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!

On Sunday, JSL had a birthday party to go to.  So, when I picked NHL up from Hebrew school, it was just the two of us.  What to do, what to do.  Luckily, B came up with a great idea to leverage NHL’s love of art class: Pottery painting.

After going out to lunch (at a favorite of NHL’s and mine, Five Guys), we went to a nearby pottery painting location.  The staff member who greeted us explained the setup.  We would get to pick out whatever we wanted to paint.  When we were done, we would be charged for the item plus a fee per painter per hour.  Paints, equipment, and firing was included in those fees.  NHL and I looked over the selection and a few items stood out.  Finally, though, NHL found exactly what he wanted.

An Angry Birds pencil holder.

Sorry for the poor photo quality.  I had, in my rush to pick NHL up, forgotten to take my camera with me.  I was limited to my cell phone camera.  (This isn’t the first time I’ve forgotten my camera recently.  Clearly, I need more sleep!)

We filled out the paperwork and were brought a bird for NHL to paint.  The first step was to wash our project.  This removed dust and other items that might interfere with the paint.

When this was done, we were given a tutorial in painting by another staff member.  You would think painting is pretty self-explanatory, but it’s actually quite complicated.  Simply putting one coat of paint on the bird would result in a washed-out looking bird.  You need to dry the paint first (by using some fans they have set up) and then apply two or three coats.  In addition, the paints don’t seem as vibrant when they go on as they are after the project is fired.

NHL was actually very patient through this.  I expected him to be antsy and trying to run off to paint.  Instead, he listened to all of the possibilities and pitfalls.  He even asked a few questions and pointed a few things out.

Then, it was paint time.  We chose some colors based on the paints on the wall.  (Tiles pre-painted and fired to show you what the colors would look like when done.)  NHL chose five that he liked and they were brought to him.  As they were brought over, NHL chose some brushes and sponges to work with.

We got back to the table and NHL began painting.

Slowly, but surely, the bird began to take shape.

Finally, NHL’s bird was done.

This is one colorful bird.  Don’t worry, though, pigs.  This guy’s not about to fling himself at you.  (I was quite clear about that with NHL.)  Instead, we left him to be fired and finished.  He’ll be done Saturday, so we’ll return then.  NHL and I both can’t wait to see the finished product.

NHL had a blast with the painting.  We wound up only staying for an hour, but he loved every minute of it.  Still, it isn’t an inexpensive endeavor.  The entire project (bird and one hour of painting) cost us $28.  This obviously isn’t something we’ll do on a weekly basis, but for special events, I could definitely see us doing this again.

Ever since NHL, JSL and B saw a magician during the summer, NHL has been intrigued by magic.  He wanted to try doing magic himself right away.  Of course, he didn’t quite understand how to do magic.  He decided he really wanted a magic kit.  A cheap ($1) magic kit from Michaels didn’t seem to quench NHL’s thirst.  He wanted more.

Luckily, when Uncle I, Aunt M, Cousin S, and Cousin B came to visit, we exchanged Chanukah presents early.  Guess what NHL got.

Yes, that is a Melissa and Doug magic set.  NHL begged to open it up.  At first, I was reluctant.  After all, Cousin B is only one and a half and there were some small pieces.  I soon relented, though.  Even I was intrigued by what was in the package.

I opened the packaging up and took out a few of the tricks.  NHL excitedly looked at each and every piece, wondering what they did.  We were having difficulty figuring it all out until I got to the very last (and arguably most important) piece: the instruction manual.

As you can see, it was sealed shut to prevent any non-magicians from learning the valuable secrets contained within.  I got to work looking over the magic tricks.  Finally, I found an easy one.  The disappearing scarves trick.

How did I do it?  Well, a magician never reveals his secrets.

NHL also quickly mastered the disappearing/reappearing ball trick and the magic number prediction trick.

All in all, there are about 10 tricks for him to practice.  The entire set comes in a magic box that is used in one of the tricks and doubles as a storage case.

The pieces feel very sturdy and are of very high quality (as Melissa and Doug products have a reputation for being).  About my only gripe would be the lack of some kind of latch on the magic box to prevent it from opening once closed.  Without a closing mechanism, the filled, closed box easily opens, spilling its contents all over.

Still, this is a minor complaint in an otherwise wonderful magic set.  I’m sure that NHL will have plenty of fun playing with it and learning the tricks (and, let’s face it, so will I).

Disclaimer: NHL got this toy as a gift from relatives.  We weren’t compensated for this review in any way.  I just wanted to share what I thought about it.

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.

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.

On Saturday, with Aunt M, Uncle I, Cousin S, and Cousin B in town, we tried to figure out something fun to do with the kids.  We decided upon the New York State Museum.  Not only is it a nice, bit indoor space with some nice exhibits, but there was a craft activity for the kids to do and a carousel.  Just to sweeten the deal, all of this is free.

As we pulled up, we found a spot right near the museum.  The kids excitedly got out of the cars and headed in.  NHL pointed out one of the only skyscrapers that Albany has.  (I grew up near New York City, so I’m used to seeing a lot more skyscrapers.)  He also spotted that odd-shaped building in Albany known as "The Egg" (used for concerts and shows).

Heading in, we asked where the kids craft activity was and headed right for it.  On the way, we passed by one of the two 9-11 exhibits.

