Piggy and Bunny and Baby and Blankie: The M & A Blog

Alexa'o'Lantern

A lost ANOTHER tooth today! Can you believe it? She has NO teeth left. Here is what she looks like now:

She is very excited.

Poor Imogene has an ear infection. She went to the doctor today and took it easy after that. I stayed home so that I could be here for the girls after school. They went briefly to Emily's after school and then I went and got them there, because I had a call from 3-3:30. Then Grandma Sandy came over and gave the girls piano lessons. Daddy came home early too to hang out with the girls so I could go to aqua aerobics, and now he's at a work dinner. Complicated day!

No school Friday so tomorrow is the last school day of the week. Yay!

Sucker, January!

About a month ago, I won a box set of a kids' book series - 39 Clues - on a friend's blog. I hadn't heard of it before, but I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring because it sounded like a cool series. About a week after it arrived, M mentioned that some friends at school were reading books in the series. I said, "Did you know that we have all 10 books sitting in the living room?"

Here they are:

M was VERY excited and immediately started reading Book 1. She has now made it up to book 5. It seems like a pretty advanced series, but she is buoyed along by the fact that her classmates are reading it too. So she feels compelled to keep up with them, and also enjoys discussing the books with them at school. (I see a book blog in her future!).

A decided over the weekend that SHE also wants to read 39 Clues, and she started book 1 and is already up to page 50! She read for a few hours yesterday, which is really great because sometimes we have to remind her to read. We are so proud of her! Last night she sat on the couch reading for a full hour while M and I worked on homework. And we love hearing the girls talk about the book.

M and I spent a long time on homework last night because she is now working on the same hero project that A worked on last week. M's hero is Katherine Dunham, who is a famous dancer who founded a dance company in the 1940s and incorporated African and Carribbean dance forms into her works. M's teacher picked her out for M, and it is a great fit. Last night, we read through a lot of internet research about Katherine Dunham, and then wrote out a worksheet about her accomplishments and influences, as well as important dates in her life. It took a long time, but M slogged through and did a great job. Tonight and tomorrow night, she needs to do the Katherine Dunham timeline.

Something funny - this morning on the way to school, A asked me how many days were left in January. I said, "Today's the last day of January - the 31st." She shouted, "SUCKER, JANUARY!!" We were all laughing really hard.

And in other news, our den is done! YAY! The builtins were installed yesterday, and now we can start moving back in. They look great!

 

Sunday Night Wrapup

We had an unusually social weekend - dinner the last three nights at different people's houses. We thank them for invites! Tonight we ate at the Bai/Uchimiya house, with the girls. We ordered from Potomac Pizza and the kids all had fun running around. Ichi tried to describe Pokemon cards and some other random boy-focused collectibles that I totally didn't understand at all. What am I going to do with a boy?!

The girls had their second rehearsal today. I have learned that they are in Act I of Alice in Wonderland, and that they get carried off the stage. That's all I know. No dates yet but they are performing in either 3 or 4 shows from April 11-15.

Dan took the girls over to Nana and Grampy's this afternoon for a visit while I was downtown speaking at a conference. Yes, on a Sunday.

We're slowly making progress at home. I got most of Captain's closet cleaned out yesterday, though he may have to share a few shelves with me. I am hoping he's not a big clotheshorse! Tomorrow the builtins get installed in the NOW SHARED den, and that means that I can start moving everything from the green den out. Lots to do in the next few months. I hope that my energy level can keep up with everything that needs to get done.

M has to start in this week on HER hero research project. Her hero is Catherine Dunham, who was one of the first famous black dancers. Ms. Nickel picked out the heroes for the class and clearly gave some thought to the assignments!

Another busy week ahead!

Saturday Night. No Fever.

Unbelievable news - A lost ANOTHER tooth last night! When I got home from work, she had an even more toothless smile on her face, but a big one. That's two teeth in two days, and three teeth in two weeks! Very exciting.

We've had a fun weekend. Dinner on Friday night with the Levines and Campers, and dinner tonight with some other friends of Dan's from camp (all with kids). And today the girls had their first Alice in Wonderland rehearsal. They loved it. There are about 10 (or 20 depending on who you ask) Flamingoes in each cast, and two casts. The girls said that they get to hug Alice, and they also have a nest. They seem to like a lot of the other Flamingo girls. It felt like Nutcracker again - sitting in the waiting area and dozing off. At least my belly is bigger now so I look like I have a reason to be sleepy!

Here are some pics -first of A's new smile, and then of the den now that it is painted and refloored.

 

 

Friday Update

I tried to post last night but I fell asleep before I even logged on. So much for that second trimester burst of energy!

