Opposite Day..

You know how when you are feeling bad or down about something and you tell someone you magically feel better about it?

Then why is it that when you are feeling excited about something and you tell someone, you feel less excited about it?

Does the sharing of the emotion mean you divide the intensity of it between you and the ones you share it with so that everyone gets a piece of it? Sort of like sharing a candy bar or pizza...

Just a couple of new pics...

Nothing new to say since we are finally over last week's flu. Eliana's temperature returned to normal on Monday so we have had a pretty normal week this week. Ellie's big excitement is that we painted her toes. She was sooo cute holding her foot out in front of her face so she could admire my artistry.
Meanwhile, Jayden who managed to avoid being sick altogether, was having a great time at his new soccer class that he LOVES!You can see the big glowing smile across his face. Dave was also enjoying the sunshine during Jayden's class. But, Dave might have been having a little trouble figuring out what to do with himself. He brought himself a book to read, but he took about 45 pictures of this 30-minute class! Not terrible, but a little excessive if you ask me! :)

I HATE SCHOOL!! Ok...not really, but....

Who ever heard of "CHOOSING" a kindergarten? You buy a house in a decent neighborhood and you send your kid to the local school, right? NOT!!! I can't believe how much time I have invested into searching the schools, reading School Report Cards (SaRC's) and talking to other parents over KINDERGARTEN!! But, still...I have. I visited my school of choice this morning. I am still pleased with the general program of the school, the people, the report card, the approachability, and most of all the location. This school, while not my home school, is significantly closer to my house than my home school. It is 2 blocks from here. When the kids are older, I might even let them walk to school (or ride their bikes) if they went here.

My home school is so far away that they would need to leave home 45 minutes early just to walk there AND they would have to cross several side streets without a crossing guard before getting to a crosswalk with a guard to cross the main street. Walking there is clearly NOT an option. Additionally, my home school has lower test scores in EVERY area than my school of choice. While that alone is not really a deciding factor for me, the higher numbers of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and English Language Learners is a huge factor. It changes the way classroom teaching is done and generally can lower the level of mastery of all students in the classroom. I feel Jayden and Ellie are going to need to be challenged academically in order to keep their interest. (I hope I am not sounding like I think my kids are smarter than the average bear, but aren't they?)

Never more than now, do I wish I had considered all of this before we bought this house let alone remodeled it to the point that Dave will never leave it! I guess it's time to suck it up and assume that I will have to let Jayden go to a lesser school for kindergarten and hope that he gets into the better school for at least his upper elementary grades.

Let me know you are out there! Tell me if I am being stupid over this and they will be fine no matter where they go...or that it does matter and I am at least doing the right thing by hunting kindergartens. BTW, did I mention that the district site spells kindergarten with a d instead of a t? Kindergarden...yep...we are growing a garden of kinders! :)

PICTURES!!!!

Ok! Ok! Ok! Here! Pictures of the house!!


This is one view of our family room. This shows the entertainment unit and the big empty space that we filled in with my desk and our kitchen table for time being. We will be moving my desk soon and eventually the kitchen table will end up in the kitchen. I know...don't go into shock over it...kitchen tables are SUPPOSED to be in the kitchen!


This is the same room from a different view. You can see that Jayden and Eliana are still eating breakfast at the same table...well...I know we have 3 of them, but only one in this room! :)

The couches in here are the ones that USED to be in our living room (downstairs) but they fit WAY WAY better up here. This room is upstairs by the way.


Here are 3 different views of the kids room. They are sharing for the time being. I originally thought they would each have their own room, but during the last few months at my folks' house, they ended up sharing and loved it. Since they were enjoying each other's company so much, I decided they could share here for a while, too. I know they will outgrow it soon and want their own space, but for now...








Two different views of the playroom. You can kind of get a feel for it by the placement of the little princess table. I love having the couch in there because it allows for grown-up seating while playing. Some of you might remember the little jungle-gym/slide do-dad under the window. It's the same one we had in the downstairs playroom. We have room for a LOT more toys, now, but I still need to go through them and weed out the ones that don't ever get touched and put some away so they are not overwhelmed by choices.


