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Sat, Jan 31, 2009 9:50 AM
Monday we had a logistical quagmire as Lauren had a field trip to go ice-skating, but Jack had his regular class and then his class was going on Wednesday. I thought they were all going on Wednesday and scheduled a dentist appointment for that morning. Mike stepped up and took Lauren to her field trip, picked up Jack when school was over, took him for a much needed haircut and then picked up Lauren after her "Little Chefs" after school class. I had the entire afternoon to myself which felt very odd, and I got a lot of sorting done. Apparently Lauren was sort of intimidated to try ice skating, but did get out there for a short time. The most fun was apparently when they got to play in the "snow" which is just what they dump out of the Zamboni machine that cleans off the ice. All I know is that she got her clothes soaking wet and thankfully I had sent along a complete change of clothes. But did Mike put her in the waterproof snowpants and snowboots that I sent along for exactly that purpose? No. Ah well, I can only try!

Tuesday we had Music class and then the kids played for quite a while at the playground with Darren. They are two peas in a pod, Jack and Darren. Even though Darren is closer to Lauren in age, Jack is just about as big as Darren and they love to play together. Then after lunch we went to playgroup at the park. There were a bunch of dogs running around in the field next to the playground, which made it seem like a defacto dog park. I should bring Sadie there for some canine company sometime!

Wednesday we had the reverse with Jack having his flied trip and Lauren and Taylor having regular school. But I took them all to school and then we left from there. It all worked out in the end. Jack did a great job with his first attempt on the ice, and he was encouraged by Darren who was there as well, and who was completely fearless and scooting around all over the ice. They had these walker things that are made of PVC pipes that just slide along the ice and the kids can just lean on that and push it around. it actually put them in the correct position which is with their weight forward over their skates. But Jack didn't last long, 5 minutes maybe, and then he was DONE. We went and changed out of the skates and then had hot chocolate and cookies, and then they played in the snow. Jack was the only one in ski-pants, but he was the best insulated and he was sliding down that mound of snow like a polar bear! I think that was the highlight of the day for him!

After school on Wesdnesday there was a Gasparilla party that the Mom's Club hosted at the park. Gasparilla is a sort of mardi-gras/pirate theme celebration here in Tampa around this time. I'm not really clear what it's all about but the kids had fun dressing up and playing with all their friends. Thursday we had a playdate with Taylor follwed directly by playgroup at Sarah and Meghan's house, so Lauren and Jack were definitley cranky by dinnertime. Friday after school, if that wasn't enough time with Sarah and Meghan, we had them over for a sort of late playdate and dinner. If they aren't played out, then I certainly am!

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Sun, Jan 25, 2009 8:39 PM
Thursday was no fun at all since I was preparing for my colonoscopy on Friday. That involves drinking this nasty tasting fluid every 20 minutes until you've consumed the entire 4 litres. Soon it gave me the runs so I spent all my time either drinking the medicine or on the toilet. I couldn't do much with the kids at all. They were pretty good, watching a movie and playing together in the house, but they got a little stir crazy as the day wore on. I wasn't allowed to eat all day, and though I didn't actually feel hungry, it was hard to prepare meals when I felt nauseous and lightheaded at the same time! Luckily I persuaded Mike to come home and give the kids dinner.

Friday it was a struggle to get the kids ready becuase I really felt dizzy by that time, but we got them to school ontime and made it to my appointment at the clinic. I was given drugs so I don't remember much, but it didn't last long and then I got to go home. Mike picked up a chicken pot pie for me from Boston Market on the way home and I consumed that thing the second we got home! I slept most of the afternoon so all I can say is that the kids had Taylor over for a little while and then once she went home they went out to dinner.

Saturday Mike took the kids to Mygym class while I shopped for a birthday present at our gorgeous new mall, and then we all headed to Claire Shoemaker's birthday party in the park. They had a bouncy house with a slide which was a huge hit of course and we had to drag the kids away only when the man came to deflate the thing!

Today was a lazy Sunday which was spent mostly doing laundry and organizing old baby clothes which I am trying to get out the door at some point! Mike took the kids for a walk in the afternoon since it was such a beautiful day. The kids spent the rest of the time rididng around the cul-de-sac on their bikes. Jack re-deicovered his Litte Tikes truck and spent quite a bit of time down on his belly pretending to fix something on the tires. He even went inside and got his tools, it was so funny!

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Thu, Jan 22, 2009 2:30 PM
Tuesday we went to Music class and then headed straight back home for the Inauguaration of President Barack Obama! The kids were only mildly interested, but I just felt complelled to witness that historic event on live TV. There is such hope in the air! My favorite moment was watching FORMER President Bush get on the helicopter and fly away. Buh-Bye!

