This Week At Our House.....

Jon coaches Will's baseball team.

Wednesday night Will had a game (after his one hour hockey class... which I took him to. Again. More on that later.)

I stayed for half the baseball game and then took Alyssa home.

When Jon gets home he says to me...

"I think I sprained my ankle."

Me: "how did you sprain your ankle?"

Jon: "at baseball."

Me: "at baseball? all you do is pitch a ball to first graders."

Jon: "Yeah, well I was trying to pick up a ball and totally fell, and I think I sprained my ankle."

Me: "I'm sure you're fine"

It was totally NOT swollen. It looked totally fine.

A couple hours later, while drinking a few beers on the couch...

Jon: "it really hurts. I really think something's wrong with it. I can barely stand on it."

Me: "Are you just saying that so you can just sit on the couch and drink beer?"

Jon: "no. I swear."

Me: "Well then how did you get the beer?"

Jon: "I got it from the fridge."

Me: "whatever"

Jon: "I'm numbing the pain."

The next day he was on a pair of crutches.

Me: "I think you like using those crutches."

Jon: "Are you serious?"

Me: "yes."

Jon: "You're crazy."

So now I hear, "Emily, can you get me water? Rayli, can you get me more ice..... "

I mean he was picking a freaking ball off the ground!!!!!!

I do believe him that he is hurt and in pain. I'm sure he did somehow sprain his ankle while picking up a ball, but I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first.

I did make him crawl up the stairs and sit in the bathroom with Alyssa while she took a bath so I could watch Survivor with the other kids.... I'm mean like that.

Anyway, Emily has been really wanting to try out Will's hockey class, and on wednesday she did. Pink gloves and all! She looked adorable and had fun too! So now we will have 2 kid hockey players in the family. And Jon is definitely smiling about that!

Jessica was away for a couple nights for her sixth grade trip. It's amazing how much quieter the house is with just one kid missing.

On sunday she invited a bunch of friends over for a bonfire to celebrate Lag Ba'omer. We cooked hot dogs on skewers over the firepit (and then on the grill just in case). I made salad, pasta, french fries, popcorn, spilled chips all over my kitchen floor and made Jon go out and get new ones, fruit, cookies and we had a picnic on the basketball court. They made friendship bracelets for each other. And when it started to get a little dark we made smores over the fire. They had a really good time!

Alyssa had a Mother's Day Brunch at school.

She's such a little cutie!

Hope you all had a great week! And Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Random Blabber

So I just took a look at my blog, and I cannot believe that I havn't posted anything new since thursday, which I really did on wednesday night. I'm so bad. But that picture of Alyssa is pretty cute if I do say so myself and I could look at it all day everyday, so at least I left ya with her smiling face to look at.

Anyway, thanksgiving weekend was really nice. It was nice to see my husband's family and spend time with them. I actually did one run while there but it was very short and painful.... calves were acting up, so only around 2.2 miles. But I also walked with Jon's stepsister one morning for 3.5 miles, so I felt pretty good. I asked a trainer why my calves were so crampy and he told me to eat bananas and drink a lot of water. I'm gonna try it and see if it works. I am loving my new calf muscles to the point of obsession. I just wish they would stop hurting me.

I hate going to the doctor. I actually don't ever go unless I'm pregnant, but I decided to make an appointment 3 weeks ago so I could get my annual stuff done, make sure I don't have cancer down there (biggest fear, I always thing I have cancer, no reason just do) and have them check all my vitals so I can run the half marathon and not drop dead like some others on mile 9 at the NY marathon. Scary!

Anyway, I tried to be a good girl today. I made myself the appointment with my ob/gyn. I hadn't been to see him since my 9 month checkup. I am so bad, I didn't even go to the 6 week checkup after I had Alyssa!!! I got there, gave them my new insurance card, filled out some forms, and waited.... I read Runners magazine cover to cover and waited some more..... Finally almost an hour after my appointment time I asked when he was going see me, and she said that he was still with a patient and one more before me. I looked at the time. I told them that I had to leave in 15 minutes to pick up my baby from school. She said that I can wait if I want, but there is no chance in hell that he will be able to see me in the next 15 minutes. OK, so maybe she didn't exactly say it like that, but that is what she meant.

