Halloween Party

This afternoon was our neighborhood's annual Halloween party. You'll notice a distinct lack of Ben pictures, because he was a bit peeved that the friend he was expecting did not show up. Becca hooked up with her friends Mira and Nomi, who live in our neighborhood and also are in Becca's class at preschool. So she was happy and quite willing to pose for pictures with her friends

Puppy Progress Report, Week 1

Kind of hard to believe we have had Clara for a week now! And still she will only be 8 weeks old tomorrow. In the last couple of days she has made huge progress with potty training and sleeping. We've been accident-free for two days, and she is starting to let us know when she has to go out by pawing at the back door. She slept through the night last night, and I think she would be doing that more consistently if it weren't for Ulysses who usually sleeps with Ben for part of the night and then meows to go outside around 3am, which wakes Clara up. Last night Ulysses stayed in on Ben's bed all night, so Clara slept through the night. Even when she does wake up and want to go out at 3am, she does her "business" really fast and goes right back in her crate with no whining lately.

Our biggest issue seems to be teaching the kids to play with her appropriately. Ben tends to use himself as a toy, which encourages Clara to roughhouse with him, and Rebecca tries to maul her whenever she's sleeping and carry her around like a baby but when the dog is playful Rebecca gets overexcited/ the dog gets overexcited and then Rebecca squeals and runs away and the dog thinks she's playing and chases her. So those seem to be our main issues at the moment but we're trying to supervise the kids' play time with Clara and to teach Rebecca especially how to play with her properly.

Besides that, and the fact that I think I need to call a plumber because our sink is totally stopped up (Putting uneaten dog food down the garbage disposal not a good idea?) Clara (and the rest of us) seem to be adjusting and settling into a good routine. Joel especially (surprisingly?) seems to particularly enjoy having a dog. He does think I am crazy though, since I already suggested that when we get our bigger house some day I think we should get a second dog! (We will see if that sentiment lasts or not!)

Burgushi

Joel and I left the kids (and the dog!) with nanny and papa last night and went to Cowfish for dinner, where I had crab rangoon dip, the filet roll (filet mignon, crab, cream cheese, and avacodo in a sushi roll) and apple pie wontons for dessert. It was delicious! We decided we will try to take the kids there for dinner next weekend because they have a good kids menu and the prices are very reasonable. It was very crowded, and you cannot make reservations between 6 and 8 on Saturday nights, but Joel and I managed to find two open seats at the bar. Next weekend with the kids we'll try going early before it gets too crowded, hopefully. After dinner we saw a movie (The Ides of March). It was a great date night (and probably one of the last we'll have in a while!!) Thanks for babysitting, Nanny and Papa!

Parent Teacher Conference

Wednesday was Ben's parent-teacher conference. His report was good over-all; his spelling, math and literacy test scores are all averaging in the 88%-90% range and he's reading 153 words per minute, when the average expected for the beginning of second grade is something like 45 words per minute. The areas he needs improvement on are handwriting, neatness/organization, and working independently (all his teachers have said this, so no big surprise). His teacher did acknowledge that she had not realized until recently how young he is (one of the youngest in the class) so said she will cut him some slack on the working independently part, as she thinks its probably a function of his maturity level as compared with a lot of kids who are already 8 or about to turn 8.

Math seems to be his favorite/best subject (pleasantly surprised, considering Mom's genetics!) He had almost a 100% average in math until he recently bombed a test because, his teacher thinks, he was not writing neatly enough so his own poor handwriting confused him.

So overall the same report we usually get - bright, sloppy, disorganized kid :) Though his teacher really seems to be on top of things, and really trying to encourage better neatness and organization.

I Knew This Would Come Back to Haunt Me...

http://bringingupbenandbecca.blogspot.com/2009/10/seven-years.html

We have added another big screen TV, two cars, a dog, and a (almost) baby to the tally last reported two years ago. We're also seriously considering the bigger house idea.

Happy anniversary Joel!!!!

