Happy...New...Yeeeeeeear!!!

Legend of the Blue-Butt Ghost

Oh, it was quite some years back now, in that old house down on Woodbine Ave. That nice young couple had just moved in a few days earlier and were getting settled. And it was a warm and windy night, with the trees rustling in the distance. The young man awoke and shuffled into the bathroom, only to find... A blue butt-print on the toilet. There were no kids in the house at that point. And no visitors. And neither the young man nor the young woman had any reason for their respective butts to be blue. It could only mean that a kindly blue-butted ghost had taken up residence in the house. But it was a peaceful ghost, one who did not make his presence known too often. And all agreed that the ghost was a perfect fit for a home filled with bright colors, open minds, and a warm sense of humor.

We're here on Woodbine Ave. and there has been no shortage of laughter since we stepped inside. Luke and Sam and Lily are cracking each other up, and the dogs are tickling Zach silly. We were all a little nervous because Zach has been announcing for weeks that he doesn't want Agent Buttersteve to "eat" him, and we weren't sure how it would all go. But Steve is as docile as (and the same size as) a pony, and Zach is endlessly thrilled to be near him. When I finally got Zach tucked into his cozy little bed, Steve put his enormous dog-body into reverse, backed into the bedroom, and sat his enormous dog-bottom down at the foot of Zach's bed - much to Zach's simultaneous consternation and delight.

Today we celebrated Luke's 8th birthday, and again, there was something magical about the whole day.  Even Zach (whose birthday it is not) spent the day walking around saying, "This is the best birthday ever." Joe and Sam started the day by making us all some "eightcakes" and bacon for breakfast.

Then we followed it up with Wii, Pokemon trading, a birthday trip to Target, and a hop over to the best hot dog joint in Philly. Later in the afternoon, when Mom and Dad arrived, we carted all of the kids over to Mom and Dad's hotel for a swim in the pool. While we sat in the hot tub we could see a few stray snowflakes falling down (nothing that stuck, but still...magic).

Then for Luke's birthday dinner, we cooked up some steak, crab cakes, homemade pizza, roasted potatoes, and salad. While the cousins entertained each other, I had a great time visiting with my own cousin Jennifer, who stayed long enough to eat before heading back to New York.

And then...the cake. We had spent hours discussing the various permutations of how to combine Luke's current interests on the cake. Unk came up with the very cool idea of making a "Coke-mon" logo, but I decided that was just a little bit too much of a reach given my artistic abilities. We settled on a lofty tower cake, held up by three cans of Coke. By the time Joe finished helping me engineer the thing, it was actually quite stable. I was able to carry it with confidence from the kitchen to the dining room without incident.

Then we had a round of phone calls with all of the relatives who we missed tonight, and capped off the evening with our traditional call to Luke's buddy Hatcher, who is also celebrating his birthday today.

Did anything ghostly disturb us over the course of the weeekend? No, no disturbances. But there was some sort of spirit watching over us as we gathered...a sweet, good-humored spirit that made every kid a little more giddy and made every glowing candle just a little more rosy. And whoever it was, it had the good sense to stay off the toilet while this house is so darned crowded.

On the eighth occasion of being able to celebrate Luke's birthday here on Woodbine Ave., I'm grateful to Joe and Sara for letting us invade their house every year. And I'm happy to say this: I love you, my eight-year-old boy.

Sampler

Christmas in NJ begins with four cousins, diving for presents under the tree.

Later in the afternoon is our (40th!!!) annual Christmas dinner with the Abbates. Luke and Sam are the coolest cats in the house.

No one can stand between Zach and his shrimp ("shrump").

Chef Joe's appetizer table: Shrimp, Italian meat and cheese sampler, smoked mozzarella empanadas, spinach fritters, marinated peppers for bruschetta.

On the dinner menu: Chicken piccata, spaghetti with meatballs and Italian sausage, salad with candied walnuts and goat cheese, shredded roast pork with provolone and ciabatta bread sandwiches, roasted green beans, mozzarella and pepper and pesto platter.

Another view, with shredded pork in the foreground, and hungry onlookers preparing to feast.

Checking out the dinner selection.

The musical portion of the evening begins, with Jeremy on guitar and Fred and Theo on backing vocals.

Dave and Luke bravely took on the role of "Nine Ladies Dancing."

Dave and the kids watch the music show: Luke, Dave, Zach, Theo, and baby Camilla underfoot.

Walkin' Around the Clock

How did that red-eye flight turn out? I'll give you an hour-by-hour rundown. (Eagle-eyed readers will notice that the title is an homage to Zach, who insists that the song is called "Walkin' Around the Christmas Tree.")

10:10 PM, Pacific time, Monday: We board the plane. Luke is tired and falls asleep quickly. Zach, who had a nap earlier in the day, is more wide-eyed but ultimately falls asleep. Total sleep for the boys: About 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Total sleep for Dave: About 2 hours. Total sleep for me: 30 minutes, in ragged 10-minute increments.

3 AM, Pacific time, 6 AM East Coast time, Tuesday: We arrive in Philadelphia. Everyone is bleary-eyed, except for Zach, who bounds off the plane. How do you feel, Zach? "I feel great!" He makes a running leap into Papa's arms.

