Trentonisms

A sample of the sort of stuff T creates, and that I remember to save and scan for the blog: 

 That right there is our national anthem.
What is the "donder delight", you ask?
Not sure either.

 He had been spelling awesome as "ausume" for the longest time... I finally wrote it down and put it on the fridge and quizzed him on it twice a day. He was able to get a nice rhythm and memorize it and has not forgotten the correct spelling.
Now we will try "yusefle" ;)

"Wellcome to Cutie's Pufflehose.  Home swett Home!"

Now, I have other pages that I scanned here. I scanned them a month ago, but forgot to publish them. They're holiday related, but just as funny. ;)

Our Valentines

By Trenton

"I Love You" by Oliver

"Mom, ye'r cool, awesome, fantastick, the Best Mom. Love, Trenton"

"I love you Dad because you read me The Hobbit", by Oliver

Naptime

 This is how I found him at 2:30 this afternoon:

How cute is that, now? He's got the hands all prayer-like against his cheek... covers just-so up to his chest...

I call his name, rub his hand, open the window. I put some books away and softly say, "It's time to get Buddy!"

Clearly this was not a nap he wanted to wake up from. 

Can you blame him? Nice warm bed on a cold winter's day.

Snowy Saturday

Last weekend was the FIRST TIME we were able to test out the sledding on the hill behind T's school since we moved into our new house. Trenton and Jim went and had a blast, with only a handful of other people there.

Today, I swear, it was like the whole neighborhood came out to play! 

We stayed to the left, where most of the parents with little kids were... the older kids sled down the steeper part to the right. Both boys LOVED it, despite the cold wind frequently kicking up snow in their faces. Jim was a great sport, going up and down the hill repeatedly with Oliver. Trenton sledded with our neighbor, Daniel. 

Then back home for some 'warm cocoa', as Oliver called it ;)

We know that much of the rest of the Northeast received this weather as a blizzard. It was quite nice to 'dodge a bullet' (as Bloomberg put it) and just be able to enjoy a nice, wet, perfect-sledding snowfall. 

The Kevtillion

Friday night was The Kevtillion-- my friend Kevin's birthday bash. Each year, he rents out the party room at Gossip Bar (in the city), and invites everyone he knows. He always makes it a great theme-- two years ago, when we went, the theme was early-90s ("Dress as though Kev was 13 for his 31st"). This year, we were encouraged to get out our formal wear and give it one... last.... chance.  He was so cute handing out corsages and boutonnieres, leaving "Etiquette notes" around the bar for us to read, and having guests go home with Pashminas and bow ties as party gifts.

Oliver and I baked brownies from scratch to give to him ;) We know he appreciates good baking.

 Good news was that Dan and Michelle were available to hang out and go with us!
Let me tell you, the city is a brutal place during a cold February night, especially when you are walking in heels ;) But once we got to the party, it was wonderful to catch up with these two (and later crash at their place in Jersey City-- thanks!)

 Ah! So guess who won first place for "Most Formal"?
Not me. Some awesome flapper chick.
But I tied for second place! Here is Kevin announcing (from a chair) the winnahs.
(I do believe the vote was rigged, as Kev's mom went around and told people to vote for me, the former prom date.)
He noted that we BOTH could no longer fit into what we wore to prom, due to the fact that we are both in much better shape now, 15 years later... ;)

 Very fun to dress up... last wore this dress to Andrea's wedding!
Kev and his boyfriend, Joel, looked quite dapper. There were many tuxedos and even one guy dressed in a circus ring-master coat!

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

 Michelle made some awesome hot chocolate for us... had to take a picture.
And on Saturday morning, after walking around Jersey Gardens a bit, we decided to go back to the Adega Grill. We had such a nice meal there for David's wedding and we were curious what we could get for lunch on our own.
We were not disappointed.
The leftovers from both our meals lasted for three days... Shrimp, pork, sausage, veal... dang you'd think we were meat lovers or something... The rice was saffron and tasted like it; the vegetables were excellent...

 *****
And then after a great weekend together, hanging out like we once did while child-less, we got to come back home to this face:

Awww.

I'm realizing that we don't post enough movies of him reading. 

The text he's reading above is "The Magic School Bus-- Lost In Space". 

So yeah, now you know about the poles...

"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.

 ****

 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 ;)