Puppy Update

We're starting to adjust to life with our newest family member (and vice versa). Things seem to be heading in the right direction as far as crate training/ house training, after a few missteps... we now know to scoop her up out of her crate and carry her straight outside to potty, because if her feet hit the floor in front of her crate for even a second, she'll try to pee. We also moved her crate into the kitchen.We had been told to put it in our bedroom until she is sleeping through the night, but that was not working out too well, besides which the kitchen is right down the hall from our bedroom anyway, so I can still hear her when she wakes up to pee at night. Last night was a good night, she woke up once to pee at 2:30 am, and only whined for about 5 minutes or so after I put her back in the crate. She had her first vet appointment yesterday evening, and was given a clean bill of health. I am trying to work out a decent schedule for her in terms of crate time (so I can get my work done) and play time, but have not quite got it all worked out yet. My main goal is to get her potty trained and to get us all on a good schedule before the baby arrives (so it can get all screwed up again of course!) My other main goal is to get her to stop nipping at the kids. She has learned pretty quickly not to nip at Joel and I/chew on our pant legs etc, but she seems to think the kids are her litter mates and treats them like puppies she can climb all over and wrestle with/nip. I am going to have to make sure to supervise their play time together and be the "disciplinarian" when it comes to that, so puppy learns who's boss!

Boy & His Dog

Welcome Home Clara!

We brought Clara home this morning. After a few minutes of whimpering on my lap in the car, we wised up and put her on the seat between Ben and I, and she fell right asleep and slept all the way home. We took her into the backyard when we got home, where she peed a few times, and played with the kids (though Rebecca hasn't realized that running = chase game in puppy's mind, and she was not particularly appreciative of getting chased). She entirely ignored Ulysses thus far, who has been watching her warily but has not shown any outward sign of hostility yet.

After playing with her outside for a while, we brought her in and fed her lunch, then took her back outside where she pooped under the porch (I didn't even feel it necessary to clean it up in that location) and then brought her in and put her in her crate, where she's been snoring soundly ever since. The kids of course are impatiently waiting for her to wake up so they can play again, but are under strict orders not to disturb her while she is in her crate.

My camera battery died, hence only the one picture so far. Need to charge the battery so I can get more pictures after she wakes up!

One Final Puppy Pic...

...before she's our very own! The latest update from the breeder says that they are beginning to take the puppies on short car trips, spend one-on-one time with them away from their brothers and sisters, and introduce them to a crate, all in preparation for the Big Day (Sunday).

It's Only Wednesday?

Is it really only Wednesday? I spent Sunday and Monday in Harrisburg, PA, the only bright spot of which was getting to see Mom and Dad for a delicious dinner Sunday night. Sunday afternoon upon arriving in Harrisburg I met with the prosecutor for two hours to review my testimony. Monday I testified at the trial itself, I would estimate I was on the stand for about an hour and a half. The cross examination part was the only bit which was rather annoying and additionally I was testifying against one of my former colleagues, a lady who was always perfectly nice to me. She was in the court room and came over and patted my arm during the break before the cross examination started. I felt kinda bad. I wouldn't mind serving on a jury someday (I never have) but I certainly do hope this was my one and only experience on the witness stand! This jury, by the way, was putting on a rather brave face and really trying not to appear bored out of their minds, as the trial is full of very technical material and has been going on for 3 weeks now, with probably another 2 weeks to go. All but two of the 12 original defendants have plead guilty by this point, so it seems like an awful lot of bother to go through at this point... fortunately, my part is done.

I got home around 11:30 Monday night, and have been spending the last day doing catch-up at work and at home (laundry, etc). Joel and the kids had a hectic Sunday in my absence, considering that Joel had to work, but managed with the help of Joel's Dad as well as some friends, who I gather took Ben for a while in the afternoon for a playdate and also fed everyone dinner. (Joel did not manage to get the grocery shopping done until last night, understandably with having to work and me being away, so we had no food).

Saturday my parents are flying in (though for a funeral so while not the best circumstance still happy to get to see them again), and Sunday we are picking up our puppy.... something tells me the chaos is going to continue for a while.

Busy Week

It's been a busy week - plenty of work to catch up on after the holiday Monday, Sukkot dinner/services at Temple on Wednesday evening with the kids, and Rebecca's Sukkot holiday schedule to juggle Thursday and Friday (she spent Thursday at a friend's house, and Friday at our house sharing babysitting with several classmates).

Friday after work we met with a mortgage guy to start the process for a refinance (with kids in tow), then had dinner, and then bought puppy supplies - crate, food, toys etc. Today Joel was working and I spent the morning gathering together the necessary documentation for the refinancing, then took Ben for a hair cut, then took the kids to a dog safety seminar. Joel and Ben had a J Tribes outing later in the afternoon (to a corn maze) and Rebecca and I went to the park and then out to dinner.