Yesterday I went to school and back 4 times. Yes, 4. Mike came with us (the first time)to see the whole drill since he'll be doing it on Friday. First was Drop off, next was dropping off the backpacks and lunches we forgot at home,OOPS! Then there was pick-up, and then finally we went back for Family Math night. We were given play money(that's one of the theme's this month), and the kids could spend it doing various educational and vaguely mathematical activities in different classrooms. The kids enjoyed it and somehow Lauren talked me into buying a pie in the "bakery" to bring home for Daddy!

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Mon, Jan 19, 2009 11:28 PM
Yup, another week has flown by. I've been a bit consumed by medical appointments. For once I'm actually making good on my New year's resolutions. Mammogram, dentist (root canal)orthodontist this week, plus colonoscopy, and sometime I have to find the time to get my blood taken when I've fasted for 12 hours. Then next week I have 3 cavities and the crown put on over the root canal. I'll admit I'm sort of over-doing it, but I should be almost done by the end of the month!

But back to the kids. . .On Monday Lauren had her little chefs class and she continues to like it. This week they made strawberry -banana-pinapple smoothies. The best thing that is coming out of this class is her increased willingness to try things, so that's worth it right there!

Tuesday we had the first class of Music Together this session and it's great to get back into our usual routine. We've actually been listening to the cd in the car this week and the kids have been singing along and requesting it again and again, so something is definitley sinking in!

Thursday Lauren had her 5 year check up at the pediatrician and everything was fine. She's finally 41 pounds. She seemed to be hovering at 38 or 39 forever! And she's 44 inches tall. After intitially being told she didn't need any shots, she did then need one in order to go to school in the fall. But now she's done until something like 7th grade! She was NOT a happy camper and did cry but she recovered very quickly and was happy to get her sticker and lollipop. She always think to ask for one to take home to Jack which is so sweet. I was able to leave him home with Sara that day. I hate bringing him there if I don't have to and expose him to any more germs than absolutely necessary. It was a good thing too, because he was tired and took a long nap that day, which is a rarity these days. After the doctor's we wetn to Target to return a few duplicate presents she received for her birthday and she got to pick out some new things. She got 2 different Ariel bath toys which seemd a bit redundant, but she's been playing with both of them and nicely sharing the Flounder fish with Jack. It's nice to see them finding things like that that they both like. I overhear the cutest conversations between them when they are role-playing Ariel and Flounder!

Saturday, after much flip-floping, Llauren decided she didn;t want to go to ballet. I brought her along to Jack's MyGym class and I was able to register her for the class as well since it's a combined class that goes up to her age. That will be easier, going to just one place on Saturday mornings. I hope she doesn't change her mind again if Taylor decides to join the class mid-week, but I think it's a bit much on school days, and the times are really inconvenient. I have been meaning to put her on the waiting list for the gymnastics class at the rec center, so that's a possibilit too. And there's soccer coming up, as well as possibly t-ball for Jack. Oh, and I can't forget swim classes. So I really will be constantly running those kids all over town!

Saturday night we had Mike's former department chair from NYU Bill Satbuck and his wife Joan Dunbar over to the house for dinner. It was the first time we tried to have a dinner party with the kids and without any babysitter. It was mostly becuase Sara wasn't available, but it went much better than I thought it would. The key was they arrived early so we had plenty of time to visit and get dinner together and they left by 8:30 I think. So I feel more hopeful about entertaining more in the house. If I can just keep things cleaned up!

Speaking of which, I've been trying to also get the house cleaned up, starting with our master bedroom, bathroom and closet. I took out all the big tubs of baby clothes I've been storing in there and I'm going to keep them in the garage until I can get them organized. That means I have to park outside for the time being, wich should be motivation for me to get all the stuff actually out the door! But I'll tell you, it's nice to reclaim all that space!

Yesterday Lauren and I attended the birthday party of her freind Cameron whom she's known from playgroup since they were both babies and who's also in the same school now, in the same class as Taylor. Jack didn't seem to mind staying with Daddy, who took him out to lunch. Lauren and I spent most of the afternoon when we got home doing crafts, which she is just devoted to. She got a lot of craft supplies as presents for both Christmas and her birthday and she's making good use of all her new stuff.

Today I wanted to do something new and since it was a holiday for MLK, I proposed we all go to a kids museum called Great Explorations over in St. Petersburg. It was a fabulous place, a lot like our science museum but I actualy like the layout better, it was more conducive to interactive play. It was nice to have Mike along since the kids invariably headed in opposite directions most of the time! We had lunch over there and then went back for more fun and spent most of the afternoon there. I liked it a lot and definitely want to go again soon.

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Sun, Jan 11, 2009 11:00 PM
I think I've fallen out of my blogging routine. It's been quite a time since we returned from our trip. First there was New year's Eve where we attended a party held by some theatre friends who also have kids and all of the the kids stayed up until 12:30! Pure folly, because ours were cranky and sleep-deprived for days afterward.

