The Think System

It was a good weekend.  Actually, it was a Devon weekend.  I had a little time with Aubrey, but a lot of time with Devon - it made for a very happy little girl ("just you and me?").

Friday night was lovely, all 4 of us went to dinner at the Temple and then services which was the end of year/graduation special services.  Aubrey and Devon both received awards for attendance - not perfect, but over 75% of the time at class.  They liked that.  They didn't really like the dinner - too spicy for them, which was unusual for a synagogue meal, but it did have a bit of kick - yum!  they made up for the lack of dinner by enjoying the dessert after services.  And, Devon and I got to snuggle in bed watching Frozen while Ron and Aubrey watched Black Beauty in the living room.  Saturday morning, Devon went horseback riding (in her new pink riding pants and her new paddock boots), and Aubrey and I went to services (again) because it was her friend Lizzie's Bat Mitzvah.  Lizzie did an awesome job and Aubrey and I had a chat about her (Aubrey's) behavior at services and what she should be doing.  She should not be constantly going to the bathroom and getting a drink and seeing what everyone else who has walked out is doing.  She should be staying in the sanctuary and listening to what is going on (that's how most of us learned the melodies for the different prayers) and if she can't read the Hebrew, read the transliteration when available so she learns what the actual words are so she can participate.  Her  Bat Mitzvah is just shy of one year away and she needs to be able to do a whole lot more than what she can do now - and she won't be just participating, the expectation is that she be able to lead some of the service, in addition to her reading from the Torah.  It's a big commitment and a big responsibility. Anyhow, services were nice and she only nagged me a couple of times to leave the luncheon, which is pretty good for her.  She spent the afternoon at a friend's house and I went home to see what Ron and Devon were up to

guess where we shop!

Devon was hot and sweaty from horseback riding and wanted to go swimming.  It was hot and beautiful out, so I figured what the heck and off we went, just Devon and me. We spent most of the afternoon at the pool, which was nice because there were lots of kids, mostly her friends, there for her to play with and I got to swim a bit and then enjoy some adult company.YEA!  After that, she and I went shopping for new shoes (party and sneaker) and had a successful venture.  We met up with Ron for dinner (Devon said it was okay to invite him) which was very enjoyable, even though she was a very tired little girl, which has been known to bring out the bad behavior.

all dressed up with new high heels and fancy earrings

This morning, it was the last day of Sunday school and the Lag B'Omer (a Jewish holiday celebrating a military victory) games.  It was a blast and we had a beautiful day for the kids to be doing all sorts of activities outside.  As soon as it was over, Devon and I flew over to Pappy's to go blueberry picking and then flew back home to get cleaned up to go back to Temple for the dedication of the new social hall.   I was in charge of opening the gift shop and Devon wanted to be my helper - which she was!  We redesigned the display of kippot (skullcaps) and it looks very nice.  After that, we came home and had a sewing lesson, which she's been begging for, then went swimming again.   Brrrrr, it's beautiful out but you really need to be a kid to enjoy swimming when it's only 70 degrees out and the pool isn't much warmer.  It was a tired by happy Devon at bedtime tonight.

WOW!

Aubrey had a great weekend, too, albeit one without us for most of it!  Saturday night she went to her first Bat Mitzvah party - parents not invited.  And the invitation said "dressy attire" so we had been shopping and found an outfit she was happy with and she looked beautiful!  Of course, much as I "complained" that she's getting so grown up, she reminded me (through actions not words) that she is only 12 and thinks like an adolescent, by leaving the party, ostensibly alone, to go for a walk and returning 20 minutes later with a young man.  She claims she got lost and he helped her find her way back.  I just don't trust her judgment, and was freaked out that I couldn't find her for a while, so to end the party we had a conversation about judgment and leaving places on her own - or even with someone that she doesn't really know, particularly a boy (of indeterminate age in this case) .....just not happening!  Fortunately, this did not take the joy out of her eveningl she had a great time and came home and passed out.  Sunday afternoon she spent at a friend's helping them prepare for their "Kitten Cuddle", an adoption event they were holding to find homes for the (I think it's 13) kittens they're fostering. Once again, she came home (relatively) happy and exhausted and passed out.  Got to love a happy and tired girl.  She was actually nasty when she first walked in the house, and we came to find out she hadn't really eaten since breakfast - it's now 8:30 pm...I'd be nasty, too. The friends said, sorry, they forgot to feed her, and she wasn't hungry when Ron made lunch.  Poor baby.... going to have to start running my kitchen like a third world country - eat when food's available, you never know when the next meal is coming.....

blueberry picking in new sneaker!

