Ben's School Picture

Better than his school pictures usually turn out :)

Mid-Week Update

1. The boys are home! They actually hopped on an earlier flight on stand-by so arrived home a little after 2pm yesterday instead of the expected 7pm. After two days home for Sukkot during which she spent much time watching TV and occupying herself while I tried to get my work done, Caroline was SO HAPPY to see Joel. She threw herself into his arms with a "Daddy I love you SO MUCH!" and a huge hug (And then asked where her presents were).

2. Caroline had her first bed wetting episode last night, after 11 dry nights in a row post-pullup-era (PPE). Yes I was counting. Of course I am blaming it on Joel because he put her to bed last night and admitted that he did not remind her to use the bathroom before she went to bed. She woke up around 11:30 SCREAMING from the upstairs bathroom and when I bolted up the stairs (having a pretty good idea what was wrong) she sobbed, "THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG IN MY BED!" Poor baby. All Daddy's fault!

3. The dishwasher hasn't been working for a week. This is moderately bad for my disposition and very bad for the environment (having switched almost exclusively to paper/plastic products in an effort to avoid doing dishes by hand). A repair man finally was able to come out today to have a look at it, and pronounced the dishwasher in perfect working order -- but alas, the switch that supplies power to the dishwasher is broken. So what I actually need is an electrician. So much for the thought that I might be able to use the dishwasher today :(

One More From the Road

My cave men are home :) (photo booth at the American museum of natural history). 

And Times Square!

Joel reports that Ben had a great day today and enjoyed both the art museum and a walk through Times Square very much. I am looking forward to seeing my boys tomorrow night though!

Kaplans Go to the Art Museum

E-A-G-L-E-S

The Eagles actually won a game and the boys were there to witness it!

Pottery Painting

Rebecca wanted to continue the weekend birthday festivities with pottery painting so we headed over to Dish It Out this afternoon with Aunt Abby and Amelia. 

This dolphin has about a thousand layers of paint on it which Caroline then swirled around with a sponge while still wet. It actually might end up looking pretty cool!

Katz's Deli

Becca is not the only one celebrating this weekend! The boys took Papa to NYC to celebrate birthday #75. They kicked things off at Katz's Deli and then headed to the 9/11 memorial / museum. Photography was not allowed inside the museum but Joel sent me some cute pictures from Katz's. 

Wasting No Time...

...Eating his way through New York :) I have received three texts from Ben so far, 8 hours into his NYC trip -- these two food pictures and a video from ground zero. 

The item on the left is a pastrami sandwich from Katz's Deli; the item on the right is apparently a donut ice cream sandwich, venue unknown ;)

Nails

I tried Jamberry nail wraps on the girls for the first time today -- took about an hour to apply to all three girls and about half that time for them to decide they "felt funny" and peel them off :(

Birthday Outing

First stop, Claire's for pierced ears! Rebecca did great even though they had to do one ear at a time! There were a few tears but she felt better in no time! She picked white gold multi colored butterfly studs. And thanks to Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Mike she has a huge supply of earrings to choose from once she is allowed to start changing them out :)

Next stop, Build-A-Bear Workshop!

And finally, Amelie's French bakery. 

Thanks to Aunt Abby and cousin Amelia for coming with us for an extra special birthday expedition!

Birthday Girl!

A birthday donut this morning and birthday ice cream cake tonight! The birthday festivities are scheduled to resume tomorrow :)

Graffiti Artist

Yom Kippur Chic

Pull-Up Free!

Ok the picture below is from a birthday party Caroline went to yesterday and has nothing to do with being pull-up free. Last week Caroline announced that wearing pull-ups to bed was for babies and that she wasn't going to do it anymore. I told her she had to show me she could keep her pull-up dry three nights in a row before I would consent to that, which test she passed with flying colors :) So Friday night was her first pull-up-less night, and she is now 3 nights in a row without any bed wetting. I am officially giving away the last pack of pull ups today! Yay Caroline!!

First Cross Country Meet

Ben competed in his first cross country meet today, the Hare and Hound at McAlpine Creek park. There were almost 300 boys who ran in the middle school 3K -- so many that Ben said it was hard to pass anyone. He did great though for his first race and finished with a time of 15:28. South Charlotte came in 4th place out of 16 teams -- not bad :) One of Ben's teammates came in first place in the race and another came in 5th. Congrats boys!!!

Back to School Night / Mid-Week Update

Last night was back to school night at Ben's school. The main thing I learned while there was that Ben has a social studies test today he had mentioned nothing about, even when asked "Do you have any social studies homework?" and "Do you have any tests coming up?" both questions I am sure I asked him earlier in the day. He claimed he forgot about it. So at 9PM I was printing the study guide and powerpoint slides for Ben to study while berating him about the fact that he is in middle school now and he has to actually study for tests. There might have been some tears shed. It wasn't a particularly fine moment for either of us.

Otherwise, this has been a particularly hectic week. Caroline's preschool was closed Monday and Tuesday for Rosh Hashanah and I was quite happy to send her back to school by yesterday. Ben and Joel went to services Sunday night and the girls and I went to the family service Monday morning (I didn't want Ben to miss school because he has the New York trip coming up).

Ben officially signed up for cross country, so has practice three afternoons a week and his first meet on Saturday, Caroline starts swimming lessons 2x a week today, and Ben starts an 8 week middle school basketball clinic/scrimmage on Sunday. Because of that there's a pressing need for things like basketball shoes and running shorts, both of which are on my "to do list" for today. Throw in some other weekend activities such as Becca's gymnastics class, a housewarming party we're supposed to go to, and a birthday party, and you have a jam packed schedule.

Looking ahead to next week involves Yom Kippor, Becca's birthday, and the boys' New York trip, so I'd rather not think about that yet :)

Happy New Year!

Junior Cotillion

Ben had his first Junior Cotillion meeting tonight. I might have left out the dress code and the bit about ballroom dancing when I suggested this activity to him. It helps that tons of kids he knows including three of his best friends are doing it also. Tonight when I picked him up he announced that class was boring but the snacks were good, and that starting in November he has to wear a jacket and tie (tonight he just wore a button-down short sleeved shirt) and that he would rather just start wearing that next month. At some point there is a ball at Providence Country club. Maybe by then he will let me take his picture :) For now I made due with taking a picture of the handbook/ partial table of contents. After a quick skim I have come to the realization that apparently I have been sitting wrong my whole life :-P

Happy 4th birthday Clara!

Clara got to go for a walk on the greenway and treats at Petco in honor of her 4th birthday! Happy birthday Clara!