Christmas Pageant 2012

Ah! Welcome to our annual rendition of the Christmas story!

 This year, I somehow got cast in a role. Which was fine (I got to read my lines off of a box). Oliver decided that he knew the lines well enough that he was going to attempt to say some!

"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Berry! We're here to get one more gift for Grandma!"-- Oliver.

 Trenton was one of the "Kids in Bathrobes" (don't ask) who came to the store to talk shepherd. His lines were "You're just part of a giant Nativity set, standing around collecting dust".

 We really enjoy our annual tradition of hosting a big meal for our parents and brothers and then heading over to church to watch the play. Thank you for coming, family!
Below, we sing Christmas carols.

Needless to say, the kids are darn excited that Christmas is only a few days away. Oliver goes around the house singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and does the motions for Rudolph every time he hears it on the radio (both songs he learned in preschool). Trenton keeps writing notes to Santa and creating other 'gifts' that he puts in our stockings. Wants to know why I'm not doing the same!

First Graders. Gingerbread Houses.

 On Friday morning, while horrific things were unfolding in Connecticut, we were here, doing this:

 The first grade teachers at Trenton's school collaborated and put together a winter celebration. The kids sang songs about "Mr. Frozen H2O" and Santa. Off key, off tempo... but very, very excited to put on a show.

(And now I know that you can't turn the phone sideways and take a movie.)

 Trenton knew all the words. And all of the motions.

Afterwards, each child was able to create their own gingerbread house. (It was really built out of graham crackers). I think Oliver ate more than he added on to the house... but whatever, it's the holidays ;)

 Proud brothers. So happy.

 All of this excitement, this love, this innocence.

I don't take any day for granted with my boys.
Every single time he gets on that bus I tell him I love him.
Every single day I wake Oliver up from his nap, I get the best hug and smile in the world.

My heart goes out to the parents, siblings, teachers, and community of Newtown, CT. There are no words to describe it. We all need to grieve, think, and hopefully, propose prompt and smart changes (for mental health issues and gun control). Americans are smart, and we will respond. I have faith in that.

I did everything I could to keep it from the boys over the weekend. No mention whatsoever, and no TV footage. Come Monday, I sent him to school. I wanted to drive him, but he wanted to take the bus.

My first grader. My six-year old.
Still able to get on a bus and go to school.
All the moms at the bus stop were fighting back tears.

When he came home... well, I'll let you read the email that I wrote to his teacher:
************************
Hiya,

I have to say, I simply didn't want to have to tell T this weekend about what happened on Friday. I naively thought it would all just pass over by Monday.

He didn't bring it up until right before dinner, when he told me "Mrs. XXX talked to us about the kids that got shot at that school." He seemed just fine saying it to me and was not worried at all. It was definitely something that was far removed for him (maybe because I didn't let him see any images).  He went on to say "how stupid the guy was" because "he shot himself and died". I actually laughed when I realized that THAT was his 'takeaway' from the whole conversation.

Just wanted to email you and tell you that I can't think of a better person to have had to explain that to him. He knows his school is safe, he knows that YOU love him, and he knows that it is OK to talk about this stuff with us. 

You're the best. A few more days, and then enjoy your break. 

Keep lovin' those kids.

************************

He hasn't brought it up again since, and I'm hoping that the talk dies down at school.

Love to all the mommas reading this-- give your kids a kiss for me.

ThisAndThat

 There's Trenton. Getting his hair cut by my friend Barbara, in her kitchen.
He was insistent that it be shorter in the back, but still long enough in the front so that he can twirl it. (Self-soothing for night time. He's done it since he was a baby ;)

And below, little man draws "Froste the snowman". He spelled the first two words himself.

 Today I took Oliver to see "SkippyJon Jones", performed at the Pollack Theater at Monmouth University. I know he has seen live performances before... but it has been awhile. He was totally freaking out leading up to the show (he is very afraid of costumed people... calls it "dress-up guys") and ended up sitting on my lap for the first twenty minutes... but then decided that those people up there were not going to come down to where we were... and that the minimal costumes weren't too scary.

 He really wants to go back and see it again ;)

 And if you weren't watching the 12.12.12 concert tonight, then you were really missing out.
I got the kids ready for bed early tonight and let them stay up to watch it until 9PM. I'm recording the rest right now, as they did NOT want to miss the Stones or Alicia Keys.

"Mom, thank you for letting me stay up tonight to watch this great music."- Trenton -

My Jersey Boy's response to Adam Sandler's song (in which the refrain is "cause we're New Yorkers"): "Not all of us".

I'm proud to say that this morning we made a donation to help restore the Belmar boardwalk. For as little as $25, you can get your name printed on one of the new boards that will make up the new board walk in Belmar. You even get to choose what block it is placed near! Think about it-- every time we walk out there, the boys will be able to find 'their board'. Pretty cool.

Belmar's mayor insists that they'll have it completed by this Memorial Day.
Here's hoping he's right.

Lunch With Santa, 2012

Here we are! Very, very excited to be hanging out at Grandma and Pop Pop Lacina's church to see Santa!

My mom is now an active part of her Columbiettes group and she volunteered her time to put together and execute this event. Lots of families attended. 

 Here's Trenton, waiting eagerly on stage to see Santa.
And waaay in the back in the photo below is Oliver.

Poor kid. He was absolutely insistent that he did not go ANYWHERE near Santa. When I tried to bring him over, he actually yelled "It's NOT Christmas DAY!"
So he hung back with my folks.

