Boat Building
Take one box of building toys.
Add in one imaginative JSL.
Result? A boat.
Note the handy cell phone holder.
Time to go sailing.
Reminder: Don’t forget to enter my $25 EdenFantasys giveaway!
Category: JSL
Wordless Wednesday: Saying Goodbye To Their Old Beds, Saying Hello To The New Bunk Bed
Bunk Beds, Angry Birds and Traditional Christmas Chinese Food Dinner
This weekend was quite busy. We started out shopping for bunk beds. You see, JSL is still in his toddler bed. However, despite our insisting, he’s growing up. He’s going to need a regular bed. Unfortunately, the boys’ room is too small for two twin-sized beds. So we’re going to have to go vertical.
We think we’ve made our decision, so now we just need to purchase it. Then, the fun part will be preparing the boys’ room for the bunk bed arrival and setup. I’ll need to dismantle NHL’s current bed, JSL’s current bed, move a ton of stuffed animals, move toys out of the way, remove some Cars wall clings (that the bunk will likely just cover up), etc. Of course, I can’t do all this too early or the boys will have nowhere to sleep.
In addition, to looking at bunk beds, we needed to pick up NHL’s painted Angry Bird. I knew that the colors would be more vibrant once it was finished, but I was still quite impressed.
The boys begged to do some more projects right then and there, but the store was closing in a few hours and we had to get home (refrigerator/freezer groceries in the trunk).
The next day, however, was a lazy day in. It was Christmas Day and, while we don’t celebrate, we decided to make it a family day. Ok, the fact that most stores are closed might have factored into it. Plus, the laziness thing. Having a lazy day in every once in a while is good.
We mainly spent the day playing computer games and watching TV, including the Disney Parks Christmas Parade. The boys love parades, though they repeatedly expressed frustration over this one. Too much singing and not enough characters. Oh, and when NHL saw Justin Bieber, he let out a loud "Yuck!" I was so proud. *wipes away a tear*
We ended Christmas Day with our traditional Jewish Christmas Day Dinner: Chinese food. I lobbied to go out to eat. Either to a nice, sit-down restaurant or to a buffet. I even tried inviting B’s parents to come with us, figuring that would help push us to get ready. Still, though the boys were dressed, B and I were still in our PJs. (Like I said: Lazy day!) So we ordered takeout. I tossed on some clothes and picked it up.
Pretty soon, JSL was munching on rice with sweet and sour chicken sans sauce. (We call it "Chinese Chicken Nuggets" to get JSL to eat it.) NHL had the sweet and sour chicken and some chicken and broccoli. B and I shared some steamed vegetable dumplings, vegetable egg rolls, and General Tso’s Bean Curd. (Bean curd is tofu and tastes better than it sounds!) Behold, my Christmas Dinner:
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Jews eating Chinese food for Christmas dinner. How stereotypical! Well, it’s our tradition and I’m a sucker for tradition (and Chinese food).
Hope your Christmas weekend was wonderful no matter how you celebrated it!
Fun Times At The New York State Museum, Part 3
Over the last two days, I’ve recounted how we saw animals and made seed packets. I also told of our train ride to Sesame Street. Now it was time for what was going to be arguably the kids’ favorite time of the trip: The carousel.
First, a little history. This isn’t a new carousel. It’s quite old. It was first made between 1912 and 1916, but some of the horses date to the 1890’s.
The operator told us that it is given 15 minute rest times between runs to prevent breakdowns. In fact, we were told, it’s so old that if it ever breaks down, they won’t be able to fix it! Still, 15 minutes is an easy wait as the upside to this being an older carousel is that it goes faster than more recent ones.
During our first run, JSL and Cousin S took seats in a spinner. NHL and Cousin B grabbed side-by-side horses.
Talk about old, this is what played the music to go along with the ride.
After this first run, we looked at a few exhibits that were on this floor. Then, the kids enjoyed some rock candy.
I even got a nice photo of a church that is right next to the museum. Love the architecture.
Before we knew it, our 15 minute wait was over and it was time for ride number 2. Cousin B took a horse again. JSL and Cousin S took side-by-side horses. NHL decided to ride by himself on a spinner. (This was on the other side of the carousel so I couldn’t get good photos of him from where I was supervising JSL and Cousin S.)
When the ride was over, the kids went back to their rock candy until it was time for one final ride. This time, NHL and JSL mounted matching donkeys, Meanwhile, Papa went on the spinner with Cousins S & B.
During the ride, I noticed the beautiful marble eyes that the animals had.
Finally, the ride was over and it was time to leave. Mind you, this was over protests of "one more ride." Still, it was getting late and we needed to leave. It was a fun time and the boys are already itching to go back.
Fun Times At The New York State Museum, Part 2
Yesterday, I began the tale of our trip to the New York State Museum. As I ended part 1, the kids were running off to see more exhibits.
They first ran into a dinosaur. They all marveled the dino standing in front of them. I was barely able to get them to hold still long enough to pose for a photo.
A little further down, they loved seeing, first, a whale’s skull and then a whole whale skeleton.
Even the complete whale skeleton couldn’t measure up to the exhibit were were looking for: Sesame Street. We wound our way through the museum, relying mostly on my fuzzy memory of where it was. Then we spotted something that I didn’t remember: An old A-Train car.
This car was presented in such a way as to let people walk in it and sit in its seats. The kids were instantly in love. They ran all around it abuzz with excitement.
As we exited the train, I spotted the familiar face of a certain large, yellow bird. We had found the way to Sesame Street.
I’ll admit that the exhibit was smaller than I remember. (I think I half-remembered a larger exhibit from another museum.) Still, the kids loved seeing even the small portion of Sesame Street. A bench was positioned so kids could watch snippets of the show on a small television.
Before long, they got restless, though, and it was back to the train car.
Our next big location to visit was the carousel. However, the boys and I stumbled upon a hidden gem. A collection of old fire trucks. What kid doesn’t like fire trucks?
These were right near the second of the museum’s two 9-11 exhibits. This one included (among other things) a heavily damaged fire truck and a girder from the Twin Towers. I must admit that I had to touch it and bow my head a bit when I encountered the latter of the two. Thankfully, the kids were so distracted by the fire trucks they had just seen and the promise of the carousel to come, that they didn’t seem to notice what we were walking by.
Once this was done, we headed for the elevators and went up to ride the carousel.
To be concluded tomorrow.