Have a A Happy Thanksgiving

Trenton is so excited for the parade tomorrow, let me tell you.
It started building last week, when he saw a full-page color ad in the Star Ledger. Of course, there was a Spiderman balloon involved. "He's HUGE!" He definitely wants to watch it on TV. Then I (made the mistake of) telling him that some day I'd take him to the parade. And sit on the street. And watch the balloons FOR REAL in front of us. Of course, he took this to mean we'd be going tomorrow...

I've always been leery of that parade for two reasons: 1) it is always too freaking cold for me to be sitting outside and 2) it takes too long to get back out of the city and to wherever I need to be to eat dinner. Oh, and the crowds, traffic, inability to find a bathroom, yadda, yadda, yadda...

But you know what? Maybe this is an option. Less of a tourist trap and still can be home for dinner. I'd definitely wait a few years for them to be ready to enjoy it, though. Just like I'm patiently waiting for the year that we can go see the reenactment of Washington's Crossing on Christmas Day. Hmm... that link says that they have a dress rehearsal the week before... but during naptime :(

Happy Thanksgiving, 2009 from Sheryl Konopack on Vimeo.

For you history and/or food buffs out there, I found this article on the sweet potato and yam to be very interesting. No botanical relation, if you can believe that.

Finally, we've had to be more vigilant about what gets stuck on the heating vents in the playroom lately. Seems that if you have a Hot Wheels car on top of the metal vent for awhile and then go to touch the car, you can really get hurt! (He's fine. But cautious now.) Also, Ollie has figured out how to deposit all the crayons on the floor, right near the vent.

Let's hope this is the last crayon casualty we find this winter...

Too Tired ...

Realizing that I don't take enough pictures at bathtime...
These were the two best of the bunch.
Ollie really really won't sit in his bathseat anymore-- anyone need one? It takes up a lot of room, so we'll be Freecycling it soon, I'm sure.

Brothers in the Bath from Sheryl Konopack on Vimeo.

Here's the scoop on this one-- click on the picture to enlarge.
He's drawn himself (with "a dog-eye" patch), Oliver ("crawling"), Jim (with a "big balloon head"), me, and his friend Harrison. Last time he drew one like this, I wasn't in it. But Har was...

Necklace he made at school. Sooo excited because he could eat the Froot Loops. I'm realizing he's never had Froot Loops before...

Honestly, they don't need the sugar.

Jeez. Which is worse:
1) Realizing you cut your 'mouse clicker fingernail' too short and having the tiniest wincing pain shoot through your finger each time you roll the ball in the center of the mouse (doh!)
or
2) Opening the door to your office to encounter the smell of melting plastic? Because you left the Nalgene cap too low on the bottom rack of the dishwasher? And now there is blue goo to clean up when it cools down?


Yes, I do understand there are more important things to worry about. Such as these, below.

Breast Cancer information
Stupak Amendment and good comments about the recent breast cancer recommendations.

I had much better commentary for them about two hours ago. Right now, I'm just glad that my paper is done, the kids are asleep, and I had time to get this post together. Click on those links and pretend you're hearing me say "hells yeah". ;)

We attended a Vegan Pot Luck dinner at Monmouth the other night. Jim made some fantastic sweet-potato and black bean burritos. The desserts were interesting and the dishes were all really well made and healthy. Good deal!


(Ollie's mouth is full of a piece of vegan fudge-- yummmmmm)

Let Them Eat Kale!

I know that I'm soooo lucky that my kids eat well. We have a rule in our house that you need to try everything that's given to you (thanks, Mom K!) Above, both kids tried out the kale from our Bean Soup With Kale that I made for lunch this week.
I really agree with all the recent research and articles that show what you expose your kids to at a young age can go far in getting them to like all sorts of foods. Parents' Magazine just ran a great article about how necessary it is to not shy away from giving your kids tastes of new foods numerous times before you expect them to really eat it.
We do try to make it fun at the table. Jim does a great job of naming things (X-Ray Vision Carrots) to make T eat them.
Not sure what turned Ollie on to the kale. He couldn't figure out how to chew it, but he did gum it a bit, spit it out, and then gnaw on it a bit more. Such a ham now for the camera...
Next week is our last CSA shipment. Look what we got in the box this week! Now, raise your hand if you new that brussel sprouts grew like this!

Unlike most people, I loooove brussel sprouts. Not sure how I'll make them, but they will soon be plucked and eaten ;)
If you haven't already considered it, now is the time to look into joining a local CSA for next year. You'd be supporting local farming (which goes a long way towards making our planet a better place) and exposing yourself to all sorts of new and delicious things.
Oliver has really started to get interested in his touchy-feely books. Above, he reads about dinosaurs. Jim and Trenton read Shel Silverstein's poems below.
Oh, and Ollie can now get onto the zebra alone and ROCK OUT! Look at those chest moves!

Superheros

I find that my favorite clothes for the kids are hand-me-downs from others... like this Superman shirt. Ollie looks too cute with the hoodie up.

Trenton told me the other day that "When I grow up, I want to be a superhero!" He's very much into Jim's tales of superheros as bedtime stories, as well as watching Super Why on PBS. Absoultely had to get this as one of his Christmas gifts when I saw it at Target this week. I'm betting it will be the fav this year...