This is our almost finished upstairs bathroom. Featured here are double-sink countertops on an extra tall vanity (no...I have no idea why we needed the kids bathroom to have an extra tall vanity...they can't even reach the sinks!! We need some extra tall step-stools now!), a brand-new toilet that is just a wee-bit too far out from the wall (they had some trouble!), and expert tiling in the shower by the Awesome, Amazing Gary.

Now on to the downstairs...


My kitchen is almost done. I think it will be the first room that is completely done. This view is the finished side. From where I stood to take the picture and beyond, it's a mess...filled with things that won't stay in the kitchen and really not clean either. But, the newest asset to the kitchen is the addition of the backsplash. I think it really gives a nice finished look to the space. We also need to add some draw-pulls and knobs to the cabinets...YEAH...we need knobs so we can remember which way the stupid things open!! I can't tell you how many times I tried to open a cabinet from the wrong side! You just can't tell by looking at it!


This is the mess that Dave made of our living room. Since we have very limited garage space, he moved in here. Someday, this will be a formal sitting space.


The hall bathroom downstairs is the most done room. It still needs some fixtures like a towel rod and toilet paper holder. But, it's usable.




The outside needs a lot of work on the landscaping, but the house is painted and the retaining wall is up in the front yard ready for the grass.

Back of house

Back yard with Shayna checking things out before her morning pee.


Here is the front of the house. You can see the retaining wall there...Thanks, Gary! You do great work! Apparently, Gary has been staying up at night planning the next phase of our project and he has some great ideas for our impending front walkway and porch. I can't wait! :)

Dave has posted pictures of the entire construction process here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cybertech


Enjoy!

The Power of Prayer

I believe in it!! Julie says yesterday's prayers for Kris helped and she is doing well. I remember that road with my mom. It was a long one with the surgery, chemo, radiation, and then the 5 years of medication that followed. The good news is, she is cancer-free at this time. Thank God!

Prayers today go to Michelle who had fibroids removed from her uterus today. She is doing well and expected to go home on Sunday. But, please put out those good thoughts for her in her recovery.

I'd also like to add a small prayer of healing to Rabbi Debbie's 2-yr old grand-daughter who broke her femur (that's the leg bone) and is in a half-body cast. I hope she heals quickly.

Peace and love to you and all of yours.

Prayers...

for Kris. Much luck to you on the new boobs!

WE MOVED!!!

So, a long time coming, but we have finally moved into our new/old house. We have STUFF everywhere and no place to put it! I know...unbelievable now that we have over 2500 sq feet of space, but we don't have storage facilities. There is a decided lack of shelving and cabinetry throughout the house. In fact, before I built some Ikea bookcases for the playroom, there were no storage units anywhere outside of the kitchen. So, we are having some difficulty deciding where to put our existing bookcases which are scheduled for replacement and how much to unpack before that happens.

BUT, we are here! Pictures soon. I still can't get them from Dave's computer to mine!

It's been an eventful year already...

...with celebrations of life, death, love, and relocation. Let's see how it all unfolded...

Dear friend and mother to Julie, Roz, left this world to walk with God earlier this month. Her services were held last week and I was honored to say Kaddish for her. I hope her family felt God's presence there and took comfort in the end of her suffering.

On a better note, yesterday was Ry-guy's 2nd birthday! I hope he is ready for a big celebration in his honor tomorrow! Happy Birthday, Buddy! And also on the celebratory note, Happy 9th Wedding Anniversary to Dave and me! It seems we have spent our entire lives together, but the marriage is only 9 years old. 9 is my special number...I hope it means there are good things in store for us this year.

Speaking of good things in store....we are planning to move home this weekend! God willing, we will get all the plumbing done tomorrow and Saturday so we can finish cleaning the kitchen and set up the bathroom. I think we have found the closet systems we like, too. I will be buying those tomorrow if Dave decides he likes 'em. Then we can finally move home!!!!!! YAY!!! YIPEE!!! The excitement is overwhelming! We have 2 TONS of things yet to do, but at least we will be home to do them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR...

