Snow -- Part Two!

This afternoon we went out to play in the snow again. Jeremy was able to come home mid-afternoon and finish up some phone calls from home, and the three younger children were napping. So I was able to take just Joshua, Jonathan, and Jordan. They had a blast!

Here is the park across the street from our apartment, all covered with snow. Yes, that is a man snowboarding in the picture.


How often do you see joggers and skiers using the same trail at the same time?


Oops, I guess maybe the joggers weren't supposed to be using that trail after all...


There were many, many snow men and forts/barricades presumably for snowball fights scattered around. Here Jordan crouches inside one of the fancier forts we found...


And Joshua peeks out a window on the other side...


Hello, Jonathan!


Jonathan...ready to go sledding!


Jordan...


and Joshua...


Wheeeeeeeeee! Doesn't that look fun?


Apparently he thought so, too!


Jonathan and Joshua taking a spill...they were both trying to use the small round board together.


Joshua was actually airborne just before I got this shot...


Dragging the sled back up the hill...


Another successful run completed...


The boys got this creative idea to all go down together...Jonathan sat on the disk and held the rope on the sled containing Joshua and Jordan...


Now it's Joshua's turn on the disk...it looks kind of like pulling a tube behind a boat...


They all fell over more often than not...


But they always came up laughing!


Up and ready for another trip down!


Heading back home at the end of a fun day...


The weather is supposed to be similar tomorrow--cold and sunny. We have plans to go out and enjoy the snow again. We have to take advantage of it while it lasts!

Snow Day!

We haven't gotten much snow this winter. The boys have been lamenting the lack of snow...they are so anxious for another opportunity to use their sleds! We were disappointed this past weekend when we were supposed to get some of the white stuff, but we got NOTHING! So when we woke up to thick snow falling and several inches on the ground already, we had some pretty excited boys around here! Now, I was perfectly content to sit by the window and watch it fall from the warm comfort of our apartment. The boys, not so much!! Since the city of New York shut down the entire public school system today on account of the snow, I thought it was only fair that we at least cut our school day short and go out to play as well! So we did...





















There were tons of people out...we saw sleds, skis, snow boards, sheets of plywood, pieces of plastic, and anything else people could come up with to slide around on! Very, very fun!


The boys working on a barrier to hide behind and throw snow balls...


Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay out very long...Josiah couldn't keep his mittens on and got very frustrated, leading to tears about 15 minutes after arriving at the park. And Joanna wasn't very happy, either. I got her out of the stroller and held her, which worked for about 10 minutes before she was fussing again. Between her and Josiah, I finally decided it was time to go home. I think the big boys got to play for about 30 minutes. Oh, well, I guess it's better than nothing! Jeremy told them at dinner tonight that he might be able to take them out tomorrow.

Today we worked on a Valentine's Day project...embroidered felt conversation hearts. We used the instructions found on this blog. Here is Joshua embroidering words and a little heart on his felt heart. He actually did most of his on his own...I was very impressed. Jon needed a little bit more help, and Jordan needed quite a bit more. (Okay, so I did about half of Jordan's.)


Stitching around the edge...


Jordan working on his word...


Joshua has stuffed his and is closing up the sides...


Jonathan hard at work...


Jonathan's...


Our finished hearts (so far...they want to make more!) They've decided to give them to friends at church this Sunday. Hopefully they will be appreciated! I think they turned out pretty cute!


Joshua immediately started a second one...he did this one entirely by himself, except for threading the needle and cutting out the heart. I think he had it done in about 45 minutes.


All in all, we had a pretty fun day!

Making Math Relevant

How do you get a 9-year-old boy who LOVES his video games to attack a math problem with the same enthusiasm? Well, you rewrite it so it's all about his favorite characters, of course! Problem solved in record time! :)



On a sort of related note...one of the reasons we were sold on the Nintendo Wii for our family was the fact that it was going to require the boys to be so much more active than the previous Nintendo systems...

Um, yeah.

Out and About With Jordan

Today Jordan and I went on a little outing together. I wanted to go to the Fashion District to get some ribbon and sewing stuff. Jordan, who calls himself my shopping buddy, volunteered to come along. It helped, of course, that I offered to buy him lunch. He also managed to work stopping for a snack later into the bargain! It was in the mid-20s and windy, but as you can see in the photos, Jordan is getting used to the cold here. I, on the other hand, was a bit more bundled up!

