Every year, the thought of what to do for Spring Break starts clouding our minds early on, as reservations need to be made, plans need to be set and just for peace of mind. This year, however, was a little different for Sheena. Since the Dedhia boys did a HUGE trip in December to Dubai and India, she was adamant there was not going to be a big show and tell for Spring break. She wanted to keep it low key but fun and of course just keep them busy so they are not fighting the entire week and she pulling her hair out. That’s when her bestie, Mala, came up with a brilliant plan! Let’s get all the kids together, stay in JC and explore all the fun things NYC has to offer. Sheena immediately said YES, the perfect staycation for Spring break! A few days of slumber parties, exploration and sweet treats! The kids ended up having an amazing time exploring the city and bonding with each other (which was the mommies favorite part). Check out all the fun things they did and how they kept these little humans super busy and exhausted by the end of the day that they couldn’t even keep their eyes open for a movie after dinner 🙂
Sheena’s bestie has an amazing apartment in Jersey City where we all stayed. The daddies went to work as usual and the mommies and kids got to play through the days! The kids loved waking up to the New York City skyline every morning and watching the ferries wiz around in the river. They stared at the Freedom Tower, the Empire State Building and the sun rise while eating breakfast every morning. As a mom, Sheena loved watching their appreciation come alive for the view and the amazement in their eyes.
Day 1:
They all met up on Tuesday evening in JC – the kids had dinner, a movie night together and some sweet treats. They played on the terrace, enjoyed each others company and went to sleep. Thereafter, the mommies and daddies opened up a bottle of wine and just relaxed. On Wednesday morning, they headed to NYC on the path (which the kids loved doing). It was a quick and easy ride into the city. First stop was the American Museum of Natural History. The kids explored a variety of exhibits there, the animals, the dinosaurs, the butterfly conservatory, the mummies exhibit and more. They got around the city in the subway, ubers, taxis, or just walking – whichever was most convenient at the time. Thereafter, they took the bunch to see The Lion King on Broadway – a matinee show! For Sheena’s boys it was their first Broadway experience, so they were floored. They wouldn’t stop talking about how amazing it was (even during the show)! They are still talking about it days later, which is always a good sign! The mommies had to rely on a little wine to get through those 2.5 hours, but everyone enjoyed the experience. After the show, they were all starving, so they walked over to Carmines for dinner. They ordered A LOT of food (family style restaurant so the portions are huge) and fulfilled all of their bellies. After dinner, the kids were looking forward to their “dessert.” So they headed over to M&M world around the corner and let the kids go wild (in moderation of course)! Some very expensive M&M’s later, they headed back to JC and the kids crashed for the day! The mommies were exhausted as well, so they called it a night early while the daddies were out at the local JC bars!
Day 2:
On Thursday, the kids were up early as usual! Isn’t it crazy that no matter how late these little ones go to bed, they are up bright and early the next morning? Ugh! After breakfast at home, they headed back into the city to The Intrepid – Sea, Air & Space Museum! It was AHHH- mazing! The kids were amazed at everything they learned there. For tickets, you can go to your local library – if you have a library pass, most libraries have museum passes you can check out for a few days. The pass Sheena got from her local library for The Intrepid allowed 6 free general admission tickets! Inquire with your local library for the pass. In the Museum they bought the tour package for the kids to have a tour guide take them through the museum and explain everything. It ended up being a fun, interactive tour that the kids loved. They even got to climb into one of the fighter jets! Shailin was adamant he wanted to sit on a NYC bus, so they all climbed onto a local bus from The Intrepid that took us downtown. They headed over to Sugar Factory for lunch. The name says it all, the kids indulged in a little bit of food and a lot of milkshakes, ice cream and fun drinks! They loved it and so did the parents with their share of sugar 😉 After lunch, they had a chance to walk the Highline along Manhattans West Side. The kids were able to run around the park, explore the city and experience a lot of fun things going on along the walk (musicians, artists, stalls, etc). After their walk, they headed over to the meat-packing district for a fun pop-up activity by ARTech. It is an adventure pop-up in art and technology. The kids got to explore different aspects of how to incorporate unique ideas into real life experiments. It was fun to explore one of many of the fun activities NYC has to offer for kids. After that, they headed back to JC, fed the kids dinner and to bed it was. Mommies and daddies ordered in food, had wine and chatted the night away.
Day 3:
By now (Friday), the mommies were exhausted but the kids were still full of energy! They headed BACK into NYC in the morning and went to the Choco-Story – New York! It is The Chocolate Museum and Experience with Jacques Torres that is in NYC for a limited time. Chocolate Museum = happy kids! They headed over to Brookfield Place after that for lunch. The kids loved running around outside on the patio after a full tummy and watching all the dog walkers, skaters, etc playing around. They caught the ferry from there back to JC (which was also on the list of transportation methods to explore by the boys) and called it a day from there. They packed up their stuff and headed back home for a weekend of birthday parties, dance recitals and homework before school started on Monday.
The few days were just perfect for Spring Break, it gave them some time on both ends of the week to relax while having an amazing hectic schedule in the middle. The weather was absolutely amazing for them in NYC so that made the trip even better. A special shout out to Sheena’s bestie, Mala for organizing all the activities! She is a native NYer so she knows all the fun stuff to do around there. She also opened her home for Sheena and the boys to stay in, which was so incredibly sweet! Overall if was SO incredible for Sheena to be able to spend quality time with her bestie and her little girls, which is so hard to do in everyday life as everyones busy schedules hardly allow it. It was a great bonding experience for the mommies, kids and even the daddies!
Let us know what you did for your Spring Break, would love to hear about other adventures! If you did a staycation, let us know what activities you did, so we can try them out too!