...I hope! Here's hoping everyone had a good holiday season and looking forward to a great new year! Not starting out great for us so far, but it's got to look up from here. We got broken into again last night. They broke the garage door and the door to the house. Not sure where else there is damage. Stole tools again. Really mad! Time to file an insurance claim. They also took our hardwood flooring which was sitting in my office waiting to be laid. GRRR! Not sure which part is most frustrating to Dave, but for me it's the repairs that we can't afford to make and then the replacement of the stolen items...I guess for me it's about the money. Of course, there is the lack of security feeling now. Hope that will return when we move into the house and have security cameras up and Shayna living there. Yeah...Shayna's being there would help a lot! Maybe I'll work on the fence tomorrow.

On the upside, we seem to past our month of colds and fevers (I hope) and on the mend. With a little bit of luck, we should be happy and healthy in our own new house soon.

A Year in Review!

So, I think I have finally hit the December peak! Let's recap...I finally got my CD out there; I spoke at the conference at Asilomar; I worked with a group of moms and we adopted a family; performed in the choir's winter concert; wrapped up school and spearheaded the Preschool's Teacher Appreciate December Event. Well, yep...that wraps up December. Of course, we still have Christmas with the in-laws coming, but that's not a big to-do for me. I just need to bring a little something and call it done. :)

So, now the whole recap:
January--My baby was still a baby back then and Jayden was a sweet at 3 could be. No major events.
February--Shayna learned it's not as much fun to chase cats as she thought it was. Didn't know what to do with it once she caught it!
March--Lots of visits from Michelle, Katie and Wes to celebrate MIL's 50th B-day.
April--Got some beautiful pics of the kids. Jayden peed all over the world when we finally said goodbye to diapers for real. Took the whole month, but he finally decided to do all his business in the potty! HURRAY!
May--House got broken into AGAIN and I was sad to find out that my dear friend was moving away. Spent a pleasant Mother's Day on the beach though, that was nice! Ellie is growing up too fast! Wants her hair combed and clips put in!
June--High school drama club reunion put a lift on things. I had a good time. My kids rediscovered the fun of the Exersaucer! HOW ridiculous!
July--Happy Birthday Jayden! My he seems too little to be four! Dad had his appendix out. That was a shocker!
August--Joint birthday party for the kids. Pirate themed...had a good time! Jayden and the boy next door became playmates. They really enjoy spending time with eachother. Gonna miss that when (if) we move back home!
September--Happy Birthday Eliana! Back to school for everyone! Jayden moved up to the Chavarim class and Eliana gets her first adventure in school in the Little Stars. I also went back to Notre Dame to teach just one class. Been quite an adventure for all of us!
October--Halloween! The kids were warm in their costumes! Jayden was a dinosaur and Eliana was an adorable Tigger!
November--Mom had angioplasty. Thanksgiving at my parents' house because...well you know!
December--not home yet, but soon!

Been a busy year! Hope you all have a good year and a relaxing holiday season!

Blogger's Time-Out!

Ok...it's quiet enough that I feel secure in taking some time out to update my blog and read others'. Only problem now, is where to begin?!

Ok...me first. I have been super busy since Thanksgiving (which went nicely) at my parents' house. Dave actually thinks now we should be in our house by the end of the year. I can only hope he is right, but I am not holding my breath. If it takes another month, I would be neither disappointed nor surprised. But, the week after T-day, I worked pretty hard to prepare my presentation at the math teachers' conference in Asilomar. It went very well. I had a classroom with about 35 desks that was totally filled by3:10. With 20 minutes to go before start-time, I ended up sending people down the hall to get chairs. I think I had about 50 people in there by the time I started the presentation and then a few more drifted in after that! It was a pretty full house! People LOVED my songs and I sold over 20 CD's! AMAZING!

