Becca's birthday Party

Apple Picking

We went to our usual apple / pumpkin picking spot today, just managing to sneak in right at the last weekend of apple picking. The kids got to visit with their favorite dog, Lady (no, alas, our dog is not their favorite dog!) Lady is getting on in years and every year I fear she may not be around the following year! Fortunately the kids are also quite enamored of Lady's son Murphy. The kids got to snuggle with Lady and play fetch with Murphy and pick some apples, and I got a few photo-ops. Not a bad way to spend a morning.

Friday Update

It was been a BUSY WEEK complicated by Caroline's preschool having been closed today and yesterday, which necessitated having her home with me while trying to work, which meant trying to keep her in her high chair as much as possible (eating, coloring, reading) because otherwise she was climbing onto the table (did this 50 times) chasing the dog and kittens around screaming, etc. So here it is Friday night and I am still sitting at my desk trying to finish stuff up even though I started work at 7:30 this morning in anticipation of all the interruptions I was going to have during the day. Sigh.

Becca had a good birthday on Wednesday; I met her at school for lunch where she treated me to spaghetti at 10:30 a.m (her class eats lunch ridiculously early), and then we shared a cookie cake with her classmates. At home for dinner she requested steak, salmon and salad, and a donut instead of cake for dessert, so we honored those requests and then she got to open some presents. Her favorite gifts were a Stuffie from Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathleen, a Furby, and an Ice Cream Magic. Now, two of these three items are As Seen On TV, so you'd be correct in thinking Becca pays close attention to TV commercials these days. I shall offer up my own review of the Ice Cream Magic -- far too much work for too little ice cream. When it says "shake it to make it" on the commercial, parents, it means YOU shake it because your kid will give up in about 20 seconds and say their arm is tired. I have had to "shake it to make it" three times today. Oh, and Furby, by the way -- be forewarned -- it has no off switch. You must put Furby to sleep and then either tiptoe around quietly or throw a blanket over it. If I had known that, Furby would have remained on the shelf at the store!

In other news my bitchiness at work lately must have paid off because I got approved for a 4% raise ;) Not much but at least it will almost make up for the extra 5% I started putting in my 401(k) this month.

Bedtime Snuggles

Birthday Girl

Monday Update

Saturday we went to a 5k/fun run/silent auction that was a fundraiser put on by the family of one of Joel's patients. We ended up getting there a bit late -- we had signed the kids up for the fun run but couldn't manage to get there on time. I blame this entirely on Joel. Anyway, determined not to let the morning go to waste I convinced Joel we should do some bidding on some of the silent auction items. Two problems with this-- 1) the kids were with us and 2) Joel had to leave to go to work so left me in charge of the bidding. When you are bidding on items for the kids and the kids are there freaking out about it, it is just all kinds of trouble. Also the bidding was entirely using your smart phone, so way too easy to keep track of your items and whether you'd been outbid or not. Anyway to make a long story short we ended up with an American Girl doll + accessories, and a one night hotel stay in Southpark/restaurant gift cards. The Xbox bundle I was bidding on for Ben we ended up losing, and then I had to take Ben to Game Stop and get him an Xbox ;) His Wii broke Friday night so he was despondent about having no video game system and having to wait until Hanukkah for an Xbox, which is what he wanted. Well, he ended up with it sooner than expected. The kids were happy, and proclaimed it the best fundraiser they had ever been to ;) They can't wait until next year! Ha ;) We are calling it early Hanukkah presents.

In other news I went back to the foot doctor today and was proclaimed healed/ able to return to all activities. My foot still hurts if pressed upon, and I have some numbness running up the front of my ankle which is apparently nerve damage that is hopefully only temporary ;) But otherwise, good as new (ish).

Rebecca turns 6 on Wednesday, and preparations are underway for her birthday party which is Sunday afternoon at Funkytown Parties. It is a dance party, right up her alley of course.

The kittens are doing fine and fortunately Caroline has stopped running away/screaming whenever she sees one of them ;) Rebecca spends much of her time picking them up needlessly and moving them from place to place.

A new second floor air conditioner is being installed today up the street at our rental property, to the tune of $2700. Fortunately we do have the funds to cover it out of the rental property bank account (where we keep the extra rental income after paying the mortgage) but it does put a dent in it. That was The Big Thing That Was Going to Break Any Day up there. So hopefully we'll be good for a while now. Knock on wood.

Hebrew school started yesterday for both Ben and also Rebecca now that she is in Kindergarten. Ben also has Monday afternoon Hebrew school starting this afternoon, a fact that he is less than thrilled about. Rebecca pronounced yesterday's session "awesome" so so far Ben is the only one complaining.

Got Poop?

The tables are turned! Caroline checks mommy for poop. Credit where credit is due-- Kathleen took this pic while visiting the other weekend. 

Happy Girl with Kitten

Rebecca was on BLUE at school yesterday. Which earned her two stickers on her chart, which brought her total up to 10, which earned her a trip to the Gap to pick out a charm bracelet and a charm for it :) Yay Becca!

Cute, I Am!