This statue is next to the Fashion District information booth. If I remember correctly, it's at 39th Street and 7th Avenue.


Another angle...I LOVE the huge needle going through a button behind the booth. Also, the info. table inside the booth is shaped like a huge spool of thread. So clever!


Jordan, of course, was all about the food. We decided to eat at a Dunkin Donuts/Taco Bell combo we found. Silly boy sauntered up to the counter and ordered 3 soft tacos and 2 bean burritos! I told him I'd order him one of each, and if he finished that I would order him more. The lady behind the counter was very amused! Jordan ended up eating one taco. That's it. His excuse? The tacos at THIS Taco Bell were MUCH BIGGER than the tacos at all the other Taco Bells he's been to. Um, yeah.

Here he is waiting patiently for his food:


Mmmmmmmm!


I was much more excited about our snack...cupcakes from Crumbs Bake Shop, one of the more popular bakeries here in NYC. Cupcakes are apparently the trendy dessert right now. I got a pistachio cupcake and Jordan got a grasshopper...


Posing outside the bakery...he was very offended that I asked him to pose in front of HEARTS!!!


This is one of the trim stores we visited...it's enormous and has sooo many different kinds of ribbon, buttons, etc. Too bad it's more expensive than I was hoping...turns out I can do much better on ebay...


After doing our trim shopping, we went to Staples a few blocks away for some stuff for our home school, and then walked to Macy's on 34th Street to see what great clearance deals they had in the men's department...Jeremy was in dire need of some new shirts. Turns out that visit paid off--Jordan helped me pick out several shirts for Jeremy that were marked down from $50-$60 to about $11-$14, then we got an additional 20% off because they were doing some promotion with the American Heart Association and Jordan was wearing red. Sweet! We ended up getting 7 nice new shirts and sweaters for $71. Not a bad deal! That sort of makes up for the fact that someone accidentally left our leftover cupcakes and one of his gloves in the restroom at Staples...

It was fun chatting with Jordan as we went about our day. At one point I told him he was very smart based on something he had just told me, to which he responded:

"Do you think I'm really smart for a 6-year-old?"

(me) "Yes, you are very smart for a 6-year-old!"

(Jordan) "Actually, I think I already know almost everything I'm going to know when I'm a grown up."

(me) "Really?!"

(Jordan) "Yes. Actually, I know things that Daddy doesn't even know!"

(me) "Yeah? What do you know that Daddy doesn't know?"

(Jordan) *pause* "Hmm, I don't remember."

It was hard not to laugh! Gotta love the way their little minds work!


We had fun wandering around together. I can't wait until warmer spring weather when we can all start getting outside and exploring the city again!

A Fun Mail Day!

I absolutely love getting things in the mail! Well, not so much the bills and junk mail that we USUALLY receive in the mail, but notes, pictures, cards, and fun little packages. I've been doing quite a bit of ebaying (is that a verb?) lately, so as you may imagine, I have been having all sorts of fun waiting for and anticipating all of the little packages as they come in!

Jonathan is my little package-retriever. Whenever the doorman buzzes us in the afternoon to tell me that something has arrived, I send Jon down to get it. He thinks it's a great privilege and I don't have to leave the apartment! Definitely a win-win, there! I think he's hoping one of these days the package will be for HIM! Maybe I'll have to buy a little something for him on ebay...

Anyway, Wednesday was particularly fun because we received THREE packages that day! Two of them were expected...some cute fat quarters of fabric I had bought a few days before...






But the third was a COMPLETE surprise! I would never in a million years have thought we'd receive this in the mail...can you guess what it might be?...





Yep...gourmet pears from Harry & David! I've browsed their catalog before but never actually considered paying that much for fruit. But my Dad, who loves these pears, bought some and had them shipped to us. Thanks, Dad! The boys and have really enjoyed them!


Yum!

Back to the fabric...I'm planning on making a cute little Valentine's Day outfit for Joanna out of a few of the heart prints. I've got ideas in my head...we'll see if I can translate them into something that is actually wearable. If I'm successful, I will post pictures of course! The bird and flowers prints I just thought were adorable and I got them for a good price. I don't have specific plans for them, YET, but I'm sure they will turn into something cute soon!