After Asilomar, I spent the past week helping my mom prepare for the Chanukah party for the congregation. I also found out that we bought a building! YAY! Our little congregation is going to have a home! It's pretty exciting news for the community because the congregation has been around for over 30 years and this is the first time they have been able to secure their own establishment. I think it will go far to tying down roots and getting the younger members more involved. This is especially good for me because I want my kids to get a Jewish education and now we have a place to associate with and not just a group of people.

Anyway, the party was last night and went pretty well. I was tired when I got home though and it was only 9:30!! All in all, it's been a pretty busy couple of weeks. Not that I expect it be much less busy in the upcoming couple of weeks....especially if Dave is right and we are moving home soon!

I am working with some other moms and we have adopted a family for Christmas. I am spearheading this thing (not that I really know what I am doing, but....) and I need to figure out how to divvy up the purchasing. Probably ought to get on that today! Also, I am on the committee for teacher appreciation at the kids' preschool and this month is my month! YIKES!

Speaking of preschool...Jayden has decided he no longer wants to go to school. When I talked to him the other day, he told me that they (I think he decided it was the teachers and not the kids) always take his toys away. I think there is probably more going on here that I don't recognize because I don't speak "4". But, I hope we can figure it out soon. He's been different at home too. He always has an argument about everything I want him to do. He negotiates everything to DEATH! I am kind of at my wits' end with it. I fear giving in because it will add fuel to the fire, but I don't want to end up with a kid who hates me or worse--me hating him! I need help! The advice his teachers gave me is not really helpful because they said, "Give him power in the small things." Well, I do. "Do you want peas or carrots?" is not a big deal for me, but when he comes back with "I am not eating any vegetables!" I can't do much about that. Taking toys away seems unfair to Eliana, but then it wasn't working anyway.

Ok...clearly I had more to say about Jayden than anything else! HELP!! I need an expert on age 4!!

Where have I been??

No time to update now, but here's a link to Dave's blog (which he doesn't use much) and there are some pics of the kids there.

http://www.cyberprose.com/

Good and bad

So, Mom is home and very tired. She is recovering and feels like she will be up and about by next week. Here's to hoping all goes well.

And now the part where I need some help. Jayden is very into "NO" and "NEVER". Does anyone else have to deal with "I'm never going to eat blah-de-blah ever again" or "I'm never going to wear that shirt ever" or "I'm never going to share with so-and-so (usually Ellie goes in there)" ?

PLEASE advise! His "no"'s and "never"'s are driving me insane!!

Mom is...

...doing fine. She had the angioplasty this morning and seems to be doing well, now. The expectation is for her to come home tomorrow. She expects to be released between 9 and 12, so it all sounds good.

Eliana had some surprises in store today. She decided that she needed to go potty AND SHE DID--ALL BY HERSELF! She took herself off to the toilet, pulled down her pants, took off her diaper and went. AWESOME! But, the best part of this story is not that she did this all by herself when I picked her up from school today, but that she did it again this evening after dinner! In fact, this time, she wouldn't get down off the potty until I suggested that she wear big girl panties until bedtime! I don't really expect her to keep them dry, but it would be totally awesome if she did!

I'll take that good with the bad any day of the week! :)

Halloween was....

...fun. Jayden dressed up as a dinosaur again. I wanted Ellie to wear either Jayden or Kayleigh's old dinosaur costumes and they could be twins, but neither Daniela nor I could find the old costume. Bummer. So, Ellie was Tigger. Dave bought a Tigger costume for something like five bucks at Target when Jayden was a year old. He already had a costume AND wouldn't fit into the Tigger for another year, but Dave bought it anyway. In my frantic search through the millions of boxes at our house, I found it. Funny that I found that one and not the dinosaur....hmmm.

Anyway, Jayden was a dinosaur, Eliana was Tigger, Dave was a clown, and his mom was a pirate. Me...I had no costume yet again. Maybe I'll put myself first one of these years and I'll have a costume, too. BUT....we all schlepped over to Grandma Tess's house to trick-or-treat in Willow Glen. The kids got TONS of candy and some other cute little things too. They had a wonderful time. That's all that matters.

