I don't want to brag but I seriously rock and roll. (No, I did not get 100%)
I guess 30 hours of studying really paid off.
YAY!
Now to memorize the 22 bones of the skull for our "pop quiz" on Monday.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Rett Syndrome Awareness
A few days ago, my dear friend Peta emailed me and asked me to blog a bit about Rett Syndrome, from which her lovely daughter Elaina suffers. Dovi and Elaina met each other when they were 1 and 2 respectively.
They had alternate PT/OT times at our therapy clinic-Dovi had OT and then PT, and Elaina had PT and then OT.
Which meant that Peta and I had 2 hours together to hang out and go shopping. Which we did!
Elaina is also my birthday buddy on April 23rd...as is her sister Emily!
I was getting all prepared to blog, and then Peta did.
A heck of a lot better than I can.
So here she is: Peta's Post about Rett Syndrome.
And a direct link to the IRSA website here.
Thanks for caring.
They had alternate PT/OT times at our therapy clinic-Dovi had OT and then PT, and Elaina had PT and then OT.
Which meant that Peta and I had 2 hours together to hang out and go shopping. Which we did!
Elaina is also my birthday buddy on April 23rd...as is her sister Emily!
I was getting all prepared to blog, and then Peta did.
A heck of a lot better than I can.
So here she is: Peta's Post about Rett Syndrome.
And a direct link to the IRSA website here.
Thanks for caring.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Cannot Blog.
Must study.
Anatomy.
Physiology.
O
M
G
Test on Monday.
Anatomical Positions.
Biology Review.
Chemistry Review.
Tissue.
Integumentary System.
Been studying ALL day today.
Literally.
Except for a run to the grocery store and the fruit store, I'd say that I'm at about hour 8 or 9.
And the test isn't until Monday.
Need mnemonics.
Now.
Send help.
Or snacks.
Or coffee.
Anatomy.
Physiology.
O
M
G
Test on Monday.
Anatomical Positions.
Biology Review.
Chemistry Review.
Tissue.
Integumentary System.
Been studying ALL day today.
Literally.
Except for a run to the grocery store and the fruit store, I'd say that I'm at about hour 8 or 9.
And the test isn't until Monday.
Need mnemonics.
Now.
Send help.
Or snacks.
Or coffee.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
In Which My Sister in Law is the Best Mother EVER
Every mother who reads my blog will know what I'm talking about.
The 100th Day of School. And the associated project.
For those who are not mothers, or whose schools do not partake of this lovely (snort) new ritual, let me explain. The kids count each day of school. On the 100th day, there is a party. A parade. And each kid brings in their HUNDREDTH DAY PROJECT.
The Hundredth Day Project is this: each kid brings in 100 of something. Generally, the kid reminds the mom at approximately 3 minutes before carpool at which moment 100 chocolate chips, or cheerios, or raisins, are stuffed into a baggie as fast as possible. Every once in a while, we know in advance. Then we might string said cheerios, or glue the fruit loops on a poster board.
For my niece Esti, the Project Princess, as we call her, this just would. not. do.
She had a vision.
100 shapes in glitter.
And my amazing sister in law, Tamar, helped her do just that.
I hereby bring you: 100 shapes in glitter in honor of the 100th day of school by Esti.
O
M
G
I must say, Tamar is a saint.
The 100th Day of School. And the associated project.
For those who are not mothers, or whose schools do not partake of this lovely (snort) new ritual, let me explain. The kids count each day of school. On the 100th day, there is a party. A parade. And each kid brings in their HUNDREDTH DAY PROJECT.
The Hundredth Day Project is this: each kid brings in 100 of something. Generally, the kid reminds the mom at approximately 3 minutes before carpool at which moment 100 chocolate chips, or cheerios, or raisins, are stuffed into a baggie as fast as possible. Every once in a while, we know in advance. Then we might string said cheerios, or glue the fruit loops on a poster board.
For my niece Esti, the Project Princess, as we call her, this just would. not. do.
She had a vision.
100 shapes in glitter.
And my amazing sister in law, Tamar, helped her do just that.
I hereby bring you: 100 shapes in glitter in honor of the 100th day of school by Esti.
O
M
G
I must say, Tamar is a saint.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
It's RACE DAY!
