Sam's new thing

I recently bought a case of gum from Costco. 

This is the conversation that took place in the car:

Sam (seeing the gum in the car):  Can I have some gum?
Me:  You know how to chew gum?
Sam:  Sure.
Me:  When was the last time you had gum (I had never given her piece a before).
Sam:  It's been a long time.
Me:  You like gum?
Sam:  I LOVE gum.
Me:   Ok.  Here you go.  Just remember, you don't swallow it,  You only chew it.
Sam:  I KNOW!!

Now every time we are in the car, Sam asks for a piece of a gum.  I still can't get over the images of seeing her chew it.  It somehow ages her and matures Sam beyond her years.  She has gone from being my little 3 year-old girl who still needs me for some many things to a Big Girl who can now chew gum.  It is wild!

When Sam was 1.5 years old, I gave up drinking soda because Sam was developing a taste for diet coke and would always reach for my glass when we were at restaurants.  Ian never once wanted to drink soda or chew gum.   Just goes to show you how different these kids are.   At 6 1/2 years, Ian has never had any gum or soda and Sam now has about 2 packs of gum under her belt.  She is definitely one that you need to watch.  Very closely.

Heard and Observed XXXII

After the Toppall Hanukkah party:

Sam:  My cheeks hurt.

Me:  Why?  What happened to your cheeks?

Sam:  From all the kisses.

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During one of our long drives in the car over Winter Break, Sam tried very hard to engage Jeff in conversation.

Sam:  Daddy, look at the houses on the side of the road.  Do you think there are many?

Jeff:   Yes.  There are lots.

Sam:  Daddy, are the Redskins winning?

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Every time we walk outside after the sun has set, Sam looks up at the sky and says, "Look, it's pitch blue out!"

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Mission Accomplished!

As previously reported last year, Bring on the Latkes!, I was determined to get a good group shot of everyone at the Krantz/Toppall Family Hanukkah party this year.  I succeeded!  You can clearly see everyone, all faces are in view, everybody is front & center and other than Sam, we are all smiling.  Woo-hoo!!  I am very pleased with the results.  And believe it or not, this year's picture actually added 2 extra people in it.  Ami's fiance, Aviva and Hava's baby, Aliza.



December 2011



versus



December 2010

The bar has been set high.  I hope I can deliver picture perfect results like this every year.

2 More Mouths to Feed

Meet the newest members of the Toppall family!  It isn't the 4 legged variety I was hoping for.  Actually, this kind of family member has no legs, but it will hopefully serve the purpose I hope for which it is intended.

Having fish is supposed to be calming and relaxing. And I am hoping that by giving Sam something to take care of, and focus some of her attention on, it will mellow her out a little.  This is definitely something Sam needs.  

Grandma and Grandpa Toppall got Sam a very cool 10 gallon aquarium (trimmed in pink no less!).  It came with everything but the fish and water.  Once we got back from our trip to Philadelphia, we set up the tank and made a trip to the pet store to purchase some fish.  These are the 2 little guys Sam picked out.  She named them "Bubbly" and "Bubbly".  Sort of like, "Darryl" and "Darryl".

It's quite cute that when Sam leaves her room, she turns to her fish and says, "Good-bye fish".  The first night she had them in her room, she must've decided they were in need of a late-night snack, because we found  fish food all over her floor.  Oy!  Note to self:  Keep fish food out of her reach.

Toppall's Travels - Part 3

THURSDAY:

Best thing we ever did was give the kids their own bed to sleep in.  Sam was super excited to have a rollaway bed and Ian was able to rotate around in his own bed all he wanted.  It also helped that by the time the kids went to sleep on Wednesday night, they were beyond exhausted.  In fact by 7:30am the next morning, Jeff had to wake up both kids so we could get out of the hotel by 8:30am and on the road to our next destination.  When does that ever happen - waking up both kids?!?!  Wow.

The drive to Easton, PA, where the Crayola Factory is located, was an easy 1.5 hour drive from Philly.  Ever since I saw an episode of  "John and Kate plus 8" a few years ago, I've wanted to check this place out.  I have to say that it appeared much bigger on TV than in reality.  We got there soon after they opened and before the majority of the crowd of kids and adults appeared.

The Crayola Factory is a very hands-on kind of place.  There was a 25 minute demonstration on how crayons and markers are made.  We learned a cool tip on how to bring back to life a dried-out marker.  Just hold the marker sideways, put it under running water for about 20 seconds.  Put the cap back on and let the marker sit for a day or two.  Voila!  It should work perfectly again. 

The rest of the place is a series of rooms where you can go and do various crafts, using all kids of Crayola products.  There was a room where you can take markers and color on the walls.  There was a room where you could use sculpting clay and create different objects.  A big sized room that had a chalkboard type floor and lots of chalk to draw.  Jeff and Ian walked through an exhibit that let him create a picture out of melted wax.  Also, there were stations where you could get your picture taken and it would become part of a coloring sheet (princess, cars, spiderman, etc) that got printed out.

