Preschool Halloween... a Week Later

 Oliver FINALLY went back to school this week! He was so excited to dress up and be with his little friends again. Above, a cow and Tinkerbell. Below, the cow with Toad (from Super Mario Bros.).

 And that's his best buddy, Batman.
The kids paraded around for a bit indoors (it was freezing outside) and then sang a few songs for us.

 He LOVES playing at the sand table. Had to strip off the costume. Now he's "a space ranger".

 It was so darn nice out, Har and Jon came over for a bit. The boys fashioned nun chucks out of sticks, dragged large tree limbs around the island, played soccer & football, and drew with chalk. Nicer weather. We needed it.

Happy Halloween, New Jersey

 "Come and Get Your Candy, Jersey Kids!"
Today was Halloween In New Jersey, as declared by Governor Christie.
We happily obliged.

 Punk Rocker Trenton is joined by our neighbors, Power Ranger Robbie and, um, I'm-not-sure Kaitlyn.

 I sat around all day today reading up on recovery efforts and getting a stronger and stronger feeling about what I can do. I made up five bags of supplies and clothes, and then went searching online. Turns out that Belmar is collecting certain clean-up items and would like them dropped off this week-- something I can totally do. And why not see if any neighbors were also looking to help out? I made up this sign and put it on our driveway this afternoon letting others know that if they wanted to, they could drop the things off here and we'd bring them over to Belmar.

 Alexander and Bobby met up with us, too!

Ellie and Alex, Ollie & T. 

(Yes, Trenton had to make this bad-boy punk rocker face for EVERY picture).

 Anna had us over for a little Halloween party. The kids made spider cookies out of Oreos and pretzels. Too cute! And tasty!

 We met up with Hunter and Kyra, who were also strolling the neighborhood, searching for some goodies.

Nice haul, buddy. His favorite? The giant Pixie Stix (on the left there). 

I made them both eat vegetable soup before they could go to town on the candy...

Values

We drove to the library one day last week in a vain attempt at getting the books and movies back in time.

Clearly, the library had also been without power all week. And other folks had also decided to waste the gas & make their returns.

The book deposit was so full, there was no way for me to get anything down the chute. So, I put my hand in there and did some fancy maneuvering... Pushed the cart back, some books to the floor within... Picture below has evidence of my cut-up hand.

Things I've learned:
1) Always have D batteries on back-up. I cannot survive without a radio (for both news and music). If I find I still have none, contact a friend immediately and have her ship some overnight-mail (Thanks, Shairna!)
 2) Our water heater runs completely on gas, thus not affected by power outage.
 3) Bic lighters, with the long stems, are awesome and far superior to matches, providing that the thing doesn't run out of fluid.
 4) People everywhere are amazingly generous and thoughtful - from my Canadian blogger friend who emailed just to check up on us, to our friends in IL who were moved by watching the relief efforts and want to know how they can help (specifically, their six year old daughter stated "we need to help those people").
 5) My husband is an awesome guy. My kids are pretty neat, too. Can't think of any other people that I'd want to be stuck with for a week.
 6) Blogger app for Android sucks.
 7) Things I realized I missed most when the power was out, in order: not-freezing-cold toilet seats, my vacuum, doing laundry when I want to, the light in my closet working, eggs (for making pancakes, as below), my desktop computer, and the dishwasher.

Ollie got an EXTREME PANCAKE set for his birthday. Above is my attempt at making a monkey.
No complaints from these hungry boys ;)

It Is Back On

Took Ollie out to get eggs from our local farmer... Glad to hear that they don't need to be refrigerated. On the way back, passed the utility worker guys. Thanked the for their service and they told us they thought it wouldn't be much longer.

Pictures of the big tree that had been hanging on the wires, preventing the fix.





Earlier, asked Trenton to write a long letter to his teacher describing his week. He did & sealed it with a sticker. Hoping to give it to her Monday; district will make the call on that Sunday night.



Went out for Miso soup and sushi dinner. Warm. Recharged our souls & our phones ;) Despite the chill, still took boys to ice cream place next door.










Returned home to a neighborhood with lights! Boys did the happy dance repeatedly. T even screamed "I can't wait to go to school!" Slept in an overly warm home. It was soooo nice, despite the fact that children woke up when there was a 4 on the clock. Damn daylight savings is not going to help.
Formally extending the invitation to any others without power: we have heat, hot water, WiFi, and Wii! Come by!

Power

It is pretty damn cold. We had a nice dinner at a friend's house last night. They had power and the guys got some video game time in.