Now I am packing and doing laundry and trying to get the kids' backpacks in order for Monday, because I have to fly to Harrisburg bright and early tomorrow morning to meet with the district attorney's office and then testify at the so-called Computergate trial on Monday. The travel arrangements the DA's office made don't have me arriving home until after midnight Monday night. The only bright spot is Mom and Dad are driving out to have dinner with me tomorrow night :)

It's been a tiring week for this pregnant momma! And next weekend, we pick up our puppy!

A Little Mix-Up

Yesterday was Columbus Day, and my work gave us the day off I think because we are losing a holiday at some point with Christmas and New Years being on weekends this year. Joel took the day off so we could enjoy a relaxing day together without the kids, who were both at school.

We had a great breakfast at Terrace Cafe, took a walk around the mall, had lunch at PF Chang's, and settled down at the movie theater to see Moneyball. It was certainly shaping up to be an awesome, relaxing day! Until my cell phone rang halfway through the movie. I had the sound off, and just happened to glance at my phone a couple minutes later. The voice mail was from J Team, where Ben was supposed to have gone after school. Unfortunately Ben chose this day to accidentally get on the school bus to our house, instead of on the J Team bus. (Very ironic timing on his part, since I am almost always home at 3pm because I am working. He picked the one day when I was not).

The call from J Team was quickly followed by a panicked call from Ben's teacher telling me she had put Ben on the wrong bus. By this time it was 5 minutes before the bus was due to arrive at our street corner. Joel and I raced home, since though we knew there were neighbors home and that Ben would be fine, we didn't have any of our neighbors' phone numbers with us so couldn't call anyone.

We got home about 10 minutes after Ben, who was with neighbors and not concerned in the least. The neighbors however were quite concerned, having noticed that my car was in the garage and knowing I am usually home. They were worried that I was dead inside or something, and were not sure if Ben was supposed to have come home on the bus or not. The one neighbor who knew Ben's J Team schedule and who also happened to know that Joel and I had taken the day off and were out together, was at work.

Fortunately the confusion did not last long since Joel and I arrived home quickly. I have since exchanged cell phone numbers with all the neighbors, in case of a repeat performance :) Something tells me I need to teach Ben my cell phone number also, because he only knows the home number.

But that was the end of our relaxing day out together, and I never did find out how Moneyball ends....

Cute, and Scary

Last night after dinner I took the kids to Halloween Express to get their costumes. Normally I wouldn't take them out on such an errand on a school night but Ben was threatening mutiny on the grounds that I had delayed the trip too long already. The Halloween Express is right across the street. When we got back two hours later (!) Joel said, "I can't believe you let Ben get that costume!"

To which my reply is that after standing around on my swollen pregnant feet for two hours while Ben couldn't make up his mind and/or tried on costumes that didn't fit, I was begging him to PICK SOMETHING, ANYTHING! The machete is actually filled with red liquid that sloshes around when you move it. Cool huh.

Meeting Clara

Today was visiting today at Creekside Retrievers. We got to meet Clara (positively identified as the dog we're getting in these photos). She seemed very sweet and laid back, but possibly only because she was sleepy? Ben fell in love instantly!

4 Year Checkup

Rebecca had her four year old checkup this morning. She is 36.8 pounds (50-75th percentile) and 41 inches tall (75th percentile). I felt a little bad for her because she's had her fair share of doctor visits in the last couple of weeks - once to the pediatrician for a sick visit, an unnecessary trip to Joel's clinic for blood tests, a follow-up (happily her last) with pediatric endocrinology last week, and now her well-exam, where she did not escape entirely unscathed because she got the FluMist vaccine administered. Of course I thought that a squirt up the nose would be more tolerable than a shot in the arm, but now I am not so sure. She put up quite a struggle! She was rewarded with a pink popsicle afterwards but this did not entirely seem to appease her. She's overdue for a dental checkup, but I think I'm going to try to give her a break for a couple weeks from the doctor visits!

Another Puppy Picture

The breeder emailed this picture last night of Clara (or possibly one of her sisters). When Ben saw it this morning, he got the biggest smile on his face, took my cell phone from my hand, and curled up on my bed with it and just stared at the picture until it was time to go to school. I am going to remember his look of absolute delight as I am picking up poop and rescuing chewed up items in the coming weeks :) (While heavily pregnant).

Coming Soon....

A human baby on the way is not enough apparently... Ben has named her Clara. (Clara Barton Kaplan, appropriately fitting in to our Civil War themed pet names). She is a yellow lab puppy and will be ready to come home on October 23rd. Visiting day is next Sunday. The kids are super excited, and Joel and I are reading up on puppy raising/training.