Bookshelves Done

Phew, I'm exhausted now....

Gymnastics Progress

Becca's gymnastics coach has finally let her start working on her back handspring. When she can do this by herself it's going to be epic :)

Friday News Roundup

The kids finally went back to school on Wednesday, the house cleaners came, and all was right with the world ;) The second semester has started, and so Ben traded Spanish and Computers electives for Design & Modeling and Physical Education. I am slightly frightened of Design & Modeling, already having had to buy Ben a bunch of supplies including a USB mouse, thumb drive, graphing notebook, metal ruler, etc. But more surprisingly, Physical Education is not just "gym"-- there is homework and written as well as physical fitness tests! Ben, for his part, is shocked at the fact that he is required to change clothes for gym. To him, he cannot understand why he can't wear his gym clothes to school and run around in them all day. Apparently the gym teacher quashed that notion early. Ben finished the second quarter with 5 As and 2 Bs, and his first semester grades are 6 As and 1 B. Not too shabby. He somehow finished Spanish with a semester average of 100. (Let's think about that for a moment shall we?)

Becca was very happy to go back to school after all the snow days, since she really likes her teacher and really likes being at school. I got her a Panthers t shirt so she could wear it for "Panther Pride day" today and next Friday. I figure she might as well support the home team! It's not like we have the Eagles to root for anymore. I got one for Caroline also, since her preschool has been having Panther spirit days lately as well.

I have two large boxes in my office -- bookshelves that I ordered for the office. I am hoping to get them up this weekend, as part of the ongoing household-organization project Joel and I have been working on (Joel organized the laundry room and all the kitchen cabinets/drawers over the last couple of weekends).

So there you have it, a lot of not-much-going-on today!

Snow Days

Yes that's plural. As in, three and counting. Three inches of snow/sleet on a Friday/Saturday = no school Friday, Monday, OR TUESDAY. It seems no one down here has ever heard of that stuff called salt that melts ice. Caroline fortunately only had one snow day -- she had school today and yes there was some ice in the parking lot but you know what? Everyone survived ;) However, after 5 days in a row with at least two kids out of school, my own survival is now questionable. 

Post Sleepover

Ben doesn't seem to have gotten the requisite amount of sleep a growing boy needs at last night's sleepover ;) Since we need to study social studies later I picked him up off the floor and let him drink a cup of coffee and now he is going, "Heydadheydadheydadyouwanna

playfootball?howboutbasketball?tennis?

Pingpong?" OMG. 

Sunset @Southpark

We dropped Ben off at a friend's house for a sleepover and took the girls to dinner in Southpark. The sunset was beautiful and so was sweet Caroline beaming over a plate of gluten free pasta :)

Snowstorm

Charlotte-style, anyway. While DC, Philly and NYC got slammed with 1.5-2 feet each, we were quite happy with our 2 inches of sleet / snow / freezing rain, which was more than enough to close schools on Friday, cancel the cousins' flight home from Costa Rica and cancel EVERY SINGLE ACTIVITY we had planned this ENTIRE weekend. Basketball games? Cancelled. Gymnastics lesson? Cancelled. Birthday party? Cancelled. Teen camp reunion? Cancelled. Hebrew school? Cancelled. Basketball practice? Cancelled. 

The kids spent about two hours sledding this morning. It was Caroline's first time sledding that I can recall, and after supervising her for a bit while she got the hang of it, I headed back to the house and let her sled with the big kids. She had a great time and stayed out way longer than I expected her to.

Then it was time for some hot chocolate!

The End of an Era

First we said goodbye to diapers, and then to the crib, and now to the baby car seat! Big girl booster time for this girl! Does this mean I can't call her "the baby" anymore??

Snow Sighting

A wintry mix is falling in Charlotte and these southern kids are so excited!

I Need a Bigger Bed

Is there anything bigger than a king...?

Checkups

The girls had their 8 year and 4 year well exams this morning, respectively. Caroline checked in at 42 inches and 39.8 pounds (95th and 75th percentiles) and Becca checked in at 51 inches and 55 pounds (around 50th percentile for height and just under 50th for weight). Both girls gained 3 pounds during the course of the year which is on the low end of pre-puberty weight gain, but normal. They both gained over 2 inches in height during the year. Caroline got her polio , DTaP and MMR boosters and is now all set until she is 11. She did not cry or whimper or shed a single tear! She was a super trooper!! 

Friday News Roundup

This has been a bit of a long and tiring week -- first Joel got sick with a stomach bug on Saturday night and was sick until Tuesday. Wednesday morning Ben came down with it and was sick until last night. He finally went back to school this morning. Bad timing, the week before the second quarter ends... He has a Spanish final today that I am not at all sure he is remotely prepared for, although since his average so far in Spanish is somehow a 101, I am sure he won't do too badly.

Clara jumped on the illness/injury bandwagon as well and managed to get a corneal abrasion while playing with Jasper the other day (at least I assume that's how it happened). $114 later I have antibiotic drops to somehow instill in the right eye of a wiggly dog 4 times a day for 5 days. I've managed to do it all of once so far. Mostly I miss, and then she eats it. Does that count?

The three day weekend has some shopping planned tomorrow with Abby, and dinner and a  movie tomorrow night with Joel (going to see Spotlight), and some football watching and Ben's basketball games. Fingers crossed that the girls and I stay healthy!!

Girl in a Red Coat

Caroline said, "mom I want you to take a picture of me over here in the field in front of the trees!" So I did. 

Adventures in Dining, Tofu Edition

Crispy peanut tofu and cauliflower rice stir fry. Two thumbs up from Joel and Ben. Caroline ate the broccoli out, and Becca just stared at her plate in horror. I'm calling it a success. It was the first time I have made tofu where it didn't turn out a soggy mess. It was actually really good! And the peanut sauce was AWESOME. As we ate Ben asked, "So what  is tofu again...? Is it like chicken?" "Sort of," Joel said. 

Happy Birthday Cousin Amelia!

Unique Sense of Style

Or what happens when you tell Caroline to go get dressed but don't give any explicit instructions about what to put on :)

Caroline Reading

Really! She's learning! So cool!

Stuffed Animal Hoarder

If I were Becca I'd live in real fear of being buried alive by stuffed animals. It looks like American Girl doll Saige is suffering that very fate. ("Somebody grab my hand!")

Back to the Grind

Back to work! Back to school, homework, basketball, gymnastics, Hebrew school! And the high today is only forecast to be 39! It's FREEZING. 

Becca working on her math homework:

Booked!

I spent a lot of time booking summer vacations this weekend. I booked Ben's flight to go visit uncle Mike and aunt Kathleen this summer, I booked my 40th birthday present, and I booked our June Hilton Head rental. 

My 40th birthday present, 7 nights at a 5 star adults only resort in Aruba:

View from the back deck of our Hilton Head rental-- nice big pool with the golf course right behind it:

Now just six long months of winter and spring to get through!

Sunday Snuggles

Sunday afternoon football snuggles!

Happy New Year!!

We welcomed in 2016 last night with lots of food and music and what turned out to have been (for me)  *a bit too much* vodka.