Thank God For BBYO

So shortly after Rebecca fell in the pool at the JCC today fully clothed, we were heading out to the car with her wearing nothing but a diaper because we had no dry clothes for her, and it just so happened that we walked past some people from the Jewish youth organization BBYO with a pile of extra t shirts they were trying to get rid of. They outfitted Rebecca in a t shirt that went all the way down to her ankles, but it was DRY and it was WARM! Then Ben walked up to them, stripped off his own t shirt right there, and said, "I'd like a Medium, please."

Signs of Summer

Blueberry peach cobbler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mini Munchkin

Rebecca's extraordinarily awesome preschool teacher Miss Lindsay made tie dye t shirts for all the kids in the class that say "Mini Munchkins" on the back and CJP '10 on the front, because she has called her class the "mini munchkins" all year. Rebecca wore hers for two days straight before I managed to get it off her to put it in the wash.

Good Little Jewish Girl

Solved

Not going to mention how long that took me though.

Taylor's Finish Line Festival

Yesterday afternoon we attended a festival to raise money for the children's hospital and the Make a Wish Foundation. Since Joel works at the one and is on the board of the other, we got in free with cool VIP badges that got us access to a suite with free food (which our ungrateful children turned their noses up at except for the M&Ms, cupcakes and cookies).

Below are some pictures from the festivities.

When we asked Becca what her favorite part was afterwards, she said, "Jumpy, jumpy, jumpy!"

Sibling Warfare

Best Meal in Charlotte

Charlotte has a lot of fine eating establishments, so many that sometimes Joel and I debate with friends about what is our favorite meal in Charlotte - the risotto and scallops at New South Kitchen? The filet a la Blue at Blue? For Ben the answer is obvious - the Seasoned Buttered Noodles at Noodles & Company! And since this kid can use all the incentive to eat he can get, I try to get him there on a regular basis to fill his tummy with his favorite dish.

Proof

That Becca seems to be overcoming her fear of dogs. Oh great. There goes my excuse for not letting Ben have one. Quick, think of some more!

Heads on a Table

Becca didn't quite have the idea. You RUINED it, Becca!

Ben and Uncle Mike

No family resemblence here. Whatsoever.

Food, Fun, Family, and More Food

This past weekend we celebrated Joel's Dad's 70th birthday. Mike and Kathleen flew in Thursday night from Philly, and the weekend was full of fun and lots of FOOD! On Friday, Kathleen and I went out to breakfast together to Terrace Cafe, where I had red velvet waffles, and Kathleen had french toast. We spent the afternoon preparing a 70th birthday feast for our father in law for dinner that included turkey burgers, grilled chicken, a chocolate cake, and a key lime pie.

Saturday was spent hanging out with the kids, who were both very happy to have their aunt and uncle visiting! We also had a yummy lunch at Boneheads (I had the Piri Piri chicken tacos) followed by frozen yogurt at Yoforia (I had pomegranite frozen yogurt with fruity pebbles on top.... mmmmm....)

Saturday night we got a babysitter and we took Joel's dad to Del Frisco's for dinner where we indulged in crab cakes, shrimp, filet mignon,wine, and all sorts of delicious side dishes and desserts. I think I am still digesting that meal. We had a great dinner and a great weekend!

And Then She Did it Again

(with the same result).

This afternoon we had a party at Monkey Joe's for Rebecca's preschool class, a kind of end-of-the-year thing, one last party before the kids go their separate ways for the summer. The kids had a great time jumping and sliding although Ben (who was also invited along with the other siblings) learned the hard way that after eating 3 pieces of pizza and ice cream, jumping and sliding again right afterwards is not the best thing for the tummy. He looked a bit green the whole way home.

Mother's Day Weekend

Our mother's day weekend was busy but not particularly eventful. Whatever that means :) Joel had to work this weekend, and work was busy, so we didn't see a whole lot of him unfortunately.

On Saturday morning the kids and I did errands - got them new bathing suits at Target and then finally gave into the silly band craze and let Ben pick out two packs of silly bands at the toy store. Of course Rebecca wanted some too because whatever Ben has, she needs too. So I let her have a pack too. When we got home the kids changed into their new bathing suits and played with the water cannon in the back yard. A couple of the neighborhood kids joined in the fun also, lured to our back yard by the high pitched shrieks of my children ;)

After we dried off from that I took the kids to lunch at Noodles & Company, which I like to take them to because they always both eat all their food! Becca loves the mac n cheese and Ben loves the buttered noodles. Later in the afternoon after Rebecca's nap we visited some friends who had a new baby a few weeks ago. Rebecca was quite fascinated by the baby, and even this morning in the car she was singing, "Baby Luca, baby Luca, I love baby Luca...." Joel met us there after a while, and we ordered pizza for dinner.