Last night I was brushing A's teeth and forgot to go gently on her very loose tooth. As a result, it fell right out! I screamed, and startled A, but she managed to spit it out with her toothpaste and was very excited. She put it under her pillow and Nora visited last night. I left early this AM and didn't get a chance to see what Nora wrote, but I am sure that it was as clever and thoughtful as ever.

A few funny things:

• I got a glider off of Craigslist for the baby's room. It is very nice and has been sitting in our living room since the nursery is full of stuff, as we wait for the built-ins to be installed on Monday. M & A have been sitting in it and at night have been fighting over who gets to be in it. There are some little pockets on the side, perhaps for magazines or snacks while nursing, and M pointed to one of them on Wednesday night and said, "That's where the baby will go!" Uh, no.
• I ordered a little outfit for the Captain that arrived the other day. M looked at it, shook her head, and said, "Nah, that does nothing for me." (I said, in a whisper, "Me neither!")
• When I dropped M off at school on the day she had the dentist appointment, her teacher took me aside and said, "Do you want a parent-teacher conference?" I said that we did, and she sort of shrugged and said, "I mean, she's at the top of her class..." I said that we still wanted one!

Here is some very cute stuff that came home in M's folder:

1) M had to say who her hero was, and she chose Imogene.

2) Here's is M's New Year's resolution. It hasn't borne out, but I love the thought.

 

3) And here is the latest edition of Nickel's News, which M and her friends have been writing. I love that she wrote about the Captain.

 

Flamingoes

I just logged on to Typepad and saw my first comment from Aunt Ann in a very long time. She has had a hip replacement and some other procedures, and she is back online! We have missed her so much and are so glad she's back and reading again. It feels like things are back to normal now. :)

Poor A - she woke up at 4AM this morning throwing up. She stayed home today and took it easy. Luckily, she didn't throw up again but her stomach was unsettled all day.

A missed her dentist appointment, and her tooth is still in. M had a good appointment, though. We are definitely looking at a lot of crowding in her mouth, with possible expansion or more extractions. We told Dr. Dana about the Captain and she said that she will have room for new patients in the future!

Busy, busy day... punctuated by checking Gmail every 5 minutes to see if the girls had gotten into Alice in Wonderland. The answer is... they did! Both are going to be Baby Flamingoes in April. Much excitement at home!

The den has been painted blue - same color as our adjoining bathroom. Next comes the built-ins next week.

Hopefully A will be feeling back to normal tomorrow and up to going to school.

 

Tough Tuesday

Kind of a stressful day today..

• A woke up saying that her ear hurt - something she's been saying for the last few days. So Daddy took her to the doctor this morning. All fine - no ear infection, no strep.
• While they were at the pediatrician, I was at the OB. All is fine with the Captain - good heartbeat, great sono results. My weight gain is right on track and I am measuring where I am supposed to be. However, I have a rather serious complication - a fibroid that is growing quickly and has moved from my cervix to my uterus. It is now positioned right where my c-section would be. So... I will have a scheduled c-section that will be a perpendicular incision rather than the modern incision, AND the doctor wants to have another GYN surgeon in the room to assist, AND he wants me to have two pints of family-donated blood on hand because of the high risk of need for transfusion, AND he talked about the possibility of an emergency hysterectomy if they can't stem the bleeding. A little stressful.
• Girls were hyper and screaming a lot tonight. Not sure what's going on there but it's not so relaxing.
• A left me a message after school today saying that she is very sad because Cookie Monster is turning into Veggie Monster. (Really?) And also that Oscar the Grouch is cleaning up his act. What?
• Daddy tried to get the girls interested in SOTU tonight, pointing out Cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, etc. They were not very interested.
• We have early morning dentist appointments for the girls tomorrow. A has a tooth that is about to fall out - wonder if that will happen tomorrow.
• The den is being painted tomorrow - yay! Built-ins installed next week.
• And a stressful week at work.

So that's the update from here. I should go to bed.

Weekend Wrap-Up

This was a busy and important weekend!

FIrst, the girls were invited to audition for a new ballet - Alice in Wonderland - which is the Washington Ballet Company's show and will be performed at the Kennedy Center this April. Very exciting! They auditioned yesterday afternoon for one of three parts: Card, Flamingo or Pig. We will find out later this week if they got in. Not everyone who auditioned will get a part, so we are keeping hopes and expectations in check. Both girls said, when we got to the school on Saturday, "This is the most important day of my life!" They were measured for costumes, and M thinks that she saw Septime Webre pointing at them and writing something down, so we are hopeful but we will try not to be disappointed if it doesn't work out.

We (all 4) had a fun dinner last night with the Murphy-Kohns at Lia's. Everyone behaved very nicely and the desserts were wonderful.

