Monday Update

We had a nice weekend which included Caroline's first movie , a trip to the pool, and a barbecue with friends. Then last night Caroline spiked a fever and woke up around midnight complaining of chills. She was very fussy and finally I had to curl up on the chair in her room since she was fine when I was in the room with her but every time I would leave she would start crying again. I fell asleep for about an hour and then was able to go back to bed (at about 3 am). Caroline seemed mostly better this morning, a tiny bit warm maybe, and tired/not eating much. I sent her to camp anyway and haven't heard anything so assume she is doing okay. Joel thinks the unexplained fevers (she has had a couple of them recently) are immune responses to having ingested gluten (like, the bagel last week). It seems plausible.

I schlepped Clara to Waxhaw today to see the vet who did her ACL surgery. He says he thinks she tore her meniscus and although it should not need a surgical intervention, it will need some physical therapy and more time spent restricted from off-leash activity. I now have a referral to see a doggy physical therapy group. I didn't even know there was such a thing :) Clara every time I look at you all I see is dollar signs.... ;)

And we Have a Movie Goer!

With the help of Coke Zero and fruit snacks. For the record , the movie was How to Train Your Dragon 2. She started to get fidgety about halfway through but wasn't too bad. Proud of her! Excited that we can all go to the movies together now :)

The Bagel Incident

Camp Katan got off to a bit of a rocky start for Caroline. Yesterday, day 2 of camp, somehow a bagel with cream cheese was introduced into her lunch box. The counselor who unpacked her lunch box thought that it must be a gluten free bagel, and let her eat half of it, before the other counselor thought better of it and took it away from her. I'll stop right now and say that at the moment at least, Caroline seems fine and hasn't gotten sick yet. (At least as of the update from the camp director I received three hours ago).

We have thought and thought (and interrogated every person in the house) about where this bagel might have come from, but we cannot trace it back to our house or car. My kids don't like cream cheese, and Abby's kids eat it only for breakfast on toasted bagels. Not on un-toasted "bagel sandwiches". Rebecca will bring those for lunch but with butter on them, because she hates cream cheese. And we didn't even have cream cheese in the house for the past week until Monday night, and it was not opened until Tuesday morning well after Caroline's lunch had been packed the night before. Anyway, the point is try as we might we cannot come up with any scenario where the bagel originated at our house. The only other plausible theory , since the camp counselor swears it was in the lunch box when she opened it up, is that it fell out of another child's lunch box at some point perhaps during transport up to the walk-in fridge or something , and someone who didn't know better stuck it back into the wrong lunch box.

Going forward we are including an "inventory" in her lunch box that lists the items that were packed for that day's lunch, as well as marking the outside of her lunch box with the words FOOD ALLERGIES so in case if someone did accidentally stick the bagel into her lunch box by mistake, maybe next time there is loose food floating around it won't be MY kid's lunch box it gets put back into!

Keeping fingers crossed that Caroline avoids getting too sick from this little accident!

Ready for Camp

Last Day at the Beach

We brought a picnic dinner and met some friendly dogs! Sad to be leaving tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Beats Studio headphones, a day at the beach, his choice of restaurant for dinner, red velvet cake, and a trip to the arcade! Can a ten year old's birthday get any better??

Waiting for Fireworks

We took the kids to Shelter Cove for the fireworks last night. We had loads of time before the (short) fireworks show to enjoy the setting sun (pictured below). Although short, the fireworks display was probably just the right length for Caroline , who covered her ears but otherwise seemed Ok with it. We did not get home until after 10pm, and Caroline was totally wired , talked up a storm , and demanded a bedtime snack before finally going to bed at about 10:30. She was up bright and early this morning anyway, in contrast to Ben who slept until 10am!

   

Beach Babe in Training

Caroline has really warmed up to the sand and water over the last couple of days! Here she is thinking she is boogie boarding like her big sis and bro :)

Beach Babe

Hilton Head Vacation Begins!

We arrived in Hilton Head yesterday afternoon, met up with Mom and Dad, and got settled in out accommodations, which are way too big since the original plan had been for the Robinsons to accompany us. Today we got down to the serious business of relaxation! Here are a few pictures. 

Taco Tuesday on a Friday

We had an early birthday celebration for Ben tonight complete with tacos and Oreo ice cream cake (his choices). Since we are going to be in Hilton Head next week for his actual birthday, we wanted to do a little celebration here with Papa, Mary, and the cousins before we leave. Here is Ben blowing out the candles on his first , but I am sure not his last , birthday cake celebrating his 10th birthday ;)

First Day, Last Day

My mini moo is all grown up :(

Party on a Tuesday!

Our neighbors hosted an end-of-school pizza party last night for all the kids. Everyone had a good time! The boys played various games in the street and the girls segregated themselves in the garage and performed an impromptu rendition of "Let it Go", until they were silenced by a technical malfunction ;)

Last Day of School

Celebrating the last day of school with report card money (I gave Ben $10 for every grade of 92 or higher plus an extra $10 for his EOGs), and CAKE!!! Rebecca earned all "3"s on her report card AND a perfect attendance certificate. Summer vacation, here we come!