I liked this place!  The kids had a great time too.  It didn't really start to get crowded until closer to 11:00am.  There were plenty of rooms to go to, that even at its busiest, it wasn't that bad.  And of course, there were samples handed out of crayons, markers and sculpting clay.

 

This is the picture Ian made out of melted wax.



Directly upstairs was the National Canal Museum. It is worth the time to visit since you are already in the same building.  It is all geared towards kids and they had a good time watching their boats go through a model-sized canal.   Plus, they were also able to pretend steering a ship and other hands-on activities. 

We spent a good 4 hours at the Crayola Factory and National Canal Museum and this was including lunch.  We got back in the car and headed home.  This is one of those places that we don't need to go back to, but it is nice to cross it off the list.  It took a little less than 4 hours to drive back to Burke.  It was a full 4 days and I knew we were all looking forward to getting back home and taking it easy the rest of our Winter Break.


SOME FINAL THOUGHTS:

I loved that we did this trip.  Jeff and I already discussed going again in a few years and what we would do differently.  We would go back to The Franklin Institute and give this as many hours as the kids wanted.  If Sam is still on the young side for doing this museum, Jeff could take her back to The Please Touch Museum while Ian did The Franklin Institute.  I also never got the chance to do Betsy Ross' house or the Liberty Bell with Ian, so we would have to make sure time was scheduled for this.  Lastly, if Ian is old enough, I would love to take him to The Constitution Museum.  This is my most favorite musuem ever and I can't wait to show it to him.  And of course, we'd have to make sure we had lunch at the Reading Terminal. 

It was key getting to all these places as soon as they opened.  In each place, we'd have a good 2 hours before the crowds got nutsy.  Or, another option is to go when the kids are in school and let them miss a day or two.  I am a big believer that an education can happen anywhere, doesn't have to necessarily be at school. 

Once we got everything unpacked and the kids in bed for the night, Jeff looked at me and said, "it was a lovely trip."  Awesome!  I am now giddy with planning power and already thinking where we will go next.  :)

Toppall's Travels - Part 2

WEDNESDAY:

The sun was shining on Wednesday morning and it was going to be a great day!  Unfortunately,we were starting the day off with 4 very sleep-deprived people.  OMG!  Never again.  We learned our lesson and from now one, it is a suite all the way.  It can be a one bedroom suite, just as long as it offers a door and a pull-out sofa bed.  And oh yeah, enough space for a rollaway bed.  The kids definitely each need their own bed.  And Jeff and I learned the hard way that sleeping with each kid is not an option.  As Jeff put it, he got kicked in the chin twice and that's just the places he can mention out loud.  At one point (it was 12:52am), I looked over and Saw Jeff actually lift Sam up in the air and rotate her body completely around to get her straight again.  Not fun.  Not fun at all.  And Ian complained to me that he didn't have enough room in the bed I was sharing with him.  Not sure how that was possible as I was hugging the edge the whole time hoping to not fall off.  But I guess when you sleep like this, you do require lots of space.

A girl with her iPad and a cool view of Philadelphia.

We pulled ourselves together, made a very important decision to get a rollaway bed in the room for Sam.  Let Ian have his own bed and for Jeff & I to share one that night, in the hopes we can finally get some sleep.

On to The Please Touch Museum.  OH MY GAWD!!  I absolutely love this place.  If I could move in and make this my home, I would in a heartbeat.  It was fantastic.  It was big, airy, clean, and shiny.  There were tons for the kids to see, do and play with.  One of the most fantastic things about this place was no matter where you were, what room you were in, there was something for each age group we had with us (a young 2 year old, 3 1/2 year olds, and 6 1/2 year olds) to be entertained and fascinated by.  We could easily spend the better part of an hour in each wing and no one got bored. 

This museum is so incredibly well designed.  It's spectacular and fun and innovative.  I think the parents liked it just as much as the kids.  I know I did.

After more than 4 fun-filled hours at The Please Touch Museum, we called it a day and headed out. We decided that Ian and I would go visit the Franklin Institute and Jeff and Sam would head back to the hotel for some downtime. 

To my delight, Jen and Ethan joined us.  This was the only place we didn't get tickets in advance (wasn't entirely sure which day we'd go or who would go) and had to stand in line for an hour.  And then we decided to do a planetarium show right away and stood in that line for an additional 25 minutes.  Crazy!!  The boys did wonderfully despite not having seen anything besides a line for the first 1.5 hours.   The planetarium show we picked was called "The Wildest Weather".  We thought it was going to be a cool display about hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and such.  However, in reality, it was about the weather conditions found on different planets.  In retrospect, this was something we could've easily skipped. 

Once we made it around the rest of the Franklin Institute we found a very cool museum, perfect for the boys to explore, interact and learn from.  Each room revealed another lesson about science, whether it be the body, electricity, chemistry, trains, sports or more, it was incredibly well done. 

We did the infamous walk through the human heart.  I couldn't believe that it didn't come with a big disclaimer that you can't be wider than the width of a super model to fit through the chambers of the heart.  Wow, it was very narrow.  Fortunately I made it through ok, but I can imagine that many people wider than me have gotten stuck and wasn't able to easily get out.  It's a one-way direction through the heart, so if you are at all claustrophobic or a little on the obese side you are in big trouble! 

