Christmas in retrospect

The decorations are all put away, the tree is down and chopped up into tiny bits to fit in the yard waste can, and every errant pine needle has been swept away.  And if you're like me, you could probably go at least 9 months without hearing the word "Christmas" again.  But we had such a wonderful time with family and friends last week I didn't feel like I could skip this post entirely.  So I'll try to cut out all the jingle jangle and stick to cute and funny stories about the boys.

We celebrated Christmas at our house the week before the big day.  Originally we were going to open presents on the 23rd, before we left for Pennsylvania.  But if you know our history you know we tend to decided to "just go ahead" and celebrate early.  But it was totally justified this time!  We though it would be too much to open gifts, pack up and drive to PA all in one morning.  And I'm sure we were right.  Saturday the 18th was free and clear on the calendar so we deemed it our faux family Christmas, jammies, messy morning hair and all! 



Not only can Jack say the word "presents" now but he clearly knows what it means and all it entails.  He's an entertaining unwrapper ... and his excitement was everything we were hoping for.

Jude was pretty impressive too.  He must have been watching his brother because he was whipping off paper in no time.  I wasn't expecting him to be able to celebrate much so we didn't really bother getting him many gifts.  I ended up stealing a few from Jack's pile and sliding them over Jude's way halfway into the morning.  Not that it matters, Jack thinks every child-like item in this house is his anyway.

Jon and I got more of a kick out of Jack's horse costume than Jack did.

The morning started with Christmas tree shaped pancakes and ended with a walk through National Zoo in DC to see all the Christmas lights.  It was, sadly, my first time into the city since we moved here.  And although the Zoo Lights were fun and pretty ... they can't hold an (electric) candle to Virginia Beach's boardwalk and Norfolk's botanical garden displays.

Whenever we're home for the holidays our calendar is abuzz with celebrations, dinners, breakfast with friends, and shopping trips.  We were fortunate not to have to travel to New Jersey or New York this year, which was a big help, especially with the kiddos.  Jack and Jude are really great travelers for the most part, but I like to avoid extended hours in the car with them if at all possible.

Our first day in town, the boys spent an evening with Marmie and Poppa so Jon and I could celebrate his birthday with his parents, sister and brother-in-law.  Can I just say how lovely it is to go out for an adults-only dinner every once in a while?  It's such a luxury to get to eat my food with both hands ... and while it's still hot. 

We spent Christmas Eve with Jon's family too.  By this point the anticipation was starting to get to Jack.  And I can't blame him, Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days of the year too!  We had a special candlelight service with Christmas songs and scripture readings.  After Jack realized his candle wasn't real, he was ready to move on to something else.  So we spent the better part of the ceremony munching on cookies in the kitchen.



Of course, Jack isn't alone.  He just feeds off his older cousins' energy.  When the 5 of them get together it can be a touch overwhelming (don't even want to think about adding Jude to the mix next year!). 



But they all love each other. 

Jack just took a swipe at Alex a second before I snapped this picture.

And despite spending months practicing all the family names using pictures on the fridge ... Jack still can't keep the boys straight.

Ryley, Tyler, Ethan and Alex in their new Redskins jerseys!

And that was our Christmas with Nonnie and Poppie and the rest of the family.  If you ask Jack about his time there he'll probably mention two things:  "applesaw" and " 'gerines".  It's all about the food with this kid.  Nonnie let him sit at the counter (on a big boy stool no less) to eat a tangerine one day and he insisted on eating them in the very same spot the rest of our visit.  And thanks to his grandparents he's been asking for "applesaw" and " 'gerines" several times a day since we got back.



Christmas Day we spent with my folks.  Thankfully the kids were up neither early nor late.  Although Jack has got the hang of presents, he hasn't quite figured out the benefit of waking up the house.  We kept the kids in their jammies until well after naptime.  As for the adults, well let's just say the year I started caring about how I looked in Christmas pictures for years to come was the year I stopped racing down to the tree in my jammies and bed head.  You only live in a moment once ... but those pictures last forever.

What they say about kids and the packaging is all true.  Jack had more fun trying to open a present with a plastic tab from a different gift than he had with the present itself.  Or the hand trowel that Uncle Micah had in his stocking.  Jack whisked it away and immediately started fishing for shark.