I thanked them (not sure for what.... oh yeah she liked my hair) and told them I'd call them and reschedule. I think you all know what that means. I am so not calling them. I called my mom instead (my dad's a doctor) and decided that I would just run in to his office one day and have his assistant check my vitals. I guess the pap smear will have to wait.

Yesterday I took Will and Emily and sleeping Alyssa to Color Me Mine to paint pottery. We each painted a plate. It was really fun. I havn't painted pottery in years. I always let my kids do it, but this time Alyssa was sleeping so I decided to have fun too. I can't wait to pick them up next week!

Last night was my kids teacher's conferences. Two hours of talking to teachers, hopefully hearing only good things. I was so exhausted so Jon went instead of me. I went to sleep at 9, right after my kids. Well, sorta... woke up to wash dishes around 10 and then went back to bed.

Anyway, Emily got a perfect report from all 3 teachers. as usual. as expected. Thank god she is not my sister! She is so good at everything she does, and so nice, and so caring, and sweet, and always appreciative. Like last night, she could tell I was tired. So while I put Will and Alyssa to bed, she cleaned up all the toys. The family room was spotless. She is amazing!

Will got a great report form his teacher. as usual. Everyone loves that sweet boy.

Jessica got a report that was not 100% great. Her teachers love her, they think she is really smart, but she just doesn't always read the instructions and therefore gets "silly" points taken off on her homework and tests. She only half reads and therefore sometimes only answers half the question. They think she spaces out in class. I contribute the spaciness to her already being like a teenager who doesn't want to be in class.

Jessica felt so bad. She was crying when I told her what her teachers said. Until last year her teachers only said really great things about her, but in the past couple years school work has gotten harder and there are more expectations of her. Also, she thought she was doing really well in math and hates that they have been going slower for some of the kids. I told her not to worry, that all the teachers love her and that we are proud of her. She does do really well in school there have been just a few C tests lately, but she is usually a B+ or A student. Poor Jessica. I gave her a hug and told her not to worry about it. I also told her that when she takes her tests, finishing first doesn't mean you are the smartest, and that she should take her time reading the questions. In her defense, she has a psycho science teacher who told Jon that her average of 76 is really good for her class. I might have to make an appointment with the principal to talk about that.

It's All Over....

All these holidays have been very enjoyable, but I am happy to announce that they are over!!!! The kids can go back to school tomorrow and I can go back to my normal life. We will have one last hurrah at Monkey Island today.... never been there but it's supposed to be a fun indoor playground/jumpy things/climbing things for kids. Yesterday was the last day of our holidays and what I love about the holidays as opposed to Shabbat is that we can cook. So after a long day at shul (synagogue) and a luncheon there too, I let my girls bring all their friends over for some game playing, basketball playing, and cooking/baking. By the time they left they had played Whoonu, a fun cranium game... I actually played with them :), played Bratz, and set up some pretty elaborate houses and closets and a ton of who knows what that took over my family room, and played basketball. We had made some bite sized cookies, homemade pizza, and I let them make sushi by themselves! It was really delicious! I even have a picture I took last night...

There are 2 girls missing from this picture. They all did such a good job!

Anyway, I told you guys about going to Chucky Cheese on thursday, right? Well Alyssa LOVES that little carousel there. Seriously could stay on it forever!

(by the way, Jessica wore that shirt when she was 4. I hope it shrunk over the years.)

Well, I was wading through the mess of toys in my basement (why do kids dump everything?) sunday morning, throwing things out because I'm tired of cleaning up, and Alyssa found this little tiny carousel from a polly pocket toy and was carrying it everywhere... she's so cute! That's the end of the story. I know it doesn't sound like anything exceptional to blog about, but it was really cute when it happened.

Moving on.....