The kids weren’t too interested in these, of course, but they got very interested once we found the animal exhibits.

There were also the minerals/rocks which the kids surprisingly liked.  Mainly, I think, because of the colors and sparkliness.

Then, we got to one of their favorite sections: Kids Cove.  In this area, were many animal skins, skulls, leaves and other items for kids to examine close up.  Whereas most of the museum is hands-off, this section encouraged kids to pick up and take a closer look at the items.  (Don’t mind the jackets.  The kids were so excited by all that they saw that they didn’t want to stop to remove them yet.)

Leaving here, we located a Woolly Mammoth.  This was one of our original directions to find the craft table.

The Woolly Mammoth led us to a Native American village, complete with a house we could walk into.

And Native American wedding clothing.

Finally, we found another mammoth.  This one, however, was more skeletal than his friends.

Right by him was the craft table.  We had located our first major stop: Kid Crafts.  The kids settled in and drew, cut, and pasted shut envelopes.  Into these envelopes went some wild flower seeds.  Then, they glued the envelope shut and were done.

The person running the event was great.  She was able to recover from bad cuts and bad gluing.

After the crafts were done, I got Cousin S and JSL to pose by a nearby dinosaur fossil.

Then, off we went to see more.

Tomorrow: Trains, Fire Trucks and Sesame Street!

This year, NHL was able to join his school’s band and choose an instrument.  He decided to select the drums.  Last night, he had his first concert.  The days preceding it were filled with him getting more and more anxious about the big day.

I tried to calm him down with a tale about one of my concerts when I was growing up.  I quickly realized why this wasn’t a good story and shortened it.  I told NHL that I was very nervous and my orchestra teacher gave me the option of not going onstage.  I decided to go through with it and had a great concert.  All this is true, but (for NHL’s sake), I left out the part where my nerves overwhelmed my stomach and I hurled in the hallway.  I don’t think that detail would have helped him any.

Even NHL’s fortune cookies seemed to be telling him to push through.

In any event, the big day came and NHL went off to his band.  Up first was the orchestra.  While they played, memories began flooding back.  As I mentioned above, I was in the orchestra.  I played violin for many years.  I was actually kind of coerced into playing.  My orchestra teacher at the time seemed overly anxious to get me to join.  He asked me how I would respond if, in a future job interview, I was asked what instrument I played.  Naive kid that I was, I didn’t want to risk my future employment by not being able to play a violin.  (You’d be surprised how rarely that question came up in my job interviews, though.  It’s almost as if employers don’t care whether their web master can play a violin!)

In any event, the orchestra at NHL’s school began to play a tune pizzicato.  This means that they didn’t use bows, but instead plucked the strings during the songs.  Suddenly, my fingers began tingling.  I could almost feel those thin, metal strings digging into my index finger with each note played.

Then, watching the kids’ fingers move, I remembered the anxiety I felt over my finger placement.  There are about 8 different places your fingers could rest on the strings (including one position with no fingers on the strings).  Each finger-string placement results in a different note.  There are also 4 strings.  Which string to play and which finger placement to use is represented by one note.  Just one.  When you look at the sheet music you need to see the note, remember that this means to play this particular string with these fingers in place, get them in place, play the note, and then move on to the next note.  I was never very good at this.  I just could not do all this fast enough.

NHL, luckily, chose the drums.  Although this entails playing the bells (aka the xylophone), for which he does need to hit certain keys at certain points, the drums mainly require him to keep a steady beat.

When his time came, NHL went up with 2 of his drumming classmates and played Mary Had A Little Lamb.  He did a fantastic job and we were all very proud.  NHL realized that his nervousness before the concert faded away and he had a blast.

When you were in school, did you play an instrument? If so, were you nervous before performances?

During Thanksgiving, sometime between the end of the meal and the beginning of dessert, everyone split up to do different things.  I sat down and searched for something interesting on TV.  That’s when I spotted it.  Ghostbusters.  Sure, it was on a non-premium cable channel and, thus, censored, but still – It’s Ghostbusters!

As I settled in, NHL and JSL began to inquire to see what I was watching.  At first, they were upset that I wasn’t watching one of *their* programs.  How dare dad not keep the TV glued to Nick Jr even when they weren’t in the room.  But then B told them of Stay Puft.  After that, they kept bugging me as to when the giant marshmallow man would appear.  When he finally did show, they cheered at his appearance and over his destruction and spillage on top of Walter Peck.

In short, my kids were instant Ghostbusters fans.  I had a quandary, though.  Dare I show the full, uncensored Ghostbusters to NHL?  JSL might be too young, but NHL might love it.  On the other hand, I worried.  Not about the violence, but about the cursing.

NHL has heard cursing before.  I’m sure he’s heard it in his school and he’s heard a word or three pop out of B’s mouth.  (I’m a bit of a freak in that I never curse… Well, except for that one time I tried to get a reaction out of my friend by saying the C word which caused him to almost drive off the road.  Reaction achieved!)  But would NHL’s watching of movies with curses cause his language to reach for the potty?  Is he, at 8, too young for movies with salty language?

My Aloha Friday question for today is: How old do you think a child should be before they watch a movie that contains cursing?

P.S. If you haven’t already, go visit FollowerHQ and let me know what you think of my Twitter application.

P.P.S. For a bit of fun, try my other Twitter Application, Rout. It’s a +F in Fun!

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #116