Despite the "economic crisis" our country is in according to the evening news, I have espoused a philosphy of live now and worry about the bills later. If my husband and i had forsaken travel and other "splurges" over the years for the sake of our 401K, we'd have no 401k and no Kodak moments to show for the last 10 years.

That is also the philospghy that prompted me to book tickets back in June to take my daughter, Sydney, to New York City for her ninth birthday. Now, before you start crying, "Indulgent Johnson County Mom," and branding me with a scarlet "J" - let me explain. 

My stepson spends every-other-holiday and 6 weeks during the summer with his mom who lives in Manhattan - the BIG Apple, not to be confused with Manhattan, KS, the LITTLE Apple. To his little sisters these get-aways are a bit of blur. Sure they know it's a big city where King Kong climbed teh Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty stands tall, but to them when he is gone, he is out of sight, but not out of mind. My 6 year-old just prods on and waits for his return, but Syd gets extremely sentimental - especially when her birthday rolls around in early July.

"Brett is here for everybody's birthday, but mine; it's not fair."

So I decided this year it was time that she saw Brett's other home. At nine I figured she was ready to take a bite aout of the Big Apple - and I was right. It was a great trip! At my husband's urging I kept it a surprise until the morning of her birthday.

At 5:00 AM dressed in a sheet, carrying a flash light and wearing a Lady Liberty foam crown I plucked from the Dollar Bin at Target, I woke her up. Now, I a know you are thinking that any child would freak at this sight, but she is used to her crazy mom. She just rubbed her eyes and said, "What the heck?" Thanks to a 6:45 AM flight on Southwest, we were in New York City by 1 PM.

Our first stop was out hotel - The Pod Hotel (www.podhotel.com) Syd LOVED LOVED this place. Located on the East side at 51st and 3rd, it's nestled on a quiet street between some great little neighborhood eateries. The name lets you know the rooms will be small - but they are tre hip. I booked a bunk bed room with a shared bath for $99/night. Okay,  I was being very urban and brave about the shared potty.  Andrew, the kind gentleman behind the desk, took one look at Syd and said, "Let me put you in a room with it's own bath for no additional charge." Whadda guy! The bunks we chrome and funky and each had its own flat screen tv. There was in-room Wifi, a hip lobby, outdoor cafe and a quiet rooftop patio. I am convined they sub-divied the closet to create the bathroom, but it was clean and neat and it all worked. Big thumbs up on The Pod.

Then it was leisurely stroll through Central Park (I'll get grief for this but, it's really just a BIG Loose Park); a trip by Strawberry Fields; Bethesda Fountain (YEAH! Enchanted); and The Dakota - stopping for a bomb pop before we hopped the subway to meet Brett at St. John the Divine where he works as counselor at their day camp.

So yes, we did ride the subway quite frequently. Syd got quite adept in 3 days at differentiating the uptown from the downtown lines. I never felt unsafe, the subway staff was courteous and all the New Yorkers we encountered were pleased as punch to help a couple gals from Kansas. What I did forget is how much walking there is to do in NYC. It was a bit much,  even for an overly energetic 9 year-old. If you are considering a trip there with kids, I'd wait until they are at least nine or ten. And unless you want to drop a bundle on cabs, take the subway - $2.25 a ride is a deal.

After Brett gave us the tour of St John Divine (the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world - amazing), it was off to Serendpity for dinner. Other than it's appearance in several big screen flicks (most notably Serendipity with my man John Cusack), this East side eatery is famous for it's eclectic decor and the yummy frozen hot choclate. Yes, frozen hot choclate. Don't ask, just drink. We then headed to the Top of the Rock - 30 Rockefellar Plaza. Syd may be only nine, but she is a big fan of Tina Fey and 30 Rock - yes, I know, totally inappropriate, but she is my kid.

The Top of the Rock (www.topoftherock.com) beats the Empire State Building hands down. Cheaper. MUCH Shorter wait - we had no wait. Better view. Trust me. Buy the tickets on line in advance - you won't regret it. By this time it was 9 PM and our energy was waning so we took a bike taxi through Times Square. At $15 it was a bargain and beat the Mambo at World's of Fun for thrills. After a quick tour of his mom's apartment (I think they sell apartments based on square inch not foot) we were back to The Pod and some much needed sleep.

Thursdy AM we made our way to the front of the line at The Today Show. Anne, Al and Meredith were off but Bruno was on. Yes Bruno - aka Sacha Baron Cohen - was a guest. Yes, again, totally inappropriate. However thanks to him shaking his booty in a silver sleeveless vest and matching tight pants, less than a foot from us, we made national tv. He even posed for an uber creepy pic with Syd, after which she looked at me with her big brown eyes and said, deadpan, "He scares me." I gotta admit, I am still laughing about this one.

The afternoon was a boat ride to teh Statue of Liberty. If you go make sure to book this months in advance. I only called a week before and was lucky to get tickets to just go out there. There were no tickets available to go inside or the crown. Tip - don't even consider the Crown with kids, way too hot, crammed and sooo many stairs. Syd was happy to just walk around and get a soda. We skipped Ellis Island (heard that is better for older kids) and at Syd's request, got lunch to go and went back to the hotel for a nap. Later that day we took the Cirlce Line boat tour (www.circleline42.com/site/default.aspx) of the entire Island - 3 hrs. Again too much for Syd, I'd opt for the shorter route that just goes around lower Manhattan. I enjoyed all the comentary you get on the longer ride - including a pass by "The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge". Tip - They sell beer and wine on the boat!

The next day was the BIGBEST thrill of the trip for both of us. After having lunch with some of my former co-workers from Weight Watchers, my girlfriend Josefa guided us through Midtown to the PATH which is the subway which takes you to Hoboken - home to Carlo's Bakery!!!

YES! We went to Carlo's Bakery. When Syd heard that Hoboken sat just across the Hudson, her face lit up (seriously, Hoboken made her smile) and she said, "Buddy is in Hoboken. I want to get my birthday cake from Buddy." LIve now, worry later, right?!

For those of you not familiar, Carlos' Bakery is the setting for TLC's scripted relaity show, Cake Boss. We are big fans and since Jon & Kate have fallen off the family pedistal, this is the most enjoyable show for us to cozy up to on a Monday night! A 10-minute subway ride, a two block walk and before you can say, "Giant Cannoli" we were inches from Maddalena and Mauro. Then as I was ordering a lobster tail (OMG! I can't tell you how good it was!), out of a cloud of flour appeared the man himself, Buddy Valastro.

He couldn't have been sweeter, nicer or cuter. He posed enthusiastically with my little birthday girl from Kansas.  Then she made the ask, "Buddy, it's my birthday and I want to take a cake back home." Knowing the small investment I was about to make  -it was only about $45, twice the price of a SAMS cake, but well worth the memory - I asked him, "Will it travel back in one piece to Kansas?"

"Oh yeah...get one of them round chocolate fudge laya cakes with da fondant. They'll travel." Syd then picked out a bright blue cake with brown polka dots and a brown bow (you can see it on the commercial in the cake case).

The next day, we oh so carefully carried it back to Overland Park and served it up for our family. Was it really THAT good?

Whaddya think?