Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be ...

Martha Stewart! Forget Nigella and Delia, the way forward is to be Martha Stewart so I've been out and bought myself some 'cups' in order to follow recipes the American way. Quite clearly, this will improve my baking and cooking skills tenfold from what they were in the UK so if you are planning a visit, you can look forward to some culinary delights ;-) In reality, you are more likely to get something in line with the Swedish chef from the Muppets. While I was out and about doing errand type things, I also paid sent off the money to pay my summons so fingers crossed I can forget about that now, with no long lasting effects other than a over-whelming fear of the Port Authority Bus/Subway station and butch police women.

We had a short break in the rain so I took Boy Wonder for a wander up and down the ramps of Bryant Park. All was going well until we had a battle of wills about holding my hand/the buggy versus running like numpty into the nearest crowd of strangers. Quite clearly, this was a no-brainer which resulting in a tantrum that could have been used as a case study in Dr Green's 'Toddler Taming' book. I avoided the stares of the businessman talking on their mobiles while somehow getting Boy Wonder in the stroller while he was still clutching clumps (yes, actually clumps) of my hair. Surprising, I was still an oasis of calm but that is only because I have a very well used copy of Dr Green's book on my bedside table and it clearly states that toddlers have no sense, and that's what I keep hold of.

The weather was slightly better today so I took Boy Wonder back to the 'City Treehouse' which is wonderful. Last week he spent the whole hour playing with the water and inside the secret caves of the tree and it only cost me $10 as it was our first visit. Today we did the 45 minute power walk to get there and paid $20 as it was our second visit. Boy Wonder spent 30 seconds in the treehouse then spent the rest of the hour pushing a car up and down the corridor, which he could have done at home. We are off to the West coast next week so we won't be able to go and see if they charge $30 for the third visit...

I have had a very good week in terms of new chums and have been over for lunch and a cuppa twice this week with my new posse. Today I went to an apartment that had a roof terrace. Everyone needs a friend in New York with a roof terrace!!!! I met a new person today who I'm going out with on Friday so I'm looking forward to that. Everyone in the group is lovely and they are going out of their way to make me feel welcome. They all have little boys from 12 months upwards and Boy Wonder is the 'big boy' in the group which makes a nice change for him and it's rather sweet watching him trying to talk and explain things to the younger ones. It's such a good feeling to have some dates in the diary and not to have to worry about how to fill each day (there is only so much sightseeing you can do in a week!)

I'm amused to see that Gordon Brown has been charming the voters back in the UK. The election doesn't even warrant a mention on the news over here - the 'special relationship' with the US that the UK keeps going on about doesn't seem so 'special' from this side of the pond. I'm looking forward to reading the feedback on tomorrow night's debate.

Thank you to everyone who has responded to my teabag SOS!!! I'm sure you all feel my pain! x