At long last....RACE DAY!
Anyone who has run in a marathon or half marathon knows about the messed up sleep the night before the race. Marathons generally begin at about 6 or 6:30 in the morning. That means that to GET to the start line on time, you generally need to get up at about 4ish in the morning.
Miami is no exception Start time is 6:30, which means that the bus left the hotel at 4:30 am. Yes, 4:30 am.
But you are generally so nervous about the race (and oversleeping...it has happened!) that you wake up about every 15 minutes overnight. I was no exception. I think I saw every 15 minute increment on the clock. I was so pumped up to be running for Dovi and with Dovi that I could. not. sleep. And neither could Benjie. Or Dovi.
So by 3:30 am, even though the alarm wasn't gong off until 3:45 am, Dovi was up, the alarms were off, and we were all dressed. Funny story-Dovi often will wake up in the middle of the night and try and be all sneaky and turn off his oxygen and BiPap. So at 3:15 am, I heard him doing just that.
"Dovi" I whispered
"Uh Oh....busted" was his response
Busted. I love him. He's such a pre-teen.
So at about 3:40 am, Benjie went to go pick up our babysitter. Yes. At 3:40 AM. What else would we do with the Fearsome Threesome? Now I know Shana's a little mama, but this would've been a little much.
So Mindy and Benjie came back, she went back to sleep in our room with a wakeup call scheduled for 6:15 am, and Team Dovi went down to the lobby.
what...you don't take pictures of your 12 year old in the elevator at 3:45 am?
Raphi arrived with Dovi's chariot...
and Dovi ate a bagel. At 4 am.
the Chicago contingent took a picture. Don't we all look bright eyed and bushy tailed for 4am? Well frankly I don't think anyone had slept a wink.
Dovi tried out his chair again in the lobby of the hotel and we decided he looked rather comfy.
We progressed to outside to the busses. Dovi smiled winningly with Chana, one of the Camp Simcha Special counselors who he thoroughly charmed...
and we boarded the bus to go. Raphi had a cowbell. Which he rang. Incessantly. I honestly thought someone was going to toss him out the window. Or stuff him in the bathroom. Luckily it wasn't too long of a ride.
We started getting organized. Notice the girl in the wheelchair with the boom box by her feet? Her pusher, Joe, was running in honor of Dovi also. He rocks. He also rocks because he pushed Sarah (the girl in the wheelchair) across the finish line of the half marathon in 1:57. Without training. He's the one directly behind Sarah. I wanted to vomit. 1:57. I know, Rach. 1:57. I'm sorry.
I gave a mini interview to some guy from guy from ING. I must have said Team Lifeline 40 times in 30 seconds.
Then we got into our start corrals. Dovi and Raphi were up in the front by the wheelchair participants. Stupidly, Benjie and I decided that we should go to our assigned corral instead of staying with Dovi like most everyone else did. Result: we did not run with Dovi at all. But we got pictures!!
Hi, Raphi! Lookin' good!
Question: Is he lounging or covering his ears?!?
Mindy (the babysitter, who, when we took her home at 11:30 AM had worked for us for 8 hours) took the kids on the monorail, with another spectator family) to the Mile 11 Cheering Zone to find us.
They found Dovi
and then waited around a while
Until Benjie and I came by.
Now to the nitty gritty (this is for you, Rach). As we were lining up to start, it was insanely humid. Like fog up your glasses just standing there humid. And this was my 4th year running Miami. I have never seen so many people in the corrals. It was madness-wall to wall humanity. It literally took us about 20 minutes to cross the start line. For the first mile or two, the field was so crowded that you could hardly run without having to weave around people. And the humidity? Did I mention it was humid? Did not make for a good beginning of the run. Once the sun came up, the humidity burned off and it was a lovely overcast sky-perfect, lovely running weather-it was about 65-70 degrees and cloudy. Divine. I decided to stick with my lovely hubby and we ran participated the whole way. We ran up until about mile 8 or 9, when we started to slow down and alternated run/walk the rest of the way. End result was not my best time, but it was fabulous to run with Benjie. Next year, though-we're running. fast.