Sheridan & Chamberlain

Mid-Week Update

I'll start with the obvious - kittens! Ulysses has been missing for 2 months again now (disappeared again the weekend in July that the cousins were visiting) and the kids, after deciding he is not coming back began begging and begging and begging for a kitten. Now, I am not sure Ulysses is not coming back but I do know that his continued disappearing/reappearing acts have been hard on the kids.So Joel and I agreed we would get a kitten, to be kept indoors only, and thus prevent the running away issues. But when we set out to adopt a kitten, we were told that the kittens should not be separated and we should really take two sisters from the same litter. The kittens in question were rescued from an automotive parts warehouse where they had been dumped. Joel got naming rights for having agreed against all odds on one kitten much less two, so they are Sheridan and Chamberlain after civil war generals ;) We kept them in my office since getting them Monday night, to allow them some time to adjust / heal from being spayed (they were spayed last Thursday), and to introduce them slowly to the dog (who has been sitting outside my office looking forlornly through the french doors). After keeping them in the office for a while they were getting restless and antsy and my office was starting to smell like a giant litter box so today I sent Clara to camp for the day and the kittens are exploring. Exploring seems to be running up and down the stairs very fast, at the moment ;)

After being on yellow for excessive talking 3 days last week, Rebecca's teacher has apparently decided to sit her by herself. When Rebecca mentioned she was sitting by herself I asked, "Why?" to which she replied matter of factly, "Because I talk too much!" I asked if any other kids had to sit by themselves and she said it was just her. I am not sure how I feel about that. Thinking I should email the teacher and ask if Rebecca really needs to sit by herself and is this a permanent arrangement? Sigh. Although, she was on green both Monday and Tuesday so I guess it is working....

The upstairs A/C unit at our rental property finally bit the dust. And of course the home warranty company is wriggling out of paying for a new one. I started shopping around and asked them to give me a cash-out quote (amount they will pay towards a new unit) which of course they have not gotten to me yet. Fortunately the weather is cooler this week and the tenants have been understanding. But it looks like our first major expenditure as landlords is looming ;)

Kittens

Yes you can say it... we are crazy... LOL.

Football

We kept a low profile this weekend thanks to a cranky / sleepless Caroline. We took her to the pediatrician Saturday morning who proclaimed her ears to be borderline - not really infected yet but possibly heading in that direction. She gave us antibiotics but we opted for the "wait and see" approach. She seemed improved on Sunday and we had a little Eagles party at Ben's insistence, since their first game was a Monday night and not really conducive to having a party since it was a school night. We grilled some steaks and the kids decorated cupcakes. The Eagles lost a close game, but it was fun anyway. Caroline gave herself an icing beard and also in that pic you can see her scraped eye from where she face-planted on the sidewalk Saturday night while we were at a party at a neighbor's house :( Poor Caroline, it was a rough weekend for her.

Caroline & Maddy

School Update

Rebecca is having her ups and downs with the new school year. Some days she is fine and some days (like this morning) she threw a fit about not wanting to get up / get dressed and ended up losing her TV / computer privileges for the day. Also, less than two full weeks into the school year she has come home with three yellow cards (behavior warnings) for "excessive talking".

When she pays attention to it, the "pee pee watch" works great and she comes home dry. However depending upon what mood she is in, sometimes she just ignores it and does not go to the bathroom when it buzzes. Once I even found it in the trash, after she had apparently tried to get rid of it!

One More

Thanks to Aunt Kathleen for capturing this adorable shot :)

Wedding!

The kids were adorable, well behaved (mostly) and very happy to help Papa and Mary celebrate their big day. They fulfilled their duties as best man, maid of honor and flower girl with minimal squirming (Ben), whining (Rebecca), and disruptions (Caroline). To Papa and Mary we say Mazel Tov and have a great time in Israel!

New Friend

Joel's cousin Jeffrey and his wife came for a visit yesterday (in town for Joel's Dad's wedding). They brought their dogs Angel and Gracie with them much to the kids' delight! Here are the kids with their new friend Angel. 

Becca and Uncle Mike

Happy New Year

We had a 100% gluten free Rosh Hashanah tonight! Complete with challah ordered online from a gluten free kosher baking company and cake that tasted good even though it fell apart ;) (the falling apart was due more to not greasing the pan well enough I think than the fact that I used gluten free flour in the recipe). Despite that slight setback dinner was a success!

 

The Many Faces of Caroline

                                  

Gluten Free Burgers

Tonight we tried a new burger place, Burger 21. The great thing about it is they have a gluten free menu and are certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group. The owner talked to Joel and offered to show him the kitchen, where they have separate fryers and prep surfaces for gluten and non-gluten items. We were able to order a gluten free kids hamburger meal for Caroline that even had a gluten free bun! Her meal came out with a different server than the one who brought our other (regular) items and it was clearly labeled as gluten free. It was so nice to be able to order something for her without having to worry about it or bring dinner from home for her which is usually what we do when we go out to eat now. Caroline seemed happy when the waiter brought food that was actually for her ;) And she ate a lot! We will definitely be returning.