I just want you all to know that Will has just informed me that I should sell apples for a living. Thanks Will. And Alyssa was playing with clorox wipes while I was writing this (big OMG! She was on the kitchen table pulling them all out and wiping her face with them...almost had a heart attack!!!!!!!). And lastly, I have realized that not only does Alyssa not like her daddy at night, she is scared of him! Great. She always wakes up frantic in the middle of the night. Last night was really really bad. I asked Jon to leave our room just to see if my suspicions were right, and sure enough she stopped crying the second he walked out of the room. We obviously need Alyssa out of our room asap. This is crazy!

Earmuffs

My kids are no longer allowed to listen to the radio on the way to school in the morning. I would like to thank B96 for telling my kids that Kristen Cavallari did not sleep with John Mayer because she didn't want to be another notch on his belt. And that John Mayer said that he did not penis high five her. WTF???? I mean, I am trying to listen to music. With my kids. On our way to school. Again, WTF???

Will was like, "penis? Did they just say penis?"

Jessica and Emily were quietly laughing. I was like, "I mean, what does that even mean? That is gross. From now on we are only listening to ipods in the car." Sheesh. Can't a mom take her kids to school without hearing about celebrity sex lives? Thank God they weren't in the car during 103.5's "Ask the Bitch" hour. Radio conversation is NOT for kids!

So now that Will is thinking about how to give a penis high five, I will just go on with my day pretending it never happened....

Sometimes I wish I had a script so I would know what to say to my kids....

**************************************************************

Now, onto something wholesome and pure....

We have started decorating our sukkah (outdoor hut that we eat in during the holiday of sukkot) today. I love building the sukkah, decorating the sukkah, I even love planning for company in our sukkah. But when it comes to eating in it.... I pray for rain. There is something about eating outside, with little tiny bugs flying around the lights, possible pieces of schach (the bamboo roof) falling into my hair and onto my plate. Yuck! Seriously, I am starting to get sick just thinking about it. But we are only at the decorating and preparing part, so I am happy as can be. We hung our plastic grapes today. We have little birdhouses that we have used in the past, but I'm kind of sick of them, so I'll only use them if the kids ask me too. We will hang the foam paper chain my kids made 3 years ago, each year adding on a few more foam links. It's kind of like decorating a christmas tree. In fact I even use those little Christmas lights! Love them! I will definitely take some pics when we are done. These pictures are of our sukkah so far.

Building the sukkah...

Will wants to sleep in the sukkah! (Is he really my kid?) So if the weather is nice, I will let the men (Jon and Will) rough it on air mattresses in the sukkah. I, of course, will be nice and warm, snug in my king sized bed.

A Secret (*reposted. can you see it now?)

There is a secret that I'm keeping from my kids. I'm not telling them about it because they'll be scared. Hell, I'm pretty scared. But, it's basically in their room. It's spooky and humongous! Well, compared to others that I have seen. If they learn this secret they will not be able to sleep at night. Worse, I might have 4 kids in my bed instead of only one.

Do you want to know my secret?

Are you sure?

O.K.

Here goes.....

I was getting out of my car, walking up my walkway, when out of the corner of my eye I saw something huge by Jessica and Emily's window. I went upstairs, lifted up their broken blinds (thank God they don't open!!!!!!) and this is what I saw.....

Get ready for it.....

Here it comes.....

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

Seriously, it totally freaks me out. I need to move! I can't live in this house knowing it's there.

Come on, it's the biggest spider you've ever seen! I know it is.

I'll pay you $100 if you come here and kill it for me.

(Not So) Deep Thoughts.....

Oh My God! Ali, you could have warned me that I'd need a box of tissues while watching Biggest Loser. Seriously, the woman who lost her husband, newborn baby, and 3 year old in a car crash..... The homeless girl with the heroine mom...... So sad! Jillian and Bob could have been a little nicer ya know? It was the first week. It's so funny when I watch that show with the kids. The biggest people look soooo big that when the 250 pounders get on the scale, Will thinks they are skinny. He finds the men with boobs absolutely hilarious, And when Jillian yells "move your ass" he thinks she's talking about their penis. Ha ha ha ha ha. He is hilarious to watch with!