To keep with the theme of a happy girl, Devon LOVED grocery shopping with me today.  She got to pick out single-serving containers of Chef Boyardee type meals - so she can have them for breakfast.  She's not a huge fan of traditional breakfast food, and my feeling is if it's okay for dinner, why not for breakfast?  She was very unhappy that Ron and Aubrey dove into the blueberries - she feels very proprietary towards them. We'll probably go picking again next weekend sometime.  The people at the farm said the season will last a few more weeks and they had lots of non-blue blueberries which should ripen soon.  YUM!  And she got one of her favorite treats - to wash the windows of my car at the gas station (oh to be 7 again!).

So, all in all a good weekend.  Busy and we didn't get to everything we had planned, or hoped, to do.  But we had some good quality time together, mostly me and Devon, but all of us had our individual times with each other that made this an unusual but special weekend.  I'm hoping we can repeat it sometime, but it's probably like that perfect date Bill Murray had with Andie MacDowall in Groundhog Day -  happened once naturally and could never be repeated while he was trying to repeat it, it had to just happen.  So I'll just have to focus on the idea of more one-on-one weekends and hope they come out as well.

What's the difference between whining and venting?

It's whining time.

My leg hurts.  Specifically, my left knee.  Two years ago I tore my ACL and meniscus but after a while it seemed to heal and life went on.  I even did a couple of 5k's, remember?  Well, a little over a week ago, I guess, my knee started bothering me again.  Darn.  Figured I somehow aggravated the old injury (not, it's not from playing football).  When I couldn't take it anymore, it is hard to walk when your knee doesn't cooperate, I went back to the orthopedist.  Didn't have to have a new MRI (thank you!), but he explained that the ACL and meniscus don't heal, really, they just stopped hurting and I mostly forgot about them until now when I somehow managed to aggravate them and probably rip them more.  Wonderful.  Supposedly the surgery to repair the meniscus is not so bad, done arthroscopically and just a couple of weeks of crutches and PT, but ACL repair is B-A-D.   Plus, I do not want to have surgery!  So, I'm wearing my brace from the last time and taking Aleve per doctor's orders and keeping my fingers crossed that the knee decides to behave. Please?

I got to my meeting tonight an hour late.  I had it on my calendar for 7 pm - ALL of my meetings seem to start at 7, but go figure, tonight's was at 6.  Nothing like showing up an hour late - you can't even ask questions because you have to assume whatever you don't know has already been covered.  And the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday night, I can't go, busy, so it got moved to Wednesday night....can't go, busy.  AARGH!

And I go to these committee meetings and I give my input and get my assignments and wonder what the heck is everyone else doing?  I love our synagogue - the people we've met are all awesome, the Rabbi is wonderful, we're all starting to make friends....but it's the same small group of people as the core on every committee.  Which is a great way to burn people out.  And then you get people who want programs and events but aren't willing to help out.  I don't get that....not even a little bit?  I think more people would help out if they could avoid the meetings and committees and just do specific, one time tasks.  Others agree with me, so we're going to try to get people to sign up for just that - a one-time, specific, finite task.  How hard can that be, right?

And what makes it even more frustrating is that one of the main reasons I moved us from our old synagogue to the new one (which we love) was because of a lack of programming.  And now they've been doing lots. And they didn't require a mitzvah project for the bar and bat mitzvah kids, something I think is important ...and guess what?  I got an invitation to participate in a mitzvah project for one of the kids from the old synagogue (I think she forgot to take me off her class list).  Good project, too.  Which reminds me I need to sit down with Aubrey and see if we can come up with a general idea of what she's going to do - but I think I need to get the parameters from the synagogue first.  Don't want to plan something and have her get excited and then have to shoot it down.  She's very sensitive about stuff.

