Thursday, November 29, 2012

Yesterday at School

Today I was told this brief conversation happened during lunchtime yesterday between Tali and her teacher, Anne. FYI - this teacher is very into food, eating healthy and gardening. She's also Hungarian and the perfect combination of structured and kind. (I think she's fantastic.)

Anne: Wow, Tali, you are eating raw, whole cranberries with your lunch?

Tali: Yes, and they are very sour. You probably wouldn't like them.

Ha! She's so funny!

What I wouldn't give  to experience taste through Tali's mouth just for one day. And she's not even four years old yet.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Hurricane Sandy, Day 4

Good news! We received word from NYSEG that we should have power back sometime between Sunday and Wednesday. Today was Thursday so it's not too far off. And even though we have power, we're really stuck at home. The roads are bad and we don't want to get in dangerous situations until we know the power lines and trees are cleared off the ground.

Today was a much easier day. In the morning, I took Tali down the street to the neighbor's house. They have two girls and the older one is our favorite babysitter (but she wasn't home) and three large Standard Poodles. Tali stayed over there to play while Eli had his PT. I took Eli over after and he had a great time with the dogs when they weren't cornering him to lick his face.

The rest of the day went by quickly and Tali actually walked Jackson in the evening instead of sitting in the stroller. As long as the weather is decent, these days will go by quickly.

In addition to Day 4 of being stuck at home with the kids, H has also been home. He's worked from home every day. I've always said that I'd go crazy if H worked from home, but now I have to take it back. It's actually been great. Really great. H spends the day working in his office and we mostly stay out of his way (the kids really want to go in to see him and every once in a while, I let them). When it's time for lunch, he eats with us. When it's time for dinner, he eats with us. If he wants a break, he spends a bit of time with the kids. There's no 3-hour commute for him and the kids get to see him a bit more. We're not in each others space all day but if we need to talk about something, it's easy to do so. For me, it actually works very well. I'll be a bit sad when it's over.

H playing with the kids in the kitchen while taking a break from work.

Trick-or-Treat - The Video

H uploaded a short video last night of the kids at the mall. This was closer to the end of our 45-minute Trick-or-Treat experience. I have to admit, they had great costumes and looked adorable.




Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hurrican Sandy, Day 3


Happy Halloween! We've been holed up in the house for quite a few days now but we finally made it out today. Thankfully.

This morning, I took Jackson and the kids (in the double stroller!) out on a walk. We ended up running in to two different neighbors (who live two houses away from each other and barely even know each other - my street is so not friendly). So our little walk turned into a 45-minute walk.

We got home, played in the playroom, had lunch and then naps. Eli barely napped and Tali didn't. When they woke up, it was time to Trick or Treat! Since our town was still without power, we decided to take the kids to a mall in Connecticut about 40 minutes away. Since Tali doesn't really remember Halloween from last year, it was fine. They had a great time and Tali got a ton of compliments on her costume. Some even stopped her to take her picture because they thought she was so cute.









We got home, the took a bath, we ate dinner and then they went to bed. All in all, a much more manageable day.

Unfortunately, the damage is so bad out there that I'm not really planning to drive anywhere else anytime soon. The main road off of our street is full of downed trees and power lines. Some lines are touching the ground. Scary and dangerous. I'd rather go crazy at home. I can't believe I just said that.


Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy, Day 2

We were lucky. Very lucky. We woke up this morning to some minor damage - a few fallen trees, a few broken parts of barn fencing, minor damage to the barn, and the trampoline flew across our property. There was no damage to our house. And our generator is working beautifully. But even though the majority of the storm was over, it still rained most of the day. So, we stayed inside.

I gave the kids another pajama day. And I wore sweatpants (yes, I wore sweatpants) all day. This morning, we played in the playroom while H cleared a tree blocking the road and then got his work done. The kids had fun playing by themselves for a bit and then we had a ball party. We took out all the balls (we have a lot) and played various games for an hour.