Anyway, still contemplating the bunk bed.... thanks for all the comments.

I love when new people read my blog especially when I don't know them. I especially love when I love their blog too and a few others on their lists. So thanks to all of you!

OK, so I was up really late baking last night, and was watching all the stupid tv shows I would never normally watch like I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, Pageant Moms, and Clean House. Actually I really like Clean House. Tonight there was a family on that I for sure know. Or at least have seen them somewhere before. So weird! The Shapiro Family... Bill and Rhonda and post college kids Andy, Julie and Jenny. Anyone know them? They looked so familiar.

Pageant Moms was totally ridiculous. And the not knowing you're pregnant? One lady had her baby in the toilet (2 1/2 pounds). Good thing she didn't flush! There is no way I could have ever gone 9 months without noticing my pregnant belly.

Yesterday Jessica's teacher told her that she should make a timeline of her life (she's 11). Due today. In hebrew. With pictures. Along with all the other homework her 7 other teachers gave her. Luckily Jessica only wanted to include a few very important memories.... like when she bashed her head into a rock wall at disneyland when she was 4. Too bad we couldn't figure out how to write that in hebrew... that was definitely an important moment in her life.

It is definitely not a very impressive timeline, but considering the amount of time she was given to do it, I think it will suffice.

Last but not least, I told the girls that they have to get rid of some things in the room because it was too cluttered. After straightening up a bit, and getting rid of a bunch of things, Jessica decided to rip her posters of Selena Gomez off her wall. Her side of the room looked so much less cluttered, so Emily ripped off her Demi Lovato poster and a certificate her teacher gave her last year. About 3 seconds after she threw it away, she burst into tears. I tried to calm her down, and just as I thought it was working I heard a big sob and lots more tears. I decided that it was time to go to bed and turned off the light. I mean it's just Demi Lovato. It's not like she ripped the Miley Cyrus or Nick Jonas ones off......

A Few Firsts...

Just chillin in the backyard after a GREAT first day of school!

Loving the new hoop....

Will scored his first basket... and then 7 more!

Enjoying a cold treat...

The basketballs also make great chairs, apparently.

Later,

I decided to try to potty train Alyssa....

She decided that it's much more fun to unroll all the toilet paper. Several times.

Oh well. There's always tomorrow.

(Just so you know, the line on her leg is popsicle, not pee.)

Kids In School = Happy Mommy

My kids started school today!

In the words of London Tipton...

"Yay Me!"

(from Suite Life of Zach and Cody for all you losers out there who didn't know that)

And I have the best surprise for them when they get home from school.....

The basketball hoop is finally up and Jon and I already took the first 2 shots (and made it)!

(Jon is working from home today... again Yay Me!)

Oh, and speaking of Yay Me... I think Alyssa was pretty happy to have the house to herself this morning... She was running around giggling, and jumping on the couch.... I havn't seen her this happy in a while! Thank God for school!

Oh and just to report, Will did an excellent job at his haircut yesterday!

It's amazing what you can hide in a hat....

Before:

After:

Kids LOVE Cell Phones

This is how you know your kids have been using your cell phone.....

1. When you suddenly have a new contact and the person's name is Agj and his cell number is 52.

2. When a real estate agent calls you asking if you tried to text him because he got a whole bunch of random letters sent to him in a text message.

3. When you see 9 pictures of this...

4. When you know you didn't take these pictures at Nordstrom one night....

5. When you are looking through your pictures from blueberry picking and you find these...

6. When your friend calls and asks if Alyssa can stop calling her.

7. When you look through your mobile album and find some extreme close ups...and random photo shoots...

Can't seem to find the close ups, but I have at least 25 pics of Will's eyes and nose.




And now for some crazy Alyssa pictures....

"Look what I found outside, Mommy"

She came downstairs like this one morning!

How does such a cute kid make such gross faces???

Oh, did I mention we got Rock Band. It's the older one for PS2. But still... it's really fun and only cost $50....

Will's feet are kinda short so when he does the drums... we help him with the pedal and pray to God we don't get hit in the head with the drum sticks....