7:30 AM East Coast time: We arrive in Moorestown, Zach is still on top of the world, Luke has perked up.

8:00 AM: Dave crashes for the next two hours.

9:00 AM: I crash for the next three hours. The boys play with toys, go for a walk, help decorate the Christmas tree.

2:00 PM: Luke voluntarily goes upstairs, puts himself into bed, and falls fast asleep. Dave and Dad and I decide to go for a walk downtown and Zach wants to come. Zach makes it there, but by the time we start walking home he is in full zombie mode. Dave carries him the rest of the way; he falls sound asleep on Dave's shoulder.

4:45 PM: I go in to wake up the boys. Luke grudgingly comes downstairs. Zach allows himself to be picked up but remains fully asleep even in a bright room with people talking and TV blaring.

5:30 PM: We have a Weekend at Bernie's situation on our hands. Zach is propped up on the couch in front of the TV, still fully asleep. Finally we manage to wake him up for dinner.

8:30 PM: Luke is begging to go to bed. Zach is a wild man, alternating between playing the bongo drums and jumping on the bed.

9:30 PM: Luke is asleep.
10:00 PM: Zach is asleep.
11:45 PM: Jeanne is asleep.
Midnight: Dave is asleep.

4:00 AM, Wednesday: Zach wakes up, disoriented. Dave takes him to the bathroom and puts him back to bed.

9:00 AM: Jeanne wakes up.
9:30 AM: Luke wakes up.
10:00 AM: Dave and Zach wake up. And all is well on East Coast time. Bring on the holidays!

Krazy for Klezmer

Klezmer brings out all sorts of wacky behavior in all of us. Makes me wonder why we don't listen to it more often.

So, by way of explanation... We went to the menorah lighting at Seal Beach pier. Why was it good for everyone? Well, the klezmer music of course. Suzi and Bill were there. There were some palm trees near the pier with little "dates" on them (Zach). And they were giving out vitamin water (Luke). Talk about win-win-win-win.

Then we did a a steak dinner for Dick's birthday. I messed up and added cheesecake to our order thinking that that's what he liked, when it turned out that that's the one dessert that he doesn't like. Oops. We serenaded him while he held up an ice cream drumstick. And then, curiously, while the cheesecake was being served, I didn't hear anyone else complaining.

Then, even though we were all slap-happy tired, we did a little present-opening. This is a picture of Luke laughing his head off after opening his beautifully wrapped "present" of a pack of Bounty napkins.

See what I mean about what klezmer does to people?

Wishes

Do you know what it's like to be a part of the one percent? Here's just a little flavor: When you go to parties, companies give you free stuff, just because they want you to be seen with their products. We had the opportunity to act like the one percent at a party last weekend and it was pretty crazy. One of the "gifting suites" at the party was from a very popular children's store and they just gave me - GAVE me - outfits for each of the kids. Oh, yeah, and then Tori Spelling walked in with her kids. It was quite a trip. Here is a picture of the boys at that party during their personal chat time with Santa. I believe this picture was taken right at the moment when Zach told Santa that he wanted a banana tree for Christmas. You can tell because you can just see the thought balloon over Santa's head saying, "You want a what now?"

Did something feel different in the air last Saturday night? Yes, in fact I think there were some snowballs forming in a very hot place, because Dave and I had our FIRST EVER night alone without the kids (first night in eight years). This came together because Zach was having his first ever sleepover at Suzi and Bill's house, and in the meantime our neighbors heard that we had never, ever had a night without both kids. So our neighbors took extreme pity on us and volunteered to take Luke for the night. It was great, although not a complete getaway because we could see Luke across the street as we left for dinner, and first thing in the morning we looked out the window and saw him eating breakfast. Still...baby steps.

Yesterday someone gave Zach a small mailbox, and when he got home he proceeded to get busy with a little project at his art desk (something he does frequently). He wrote, and then cut out, a series of "letters" for Santa. Allow me to decipher and then translate:

S T Pl G M E T R N

"SanTa PLease Give ME a TRaiN."

I think Santa reads individual "letters," doesn't he? And he might have more trains in stock than banana trees.

The other night I was tucking Luke into bed and I declared grandly, "Eight years ago this month, my dreams came true." And as soon as I said that I went to click off the light, but my brain hadn't processed the fact that the light was already off, so instead I actually turned it on. This was hilarious to both boys who were already in bed with the lights out. So of course it became our new family meme (every family needs a meme, really). All week long, whenever a few of us are in a room with the lights (on or off, it doesn't matter), one of the boys will announce, "Eight years ago, my dreams came true! [click]" and either put everyone in darkness or turn the light on. You can try it yourself at home; it's a real laugh riot.

Cat Cousins

Lucky Seven

This picture represents seven of the people who attended our Feast of the Seven Fishes last night. Was it delicious? Did we have a great time? You will have to turn to the Jolly Tomato to get the full answers to those questions. But I'll just point out one thing: You may notice that the quality of the Jolly Tomato pictures degrades rapidly as the night goes on and as more wine is consumed.

All in all, a good night.