We made a mistake

We made a HUGE mistake tonight. The girls really wanted to go for a walk tonight after dinner and without thinking we said sure! We even gave them a small bag of marshmallows for the walk. We were outside for maybe three seconds when the girls heard a firecracker, Matt asked if they were OK, they said yes so he walked away. About thirty seconds later I walked over to find Sydney screaming and crying "I don't like fireworks, I don't like firecrackers, firecrackers scare me, firecrackers scare me!!!" Needless to say we turned around and went right back inside to watch a movie.
Every thirty seconds or so Sydney would remind me that she did not like firecrackers or fireworks and that they scare her. She even told Jordan how much fireworks bother her. When she saw Cinderella's castle on the television she turned around with panic in her eyes and said "I don't like fireworks Mommy!" It is unfortunate that our neighborhood LOVES to blow their weekly salary on fireworks on the fourth of July and on new years eve. Sydney was not happy and she was not afraid to tell us about it.
I hope that she is able to walk out the door tomorrow night for a walk to see the lights without feeling stress. Sorry Sydney we will not make the same mistake next year!

Cleaning house

Some people might say that I am nesting. I have an unbelievable urge to throw things out and organize our house. On Saturday Matt put together two book cases my parents got for us at Costco for all the books the girls have. He also put together the toy/bookcase we got right around the time Jordan was born. He hung our "art line" to showcase our daughter's beautiful art work . We also threw some things away in the garage, this is not an easy task as our garage is packed with junk. We probably need to spend at least four more days working in that garage.
Once we are done with the garage we need to move inside and empty drawers, closets and shelves. I want to get rid of the heavy pieces of furniture in our dining room because they collect clutter and they are just too large. Once we are done with that we need to move upstairs and re-paint the big girls room, paint the new babies room/guest room and buy some furniture. It is amazing how even though we have two beautiful cribs for the new baby to sleep in, we need to buy MORE furniture. It seems we need more stuff now than we did when Jordan was born.
We have been spending the last few days looking for and investigating children's furniture. It is amazing how expensive the furniture is and I do not even know if the quality is any good. I went to several stores and was less than thrilled with what they had. The colors were all dark and the actual size of the furniture was huge. We are looking for beds that the girls can grow up with so we do not have to re-buy beds when they get older. I might have found a bunk bed (which we can use as single beds), dresser and night stand on-line that will grow with the girls.
I have picked out the linens that I want to use in the girls room and Matt can not believe how much sheets cost. He wants to know why quilts are so expensive, especially when you have to multiply it by two. I told him to look at the bright side, at least we are able to reuse the bumper, dust ruffle, and window treatment for the new babies room.
The good news is that we have another fifteen weeks before the baby comes to get our house organized and clutter free.

Summer time blues in december

One day last week we received a letter from our preschool informing us that they would not be having summer school. I was sad, I was beyond sad and began racking my brain for possible activities for the girls over the summer that would not require me to follow them around. I thought that I would sign them up for swimming lessons, maybe a cooking class and the little gym but all of those things require one hundred percent of my attention. With a new baby and Jordan to watch in addition to the big girls I was in a state of panic. Well not quite panic but I was really concerned that the kids would be stuck in front of the television all day while I nursed the baby and broke up fights.
I called my brother Danny and asked that he send me his oldest daughter for the summer so that I could have an extra pair of hands. He agreed to give me Liel for the summer but also tried to give us his youngest son, Noam. Chances are not good that we will take Noam as he still needs help and parental supervision. I need the kind of help that can go see a PG-13 movie and asks me to get her into a movie that would make her parents angry. Matt and I are very excited that Liel will be spending some extra time with us this summer, we really enjoyed her visit last summer and can't wait to spend time with her again.
Imagine how excited I was when the school called me on Friday to let me know that there were other parents who were upset about the lack of summer school and there would be a meeting today to discuss it. If there are at least ten kids interested in camp they will have a program for the kids. The program will be five days a week from nine to three which is more than I wanted to send them for but now they will have a safe place to go where they can play with other kids their age. So keep your fingers crossed that there will be plenty of interest and that Lior and Sydney will have a great time this summer.