Today the girls had Sunday School, and then afterwards they wanted to have a playdate with Emily. M called Emily's dad to find out if she could come over, and he said she couldn't. Then M called Charlotte's house, and asked if Charlotte wanted to come over, and it turned out that Emily was headed over to Charlotte's. So M managed to invite herself and A over as well, AND they dictated what they all did - watch the movie version of Alice in Wonderland. They watched the new, Tim Burton one, and surprisngly liked it a lot. So that was good.

Other good news - A brought home the results of her latest standardized test in reading and math. She is now reading at a 4.4 level (four months into 4th grade), which is a big change since the beginning of the year. We are very proud of her. Her math level 3.1 - one month into third grade - which is also great. Nice work, A!

Both girls are sitting on their huge animals that they got from Nana and Grampy for Christmas (M's is a dog named Cookie and A's is a lamb named Sugar or Whipped Cream) and we are watching Project Runway: All Stars - the Miss Piggy episode. They are so much fun to be around and I couldn't love them more than I do.

 

Friday Is Finally Here

It has been a very long week.

We were exiled from the house for three nights due to the fumes from the hardwood floor refinishing. Thank you to Grandma Sandy who took us in - including Lucky - for three nights in a row. We slept at her house and woke up early every day to return home to get ready for school. So it has been a week of late nights and cold, dark early mornings. Thursday was especially early because M had an orthodontist appointment at 8AM. The good news is that the extractions in November made a lot of room for the teeth that were crooked and things have straightened out nicely. The bad news is that she still has more teeth coming in and will definitely need braces eventually. We go back in 3 months to see how one tooth that is in crossbite is doing.

Exciting news - the girls have been selected to audition for an upcoming ballet at the Kennedy Center - Alice in Wonderland. Auditions are tomorrow and we will know more then.

In other news, A had to pick a hero that she will research and present - she chose Ruby Bridges, the first African-American to attend a "white" school. She has spent a lot of time this week researching with Daddy.

In other news, Grandma Dina and Grandpa Ron fulfilled M's longterm dream of owning a metal detector. It arrived this week and she is SO excited. I need to assemble it this weekend.

My OB appointment this AM was cancelled because he was doing a delivery. I've rescheduled it for Tuesday and have a list of questions to ask him. The Captain is moving around a lot and making his presence known. A wants to be sure that he isn't moving around as much as he did.

Signing off after a loooooong week.

 

Lots of Photos

Our house is in disarray as we start the process of getting ready for the Captain's arrival this spring. First step is to get Dan's den redone so that I can move my desk and stuff into it. We are having floors installed this week, which means no more awful carpet.

Before:

And yesterday afternoon:

Today - another coat of stain, and tomorrow, sealant. Next week - painting and electric.

Next... here is a cute project that M has been working on with some friends - a newsletter for her class:

Next... here are some of the shots from the ultrasound yesterday:

(Yes, that's what you think it is...)

Telling the sonographer how to do her job - "Yes, that's my leg!":

Profile of The Captain:

And finally here are some pics from the weekend honoring Ron and his SSWR award:

MLK Day

We have had a very fun three-day weekend, with lots of activities. The whole Feldman family was in town this weekend (minus Uncle Jonathan, Ben and Olivia). There was a dinner for Ron on Friday night, celebrating the award that he won at the Society for Social Work Research. The dinner was at the St. Regis's restaurant downtown (adults only) and we had a lovely time and toasted Grandpa Ron on his achievements.

On Saturday we had everyone at the house for lunch, though the girls were at a birthday party, and Saturday night we went to another nice dinner downtown, with kids this time. It was a fancy place and dinner went late, but all three granddaughters behaved beautifully. M&A dressed up in fancy clothes and wore my jewelry and even some eyeshadow. They had a great time and were very helpful in entertaining Sydney.

Sunday, Aunt Deb left early, and Grandpa Ron and Grandma Dina came over to spend a few more hours with the girls while Daddy worked on cleaning out his den. After they left, we had taco night at home and then watched the Golden Globe Awards. The girls stayed up til the very end. (!)

Today was a special day. All four of us went to the ultrasound appointment to see how the Captain is developing in my belly. He looks great! Everything looks normal and he made the sonographer laugh at one point by literally pointing to his leg, as if to say, "Yep, here's my leg!" Unfortunately, he had his hands in front of his face the whole time and we never got a great look at his profile.

After the appointment we went to the lighting store (fruitless) and then to the baby store, where we got Captain a new crib and a carseat. Gotta love the Buy Buy Baby coupons.

I have pictures to share from the ultrasound (they gave us our pictures on a disc) and the weekend - will upload them tomorrow. Our house is in disarray because we are having hardwood floors installed in the den and will put in built-in bookshelves and a desk in in 2 weeks. The room already looks SO much better. I have before and after pictures of the den to upload too. The best part is that the disgusting rug that both Allie and Lucky used as a puppy pad has been removed from our house.

Busy week ahead!