Aubrey went to Repticon on Mother's Day.  No, absolutely not with me!  It's a big reptile show at the fairgrounds.    Yuck!  I gave her money to get in and buy a snack/drink and told her she was not to bring home anything alive.  So, what does she do?  She splits the cost of a leopard gecko with her friend and the gecko is at the friend's house.  BUT, she keeps saying it's really her gecko and she wants it here.  To the point of tears when we say no.  Did I not make myself clear about no reptiles coming home to this house? Okay, I'll admit it, I did just roll my eyes.  Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder when it comes to reptiles!  So we've had a lot of anger and weeping because both Ron and I said no to the gecko coming here...although Ron didn't really say it so nicely.  The two of them can really go at it and know just what buttons to push. Made for a lovely end to the evening.

And I am majorly stressed about Aubrey's schooling.  She may not be invited to return to her present school

- we've had some issues there this year, as you know - and it's not like we love the school, although she is reading a lot better and they say academically she's doing really well.  But she did not get into the school I wanted her to go to, and now we're not sure what we/she are going to do.  We have one more school to look at that might be a possibility, but I'm not sold on it from their website.  But I am definitely not sold on the idea of her going to the public middle school either.  That's about the only thing Ron and I agree on about her schooling - we both think she's in for quite the rude awakening - and TOUGH year - if she winds up in the public school.

And of course, Devon has her heart set of staying at the gymnastics place for aftercare next year, even though she doesn't want to do gymnastics anymore.  She just loves the aftercare people and activities.  The problem is, it's expensive because it includes a gymnastics class every day.  Once I told her she's probably not going back, and why, she's been trying to force herself to go to occasional classes.  Which I don't want her to do - I want her to go to the classes if she wants to, not because she feels she has to in order to stay there.  I really need to call the person in charge and see if they would give me a reduced rate for her to go for aftercare with no classes.  I doubt it, but you never know until you ask, right?

What else can I whine, I mean vent, about?  I changed the lock on the snack bin because somehow the snacks kept disappearing.  Of course, neither girl was responsible....and lo and behold, not only are the snacks still disappearing,today the culprit didn't even bother to re-lock the trunk!  I need to get either a nanny cam or a home fingerprint kit.  And as far as Ron is concerned, it's all my fault because I buy stuff that the girls want to eat (?????).  I buy it for the lunches and snacks they have to bring to school.   What should I buy, stuff they don't like?! But now I'm out of stuff and am down to the things that are left because they don't like it...you know, the\flavors of things they throw into multi-packs because they don't sell, or the stuff that looks great but the kids hate and refuse to eat?  It's a losing battle.

Well, at least work is going well.  Not exciting, but nothing really to complain about.  And I guess that's a good thing....I can go there to relax....and whine....I mean, vent, when my co-workers ask me how's it going?  Oh, you mean they're just being polite and don't really want to know?    Don't get me started (again!)

Idiocy or lunacy....is there a difference?

Normally, I try to hide my moments of idiocy from the world, but today I had one of those moments that begs to be shared - so we can all laugh together as we shake our heads in wonderment......

At work, some of the people we call for help require us to provide a code to verify that we really are employees.  To generate this code, you log into a certain link and it gives you a code to provide and a confirmation code for the person to provide back.  It's the same user ID and password you use to log onto the computer in the morning - seems simple enough, right?  I did this once today, and then needed to do it again about 15 minutes later.  For some reason, I could not get the code - I kept getting an error message. Finally, after about 10 minutes of fruitless attempts, I called the Help Desk.  After explaining my problem and five minutes of trying to check stuff and get me logged in, the very nice person on the other end of my call checked a few things, came back on the line and asked me if my password was 8 characters long - they have to be, you know, exactly 8 characters long.  He told me I was typing it in wrong - no way, I say, and then BAM! epiphany, I actually was only typing 7 characters.  Duh!!!!  Yes, I have been a natural blonde most of my life and no longer wonder why those jokes originated.

Fortunately, the day picked up.  Had its ups and downs (doctor appointment for a checkup....did you know I'm overweight?  It's official).....and then off to pick up Ron and Devon to go to the JCC for the Israel Independence Day celebration.  Aubrey felt all grown up since she walked there by herself from school and was there for about an hour without us.  She did pretty well on her own, too.  It was a lot of fun for all of us.