At the finish line we reunited with the kids and Raphi
and some counselor friends
We ate some snacks (I think I ate a fruit cup, a muffin, and two bottles of water in about 10 minutes)
and headed back to the bus. (Two points to whomever correctly IDs these two backs. And if you took the picture you do NOT get credit)
To answer the inevitable questions in advance...
The kids' t-shirts? I made them. The backs say "Keep running Mommy, Abba, Dovi, and Raphi". I didn't put Joe, even though he was running in honor of Dovi, because he was pushing Sarah and I thought that would be bizarre.
Yes, Shana is the cutest little thing in her Team Lifeline cap.
I wear an orange bandanna because the ING color is orange.
My bib says "Dovi's Mom" and Benjie's says "Dovi's Abba". We also had it on the sleeves of our shirts.
The W on Dovi's bib is because he was a wheelchair participant.
Dovi's time was better by about 15 seconds. Yes, we were beaten by our 12 year old disabled child.
2:57. It was not pretty. I told you so.
Anyone who has run in a marathon or half marathon knows about the messed up sleep the night before the race. Marathons generally begin at about 6 or 6:30 in the morning. That means that to GET to the start line on time, you generally need to get up at about 4ish in the morning.
Miami is no exception Start time is 6:30, which means that the bus left the hotel at 4:30 am. Yes, 4:30 am.
But you are generally so nervous about the race (and oversleeping...it has happened!) that you wake up about every 15 minutes overnight. I was no exception. I think I saw every 15 minute increment on the clock. I was so pumped up to be running for Dovi and with Dovi that I could. not. sleep. And neither could Benjie. Or Dovi.
So by 3:30 am, even though the alarm wasn't gong off until 3:45 am, Dovi was up, the alarms were off, and we were all dressed. Funny story-Dovi often will wake up in the middle of the night and try and be all sneaky and turn off his oxygen and BiPap. So at 3:15 am, I heard him doing just that.
"Dovi" I whispered
"Uh Oh....busted" was his response
Busted. I love him. He's such a pre-teen.
So at about 3:40 am, Benjie went to go pick up our babysitter. Yes. At 3:40 AM. What else would we do with the Fearsome Threesome? Now I know Shana's a little mama, but this would've been a little much.
So Mindy and Benjie came back, she went back to sleep in our room with a wakeup call scheduled for 6:15 am, and Team Dovi went down to the lobby.
what...you don't take pictures of your 12 year old in the elevator at 3:45 am?
Raphi arrived with Dovi's chariot...
and Dovi ate a bagel. At 4 am.
the Chicago contingent took a picture. Don't we all look bright eyed and bushy tailed for 4am? Well frankly I don't think anyone had slept a wink.
Dovi tried out his chair again in the lobby of the hotel and we decided he looked rather comfy.
We progressed to outside to the busses. Dovi smiled winningly with Chana, one of the Camp Simcha Special counselors who he thoroughly charmed...
and we boarded the bus to go. Raphi had a cowbell. Which he rang. Incessantly. I honestly thought someone was going to toss him out the window. Or stuff him in the bathroom. Luckily it wasn't too long of a ride.
We started getting organized. Notice the girl in the wheelchair with the boom box by her feet? Her pusher, Joe, was running in honor of Dovi also. He rocks. He also rocks because he pushed Sarah (the girl in the wheelchair) across the finish line of the half marathon in 1:57. Without training. He's the one directly behind Sarah. I wanted to vomit. 1:57. I know, Rach. 1:57. I'm sorry.
I gave a mini interview to some guy from guy from ING. I must have said Team Lifeline 40 times in 30 seconds.
Then we got into our start corrals. Dovi and Raphi were up in the front by the wheelchair participants. Stupidly, Benjie and I decided that we should go to our assigned corral instead of staying with Dovi like most everyone else did. Result: we did not run with Dovi at all. But we got pictures!!
Hi, Raphi! Lookin' good!
Question: Is he lounging or covering his ears?!?
Mindy (the babysitter, who, when we took her home at 11:30 AM had worked for us for 8 hours) took the kids on the monorail, with another spectator family) to the Mile 11 Cheering Zone to find us.
They found Dovi
and then waited around a while
Until Benjie and I came by.