Back from Vegas and Random Scanned Stuff

I am back in DC - arrived home from Vegas last night. So good to see everybody. The girls woke me up on my last morning in Vegas with a 5:15 wake-up call (I don't think they quite understand time zones yet) to share some exciting news - A lost her third tooth! She was very excited. She hasn't lost a tooth since 2010, so it was a big deal. It came out right when she woke up yesterday morning. She put it under her pillow last night and got $5 from the TF and a nice note. She also left a nice note for the TF.

Last night, Aunt Deb arrived from Seattle. She was too late to see the girls last night, but she got to hang out with them a little bit this morning. She and Lucky are fast friends, as I expected.

Tonight is a fancy dinner for Grandpa Ron to celebrate an award that he is receiving today. Congratulations, Grandpa Ron! No kids tonight, but tomorrow is a family dinner so we'll all be there, along with Darrah and Jason and Sydney.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few cute little things the girls have written lately:

Top: M's note from Sunday School: "I am thankful for God making a great sister!"

Next: A's note from Sunday School: "I am thankful for God making me alive."

Next: Note A wrote to me from her sleepover at Grandma Sandy's 2 weeks ago: "Dear Mommy, I miss you so much. I'm having a great time. I can't wait to see you and Bubble [the air swimmmer] can't wait to see you too. Love, A."

Last: M's Hanukah promise to A from Sunday School (I shared A's a few weeks ago but couldn't find M's): "I will do anything you want me to do or let you watch any television show or movie you want to watch or I won't hug or kiss you when you don't want me to. Love, your twin sister M."

 

M's Hanukah Wish Book

I've missed posting the last few days due to bad wifi (Monday night) and time change (last night). I am writing from Vegas, where I am for 3 days for CES. Daddy is holding down the fort at home and all seems to be going smoothly. The girls had to create timelines for school where they listed important things that happened to them every year since they were born. We got out the baby books and found some of the milestones - first time they walked, first time they used sentences, when they moved out of a crib, etc. We also added things like first Nutcracker performances, first time out of the country, first teeth out, etc. It was fun and we got to look at some cute baby pics.

M created a very sweet Hanukah wish book at school before the break. I scanned it in and am posting it here. The words are very touching and the pictures she drew are adorable.

In that last picture, she (or is that A?) is in a wheelchair at age 94 and the baby is 86. AWWWWW. It makes me sad, though, that she is aware of shootings and murders.

 

The Weekend By The Numbers

The girls had a jam-packed weekend - si como no!

I will let the numbers tell the story:

Sleepovers: 1, at Grandma Sandy's house on Friday night (thanks Grandma Sandy!)

Nickname for the girls du jour: Pupperoni (also used on Lucky)

Birthday parties: 2 (Guy and Lindsey)

Hours before book club that we finished the book club book: 5 1/2

Girls' rating of our book club book, Betsy Tacy & Tib, on a scale of 1 to 10: 5 (10 being best)

My rating of the book: 4

Number of pages in the book M is reading: 220 - the first in the series of The 39 Clues box set

New nickname for the baby: Captain

Baby fish in the tank now: 4 - total of 10 fish, 5 of whom were born in the tank!

Items purchased from someone from the neighborhood and picked up by M and me today: 1 - baby swing

Average age of the other people in the aqua aerobics class I took yesterday: 75

Lots of cleaning out going on at the house - we are prepping Daddy's study to be refloored and painted so that we can install built-in shelves.

OK, that's our weekend! Back to the grind tomorrow. I head to Vegas on Tuesday for 2 days for CES.

Second Grade Art Portfolios

We made it to Friday! Yay! It has been a long, short week. But we're done! This weekend there are some birthday parties tomorrow, and ballet, and Sunday School and book club on Sunday.

Before vacation, the girls brought home some adorable artwork that they had done in the first half of the year. Here are the pictures:

M's artwork:

 

(They were asked to design a Tshirt)

M said that this one works upside down or right-side up:

This is a self-portrait:

 

A's artwork:

Inspired by Picasso:

These are pictures of various emotions:

Pictures from Seaworld

Did we go on vacation recently? We did? Really? Cold weather, crankiness, and the dreariness of January have had an amnesiac effect on me - I don't remember being gone! Good thing I took pictures. See pictures from SeaWorld at the bottom of this post.

Poor M - she is very sad that her beloved Baby is getting a little threadbare. Baby has a crack in her neck and her stuffing is so minimal now that you can feel the outline of her plastic face from the back of her head. Last night we found a local doll hospital, and I called today to see if they might be able to do a little refurbishment of her beloved peach Baby. I am awaiting a return call.

