Posts from — December 2009

I wish that I had fabulous things for you today during your long wait for bedtime.  Do you have something for me to do?  The only things I find are church services and lights-looking, and those are in the evening.  Dude, it is 4 or 5 hours until the evening.  One thing I thought that I might try is a scavenger hunt; ie., walk around the neighborhood and check off: reindeer, purple lights, giant candy canes, etc.  We’ll see if we motivate.

Right now, we’re exulting in the already-received presents.  Eating cookies before noon, J’s taking a bath because she got bubble bath, M is watching Taylor Swift videos because she’s apparently already old enough to get earrings and music CDs for Christmas.  But wait!  Do you want to hear what an unbelievable geek I am?  I sobbed like a baby watching one of Taylor’s videos!  And I’m not even her mother.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

I’m generally a very cheap person, from a long line of cheap people.  (At Thanksgiving my sisters and I realized that three of us were wearing–with modifications–the same unbelievably unflattering Old Navy harem pants because we couldn’t pass up the super-sale deal.  I tried to find a link, but the Old Navy people are so ashamed that their website claims that they don’t exist.)  However,  I habitually spend too much money on fruit.  And because I’m holiday’d out and yet feel compelled to post every day to prove that I can (to myself, at least, because God knows if anyone else is actually out there), here are some of our latest Adventures in Fruityliciousness.

The same weekend in the Harem pants, I stole a book from my sister.  It was Jamberry, by Bruce Degen.  In my defense, I thought that I was merely reclaiming one of our best-loved board books.  But it was one of their best-loved board books, too!  So, I suck.  And I need to run to the bookstore.  But put it on your reading list.  It makes no sense whatsoever, and yet it’s delightful.

I was at the grocery store express checkout buying some cherries just the other day.  I love cherries.  They were expensive.  I bought them anyway.  An old lady behind me murmured, seemingly to herself: “Cherries in winter.  Can you imagine. . . ?”  And with all of my over-educated upper-middle-class guilt, knowing full well that cherries were not on the 100-mile diet and therefore I was contributing to global warming with my non-conscious consumption,  I responded ruefully, embarrassed:  “I know.  It’s unnatural.”  “Oh, ” she said brightly, “it’s marvelous.”  I mean, she glowed with the marvel of it all.  This lady remembers when you could only eat the fruit you’d put up yourself.  Makes me a little jealous of my parent’s generation:  they found cherries at the supermarket and they didn’t feel guilty about it.

My kids are eating raw spinach!  I know! It’s  hidden in our fruit smoothies. When the girls catch a glimpse of green I tell them it’s a stray strawberry top.  I feel like the most kick-ass (albeit dishonest) mother ever!

I am eating pomegranates.  To quote the nice old lady:  marvelous.  What I love is that they are such work to eat that I can go at it continuously for an entire episode of Deadwood and I’ve still barely eaten anything.  Sweet and delicious, full of antioxidants, and $1.50 at Price Rite.  Which is about the same as half a container of Ben & Jerry’s.

Last weekend we organized a big caroling outing in our neighborhood.  Now, Christmas Caroling at nursing homes and hospitals is a wonderful activity: warm and organized, with a captive audience.  But I like the idea of boosting neighborliness.  Even though it’s intimidating.    I realized, as we started walking down the street, that I hadn’t expected that we would actually do it.  Like I’d planned this event to show all of my friends how Christmas-spirited and fun I was, but I hadn’t really processed that people would actually show up.   I was so nervous that I even had a hard time singing at the beginning.  I guess I was afraid that (a) the children would hate it and they’d start moaning and carrying on as if it were a Death March, or (b) the neighbors would be  impatient or even mildly irritated with the interruption.  But the kids loved it.  They were really into it.  And the neighbors ranged from awkwardly tolerant (teenaged boys) to effusively grateful (little old ladies).

Got friends and family around?  Here’s how to try some Neighborhood Caroling (from my vast experience of doing it once):

• Invite way more people that you’d like to come, because this is not everyone’s cup of tea.   Unless it turns out that your friends are just more fun than mine.

