"Like a Watering Can"

"Momma! This chip looks like a watering can!"

 He would not eat it.
He would not let me eat it.
But we could take pictures with it ;)

 Only my sweet boy, Oliver, would see that in a chip.
He sees things that others don't. He sees many things that I don't see.
Just when I think I've got this parenting gig all down pat, and I'm running in a million directions, trying to do a bunch of different things each day, I'm reminded by Oliver to stop and smell the roses.

Or to take a 'nature walk' around our block on a January day when it was 65 degrees.

 "Come on, Mom! Let's go see what we can find in nature!"

 He got this new camera for his birthday and he just loves using it. I have to download the (clear) pictures soon and post them, like I've done with Trenton's photographs in the past.

Gnarly tree!

Oh, Oliver, you are getting so big, so fast. You talk about EVERYTHING under the sun-- books you read, things you observe, places you'd like to go. You've invented your own invisible 'ghost friends' and talk with them, inviting them to play with you when your brother is not around to entertain you. You love gymnastics and running around like a happy-kid, but you also know your limits (getting squished in a claustrophobic mat sent you over the edge this week).

You think of others before yourself.

You sing, you dance, and you smile.
 Every day.
Sweet, sweet boy.

Winter Business

 What do you do in the winter?
We bake! And eat!

 On the way out of the library the other day, this cookbook caught my eye.
Evil, evil cookbook. All bakery stuff.
I ended up buying a pound of Ghiradelli chocolate to make these bad boys. Daaaaang were they good.
Next up on the list: brownies and granola bars. Will take pics.

 
And then there are the delicious Honeybell oranges that the Konopacks send to us each winter, delivered fresh from Florida. Dang things are juicy (they even send you a bib!)

We also play with Lite Brite!

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 At Trenton's school, children's poet and author David Greenberg visited to read some poems he created and engage the families in a night-time assembly, where we used alliteration to create our own personal poems.
Trenton, who had been struggling earlier that day during Writer's Workshop, to come up with new topic ideas, was told by Greenberg to "borrow someone else's interesting idea" and to make it your own.

Cuddling with mah boys. Instagramed that one. 

(LMK if you are on it and want to follow me! Private account!)

We are clearly Blinded By the Light. This camera has a crazy flash. 

Another reason why winter stinks: indoor pics are awful.

 We had some snow! It was nice! Above, Oliver, Grandma, and Uncle Jay watch as T and Daddy throw some powdery snowballs at the window.

Hop, what a beautiful head-piece you have!

 Action shot below, look for snowball:

 Jay and T outside. T stayed out there for about an hour and a half. It had to be 20 degrees. Crazy cold weather lately.

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 Today we were invited to tag along with Anna, Alex, and Ellie to visit the newly- hatched chicks in Anna's mom's classroom. She teaches kindergarten in a nearby school, and they hatch chicks from eggs every year as part of their 'farm unit'. The boys got to hold the teeny-tiny chicks, who peeped and pecked and shivered. They sure do like the warmth of the lights...

Ellie freaked out when the chick started climbing up her leg and onto her shirt ;)

All in all, it is difficult to find great things to do with these kids in the winter. We do a lot of reading, a lot of dancing, and have started to spend a lot more time with our DS/Leapsters/Starfall.com/pbskids.org/PBS shows... Thus is winter.

Oliver asked me today when summer starts. My answer was June. His response was "Aww! Can't we have a pool party in April again?"
Perhaps. Hopefully. We'll see ;)

Martin King Luther, Jr. Weekend ;)

(The title of this post is what Oliver uses to refer to the holiday that will be celebrated this weekend ;)

 Because we were all a bunch of sickies over New Year's, we missed out on re-connecting with the Bluesteens! Luckily, they were available this weekend to come up to Jersey and hang out with us.
Kids LOVE playing soccer in the backyard, taking runs around the Reservoir with the Daddies, and watching movies together in the living room ;)

 We drove out to Trenton to visit the New Jersey State Museum, and to see a show at the planetarium. It was called "Earth, Moon, and Sun" and served to explain some space- misconceptions. They also showed us an image of the current night sky and pointed out the constellations of Orion, Taurus, Gemini, and others.
The kids enjoyed seeing the dinosaur fossils, as well as the "Very Big Things" exhibit upstairs.

For dinner, we had hibachi!!!

 Everyone tried to catch the zucchini pieces in their mouths... a few of us succeeded. BOTH Konopack boys opened their mouths and caught one each!

Onion Fire Volcano!

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And as for the holiday itself, well, I must say... my boys know who Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, and why he was important. And I think that's pretty good for this stage in the game. 

(Although Oliver kept referring to him as "Martin King Junior Luther")

We have a short book that serves to explain to children about segregation, dreams, and equality. It begins a conversation for us to have.

And even though our town had school today (too many missed days due to Sandy), the fact that today was special was still on our minds.

Below are some particularly thought-provoking words of Dr. King's that I found at this blog post regarding the purpose of education. Many points he makes are ones that I think about on a regular basis, as both a mother and an educator. Although written for a student paper in 1947, they still ring true for our country today:

“We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”

“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will, therefore, transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living.

“If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, “brethren!” Be careful, teachers!”

'Squan

 On Saturday, I had some time to myself and I drove out to Manasquan. I had heard that the beachfront was finally re-opened to non-residents. I joined many other curious beach-folk as we walked around on the sand in the gray, cold, dampness.
This is the northern end of Manasquan's promenade. (They never had a traditional boardwalk, rather, an asphalt walkway. They did have dunes, but obviously they were not completely effective at preventing a disaster for the beach-front properties.)

 The area below is exactly where the kids' play structure used to be. No sign of it now.

 Manasquan is unique in that there is a row of homes that are beach-front, and almost always a home built immediately behind it- an "ocean view". That home backs up to the street, with an alley-way allowing for access.

 The ocean brought sand through one home and into another. Homes that were built on a higher, solid foundation seemed to have fared better than those that were not.

 On the other end of Manasquan, near the inlet, the promenade was non-existent. Several flags had been planted in the sand on the beach there.

 
I remember watching these homes being built. Seems that this one lost the front porch.

 This is the public restroom-- a good illustration of smart construction that purposely raised the foundation of the building. But Sandy pretty much re-wrote what the standards will be for the future.

The debris was everywhere-- on the beach, in the roads... Garbage still being piled up, folks doing demolition work, WEEKS after the storm was over.

 Look closely at the garage doors below-- you can see the sand that is completely covering them, like  a cloudy, dirty film.

 What happens when the sand comes into your garage, and you don't clear it out.

This small restaurant, below, is clearly wary of looters.

 All along the Jersey shore, generations of families have bought, maintained, and lived in the homes there. They're passed down from mother to daughter, listed in wills as having to "stay in the family", and many of those homes no longer have a mortgage. However, this means that they do not qualify for FEMA funds. Long story, but most do not have flood insurance, and can't afford to bring their homes 'up to specs', qualify for the insurance, and then pay it. Many, many of these people have to simply scrape up whatever funds they can and rebuild so that it is live-able... but if they were to resell in the future, or were unable to overcome the enormous tasks of cleaning & rebuilding... Well, let's just say that many folks are simply walking away from it all. Devastated and exhausted. They are required to clean up their mess before selling the land, but many are simply selling for less and taking what they can get.

 The home above had a fire.
Below, Gee Gees on the left. The one solid beach-front arcade... where you could get a reliable bite to eat before hitting the beautiful beach. The lifeguard stand that was once at the end of this road is now home to a very large crane.

We're waiting to see what you'll become, Manasquan. Best of luck.

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A favorite moment in Manasquan (9/09)