Eli in his new favorite spot - on top of the bench to look out the window. He has to climb into his wagon and then onto the rail to get up on the bench. He's quite good at it now.
Tali playing dress-up.
Inside the toy cabinet.
Tali playing dress-up.
The rest of the day was more of the same. The kids had fun playing around the house. We tried to entertain them when we could. They each got a new toy today from our secret toy stash (various birthday/Hanukkah gifts that we've put aside and give them throughout the year when we need to). They took naps. We ate a hot lunch (grilled cheese with apples) and dinner (cauliflower macaroni and cheese) and I regularly, quietly thanked H and everyone involved for the generator. It really makes such a difference. I can't imagine how we'd be doing without it.

Now if only someone would come and entertain the kids for a bit. I have no idea when Tali will actually go back to school (it's estimated that it'll be 10 days - 2 weeks, at least, until we get power back and right now only emergency personnel are allowed to drive on the roads) and I need a bit of a break. We're all going to go stir crazy before this is over. I can see it now.


Fallen trees and a bit of the barn.

Some broken fence in the lower paddock.

Some of the damage to the barn. The door is off it's track due to the winds from the storm.

This is ONE tree that fell. It was all the way in the street but H spent a lot of time this morning clearing it from the road.

Another view of the fallen trees in the back near the barn. Cool to see the whole tree, roots and all, simply knocked over.

Tali's trampoline. All the way down at the bottom of our property. She was a little upset when she saw this.


Monday, October 29, 2012

Hurricane Sandy, Day One

Today was the first day of Hurricane Sandy. It went pretty much as I expected.

I let Tali stay in her pajamas all day, as a special treat. I also bought some Tootsie Rolls at the grocery store yesterday since they both love them. It's a special Hurricane Sandy treat and they got two today. Tali was very good most of the day. She played quietly by herself, mostly with her dolls and blocks.

Taking after her Aunt Cara.

Another view of Tali's dolls in their little town.


Eli was actually the difficult one today. He wanted to get into everything that he shouldn't: the fireplace tools, Jackson's crate, the artwork, my laptop, etc. The best was to keep him in the family so that's where we played for most of the day. 

The storm didn't really hit us until the afternoon and we lost power around 6:00 p.m.  There were a few blackouts before the power went out for good. I think I was more worried about the kids being scared than they were actually scared. But I'm not sure that they'll actually sleep through the night tonight.

The biggest news is that we have a generator. So, we are really fine. I feel lucky that we have one. It's honestly some of the best money we've ever spent.

The winds have picked up as the night has gone on. But here is a sample of what it looked like around 8:30 p.m.




Why I Have To Plan An Extra 10 Minutes in My Morning




Without fail, this happens when we are leaving for school every morning. And since I don't want Tali to be late, I now have to give ourselves extra time so that I can pry them from the toys. At least they are having fun!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

My Little Gourmand





This morning, Tali created her own breakfast sandwich: lemon curd and mascarpone on a lightly toasted whole wheat English muffin. 

Since I'm a supportive mom, I decided to try it for myself. It's actually very good! I'm hoping that in a few years, she'll move on to creating dinners and I can just offer to do the dishes (and help her with the knife).

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Eli's Girlfriend

Eli has a girlfriend. The feeling is mutual. They both smile when around each other. Who is this little lady? Well, it's Tali's best friend and it's so cute! (It's a good thing that they are all too young to really remember this and that it will probably pass before anyone gets old enough to let it bother them.)

Yesterday, they held hands and walked from school to the parking lot together (it's a bit of a walk). She walked slowly to stay at his pace and stopped whenever he needed to catch up. He had a blast walking with her. They are just adorable together.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

First Trip to the Zoo


On our way into the zoo.

Last Monday (it was a holiday), we took the kids to the Bronx Zoo. Tali had been before with H, but this was my and Eli's first trip there. Tali had the whole day planned out before we even left the car. Her biggest request was that we go on the monorail (or the "train" as she called it) first. So, that's what we did. Big mistake. Poor Eli had been sitting in the car then the stroller for a while so all he wanted to do was move around. He spent the majority of the ride playing on the floor (gross!).