Baking

Every year I bake tons of cookies and send them to our friends and family. Apparently I did it last year when Jordan was about a month old. For some reason I have not gotten my rear in gear and not one single cookie cookie has been baked, until today. Today we baked. We did not bake our usual amount of cookies, I baked one batch of sugar cookies for the girls to play with. I had plenty of help sifting the flour, pouring and beating.
The girls were having so much fun I had Matt get them their own bowls so they could put their hands in the flour without contaminating the whole recipe. More of it wound up on the floor and on their heads.

After dinner they got the chance to frost, decorate and eat their cookies. Yummy!!!!

We are not sending any of our delicious cookies out this year- sorry. Those who are coming to visit will have lots of treats while you are here but I am going to play the pregnancy card and take the year off.

Sisters

Lior and Sydney have been very affectionate lately. On Thursday they napped together. I should say that Sydney had a nice time laying down on top of Lior while she slept. What she doesn't know will not hurt her.

Today Lior discovered my cookies and cream shake (don't tell my doctor!) and decided to share with Sydney.
While Sydney took sips Lior kissed her on top of the head.


It doesn't get much cuter than that!

Gifts from abroad

Tanya sent over some presents for the girls and we gave them to the girls tonight after their bath. Sydney opened up the horse first and loved it until my dad turned it on.
Lior opened up the giraffe and thought it was fantastic the first time it walked by her but the second time it passed by I thought her head would pop off.
We sent the giraffe down towards Jordan who was very happy until this giraffe came close and she started to scream.
The elephant was not allowed out of the box because Sydney started to scream every time we went to take it out. Kaya looked at it walk toward her on the bed but the elephant kept tripping on its snout and Kaya just went back to sleep. Cyrus was funny when we put it on the floor he walked backwards every time the elephant moved towards him. When it stopped he would crane his head and try to sniff at it, he is such a big chicken!
We got some great gifts from the family including a fantastic menorah made dreidels from my niece Adina. Each dreidel has a picture of a member of our family, including a question mark for the new baby! I intended to take a picture of it and post it but I am just not that organized! Adina is so talented, she always makes the best gifts for us. When they came over this summer she made these wonderful fish for the girls. The trip before that one she made the big girls t-shirts that created one picture when you put them together. I was very sad when they outgrew those shirts! I can't wait to see what she has in store for us on her next visit. Thank you Adina!
Thank you for the wonderful gifts, even though the girls are terrified of their new toys I am sure they will enjoy them when we remove the batteries.

Guess who is coming?

The phone is fixed and so our Internet is back. I really did not miss the phone ringing. I did miss the Internet so I am glad it is fixed.
The girls are as cute as ever and very excited that Grandma and Grandpa are coming home tomorrow. Actually it is Sydney whose eyes are lighting up and smiling from ear to ear when I ask her who is coming home soon. The other day she finally got on the phone to say hi to my dad and she said "Hi Poppa, I wan talk Gammaw". Thank goodness he thought it was as cute as I did. When she spoke to my mom she told her all about Minnie at the playground and told her to "hab fun on airplane". Knowing the way they fly, I am sure they are having more fun than those sitting in coach, as long as my mom remembers the sleeping pills!

Birthday with Minnie

We were invited to a birthday party today where we really only knew the one person, the host. We were pleasantly surprised when we had a great time, a better time than the previous night where we were invited to a party and knew a majority of the people. The party we went to today was really geared towards kids, they even had Minnie Mouse come to say hello. Needless to say our girls loved Minnie Mouse and would not leave her alone. Whenever Lior was out of my sight all I had to do was look for Minnie and look down, there was Lior playing with her dress or just staring at her. Sydney and Jordan liked her also but just not as much as Lior.

The girls loved the cupcakes


Lior just ate the frosting off the cupcake and never ate the actual cake.

Jordan finally dove into a cupcake with gusto! If only she would have done that at her own birthday party.While the party at the park was certainly the highlight of the girls day. Mine came during dinner when Sydney was saying something to Matt and we did not understand it. I told Matt "It sounded like she called you an ass" and the next thing Sydney says, clear as anything she has ever said, "Daddy you're an ass". Out of the mouth of babes...the truth!

Another great day

I woke up this morning to the sound of Matt mixing something in the kitchen. Did I mention it was six o'clock in the morning? He could not sleep so he decided to make pancakes for breakfast. Never mind that we had to have everyone dressed and ready to leave the house at eight thirty and they do not usually wake up until seven thirty or even eight if the house is quiet. Somehow the morning went off without a hitch, I went back to sleep, the girls woke up at their regular time, the pancakes were a huge success and there were three (clean!) dressed little girls marching out of the house at eight thirty!
When I was getting the girls dressed I told them we were going somewhere special but it was a surprise. When we got in the car Lior told us she wanted to go and pick berries, which would be a great surprise but not where we were headed. We were headed to the Little Gym for a make up class for each of them. Matt took Jordan to her class at nine and I took the big girls to a store to kill time. When it was finally time for the big girls class we walked into the gym and the girls took off their shoes and went to look in the window, all the sudden I hear Lior say in a VERY excited voice "Hey, hey my Daddy is in dere, my Daddy is in der, Daddy! Matt, Matt, Matt" and then of course Sydney starts screaming "Daddy Daddy". Everyone in the lobby was laughing hysterically. The kids had a great time at the gym. It was amazing to see all the dads at the gym, since the classes are usually filled with moms.
After the gym we drove about forty five minutes to our favorite kids shoe store again because it was about that time. Jordan's shoes were getting tight and the big girls wanted sandals. I thought Lior was ready for sneakers but he thought she could get away with at least another three weeks, maybe four in her current pair. Lior was so excited about getting a pair of sandals she let the man measure her feet and put the shoes on her feet, all while she was holding my hand. Sydney was not going to let him measure her feet, until she saw Lior slip the sandals on her feet, then she was kicking off her shoes and asking for sandals. Lior was walking around with the new sandals and was really less than thrilled, she said they hurt her feet and she tried to adjust them several times. When we asked her if she wanted the shoes she said "no" and meant it. She left the store without sandals and was not unhappy about it. Even with Sydney singing the praises of her pretty new sandals and Jordan's cute new shoes, Lior was happy with her decision and Matt and I were thrilled that she told us before we spent the money on shoes that hurt!
It was a great day, that started entirely too early. The girls were in a fantastic mood all day. There were no temper tantrums, fights or power struggles to put a damper on the day. We could not have asked for a better day!

Eight nights of Hanukkah

We had so much fun this Hanukkah. The girls were excited every time they saw a Menorah "Hanukiah, Hanukiah!!, Yook Mommy, yook!!". This year the kids were more excited about lighting the candles than the presents they got. Actually, that was true of the nights when their gifts were not baby dolls. On the night their gifts were babies the candles played second fiddle.
On the first night of Hanukkah, the girls got new movies which they were very happy with. The best part of that day was the Hanukkah party at school that my parents and their daddy attended with them. The kids made crafts, decorated cupcakes (Lior's favorite part!) and danced with their friends. The party was wonderful and the kids had a great time.
On the second night of Hanukkah, the girls found a baby in their box. Presents are always a hit but when you wrap up a baby doll it is even better. As Sydney was unwrapping her present she started yelling "Yor, Yor there's a baby in my box!!" and Lior started ripping her paper a little faster and started screaming "there's a baby in my box!" I think that if Jordan could really talk she would have joined the screaming, she liked her baby doll as much as the big girls did.
On the third night of Hanukkah the girls ate donuts. As many donuts as they wanted to. Lior was sick and we did not have the energy for anything else. The girls did not miss the presents, they did not ask for a present so we did not give them anything and they were content.
On the fourth night of Hanukkah Matt and I learned a very important lesson. When you have a box with multiple items in it and they all require assembly, do it before the girls can see them. We got the girls two strollers, a baby play yard, swing/high chair combo, diaper bag, and twin babies. All the items required assembly and the girls wanted to help. They also wanted their strollers faster than Matt could put them together. Needless to say there was a lot of screaming about babies in boxes. Jordan was very happy with her Wiggles board books but even happier when we popped a bottle in her mouth. The girls loved their strollers so much they brought them to the U-Pick strawberries the next day.
On the fifth night of Hanukkah the girls got books. The girls love books, I think it is safe to say that reading books is one of their favorite activities. We usually read books in the morning after daddy leaves for work and throughout the day when we are playing. we have books in the car and we must read about four books every night before bed. Jordan is finally sitting through books, looking at the pictures and pointing to things, rather than eating them. We got some really great books that the girls seem to really enjoy.
On the sixth night of Hanukkah the big girls got a gift that I was really excited about, the Fisher Price Star Station and Jordan got a farm activity center. The Star Station allowed the kids to sing along to kids music using a microphone while they watched themselves on television. Sounds great doesn't it? Well it wasn't. I don't think ours worked correctly because half the time you could not hear the voices over the television. I think part of the problem was that it ran off batteries, not electricity. It stopped working after being on for ten minutes because the batteries died. I brought it back to the store and I am pulling out the Karaoke machine I used when I was working and Matt will set up the video camera. We are making our very own music studio. Jordan's toy was a HUGE hit. I do not think the big girls have let her use it since she got it. Lior has captured the toy cow. She has decided it is the cow that jumped over the moon and will not let it got when it is in her sight. It really surprised me that she new that nursery rhyme because she recited the whole thing. I guess she is listening when I read to her!
On the seventh night of Hanukkah the big girls got Play Doh and Jordan got a talking Elmo remote control. The girls did not really know what the Play Doh was when they got it but they liked it the next day when we played with it. Once again Jordan's gift was the big hit and the girls grabbed it from her every chance they got. I think it might even replace the real remote control as one of Jordan's top ten all time favorite toys. Too bad she will never get the chance to play with it.
The last night of Hanukkah the girls got "Mommy and Daddy shirts" which Matt made for them and they LOVED! They can not wait to sleep in them but that would require me to do another load of laundry and you all know what I think about laundry!
Everyone had a great holiday, even me! Matt got me a video photo frame which I can't wait to load up with all of my favorite photos of my favorite little girls!

I'm gushing

Once again our Hanukkah celebration pictures and stories will have to wait while I gush over Jordan. She is just too cute for words. I can not believe how big she is getting. Today, for example, while we were at the gym she decided to climb on the beam. She pulled herself up to standing, using the bars on the side, held her arms out to balance herself and took two steps on the beam and then fell off. I scooped her up and held her hand and she walked the rest of the beam. She was so proud of herself and I was just thrilled!
She is talking with more purpose. She stands at the gate and screams "Mommy, Mommy" or screams "Daddy" if she sees him. This would be much cuter if she said our names instead of shrieked our names! Today she was ransacking the laundry room and came out with a bag of dehydrated apples (a favorite snack for all three girls) and handed it to me. I put it on the table and walked away, thinking nothing of it. A few minutes later I was carrying her by the table and she pointed to the bag of fruit and said "apple". She wanted that bag of fruit and she let me know about it.
She says "Bye-bye" to the dogs when she leaves the house. She hands me her shoes and says "shoe" when I am putting the big girls shoes on. She does not speak on command, however which is extremely frustrating. Tonight after dinner I tried to get her to say apple for Matt and instead we heard a chorus of "apple, apple, apple, apple" from the big girls which Jordan just thought was hysterical.
Jordan's laugh is enough to melt your heart and take the edge off a bad mood. Her laugh starts deep in her belly and just pours out of every pore in her body, her eyes light up and her face just sucks you in because her smile has taken over her entire face. Her laugh is even enough to send the big girls into fits of laughter. Can you tell I like her?
I like her even though for the past few days she has been shrieking at the top of her lungs every time I put her down. I like her even though I have changed at least seven really-really poopy diapers in the last thirty six hours. I like her even though her temper is bad and she gets really frustrated and screams. I like her even though she is teething and miserable because she is so darn cute and she loves me, but not as much as I love her! I think we will keep her.

Thank you Eric

I had planned to post a wrap up of our Hanukkah celebration but I am way too tired and unorganized to pull it all together, so it will have to wait for another night. Instead I will sing the praises of a new product that appears to be allowing my very congested husband to breathe, Mucinex Full Force. Matt has been watching the commercials and asking me to buy it for days. Today I spoke to my brother Eric and he sang its praises and I ran out and got it. Matt has used it once and he already sounds better. Too bad pregnant women can't take it or I would be using it too!

Laundry

Where does all the laundry come from? Before Matt and I had kids we could get away with doing laundry every two weeks. Now that we have three very cute girls I have to do laundry every day. Not just one load a day, but two. How can that be? When will it end? Who will convince Sydney that she does not need a new outfit every time her mood changes or she spills water on her shirt? When will Jordan be able to wear something without staining it beyond salvation? How much worse will it be when the new baby comes? Where will we put his or her clothes? Who will fold and put the clothes away? When can we teach the kids to do their own laundry?

Grandparent's day

It was grandparents day at school today but there were no grandparents for my girls and everyone wondered where they were because they came to every other event. I thought twice about taking them to the party today because it was not their regular day and my parents are in Israel, knowing how much the girls enjoy school, I took them. I think they had a nice time. They saw their teachers, played with their friends, made delicious latkas and ate them. The grandparents that were their enjoyed their grandchildren and hovered over all the children including Jordan who tried to sit in the rocker, climb the step stool and crawl across the table.
Actually everyone hovered, that was my main observation for the day. The adults in the room hovered over the children while they played, while they ate and while they sat. I do not hover. I do not watch my children's every move. I let them try to do something without help first and then help them when they need it and if they ask for it. I noticed that they often help the kids before the kids even attempt it on their own. I realize that I am a rare breed but I like the fact that the kids try to figure things out on their own and don't wait for someone to assist them with every task. I know when I hear Lior say "I pine" or Sydney say "I do it myself" that they are working out a task, using their brains and developing their independence. I also know that it would be much faster and easier if they would just let me help them or even faster, let me do it for them. But I made a decision when they were little and needed a lot attention and assistance, they were going to have to start helping and doing for themselves. Now they are independent little girls who can (just to name a few) dress and undress themselves, wash their hands, eat with a fork and spoon and who are learning how to cut with a knife. Not bad for twenty seven month-olds!

Back at ya Dan

We went to the mall tonight for a Hanukkah party. We did not expect much because last year was just okay but this year was much better. They had a magician, latkas, and real life Hanukkah gelt. The kids seemed to enjoy the magician he made birds and a rabbit appear so the kids really liked that. It was the first time in days that Lior actually ate anything when she scarfed down a nice size Latka. Jordan was the only one who seemed to be having a hard time with the whole party. When we got home she was running a fever and very cranky. Maybe Jordan will get sick and we will be done with this latest illness.
It is a good thing that we sent my parents to Israel because my dad brought the cold with him. Rumor has it he is really sick, maybe he will pass this yucky bug on to Dan and his family (and feel better soon!). After all they are the ones who gave it to us!

U-pick strawberries

We had the girls out pretty early this morning so we could hit the bank and run assorted other errands. By the time we got started to our destination two out of three kids were asleep. Sydney, by default, got the chance to spend some time with me shopping for books while pushing her new stroller. She scoured the shelves she could reach for books that looked appealing to her, books she recognized or characters that looked familiar. When she found books that she really liked she placed them gently in her stroller and kept looking. When she found books that really thrilled her like Fly Guy, she screamed with joy and handed me the book for safe keeping "Yook Mommy, FLY GUY!!!". When she was hot, tired and ready to give up she told me that she wanted to see her daddy and went and sat in the car with him while I shopped. Guess what the girls got for Hanukkah tonight?
After the shopping and the napping we decided to do "something fun"- U-Pick Strawberries. This just opened and we were unsure of what to expect, we certainly did not expect the little oasis in the middle of the city. We walked into an organic general store behind a Kentucky Fried Chicken where the women were wearing aprons and bonnets. In the back of the store was a door leading out to at least ten acres full of organic fruits and vegetables grown hydroponically, miniature donkeys, swans and exotic birds. The girls were so excited to see everything they let us park their babies and strollers under some shade so we could pick some berries.
We have been reading Blueberries For Sal this week so the kids were excited to get their buckets and fill them with fruit, thank goodness there was no threat of bears like the story! Armed with scissors and a bucket the kids marched down aisles looking for red berries they could cut off the vine and eat. There were so many red delicious berries we did not have to look hard. At first the scissors were hard for the kids to manipulate on their own but Matt showed them what to do and they tried their hardest to do it without any help.


Even Jordan got in on the action!
The kids had a hard time understanding that we could not eat every single berry they picked. We explained over and over that we needed to pay for the fruit and they could eat as much as they wanted at home.

They seemed thrilled when it was their turn to carry the basket.

And it continues

Sydney went to school all by herself this morning. Lior still had a fever so she could not go to school. Sydney was not thrilled with the idea and tried every trick in the book to convince me that she was sick. "My tummy hurt", "I sick", "I not feel good". I reassured her that she was fine and told her what a big girl she was for going to school by herself. She was still not convinced until she found out she could take her new baby to school to show Morah Leslie. She just about dragged me to school and she had a great day!
Lior also had a good morning. She helped Daddy return the bounce house from Jordan's birthday party and buy donuts. What could be bad? She picked out pink, red and green donuts for her and her sisters. You would not be able to tell she was sick with the way she was running around but she was and when we came home from picking Sydney up she was done. She fell asleep about twenty minutes after I gave her medicine and slept for almost three hours. While she was sleeping I took her temperature and it was a hundred and three, again. I called the doctor for an appointment and we ran in. Matt ran home and picked up Sydney and Jordan and took them back to work. Lior sat on our steps and refused to leave the house "I not going!, I not leabin dis house". She went and we found out that she has a double ear infection. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon because she is not this very minute, she is lying in our bed because she woke up screaming about forty minutes ago.
The nurse gave her a prescription for something but we are going to wait and see if she needs it. If she still has a fever on Saturday we will start the antibiotics. The new course of action for ear infections. I hope we can get away without the medicine because I don't like giving it to them.

Computer woes

Okay, the Internet at the house is completely screwed up and Matt has yet to fix it. Although when he does attempt to "fix" it, it usually gets much worse before it gets better. Matt's computer at work completely died today and he has taken my lap top to work until the computer we can't afford gets here. So don't look for timely blogs anytime soon. My goal is to get to the office every day, we will see if the girls cooperate with that idea.
We enjoyed the first night of Hanukkah last night. Lior enjoyed it so much she spiked a hundred and three fever and wound up sleeping between me and Matt. NEVER AGAIN will that child sleep in our bed. She is all over the place. She seems to be feeling a little better today but is coughing up a storm. We even skipped our weekly class at the Little Gym because everyone was way to cranky!

Today

Today we visited a new nature boardwalk that was not as kid friendly as our usual haunts.
The kids had a great time but Matt and I were complete wrecks trying to keep all hands and feet on the boardwalk and not dangling off the side while the unknown lurked below. Sydney decided that she wanted, no needed, to see an alligator today and was not going to move until we saw one. After convincing her that there would be an alligator at the end of the boardwalk we walked and searched for anything that looked remotely like an alligator. Just as we were about to give up, I spotted a small alligator and pointed it out to our excited two year-olds who were saying "chomp- chomp". Our excited one year old decided to take that opportunity to throw her sippy cup out of the wagon (again) and Matt and I watched the cup roll into the water. Apparently we were not the only ones who were watching that cup hit the water because that alligator started moving towards the cup. The kids were thrilled because they got to see the alligator move and Matt and I were less than thrilled because he was moving towards us! Needless to say, Matt lost the argument when he suggested he go in for the cup. Lior even asked him not to go in "No Daddy, you not go in der." So one more sippy cup goes MIA.
We came home and introduced the kids to Play-dough where Matt immediately taught the girls to stick it in their noses and say "eeww BOOGERS!" I was busy showing the girls how to roll it out with two hands and make shapes, Bad Daddy!
We had Matt's favorite for dinner... BURGERS! It was the first time the girls wanted and ate burgers for dinner. Sydney is just like her Daddy, she loves a good burger. Lior is more like her mom. She likes all the other stuff that goes along with a burger, especially the ketchup!