Trenton, on the other hand, got to meet Santa. IN THE FLESH,

 He had a smile that went from ear to ear.
He was actually speechless. Didn't talk much.
Sat on his lap and rubbed the fur on his sleeve.

It was such a wonderful thing to watch. My son, getting all excited about meeting Santa. 

Truly, the "Magic of Christmas". 

 Above, Santa points to the 'ornament' that Trenton created for him.
Said that he'd take it back to the North Pole to show it to Mrs. Claus, and that they'd hang it on their tree.

 That's about as close as he got. Santa is in the background there. Maybe next year?

After leaving, Trenton was looking EVERYWHERE for the sled. When he did not see it, he declared that the man inside must NOT be the real Santa. I gave him a bit of the "Santa has helpers" explanation...
Within a few minutes, he totally forgot his reasoning. And was happy to tell anyone who would listen: "I met Santa!"

Trimming the Tree...

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Sixty-five Degrees In December

 Yep. That's me, at the bus stop, totally psyched that I don't have to wear my heavy winter coat.
I'm such a wuss.
Thanks to Oliver for taking this picture ;)

For the past three days, we've been experiencing 60+degree weather here. I stop asking about weather craziness about this point, and just go with it. I mean, freakin' nice days, so why have a problem with it?
On Monday, we hit the park after school until it got dark. On Tuesday I took it a little further and actually pulled T out of school a bit earlier so that we could go and check out the beach. Still hadn't made it ocean-side to many of our favorite towns.

As we approached the beach, we realized that the sun was nowhere near where we were and that there were huge mist-clouds coming off of the ocean. Almost like it was warning us to stay away.
We parked a block away from the beach (it was blocked off) and walked to the end of the road, where we came across this:

Clearly, they did not want anyone going any further.

If you can picture this, though, just beyond this memorial is Ocean Ave-- the main street that borders the beach. Gone are the parking spots, the meters, the boardwalk, the play structures, and any of the shops, bathrooms, etc. that were east of the boardwalk. It is drastically different.
The locals know it.

The homes that bordered Ocean Ave. were the worst-- noticeable damage to the houses. Folks on the neighboring blocks were still doing what they could to recover from the storm surge which clearly entered the basements and/or first floors of each home. Not as much trash out to the curb as there had been weeks ago. But not many people out and about, either.

 We'll be back, Belmar. We know we haven't seen the last of you.

Seeing as we couldn't get near the beach there, I decided to drive up to Asbury. I'd seen something on the news about the shops in Convention Hall being open and a huge Christmas tree. Also, images on TV of a pretty intact boardwalk.
You can see the Wonder Bar on the left there and Convention Hall on the right.

 Suffice it to say that every business that was on the boardwalk is being gutted. Everything. The Silverball Pinball Museum had the back door open, mops hanging around... the Cuban restaurant Jim and I like had no furniture in it and sheet rock had been stripped out... Fencing everywhere told you to not go anywhere near the boardwalk.  It was like a ghost-town. Some of the little shacks (like Madam Marie's) had returned to their places alongside the boardwalk, but I'm assuming they had been physically moved away prior to the storm. Below, the Stone Pony on the right.

 Off in the distance, we could see the ruined remains of the one playground they did have on the Asbury Park beach.

 We returned to Belmar. The park on 8th Ave was always one that the boys and I have wanted to try out.
The lake just beyond the park had been physically drained prior to the storm, in preparation for what was to come. It still remains rather shallow.

 Some beautiful trees that survived. Still wicked good for climbing, especially if you are a six-year-old boy.

 We left the beach with mixed emotions.
After seeing what we saw, I think we all kinda knew that this upcoming summer will be very, very different than those we've enjoyed in the past.
***

Oliver had his 4 year old well visit.
He's 34 lbs and 3 ft, 3 inches. 25th percentile all around.
Looks darn good in his undies. Looong legs!

 We ended the night with dinner at Fins. Gotta love their coconut-shrimp tacos. Lots of gluten-free options on the menu, which Jim has begun to embrace.

T's a bit grumpy here, not sure why. Christmas is coming soon, buddy... cheer up!

The Crayola Factory

Last weekend we took a trip to the Crayola Factory Museum in Easton, PA. The last time we were there, Trenton was two and a half, and Oliver was still growin'!

I have a pic of T doing the same thing from back then-- drawing with chalk on the floor in the 'chalk room'. 

 We got to watch this guy make a fresh batch of red crayons. Fun fact: the wrappers are stuck on with cornstarch and water. The markers (see below) all actually come out white at the tip. Takes awhile for the color to move up the reservoir. Also, if your marker ever dries out, run it under water for 30 seconds, recap, and allow to sit for a day. Supposedly, that makes it work again!

 The boys colored and pressed their own puzzles. Below, they write with dry erase markers all over a glass wall.

 The museum is housed in this old factory building, which makes for great views of the city and large rooms with high ceilings. A very neat museum.

Below, they wait for some of their paintings to come through the quick-dryer.

 Ollie drew with a glow stick.
Below, you used melted wax on a Q-tip to 'paint' on these paper hearts. It was quite smelly (hot wax) but was probably the neatest thing we did when we were there.

 T decided to create the crayon mascot using the Magic Modeling Clay.

 This room had a video camera that would project your image on the wall... doing all sorts of crazy things.