The J had open swim which the girls enjoyed - separately, which made it all the more enjoyable for them, I think - and the girls, along with some of the other kids from religious school, sang two songs as part of the program.  What they lacked in ...shall we say talent?....the kids made up for in enthusiasm.  Devon had a great time playing with her best-religious-school-friend, Jade, and Aubrey met a boy (go figure!) and hung out with him most of the time.  He seemed very nice, but a little too old, sorry sweetie! We liked that he checked in periodically with his parents and actually listened to them....so we forgave him his age for the evening and let them hang out.  I would love for Aubrey to do that - call us before doing something she isn't sure would be okay and then listening to us when we say no.  But that would just be so out of character for her.  Ron and I really enjoyed the "main event" a singer from Israel. And to show one of the differences between American musicians and Israeli musicians, I would have bought her CD

because I really enjoyed her songs and voice, but they were not for sale at the event.  An American act would definitely have had their CDs available for purchase.  Saved me money, I guess, so no harm done.

And I need to save some money these days.  I got a flat tire on Sunday, and Ron had the car towed to our favorite mechanic.  As long as the car was there, they said, you know you're way overdue for a tune-up and timing belt replacement.    That'll be $1500 please.  Ah....no?!  They offered a discount if we did both, since the labor for one is most of the labor for the other, so Ron made a deal and did some of the work - trying to keep the van going for another 100,000 miles, please.  Can I cry now?  Thank goodness tuition for Aubrey is done for now, and most of the summer camps the girls will be at are among the cheapest we've ever done. Of course, I didn't mention that we just had a sick cat which cost over $300 at the vet (no, I not getting rid of my animals!)....Anybody got a tourniquet?  Too bad I'm not allowed to work overtime...

I'm glad for the timing, though.  If the flat or the cat had happened two weeks earlier I wouldn't have gotten my new dining room table (I LOVE this table!).    

And the table makes me happy.  :)  It's never uncovered, though, because we don't trust the girls to not hurt it.  And it's so pretty, exactly what I wanted and Ron let me have it and loves it too, so we're all just one big happy family, except we don't let the girls sit on the new chairs, which they really resent.  Too bad!  They occasionally sit on one but if they're eating I make them move. And I keep them pushed in, (the chairs not the girls) under the table, so the cats don't get to sit on the chairs either.    If Aubrey is lucky, I may decide to let her sit on one after her bat mitzvah.

We just passed the one year mark until that big day.  Aubrey has a friend who is being bat mitzvahed (for lack of a better phrase) in 2 weeks, so she'll get a good idea of what is expected of her when she goes to services.  We've got lots of studying ahead of us!  And this past weekend we all participated in a mitzvah project (charitable project) for a boy who was just bar mitzvahed. The whole religious school plus some others all went to Feeding Children Everywhere and we made over 4,000 meals to feed the hungry locally. I think a lot of the information they gave was too detailed for the kids or too big a number, but talking about how some kids (thousands) get only a school lunch to eat in a day was an effective fact.  I know my daughters think that the school lunch isn't enough food for lunch, much less to last a entire day!   Spoiled things that they are.  I do run what my mother liked to call an "expensive table", which was her way of saying I spend too much on food.  I like to get a lot of fruit, though, and that gets expensive.

Devon went to bed the other night not happy and a bit hungry.  She decided she doesn't like chicken anymore and refused to eat dinner, not even the vegetables, which she usually loves.  Because I know she actually does like what I made, I refused to make her something else.  If I make something for dinner I know one of the girls doesn't like, I'm willing to make them something else.  Devon doesn't like fish, other than fish sticks (and crab legs).  But she always has to taste what I make before I'll make her something else to eat, even on fish nights.  She just flat out refused to try to the chicken, so I just flat out refused to make her something else to eat.  So there!  But I haven't quite gotten to the point where I can send her to bed without her eating anything, so I caved and let her have a couple of cheese sticks and a bowl of watermelon before bedtime.  Yes, I know, my giving in reinforces the bad messages and therefore the bad behavior.  Sue me.

Panic for a minute there....the track point disappeared on me.   Not on the screen, the actual little red track point on the keyboard...Miracle of miracle, I found the little bugger and put what I lovingly refer to as Rudolf's nose back where it should be on the laptop keyboard.  But I digress.

