Am I Really That Predictable?

This morning it was really quite cold here in Charlotte... probably around 30 degrees or so when I left to take the kids to camp/preschool around 8:15. As I usually do, I opened the garage door about 5 minutes prior to our departure. As Ben climbed into the car he started complaining about how cold it was and the fact that I had opened the garage door, making it even colder.

I opened my mouth to remind him that we used to live in Massachusetts and how cold it was there, and I think I was going to throw in something about how we didn't have a garage then either and our car had to be chiseled out of a block of ice every morning in the wintertime, but I hardly got the chance to say a word because as soon as I opened my mouth and began with "Well, you know--" Ben interrupted me with, "I know, I KNOW! We used to live in Massachusetts!"

Play Date

I dragged Ben away from his video game and Becca away from Backyardigans for a play date yesterday at the park with one of Rebecca's friends from school. The weather was mild and sunny, and it was a great day for the park! One thing I must say about raising girls vs. boys, watching little girls play together is so much cuter than watching little boys play together! At Rebecca's age, Ben's idea of a play date was to throw a tantrum over who got what truck to push, and then run around with his friend like a maniac. One would lead, one would follow, every once in a while they would switch, and barely a word would be exchanged unless it was to squabble over something.

Rebecca on the other hand, played so cutely with her friend Amelia, sliding, climbing, playing peek-a-boo, and not a tantrum was had by either party. Yeah! Girls rock!

Great Wolf Lodge

The kids and I left for Great Wolf Lodge yesterday during a torrential downpour. I was very proud of Ben, who talked calmly to Rebecca during the at-times-harrowing drive, reassuring her. Rebecca hates going through the car wash, and driving to Great Wolf Lodge during this rain storm was at times exactly like driving through a car wash. For 35 minutes, at high speeds.

Once we got there it was a bit tricky logistically, since we had to unload the car and get our bags up to our room, with me being the only adult to shepherd the kids and lug the bags since Joel was meeting us there after he finished at work. Once again Ben stepped up and helped as best he could with the bags and holding Rebecca's hand for me. Way to go Ben! What a mature little man he's becoming.

Great Wolf Lodge was huge, and all decked out for Christmas with trees and lights and a snow show in the lobby at 8pm followed by story time (the "snow" was actually little soap bubbles but that didn't stop Ben from trying to catch them on his tongue).

Joel met us at the water park about an hour after we got there, which was good because Ben wanted to go on all the water slides and I couldn't take him because of Rebecca. Joel went on a bunch of slides with Ben and then we "switched" and Joel stayed with Becca at the wave pool and the little kid splash park area, and I went on the slides with Ben. They have some really big, like four story, water slides that you go down on a raft or two person inner tube. It always seemed to end up that I would be the one going down facing backwards around all the twists and turns, which delighted Ben to no end and made mommy dizzy!! There was one slide called the "tornado" that we weren't brave enough to attempt but we did most of the other ones multiple times. The best thing about it was that there weren't really any lines, or only very short lines, to get on the slides. So we got a lot of sliding done.

After the afternoon in the water park, we were all hungry (climbing up and down the stairs for the slides was quite a workout) so we got changed and went to one of the Lodge's several restaurants for dinner. The kids were STARVING and since they had a kid's buffet we wasted no time in filling their plates so they could start eating. We didn't care that by the time we got our food, they were almost done. We just went back up to the kid's buffet and filled two bowls with Fruit Loops and the kids were quite happy to munch on fruit loops and watch what was going on in the water park below through the big windows in the restaurant.

Dinner was followed by about an hour and a half in the arcade, where Ben and Joel played a lot of games and Rebecca climbed on and off the seats of a lot of games, and then seemed to find her "calling", which is inserting tokens into the slots for the games. She followed Joel around begging for tokens and then would sit down on the floor to carefully insert them into whatever game Joel and Ben decided to play.

Following the arcade we went to the lobby for the aforementioned snow show, and then headed up to our room. Joel left at that point because he was on call and we were all sharing one room so his pager going off in the night would have woken everyone up. Becca was pretty keyed up so getting her to fall asleep was challenging; I ended up having to leave the TV on for her softly and it took about an hour before all of a sudden I heard her snoring very loudly. Ben, from his bed, piped up "Mom I think she's asleep now - you can turn off the TV!"