• Ask people to bring bells, Rudolph noses, antlers, etc.  I had expected that this would be a way to entice the kids into enthusiasm, but I think that it really got the grown-ups into the spirit, too.  Besides, it gives tacit permission to the dad who’s got a Santa suit to put that bad boy on!—ugh, that sounded creepier and dirtier than I meant it to.

• Gather up some lyrics.  They sell songbooks, or you can Google lyrics up.  But, if you do that, read them over, because they’re likely to have mistakes, like ours did, which is confusing.  Keep to standards the non-reading kids are likely to know.  And only print a couple of verses.  Because your neighbors don’t have the patience for all of Good King Wenceslas, even if it is a nice story.

• Bring flashlights if there’s even a remote chance that you’ll keep going into the dusk.  Too  obvious, you say?  We didn’t have them.

• Make a note of non-Christmas specific songs for those neighbors who don’t do Christmas.  Jingle bells or Winter Wonderland work, and chances are that your school-age children will know some Hannukah tunes even if you don’t.

• Bundle up, but don’t worry about the cold.  I thought we’d be freezing in 20-degree weather, but the combination of activity, possibly nerves, and the group made it downright cozy.  And the kids were running around like maniacs, so of course they weren’t cold.

• Establish a base of operations.  We told everyone that they could always run to our house for the bathroom or to warm up.  Not many folks did, but it’s nice to know you can. Circle the base so you’re never too far away if possible.

• Before you get started, explain to the kids that they have to wait until a grown-up  tells them to ring the bell.  We were walking on narrowly cleared sidewalks, so at the beginning, the kids would run ahead and ring the doorbell while half of the group was still too far away to be heard.  So people would open the door and wonder, what is this cheerful but unruly mob planning?

• Sing as you walk from house to house.  It keeps everyone chipper, and there’s no rule that your neighbors need to hear a complete song, especially when it’s The Twelve Days of Christmas.  They’ve got heating bills, too, you know.

• Stop when enthusiasm just begins to wane.  You’re makin’ memories, people!   And whiney kids don’t carol well, anyway.

• Have a slow cooker filled with cocoa or cider, with optional adult add-ins if you’d like, waiting at your base of operations.

Phew!  And today is my final gathering of the season–the Third Annual Little Girls Party, in which I cover a gaggle of girls with glue and glitter, pump them up with overstimulating baked goods, and send them home to their parents with a Merry Christmas to all!

Two quick little notes:  First, thank you to everyone who’s been kind enough to comment here and encourage me–I truly appreciate it.  If this site is helpful to you, please tell your friends.  Second,  just quickly, the Colonie Town Band is holding a free holiday concert at Cohoes Music Hall tonight (Monday) from 7-8 pm.

Okay, back to how Winter Break is looming. . . . it’s a difficult time of year, at least for me.  All of the routines go out the window.  Daycare and work routines are out of whack, or if you stay home, either your spouse stays home for a change, which (yes, we love it, but it also) throws you off your game, or your spouse is working and every one of your friends is having Special Family Time.  Or if your kids are school age, let’s face it, it’s easy to just be entirely used to the kids being gone for hours.  So when they’re not, it’s a lot of time to kill.  Oh, I know–it’s beautiful family togetherness time.  But you’ve got a lot of it.   And even the littlest kids usually have the structure of a weekly playgroup or a mommy-and-me type class.  Not next week.

Are you beginning to panic yet?  Don’t worry!  There’s plenty going on.  In fact, too much for one post.  So here’s a list of activities that you must plan ahead for–everything here either requires or recommends pre-registration.  Ready?

The Steamer 10 Theatre has a Vacation Daze series, including a magician, music, puppets, and a play.  I’ve already bought my tickets to go see the Snow Queen on Wed. 12/30.  If you want to buy tickets to something, think about the Steamer 10 Pass, which is 10 tickets for $90.  We figured out that we’d save $28 on tickets just by committing to making one more family trip there within the year—yippee!

Even if your kids have lost interest in the small layer of snow by now, you can still appreciate nature with some indoor or outdoor activites.