We tried to take our time through the museum, but it was so big and there was so much to see.  Once we finally made it to the top floor, we had about 30 minutes left before leaving to meet the family for dinner.  Serendipitously we ended up walking in to a live show/demonstration called "This is Chemistry".  This was going to eat up the next 25 minutes, but we figured why not and let's go for it.  We made a decision to stay another 15 minutes after the show let out and leave later than planned. 

"This is Chemistry" was AWESOME!!  The woman who did the demonstrations was lively, funny, and engaging.  She did a great job explaining elements, atoms and what happens when you mix different gasses and liquids together.   She asked for volunteers and got the kids in the act.  She pointed to Ian and said, "You in the gray shirt".  Ian, with his hand held high in the air, looked down first to see what he was wearing before jumping out of his seat and heading to the stage.  It was very funny.


Ian on the stage for the "This is Chemistry" show

With about 15 minutes left, we quickly explored the rest of the top floor and discovered a seriously cool area with all kinds of sports simulators.  The boys could've easily spent a few hours here.  Unfortunately, it was just enough time for them to do one or two machines and then we had to go.

The Franklin Institute is definitely something we will make a return visit.  And when we do come back, we will get there when it opens and stay for as long as the kids want to.  It was a good thing we didn't take the little ones as there wasn't as much for them to do. 

I was really hoping that dinner would be at the Reading Terminal.  I love that place!   However, we met up with everyone at 5:30pm and quickly realized that all the market vendors were closing down.  Apparently Reading Terminal is more of a lunch type place.  We will plan accordingly next visit.  We ended up eating at Chili's, just down the block.  They were able to seat the 9 of us at one table, with no wait.  Bonus! 

Stay tuned for Toppall's Travel's - Part 3.  Our last day traveling and seeing the sights.  Was our new sleep configuration a success?  And more importantly, are we all still talking to each other?    These questions and more answered in the next installment.

Toppall's Travels

My Toppall team and I hit the road at the end of December 2011.  I wanted to make good use of the kids' Winter Break from school and Jeff's vacation time he had built up at work.  I thought it would be fun to see a few things up in the Pennsylvania area.  There were some hits and misses, but overall, a good time was had by all. 

OUR ITINERARY:

Monday, December 26 - the Toppall Hanukkah party at Jeff's parents house in Baltimore.  Spent the night there to get a jump start for our trip on Tuesday.

Tuesday, December 27 - Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ, and dinner with my aunt and uncle in Cherry Hill, NJ

Wednesday, December 28 - Please Touch Museum in the morning, Franklin Institute in the afternoon - both in Philadelphia.

Thursday, December 29 - Crayola Factory in Easton, PA.

We got very fortunate and one our favorite families to hang out with was available to travel with us.  Plus, my cousin Leslie and her family, who lives in Connecticut, was able to join us for our Tuesday's activities.  So this was almost a guarantee of a good time because the kids would have someone to do everything with.

TUESDAY:

Traffic was not an issue and we made it to the Aquarium quickly.  I have to say visiting the aquarium was the only thing I would change in our trip. The kids had fun, but I was a bit disappointed. In years past, I had been to the Baltimore Aquarium and was completely blown away by how fantastic this place was.  Everyone has raved about the Aquarium in Camden and I was expecting something equally as great.  However, I found the building to be closed-in, unable to handle the size of the crowd, and just not as spectacular as I had built the place up to be in my head.  Granted, the rain outside may not have helped and this kept us from watching the Seal show.  Who knows?  That could've changed my mind completely about the place.  If I had not been to the aquarium in Baltimore, this one in Camden may have stood a better chance. 

The name of the the cafe was called "Feeding Frenzy" and this was very appropriate.  It was crazy!  I still can't believe we managed to get 3 tables near each other to sit our crowd of 6 adults and 7 kids.

 
After the Aquarium, we drove to Philly and checked in to our hotel (after a quick stop at my favorite Gluten-Free bakery to pick up some treats).  My sister hooked us up with her guest rewards program profile at the Downtown Marriott, next to the Convention Center.  It was a great location.  The four of us had never stayed all in one room before.  We usually make sure we get a Residence Inn type room and have a door in between the living room and bedroom.  This gives us lots more room and more sleeping options.  This trip was going to be the first time we had to sleep with the kids in the same bed, same room.  Were we setting ourselves up for disaster?  Time would soon tell.

Tuesday night we drove in to Cherry Hill and met up with my Aunt, Uncle, cousin Leslie and her family for dinner.  My Aunt and Uncle took us to a favorite Italian restaurant, Pasta Pomodoro, that has an amazing gluten-free menu.  It was a very yummy dinner and before we knew it, we were driving back into Philly in blinding rain to the hotel.  Good thing I was driving!

Stay tuned for Toppall's Travels:  Part 2 -- Did we make the right decision in our hotel choice?  Did anyone get a good night of sleep?  Was the Please Touch Museum going to disappoint too?  Was this whole trip going to be a let down?   These questions and more answered in part 2.