Last night Ollie woke up twice crying because Trenton wasn't sleeping next to him. (He had sat up and layed back down on top of the covers- obviously too hot.) Ollie spent some of the night in our bed, finally up for good at 6:15. I kept him in bed until it got light out- too cold to leave. Totally worth the battery life on the phone to placate him with apps ;)

There are many businesses on the main highway that now have power and are opened. The local Gymboree emailed and offered up free play time for non-members. Oliver was in his glory. It is naptime now; we plan to return again this afternoon. We also plan to eat out tonight. We have lots of canned & boxed food left, and could go and buy more... But I am becoming less and less motivated to cook at night.

Gas rationing is in full swing. About two dozen cars creep from every station in town. Jerseyans are so addicted to their automobiles... It is impossible to get from suburb to suburb, or even from neighborhood to the center of town, without your car.

Keeping busy now. Lots of play dates with friends, chances to recharge and do laundry at the homes of the ones with power. Gold's Gym reopened with power today-- that is a very good thing. Many instructors still not able to make it to class...

Rumor has it that the large tree that fell near our neighborhood's power generator has still no been removed and that the earliest we will get it back on is Wednesday. WEDNESDAY. That is five days away.  :P

Looking forward to finding out on Sunday what the plan is for school next week. Kids were supposed to have off for Election Day and Thurs and Fri for NJ Teacher Convention... But that convention was canceled (postponed & hopefully rescheduled for AC). No one is sure what will happen to the school calendar and how the kids will make up a week of school. And now I hear a Nor'easter is coming next week...

Pics include shirtless children enjoying the indoor heat, Oliver loving Gymboree, and lunch today at Jersey Mike's. Also a picture of the "refrigerator". Trying to stay warm by getting out & having hot tea while home.

Dark & Getting Colder

(I tried to post this once, and it failed... Bear with me as I make a second attempt)
The constant buzz of generators and chainsaws is beginning to sound like the new normal. We've been without power now for three days, and it feels like a week. JCP&L said that 95% of their customers were without service... As of Friday morning, 80% of customers in our county (Monmouth) are still without power. Rumor has it power won't be restored until next week. Some homes in our town have power... Not many. Generous friends let us use their sockets & recharge our gear. Strange to have some parts of town with power, some parts without.

Neighbors are so kind, willing to help. Had friends stop by & stay for dinner two nights in a row. D batteries allow for the radio to work, and major dance parties to occur in the kitchen. Puts us all in good spirits. Storing food outside in a cooler, which is working out just fine. Curious if we'll get cold food in delivery in the few stores that have opened again. Conserving milk now.

Kids are thrilled with the week off from school. Governor postponed Halloween until November 5th. No one even noticed that it didn't take place.

Still walking into bathroom and instinctively turning on lights.

Boys playing way too much Leapster. Also getting on each other's nerves. And ours ;) Thankfully Jim is home all week, too. Monmouth U is being used as a shelter (powerless, but still sufficient).

Twitter and WNYC radio are my lifesavers. We truly feel lucky to be OK after a storm like this. Haven't seen any TV footage-- just a few clips that I've been able to download and watch on my phone.

Worst is the knot I feel in my stomach whenever I hear about the shore... Pictures show that it will be forever altered. Bradley & Manasquan - your dunes helped save you, and we love them for that; Avon- there is ocean sand in your streets, but your magnificent homes still stand ; Point- the Tiki Bar will rebuild... Take care of those penguins! ; and Belmar, the "beautiful sea": I will forever remember your brilliant boardwalk, where I lulled both kids to sleep so many times while enjoying the view.

We are here because we love you, Jersey Shore. We stand by you as you recover, grieve, and rebuild. Patience & power. JERSEY STRONG!


Never underestimate the power of glow sticks after dark.


Making a killing of the leftover frosting (before it goes bad).


(I cannot flip this one... but we are roasting marshmallows over the grill outside, after cooking up a delicious dinner of defrosting shrimp and peppers ;)

Oliver's Fourth Birthday

I can call it that, I because it was just like any other day.

We woke up, and opened gifts, reminded him how much we love him... Used the last egg to make pancakes (with bananas & chocolate chips, and his favorite). By the afternoon, we had a few friends over & were able to sing & eat cake. He opened his last few presents (thank u soo much, Red & Shairna)...

I reflected to Jim that this will probably be the only time in his life when Oct. 31 will be solely celebrated as his birthday, not Halloween.

We love you, buddy.











(Recharging phone now, and should be able to turn these suckers soon ;)