This morning we had breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts followed by some more time in the water park, though without Joel it was not so fun for Ben, since I wouldn't let him do the slides by himself even though when we entered, the attendant on duty pronounced him tall enough to be allowed in all areas of the park. I said, "No he's not, he's only five!" She seemed to think I was joking because after a moment she asked, "Is he really five?" Ben contented himself with playing in the wave pool but after an hour or two he came over to me and announced, "Mom, this was really fun but I think I am ready to go home and play Lego Star Wars [one of his video games] now."

So we did.

All in all we had a great time, and I would definitely like to come back again though next time with Joel for the whole time, and maybe to stay for two nights instead of one. There were a lot of things we didn't get to try, such as a high-tech scavenger hunt called MagiQuest where you get a "magic" wand and then have to find "magic" objects all over the Lodge to accumulate points. There were kids running all over with magic wands pointing them at pictures and statues, and if they were magic ones they'd light up and speak a message or something when the wand was pointed at them. At one point we were sitting in the lobby eating our breakfast this morning and we happened to be next to an ordinary-looking carved wolf statue and a kid ran up and pointed his wand at it and it starting talking - Rebecca nearly jumped out of her skin. "Who saying that? Who saying that?" she kept asking. Ben would have loved to do the scavenger hunt but we didn't end up having time.

Pictures below, though not so many of the water park as I would have liked since I was more occupied with making sure my kids didn't drown ;)

Movies, Magicians & Chinese Food

I had the day off from work today. There's usually one company holiday a year that I have off and the kids don't, and today was it. It's not even a full day either because the kids got out a little early, but I took full advantage of it. After doing a couple of errands in the morning, I headed over to the bookstore for some coffee and browsing. Joel was able to get off early, so he met me for a quick lunch and then we headed to the movies to see Up In The Air. (Two thumbs up).

After the movie we headed to the JCC where I dropped Joel off for a quick workout, collected Rebecca from preschool, and met Ben's camp group at the magic show that they had scheduled. Ben was happy to see me and I was happy to get to see the magic show with him, but Rebecca for some reason was petrified for the first 10 minutes of the show, which involved some lights and music, flowers into birds and bunnies out of hats, typical magic show stuff. At one point when she was upset Ben leaned over and gave her a kiss and a hug and she said tearfully, "thank you, Ben!" Always minding her manners, even during a meltdown.... She finally calmed down and was fine but didn't pay too much attention to the magician. Instead she ate a lollipop and climbed on and off the auditorium seats. But at least she stopped screaming her head off so I considered it a success.

After the show finished we retrieved Joel from the fitness center, made a quick pit stop at home, and then headed out to meet Joel's parents for Chinese food. Apparently a lot of other people participate in the Christmas Eve Chinese food tradition because the restaurant was packed even though we got there shortly after 5pm.

Tomorrow I'll have a busy morning of packing/ getting ready for our "mini vacation" and then we'll head up to Great Wolf Lodge around noon and returning Saturday night... Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Miss Patti, Master Hip & Some Tall Tales

1. Rebecca's preschool's parent-teacher organization was raising money by selling copies of a CD by the school's music teacher, the famous Miss Patti, so I bought one, thinking how nice it would be for Becca to be able to listen to her favorite Miss Patti songs in the car. She LOVES music class of course. The first time I put it on for her in the car it was very cute, she peered around cautiously as if expecting Miss Patti herself to pop out from under the front seat or something. What I didn't figure into my calculation was that Ben, also familiar with Miss Patti from his two years at CJP, would be equally enthusiastic about the CD and now every time we get in the car both of them immediately start chorusing "Miss Patti! Miss Patti!" And when we get where we're going, and I turn off the car, Rebecca cries. No lie.

2. Ben has decided that he needs a new nickname. "Your nickname is Pudgie," I told him in response to this revelation. I started calling Ben "Pudgie" in the car one day on the way home from his one-month doctor visit, and somehow it stuck. For the first couple of years I called him Pudgie more often than I called him Ben, and five years later he still gets called Pudgie now and then. "Pudgie is not cool enough," Ben informed me with a straight face. "I want my new nickname to be Master Hip. Tell Daddy, okay?"