Waiting in line for the monorail.
On the monorail.
After that, we went to look at some lions and get lunch. Mistake number two. The food was pretty bad and the service was terrible. Next time, we'll bring our own.

Then, off to the merry go round where both kids had a blast. After the ride was over, we stopped and purchased some Dippin' Dots ice cream for everyone. Mistake number three. Kids and dot ice cream is a recipe for disaster. Not sure why that didn't occur to either of us. The ice cream got everywhere! At least the kids had fun.

On the merry go round - all the seats were bugs!
On to a quick trip to the seals and then the kiddie zoo. Tali and Eli had a blast! But it was getting late and the kids were getting tired. So we zipped through the kiddie zoo in about half the time we would have otherwise spent there and headed back to the car.

In the kiddie zoo.
Climbing the spider web at the kiddie zoo.
As we were leaving the zoo, we decided to check about a membership. It was cheaper to purchase a membership now (which would include the cost of this day's trip) then to pay for one more trip to the zoo. So, we got one.

Both fell asleep in the stroller while H bought a zoo membership.
And now that we've made all the rookie mistakes, we'll have a much different plan next time. 

Oh, and I must add that this zoo is amazing! It's absolutely huge and beautiful. I grew up with a pretty good zoo and am usually disappointed in other zoos, but I can truly say that I am impressed.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Eli and the Stool


This afternoon, Tali brought out her stool to help me make a smoothie. It was left out in the kitchen the rest of the afternoon and after dinner, Eli decided it was his turn to use the stool.

First, he brought it into the middle of the kitchen to practice climbing up and down. He must have gotten up and down about 30 times and only fell once. When he was confident that he had that skill down, he pushed the stool over to the oven to try to turn the knobs. I promptly stopped him before something bad happened.

Next, he went to the counter to try to grab one of the water carafes. Luckily, I was able to grab it before he did.

Then he went to the fridge. He got up on his stool and grabbed a hold of the handle. Unfortunately, our fridge door is very heavy and he was not able to get it open. No matter. He went to the kitchen table to see if he could grab whatever was left. Couldn't reach.

So off to the laundry closet. He placed the stool right in front of the doorknob. He climbed up and pulled the knob. It opened slightly. He got down, moved the stool away and pulled the door the rest of the way open. He walked inside, took a look, then walked out and shut the door.

Satisfied with his success, he proceeded to the family room. He pushed the stool over to a chair and simply climbed into it. He was so proud of himself that he was beaming.

A very successful evening for my little monkey.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Shanah Tovah!


 Wishing everyone and sweet and happy New Year.



What I wish all of my pictures looked like.
What the majority of my pictures look like.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Twenty Years From Now

I have a good feeling that 20 years from now, Eli's college friends will witness this exact same thing. Except there will probably be a different substance in his bottle.


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

15 Month Check-up

In the waiting room.

Yesterday Eli had his 15-month check-up. Tali came along because she LOVES going to the doctor, even if it's for her.

For the most part, things went well. He's still in the 1% for weight but has moved up to the 3% (was 1% last time) for height. The doctor is pleased with his progress from the physical therapy. She saw him stand on his own and take a few steps. His vitals checked out fine.

But, she did notice that his fine motor skills are behind. If he doesn't improve by the next visit, then she'd like to see him evaluated for occupational therapy as well. And he's still not talking (except for the occasional "mama" and "dada" - we think) so we should plan for a speech evaluation at 18 months unless the words start flowing soon.

At the end of the check-up, Eli needed two shots. The nurse came back in to administer them. I had Eli on my lap and Tali was sitting right across from him. I asked her to sing Eli a song to help keep him happy (one of her favorite things to do) but she was too distracted by the needles. As soon as the first needle went in, Eli started wailing. Somewhere between the first and second shot, she burst into tears as well. Sympathy crying. I wish I could have held both of them on my lap.

