The Snowy Day

"He picked up a handful of snow and another and still another. He packed it round and firm and put the snowball in his pocket for tomorrow. Then he went into his warm house." ~~Ezra Jack Keats

This is just one of my most favorite children's stories ever. As a child I enjoyed the illustrations just as much as the actual story. And it just so happened that we woke up to a very snowy day today! I had no idea it snowed until mom called and asked. I went to the window to look and there was the most beautiful, powdery white snow resting on the ground. It was untouched and absolutely splendid! I made the announcement of snow to the rest of the family and they jumped out of bed to see the sight. What was even better than the gorgeous snow was the cancellation of ballet class and school. We had no where to go, and that was a good thing! The kids and I bundled up as warmly as possible and walked right off our back porch into to the white silence. The snow was past my ankles. The first thing Jordan did was lay down and make a snow angel. The first thing Jaron did was knock the pretty snow off of the bushes. We tried to make a snow man, but the snow was way too soft. So Jordan decided to just draw a snow man face. As you can see, she couldn't resist the carrot nose!!!! After a while Jaron decided it was time to bring out the superheros. Since the snow was sticking to his gloves, he became Sandman and walked around punching me with his cold fists. Jordan wanted me to help her make snow cones, but I was having fun sliding down the slope on a tupperware lid!! They caught on, and took turns sliding until we were completely pooped and frozen to the bone. We went in and finished our snowy adventure with toast and hot chocolate.


By the way, what is your favorite children's book???????

Memoires

Nana and Papa came to visit last week. We went to Philadelphia to pick them up at the airport, and the kids were so cute, as usual. We were waiting in baggage claim, and when Nana and Papa came around the corner, Jordan and Jaron started jumping up and down because they were so excited. It was so sweet!! On Thursday we went to the city and N and P took the kids to FAO Swartz. That is the big toy store that was in the movie "Big". Yes...we saw the huge piano that Tom Hanks played on. It was cool. Jaron picked out a Spiderman toy (imagine that!) and Jordan picked out a baking set. The next day, she and Nana used it to make cookies! The picture of the street is from the second level of the toy store.

After the toy store visit, we were walking down 5th avenue to the subway stop at 53rd street so we could head back to the theater. As I crossed the street, a black car pulled up and a woman got out of the car. I looked her right in the face, and you'll never believe this, but it was someone famous!! It was Kristin Chenowith!!!!!!!!! She was in the original Broadway cast of "Wicked" (a role for which she won an Tony) and now she is in the primetime show "Pushing Daisies". I couldn't believe it!!!!!! Chris saw her too! She is very pretty! She had been shopping because she had shopping bags with her. I wonder how she paid for that stuff? I wonder if famous people have credit cards? Anyway, totally cool!!!!!!!!!

Then on Sunday we went to the Brooklyn Tabernacle. It was awesome! They are famous for their choir. 285 voices! They sounded amazing!!! I wanted to go sing with them. They also had a special guest at that particular service. It was David Wilkerson, founder of Times Square Church and World Challenge. Chris and I like him alot, so that was really neat. Check out both websites...they are really good!

My Funny Valentine

Valentine's Day used to be my least favorite holiday. Take a wild guess why...I NEVER had a boyfriend. Now it is one of my favorite holidays because I have a wonderful husband to share it with. He is so much better than I am at getting good gifts. He also writes really sweet, meaningful messages in the cards he gives me. This year he got us the second and third seasons of "The Office". We have already enjoyed watching some of them together. Another reason I like Valentine's is, of course, the kids. They continue to make me laugh! Everyday it's something new, and Valentine's Day is no exception. So here's the top three funny things that happened on Valentine's Day.

#1 Jaron got stickers in the mail from Granny. Guess where they are! Just take a minute to imagine where our little booger put them...........................................They are all over our new love seat. Not only did he put the stickers on it, but when all the stickers were gone he took the left over sticky stuff that outlines the stickers and put it on the couch! So a minute ago when I tried to take them all off, the outline stuff wouldn't come off in one piece. It would tear every time I tried to lift it off. Thanks, Granny!!!!!!!!