Today, in the aftermath, my mom went in to the dr for a stress test on her heart. She failed. I am waiting news now on the angiogram and potential angioplasty. Fingers crossed on good outcomes!

House news: We got the house measured for carpet today...we WAY underbudgeted for flooring. There will be more compromises in the near future. The drywall guy is meeting Dave at the house on Saturday to re-bid the job. Prices for drywall are only about half of what they were when he bid the first time. We are hoping to save big time here to compensate for the carpeting blunder. The roofer is coming out on Sunday to finish up our last bit of roofing issue. The insulation guys are coming out on Wednesday. YES!!! I SAID THEY ARE ACTUALLY COMING OUT TO PUT IN THE INSULATION! FINALLY!!!

I estimate another 6 weeks or so before we can move home. I hope everyone can hang in that long for a peaceful extraction of all of us from my parents' overflowing house. :)

I picked up a worm today.

I was playing with the kids outside today and Ellie stopped in a panic on the sidewalk while following Shivam and Jayden into Shivam's yard. (Shivam is Jayden's little friend next door.) I wasn't sure why she stopped and was so paranoid until I saw the worm wiggling in the middle of the sidewalk. I don't think she ever saw an earthworm before which might explain the response. But, when I stooped down to look at it, the boys came over too. WE talked about why it was there and why it was wiggling around. Then, I told the kids that the worm needed to get back into the dirt or it would die. So, I picked it up and flung it into the grass (gently of course). We all gathered around it to watch it squirm it's way into safety. The kids were totally fascinated albeit worried that the worm would bite me or something when I picked it up. They all backed up and got all panicky like it was dangerous...I had to try really hard not to laugh.

Other news....house is moving along but in slo-mo. We might be home by the end of November, but no turkey will be served. Things just take too long. :( Day number 585.

567 Days down...

...and only 46 more days to Thanksgiving. I hope we make it! :)

It seems that the end is in sight though. Dave said he is going to take Tuesday off to work on the house with Uncle Gary and his cousin Travis to finish up some of the major things he needs to do to pass the inspection. So, with a whole dang lot of luck, he will manage to get another inspection this week and we will pass and be done. That means it's time to get the insulation guys in; then drywall; paint, tile, and flooring! :) I will be going to Southern Lumber this week to order vanities, countertops, and medicine cabinets for the bathrooms. They will take 2-3 weeks to come in, so we should get them right on time to put them in. I just hope the rest of it goes as planned.

FINGERS CROSSED! PRAYERS WELCOME!

PROGRESS!!!

Yay!! I am happy to finally report progress on our house!! Dave FINALLY finished all the menial tasks that needed to be done before he could call for an inspection. Hallelujah! The city made him write (by hand) a letter explaining why he needed to extend our permit AGAIN and this time they told him he had to have an inspection by the end of this month. PRESSURE!!! He managed to finish this weekend so he could get the inspector to come this week. I am so excited by this progress that I can hardly contain it!

I went out shopping yesterday to see what fixtures I like and I am ready to purchase vanities for all three bathrooms as well as the countertop/sinks. I am not terribly particular about the toilet upstairs, but I would like it to match the downstairs ones. I know what faucets I want, and I am ready to purchase paint and carpet. I think all that is left of great import is doors and a railing. YAYAYAYAY!!! A little more work and a few more weeks and we might actually be moving back home! Dave will be needing to call the insulation and drywall people this week as soon as he knows when the inspection will happen and if he passes, we can get those guys in to get the work done! :)

Yet another birthday...

...gone by. Today was my 35th birthday. Not sure why 35 seems so significant. I guess it's that age when the doctors think pregnancy, calcium intake, and mammography suddenly become so noticeable. To me, I don't feel any older or different than I did 20 years ago. Well, except for the obviously largerness of me. I do feel significantly larger than I did then.

And, I feel more in control of my emotions than back then too. Just the other day (Friday to be exact), I was shopping for work pants (I've gained yet another dress-size since I last worked) with my mom. While I was in the dressing room trying on about a gazillion different things, another woman came back to try something on. The saleswoman said, "Would you like to try those on, Young Lady? Right here, Honey."