So anyway, Aubrey wants to do something animal related for her mitzvah project, no surprise there, and we've started talking about it to try to come up with a really good idea.  We've also discussed what kind of party we want to have, so we can plan and shop for a while.  I told her the good part is getting to crash other people's parties so we can hear the deejays.  She definitely liked that idea.  Maybe she'll get her big idea this summer - it's a mostly animal summer for her, dog-training camp for 2 weeks, horseback riding camp for 3-4 weeks and the rest at her friend's house with lizards and geckos and dogs and cats and kittens, lots of kittens.  She'll be in heaven!  Devon is excited about her summer, too - take away the dog training and the rest of it matches...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they have fun.  And I'm loving that I don't have to pack lunch and snack for them for the entire summer, just part of it.  I really hate packing lunch, don't ask me why.  I just do.

Everybody has something they hate, and, for me, it's packing lunch.  And letting the world see I'm an idiot. Or at least I hate knowing that the world can see I'm an idiot.

Hidden Messages

I'm sitting in bed watching one of my favorite movies. The Day After Tomorrow.  Don't ask me why I love this movie so much, I have no clue, I just do.  Usually,  a disaster movie has to be pretty bad for me to like it, like Ice Twisters.  There's just something about The Day After Tomorrow that calls to me.  It's just a little but preachy (environment, global warming, the usual stuff) - definitely not as bad as Wall-e!  Independence Day is another one that I watch every time it airs....although I'm not sure about the message in that one....beware of extra-terrestrials?

Not that global warming is a bad topic to be concerned about.  It definitely is, and I try to do what I can,, in my lazy, cheap way, to, well, do what I can.  ETs, not so much.

Been enjoying my Fitbit that I got for Administrative Professional's Day.  Yes, I know it's a Hallmark holiday, but if someone wants to give me an awesome present, who am I to refuse?  I think they want me to get healthier, what do you think?  It is fun, and I do think it will encourage me to walk a little more.....just to see the lights go off.  Devon can't wait to see the flash - and by accident she discovered that if you tap the Fitbit it lights up, so I have to be constantly on guard around her now so she doesn't keep tapping on it.

It's really time for bed, and it's been a busy day, so I should go to sleep now.  I coordinated a roller skating event for the kids from our synagogue which took place for 3+ hours this afternoon.  I didn't skate, but I think the stress of worrying if everything would go right exhausted me!  The kids were all wonderful, the better skaters helping the inexperienced ones, a lot of laughter.  As they say on tv, awesomesauce!  Aubrey and Devon both came and had a blast.  Devon says she has skated before, but I couldn't tell you when.  She had a slow start but finally got to the point where she helped a littler kid.  Aubrey did a lot of helping, she loves skating and, in fact, had just been to the rink Friday night.  Anyhow, the day was a big success and everyone asked me to plan another skating outing.  We'll see.

We're in the final month of school now.  I can't believe it!  I think we have the summer mostly planned out.  I am so appreciative now of the fact that my mother didn't work when I was young enough to have to go to camp.  I loved being able to do as I pleased all summer long.  For me, that mostly meant riding my bike, swimming and reading.  And reading.  And then again reading.  I probably read 20 books a week over the summer when I was in middle and high school.  I wish I could do that now!  Now I'd be thrilled to read one book a week at any time.  And of course the weather was so glorious....upstate New York in the summer is so wonderful.  It's why I can't go visit my family then - makes me want to move back....which I would regret come November, I am sure.

Well, unfortunately for my daughters, they do not get the luxury of a lazy summer.  Aubrey is probably old enough that she could stay home by herself, but she would be bored and the trust level for what she would be doing by herself all day every day is not there.  Maybe next summer.  Devon has a long way to go before she gets to stay home alone for any length of time, poor baby.

Anyhow I try really hard to find them things that they will enjoy for the summer so they get to actually have fun and feel like they got a break from school.  Aubrey has been talking about going to New York for part of the summer, but we have not made any arrangements for that yet either to Ron's mother or to my family. And, of course, Devon wants to do that trip as well.  Not happening!  Maybe in a few years.  Aubrey was 11 the first time she went to New York without us.

Of course, the bright side of a NY trip means no sibling battles, but Devon missed Aubrey terribly last year, so it negates the good by having a sad little sweetie here.  So we'll have to wait and see how the summer pans out.

Anyhow, my wonderful movie ended and Ron put on some Scyfy channel fantasy movie that just isn't the same, so I'm going to turn the tv off and go to bed.  If it's not a serial killer or natural disaster, it's just not for me!

