PT Follow-up

Caroline had her first appointment with the therapist since obtaining her stylish pink helmet 2 1/2 weeks ago. (With all the extended family members visiting last week for the funeral, I had this conversation about a thousand times: THEM: "Oh she's so adorable! What is the helmet for?" ME: "It's because she's symmetrically challenged." THEM: [blank stare] . ME: "Her head is not quite round in the back. It's to reshape her head." THEM: "Oh! I thought it was a fashion statement." ME: "No, my fashion sense is not that bad.")

ANYWAY... :) Caroline is showing dramatic improvements in her symmetry, now being only 4 millimeters off between the sides of her head, instead of 10 millimeters like she was before the helmet. Way to go Caroline! A couple more weeks and I am sure the helmet will be a thing of the past! You know, taken out only at your bat mitzvah and in front of all your boyfriends...

List of Things I am Not Prepared For

1. Vacation - I need to buy a new charger for my camera battery, an extra suitcase to pack for Caroline's first trip, a beach umbrella, and countless other things that I'm probably not going to have time for this week considering that  I have to work, take 2 kids to doctor appointments, attend Ben's end of year class party, etc.

2. Ben's birthday - Ben's birthday is 3 days after we return from Hilton Head. I have not done any shopping yet and only minimal birthday party arrangements (he is having a sleepover with 3 or 4 of his friends the Saturday after his birthday).

3. Rebecca's dance recital - Rebecca has a dance recital at the Belk Theater uptown the day after we get back from Hilton Head. From what I understand, there's going to be like thousands of people there. Although I've got Rebecca's recital costume and vague instructions, she is going to miss the dress rehearsal and thus will probably be appearing rather confused and shell-shocked on stage.

4. Summer camp - summer camp starts 2 days after we get back from vacation. I need to get the kids' camp supplies together (sunblock, non-Croc water shoes, large ziploc bags, stuff to pack lunches, etc).

This list was supposed to help me get organized so that I can prepare for these things. Unfortunately all it's doing so far is making me hyperventilate just a little bit more than I already was...

House Update

On the house front, our renters moved in yesterday. Or rather, they arrived yesterday and their stuff arrived today ;) Hopefully they are getting unpacked/settled in nicely. We walked over to give them the keys etc yesterday and brought them a couple of pizzas, since they were arriving around dinner time. Rebecca met their daughter, who is her age, so hopefully they will be friends! And hopefully nothing will break and the whole renting-our-house-and-moving-3-doors-down thing will work out well! Fingers crossed.

Catching Up

This last week has been very hard on everyone, but we're trying now to get through with the last week of school for the kids, and then heading to Hilton Head for a week on Saturday. The kids have dealt with their grandmother's passing differently; Ben has been scared to go to sleep at night, even almost pulling an all-nighter a couple of nights last week. He stayed home from school Tuesday because he was too tired after not sleeping Monday night, and stayed home Wednesday for the funeral.

Ben and Rebecca both came to the funeral and seemed to handle that aspect of things pretty well. We tried to sit down with them that morning and explain everything that would happen ahead of time, so there wouldn't be any surprises.That seemed to help. Despite the circumstances, they enjoyed their first limo ride, and especially the ride to the cemetery, where we had a police escort and got to run all the red lights. That kept them distracted/entertained for a while.

At home we've had about a million visitors bearing food, neighbors bringing dinner, etc. I am hoping this is coming to an end soon, although the kids seemed to enjoy the visitors, the disruptions to their routine and the reminder of why the people were here seems to make things more difficult for Ben's sleeping habits. He seems to be improving and now is only requiring someone to sit with him for a few minutes extra at bed time. Rebecca seems a lot less scared/more matter-of-fact, due to her age I think. Hopefully this week will bring a return to some normalcy, and next week, a much-needed vacation.

We will miss you, Nanny.

Ready to Swim

In an effort to get the kids back into a more normal routine and take their minds off the loss of their grandmother, we returned to the pool this weekend for the CJP annual end-of-year pool party. Here's Rebecca, all decked out and ready to swim with her buddies.

Early Birthday Party

Since this is Ben's last week of school (!) so he won't get to celebrate his actual birthday at school with his friends, we celebrated today at lunch by bringing him lunch from Chik-Fil-A and sharing a cookie cake with his classmates.

Joan Ruth Kaplan - November 7,1943- May 28, 2012

Joel's Mom passed away unexpectedly last Monday. It has been a very difficult week for Joel, his Dad, and the whole family. I will catch up on the blogging as time allows over the next few days.