Phew!

First there was the Harlem Globetrotters, and they were everything we hoped they would be.

The boys were really amazed and we laughed until it hurt! They are truly a talented bunch of guys. Fantastic sportsmanship and showmanship with great timing and classic gags. The great seats helped - thank you, Dennis.

Then...there were the New Year's Eve festivities - I love New Year's Eve. I love the excitement and anticipation and introducting my kids to all kinds of new chaos and old traditions.

There were Rock Band Performances until no one could stand to hear one more rendition of Queen's "We will Rock You". What a versatile band, they were, able to switch instuments so easily!

There were big kids and little kids.

And super-cute babies.

There was ball dropping, ice cream making, pots & pan banging (yep - out in the streets, neighbors must love us!) and fireworks!!

There was even some cousin bonding.

I fall for the whole thing about New Year's Eve. It's romantic and hopeful and fun - and we sure had fun. "They" say what your doing at midnight will set the the theme for your new year - I hope so!

NYC on a scale from 1-10

We took the kids into NYC for their first 'touristy' trip. But before I tell you how good it was, you have to understand how bad it can get. So if we are working on a scale from 1-10, you have to know that there is still -1 to -10. So when things go really well for us on a family trip, we can appreciate it that much more because we know how bad it can be.

We all made it on the train and no shoes were lost (yes, it's happened). We made it to our first destination - Macy's.

The boys could not really appreciate why we wanted to go look in department store windows. But once they began following the stories played out ("Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" & "Miracle on 34th Street") it all came together and we all enjoyed it. Then it was on to Time Square for lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., where we got the best seat in the house in a little private enclave because we were a party of 7 - awesome for us!! The food was great and it made a great rest stop for us. Plus points here.

Times Square Toys R Us was totally mobbed, and neat to see such a big store, but the real draw was their famous 3-story inside ferris wheel. When I stopped to ask an employee for information about it, he told me the price of the tickets and that the wait was about an hour, "but that kids 'like him' don't wait"!! Of course, he meant Ethan because of his obvious disability. For those of you who don't get why it helps him and us to not have to wait in line, let's suffice to say that it can take that "fun-ness" scale to a -10 pretty quick. We would probably not have been able to go on because he would not make it in a line for an hour. Think of how hard it is for a typical kid and then add a bunch of issues which make everthing everything about 100 times harder. He would just as soon not wait - which means his brothers would not get to go either. I guess it's a slight inconvenience for the people we cut, but it is "day-changing" for us. Plus, again!

When we came out of Toys R Us we caught a test 'ball drop' in prep for New Year's Eve! We wrapped up the day in Rockafeller Center, which was crowded and exciting.

Aside from the ankle deep slush and thick crowds (which we expected) we did great! Sean should get a medal (or something he might care about, like a cookie) for being a total gem. The day was a ten - and that's 20 points above what it could have been. :)

Holiday recap

So it started with Christmas Eve. There was only one parental meltdown and one child meltdown - not bad Costello's!! We will leave names out.

"Just Dance" was performed with a friend early in the evening.

Ethan DeeJayed some awesome musical mayhem - if you consider John Denver to be awesome.

Cookies were set out for dinner. No seriously, I would never just give them that. I gave them a block of cheese and crackers in the car, too. Gavin and I visited a local church for a Christmas service, lots of classic songs and a good children's performance. We went home to pick up the rest of the clan to go in search of a stable we had heard about - hey! Where have I heard that before? This is a dromedary camel - very cool - you can read about him here.

Then we took this picture...

And sent them all to bed.

FYI: Dennis did not condone the skull and cross bones Santa on the PJs.

Even my cookies are boys.

Probably the fish and lizards too! My house is boy-infested and testosterone-infused. I recently cleaned out the 'activity' closet and realized just how much stuff I had that they never touched and never will - girly, crafty stuff. Sure they paint, use the craft sticks, cut and paste, and even break out the stencils - but to think they are going to complete some intricate craft that requires reading directions, following them and sitting in one spot for a prolonged period of time - just not going to happen. I am sure there are girls that share similar traits, but I feel like my clan take boy stereotypes to a whole new level. (I kept a few things for 'visiting' girls.)