Now to the nitty gritty (this is for you, Rach). As we were lining up to start, it was insanely humid. Like fog up your glasses just standing there humid. And this was my 4th year running Miami. I have never seen so many people in the corrals. It was madness-wall to wall humanity. It literally took us about 20 minutes to cross the start line. For the first mile or two, the field was so crowded that you could hardly run without having to weave around people. And the humidity? Did I mention it was humid? Did not make for a good beginning of the run. Once the sun came up, the humidity burned off and it was a lovely overcast sky-perfect, lovely running weather-it was about 65-70 degrees and cloudy. Divine. I decided to stick with my lovely hubby and we
At the finish line we reunited with the kids and Raphi
and some counselor friends
We ate some snacks (I think I ate a fruit cup, a muffin, and two bottles of water in about 10 minutes)
and headed back to the bus. (Two points to whomever correctly IDs these two backs. And if you took the picture you do NOT get credit)
To answer the inevitable questions in advance...
The kids' t-shirts? I made them. The backs say "Keep running Mommy, Abba, Dovi, and Raphi". I didn't put Joe, even though he was running in honor of Dovi, because he was pushing Sarah and I thought that would be bizarre.
Yes, Shana is the cutest little thing in her Team Lifeline cap.
I wear an orange bandanna because the ING color is orange.
My bib says "Dovi's Mom" and Benjie's says "Dovi's Abba". We also had it on the sleeves of our shirts.
The W on Dovi's bib is because he was a wheelchair participant.
Dovi's time was better by about 15 seconds. Yes, we were beaten by our 12 year old disabled child.
2:57. It was not pretty. I told you so.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Friday...Counselors in the Trunk...Shabbos...It's a Party!
Friday morning, we got up bright and early to swim some more.
Yup, in the pool again at about 8:30 am!
We swam for a bit and then checked out of hotel #1 in preparation for checking in to hotel #2 for Shabbos with Team Lifeline.
When we got to the hotel, it was time for an epic hug-a-thon as Dovi reunited with his BFF Ezra. I've blogged about Ezra in the past. Ezra is Dovi's best friend from Camp Simcha Special. They are 5 weeks apart in age and both have FD. And they seem to be soul mates.
Ezra's dad ran on Team Lifeline as well, except that he ran the full marathon. Fast. In two different shoes. Not on purpose. Yikes.
It was a little insane as we pulled up at the hotel to a crowd of about 10 counselors singing and banging on our van. The only small issue with that is that Dovi has a tiny bit of PTSD from the first year he came to camp...he is terrified of "arrivals"-when you arrive at Camp Simcha Special, you are surrounded by throngs of singing, cheering counselors. Dovi is not a fan. So the guys were banging on the van and screaming...and Dovi was cowering in fear in the van. No worries, once he saw Ezra, all was well.
We dumped our stuff in our room and headed out for lunch with about 10 counselors, 2 of whom rode in the trunk of our van to the pizza store...great example for the kids, huh?
We waited in line at the pizza store for a lovely 40 minutes...gotta love Miami Beach in January!
We finally ate lunch. My kids are like puppies all over the counselors, who were all lovely sports about it. Shana seems to have an itty bitty crush on Joe (see her putting bunny ears on him? She's obsessed with bunny ears. Puts them on everyone in every picture. Drives me batty)
Then we went back to the hotel and (I know this will shock you) swam again, this time with the guys. Sorry, no pictures.
Oh yes, my awesome parking deal. Parking at the hotel was $35 A DAY. Yikes. Well, next door to the hotel (literally) was a public parking lot, which would be difficult/impossible on Shabbos because we wouldn't be able to pay the meters. Until we (and Moishe Deutsch, a clever counselor) remembered that we have a handicapped tag for Dovi (which miracle of miracles, we remembered to bring), so we didn't have to pay the meters. Yay! Free parking! Would you expect any less from me??
Then it was time for Shabbos. Of course, no pictures. Would have been nice if I took a family picture before Shabbos, but being as we were in the pool until about 25 minutes before candle lighting and had to shower 6 people in one shower...there was no time for that.
Long and short: Shabbos meals with the marathon people, Shalos Seudos by the pool with the guys. We fed them. They called me mom and sang songs of appreciation. I'm not sure what more could be said.
Saturday night was the pre-race pasta party.