They both calmed down, eventually, got their stickers and left. Twice the kids, twice the drama.

First Day (Ever) of Ballet Class


  
I doubt I'm alone in this one, but forgive me if I am. Often, I have it all planned out. I know exactly how a particular day or event is going to go. And then, it happens. And I have no control over it. Everything I had planned for goes completely differently. My ideal vision of what would happen turns into the nightmare I wouldn't dare think of. And I am stuck trying to figure out how to make it work. If I'm lucky, I'll do it with just a tiny bit of grace.

So went Tali's first day of ballet. Class begins at 4:00 and Tali doesn't normally wake up from her nap until at least 4:30. Knowing this, I was prepared. I got Tali in her tights and leotard before her nap. We laid out her skirt and packed up her ballet and tap shoes. Before I woke her, I set her snack out on the table. The plan was to give her a snack while I put the mandatory bun in her hair (lots of rules at this school - specific outfit and hair style). As soon as I woke her up, everything went to hell.


My first-ever bun. Not bad, huh?


Tali: Mommy, I don't want to wear the tights.
Me: Tali, everyone has to wear the tights. All the little girls will be in the same outfit as you.
Tali: But Mommy, I want to see my feet. I want to wear socks!
Me: You can put on socks after class is over.
Tali: (Begins crying) But Mommy....

Somehow, we made it downstairs. She got into her chair and I began making my first-ever bun. (Thanks to the Internet, I learned how to last night.) The child with the super-high pain threshold began crying that the bun hurt her. And then, my nightmare began. It was no longer about the bun. She was crying hysterically and had a million demands. She wanted to put her skirt on. She didn't want to go to ballet. She wanted a different snack. She wanted to go to ballet. She wanted to wear socks over her tights. She didn't want to go to ballet. She didn't want the tights. She wanted water. No, in a different cup. She wanted her friends in her ballet class. She didn't want the bun. She wants to wear the skirt up to her arms. She wanted to go to ballet. And on it went, for FIFTEEN minutes! In the middle of all of this, Eli started crying. No real reason, other than she was crying and it made him cry. So two screaming kids, a dog begging for their snack and we're going to be late.

I took a deep breath, got on my knees, looked Tali in the eye and calmly explained to her, again, that all the little girls must do these things to go to ballet. Once she gets there, she'll see that everyone else looks just like her. I asked her to let me finish her bun and then we would go. She calmed down a bit and we finished up. (Tiny bit of grace, thank you.)

Of course, we were late. I had planned to be there early and take a picture of her standing outside the dance studio. Instead, I got a picture of her petting Jackson in our mudroom. She refused to look at me. Probably because she had red puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

The one picture I was able to sneak of her face. See those eyes?

At the end of class, she was happy. She told me she wanted to go back again next Tuesday. She's been doing "shuffle-step" around the house all evening.
 
Walking out of door after class. Smile on her face, thankfully.

I didn't get the "before" picture so I settled for the "after" picture.


Monday, September 10, 2012

First Day of School And An Impromptu Picnic


Today was Tali's first day of school in the 3's. She picked out her favorite dress to wear for the occasion and insisted on a bow instead of her typical plastic barrette. There were no tears this year (a first!) and she would've stayed all day if she could have.

Tali's teachers this year are really into food and healthy eating (hooray!). They encourage parents to bring in "unusual" foods such as kiwi (not sure how that is unusual, but whatever) for the class to try. Their goal is to teach the kids how to try new things and hopefully expand their pallets. Each time a child tries a new food, he/she gets a "super try-er" sticker. These poor teachers are going to run out of stickers in just one month if they give one to Tali every time she "tries" a food. I warned them. Not sure they believe me, though.

So I told Tali about bringing in snacks and she decided that she wanted to bring in some Kabocha squash that I made on Saturday evening. I tried to talk her into carrots, but no such luck. She wanted the squash. So, today we brought some for her classmates. Only two kids tried it, Tali and her friend Lyla, and they both got stickers. No one else even touched it.