Albany Pine Bush, on New Karner Road, is holding several free or low-cost events.  There’s a walk at 1 pm on 12/26, a talk for families at 1 pm on 12/27, birdwatching (for kids) all day on 12/29 (perhaps you can train for the big Audobon Society Christmas Bird Count?), a “Critter Scene Investigation” at 11 am on 12/30, and kids crafts from 1-2:30 pm on 12/31.  They’re asking folks to pre-register for all of these events.  Details here.

Peebles Island State Park, in Waterford (which is north of Troy), is hosting several free and/or low-cost events.  There’s a hike/snowshoe walk at 11 am on 12/28, a program about animals in winter at 2 pm on 12/29, and a celebration of New Years around the world at 11 am on 12/30.  They’re asking folks to preregister by contacting either 237-7000 x219 or amy.schachtner@oprhp.state.ny.us

If you have older kids and are willing to invest a chunk of your money and their time, there are several programs that look interesting.

The Arts Center in Troy has a Winter Break Camp for Kids that runs from Monday 12/28 to Wednesday 12/30 from 9 am to 4 pm every day.  It’s designed for 6- to 11-year-olds, and the cost for three long days o’ artsy fun is $215 to $235.  The theme is celebrating the New Year.

The Albany Institute of History & Art has a Vacation Art Break that runs from Tuesday 12/29 to Thursday 12/31/09.  Each session runs 3 hours and costs $15 or $20.  It’s designed for 6- to 13-year-olds and is particularly great for the Egyptian enthusiasts out there.  You can register online at the link above.

The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy is running a December Holiday Break Camp from 9 am to 3 pm Monday 12/28 to Thursday 12/31.  It’s about $45 to $55 per day, and there’s a brochure you can download from the site.

Northeast Gymnastics is holding a Winter Gymnastics Camp for girls 6 and older from Monday 12/28 to Thursday 12/31.  Camp can be 9 am to 12 pm or 4 pm, with prices ranging from $30 to $60 per day.

So, that’s what I’ve found so far.  How about you?  If you’ve got other December break recommendations, email me at capitaldistrictfun@yahoo.com.  I’ll be sending out the more casual drop-in activities within the week.

My girls were thrilled with Albany Winterfest yesterday.  Loved the jugglers and trampoliners and fireworks, and they came home with prizes that were not nearly as crappy as what we usually get from, say, Chuck E. Cheese.  In fact, I just ran upstairs to check and see if they were perhaps not even made in China, but. . . oh, well.  Still, the games were free and really, when was the last time that your kids got four prizes and not one of them had broken by bedtime?  Yay.

But meanwhile, I thought that I’d throw out some holiday ideas that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home.

I don’t know if anyone caught this lovely little segment on NPR’s Morning Edition, in which they interview an author who’s just written a book about the “science” of Santa.  What is so unbelievably awesome about the piece is that it sounds just like your average boring-for-kids news segment, except they spend the whole time speaking as if Santa definitely exists.  It’s wonderful if your child is getting a little bit doubtful about the whole idea.

My five-year-old heard that her friend got a Real Letter from Santa, and immediately began to pine for her own.  A letter would have involved obtaining festive stationery and a stamp as well as creative writing–but luckily, this video website’s been going around my moms’ group.  You fill out questions and get your very own personalized video from Santa.  That’s right:  I see you your special letter, and I raise you a personalized web cam!  Take that, punk!  What do I care if random companies are compiling data on my children and their gift wishes?  Both of my girls were thrilled.    Two warnings, though:  first, Santa basically tells your kid (s)he’s going to get what you name, so when you fill out that part of the survey, try not to mention the big “headliner” gift if you can help it.  Also, I thought that my photos downloaded correctly, but apparently they hadn’t.  So one daughter had her picture in Santa’s book and the other had some generic holiday drawing, which was a little sad.   I’d advise viewing any videos before showing the kids just in case.

Meanwhile, two other sites are obvious,  but perhaps you didn’t think of them for holiday fun.  On Pandora you can listen to holiday music—which you’ve probably figured out if you already listen to Pandora or something like it.  But if you’re a novice, you’ll see holiday stations down below the ads when you click the link.  And on hulu right now you can let the kids watch fun stuff like A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Muppets Christmas Special.  For a minute I thought you’d be able to watch the cute  SNL “Santa’s My Boyfriend” song while your kids missed all the double entendres, but then they had to drop the B-word near the end.  Well, maybe you can do what I do when we listen to the Juno soundtrack:  just have a coughing fit.