3. As we were getting ready to eat dinner tonight, Ben confided something to me. "In school," he said, sounding quite troubled, "we have to write about what we did during the weekend, and I can never remember what I did. So I make it up. Is that bad?" "What do you write about?" I asked. Ben's writing assignments are exercises in heiroglyphics and very creatively sounded out words. They are usually 2-3 sentences each and it's a very good day if I can make out half of what he's written. "Last week," he said, "I wrote that we went to Qdoba for dinner and we saw a rat there." I explained to Ben that he should try to remember something about his weekend to write about, but that if he can't it is fine to make something up as long as he doesn't pretend it's the truth. He seemed quite relieved that I wasn't mad at him. His teacher, however, may never go to Qdoba again.

Friday Update

1. We celebrated the final night of Chanukah tonight. As the days have gone on the kids have stopped demanding their presents (probably because they got all the good stuff the first few nights). Tonight after dinner they retired to the living room to watch tv and I had to REMIND them about their presents. Ben got a game for his Leapster, which he promptly decided he didn't like because it was "a learning game". I guess the Leapster's time has passed. Becca got scrub-a-dub dogs that have "dirt" spots on them that come off in hot water. Well, Ben thought this was the coolest thing EVER. Who knew? He is in the bathtub right now playing with them. Becca seemed only mildly interested. Guess I got that one all wrong.

2. Today was Ben's last day of school before the two week winter break. It was "pajama day" so he wore his pajamas to school. Why they can't do pajama day in warmer weather is beyond me. Even in his warmest pjs he was shivering at the bus stop this morning. During the break, Ben goes to winter break camp at the JCC. They have all sorts of fun field trips and activities planned for the kids. He is really excited about it and to be off from school for two whole weeks!

3. Since we'll be in town for Christmas - Joel is working and I have to save my vacation time for Baby Robinson's arrival in (I hope!) January - I booked a "mini-vacation" here for the kids and I (and Joel hopefully will be able to meet us there after work since it's only 35-40 minutes away). We'll go on Christmas day and come home the day after. I was looking for a little getaway close by where we can have some fun and this seemed to fit the bill.

4. While everywhere north of us is bracing for a winter storm, we're getting RAINED on. There is nothing worse than 34 degrees and raining, with a wind chill. Ugh. It is the most miserable weather. Ben has been hoping it will turn to snow but so far not even a hint of changeover. I'd take snow over this weather, and you all know how I feel about snow!

That's all the news for now...

More Chanukah Pictures

Did I hear someone ask for more Chanukah pictures???

If Only Someone Had Wiped Her Face

Another parent took these pictures of Becca at a class function that I was not able to attend. Despite the dirty face, I think they are cute anyway!

Like That Scene From The Godfather, Only Cuter

Chanukah, Night #4

The kids got their presents from Grandma and Grandpa tonight -- Becca wasted no time in giving hers a hug and then settling down for a ride, and Ben decided his was better for wrestling with. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

At Least We Got Him Out of His Pajamas

Since we gave Ben the GameCube and about 8 games on Friday night he's been pretty much glued to it. We decided to let him "get it out of his system" this weekend, and the weather's been cold and rainy and we haven't really had anything else to do this weekend anyway. In fact Ben, Rebecca and I have not been out of the house all weekend yet. Ben stayed in his pajamas until 3:30 yesterday when I finally made him get dressed since we were having a party. Of course during the party, he introduced his friend Jared (who was over for the party) to the GameCube, so the two of them didn't make an appearance downstairs until it was time for dinner/candle lighting/presents and went right back upstairs after dessert.

Today has been a slight improvement - Ben only stayed in his pajamas until 1:30. Nanny and Papa arrived shortly thereafter to celebrate Hanukkah night #3 with us, and Ben wasted no time in introducing them to Super Mario Smash Brothers. Though by the looks of things, Nanny needs some practice.