It's really hard to open gifts when your 2 year old keeps stealing the show.



Of course, all that faded away when Uncle Jared brought out the big gift.

Jack is all seriousness when it comes to riding his new Handy Manny quad.   So far, he's only managed to figure out how to push the button.  But those steering skills will come.

One of Jack's favorite things to do at Marmie and Poppa's house is jump on the trampoline with Poppa.  They can jump for at least an hour at a time, in the cold!   One particular afternoon Poppa decided to combine two Jack-loves:  the trampoline and the quad.  And in case you're wondering why my son is wearing a robe, his coat was dirty and in the wash.  It was the next best thing.



Another exciting moment was when G'Ma and Great Uncle Carl rolled in this beast, built by the Amish and with plenty of room for future offspring!  We all took turns rolling Jack around the house in it, and it certainly made packing up the Christmas presents a bit easier ... now getting it back to Maryland was another story!



Jack got a lot of big boy underwear for Christmas ... I think our family is trying to tell us something.

It was a good thing we made two trips!  Jon is yet again in the throes of paper writing for his grad program.  Our original plan was to come back after Christmas so he could get back to the grind, but I started to get a little depressed thinking about my parents being off of work and me being off of work and hanging out with just the kids while the hubster wrote papers all day, and not having anyone to ring in the new year with...  So we decided that the boys and I would stay up in PA while Jon came home to work in peace and quiet for a few days.
Jon was back in time to kiss me into 2011.  Plus we got to enjoy sauer kraut at Uncle Micah's.  Speaking of whom, for some reason Jack started referring to him as "Micahjer" - a combination of Micah and Jared.  Oddly enough, Uncle Jared is simply "Jer."  I'm not sure why or where this has come from, but it has been confirmed on several occasions, such as when Jack said "Micahjer's house" even though only Micah lives there.  It's kind of like the way we kids used to call my dad's mom "Grandma Benji" because she was our grandma and had a dog named Benji.  It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.

So we had a lovely Christmas and happy New Year, along with 10 fabulous days in our favorite state, and now we're back home and recovering well.  I'm hoping to have my life in order, and the house all cleaned up, by the end of the week. :)  And now, I'll leave you with this.  All I wanted was a picture of Jack in one of his new, utterly adorable Christmas outfits.  I ended up with this treasure, to add to my growing collection.

To all a goodnight!

Ahoy Matey!

Lil' J's ship has come in!

This past weekend Handsome Coastie and I went back to Pennsylvania for our FOURTH and LAST trip this summer. It's strange to think that the next time we visit the Keystone State it will be with carseat and diaper bag in tow... and hopefully some snow on the ground for Christmas!!

We got off to a late start because HC was still writing his paper until 4:30 that morning. So he drove and I wrote my final paper in the car on the way up. [Translated, I have written and submitted my last paper of the semester and only have one more project to finish before wrapping up this adventure called grad school!] Although I would have never said the 400 mile trek to PA was a breeze, it has gotten progressively more difficult with each additional trip. We also threw in a jaunt to New Jersey, and back again, the following day for another wedding.

Aside from my college-friend's momentous event, the other purpose of our excursion was J's baby shower that our mothers have been working on all summer. The theme of the shower was, of course, nautical. The ladies did an amazing job on the food and decorations.


Here are the moms/grandmas showcasing their handiwork!


Nautical flags courtesy of Marmie.

And even though I'm not a huge fan of sitting in front of a group of people while they all watch you open gifts, seeing all those adorable outfits and baby things is just too much fun!! We are so blessed to have such awesome church family and friends back home and are very grateful for everyone's generosity at the shower!


"Me sitting in front of a large group of people while they watch me open gifts" I would also like to add that I am sitting in an adirondak chair - not very easy to get out of when 7.5 months pregnant.





Now that we finally have some baby stuff around the house, the next project is to start setting up the nursery. Stay tuned for updates!

