It's A Wrap!

It was a whirlwind, wonderful Christmas weekend, and there wasn't a lot of time to capture it all on photo.  I am hoping to rely on my other photographers for a more complete memorializing of Christmas 2012, but in the meantime, a smattering of phone shots that begin to capture the magic that is Christmas with a 4- and almost 6-year old.

Mailing our letters to Santa.  Postscript: He got them!

Elf hard at work.

On our way to the North Pole!

A certain someone had many, many questions about how the Polar Express could possibly get to the North Pole so quickly, why there was no snow there, why there were random people walking there...  

Reindeer food!

Lots of yummies for Santa (and Rudolph)!

Christmas Eve dinner - Adam wasn't sure about the Hungarian mushroom soup, but he sure loved the star-shaped noodles that went into it!

So grown-up with real china and silver!

He came!!

And I'd call it a success.

A belated very Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  More to come in 2013...

Speechless

The events of last Friday have left me speechless.  Horrified.  Deeply saddened.  Shaken to the core.  I can't really put into words the intensity with which these feelings have overwhelmed me during the last few days, and so many others can do it much better than I can.  Suffice it to say, this struck close to home.  Irrational as it might be, I had a hard time putting Ethan on that school bus yesterday morning.  I thought for a moment that several inches of snow would save me from having to do it, would allow us to hunker down in the safety of our home for one more day before having to face the reality of the world out there.  But alas, school was on and off he went and I counted the minutes until 11:15, when I was due to volunteer in his room and could witness his happy, innocent, totally unaware face and know that he was safe.  Being in a classroom yesterday was surreal.  On the one hand, being around those carefree kindergartners was reassuring and uplifting.  But mercifully unbeknownst to these small children were the unspoken words among the adults, the heavy shoulders, the hushed hall conversations, the heightened vulnerability.  I don't know how long we'll all feel like this.  I don't know how long this dark gloom will overshadow our daily life.  I don't know how long we'll feel helpless and scared and sad.  But I do know that in the wake of this event, I re-resolve to try my hardest, every day, to be present.  I resolve to practice compassion, to hug my family tight, to let no words of love and honor be unspoken, and to look for the light in our world.  Because there is light, even in these darkest of days.

Late for (My Recap of Thanksgiving) Dinner

Better late than never, a recap of our 2012 Turkey Day...

In what has now become a fun tradition, we loaded up Grandpa's sleigh Odyssey on Thanksgiving morning and headed over the rivers and through the woods of New England to Noni and Papi's house.  Although some might complain about spending 5+ hours in the third row of a minivan with her mother-in-law, I must say that I honest-to-god love it.  While the (big) boys take the wheel, we sit back and chat, read the paper, snooze (for a few seconds godforbid), fetch fallen snacks/books/loveys, and respond to many, many requests for "another movie" (ok, maybe I don't love those last two bits).  We make our annual Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Mickey D's, usually at the Charlton Plaza on the Mass Pike.  But this year, we found this instead:

Oh boy oh boy oh boy.  Talk about a silver lining to some traffic on the Pike - Google maps took us on a detour that lead us right to this baby's front doorstep.  And since most people don't consider a Big Mac to be part of their Thanksgiving menu, the playspace was completely deserted.  (This place was so loved that we made another stop on our return trip, when it was much more crowded.  Not as big a fan when there are kids snotting and hacking all over the equipment - serious heebeegeebees for this girl who is normally unfazed by germs.)

Anyhoo, we made it to Stamford mid-afternoon, ready to get the rest of our wiggles out on that fantastic swingset right across the street...

Oh wait...Sandy was here.  I wish I had a "before" picture of my parents' block so you could see the difference - it is truly quite amazing.  The good news is that little boys don't need swingsets to make them happy - any ol' dirt pile will do!  We spent probably a full hour exploring this dirt pile on Friday morning, when we (again) attempted to visit a playground that is just gone.

But back to Thursday...the best part of traveling on Thanksgiving itself is not the lighter traffic but the fact that you arrive just in time for cocktails and the prep has all happened without you!  We had a lovely dinner, as always, and thoroughly enjoyed Noni and Papi's fabulous cooking.

The hosts and their beautiful table

My boys will not sit still and pose for a picture.  Ever.  Especially when they look adorable in sweater vests.  For this I am not thankful.

Paul and Lori and their "life-changing" mashed potatoes

The boys and I made these placecards.  In retrospect, we should have used frosting on the marshmallows instead of paint - one unsuspecting guest got an unsavory awakening when she assumed the whole thing was edible.