I also went to the store today to return some stuff, and bought the first few new things for M&A's baby brother, who will be named Captain Fluffball until birth, or CF for short. (That was one of M's suggestions for Lucky). CF is now the proud owner of three little blue patterned onesies and a little blue striped sleeper. I have to say this - I know it's not very nice of me - but BOY CLOTHES SUCK. Why do designers think that all boys want to wear clothes that have baseballs on them, or anchors, or "cute" sayings like "Ahoy Matey" and "Mama's Boy"? Ugh. I want to dress CF like a little Brooklyn hipster - someone who's a copywriter by day and plays in a band - don't care what instrument - at night. Hard to find those duds in the mall's 0-3 month clothes selection, but I am a good online shopper and will fight the good fight.

Thank god tomorrow is Friday. Ballet resumes tonight, spelling tests tomorrow, birthday parties this weekend, lots going on!

OH - also needed to share these great report cards I got for the girls from Religious School:

"A is an absolute joy to have in class.  She is smart, engaging, perceptive and funny.  She brings a good-natured attitude to class, and consistently makes positive contributions to discussions and activities. I can’t wait to see what next semester will bring!"

"M has been a wonderful member of my class this year!  While on the shy side, she is good natured, helpful, and considerate of her peers. She pays excellent attention in class and seems to enjoy classroom activities  M is a valuable member of our classroom community."

Awww.

Ok, the pics. The little boys in the pics are Luca and Maddox, sons of our friends Jill and Jorge, who make an appearance as well. They all drove down from LA and spent the day with us at SeaWorld.

(Big elevator that rotates that we ascended and from which we got a view of the park:)

These are from our last morning- breakfast on the beach in Mission Bay:

Pictures from Disneyland

As expected, girls were very tired and cranky last night - mostly A - and not really in the mood to do their homework. Made for a somewhat challenging evening and me asleep on the couch by 9:20. Thankfully I woke up in time to catch the returns from the riveting Republican Iowa Caucuseseseseses.

Freezing here today. But thoughts turn to summer, as I spent 35 minutes online today trying to register the girls for Holton Arms camp this summer. I logged on the SECOND registration was open and was still #178 in line. Sigh - welcome to DC. Hopefully they will get in! (If not, a friend at work, who is both a Holton and Holton camp alum, has offered to write a letter on their behalf. Seriously. For summer camp. Am I in Manhattan?!)

The good news is that thanks to Daddy, who was slightly more awake than I last night, we are now on p. 68 of the book club book, with only 60 pages to finish before we meet on Sunday. I think we can I think we can I think we can.

On to the photos! Here are pictures from Day 2 of San Diego - Disneyland. You will see: teacup ride, It's A Small World After All (now try getting THAT song out of your head for the rest of the day! You're welcome.), the Tarzan Jungle Experience, the Jungle Boat Ride, me looking very large, dusk, and then evening at the Magic Kingdom. I will admit that the castle looked really pretty all lit up like that. Alas, my artsy reflection shots didn't turn out too well.

 

Back to Life, Back to Reality...

So today was our first day back at school and work. Sigh. M woke up early (very unlike her), despite having been up at midnight last night (!). I guess that 11:45 AM wakeup yesterday wasn't such a good idea. She bounded out of bed and even brought A an outfit to wear to school. She loves school - I think she was really excited to go back today.

I have finally gotten the San Diego pictures off of my camera and will post them this week. Here are pics from the first day, at the San Diego zoo.

The Vacation By The Numbers

I haven't uploaded the vacation photos yet. I will do so tomorrow... so for today I will do a by the numbers post for our vacation.

Days spent with the girls in a row: 12 (not enough!)

Presents opened: countless

Loads of laundry done: countless

Household tasks accomplished: a lot - changed light bulbs, cleaned out rooms, cleaned out kitchen, put away presents, organized the coat closets, etc. etc. etc.

Playdates: 3 (Charlotte, Jessie (today), and Molly/Eve)

Momentous envelopes opened: 1

Transcontinental flights: 2

Amusement parks/attractions attended: 3

Movies watched: 5 (Billy Elliott, Camp Rock, Dolphin Tale, Summer Eleven, and some movie about switching places with parents whose name I can't remember)

Desserts made: 4 - white chocolate chip cookies, cake pops (disaster) and 2 banana breads, which are really a dessert when you come right down to it

Minutes after midnight the girls called us from the Campers' on NYE: 4

Lucky's beagle friends: 2 (that's him in the middle)

Pages read for our book club book (meets this Sunday): 53, 75 to go

Approximate hours it took M to read the new Wimpy Kid book (gift from Deb/Jonathan/Olivia/Ben): 2.5

Pipe cleaner creatures created by A: 17

Words submitted to girls' first Mad Libs game today before it devolved into potty humor: 2

I know there are more things I could list, but I am too tired to think of more. Tomorrow we go back to normal: work, school, speech therapy, homework. Bleh. I am still holding out for a snow day, even though none is forecast.

What a great vacation.