My Excellent Explorer

Today was Kindergarten summer fun day. Becca got her class t shirt signed by all her friends. She seems a little ambivalent about the last day of school tomorrow! She has really enjoyed the school year. 

How we Lost (and Found) Clara

I'll begin this story by saying that Clara is safe and sound and the gates to the back yard are now padlocked ;)

So in the last couple of weeks, what with the extra guests and neighborhood children coming in and out of the back yard via the side gates, we have lost Clara a few times. She goes out, and we don't realize that one of the gates is open or not properly shut, and she takes off. Every time we have found her on our street somewhere within a few minutes of realizing she was gone.

Yesterday I walked out onto the back deck with her when I let her out, visually confirming that both gates were shut , and even watched her go over and sniff around at one of them and, satisfied that it was secure I went back inside. And totally forgot about Clara for  twenty minutes or so. Upon realizing she had been outside a long time I went out back to look for her, went over to one of the gates and realized that although it was closed, it was not latched and thus she could have pushed it open and gone through. Which is apparently what she did because she was nowhere to be found.

I walked up to the top of the street and asked the neighborhood kids riding their bikes if they had seen her, then walked down towards our house again, thinking "oh great she could be anywhere, i am going to have to drive around looking for her and hope I find her." Just as I got back to our house an SUV pulled up and the guy said, "Hey I found a white dog running around on Pineville Matthews road, do you know anyone -- " At which point I cut him off so very relieved and told him it was MY dog. Clara was riding in the trunk of the car. So, such a major stroke of good luck that the man, who does not live in our neighborhood, stopped and picked her up and decided that since she was wandering near an entrance to our neighborhood that he would drive her around and try to find the owner. And very good luck that I had realized Clara was gone at that time and was outside to see him drive up with her!

But the coincidence doesn't end there because, when I called Joel to tell him about this (he was at the grocery store) , a woman in the grocery store overheard the conversation and came up to him after he got off the phone. Turns out that she and the guy who had returned Clara had both pulled over upon seeing her trotting down the road, and she had called Clara over to her and then debated with the other passerby what to do with her. She had been going to take her home and take her to the vet later to check for a microchip (because of course Clara was not wearing her tags), but then the man offered to drive her around our neighborhood to try to find the owner.

So if dogs have nine lives like cats do Clara has used up most of hers with this latest adventure! We are incredibly lucky to have gotten her back so quickly!

First Lost Tooth

And violently departed, at that -- apparently she pulled it out so hard that it flew across the room and she can't find it! The tooth fairy made a visit anyway of course :)

Trail of Tears

After the End of Grade tests wrapped up, Ben's class began working on a historical play, The Trail of Tears. They auditioned, learned lines, rehearsed, and painted scenery all in a little over a week. Today is the big day - They are performing the play four times this morning in front of parents and other classes. I attended the very first performance at 8:15 this morning :) The kids did an amazing job!

Here is Ben & his friend Ben W. "backstage" (they performed in the classroom so there wasn't actually a backstage but whatever).

Here is Ben's part. He was one of the narrators ("So I don't have to wear an embarrassing costume"). You'll have to turn your volume way up if you want to have a prayer of hearing his lines ;) He delivered them easily but in a conversational tone and I was seated towards the back.

TGIF!

It's Friday! Ben passed both his End of Grade tests, and I didn't have to go to jury duty (when I logged in last night to the web site it said I was exempt).

I took Clara to the vet and she was not too concerned and just sent her home with anti-inflammatories and instructions to take it easy this week. She said her leg felt good and it didn't feel like the hardware had shifted or anything. Still a $160 vet bill but not as bad as the last time I brought her in for a limp, for sure ;)

Uncle Mike not only bought Ben an early birthday present of Minecraft for the Mac, but he also spent about two hours troubleshooting the installation! Three cheers for having a computer geek in residence :)

Thursday Updates

For those of you requesting a blog update (and you know who you are!) It has been the usual chaotic week at the Kaplan household :) Caroline was off yesterday and again today for Shavuot, which means a lot of tv watching and being underfoot for her ;) Ben and Becca are finishing up their last full week of school and are through with homework so that part at least is good. Ben supposedly brings home his end of grade test results tomorrow. The dog started limping badly yesterday afternoon -- the same leg she had surgery on over the winter -- so we are keeping a nervous eye on her and hoping there is not another large vet bill in our future. Tomorrow I am supposed to have jury duty though I have to call this evening to find out for sure. I am really hoping I don't have to go! Although this is the first time I have ever even gotten a jury duty summons which is pretty remarkable. Abby started working this week though only part time for now, and Charlie and Amelia are probably getting bored for summer camp to start though so far they have seemed pretty content just hanging around the house :) A week from Saturday we leave for Hilton Head!

Swiper

Swiper gets some love from the girls ;)

Pool Time With Daddy