And one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving, is that the holiday falls on the first day, and then you have the whole rest of the long weekend to just relax and be together.  We spent Friday morning enjoying the amazing beach weather before stuffing our faces at a local burger joint.  

Noni took a much-deserved nap in the sun while the boys played.  I think "Sand"y was appropriately named - don't you?

Little boys are happiest when they're with their grandfathers.  A double dose of grandpa is particularly smile-inducing.

And where there's a Papi, there's a sand sculpture.

While I did a little Black Friday economy-boosting with my mom and mom-in-law, the folks at home were busy crafting costumes for a 5k we ran Saturday morning.

Despite the strong headwind, I swear these turkey feathers made us super fast.  It was a little hard to breathe with our beaks on, so we left those with the spectators.

And then, of course, there was more face-stuffing.  I do love me some Thanksgiving leftovers.

A very VERY excited big boy who got to stay up and eat with the grown-ups while his little brother was in bed

And now onward to the next big event!  Only 18 more days and you can bet that we're counting.

Decorating Daze

We've been doing a lot of decorating around here.  First, there was the long-awaited arrival of the bunk beds, which prompted a room switch, lots of furniture rearranging, and some purging.  Then there is this bizarre way I get come fall every year.  Most people are prompted to clean and clean out and organize in say April...not me - we do "fall cleaning" around these parts.  Perhaps it's the looming promise of lots and lots of new stuff descending upon our already way too crowded house in oh, 26 or so days.  Perhaps it's the shorter days and wanting to pretty the space in which we'll be trapped for the next six months.  For whatever reason, I get a big time urge to purge every November.  And then, of course, on top of all that is the annual decking of our halls.  Lugging those giant bins, stuffed with snowmen and reindeer glasses and advent calendars and Christmas CDs out from the garage every Thanksgiving Sunday (or Monday or Tuesday) is probably one of my most favorite traditions.  I love poring over all my old treasures, and new ones received last Christmas and therefore forgotten.  And most of all, I love watching my boys' delight as they rediscover the excitement of the Christmas season.

All this reshuffling and reorganizing and redecorating has illuminated, once again, how very different my boys are.  On the one hand, you have Ethan.  Organizing, displaying artwork, bringing out (every) holiday's decorations, rearranging furniture...these would each make Ethan's top ten list of chosen activities for a rainy afternoon (or any afternoon, really).  He is pensive and thoughtful about exactly where things should go and how they should go there and who should put them there (always Ethan).  And I wish, oh how I wish, I could say he was skilled beyond his years in the art of decorating...but he's not.  He decorates like, well, like a five year old.  Which is all well and good except that he decorates like a five year old who thinks he is the latest designer to have a hit on HGTV (you see, his mama is similarly design-dumb and can't even call to mind the name of a famous interior designer to use in this metaphor).  Anyway, Ethan is stubborn as all getup when it comes to decorating and it is really quite maddening to try to talk him out of ideas like hanging hand-made mobiles from ceiling fans and amassing every single holiday candle we own on our kitchen table.

And then there is Adam.  Adam could not care less about how things look.  I spent much of our stay-at-home day yesterday trying to set up the boys' new playroom (taking advantage of a certain design nazi being conveniently at school) and Adam just played happily beside me.  I tried to engage him in my efforts, asking where I should hang this picture, which toys we should put here...the picture question highlighted the large hammer he'd overlooked and the toys just got pulled out and played with rather than organized.  When I had finished and asked Adam what he thought, he jumped up and down with glee and said "It looks so cool Mom!".  So he likes the result but is perfectly happy to stay out of the process.  During Sunday's snowman explosion, he got really bored with opening box after box of Christmas decorations and settled (literally) into one, paging through holiday stories and snuggling with reindeer and Christmas bears.  It's a relief to have one child who is so mellow about these sorts of activities - I'm not sure there is room in this house for two Ethans.  That being said, after unsuccessfully trying to convince Adam to help me decorate our wreaths yesterday, I was beyond tickled when Ethan bounded off the bus this afternoon and said, "Mommy, let's go do our wreaths and make them the best in the neighborhood!".  I couldn't think of a better way to spend our Ethan/Mommy time this afternoon, even if our lamp post does have an awkward red knot around it and the wreath on our front door is dripping with gold chains.  The problem is, our little design czar notices everything...so as tempted as I am to go tweak that wreath, or let that red knot mysteriously blow away, or put up all my Christmas decorations in the middle of the night, I'll hold back.  For one, I fear the wrath of Ethan scorned, but I also recognize that letting go of some of this control is probably good for my soul.  And spending time with my kids, in whatever way they want to "participate" in the task at hand - that, I know is good for my soul.

