One could say the Demeter family of Toms River was formed with a little bit of divine intervention.  Mom Janine met her future husband, Andy, when she took her white car for its weekly wash at the establishmentowned by Andy’s family.  After dating for about 18 months, they were married in June of 1994 at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant.  “You never know where you’re going to meet the love of your life,” Janine quips.  She and Andy spent six years enjoying married life and getting settled, before they were blessed to become parents to son Drew, now 10.  Daughter Ally, age 8, and six-year-old son, Evan, round out this faithful family.

The family is “local to the core,” Janine attests.  Andy grew up in Brick and graduated from Toms River North High School. He works as general manager at Silver Bay Car Wash Express Lube, the business owned by his mother and stepfather, MaryLou and Vince Galati, for 22 years.  Janine says that although Andy’s work days are long, they are so grateful that he has been able to steadily provide for their family during this economic downturn.  Janine was born in Point Pleasant Hospital and raised in Brick, graduating from Brick High School, just as her parents, Allen and Pat Dey, had.  Allen even penned the school’s alma mater song!

Janine’s days are spent not only caring for her family and their home, but also serving as a volunteer for the Parent Teacher Fellowship at Ambassador Christian Academy in Toms River, the Pre-K through eighth grade school that the children all attend.  Janine explains that the academy, also known as ACA, is the only accredited classical Christian school in the area, and that ACA has “educated minds and hearts for over 31 years.”  Janine notes that she and Andy are most thankful for this schooling, as the family is built upon a strong faith in God.  Janine says her foundation as a mom is “faith, family, friends and fun,” and that the entire family is also active in their church, Bethany Bible Chapel on Church Road in Toms River.  Noting that the children are “the best of friends,” Janine adds that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made as unique individuals,” quoting Psalm 139:14.  She claims that the kids “understand we are a family, a unit and a team and work together as a whole.” Because of this philosophy, the family “does pretty much everything together,” noting there will be time for separate teams and activities later in life, but for now, they enjoy being together as much as possible.

YCT: Tell us a little about your family and the personalities of each of your children.

Janine: Drew is a history buff, especially anything having to do with the military.  He studies Latin and Spanish and has received honor grades all four marking periods this year.  He’s known as a great friend to all at school and enjoys participating on the school’s bowling team.  Since being introduced to archery at a Christian sleep-away camp he attends for two weeks every summer, he’s become quite a marksman; we even have a hunter friend give him lessons in the summer.  He’s also passionate about boarding – skateboarding, skimboarding in the ocean, and snowboarding in the winter.  I’d describe Ally as having a gracious heart and lots of friends.  She’s a wonderful blessing to me in this house full of boys.  She’s organized and loves to be in the kitchen with me.  Her favorite subject at school is math, and boy, does she know how to take charge, which is especially helpful on school mornings!  Now Evan is affectionately known as “Hank the Tank,” because he is all-boy and full of energy, energy, energy!  Given instruction and guidance, he can channel that energy to good use and has become a great helper in his full-day kindergarten class, and around our house as well.  If I ask him to weed the garden, he may stay out there for hours!

YCT: What is a typical day like in your home?

Janine: There is no such thing as a typical day in our home!  We are blessed to have a lot of family all here in Ocean County – both sets of grandparents, 13 aunts and uncles and 14 cousins to be exact – so there is always someone coming and going.  We often have people over for dinner or visits.  We try to take things as they come and go, and take life as it comes to us.  In the summer, my big rule is to get the chores done before the fun adventure for the day.  We enjoy the outdoors year round and we are so fortunate to have a large protected stretch of woods that abuts our back yard.  The woods will never be developed and we really take advantage of that for adventures and play time.

YCT: What activities do your children participate in after school?

Janine: After the kids complete their homework, they usually go outside to play and take bike rides.  We live on a small, safe street so the kids can ride their scooters and bikes, and play basketball without worry.  We’re the only family on our street that doesn’t have a dog, so the kids walk the neighbors’ dogs.  They know the names of all the dogs and their humans!

YCT: What is your favorite thing to do locally with your family?