 

 

Happy 2012!!

We are back! We arrived back in DC on Friday night after an uneventful trip back to DC from San Diego. I haven't uploaded any of the pictures from the trip yet, but will do so tonight or tomorrow. We have a lot of cute ones! Friday morning, we had breakfast on the beach in Mission Bay (well, on the boardwalk). Then it was a mad dash to the airport and security. We got home Friday night and picked up Lucky on the way home. We were very happy to see him.

This weekend we've been home getting organized, unpacked, and generally ready for the year to start. Last night we spent NYE with the Campers at their club. The girls had a great time with their friend Alida and M did a little bit of skating.

Here is a cute picture of the three of them on the way out. A collected LOTS of balloons:

We are finally lighting the candles for the 8th night of Hanukah and opening the remaining presents under the piano (some board games and 2 nutcrackers). Then it's a double-header of Next Great Baker. SO GLAD we have another day off tomorrow.

And finally, our big news is that we opened a very important envelope last night and learned this big news:

Excitement (and a fair amount of adjusting) going on on this end. (!)

Hopefully pictures tomorrow.

More from San Diego

Here is another update from San Diego.

Yesterday was our big Disneyland day. We drove to Anaheim (90 mins away) and got there around 10. Disneyland was C-R-O-W-D-E-D. All those people on Christmas break - wow. I have never seen such throngs of people.

We didn't do that many rides because it took so long to get into them, but I think we did as many rides as the girls wanted. Some were hits and some were not (Pirates of the Caribbean and the log flume). But it was overall a fun day. So much to see there. M's favorite rides: Buzz Lightyear, Astro Orbiter, Jungle Cruise and It's a Small World. A's favorites: Teacups, Buzz LIghtyear, Astro Orbiter, It's a Small World and Jungle Cruise.

We got back around 9, and had dinner here at the hotel. We met up with Jill, who was here to go to SeaWorld with us with her kids Luca and Maddox and her husband Jorge.

Today the 8 of us had breakfast here at the hotel and then went to SeaWorld. SeaWorld was also pretty crowded, but not as bad as Disneyland. We went up a revolving elevator that gave us a great view of the park, and then saw a whale show. The girls also played at a big play area and a moon bounce-type thing, and then we saw a dolphin show. [A just said "Wassssssuuuupp!" to Grandma Dina on the phone.] Lunch, then penguins, then sharks, and then we were done. Back here for frigid swimming - it was cold and foggy - and then we went out to dinner at a local restaurant in Mission Bay.

So it has been a really fun trip. Busy and a bit exhausting for this 16-week pregnant lady, but a lot of fun, and lots of good times with the girls.

Souvenirs bought:

• Zoo - a friendship bracelet making kit for M
• Disneyland - 2 very cute hats - an M baseball hat for M and a jester hat for A, and keychains for both
• SeaWorld - a light up bubblemaker for A

(Also a magnet from every place.)

We fly home tomorrow at 1:30. In the morning we will go to the beach nearby and have breakfast in Mission Bay.

Sad that the trip is almost over!

Update from San Diego

We are here in San Diego! We arrived yesterday after an uneventful flight from Dulles. We're staying in Mission Bay, which is a little bit north of the city. Today we went to the San Diego Zoo, which was huge and very impressive. A's favorite animals were the squirrel monkeys, and M's was "I don't know!". We walked around for the first few hours, and then took a tour bus around the zoo.

We came back to the hotel around 4 after a quick jaunt up to La Jolla to see the beach. The girls then went swimming (!) for almost 2 hours. I was sitting out there in a winter coat, bundled up, while they went back and forth from the pool to the hot tub several times. I can't believe they went in that water - I would NEVER have done that. But they had a great time. They have had a nice hot bath and now we're going to head downtown to the Gaslamp district for dinner. We're all tired and hungry and on east coast time.

Tomorrow is Disneyland, so an early morning and likely a LONG day.

Before I forget, we also had a fun Christmas Day. We went to Nana and Grampy's where Jonathan and Liz and Sarah and Rachel had just arrived. It was a very fun evening with lots of gifts and a delicious dinner. Grampy is feeling better but still pretty tired.

A got this hat from Nana and wore it on our trip yesterday. She got a lot of cute comments,.

OK, signing off from the beautiful city of San Diego.

 

 

Merry Christmas

It is a very quiet Christmas morning. Everyone is still sleeping, mostly because we had a very tumultuous night with Lucky barking at great length around 4:15 AM. Not sure what he was barking at - it was very strange. Of course, he is now snoozing peacefully, having gotten up for a walk at 9, while I am wide awake yet tired at the same time. Oh well - life with a pup.

