Into the Polar Vortex

Polar Vortex is such a buzz phrase around here lately... I don't claim know a thing about it, but we definitely have settled into the usual deep freeze of mid-winter.  Doesn't look like there will be a January thaw anytime soon either.  The other morning it was -12 degrees out, and school was delayed, and then cancelled because some part of the middle school froze solid.  Still, we get outside when we can, and we try to find ways to keep our weekends active and fun.  Aiden has started "winter activities" at school - he chose snowboarding, so every Friday afternoon he heads to Mt. Sunapee for a lesson.  If I can take the time off, I try to ski with him after that until closing.  We try to get to Ragged or Sunapee most weekends, too.

Recently we went ice skating at Messer Pond, about a half mile from our house, on a day where, I swear, I have never seen pond ice so smooth and beautiful.  Not a bump or a divit in sight- like skating on white glass, and we had the whole place to ourselves.  We were there only an hour or so (it was chilly) but I'll remember that ice forever.  You don't get too many days like that, and to prove my point, it was ruined the next day when we got an inch of slushy yuck on top of all the beautiful glassy ponds.  But there's always the town skating rink, and we've got plans for ice fishing, XC skiing, and some more paint bar fun too.  Embracing the polar vortex...

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Christmas Break - Part Two

The second week of school break was just as exciting for everyone as the first, since we had visits from the Hamm and Sieger families for most of the week.  At the same time, we were hosting play dates with a couple of Haley's school friends during the workdays, and Aiden was going back and forth  to winter break camp too.  The house seemed to be crawling with kids at most times, but our new place is so open and spacious it never felt tight at all.  The kids were often down in the basement playroom, watching movies or playing all sorts of imaginative games, and the adults were able to spend some quality time preparing meals and just talking in the great room.  It was a real treat to get that much time with my cousins, who I generally only get to see for a few hours during frenetic holiday visits to Long Island.

 The Hamms and Siegers went skiing at Sunapee all day on Tuesday, and then the kids and I joined them on New Years Eve to go snow tubing at Ragged.  The tubing was fast and fun (for everyone but Haley, who was not impressed) and we definitely got our money's worth in numbers of runs.  Then it was back home to host a small New Years gathering which did NOT last anywhere close to midnight.  Ha.  We are truly getting old, I guess.  Everyone was in bed by 10:30, except for James and Aiden, who (just barely) stayed awake to welcome 2015 into being.  My New Years resolution? To try not to plan every moment, every vacation day, every weekend down to the second this year, and leave some wiggle room for spontaneity... this wont at all be easy for me; I'm a planner.  But I have a suspicion that most of those perfect moments, when everyone you love is absorbed and engaged in life in the best ways possible, when you think, "yes, life is so good- right NOW"....come from the unexpected stops, the happy coincidences, those moments that you didn't already have an expectation for in your head.  So I hope to enjoy more of those moments in 2015.

Christmas Break - Part One

The first half of the kids' 2-week Xmas break we spent on Long Island.  Running between visits with family and friends, we didn't have much down time, but we are used to that during our visits to LI.  We celebrated Christmas at least three times:  first at Dan & Paulette's with the triplets and Grandpa Dada, then my Uncle Peter and Aunt Mary's with the Risings and finally with the whole Kulis clan at Grandma Chris's house.  The last one was supposed to be at Uncle Charlie's, but thanks to a grinchy stomach bug, it was relocated to Patchogue at the last moment.  Chris hosted 25 family members smoothly though, and everyone pitched bringing food and extra tables and chairs.  Christmas carols were sung around the piano, and I'm sure Great Grandma Guppy was smiling down on our family chorus.

We made it into the city one day, to meet Lisa and her boys for Korean BBQ and experience a bit of the NYC Christmas scene.  The ice skating was packed at Bryant Park, so we took all the kids on the subway (Haley's first time on that and the LIRR) to Central Park to run off some steam. The southern end of the park, with its massive, smooth boulders and expansive playgrounds, was a big hit with all the kids. Aiden and Alex scaled huge rocks and raced around the lawns, while Christian, Edward and Haley poked in and out of playground tunnels, played on the swings, and watched the horse drawn carriages pass by.  Unfortunately we got the news that Chris's gentle and elderly kitty Twilly had passed away while we were in the city, so we headed back to see what we could do to raise her spirits.

