We Meet Again, My Pretties

Remember last year?



My pretties are back. But I bought myself a new pair. These ones are black and white patent. Pretty cute if I might say so myself.

I wore them today.

Yes, I wore them today.

Because WE'RE IN FLORIDA!

It's RACE WEEKEND!

As most of you know, this year it's not Benjie and Sara's happy little honeymoon. This year it's Benjie, Sara, Elisha, Shana, Jacob, and Dovi's Winter Vacay.

Things are a bit different when traveling with your kids.

Last Year:
Car: Sporty little yellow two door

Luggage: Two small rollies

Sleeping Arrangements: I got to share a bed with my husband

Dining: When we felt like it, where we felt like it.

Entertainment: Pool. Beach. Restaurant. Rinse. Repeat.

Race Day: I roll out of bed at 4 am, Wander downstairs to bus. Benjie takes spectator shuttle at 6:30 am. Alternate between hot tub and pool rest of day.

This year:
Car: Green Minivan. Yeah. We've got a sweet ride.

Luggage: Many suitcases. Many overweight suitcases that required rearrangement at the airport to avoid overweight charges.

Sleeping Arrangements: I get to sleep with a very cute little girl who is a bed hog, and Benjie with a fabulous 12 year old who has a habit of pishing out of his diaper.

Dining: Tightly scripted, ongoing. Much ongoing whining of "I'm hungry" heard over and over and over, even 5 minutes post snacking. Much ice cream and french fries eaten.

Entertainment: Lion Country Safari. Wanadoo City. Looking for more ideas (We did Parrot Jungle last time we were here. Need one more 1/2 day activity. And remember that I'm pretty cheap)

Projected Race Day: Benjie picks up babysitter at 3:45 AM (yes, 3:45 AM). I wrestle Dovi into his clothes without waking up ESJ. Dovi, Benjie and I go on the runners' bus at 4:30 am. Dovi will be crabby. Babysitter drags kids to spectator bus at 6:30. I do not envy that girl. I'm not sure the $10/hour we're paying her will be sufficient. Alternate between hot tub and chasing children rest of day.

But I have to say, it's all worth it. My kids were swimming at 10 am this morning while it was 10 degrees in Chicago.

And this is why we love Dovi.

I love him.

Just love him.

In which my brother is a good sport

Thank you David and Debby for shlepping the Flat Stanleys all around Israel! Sorry one threw up on you on the plane :)

Thank you also to all the rest of my family that has been participating! If any of my readers would like a turn taking one of the Stanleys around, please e-mail me! They both need places to go.

Awesome. Just Awesome.

I started school yesterday. Oy. I have a feeling this semester is going to be a lot harder than my last one.

Introductory Biology and Introductory Chemistry vs. Microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology 1. Yikes!

So my Anatomy teacher was taking attendance. He's going down the list.

He says: Smith, Jennifer (or some such thing-I honestly don't recall)

She says: "Here, but please call me CRASH"

Honestly.

She asked to be called CRASH. This was not some 19 year old frat boy. This was a relatively normal looking thirty-something woman.

Call me CRASH.

The professor's response: "OK. Awesome"

CRASH.

Awesome.

You Would Think I Would Have Learned a Lesson

Why?

Why have I not learned my lesson? I have blogged about THIS before.

My hatred of ironing.

I push it off. And push it off.

Until I'mstartingschoolonWednesdayandgettingatoothpulledtomorrowandifitdoesn'thappennowit'sneverhappening.





Yes. I ironed about 40 dress shirts, 10 pairs of pants, and one highly annoying pleated uniform skirt today.

At least I had good decorating shows in my DVR.

Souvenir

You might be wondering what that is.

That is the screw that Dr. Feldman removed from Dovi's leg on Tuesday.

With a screwdriver.

I've mentioned in the past that Dovi had a screw from his surgery in April sticking out of his bone. No, not out of his skin. It was bulging under his skin-you could feel the top-but didn't break through his skin (yikes. If that had happened I would have. freaked. out. extremely. much)

So Dr. Feldman removed the screw.

It was no biggie. (ha)

I asked him how it came out.

"with a screwdriver, of course"

And then he gave it to me to keep.

As a souvenir, y'know.

Here it is to look at again.

Yes, it's almost as long as the bottle of eye drops.

And it was in his bone. Now it is in my purse.

Yikes.

A Mystery

There are mysterious goings on in this house.

Very, very mysterious.

The children's socks are inexplicably forming holes.

Daily.

Large holes on the bottom.

Which suspiciously look like neat little slits cut with scissors.

However, no one has been willing to take any responsibility.

No one is cutting them.

And yet the holes continue to appear.

Mysterious.

Very, very mysterious.

KOC ROCKS!

Remember how I told y'all that Dovi was going skiing?

Well he did.

And to quote Dovi, it was awesome.

Enjoy! Thanks Raphi for taking the video!

You say it's your birthday?

It's Benjie's birthday too!

Happy, happy 33rd birthday honey! I love you. (awwwwwww)

I know, I know. I suck (yet again). I need to get my bloggy-mojo back. I'm trying, I'm trying. Last week I spent two days flying back and forth to New York and home in a 24 hour period.

Why, you ask?

Because Dovi (you'll have to excuse us here) went skiing. It's a rough life being Dovi P, I'm telling you. This past weekend was the first annual Kids of Courage Ski Madness Weekend.

I'm sure many of you are confused. How on earth did Dovi ski?

Well KOC took the kids to a specially adapted ski resort somewhere in Vermont. I personally think that is pretty darn cool.

Raphi claims he has lots of pictures and even a video to share with us.

Yay!

I promise once it's all uploaded you will all get to see pictures.



Again, Happy Birthday, Benjie!!!!

Mother of the Year.

Really.

Truly.

I think I deserve an award.

Last week was winter vacation. Some slackers people Shosh only take their children on ONE activity. ONE! Blasphemy! It's winter vacation, people. It's the week that, if you don't flee the frozen North to the warm(ish) South, you kill yourself taking your children on outings. Many outings. To places that you don't want to go to so much that you'd rather stick a fork in your eye than go to. But you go.


Because you are Mother of the Year.

Case in point:

Friday/Weekend: Hotel at Teen Convention. Allow small ungrateful children to swim at 10pm on Saturday night.

Monday: Sports Convention thingy. Agree to stand in line for over an hour so children can take five swings in the batting cages (every one of them missed)

Tuesday: Field Museum. Me and about 100,000 of my closest friends. It was wall to wall people in the Ancient Egypt Museum. I texted in the giant life-sized wigwam and attempted to explain to Jacob why not all Eskimos live in igloos, some live in underground homes.

Wednesday: Indoor Water Park. Remember the "poke eye with fork"? Yeah. That's it. I get insanely nervous at these places. And at this one, the lifeguards were more interested in flirting with each other than, y'know , watching the lazy river to make sure my children did not drown.

Thursday: Indoor Jump Place, out to lunch, and The Squeakwal (is that how it's spelled?) in the afternoon. My mom arrived in the evening.

Friday: Out to brunch with my mom


Seriously.

What is wrong with me?

Every day and activity?

Why did I do that? Am I a glutton for punishment?


Or did I simply want to keep them out of the house and try and keep the house relatively clean??????

I think this might be my most favorite picture ever taken of Dovi.

Enjoy.



Is he not the most hysterical child you've ever met?