I’m actually pretty tuckered out.  We’ve been entertaining and running errands  like crazy, and what I’d like to do most is hunker down and complete my annual screening of It’s a Wonderful Life while emptying my tins of goodies.  But maybe you have guests to entertain, children who are bored, or more energy than me.  Just in case, here’s a list of holiday events:

Hey, anybody like free stuff?  Here are a few free things happening this weekend:

• This year’s Albany Winterfest will be this Saturday from 12-5 pm.
• This Saturday, from 5:30-9:30 pm, is the last day of Quick Response Restoration’s  Santa’s Playland Open House in Clifton Park for free.   There are even snacks!
• On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, New York State Museum’s Family Fun Weekend will have an “International Holidays”  theme.  It’s nice to donate on the way into the museum, of course.
• Last I heard, there was still room in the Pictures with Santa event on Saturday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at Joyful Jumpers, but it might be full by now.  Call 396-7885 to find out.

Here are some Capital District classics:

• Want to get the kids sleepy?  Any evening (from 6 to 9 or 10 pm, depending on the day), you can drive through downtown Albany’s Washington Park for Capital Holiday Lights.  It costs $15/car.  Feed them, put them in your jammies, and hope that you can successfully transfer into bed in spite of the cold!
• The Egg’s got the Albany Berkshire Ballet’s The Nutcracker on Sunday and they’ve also got The Zucchini Brothers Holiday Show on Saturday.
• The Schenectady Museum is open Saturday and Sunday (when they’re usually closed), and they have their oh-so-popular model train exhibit as well as a special holiday-themed planetarium show.

If you’re up for a longer drive, there are some other events that seem pretty enticing:

• This Sunday from 3 to 7 pm, the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown is hosting its traditional Candlelight Evening.
• There’s a play called Santa’s List at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls.  It’s designed for children—45 minutes long for those short attention spans.

That’s what I’ve found, but I’d love to hear about any more you might know about.  Or if you’ve been to one of these, let people know if they’re worth the time/money/drive.

Phew.  I know that the whole line about how you, too, can start your own blog in minutes is theoretically true, but when you have this vision in your head of what it should look like, it actually takes longer.  Really, just starting to write this, I feel like I should be hunched over with my hands on my knees, catching my breath for a minute.

Between strangled gasps, I feel compelled to explain that this doesn’t even measure up to my vision, either.  You see, I have this passionate fantasy.  Granted, it’s not the same fantasy I might have had 15 years ago, and it’s probably not—let’s face it—my husband’s first choice of all the fantasies I could possibly have, but for a late-30s mom of 2 living in Schenectady County, it makes sense.  I want a website with a super-helpful, unbelievably expansive database of fun things to do around here.

So, I decided to set about transforming this fantasy into reality (because I’m all about making it happen, people!).  I expected that, as a reasonably intelligent person, I’d be able to do this.  Well, I can file that expectation in my imaginary file cabinet of Misguided Expectations—let’s see, Database can slide in between “Crib, my baby will sleep when I put her in the–” and “Exercise, a few pounds will surely melt away when I do some consistent–”.

So, the part about the database of my fantasy remains a work in progress.  In spite of the fact that my last babysitter giggled at my lack of computer know-how, I am not completely incompetent, technically speaking.  In a group of random adults, I am even occasionally the most competent.  I once had a manager who got me to stop my own work and come upstairs to diagnose her printer’s problem.  It was turned off.  Yeah, really.

But meanwhile, I’m the victim of peer pressure.  When sharing this deeply personal fantasy with a few friends, each one says, “Just start the blog first!”  They don’t seem to understand that the blog is just supposed to be a cute little extra.  But, honestly, it’s begun to seem like they’re all double-dog-daring me at this point.  Like they think that I am just making excuses and procrastinating.  So, fine.  Look.  Okay?!?  I’m going to stand up now and try to walk off this charley horse.