#2 Jordan got all kinds of "sparkley" and shiny stuff this year. But the funniest reaction she had was to the bracelet Nana and Papa gave her. It was very pretty and it had two charms hanging off of it. When she took it out and looked at it she said, "Oh wow! It's a bracelet with a heart and.....a.....little naked man!"

#3 Grandad and Dee Dee are really into the greeting cards that play music when you open them. We get one for every occasion, and I think I know why. The kids love them and open them over and over again just to hear them play. None of them have run out of batteries yet! Jaron got his card that has a puppy on it. But this is no ordinary puppy. It is a rapper puppy. Jaron has been walking around all day singing, "Who let the dogs out?!" Of course in his language it is, "Who wet the dogs out!?"

Oh, the endless supply of laughs in a home with children!

100 Days of Fun!

On Monday I went to school with Jordan to help with the 100th Day of School celebration. All 5 kindergarten classes had different games and activities and the kids rotated with their group. Jordan was in the gold group. The kids in her group were Brianna, Shivani, Rahul, Eric and Blake. Jordan was the line leader for her group, and for a kindergarten student being the line leader is like winning an Oscar!!! Eric is the little boy with the hat on. Since I volunteer every Friday, I have begun to notice that Eric wears this hat alot. I asked Jordan's teacher if he wears it every day. Here was her response: "Yeah, every kid has something a little crazy about them, so I don't fight it." She of course said it in a very comical way, but I was thinking that she will be the perfect teacher for Jaron!! Anyway, Mrs. Skillman is standing in the background of the picture with Jordan. She is a wonderful and very funny teacher. Then there is the picture of the kiddos eating their cupcakes with 100 sprinkles. They were made by yours truly and her lovely assistant. She put the sprinkles on top!!! The children in that picture are Ben, Annie, Subhasish, Kaitlynn, Ananya and Matreiyi. They are all very sweet and incredibly cute! The last picture is of Jordan and two of her friends, Shivani and Kelly. Jordan told me the other day that Shivani's mom lets her buy Bratz dolls. (Jordan always gets mad at me because I won't buy her any.) I guess that's her way of letting me know that I am not cool. So, she and I had a great time celebrating the 100th day and we wanted to share that day with you!!!

Park Place

Only someone who has lived in some part of Tornado Alley would know what I mean when I say that the weather we had here yesterday felt like tornado weather. The sky was overcast all day, it tried to rain off and on, and at times,it was very still. It felt like a twister would drop down any second. I am sure these people here have never seen a twister in real-life. Anyway, it kind of gave us a feeling that spring was in the air. It was so warm that we didn't even need a jacket. It felt really good!!

Anytime the weather is nice, this thought immediately enters my mind: "We should go to the park". So Jaron and I picked up Jordan from school and headed to the park. Other mother's obviously had the same idea. Have you ever noticed how some moms bring everything but the kitchen sink to an outing? Come on, do you really need an ice cooler for the juice boxes? I, on the other hand, never bring anything. So here's what happens when you go to the park unprepared.

As usual Jordan tried to be-friend anyone that would talk to her. I was actually very proud of how polite she was. She didn't stare at the kids until they spoke to her. She said, "Hi, my name is Jordan. What's your name?" Fortunately she became friends with a little girl named Maddi who also goes to Maurice Hawk School. Maddi is in the first grade, and had Jordan's teacher when she was in kindergarten. They played hide-and-seek for a long time and then Maddi decided it was time for a snack. She very sweetly offered to share with Jordan. So, Maddi's mom, who was on the phone at the time, asked Jordan if it was OK with me. I walked over and said of course it was fine, but completely embarrassed that I didn't have anything to offer. Why? Because all I had was my car keys--I told you I don't take anything to the park!