We've had a busy, fun few days. On Friday night, the girls had a sleepover at Grandma Sandy's house. They watched yet ANOTHER rendition of The Nutcracker - the SF Ballet. They brought our favorite new air swimmer with them:

And here is a picture of Grandma with the girls:

Here also is a picture of the girls lighting the menorah at Grandma's on Thursday:

Yesterday was the last Nutcracker performance - so sad!! I can't believe it's over. Tuvana, Anil, Aliya and Oya came to see the performance, which made it all the more special. Here are some pictures from backstage, beforehand:

And after the performance, the whole cast from Act II stayed on stage, and the stage dumped tons of snow down. They did a big cast photo and those of us hanging around took pictures too:

This is Lily (Clara) and A reaching out for her hand:

Last night we opened a few more presents. The girls' favorite was a megaphone that modulates your voice. I regretted buying it the second they opened it.

A is still working on her pipe cleaner animals and M and I are playing Electronic Battleship right now, while Bubbles the air swimmer floats around the house. A successful Hanukah! And thanks to Aunt Darrah and Uncle Jason for the books that the girls opened last night.

Tonight we celebrate Christmas at Grampy and Nana's, and tomorrow we leave for San Diego!!

Hanukah Catch-Up

It is the Friday before Christmas and the girls and I are hanging out having a very relaxing time together in my room, listening to Radio Disney. M is making friendship bracelets for the snow angels in her cast, and A is making pipe cleaner creatures from a book she got for Hanukah:

She got it last night from us and said that it "interested her a lot". It was the first thing she wanted to do when she woke up this morning. She has made the following: grape, bumblebee, carrot, inchworm, caterpillar, chick (my favorite), banana, red pepper, bracelet, tulip, mouse, lobster and penguin. Right now she is making a dog.

It has been a mellow, vacation-like day here. The girls had a playdate this morning with their friend Charlotte and then we went to the library and found DVDs for our upcoming trip to San Diego.

M has made 7 bracelets so far for her cast - 3 more to go. Tomorrow is the last Nutcracker - so sad!! I am really sad that it's over.

Yesterday the girls were also home. They had a playdate and then came home to find that I had assembled this Hanukah present:

It's an Air Swimmer! It's very cool. We named him Bubbles. He is inflated with helium and controlled by remote control. He's about 5 feet long. Lucky is not a fan.

The girls also opened Electronic Battleship (we played once against the computer and lost), the Game of Life, and a yarn kit for M.

Grandma Sandy had us over last night for Hanukah, along with some of her cousins from Detroit and Chicago. It was fun and yummy. The girls played a lot of dreidel.

OK, signing off to go walk Lucky and pack up the girls' overnight bags - they are sleeping at Grandma Sandy's house. Daddy and I are going to see a movie.

Hanukah Promises

At Sunday School, the girls made some promises of things they will do this year. A wrote ones for the whole family, and M wrote one just for A. I scanned them at work today, although somehow M's never made it into my purse (I think that A was looking at it this morning) so I will add it later. Here are A's Hanukah promises, as well as a Hanukah card that she wrote:

Dear Maddie, I will not tickle you anymore. Love Alexa

Dear Mom, I will not bug you when you are trying to sleep. Love Alexa

Dear Lucky, I will let you win Who Gets the Monkey. Love Alexa

Dear Dad, I will not destroy your blackberry. Love Alexa

We light the lights for the first night of Hanukah last night. Gifts received: M&A: Rummikub; M: Orange Crocs; A: (from M) Slushee Maker and Beagle Daily Calendar; Mommy: hand cream; Daddy: running watch.

Tonight we will stop by a Hanukah open house at the girls' friend Abigail's house. Today was M's class party and she served Grandma's latkes (A served them yesterday at her party and they were a huge hit, especially among the teachers). Both girls did their latke presentations as well.

Happy Hanukah!

Catching Up!

I didn't blog for the last few days, and what a few days I missed! Wow. OK, here's what happened since last Thursday.

On Friday, A turned in her ancestor project:

It includes a written report, a map of where her ancestors are from, a picture of Grandma Sandy making latkes, a picture of latkes, and Great Great Grandma Sadie's latke recipe.

Daddy came to get the girls early from school and they went downtown for a holiday party for Af-Pak with the Secretary of State. Here's what happened:

After the party, it was time for Nutcracker Performance #6. Daddy and I didn't go to it, which always makes the girls sad (I am seeing 6 total, and Daddy is seeing 5 total, so we don't feel THAT bad about it). Apparently all went well. Friday night we ordered a pizza and relaxed at home after the ballet.

On Saturday, we went Christmas shopping. At the mall. On a Saturday in December. Ugh. It was crowded but we got a lot accomplished. I was so tired by the time we got home that I could barely stay on my feet. Daddy and I went to a Christmas party while the girls stayed home and watched the Nutcracker from Lincoln Center which was on earlier in the week. They HATED it. Didn't like the arrangement, didn't like the choreoegraphy, and hated the snow angels! They couldn't stop talking about how much they disliked it.