We also made trips to Morton wildlife refuge to hand-feed songbirds, to Robert Moses and the Fire Island lighthouse, and to Port Jefferson to skate on the ice rink overlooking Long Island Sound.  We drove through the holiday light show at Jones Beach, and Andy and Aiden got to go to an Islanders game with Dan and Ian.  So, as usual, we packed a lot into a week...visits with family, fun outings, and too many Starbucks peppermint coffees to count.  Not a snowflake in sight, but plenty of festivity to make up for it!

One week to go...

The kids are very excited that they only have five days left of school before their mondo winter break - 16 days of holiday parties, road trips, skiing and snowboarding, and just generally not doing much schoolwork of any kind.  This weekend we had our last swim lessons at UVAC for the fall, did some xmas shopping for the pets at Leb Pet Center, and had an awesome lunch in one of the tatami rooms at Koto.  The kids both devoured my "crazy tuna roll" which was about as spicy and raw as sushi can get, leaving me proud and still pretty hungry, so I had to order another one.  We also had sashimi sriped bass, which was delicious, and lots of green tea.  We so love when the kids are in the mood to be adventurous eaters.  I just wish we lived closer to different types of cuisines we could try on them.  Hopefully we'll  be able to get a little more gastronomically adventurous when we visit NYC/Long Island over Christmas break.

We also made our first trip to Ragged Mountain this weekend. Ragged scores major bonus points in my book simply because the crowds (especially in the lodge) are reasonable- you can always find a table to eat at and room to store your boots.  Also, their "bunny slope" chairlift has a nice, wide, and not too steep run that is perfect for Haley to gain confidence and Aiden to practice his snowboarding S turns.  It's further away than Sunapee, but we save some money on 1/2 price NH resident tickets on Sundays.  So, Ragged is often our first choice.   It's a nice little mountain.  This Sunday was chilly but we got in some great runs, had some respectable wipe-outs, and ended the day tired but smiling.  The lodge was almost empty when we headed in, so we enjoyed the rare treat of snuggling up to the huge brick fireplace in the lodge with cookies before heading home to New London.  Winter's not all bad.

Tiptoes to Trees

This past weekend was all about the "fancy" on Saturday.  We went to watch a perfomance of the Nutcracker Ballet at Lebanon Opera House, much to Haley's delight and Aiden's consternation.  Haley had been talking about the ballet for weeks in advance, with Aiden looking on skeptically like she was some kind of weird sea-creature.  Which she is, I suppose.  A she-creature, at least.  On the morning of the ballet, we met Ellis and Beth at the Lebanon Ballet School for "Clara's Tea" - a fancy pre-show tea party with scones, meringues, finger sandwiches and sweet treats galore.   We learned about the production, and that The Nutcracker, which is a Russian ballet, is not popular in Russia (or really anywhere but North America) at Christmastime. Andy and Aiden had to sit by themselves during the tea so that Ellis and Haley could sit together, though they weren't really "alone" if you count all the other mothers and little girls surrounding them.  The boys agreed that they needed to go out and "fight a bear" after the tea, but I did see Aiden snarfing down several nutella finger sandwiches and chocolates so it wasn't a total waste of time for him.  The ballet was lovely, and the girls were really into it for about the first hour, after which their attention waned a bit... which was okay considering more than half the audience was little girls under the age of 6.

On Sunday I redeemed myself with Aiden.  While Andy spent the day with Haley playing various dramatic "let's pretend" games, Aiden and I headed up on a cold and sparkling day to the Rocks Estate Christmas Tree Farm in Bethlehem, NH to help people find Christmas trees.  This is our second year helping out during the holiday season (the property is owned by the Forest Society, so employees are encouraged to help) and we really enjoy it.  Aiden spent the day in the "just-cut" tree section, measuring trees for customers and informing them of the pros and cons of getting a balsam fir vs. a fraser fir.  He did a lot of hauling trees up to the "baling  station" for people, and earned himself quite a few tips which he promptly spent in the gift shop on treats for himself and xmas presents for family.  One woman even bought him a little bag of gummy candy from the gift store, because she thought he was so "sweet and adorable."  I spent the day tying baled trees onto people's cars with green-tinted twine.  As fast as humanly possible, since there were hundreds of people picking out trees that day.  There are special tying methods for vehicles with roof racks versus those without, in case you're wondering, and if you ever need a lightening xmas tree tie-one that will last you from New Hampshire to New Jersey, don't hesitate to give me a call!  I was tying knots in my sleep that night.  Nevertheless, it was an excellent day in a gorgeous location in the White Mountains- and nothing girly about it, either!