Sorry, this is the only picture I have. Not very exciting.
A parent spoke really beautifully about Chai Lifeline and how the organization has impacted her family. I also met a couple (hi Shani and Chaim!) who read my blog. I felt all giddy and pseudo-celebrity-ish :)
Then Dovi tried out his jogging wheelchair (thanks Galiah!), got the tires all pumped up,
and went for a jog around the pool deck at about 11 pm. Yes, all my kids were up until after 11 pm for 4 out of the 6 nights we were on vacation.
We all went to bed (not saying anyone slept very much) by about 11:30, while the counselors, decided that, in preparation for a half marathon at 6am, a pizza run at midnight was necessary. Ahh to be young and stupid fun.
Marathon day coming up!
Yup, in the pool again at about 8:30 am!
We swam for a bit and then checked out of hotel #1 in preparation for checking in to hotel #2 for Shabbos with Team Lifeline.
When we got to the hotel, it was time for an epic hug-a-thon as Dovi reunited with his BFF Ezra. I've blogged about Ezra in the past. Ezra is Dovi's best friend from Camp Simcha Special. They are 5 weeks apart in age and both have FD. And they seem to be soul mates.
Ezra's dad ran on Team Lifeline as well, except that he ran the full marathon. Fast. In two different shoes. Not on purpose. Yikes.
It was a little insane as we pulled up at the hotel to a crowd of about 10 counselors singing and banging on our van. The only small issue with that is that Dovi has a tiny bit of PTSD from the first year he came to camp...he is terrified of "arrivals"-when you arrive at Camp Simcha Special, you are surrounded by throngs of singing, cheering counselors. Dovi is not a fan. So the guys were banging on the van and screaming...and Dovi was cowering in fear in the van. No worries, once he saw Ezra, all was well.
We dumped our stuff in our room and headed out for lunch with about 10 counselors, 2 of whom rode in the trunk of our van to the pizza store...great example for the kids, huh?
We waited in line at the pizza store for a lovely 40 minutes...gotta love Miami Beach in January!
We finally ate lunch. My kids are like puppies all over the counselors, who were all lovely sports about it. Shana seems to have an itty bitty crush on Joe (see her putting bunny ears on him? She's obsessed with bunny ears. Puts them on everyone in every picture. Drives me batty)
Then we went back to the hotel and (I know this will shock you) swam again, this time with the guys. Sorry, no pictures.Oh yes, my awesome parking deal. Parking at the hotel was $35 A DAY. Yikes. Well, next door to the hotel (literally) was a public parking lot, which would be difficult/impossible on Shabbos because we wouldn't be able to pay the meters. Until we (and Moishe Deutsch, a clever counselor) remembered that we have a handicapped tag for Dovi (which miracle of miracles, we remembered to bring), so we didn't have to pay the meters. Yay! Free parking! Would you expect any less from me??
Then it was time for Shabbos. Of course, no pictures. Would have been nice if I took a family picture before Shabbos, but being as we were in the pool until about 25 minutes before candle lighting and had to shower 6 people in one shower...there was no time for that.
Long and short: Shabbos meals with the marathon people, Shalos Seudos by the pool with the guys. We fed them. They called me mom and sang songs of appreciation. I'm not sure what more could be said.
Saturday night was the pre-race pasta party.
Sorry, this is the only picture I have. Not very exciting. A parent spoke really beautifully about Chai Lifeline and how the organization has impacted her family. I also met a couple (hi Shani and Chaim!) who read my blog. I felt all giddy and pseudo-celebrity-ish :)
Then Dovi tried out his jogging wheelchair (thanks Galiah!), got the tires all pumped up,
and went for a jog around the pool deck at about 11 pm. Yes, all my kids were up until after 11 pm for 4 out of the 6 nights we were on vacation.We all went to bed (not saying anyone slept very much) by about 11:30, while the counselors, decided that, in preparation for a half marathon at 6am, a pizza run at midnight was necessary. Ahh to be young and
Marathon day coming up!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Florida....Day 1...Thursday
OK here we go....
Our wonderful friend Michal came with us in the car to drive the van home from the airport (c'mon ,you all know me-would I ever pay for a week of long term parking? I think not! Speaking of which, remind me to tell you all on my Friday post about our awesome Florida parking deal!)