Yesterday was another marathon day. The girls had their Hanukah party at Sunday school. Then I picked them up and dropped them at their friend Julia's, who was having a movie birthday. They went to the movie theater to see Chipwrecked, which was a hit except for one scary part, according to M. They had to miss cupcakes back at Julia's because it was Nutcracker time again. Another GREAT performance last night at 5:30. The Mayor was in it this time, playing the guest role of Frederick Douglass. Daddy and I waited to buy tickets and we ended up getting great, inexpensive seats in the 5th row. We could see so closely, and from a new angle, which made it all the more fun.

We picked up the girls after intermission and took them home for a Vietnamese food dinner, which they sort of liked but not much. We capped off the night with an episode of Next Great Baker and then they went to sleep.

Today was another big day - M turned in her project:

It has very similar elements to A's project.

Then the girls left for a field trip at the White House! Such busy and important kids. :)

I haven't seen them yet (am uploading these pictures at the office) so I will get the full scoop when I get home. I did get this picture of A's group before leaving the school from a friend who was chaperoning:

And M has to recite a poem today - as part of the immigration theme, it's the Emma Lazarus poem from the Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

The wretched refuse of your teeming shores

Give these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

I am proud to report that I wrote that from memory, having memorized it myself while in grade school.

Oh, and tons of Hanukah presents are now wrapped and under the piano.

Whew! What a few days the girls have had!

 

How to be Helpful

M had an assignment in Peace Class yesterday about "How to be Helpful". I found this in her homework folder this morning and was very touched by it.

I know she wrote small - here is what she said:

I will...

Help my mom because she is pregnant (she told me yesterday).

Be kind to the baby when she's born in June.

Don't kick the passenger when I am on the plane going to San Diego.

Help my mom with luggage when we are in the airport.

Be patient when my mom is working with my sister on her homework.

Awwwwww. What a great kid. I love that M so much. It's even more impressive to me given that I know she is so unhappy about the pregnancy news.

Snow Angels

Great progress on the family tradition projects last night. The girls wrote out long paragraphs on latkes and where their families came from, and we colored in maps to show the countries where our families are from and where Jews ate latkes to celebrate Hanukah - Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Austria, Romania, Belarus. Tomorrow we will add pics of Grandma Sandy making latkes and her recipe. And then we're done!

I ordered a professional photo of the girls in their costumes from the first dress rehearsal for the Nutcracker. Here it is:

Big News and Nutcracker Tea Pics

What a week already.

Sunday was a great day, with the Nutcracker Tea and performance (see pictures below).

On Sunday night we shared the exciting news that M&A will be getting a new brother or sister in June. They don't find this news as exciting as we do - in fact they are quite unexcited about it. We are hoping that they will get more excited as time goes on.

We are off to a busy week. The girls have big projects due at the end of the week - posters about a family holiday tradition. We have spent a lot of time talking about latkes, and families, and immigration to the US. Tonight we will work on getting a lot of it onto the posterboards.

Next Nutcracker performance: Friday.

Here are some pics from Sunday:

Most of the girls:

M&A with a clown and party girl:

M&A with Ariana and Catherine, who are Cherry Blossoms:

M&A with soldiers:

M&A with Clara aka Lily:

M&A with Nana:

Naomi and Alida:

Ms. Cobb and Eileen:

Polly and Lily:

Julie and Emily:

Amie and Jessie:

Ms. Nickel and Emily:

Alida and M:

Ms. Nickel getting an ornament from M and Emily:

Ms. Nickel, Emily and M:

A and Maki Onaki, the Sugar Plum Fairy:

M and Maki Onaki:

M and Lily:

Septime Webre with his prima ballerinas:

The Weekend By The Numbers

Another busy, exciting weekend! I will let the numbers tell the story.

Nutcracker events today: 2 - performance at 1, Nutcracker Tea at 3:30 (more tomorrow, with pics)

VIP guests at the Nutcracker today: Nana and Emily; Ms. Nickel; Ms. Cobb and her daughter; Naomi and Alida; Amie and Jessie; Sarah and Hannah; Julie and Emily; and Polly and Lily.

Souvenirs from the tea: a signed toe shoe (A has been wearing two for the last few hours); a bag of individually-selected candy.

Gorgeous dresses worn by the girls: 2 - A wore a white, rosette covered sleeveless dress and M wore a ruffly black sleeveless dress.

Get Well mylar balloons from Grampy that are now in our house: 8

Haircuts: 2, plus gorgeous curls (see pics below)

People wearing toe shoes to bed: 1 (A)

Convalescing grandfathers: 1

Lice detected since Thursday: 0

Here is a video of A doing the announcement last Thursday:

Here are some pics of the girls with curly hair: