Grabbag

Back to freezing cold temps- had a rough night last night- Casey wet her bed 3 times- by the third time I had to move her to another bed since we didn't have anymore sheets. (We have no pull ups in the house or I would have thrown her in one after the first incident). The best part was she freely admitted that it was way too cold to get out of bed to use the potty. (makes sense except the part of wet pjs)

I had a little powwow with CJ's teacher this afternoon -it seems our son is starting to kiss girls on the playground (molly, millie and romilly) and we had to have a sitdown with him (Mom- the girls said "I could kiss them, and I know them real well"-
let's hope the kissing bandit doesn't strike again. Good news was his teacher actually found it somewhat amusing and wasn't as strict as expected.

Weird offbeat thoughts- hats off to John Travolta for getting a plane full of supplies to Haiti (including Scientology drs)- but still want to crack that cult and figure out what they have on him and Mr. Cruise.

Other news- yes I have set up a couple and now they are engaged! Per Jewish tradition (thanks Randi), I need to match make 2 more couples and then I am in heaven. (any takers for my new found skill set?- if so, send an email to my personal account)

I have been having HUGE issues with dates ( not just forgetting to write 2010)- I mistakenly have an oscar party being done in honor of my birthday on Feb 22- too bad the Oscars are March 7. I assumed the oscars were always the sunday after my birthday. Only silver lining is that British awards (BAFTA) are on Feb 22- (definitely 4th place for me after Oscars, Globes, SAGS)- note to self- ALWAYS check your sources- still embarrassed that my girlfriends are coming in ballgowns
( I voted for pajamas but of course formal attire won)to watch the non-existent Oscars.


Lastly, I have resorted to cheating on school projects. Casey made a bird feeder at school and she was told to bring in a photo of a bird eating from the feeder (I know ridiculous)- so after 5 days of going outside with Casey and not seeing any birds and her being disappointed- I borrowed a decoy bird from a friend- propped it against the feeder- btw it looked damn good- anyhow I labeled the photo "Bird" and feeder to cover any legal debates.

#21

As always I can easily be convinced to make a complete arse out of myself. At least this was in the name of charity (Haiti Earthquake fund). A girlfriend and I participated ( and I use that term "loosely") in a Bollywood dance-a -thon for Haiti Earthquake fund. For those that don't know Bollywood movies- Its Indian dancing to music (think slumdog Millionaire Pussycat dolls video but more legit).
Anyway, we show up there and our instructor is gorgeous-(think Jessica Alba but also a talented dancer). She has choreographed a whole routine for us from the Bollywood movie "Bride and Prejudice" (never seen it). Long story short routine is so complex and most of the girls there are amazing dancers. (please note there was one smart man who received the 411 that the instructor and 1/2 the class were hottie dancers)

So anyways we learn the routine and then she has us perform it to music which would be fine if the music wasn't 50x faster then the way we learned it. To add further embarrassment, she splits us up in small groups to perform for the rest of the class.
I can decisively say that I know now I NEVER want to try out for a dance company. Totally felt like a Fame reject (minus the anorexic body and leg warmers).
All in all it was hilarious, fun, and I got a crystal dot to sport on my forehead at home (yes Casey is desperate for her own dot). So NY resolution #21 has been completed- don't be afraid to make an arse of yourself.

Unblock Your Energy

So one of my girlfriends is into new age medicine and holistic stuff. She's lived here 9 years and I think if I had to put up with the health care here for almost a decade I too, would be into new age medicine. Anyway, she is trying to get me to see her "doctor" who supposedly solves anything and unblocks energy. All of that sounds super positive and awesome; until she told me she had to keep a food diary and is not allowed to eat dairy, refined sugars, and non complex carbs ( btw she is SO skinny and she did not go to him for weight loss issues) and then she tells me besides random herbs (which are supper expensive as well) she has to consume volcanic ash daily and sometimes it makes her throw up. I would laugh if my dear friend was not paying this "doctor" $150 an hour to be given ashes that make her throw up. Since I could spend $150 A LOT better than that (like clean water and food for Haiti)- I sent her a list of some energy blockers that are alot cheaper. ( and SAFER)

1-Glee- we just got it and I love it and wish I could go back to high school and be in the show choir.

2-OPI nail polish "No Spain No Gain"- for those of us who hate red but also can't go pink in winter-this is your color.

3-last 10 min of yoga when they turn off the lights and I for one actually fall asleep.

4- caffeine does the body good as does booze in moderation.

5-bowling- love it and I will be starting a bowling league shortly

6-playing secret agents with first graders and reading their spy notebooks where they write what everyone is doing in the house. (Mom is texting and drinking a dite coak.)

7-philosophy melon daiquiri shower gel-the best

8- give blood, volunteer, send a care package to a friend, write an email to someone having a tough time, etc

Vent

Ok- it has snowed pretty much non stop since we got back- which (A) makes it look pretty like in the movie "The Holiday" and(B) means u can't go or do anything.
No salt and they have run out of grit (sand or sludge)- we are in school today but it took 45 min to get them there. My friends that live in the sticks turned around after 1 1/2 hours to move- so I am over snow. Not to mention besides me and the Canadians NO one can drive in it- seriously folks are spinning out of control. So the blog has not happened not because I do not have the time - I just have done NOTHING that deserves to be blogged about. I went into a mode of depression after being stuck in the house and then subjected to watching NFL playoffs all weekend or set up Legos that fall apart every time CJ moves them (NO WIN choice).

No other news- CJ has a new little girlfriend- (blonde Canadian girl who loves star wars legos and is a foot taller than him)- Casey Jane is finally keeping her pull ups dry (btw did anyone see that STUPID movie 2012- the lines in that movie were so AWFUL including the little girl mentioning she doesn't wear pullups anymore after they have survived the apocalypse.

2010

So I took a month off from blogging-
we had places to go and people to see and excuses (etc)-
We made it home safely although u can rest assured I will be getting no shut eye on any international flights in the near future. We shopped ( not nearly as much as last year but I did enjoy my multiple target trips), we got swine flu shots, we saw movies (sherlock Holmes-D, Its Complicated -C+, and I made my dad watch "The Orphan" with me on pay per view-B-, Chimpmunks Squequel- me- D/ the kids -A, we ate (Olgas, chinese food, mass quantities of tex mex in Dallas),we iceskated, snowmanned, bittybaby lunched, and played with all our cousins. To keep with our current gift giving status- I returned Chris gifts to me ( great thought but the outfit looked like I was trying to start 2010 as a corp lawyer- A for effort)


Now we are back and yes happy to be home- attached you will see the start of 2010 when I made chicken with stuffing and CJ refused to eat a bite and every bite he took he made gagging sounds. Little man got sent to his room and he came down with a I'm sorry Mom note on one side and the attached on the other. (for those not versed in 5 year old writing "I didn't eat your food because it tasted weird." Great start to my culinary 2010 year!

Happy 4th Casey Jane

So we survived 17 - 4 year old girls jumping up and down with pom pons for Casey's bday. I think Casey and CJ were the only ones who knew ALL the HSM songs but everyone had fun. We arrived home- to way too many gifts and as predicted we spent the rest of the day painting a pony, playing with aquabeads ( give this gift to someone U hate, the beads are so small and the patterns are so intricate and u have to wait an hour for it to dry which in kid time is like 10 days), changing from cheerleader dress to fairy princess skirt, and wearing a headset which plays 3 HSM songs on constant LOUD replay (another "mean" gift from one of my best friends).

I still can't believe my baby is 4. Seriously, it still feels like yesterday she was in an exersaucer. I love the fact that my girl is ON or OFF- Really there is no in between with my little lady. Casey made a seating chart for her party- and placed all the loud girls in the middle and the shy ones on the end (Mommy- I am too loud for Jennifer she like things quieter so I put her by quiet people). She did give BIG hugs to everyone that came to the party and although we only had girls- she did place her brother next to her (since "he is suppose to be Troy and I am Gabriella with blonde hair). Miss Jane has settled down in school - although her competitive streak comes out for the stamps and at gymnastics. I think it is hilarious that when I wear a nice shirt, jeans and high heeled boots- she will say comments like" Mom- you have a fancy shirt and shoes but your jeans are NOT fancy at all." I love it that she SO wanted to go to Beyonce with us"- I really love having a daughter that makes days interesting- ( notice I didn't use the word easy)- I love that we have no idea what you will come up with next (I have embraced unpredictability). Just last week-Casey was very worried about moving back to TX because she couldn't remember where the bathrooms were in our house or if she would have friends in preschool. I promised my baby girl I showed where all the toilets were in our house. I really am so happy to be her MOM and SO excited about all the years ahead . ( seriously I know I am going to embarrass her by being ME in just a few short years:)

Horse World

So we had a little 6 year old bday party to go to this weekend and it happened to be a horse party. A little background information: where we live is horse country - A LOT of kids take riding lessons and horses are everywhere. We get to the equestrian center and CJ starts worrying he is going to fall off the horse -the other 10 kids are all arriving and I try to calm him down. As expected Casey is all about the horses and grabs a brush and starts brushing the nearest horse- 10 min later she is outfitted in a helmet and riding gear and on a horse- CJ not so much. One thing I love about our little school is that the kids in his class have such a strong sense of camaraderie- (there's only 13 of them and they have been together in most cases since they were 3)- one of his classmates grabs CJ hand and whispers in his ear some words of encouragement (I asked the little boy what he said "I told Christopher it will be okay and don't be scared I'll show you how to ride." (imagine witha cute little accent) Perfect example of how 2 kids (mine) could need such different methods of parenting -CJ's case- "Get on the Horse and Go"- Casey's Case- "Whoa horsey-slow down". Seriously- Casey is fearless- she was off and riding and she would not get off the horse until a pretty pink rosette pin was presented to her. CJ- through the tears got on the horse and had fun. The kids that are in the "horse world" are pretty amazing little riders. It was a very different "English" sort of birthday party. Now I just hope our letter to Santa from Casey does not include a request for a Horse.