Janine: We often go to Island Beach State Park in Seaside for fun and fishing and where we spot red foxes, instead of the old “yellow cars” game.  We like to go bike riding, especially at Toms River’s Winding River Park or on the Manasquan Bike Path. We also go hiking in Cattus Island Park in Toms River and Bass River State Park in Tuckerton.  For Evan’s sixth birthday in February, we had a hiking party for 17 people through the snow covered trails at Bass River State Park, then hotdogs and s’mores cooked over the fire pit in our backyard.  Last winter, during the snow days off from school, we had a major Olympics party in our back yard – I told all the moms to dress in layers, because we were going to be staying outside through it all!  The past few years we had season passes for Great Adventure and went often.  This year we decided on state park passes, which allows us to bike and hike all the state parks.  I thought this would be especially informative this year, as it will augment Drew’s study of New Jersey as a fourth grader in school this past year.

YCT: Do you have any favorite local vacation spots?

Janine: For the past three summers, we have gone to Pennsylvania for vacation.  We have climbed Bushkill Falls, an amazing waterfall system in the Poconos.  We have canoed the Lehigh Gorge and hiked Boulder Field in Hickory Run State Park.  The trips always conclude with a day at Camelbeach, a water park near our vacation spots.  But the best spot of all is the Jersey Shore.  We are beach bums when given the chance and take advantage of the local attractions like Breakwater Beach in Seaside and Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Point Pleasant.

YCT: Have you ever gone on vacation without the kids?

Janine: Since we’ve become parents, we have taken two trips without the kids.  During the years Andy and I each turned 40, we went away for a few days to relax in the sun & sand.  We are so lucky to have both sets of grandparents here in Toms River, when they are not staying at their other homes in Florida.  Therefore, we were able to go away with peace of mind.

YCT: Do you have a favorite family-friendly restaurant?

Janine: We try to go out about once a week to cost effective restaurants such as Five Guys, TGI Fridays and Friendly’s – all in Toms River.  It’s nice to incorporate a little education in the meal, too.  For instance, Five Guys offers potatoes from different states on a rotating schedule and the kids get a kick out of learning a bit about the state their fries have come from!

YCT: What is your favorite date night location and how often do you get to go out with just your husband?

Janine: Since Andy works such long hours, the kids and I always try to pop in for a car wash or to just visit.  We like to pull him away to dine at Surf Taco in Toms River or bring in a “picnic pizza” so we can eat together.  We feel that we are primarily ‘mom and dad’ to these young children, so we don’t go off alone too often.  However, I’m sure date nights will come back to us at some point.  We often reconnect at the end of the day sharing the day’s activities regarding children or business on our back deck watching the sun set and the moon rise.

YCT: What is your favorite non-mommy thing to do and how often do you get to do it?

Janine: Yay and yes!  I believe all moms should have an abundant amount of “gal friends” to give advice, laugh and cry, and having so many you always find one free when you or she needs it most.  I have an artsy side and when my friend, Karin Killian of 2friends hand-made ribbon, gifts and accessories, asked me to join her at local craft fairs, I jumped at the chance.  Together we attend about 15 outdoor craft venues a year from Long Beach Island to Monmouth County, including the Festival of the Sea in Point Pleasant, Brielle Day and the Toms River Sailfest.  It’s a great opportunity to promote her business, be outdoors and meet new people.

YCT: What is your husband¹s favorite non-daddy thing to do?

Janine: Andy is a different story – his friends all come to him, as he is a steady fixture at the Silver Bay Car Wash.  In his free time, he enjoys spending time in the yard and garden but is never alone as he always has six little helping hands.  He spends lots of time working – this is how our family is balanced right now.

YCT: Do you patronize any advertisers from our magazine?

Janine: Ally has gone to Sparkle Diva and we have celebrated the kids’ birthdays at the Jersey Shore Pirate Adventure and with Gamin’ Ride at our home.  We have had swimming lessons at Pied Piper Swim School. We make a platter once a year at  Color Me Mine and we frequent Bee Mine consignment shop in     Toms River.

YCT: Do you have any parenting advice that you would like to offer our readers?

Janine: Growing up I had a dear family friend named Katherine Mead who was a mother of seven.  She once told me to get up before the kids.  Of course, this was hard when they were babies but since they have been school age, this has become a wonderful habit.  I wake up one half hour before the kids to pray, meditate and be still.  Then I have my morning coffee and am ready for morning hugs and all that the day may bring.  I also think that being flexible and spontaneous works very well for us – to overcome stress and upsets during the day.  For example, sometimes we have a picnic dinner in our own living room, just for a change of pace.

YCT: What is your favorite part of Your Child Today magazine?

Janine: My favorite part is the ‘Focus on the Family’ feature.  I use the ‘Calendar of Events’ section over and over to find great local events for our spontaneous adventures!

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