Then we set about applying for passports for the kids just in case we need them for any international travel that may or may not be looming in the immediate future. That turned into an all day affair because we forgot the photos at home and had to reschedule our appointment. Big Oops! Both parents and children need to be present, so we finally got it done later that afternoon. On the way home Lauren saw the Grand Prix Go-kart place which also has miniature golf which is right off the freeway and she couldn't stop talking about it. So I promised her we could go for her birthday.

So then it was Lauren's 5th Birthday! I can seriously not believe that my firstborn is such a big girl! We had a lazy morning of opening presents and general laziness until we finally got out of the door around lunchtime. We gave Lauren a choice of where she'd like to go and she picked Chick Fil-A. That's all because of the playspace they have there. We lingered there for far too long, but then headed over to mini-golf and go-karting, which was fun but the place is sort of a pit. And I don't mean to be a snob, but there were some strange people there. The moment that crystalized it for me was when we were walking through the pool table area where there was loud music playing, and there was a tiny baby, couldn't have been more than a few months old, sitting in a bucket carseat just screaming hysterically. I suspect it belonged one of the men playing pool but everyone there seemed to be ignoring it, which made me want to grab the child and go call Child Protective Services. I sort of regret now that I didn't do something.

Anyway, despite the sort of trashy nature of the place we did manage to have a good time. The go-karts were really fun. I had thought that the kids would be too small, but they have some two seaters so they can ride along. Mike drove like and absolute maniac and we could never catch up with him. The kids also liked the arcade games, and lastly Lauren did the huge hippo slide which was a huge slide you went down on an innertube. I thought she was going to get all wet because they had too have water to keep it slippery, but she didn't get wet at all. Then on the way home we realized it was pretty much dinnertime, so we asked Lauren if she would rather go home or go out, and of course she picked out, so we went to the Macaroni Grill. Oddly enough we sat next to a family with a girl who had the same birthday who was the same age as Lauren. We figured we were probably right down the hall form one another in the hospital! We picked up an ice-cream cake from Baskin Robbins (Tinker Bell) and when we got home Taylor joined us for a piece. So I think Lauren had a really good day.

Then we got ready for school to start on Monday. I brought cup-cakes to school and they celebrated a bit there. I signed Lauren up for Little Chefs which is one of the afterschool enrichment programs. I think they're really designed for working parents who can't get there by 2:30, so it feels funny leaving her there for any longer, because I think it's a long enough day, but she's been begging me. I took Jack with me to run some errands and he happily did not really question that he wasn't in the class too.

Tuesday we spent practically the entire day over at Sarah and Meghan's house. At one point when the kids were in their swimsuits playing with bubbles and frolicking in the warm afternoon sun I thought, (for all my complaining about the heat), do I really want to live somewhere where this is NOT possible in January?

Then the rest of the week I was in preparation mode for the party on Saturday. I got the goody bags done early for once, and bought a lot of the food and drinks on Thursday, but there was still a lot to do on the day. We rented chairs and low tables for all the kids, there was the cake and balloons, and ice for the coolers, all to be picked up. I guess we should have started ealier in the morning. Sara came and took them both to Jack's Mygym class, Lauren didn't want to go to ballet and I didn't want to force the issue.

But it all came together in the end and the Cinderella/Knights theme worked together beautifully at our clubhouse gathering room. We got this fabulous castle bounce house which they set up just outside. It was actually Rapunzel on one tower instead of Cinderela but no-one seemed to care. On the other tower was a knight and there was a dragon peeking his head out of a window and there was an alligator painted on the meat below! Also, it had three inflated walls so the could bounce against the walls which is actually safer than if it was just netting like they usually are. That thing was huge, I think you could have 15 kids in ther at once! Mike was on bounce house duty the entire time and I think he did an amazing job since no-one got hurt!

The entertainment I hired arrived in full princess outfits, one dressed as Belle and the other Snow White. They did face painting and temporary tattos, as well as "accessorizing" the girls and then they all did a craft of decorating a crown or a tiara, and we had paper knight masks and shields for the boys too. Then the boys got dressed up in full knights gear and we took a picture of them all together out by the bounce house. Then there was conga line and dance party and limbo and relay races all kinds of games like that. Then we had pizza and cake, then the pinata, and then it was time for them to go. I think overall it went really well, and the kids had a blast and that's what counts. Our clean-up was a bit hairy because I thought we had to be out of there by 7, but the next event was starting at 7, so the incoming people were understandably upset. Oops! So that was a mad dash. But we survived!

This morning Lauren opened all her gifts and she really made off with a lot of loot! It was a beautiful day, so after lunch we headed to the park down the road, and afterwards we picked up Taylor on the way home and brought her here for a playdate. Then the kids played outside a little until Mike thankfully arrived home with dinner. So you would think that now I could finally relax. . except now I have to get all the thank you cards written and I'm having a root canal done tomorrow. Good times!

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