Yesterday, with Joel at work once again, the kids and I took their bikes to the Greenway (after having breakfast at Starbucks). Becca rode her tricycle and Ben rode his bike, but he stopped about every 50 feet to pet a different dog. Becca pedaled around all the dogs as widely as she could manage. The weather was great - cool and sunny, with the high eventually getting up to about 70 or so. It was perfect weather for being outside.

After lunch we went to Ben's soccer game, and later on when Joel got home we met his parents at Brio for a delicious dinner in honor of mother's day. Rebecca, having missed her nap and fallen asleep briefly in the car on the way to the restaurant, was in a fragile mood but well behaved over all. Below are some random pictures from throughout the weekend:

Terrible Twos

I seem to recall that being two for Ben was not that bad. Being three was a bit troublesome at parts, though not sure if adjusting to his new baby sister was wrapped up in that. But anyway, our dose of the "terrible twos" with Ben doesn't seem like it was all that terrible. Or maybe that's just in retrospect.

The terrible twos for Rebecca on the other hand, are beginning to live up to their name. The last couple days especially, I don't know if she's been overtired or what -- but she has been OFF THE CHARTS CRANKY! For example yesterday on the way home from preschool she threw a tantrum because she wanted me to drive on the other side of the road (ie into oncoming traffic). Not something I was about to do, so I had to listen to her scream the entire way home. Once at home I lost count of the number of fits she pitched, one at Joel because he tried to sing a song to her, and one at Ben because he patted her on the head, and on and on.

Today she seemed to be marginally better behaved than yesterday, but she did still throw a couple of big fits (my favorites are the ones where she stamps her feet alternately and so hard and fast it looks like she's sprinting in place) and tonight at bedtime when I told her sternly for the 5th time that it was story time not play time and that if she didn't want a story she was going to go straight into her crib - she flopped herself down on the floor in front of her bookshelf and said "FINE!" just like a grouchy teenager might. Leaving Mommy to wonder exactly how many more years I am going to have to put up with the attitude!

Sum-Sum-Summertime

Today was the kindergarten program at Ben's school. Judging from how long I've had to listen to Ben practice his singing and dancing, they've been practicing for WEEKS. Apparently they couldn't get all seven kindergarten classes - 150ish kids - on stage at once so the performance was held outside in front of the school. At 1pm in 90 degree weather. Fortunately, it was only a 30 minute program. We carpooled with some neighbors and brought the kids home early afterwards, which Ben was very happy about.

Here he is with his class singing one of the songs that I've heard around the house for weeks now... so much so that Rebecca has started singing it too! Unfortunately as usual they put the tall kids in back, so Ben's in the last row, and the video is a little out of focus because I was trying to zoom in... Humor me anyway.

Feels Like Summer

It was a hot and humid weekend here in Charlotte, with temps hovering around 90. Yesterday we had a studio session at Southern Light Photography, where we attempted to get a family portrait taken. I say "attempted" because I'm not sure how it's going to end up turning out. Ben was great at first, and Rebecca was terrified, and then later Rebecca was luke-warm and Ben was sullen. So what we actually ended up with will remain to be seen. We'll get to see the proofs later this week. The photographer was very patient, good with kids, and had a cute little cockapoo named Susie that the kids really liked (even Rebecca who is usually afraid of dogs).

Following the photography session we were supposed to go out to dinner with friends but their babysitter cancelled at the last minute so instead they brought their kids over to our house, and the four of them got thoroughly soaked playing with the water cannon on the play set. After that we all went to dinner at a neat pizza place that has a platform where the kids can stand and look into the kitchen to watch the pizza being made, with a plexi-glass teller window type thing through which the chefs can pass the kids pieces of dough to play with. This turned out to be ALMOST as good as having a babysitter, because aside from the time they spent actually eating, all four kids spent the meal with their noses pressed up against the window watching the chefs and playing with pizza dough.

Today was spent grocery shopping, going to Ben's soccer game, and barbecuing. It was a good day. Here are some pictures from today of the kids playing on the play set and at soccer. We'd also like to wish a happy 4th birthday to cousin Charlie up in MA, and sorry we couldn't be there to have some Scooby Doo cake with you!