Chanukah Party

We had some friends over for a Chanukah party last night. The kids helped to get ready by running around in circles as fast as they could. Though they did stop long enough to pose for a picture, right after I told them for the 100th time TO STOP RUNNING THROUGH THE KITCHEN. We all had a good time (and we hope our guests did too!) The kids topped it off by sleeping until 8 (Ben) and 9 (Becca) this morning. YEAH!

Go... Raiders?

A certain Aunt and Uncle sent Becca a Raiderette outfit for Hanukkah and have been anxiously waiting to see a picture of her in it!

Chanukah, Day 1

Aside from some issues this morning -- Ben sulking and almost missing the bus, and Rebecca causing me to wrench my back trying to get her into her car seat because of all the I-want-to-do-it-myself squirming -- we had a nice beginning to Chanukah 2009. Oh except for that the kids whined all through dinner for gelt and presents. The kids seemed to enjoy their presents, especially Ben, whose present wasn't even new -- we gave him an old GameCube video game system and some games we bought used at GameStop. He played Super Mario Sunshine for two hours and when we informed him that it was time to go to bed he burst into tears and threw the controller. He could only be pacified by the promise that he'd be allowed to play again tomorrow AS SOON AS HE WAKES UP. I am bracing myself for an early morning awakening. I think we're going to need to establish some ground rules with this video game stuff.

Sometimes, They Can Be So Sweet...

Lately the kids have been having their share of sibling rivalry issues -- Ben has declared on several occasions that he doesn't want a baby sister (a little too late for that I told him) -- and Rebecca is making up for her laid back first year or so of life by being anything but. "Strong willed" and "dramatic" are words that have been used diplomatically to describe her, recently at school. This morning was typical; Rebecca took off with Ben's underwear while he was trying to get dressed, and he pursued her half naked through the whole house before finally cornering her and taking them back.

Tonight I witnessed a more mellow moment -- Ben read Rebecca a bedtime story and then as I put her in her crib She threw her arms over the side of the crib and called, "Ben! Come give me a hug!" Ben obliged and they gave each other a big hug. As Ben and I left the room, he turned to me and said, "That was really sweet, wasn't it?"

Thank You and Goodbye!

Last night we went out to dinner with our friends Joanna and Eric, whose son Jared goes to school with Ben, and their other son Evan goes to school with Rebecca. We went to a hibachi restaurant, which I was really looking forward to since we hadn't been to one since moving to Charlotte.

Since Rebecca had never been to one, I was pretty sure she would freak during the cooking part, and I was not disappointed. She jumped into my lap and buried her head in my shoulder the whole time our food was being cooked. When the chef was done and was saying goodbye, she stood up on my lap and said tearfully, "Thank you! Thank you! Goodbye! Goodbye!" At least she was polite about it. She kept waving and saying goodbye until he had packed up his supplies and left - a not-so-subtle hint. But every time the waiter would come over to take drink orders, etc, she would jump into my arms again until they left. So she did not have the greatest time. The older boys, Ben and Jared, thought it was great, and Evan (a year older than Rebecca) watched the cooking while peeking through his fingers. I had steak and shrimp, and it was delicious!

On the way home we stopped at the grocery store so Joel could run in for some ice cream. The kids and I waited in the car, and Rebecca dropped one of her toys on the floor. I asked Ben if he could please find it for her, since he was out of his seat. He leaned over and started feeling around the floor for her toy, finally having to get down on hands and knees to get it. As he reached under the seat to get it, I heard him grumble, "I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS!"

The Truth Is Out There

Tonight while he was doing his homework Ben said very casually, "I don't know why, but I keep dreaming about going to see the knights, yesterday and today. I had the same dream."

"Knights," I asked, "like knights in armor?" Ben doesn't usually talk about his dreams.

"Yes," he answered. "Knights with metal fingers. They stick them in me."

"Umm," I said, "where do they stick them....?"

"I'm not telling you!" he giggled, "It's gross!" Then, changing his mind, he leaned over and whispered, "IN MY BUTT!" And then went back to happily coloring patterns on his homework sheet.

From my years of watching The X Files, I of course immediately drew the conclusion that OH MY GOD MY SON IS BEING ABDUCTED BY SPACE ALIENS!!!!!

I do, however, take some comfort in the fact that he at least seems to think it's funny...