russian Baths and in San Francisco they have Japanese baths but I am not sure if they are as good as the Korean spas in Los Angeles. They are truly the best deal to be found around town.

The Best Smelling Soap EVER

Last weekend while at a friend's party I stumbled upon what I believe is the best smelling soap ever. I spied this gorgeous bottle by Barr Co. in her lovely bathroom. My friend and I actually took photos of the gorgeous glass bottle because we loved it so much. Their signature scent is described as a combination of milk, oatmeal, vanilla, and vetiver. Oh my god this stuff smells great. My lovely friend actually got me a bottle from my favorite store in the world. Trust me you will not find a better soap anywhere. 

Viva Las Vegas

Headed to Las Vegas for a whirlwind work trip. I will be lucky if I get more than an hour of down time. I have been here a few times for work but I have never done a whole Vegas weekend thing, even though it's so close to Los Angeles. I probably should have done it before becoming a Mom. I do get excited about the restaurants here because I feel like just about every amazing chef has a restaurant in town. Probably won't have time for that either to be honest but someday my husband and I are going to go and eat at Joel Robuchon just because it sounds like everyone ought to at some point. 

This time I am staying at the Cosmopolitan - a newish, hip casino/hotel. Doubt I will be going here but their bar with this incredible chandelier looks pretty impressive!! Have a great weekend. 

Loss

Last night, at far too late an hour to mention, I was reading "The Tiger's Wife" and I was struck by something I read:

“When men die, they die in fear", he said. "They take everything they need from you, and as a doctor it is your job to give it, to comfort them, to hold their hand. But children die how they have been living - in hope. They don't know what's happening, so they expect nothing, they don't ask you to hold their hand - but you end up needing them to hold yours. With children, you're on your own. Do you understand?” 

I am really enjoying the book, although I tend to read in fits and starts these days. I no longer plow through in one furious bit. This moment is the grandfather character, who is a doctor, speaking to his granddaughter, the narrator of the book, about what she will face when she becomes a doctor. What struck me about this quote was it touched on my greatest fear - my son becoming ill or simply something terrible happening to him that is beyond my control. How do you articulate death and loss to someone so young and innocent? Since having Hank this is a place my mind goes to from time to time. Particularly because we know people who have lost children. Heartbreaking stories that would make you shiver and then flee from them. I won't go into it here. It is the most awful thing one could fathom happening in life and yet it does happen. And what is so terrible is that children are so innocent and full of hope and undeserving of this. I am not sure where I am going with this just that the quote shook me to the core. 

The End of Illness

I had an opportunity via my work to meet the incredible doctor behind this book that will be released later this week. I have already pre-ordered a copy for myself and my family. I only spent a few moments with this charismatic oncologist (who treated Lance Armstrong, Ted Kennedy and Steve Jobs to name a few) who listed off several shocking recommendations that made me question my propensity to shop at Whole Foods and spend lots of time and money on fresh juices. He wrote a piece in the WSJ this weekend which previews some of the concepts in the book. I think this is necessary reading for any of us who are interested in what the future holds in medicine and what simple steps we can take to help us lead a long and disease-free life (they are not what you might think!).

sleeplessness

This photo captures how I feel today. TIRED. There are some days when it feels like I will never really sleep again. If anyone I know is pregnant the one piece of advice I give them is to sleep, sleep, sleep as much as they can. I think they hear me but they don't quite understand the intensity of the sleeplessness. Sometimes I say I never knew it was possible to function on so little sleep. 

Hank has never been the best sleeper but I have struggled throughout these fifteen months to let go and let him cry a bit so that he can learn to sooth himself. Our sleep saga could be it's own blog but basically I am hoping that the end is in sight and that we may finally get some good sleep around here. We have had brief moments and my husband has had great success with it, but then I come in and ruin it again or he gets sick or something else comes along but that is it. Enough is enough. I am still nursing this guy and perhaps that plays into it as well? Whatever it may be there is nothing more wonderful then staring at your child sleeping in your arms. I am overwhelmed with love and contentment. It's the best. It's every other tough moment in the middle of the night that is killing me. .