And that's a fact!

I'm not sure I'm happy with the lessons Devon is learning this week at school.  We were sitting watching tv, Devon, Aubrey and I, this evening, when out of the blue, Devon remarked "that is the ugliest woman I have ever seen on tv".  I commented something along the lines of that wasn't a very nice thing to say, to which she replied, "well, that's my opinion."  True, and I knew that, but since when did she know that?  She followed this up by explaining that they're learning about facts and opinions at school, and that was an opinion. A fact would be a statement like "You're (Nancy is) my mommy".  I did so love that fact example.  I do so love being her mommy.  She just cracks me up, and she doesn't even mean to be funny, she just is.

Devon's first selfie?

Shortly before we went to Albany for Passover, Devon and I had the following phone conversation:

Me: You need to do your computer homework.

Devon:  I can’t, I lost computer.

Me: Oh?  What did you do that you lost computer?

Devon:  I accidentally crawled through the doggy door.

Me (trying not to laugh): How do you “accidentally” crawl through the doggy door?

Devon: I was on the back porch crawling around and decided to come in and forgot I wasn’t supposed to use that door.

I am glad it was Ron at home dealing with that because I was laughing so hard I would have had a hard time punishing her.  And, of course, my boss walked by right as I was asking her how one accidentally crawls through the dog door - and his only reaction?  To laugh, shake his head, and mutter something about only I would be having a conversation with a comment like that in it.  So true.  Do other people have similar things happen to them?  She definitely keeps things interesting.

Well, I have to say, I had an almost-lifelong dream fulfilled on Saturday when we flew back to Orlando.  If  had a bucket list, this would have been on it.  We flew on the Southwest Airlines Shamu plane.  I have seen this plane only once before and have always wanted to fly on it. The only downside to actually being on the plane is that then you can't see it flying, which is cool - a giant orca in the air.  Ron actually had to point it out to me that our plane was the Shamu plane - he knows how much I've wanted to see it, not to mention fly on it!  Aubrey was, being a tween, embarrassed by my excitement.  BONUS!  LOL  Other people heard me (I wasn't really loud, just pleased) and thought it was cool, too.  Mostly adults, I'm sorry to say.

So now we're home and getting back into our normal routine.  Which, of course, will end soon, since school ends Memorial Day.  Ridiculously short school year, to go with the ridiculously short school days the kids have....and we wonder why we can't compete in a global economy.  Do our kids spend even half as much time in school when they are young as other industrialized societies?  Is it just Florida?  I don't think so.   I did read an inspiring article today in People magazine....can you believe it?  It was about 5 kids who have done amazing things....one went on an Antarctic expedition for his winter break (part of a global warming project), one created a blood test to detect pancreatic cancer....and we're talking teens!  Kudos to their parents for encouraging them and to the organizations who helped out along the way and lastly to the organization who recognized them for their achievements.  Wow!  (Here's a link to a legitimate" article about one of the 5 kids:  Teen Prodigy

We're gearing up for summer.  I hate summer.  One, it's too blasted hot here in Orlando (don't tell Ron I said that, he HATES the summers here and would gladly move back up north).  Two, summer camp costs a fortune and it's a necessary evil.  Aubrey could probably get away with not going to camp, but I shudder at the thought of her being home, alone and unsupervised, all day every day of the summer.  Devon cannot be home alone yet, she is, after all, only 7, and there is no way the two girls could be home together and come out both surviving and Ron and I getting any work done.  Aubrey is going to have - you guessed it - a largely animal filled summer, which she is very excited about.  I have been agonizing over what to do with Devon, since she has Hated (yes with a capital H) every camp she's been to except horse camp.  Yes, she will be at horse camp this summer for every week that it's held, which, unfortunately, is not all summer.  I think I've finally got the rest of the summer taken care of....well, I hope I have it all taken care of, it's something I'd like to cross off my to-do list....not that I make lists, I don't, although my mother always recommended them. She would even put things already done on her list just for the sheer joy of crossing it off.  To each his own.

The next issue is going to be after-care for Devon next year, since there is no point to sending her to the expensive gymnastics after-care program she is at now when she decided to not to do gymnastics anymore. Too bad she hated the other after-care places we've tried....not that they were any cheaper.  And I'm not sure what we're doing with Aubrey next year - guess we need to find out if our carpool people are returning to the school for another year.  

