Halloween

(from Nov 2)

This year, Halloween was a 5 day extravaganza filled with parties, multiple costume changes, trick-or-treating and lots and lots of candy!! Keeping with tradition, a few days before Halloween, we got both Ryan and Dylan a pumpkin for carving.   Ryan helped Jay do one and I took care of the other because Dylan didn't want to touch the seeds at all  "yucky yucky".  The kids were more interested though in putting the cut-out pieces back in the pumpkin and Ryan  kept calling it the pumpkin puzzle.

In the days before the carving, Ryan had also decorated a pumpkin at a farm we went to, one at school and another at a party we went to so we had quite a pumpkin display.

Next up was a Halloween festival at Ryan's school.  I got to volunteer and worked with another mother at the pumpkin station.  We read the kids a book about growing a pumpkin and they got to feel seeds, taste seeds and make an art project with the seeds. 

I thought our station was pretty fun but Ryan said it was not his favorite - cookie decorating was much more fun he told me.   After all of the activities, the class got to parade through the school to show off to all the other classes.   Ryan was so excited because his job was line leader that week and as such, he got to lead the parade.

On Friday, we went back to Ryan's old school, New York Kids Club for their annual Halloween party.  Ryan was really excited to go back and see all of his old coaches and Dylan was thrilled to finally get a chance to play there.  During snack time, Dylan insisted on sitting at the big kid table with his own plate, and would not let anyone near his food.

The party was 2 hours long and the kids did not stop running and playing the whole time.

 

Both boys loved the trampoline the most and as soon as they got to the end (although they would both lie in the middle and would pretend to sleep so they wouldn't have to get off), they would run right back to the front of the line.  To get up on the trampoline, they had to climb some foam triangles and Dylan would keep pulling the kid in front of him down to try and pass them.  Ryan was bigger than a lot of the kids so he would just jump on to the triangle near the front.   Patience is not a virtue of either boy

Saturday night, we went to "Fright Night" at Ryan's school.  Jasmine and Michael decided to come with us and because they were going out to a Halloween party later that night, they showed up in costumes.  As soon as I saw them, I was so sorry that I didn't have a costume too. 

Two notes about costumes:

1. Ryan had 3 different costumes for this Halloween (all were superhero dress up things he got for his birthday) and Dylan had 2 (one was Thomas) - Dylan only wanted to wear his superman costume though, probably because he wanted to be like Ryan. 

2. I LOVED Jasmine's costume but it kind of made me feel old since a few teenagers came up to her and said "What are you supposed to be?" and when she told them Raggedy Ann, they had no idea what she was talking about.  (Ryan said "She is a pretty clown" - at least he got the pretty part right)

Fright night was a lot of fun and it is so nice that the school organizes events like that, but it was very crowded and we only stayed for an hour.  There was a "haunted house", a few craft stations, face painting and games.  Of course, the boys loved playing the games, even though they bent the rules on a few of them.

Finally, it was Sunday, Halloween and time for some trick-or-treating.   Aunt Carrie took the kids during the day to a Halloween festival and the rest of us went to the Jets game - the game was terrible and it would have been much more fun trick or treating.   We picked up the kids after the game and they both fell asleep in the car on the way home and were in no mood to trick or treat once we got there.   I had heard that all of the stores in our neighborhood had candy and I told Jay I really wanted to take the boys.  As we put the kids in their costumes next to the car, they were screaming and Ryan insisted he didn't want to go. Since we could only find a spot 3 blocks away and would have to pass the stores anyway, I told him after the first store, we could go home if he didn't like it (plus I wasn't really sure if the stores would have stuff anyway).   First stop - the liquor store.   Yes, it really was the first that we passed and they had a HUGE bowl of candy and each boy was allowed to take a handful. They also had test tube shots for the parents for $1.  Definitely $2 well spent.  Next up, the laundromat.  

