Do you not know what causes that?

In the ER

So Kevin is in the ER for some respiratory thing. (NOT the flu.)  We just spent about 4.5 hours in the waiting room.  I was glad when they told us we'd be coming to the back to see the doctors.  Then as I rounded the corners, I had the sudden flash of coming back to see Grandma.  In my mind, the beginning of the end started here.

Kevin will be seeing the same man who told me it was carcinomatosis and that Grandma had but weeks to months to live...  That was September 26th.  She died 78 days later on December 12th.  I remember walking into this very ER to tell her the news.  I snuck a quick text to many of my friends with the news before I even told Grandma.  I know that they would be thinking of me as I told her.

I know Kevin's news won't be of this nature.  But I am sad nonetheless and missing Grandma...

Get a job!

Benjamin, now that he's 16 and all, wants a job.  He walked up to Skyline and got an application last week and has been busy filling it out.  For those of you who know Benjamin, know what a huge deal it is...  So he walked up today.  They told him that they were not currently hiring but that they would keep his resume on file. I was so proud of him for doing that!  It was really cool.  He also stopped and got an application at McD's on the way home for filling out.

Sweet sixteen!

(Is that what you call a 16th birthday for a boy?)

Today Benjamin turned 16.  We started the day by trying to let him sleep in, to the point of taking the little girls out to breakfast.  Benjamin called right away asking where we went.  He was fine not to coming with us.  Then we went to Kraft and Kvetch.  He got to play with Isaac and Justin. We came home and Kevin and I went out to lunch with him at Yang Kee Noodle - his favorite.

Tonight we met up with some friends at Skyline Chili.  We had cupcakes and then off to Graeter's for ice cream!  What could be better.  He loved the puzzle we gave him and the magazines (National Geographic and Cook's Illustrated) and the DS case. Hard to believe my teeny tiny baby is bigger than I am now...

Hip Hop Ada

Tonight was spring sing. Ada is in the 3s class.   I always dread going. I always think, beforehand, how goofy it is to dress the kids up.  Then I watch a few classes, smile a bit and by the time they bring out my kid in a goofy costume and dancing, tears well in my eyes and I know how glad I am to be there...  Even though it's wild with people.  I've finally learned to pack a picnic dinner and eat there and be the last person to leave.  Below is a bad shot of Ada as a hip hop jelly bean.

Sorry rotated version didn't save and I'm one handed and dealing with a frozen cookie dough emergency...  so deal.

The Days Go On

Well, life is actually quite good here on the ranch.  Kevin is settled in his new job (for the week) in The Netherlands.  The poor vegan finally figured out how to ask for vegetables in Dutch and to pay for them with Euros.

It's amazing how much you can do in one afternoon!  The girls and I took a walk with Noa in the stroller. They collected half the foliage from here to there.  I was amazed as they picked up the leaves and were talking about each on in depth.  Clara said something about loving to collect leaves and then I thought, "Well only until middle school biology when you'll have to have a huge project - then you'll hate leaves."  How sad, and hopefully not true in their school tract.

Noa really enjoyed the stroller and the walk. I had forgotten how fun the world is through the eyes of a little one.  She's getting so animated and vocal.  She used to talk only when people weren't around, like in the car when she thought she was alone because she couldn't see me.  Now she talks more, unless Ada is around.  She has a few words too.  Tonight I'd swear she said Hi Dad! to Kevin on the phone.

And we got Isaac's county achievement medal in the school mail:

After the walk, we cleaned a bit. Had dinner and talked to Kevin. Then we did the laundry.  Read from our read aloud book, though it was creative reading on my part as I had to rewrite it a bit as we read. I figured it had to be near bed time - nope 6:36 p.m.

Hmmm, what now? Okay some more laundry and made more teacher appreciation gifts.  Now it was bed time.  :-)

I'm alone, writing and working. Okay blogging, fbing and talking on AIM...

Teacher Appreciation

Here was my stab at something creative for teacher gifts:

Inside is a thank you from the child, a gift card to a bookstore and it says, "Now it's time for summer reading..."

Mother's Day 2009

Ah, what a day!  I started with my favorite part of Mother's Day - small kids piled in my bed with bits of prized, colored papers.  This is really your  job evaluation for the last year.  Don't believe me?  One year one of my kids wrote a whole book that filled in the blanks: My mommy is...  One of the blanks said bize (busy).  Yikes, bad mommy.  Today I mostly passed.  My slightly negative comments were that I was not the meanest parent in the house. (Can you see where Father's Day is going this year?)  I also got a note that I don't yell over the small things.  (Yes, that means I do yell over the big stuff, but I'm workin' on it!) Mostly lots of love and yummy oatmeal - what could be better. I'm sad to say that anyone over the age of 12 tends to not do this ritual anymore.

We saw Kevin's family at the brunch at shul. That always works out so nicely. A gets to show off her grandkids.  We chat with K's sister... The food is good...  Then we ran home to get ready to see my mom.  This was the hard part today.

I only cried a bit as we passed Grandma's house this morning.  Ada had a running dialog all day about how Grandma was dead.  Not in a negative way, but she was missing her and talking about that in the best way her 3 yo brain could handle it.  At Ada's suggestion we made the Baked Alaska you see above.  It was Grandma's favorite cake.  The last time I made it was last Mother's Day.  Grandma ate on it for over a week!  So we shared a piece with my mom today.  She was subdued and pleasant. I was surprised.  She said my card was sweet. I simply told her that I knew this day was hard on both of us.  (My mom and I don't talk.)

I stayed busy the rest of the afternoon putting K on a plane to Amsterdam. Now I'm home. The kids are too loud for my mood.  Testing starts tomorrow. They want cake. They can't find their clothes or back packs. You know how it goes.

I'd simply rather call Grandma and complain so that she could set me straight about how damned lucky I am. Which I am, except that I don't have my Grandma to hug on Mother's Day anymore.

Cinco de Mayo

We're celebrating with virgin daiquiris and Mexican Rice for dinner...

Growing Up

I was riding in the car the other day when Clara says, "Mommy, I'm feeling all grown upy."

To which I replied,"Huh?"

"You know my knees hurt and I'm losing my teeth. I'm starting to be all grown up!"

Too sweet!

Babyhood

Last night, I had just finished nursing Noa.  I rolled over and was going to read like I usually do.  But I felt her breathing against me as we lay back to back.  I decided to just lay there, back to back, and be with her and feel her.  She was so peaceful and satisfied.  It was beyond food or sleep.  It was just life was wonderful, if only for a few minutes.

I'm so acutely aware of the fact she's almost not a baby. I know toddlers have their own special things, but there is something about this stage that is so wonderful and I will truly miss it.  (We are most likely done with having babies.)  I'm not sure as a first time mom I could have stopped to "smell the roses" as I did last night.  But I'm glad for it, even if it was merely a few moments in time.