T had the brilliant idea of making a ghost costume out of an old pillowcase. He's so upset that Halloween is over... wants to know why all the decorations are down, why all the stores aren't selling 'em anymore. Dude, it is Christmas season now, got it?

Both boys are uber happy to have Daddy home... Jim worked late two nights this week, was in RI on Sunday, and was away in Philly for a few days prior to that. Oliver totally lights up now when he sees his Daddy-- and wants equal attention. Props to Jim for managing 'em both.

***
I just HAD to sneak in during naptime today to snag some pics of my little ones while they were asleep. T keeps telling me he doesn't want to nap- and then snores on for almost two hours.

Gotta love the hair. Seems now he is getting the hang of using the pillow ;)
This little man, however, woke up when he heard the picture of Trenton being taken. This is the "WTF, Woman?!?" face-- got it seconds after he woke up and stared straight into the flash of the camera... then proceeded to howl his paci out.

A Beautiful Morning In Belmar With My Little Boy

I try not to tell Trenton what we do after I drop him off at school and before we pick him up. He usually never asks, and we usually never do anything that exciting.
Last week, though, I had to get a recall done on my truck. The service station is in Belmar and the weather was probably 65 inland... So I made sure to pack "fall beach gear". Sure enough, we had some time-- and virtually an empty beach-- to ourselves.

These pictures totally reminded me of these other ones here. Seems I get good pics in the off-season ;)

The one above almost looks like he's on the moon, no?
He kept trying to pick up the sand in his mittens.

Warming up in Dunkin' Donuts with a blueberry muffin.
Ollie loves his berries.

And Mommy loves her Ollie.

Paying Homage to The Street

So what did you first think of when you heard that Sesame Street was celebrating 40 years?
For me, it was Man, they were around for only 10 years when I was born? Quickly followed by There are some new guys in the bunch, but clearly, much has remained the same. The fanaticism that T reserves for Elmo and Murray was similar to how I felt about Big Bird and Bert. (Never was an Ernie girl... that guy got on my nerves with his whimsical rants...)

Here's a compilation of great summaries and posts about Sesame Street. It is still one of the best shows on TV, IMO. The guest stars they have on have done an amazing job (today's episode featured Michelle Obama). I'm actually looking forward to watching this season with T and Ollie each morning. Cheers to PBS and those who fund their local stations for keeping this research-based best-practice incorporated show going!

40 Years of Lessons on Sesame Street

Clips of Breastfeeding on Sesame Street

Sesame Street Still Young at 40

A Place Where Everyone Owns a Piece of the Street

We've Elved Ourselves

So I guess, for us, this means the holiday season has
officially begun ;)
Trenton could not wait for this.
They have lots of options this year.
Here are our two best "dances". Enjoy!
Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Trick-or-Treating 2009

So what exactly are the rules when Halloween falls on a weekend? When do you let 'em start?
We had trick-or-treaters beginning around 2:00. Not long after that, T got the itch to go out and get some candy.
The house was relatively cleaned up, and our guests had gone. It was really nice weather out (close to 70!) but the skies looked like they were threatening to rain. And I wanted to get some free candy out of the deal before they opened up and poured on us...
And yes, Ollie was taken out of his costume at this point (too hot). So sue me if he went trick-or-treating in a tie-dyed shirt. At least it was orange ;)

Trenton and our neighbor, Christian, hit up around 50 houses, I'd say. We only let them go to ones with the doors open or lights on. Easy to tell on a nice day like this.
Many homes left buckets of candy outside with instructions to "Just take one!" It seemed like most kids complied.
We tried the same thing later that evening when we went out for dinner.
When we got home, all of our candy was gone. The candy in the bowls of both neighbors on either side of us was still there.
Figured it was because we left "the good stuff" a.k.a. Sour Patch Kids and Sweedish Fish.
(Purposely bought those because I DON'T like them.)


Yes, this is the baby with his first Tootsie Pop. Normally, I would not ever give him something this sticky, sweet, or red. But it was his birthday, come on!
The last shot is him SCREAMING when I took it away. Purposefully! For the picture!
Bad mommy, right? ;)

Oliver's First Birthday Party

This was by far the best Halloween ever. Hands- down.
We went out for breakfast. We ordered in for lunch. We went out for dinner. Ha!
Oliver scored with a new zebra to bounce on, his own baby doll, and a elephant shape-sorter toy from Trenton.
Everyone dressed up for the occasion-- I was a flower, with Oliver as the bumblebee. Trenton was a pirate. And Jim was the freakiest looking skeleton you've ever seen.
He hid behind the closet door and greeted (spooked) our guests as the party got underway.


Thank you to Grandma and Pop Pop Lacina for the name stool and the Elmo books. Thanks to Uncle Jay, Grandma, and Grandpack for the telephone and hammer set!


And thanks to Momma for making a panda cake! Wasn't thinking at the time about the fact that all of his birthday pictures will now have black icing on his face...


Had to do a slideshow of the day, as I couldn't pick which cake pics I liked the best. Jim did a great job of capturing the moment.