And some totally unrelated photos to share (I'll post pics of the new bedroom and playroom once it's all done)...

Despite their very different personalities, both my boys are superheroes.

And my favorite hiking buddies.

Full of Thanks

We are full of thanks this Thanksgiving Eve, as evidenced by our gratitude wall.  This was a new experiment this year, and I can now say that it will become a November tradition.  The constant reminder of all that we have to be thankful for, plus the open invitation to add our own two cents whenever the mood struck, resulted in some real understanding of what tomorrow is all about.

 Some of the real treasures are down at the bottom...

My personal favorites are "for country", "for money", and "for Ethan" from Ethan and "the cat" and "egg" from Adam.

Tomorrow, together with my family, I will count my many blessings.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Bunking Brothers

Last night in the toddler bed (11/15/12):

For some reason, saying goodbye to the cheap little toddler bed we bought on craigslist was hard.  Harder, in some ways, than saying goodbye to the crib.  Maybe it's because we're also saying goodbye to the darling crib sheets and the little blankies and the pastel baby themes.  Goodbye to the line of stickers on one side rail, hand-picked and placed with care over the course of a few naptimes.  Goodbye to the last wee-sized thing that still says "baby" in our boys' room.  Onward and upward to a big boy bedroom with its loud primary colors and trucks (soon to be supplemented with an outer space theme - boys' choice) and...

BUNK BEDS!! 

I must say that big boys in bunk beds are pretty darling too.

And so, SO excited about their new beds.  We feared that all the excitement might prevent any sleep from being had, so we were pleasantly surprised when we found this, only ten minutes later...

Even though our boys have been sharing a room for six months now, I think each one takes new comfort in knowing his brother is right above/below him.  Tonight they were a little wilder at bedtime and had to be reminded that the toddler bed is still up and that they can be easily separated if needed.  After that, they settled into a whispered game of 20 Questions and fell asleep right in the middle of a round.  I see many, many nights of falling asleep mid-whisper in these lucky boys' futures.  

Thanks Noni and Papi for the bunk beds!  As you can see, they are a BIG hit.

Jumpin' in Our Jammies

As one final hurrah for Adam's fourth birthday, we threw a "Jumpin' in Your Jammies Party" at our house on Sunday.  I have to be honest - when I came up with this theme I was quite pleased with myself.  Who is the biggest monkey around?  Adam.  Who likes living in his jammies more than Adam?  No one.  What's Adam's favorite activity?  Jumping on the bed (or the furniture or the counter or anything really).  So a little tribute to our monkey, complete with a bounce house and jammie-clad friends, seemed a most fitting way to celebrate.  I have lots of party pictures to share, partly to remember all the little details down the road, but mostly for my family, who were sorely missed at the festivities.  While we were jumping in our jammies in the sunshine, they were stuck dealing with a flooded basement, no power, and massive damage and destruction all around them in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.  And we were thrilled Grandma and Grandpa were able to represent the grandparent contingent, but were so disappointed to find that we have no photographic evidence of their fantastic jammies.  Maybe we'll do Christmas dinner in our pajamas this year...

We picked this thing up Saturday afternoon and it provided entertainment all weekend long.
I didn't want to bring it back.  Ever.

I went with a banana theme (and forgot to take pictures until the food was all gone).  Banana french toast, monkey meat (sausages), and....

a make-your-own banana split bar (with yogurt instead of ice cream, since it was a brunch).   This was a big hit. 

I continued the theme with a pinata bag decoration station filled with monkey stickers...

and barrel of monkey party favors.

And of course the cake.  Also banana, with five little monkeys jumping on a bed (well four, and one tumbling off).

The kids basically lived in the bounce house, which allowed for some welcome grown-up visiting time.

Decorating pinata bags

The pinata was also a big hit.  What is it about kids and pinatas?

We lucked out with amazing weather and did almost everything outside, including the cake.  

Proof that it is impossible to get more than one kid to look in the same place at the same time.
Hey, at least they stopped bouncing long enough to line up for the picture - I'll take it!

Despite the somber expression, Adam had a blast at his party.  He's still talking about this being his best birthday party ever, saying that he wants to have the EXACT same bounce house next year (and every year thereafter), and telling his mama he loves her for making him a cake with monkeys jumping off of it.  I'm glad he had as much fun at his party as I had planning it.