I really wish Dylan's face wasnt blurry because I think this picture is hilarious.  By the time we left the laundromat, Ryan was running down the street yelling "this is so fun" and Dylan was running after him screaming "treat, treat"

I didn't have my camera with me (used the camera phone) and I am so sorry for that because the kids were so cute and funny in some of the stores.   EVERY SINGLE STORE had something but the kids made out the best in the supermarket.   The manager gave each boy a handful of candy and Ryan said he was going to show him his happy dance.   So Ryan started dancing like a nut in a circle and of course, Dylan copied and before I knew it, both boys were "breakdancing" on the floor.   All of the customers on line were laughing and the manager started just dumping anything he could reach in to the kids baskets.   When we had enough of the stores, we went home so I could get my camera, did a quick costume change and then went visiting in our building.   A lot of people weren't home but of course Adele aka DeeDee had special bags just for the boys.

If the kids only got to eat one piece of candy a day, I am pretty sure they would have enough to last until the spring,  I will have to dump it some time soon though before I start eating it. 

Happy 4th of July

(In an attempt to catch up on this neglected blog, a goal of mine is to post more this year.  So far, I am on a roll but I may have a lot of catch up posts over the next few days/weeks.  Since the weather has been horrible lately, I thought a good summer post would be good).

We had perfect weather this year for the 4th and spent the whole day outside enjoying it.  Unfortunately, Jay had to work but the boys and I went over to Omi and Poppy's where the boys were thrilled to find out Omi had filled up their pool.   The second they saw it, they both jumped in even the the water was absolutely freezing!!! They refused to wait for the sun to warm up the water a bit.  

I couldn't even get Dylan out of the pool long enough to eat.  We were sitting outside eating breakfast and as soon as I turned around to cut more fruit, Dylan ran off back to the pool and had a fit when I tried to get him out.  Oh, well - guess I need to pick and choose my battles.  Dylan - 1, Mommy 0

 After a few hours, the kids were shivering and pruned so they got out and dried off for a bit until Alexa and Jackie came over and then it was time for the Slip -n- slide!!!! Ryan was so excited and had a very hard time being patient while we set up all of the stakes to hold the slide in place.   It also took awhile for him to understand the concept of getting a running start but once he figured it out, he didn't want to stop. 

Ryan and Alexa quickly got the hang out it and were giggling non-stop as they slid down and ran back up as fast as they could.   They usually only made it only halfway back up though before jumping back on to slide down.  I loved watching Ryan and Alexa play together - they are so funny together and I am really glad that they get along so nicely.  As much as Ryan and Dylan have fun together, I could tell Ryan was happy to have someone his own age to play with.

Dylan was pretty content to just play in the grass, especially since he kept falling off the tube.

Later that night, following Mengel family tradition, we headed over to Sleepy Hollow Country Club to watch the fireworks.  Jay first took me there back when we were dating and I love the fireworks show there.   While we waited for it to get darker, the kids played in the sandtraps, ran around with the other kids there, played frisbee and when it got darker, got to play with glow sticks and we lit sparklers.  

The fireworks were a perfect end to a fantastic day. Both boys were bummed out when the show was over but they were wiped out from the day and were asleep within minutes.

Football Sundays

Everyone who knows us knows we are are Jets fans. Everyone who knows us also knows that we are busy every Sunday during football season - if we are not at the game, we are watching it at home.   And whether we are at the game, out doing something, or sitting at home, we all gear up for gameday!

While the boys both would prefer to watch something other than the game, they really started paying more attention during the playoffs, especially Dylan.  I am sure that it helps that we provide them with plenty of snacks to keep them occupied - Dylan's new favorite is my spinach artichoke dip.  (Ryan says it makes him vomit) They are becoming the ultimate fans, waving their foam fingers and rally towels with all of their energy and yelling whatever they can to cheer the Jets on

The Jets had a great run to the AFC Championship this year and we are all pretty bummed out it is over.  Hopefully next year the Jets finally make it back to the Superbowl - in the meantime, you can bet we will all be practicing our J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS cheer!!!