Now I am not one to take kindly to "Honey" and "Sweetie" but, this woman takes the cake! She put on the nastiest tone I have ever heard someone use in a clothing store to an older saleswoman and exclaimed, "I am NOT a young lady and I don't like to be called Honey! I don't want to be humored. I just want to try these on!" Now these words all on their own are not too bad, but with the nasty tone, they were SOOOOO RUDE!

My mom and I looked at each other in total shock and disbelief. But, instead of ignoring the woman's rudeness and letting it go, my mom pipes in with, "She was just trying to be nice." Now, she said it in a very non-challenging tone with just a hint of "calm down" in there. The woman shouts (shouting now), "Shut up and mind your own fucking business, you Brainless Twit! You have no idea what my problems are so just butt out. Stupid fucking brainless twit!"

I chose to maintain my silence, but the giggles would not be suppressed...mom and I had a nice laugh over that. I guess I have learned some humor in the last 20 years. I recall a time I would have responded to her and there would have been no point but I would have argued until I got myself all worked up into a dither. Of course, I would have said, "At least you got two things right. I have no idea what your problems are (not that I care) and you are certainly not a lady--young or otherwise!"

I guess the big benefit to having a brain and a blog, is that I get to have the last word anyway! Yay for me! :) Maybe I haven't matured as much as I thought HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D

Happy 2nd Birthday, Little Miss!

Today is Eliana's birthday. We had a pretty fun day hanging out with my brother. Since it was a non-work day, Dave took the opportunity to work on our house. I hope he gets done with his stuff soon....he keeps telling me just a couple more days but no matter how many days he works, there is still a couple more days worth of work. It's very frustrating! Anyway, he was working on the house, so Jeff and I decided to take a trip to Ikea. Jayden was super excited because he was finally able to play in the kids area. Last time we went, he wasn't potty-trained yet. So he had a great time there. Eliana got to go shopping with Jeff and me. We looked mostly at chairs and wall units...something we are both interested in. However, we found the kitchen tables and household accessories interesting too. Jeff ended up buying plates, glasses, and cutlery since he had nothing to put in the kitchen. He still needs major necessities like pots, pans, cookware in general, actually! But, at least he can eat his take-out on real plates! :)

We wrapped up the day with a simple dinner of yummy hamburgers and cupcakes. Ellie and Jayden enjoyed those all over their little faces. Good reason for their bath right now! Well, that and the fact that their first day of school is tomorrow. I'm pretty excited for Jayden. He will be in the big-kids class. I hope he gets really into learning his letters and numbers and wants to start really writing them and putting sounds together for reading. Eliana is going to start the itty-bitty kids class tomorrow. I hope she loves being there and doing art and playing with other kids her age. I have no academic expectations for her--just for a pure love of learning.

As for me, I have a busy week ahead! Tomorrow I return again to the classroom. I am teaching just one class of Honors Geometry at Notre Dame High. I am blessed that the class is 7:50-8:30AM M-Th...well Thursday is a block day so class ends at 9:15 but that is really close to 8:30 :) Anyway, I have my class; then I have to go to the kids school to see them off to class; pick them up at noon. Wednesday I only have my class then we have play-time. Thursday though, I have my class, then pick the kids up at noon, then I have my first Hebrew High class that night. I have never taught Hebrew High. Basically it's religious school for high school kids...but I have to teach a Jewish ethics class...not my strong suit! Ok that sounds bad....I am a very ethical person, just not sure how strong I am at teaching it. I hope mostly to be a facilitator and let the kids run the class. We'll see! Anyway, the rest of the week (Friday) the kids are in school again on Friday. Then Jayden has a b-day party to go to on Saturday morning (the boy's birthday is today) and Eliana has a party in the afternoon on Saturday (that little girl's birthday is today too)--popular birthday day! :) And lastly, Sunday...we get to relax...until...we go to the Back To School BBQ for the kids' preschool! Like I said...busy week! Well...best get it started with getting the kids out of the bath and ready for bed. :-)