Penny and Bill Chandler and their children are living their own real-life fairy tale.  It all started in a land not so very far away (Brick Township), and not so very long ago (the Spring of 2000), when Penny was swept away by her knight in shining armor, although he was driving a dump truck rather than a white horse. Penny’s father, the late Roy Wyckoff, needed some stone for a project at his home, and placed an order with Chandler’s Excavating, the gravel company owned by Bill’s father.  Bill, ten years Penny’s junior, had caught a glimpse of Penny some three years earlier, riding on the back of a Harley Davidson on Mantoloking Road, the street on which they had both grown up, and was smitten.  Prepped with a dashing new haircut, Bill set out to deliver the stone, and left with the promise of a date with his future queen.  At their wedding in July 2003, Penny arrived not in a pumpkin coach, but on the back of a dump truck, to meet her Prince Charming for their nuptials at the Riverfront Gazebo in Beachwood. They were blessed with four little princesses ~ identical twins, Larissa and Ashley, in 2004, Caitlyn in 2006, and Cynthia in 2008.  The youngest even has a fairy tale nickname, as her sisters call her “Rella” after Cinderella.  They settled in a cottage near the woods of Brick and are all living happily ever after.  “I know it may sound corny, but we are living our dreams come true,” quips Penny.  “We may not have a castle, and it’s a tight squeeze in our house, but we have lots of room for love.”

Bill works as a civil engineer for Manchester Township and also serves on the Board of Adjustment for their home town of Brick, where he enjoys applying his professional knowledge to land use decisions in the town.  Penny has been a stay-at-home mother since their third baby arrived, and keeps her foot in the professional door as a per diem fitness specialist for her former full-time employer, Meridian Health, but she notes, “my hours are few and far between!”  Penny has recently begun to utilize her background in exercise and nutrition in her new venture as a private personal trainer.  Penny’s mother and step-father, Kathleen and Jim Curran, moved to Florida last spring, from their home in Brick, but Bill’s folks, Bill and Carol Chandler, still live in the Mantoloking Road home in which Bill and his siblings were raised.  The Chandlers also have a wide circle of friends, local families with children of similar ages to their own daughters, with whom they regularly socialize. “There are so many kids that when we get together for play-dates, it looks like a giant birthday party,” Penny notes.  While Penny says that her girls love to play with other kids, she is thrilled that her daughters are so close and enjoy each other’s company the best, which she refers to as the “power of sisterhood.”  Rounding out the family are Maggie, an 11-year-old Greater Swiss Mountain dog, and their puppy, one-year-old Beauty, an English springer spaniel.

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

Penny:  Our oldest daughter, Larissa, is almost six and takes after her father.  She is very detailed and systematic and is my “mother hen.”  Her twin, Ashley, is our personal dance and parade choreographer around the house.  Caitlyn will turn four this month and being the middle child, she loves the spotlight.  Our two-year-old, Cindy, is very independent.  Since the oldest three girls all share a birthday month, we usually have a gigantic party with lots of autumn and Halloween decorations and activities.  We really go all out!

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

Penny:   The coffee pot button is pushed on, the dog and puppy go outside and depending on who is awake, everyone remains relatively quiet until I get up, because I am not a morning mom!  I always fix Caitlyn and Cindy’s hair before breakfast, otherwise they end up with it in their mouths – yuck! After breakfast, the older two girls head off to Kindergarten during the week, and Cindy and I take Caitlyn to preschool three days a week.  After school, once everyone is home again, we take the girls to their activities.  Then at 7:00pm we eat, read and sleep – hooray!  Weekends are always easily filled with “catch-up” stuff, parties and church every Sunday.  We really love our church, Brick Presbyterian on Drum Point Road, where Bill serves as an elder.  I sometimes help out in the babysitting room and the girls attend Sunday School.

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

Penny:  Larissa and Ashley have attended gymnastics at Twisters in Lakewood for the last two years and have recently joined the Northeast Elite Gymnastics Team, which will compete all over the country.  All four girls attend  dance school.  This is the fourth year for the older girls.  They take ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop, and are also members of a competition dance team.  Their first competition will be in Somerset, NJ, in November.

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

Penny: We always attend Your Child Today’s Family Expo in the spring.  The girls love to get their faces painted and watch the great entertainment there.  We also love to participate in Jenkinson’s Easter Parade and the Baby Parade in August.  We build a float and configure costumes and enter all the contests.  We have been lucky to win prizes in several categories, including “Best Dressed”, “Twins”, “Best Float” and “Funniest”.  I also belong to a support group called Jersey Shore Mothers of Multiples (JSMOM).  I joined when the twins were two and we enjoy the outings they coordinate, as well as several theme parties they offer each year.

YCT:  Do you have any favorite local vacation spots?

Penny:  Since our girls are still so little, we try to stay fairly local for vacations.  Once or twice a year, we’ll head down to Harrah’s in Atlantic City.  The girls are enthralled by all the lights and sounds as we walk through the casino, and they love the pool and boardwalk.  We have also gone camping at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Campground in Elmer, NJ.  They have nice cabins available for rent so we don’t have to rough it in a tent, and offer theme weekends with lots of activities for the kids.

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

Penny:  We have gone to Atlantic City for one or two nights and last year we went to the White Sands in Point Pleasant Beach because we won the stay as a prize in the Jenkinson’s Parade!

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

Penny:  Bill and I really enjoy taking the girls to Craig’s Restaurant in Brick for brunch after church on Sunday every couple of months.  For a special treat, we will have hibachi-style dinner at Ikko Restaurant in Brick.  But our favorite is cheese steak hoagies from Pat’s Pizza in Point Pleasant.

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

Penny:  We don’t go out too often because our girls are so little and we are really just coming out of the baby stage.  We are happy to stay at home together.  The girls play in their new playhouse in the yard and we sit on the porch and chat.  When my mother is in town, we take advantage and sneak in a quick dinner out for just the two of us.

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

Penny:  I love going to my gym in Brick.  I take Zumba classes there twice a week and I absolutely love it. The Friday night class sets my mood to happy for the whole weekend.  I also love attending gift auctions with my girlfriends, or any kind of spa service.  For the last four years, I have been a member of a Christian-based support group called Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) and I go to their monthly meetings. Those ladies are so kind and have taught me the tradition of bringing prepared meals to friends when they have a new baby in the house, which is always so appreciated!

YCT:  What is your husband’s favorite non-daddy thing to do?

Penny: Bill loves serving on the Board of Adjustment (BOA) and attending the meetings.  He also belongs to the Pinelands Antique Engine Association, but they meet the same night as the BOA so he contributes by serving as their webmaster and historian.

YCT:  Do you patronize any advertisers from our magazine?

Penny:  The girls and I love to go to Sparkle Diva for a fun girls-only activity and had a lot of fun when we went to Pirate Adventure.  We regularly go to Jenkinson’s Boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach and the Casino Pier in Seaside.  Breakwater Beach in Seaside is made affordable to us by purchasing tickets during Easter weekend or Slider’s birthday in July when tickets are Buy One/Get One Free!

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

Penny:  My best advice would be to follow through on what you tell your children and don’t back yourself into a corner when it comes to discipline.  My husband would like to add that after discipline happens, always follow-up with a hug and kiss afterwards, and remind them why they were disciplined.

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

Penny:  I really do enjoy the entire magazine, but when I first began to read it three years ago, I would go right to the Calendar of Events to see what I could bring the children to locally.  Now I read every page online.  I also really enjoy the photo contests!