So. Michal came with us-she squeeeezed in the back between the kids and allowed them to play Brickbreaker on her phone.
Shana insisted on changing out of her uniform in the car. "Mommy, I will NOT wear my UNIFORM on the plane"
Well now.
See them all with their stuffed animals? I allowed them ONE each. I still believe it's a minor miracle that they all came home.
After a packed flight to Florida (on Spirit Airlines, the Greyhound bus of the skies), we got to Ft. Lauderdale at 11 pm. By the time we got our rental van and got to the hotel, it was after midnight. The kids got to bed by about 12:30, and slept until 8:30.
By 8:45 we were here:
I know you're a little jealous. It's ok to cry that you were in the arctic while we were swimming (well except for you, Steph. You live in the most beautiful land of them all. I think I need to move to Miami)
We swam for a few hours and then went on our big outing, to Lion Country Safari. It was SO COOL! The kids loved it. Of course I didn't take any pictures of the safari part of it, so imagine lots of rhinos, lionesses, giraffes, zebras, and the like about 10 feet away from you and you'll get the idea.
Then we moved on to Safari Land, the park part of the place. We:
rode a ferris wheel (well not me, I'm afraid of heights...didn't know that about me, didja?)
Rode a pontoon
played mini golf
rode a carousel (oh this is such a great picture of Dovi)
checked out some flamingos
smiled like little clowns
And FED GIRAFFES! OMG it was sooooooo cool.
Jacob and Dovi refused to.
Oh well, more for us. It was one of those "once in a lifetime" moments-when else will you feed a giraffe?
Sorry it's all bright...
No worries, there's glass between them and the crocodile.
Then we went out to dinner in Boca Raton, and went back to the hotel. Benjie and I sat in the dark room by the light of the bathroom after the kids went to bed, hunched over the laptop. Ahhh the rocking life of parents.
Friday coming up later! (maybe tomorrow-I'm still getting unpacked and organized!)
And just because I love y'all...a little preview :)
Our wonderful friend Michal came with us in the car to drive the van home from the airport (c'mon ,you all know me-would I ever pay for a week of long term parking? I think not! Speaking of which, remind me to tell you all on my Friday post about our awesome Florida parking deal!)
So. Michal came with us-she squeeeezed in the back between the kids and allowed them to play Brickbreaker on her phone.
Shana insisted on changing out of her uniform in the car. "Mommy, I will NOT wear my UNIFORM on the plane"
Well now.
See them all with their stuffed animals? I allowed them ONE each. I still believe it's a minor miracle that they all came home.After a packed flight to Florida (on Spirit Airlines, the Greyhound bus of the skies), we got to Ft. Lauderdale at 11 pm. By the time we got our rental van and got to the hotel, it was after midnight. The kids got to bed by about 12:30, and slept until 8:30.
By 8:45 we were here:
I know you're a little jealous. It's ok to cry that you were in the arctic while we were swimming (well except for you, Steph. You live in the most beautiful land of them all. I think I need to move to Miami)
We swam for a few hours and then went on our big outing, to Lion Country Safari. It was SO COOL! The kids loved it. Of course I didn't take any pictures of the safari part of it, so imagine lots of rhinos, lionesses, giraffes, zebras, and the like about 10 feet away from you and you'll get the idea.
Then we moved on to Safari Land, the park part of the place. We:
rode a ferris wheel (well not me, I'm afraid of heights...didn't know that about me, didja?)
Rode a pontoon
played mini golf
rode a carousel (oh this is such a great picture of Dovi)
checked out some flamingos
smiled like little clowns
And FED GIRAFFES! OMG it was sooooooo cool.
Jacob and Dovi refused to.
Oh well, more for us. It was one of those "once in a lifetime" moments-when else will you feed a giraffe?
Sorry it's all bright...
No worries, there's glass between them and the crocodile.Then we went out to dinner in Boca Raton, and went back to the hotel. Benjie and I sat in the dark room by the light of the bathroom after the kids went to bed, hunched over the laptop. Ahhh the rocking life of parents.
Friday coming up later! (maybe tomorrow-I'm still getting unpacked and organized!)
And just because I love y'all...a little preview :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