When I went to pick Tali up, they handed me back the squash and Eli saw it (it was in a bag before). So he pointed to the squash and then signed "help", indicating he wanted some. As we were walking to the parking lot, Tali and some of her friends stopped to play on the little bridge, around the stream and in the grass. Since Eli kept asking for the squash, I sat him on the ground for an impromptu picnic. While Tali played, he ate two big slices! Then Tali saw us eating the squash and came down to have another piece herself and feed one to Eli. As usual, all the other kids played and my kids ate. Someone should study them, really.  





Sunday, September 9, 2012

I Finally Bit the Bullet






For the past 15 months, I have insisted that we did not need a double stroller. In the beginning, Tali wanted to walk. And if she didn't, I could easily put Eli in the baby carrier and her in the stroller. As Eli got older, I would usually carry him and hold Tali's hand. I just couldn't justify spending the money on yet another stroller (we had three) that would fill up almost my entire trunk.

But, then last Wednesday came. Neither kid took an afternoon nap (Eli cried in his crib so Tali, from the next room, sang at the top of her lungs to try and calm him) and I had errands to run. When we got to our first stop, they were both asleep. And since it's against the law to leave your napping kids in the car, I had to take them out. I put Eli in the stroller and held Tali's hand. Both were crying that I woke them up. Once inside the store, Eli calmed down but Tali escalated. She was screaming and insisting that SHE get in the stroller. I told her Eli was in it and she needed to walk. She was not okay with that. She started kicking him and trying to pull him out of the stroller. Of course, he started crying again. At two separate times during my 10 minutes in this store, two adults came up to her to try and distract/calm her. Didn't work. She was so upset that she couldn't sit down in the stroller. So I e-mailed H the following: "I give up. Time for a double stroller."

Today we went to the baby store to buy one. We had pretty much picked out what we wanted but I wanted to see it in person first. As soon as we got to the strollers, Tali pointed to the one we wanted and said "I want that one." She read our minds! We ended up getting it. This afternoon we took them for a spin down the block and all went well. Next time they refuse to nap, I'll be prepared.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Sad News About My Pumpkin

My poor pumpkin plant recently became infected with something called powdery mildew. I have to be honest here and say that I noticed it a while ago but didn't think much of it. Since I know NOTHING about gardening, I made a mental note to look it up but then repeatedly forgot to do so. In recent days it got so bad that entire leaves turned white.

H finally took it upon himself to look it up and the news wasn't good. Any leaves affected must be removed immediately. It's very damaging to the plant and was most likely caused by all of the rain we've been having. Once he sent me this information, I took to the garden with my shears and a bucket to trim off the affected leaves. Unfortunately, by this point, ALL of the leaves had at least some white on them. So they all had to go. I was hoping to save the pumpkin but I'm not sure if I did. 

I have said all along that this is a learning experience for me. If something actually grows, I'll be excited. If nothing grows (as I was expecting), then at least I'll have learned a few things. But, honestly, I'm a little bummed about the pumpkin. I was getting excited for it. It's my fault for not taking care of it sooner. When I put things into perspective though, and think about all of the farmers this year that have lost their entire crop to drought, I snap back to reality. I've learned a lot and next year I'll be more careful about things like this.

A little more trimmings than my one bucket could handle.

Jackson, looking just as sad as me that I had to cut all the leaves.

My pumpkin, all by itself now. Not sure if it will survive.

A completely covered leaf.

What the leaves looked like when I first noticed the white spots. Should've done something then.



The squash got it also, though not as bad. I did have to trim that entire plant as well.

A baby squash growing that I had to remove. How sad.


What's left of my squash plants.
I stuffed four garbage bags full of infected leaves.
 
On the bright side, my peppers are really starting to thrive. Each plant has lots of little peppers now. Let's hope nothing damages them. I'd love to harvest, and share, peppers this year.

That's just one pepper plant!