Secondly, Jaron. That's it. That's all I have to say. Jaron. You hear the name and know that he has gotten into something. What, you ask? I was talking to Maddi's mom and keeping an eye on Jaron. He wandered off about 100 yards to a Little League field and was playing in the dugout. I wasn't worried about what he was doing because there was nothing in there. It was completely vacant. Or so I thought. The longer I stood there, the more interested I became in what Jaron could have possibly found to entertain himself. I said there wasn't anything in the dugout, but that was not entirely true. Dirt. There was dirt. This was no ordinary dirt. This dirt had been rained on a few days before. So it was very moist dirt. I walked over to see what Jaron was doing and he had this very moist dirt all over his hands, down his front and he was very obviously in the process of putting it on his face. When I asked him what he was doing, his response was, "I am Sandman". Like, "duh mom". "What did you think I was doing"? What I would have given for even ONE wet wipe. But no, all I had was car keys!!!!

A Tour of Our Apartment, Part 3

Be sure and check out A Tour of Our Apartment, Part 2 again. I fixed the font!! Why couldn't anybody read it? I mean, I totally could!! J/K!

Anyway, fasten your seat belts. This next tour is sure to blow your socks off. OK, I am being sarcastic. Actually the hanging picture is one of my favorite things in our apartment. I got it at Pier 1, which is just down the street from where we live (AWESOME!). I love the frames, but they are an odd size. They are 5x5, and I didn't have any pictures to put in it. I also didn't want to go all the way to Walgreen's to enlarge and print some pictures simply because I can be very lazy. So, Jordan is always creating artwork and leaving it strewn all over the apartment, and I got the bright idea to take some of her drawings that she had created on the computer and put them in the frames. It was meant to be because they fit perfectly. They are very abstract and colorful. I absolutely love looking at it!!

The kitchen on the other hand is not my favorite room in our apartment. I have had a hard time getting inspired with decorating it. Most of our stuff is stainless steel which I really like, but it just looks like a plain, old kitchen right now. I do think I am going to continue with the theme of using the kids artwork in frames to decorate it. I went window shopping today with Chris and Jaron and we stopped at a store called Anthropologie. They had all kinds of brightly colored kitchen accessories. I really liked all of it, except that it was really expensive, but I can find stuff along the same lines at other places.

So there you have it! I am adding a picture of the kids, just because they are cute!!

AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!

I like New Jersey--I really do. I like living close to the train station and hearing the whistle blow. I like going to the train station because it looks cool! I like riding on the train. I like the fact that the kids ride for free on the weekend. I like being close to New York and Philadelphia and Baltimore and Washington D.C. and other places like that. I like the fact that we don't have alot of fast food joints. (It is easier to stay on a food budget and eat at home.) I like that we live down the street from the library, and it has a good selection of books. I like the mall that is down the street and I like the one that is on Route 1 even better. Jaron and I went window shopping there the other day, and it was a blast. We browsed in Barnes and Noble, the Pottery Barn for Kids, the Gap and stopped to get at Dr. Pepper in the food court that did not have any smelly fast food chains. I like all of the trees and the nature trails that wind through some of the parks in our neighborhood. I like Jordan's school, and I really like her teacher, Mrs. Skillman. The other day Jordan told me that Mrs. Skillman makes a funny face when she is upset with someone. I asked her what it looked like and she showed me. Total Carol Burnett moment!!!! I asked Jordan if Mrs. Skillman ever made that face at her, and thankfully she said no. But she did say Mrs. Skillman called it her "poo-doo" face. Is that just a nicer way of saying "doo-doo"?! I like that fact that Jordan's class is very diverse, but that she hasn't said anything about how they are all different colors. I like that fact that I don't have to pump my own gas, and that when I give the attendant a tip, they actually smile at me and say thank you. I like that fact that we get news stations and radio stations out of New York City. I like our apartment, and being a stay-at-home mom. I like watching episodes of Without a Trace that I recorded on our DVR after the kids have gone to bed. I like to see the Metro card that Chris carries around in his bag for the Subway. Some of these things may sound really stupid and boring, but I just look at it as stopping to smell the roses.

Oh, I almost forgot...there is one thing I don't like about New Jersey...THE DRIVERS!!!! THEY ARE CRAZY!!! AAAGGGHHH!!!