Photos compliments of Geri Schnure

Ode to the Great State

Since becoming pregnant, I've noticed a slight onset of homesickness. Maybe it's the hormones, maybe it's the end of the "newlywed stage" or maybe it's because I'm having a hard time aligning my real life of raising a child in Virginia Beach with my visions of raising a child in Central Pennsylvania. Whatever it is, I'm hoping it's only temporary.
As the wife of a Coast Guardsman, or as the really cool people say - "milspouse," I'm faced with a looming future of ... uncertainty. We're fairly certain (as certain as a military couple can be) that we'll remain in the Virginia Beach area for the next two years, but after that we're fairly uncertain as to where we'll be stationed, and after that we've pretty much got no clue! One thing that is clear, unless New Jersey cedes itself and its oceanfront to Pennsylvania, we won't be moving back to our home state for quite some time.
Here are the reasons why I think Central PA is the best place to raise a family:
-- low cost of living - For the amount that we're currently paying in monthly rent, Jon and I could own a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on 2+ acres with a 2 car garage and gorgeous mountain views. We could also spend about half as much on groceries and utilities.
-- fun activities - This is not the place to move if you're looking for the "city life." But it is more of the lifestyle that I prefer - fishing, floating down the creek or river, picking wild strawberries, hiking and biking in the mountains, ice skating on the neighbor's pond, building forts in the woods, growing fresh vegetables in your garden and catching fireflies on warm summer nights.
-- Three words: Crunchy Corn Bran. I can't seem to find my favorite cereal anywhere else but our old grocery store. If anyone has any intel on this delicious morning dish, do tell! To expand on the list of food I miss most: Middleswarth BBQ chips, hamloaf, whoopie pies, and the Fence's fried fish sandwiches!
-- Surplus Outlet - This is the discount grocery store run by the Amish in a local town. I can get my favorite hair gel here for $.75! Considering how much hair gel I go through each year, that's about a $20 savings! :) Other great deals - Starbucks coffee, brownie mix, shower gel and toilet paper. What can I say, I'm a bargain hunter.
-- In keeping with that theme, I might as well add how much I love Central Pennsylvania Yard Sales!! No where else can compare. Not only do Central PA'ers know how to run a sale, but whole neighborhoods and communities ban together to make it a whole-family event.
-- Traffic ... or lack of. Before I moved to the Philly suburbs, and then on to the Hampton Roads area, I really had no idea what "rush hour" meant. A traffic jam in my hometown is when the Amish buggy is half on the road and everyone has to slow down to pass it. Back home, we used to go on country drives just to relax and enjoy the scenery. Here in VA Beach, the most stressful part of my job is driving to and from work.
-- Four distinct seasons - Currently we live on the beach, or at least one house back from the beach, and we love it. There is nothing like taking our inner-tubes out on the cool ocean after a long day at work in the summers. But it seems that there are only two seasons here, hot summers and chilly winters. Baby J is due in October, one of my favorite months. October makes me think of colorful foliage, crisp clear days, plump pumpkins, bonfires and hayrides. October in Virginia Beach is a toss up, one day it could be 80 degrees and sunny, the next could be 50 degrees and raining. Aside from Fall, Central PA also offers distinct winters with cozy storms and record snow-falls. I LOVE snow, and all the fun activities that come with it - sledding, snowboarding, snowball fights, and ice skating. This is followed by Spring, where the air is a mixture of new blooms, freshly turned sod and all-natural fertilizer. :) Summers are almost as hot as the beach, but don't last quite as long and are full of outdoor activity. I love everything about each of these seasons and the fact that they're constantly changing means there's always something new to look foward to.
-- Finally, and most importantly, family, friends and church. Both of our families are located in Central PA, along with many of our closest friends and our favorite church in the whole world! This is by far what I miss the most, and what/who I hope my kids get to know and love.
Obviously, I'm somewhat partial. But even though I haven't lived in many other locations, PA is definitely the place for me. Internet quizzes would concur. To find your perfect location, check out http://www.findyourspot.com/. Interestingly enough, one of my top 10 locations was the town 10 miles down the road from my parents' house!
I hope that my children can enjoy the same blissful childhood that I experienced growing up in the "in the country". But even if we never move back, at least we know we can send them home for summers at Marmie and Poppa's!