Snow, snow and more snow

This January has been the snowiest month in New York in more than 85 years according to Reuters. Last night, Central Park got 19 inches of snow which brings the total this month to 36 inches!!!   It snowed so much last night that NYC public schools were even closed (only the 9th time since 1978).    Jay left at 6 am for work and as soon as he saw the car, he realized he was not getting it out any time soon.  He went to Grand Central to take a train, only to find out that train service was suspended so back he came to the apartment and since we don't even own a shovel, he took our broom and headed out to deal with this: 

Yes, that is our car!!!  Completely plowed in and impossible to get out with a broom - luckily, the deli up our street was open and they let Jay borrow a shovel and in his suit, he had to shovel for almost an hour to get the car out.  Knowing how deep the snow was, I decided to bring my camera so I could take come pictures to send pictures to Erika and Richie. I went out the back of the building and was amazed by how beautiful everything was - completely different than the street side of the building.  Every person I saw outside had a camera out and was taking pictures - I don't think they do justice to how nice our neighborhood looked though.  (if you double click on the pictures, you can enlarge them and see more detail)

As I rode the subway to work, I thought about how nice it was to stand outside and enjoy the snow - everything was so peaceful, quiet and white and I was really glad I stopped to enjoy it for a few minutes. I almost felt like I wasn't even in the city. Then I got off the subway and realized unless it is in your backyard or front yard, snow really is a pain in the neck and not that great.  As I almost slipped crossing Times Square, I felt myself getting annoyed that my boots were getting dirty, the roads weren't plowed enough, and that a car drove by and sprayed me with slush.  Times Square was a disaster and clearly the city decided to let traffic act as a plow instead of really cleaning the streets.

Meanwhile, the kids were having an absolute blast at home.   All the kids in the neighborhood were outside and Ryan and Dylan were thrilled to join in.  Ryan found his friends from school and they made snowmen, had a snowball fight and went sledding.

Dylan, on the other hand, just wants to lay in the snow and eat it.  No matter how many times you tell him no, no matter how many times you knock it out of his hands, no matter how many times you tell him "yucky", the second you turn away, he is face first in the snow eating it up.

I don't really mind the winter and generally, I do really like snow - but this year is a little much.  The kids are loving it and I am glad they are having fun but I am pretty sure Jay is over shoveling to get in and out of parking spots, I am tired of waking up to the plow guy banging the plow outside of our building at 3 in the morning, and I am pretty sure we will all have to get new snowboots for next year even though we all got new ones this year. Considering we are supposed to get more snow next week, I think it is time for us to invest in a shovel or two.  As a last resort though, I guess if we get snowed in, Dylan could always eat a path away for us.  

Cheesus

Ryan has been singing a song for the past week that he said was called "Blue Billy Ock" and he keeps asking me to sing it with him. When he sings it, it does not even sound like he is speaking English. After trying to figure out what he was saying all week, I finally told him that I was going to ask the teacher to tell me the words and finally he said "you goose, I didn't learn it at school. Elizabeth sang it to me". When Elizabeth came, I asked her if she knew what he was talking about and she said no so we asked Ryan to sing it to us. As he sang the song, proud as can be, she cracked up laughing and said the song was "Who built the Ark?". Clearly the meaning of the song and the words were both lost on Ryan but he kept singing his heart out declaring he loved that song. Then he turned to Elizabeth and said "Mommy doesn't even know the song about Cheesus Chrise"

Happy New Year

Who better to wish you a Happy 2011 than these handsome party animals??

We spent New Years Eve at Grandma and Papa's and despite everyone's best attempts to stay up until midnight, the boys fell asleep around 10 and so did Grandma and I (although Grandma and I woke up to watch the countdown). The kids had fun playing around with the hats, blowers and glasses that Grandma got, while the rest of us were content to just keep eating.


I have had a hard time figuring out what to write in this post: Should I post a list of my New Year's resolutions? Well, the list is too long and this blog is not about me. Instead, I decided to ask Ryan what his resolution was - Jay explained the concept to him and Ryan said his resolution was "Playing" - guess the concept didn't really sink in. He later added that he thought a good "alution" would be "no watching tv if either of us hit, right Dylan?". Still not quite right, but moving in the right direction I guess.

After reflecting on the last year and looking ahead to this year, I guess all I really want to say is: I feel very lucky for what I have in life and am extremely hopeful for 2011 - "We will open the book. Its pages are blank and we will put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day" New Years brings the hope of new possibilities, a time for fresh starts. I think it is going to be a big year for all of us (my family, Jay's and anyone else who may be reading this), filled with love, luck, health and success.

Wishing all of you a very wonderful New Year filled with health, happiness and all of your hopes come true!!
xoxooxxo