Conversations around here start like this "Mom, do you want to know how a combustion engine works...", "How long until I can get a BB gun?", "So 'n so is 'naked dancing' upstairs!" No one has EVER asked for an article of clothing or a pair of shoes and they think hand-me-downs are "awesome" because of what bigger boy may have worn them before them! The only toys that have stood the test of time in this house are matchbox cars, wooden blocks, Star Wars action figures and matches. Plastic army guys take over the house, fighting and wrestling are curtailed by the referee (I mean me) every 2 hours and legos are used as decor for our house.

I guess it's a good thing that I was always boy-crazy! I was somewhat of a tomboy who did not want to be outdone by the bunch of boys I hung out with as a preteen. I had a boys dirt bike (a mongoose, no less) and followed them into swamps to hunt turtles. They were camping and fishing masters who could whistle through their fingers and climb 10 foot chain link fences in a single bound. Little did I know the life-preparation going on in those days.

But seriously, Gavin is learning to cook, and Mikey to bake and they really enjoyed Little House on the Prairie books. But Gavin told me they were all about homesteading, farming, building and hunting anyway.

Do I make you nervous?

I have a reccuring issue that really aggravates me. There are mothers that come up to me, unsolicited, and give me advice. I kid you not, when I say it is a weekly event for me. You are probably wondering what I could possibly be doing to garner this much attention. Exhibit 1

I am walking in some outdoor venue (beach, amusement park, park) with my boys. Ethan is totally bald and has been for many years. A mother or a grandma approaches and says, "You really need to be careful with his head, it is very sunny out here! Do you sunscreen him?" This has happened on *multiple* occassions.

Proposed Answers:

1. Yes, thank you. 2. No, maybe you could.

3. That's what the ER said last time.

Exhibit 2

I take my boys somewhere and they decide to *play with sticks*, *walk along a high brick wall*, *continue to climb up and roll down a steep embankment*, *you pick any number of 'dangerous' testosterone-enduced activities* and one or more mothers will inform me 'that it's very dangerous' or 'someone is going to get hurt'.

Purposed responses:

1. Yes, thank you 2. I sure hope so - brats!

3. Child Protective Services reminded me that the last visit.

Exhibit 3

My agile, super-coordinated 2 year-old is playing on the play-structure at the park. He navigates the stairs, walks over the bouncy little bridge, and makes his way down the slide. Some mother will inform me that he is too little to be doing that, he could fall at any moment, or the slide is tricky, etc.

Proposed responses:

1. Yes, thank you

2. That'll teach 'em. 3. The pediatrician said that too - but they also said he "HAD" to be in a carseat!

Recently, at the waterpark, a lifeguard informed a panicking mother that she had been watching my 2 year-old for 1/2 hour competantly complete a flight of stairs and navigate the waterslides perfectly fine. The other mom continued to be extremely nervous around him - she did have her own 2 year-old to worry about - but for some reason felt the need to continue to fret over mine.

I have had a mom untie a sweatshirt from around my sons waist, hand it to him and tell him it could get stuck in the chain of his bike. (I was at the park, just too far away to get her hands off my kid) My boys have been yelled at for playing in leaf piles on our street "because there are sticks in there that could poke you in the eye". I have been approached and informed that my boys were walking in a stream. When I told the mom that we came to the park so that they could do just that, she informed me that "we've all told our kids to stay out of it". My kids often come back to me at a park and say that some other mom has told them they can't *climb that tree*, *throw rocks in the river*, *play in that dirt pile* after I have sent them off to do it.

Can you give me any insight into this? If you've done this to someone - let me know why. I think the next time it happens, 10..9...8..., I will politely ask what makes someone do this - do you think that will go well?