And, of course, religious school is two days a week for both girls next year.  I have no idea how we are going to get them to the Wednesday 4 pm class each week.  Work is such a problem - it really interferes with life.  I can't quit my job, though - my having to work is my major winning point every time Aubrey declares she wants to be home-schooled.  Sorry, can't home-school, got to work.  Home-schooling would so be a bad idea for us!  And she's even got Devon saying that she wants to be home-schooled, although I think she really mostly likes school.  She gets to go on cool field trips, like the one we're going on on Friday - to the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre's presentation of The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs.  Don't laugh - last year we saw Frog and Toad and it was very enjoyable.  I'm glad I have Devon, a seven-year old, around to keep reminding me to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.  Aubrey, at 12, is so grown up already.  How did that happen so fast?  

Oh - here are a few pictures they took on the trip home on Saturday.  Obviously, they [1] didn't sit with Ron and me and [2] had control of my camera for longer than I thought!

  

Hmmm, maybe not quite so grown up after all!?  And maybe they both have something to teach me about enjoying :)

Snow Day

I love the look of freshly fallen snow - and falling snow.  It's so pristine, and gives the feeling of a new start, a clean slate.  I would like that - snow can fall on me and let me start all over, a new beginning.  

For some reason, I thought my daughters would actually behave well while we are in New York. To give you an example of just how wrong I can be,  my father told me tonight that the next time I visit I should come without them.  Of course, about half an hour later he told me that he didn't really mean that, he's just frustrated by their behavior.  Join the crowd!  Do you know how bad their behavior must have been for that thought to even occur to him?  

It would never have occurred to Ron or I, or any of my siblings, to do some of the things the girls do.  Mom used to say that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission and the girls certainly live by that rule, especially Aubrey!  It's not so much the stuff they do without permission that gets to me as it is the things they do after having been expressly told not to do it.  Dad had an unopened bag of Hershey Kisses in the pantry. The girls were told, more than once, that they were not to touch the bag, not to open the bag, that the Kisses were not for them to eat.  What did Devon tell me first thing today when I came downstairs?  That she and Aubrey had eaten the entire bag of Hershey Kisses.  I don't get it.  Did they really think nothing would happen as a consequence?  Aubrey lost an outing with my father that she had been looking forward to for weeks, and both girls lost any and all candy for the rest of the day.  You may think that this is not a big deal, but it was the second Seder tonight and there is always a lot of dessert, especially candy trays, as part of the festive meal.  And they got not one piece. 

When Devon was first told this consequence, she ran upstairs and cried for quite a while.  Aubrey huffed, but I don't think she really believed I would remember and enforce that punishment.  And tonight, when she reached for a piece of candy, she was told in no uncertain terms to put it down.  Every time I think I may be making headway with their behavior, something else pops up and slaps me in the face to tell me no.  Devon got sent away from the table because she decided she wanted to try the cake Uncle Bennett had bought and just reached out and took a piece off my plate.  I swear, you would think neither one of them had ever been introduced to the concept of good manners. I remember seeing signs last year for an etiquette camp over the summer.  I am going to see if I can find that camp for them this summer.  If not, maybe there is a military camp available.

The weather tonight reminded me of our wedding weekend.  The day was so beautiful, 70 degrees and we woke up the next day to 13 inches of snow.  Today wasn't quite so extreme, I don't think it was sunny and warm at all today, but we still got snow tonight - and it's April 15th!  Kind of late for snow.  And we had buds on the lilac bushes I had really been looking forward to seeing bloom.  I think Devon got to ride her motorcycle for only a very short time today before the skies opened and it began to rain, a nice, cold, dreary rain.  Got to love that upstate New York weather!  

The girls were very excited about the snow tonight - especially that it stuck.  They actually had a brief snowball fight when we got home, before Daddy and Papa ordered them inside.  The people who live here, not so much excitement.  My sister's favorite part of the cold and snow tonight, I think, was that she got to try out my Dad's new remote starter for his car.  It is a nice feature - could be handy in Florida, too, for the summer.  I really hate when the car is crazy hot and you can't touch the steering wheel - and my glasses fog up when I get out of the car.  And they may be having snow here in upstate New York, but it's already getting warmer than we're happy with in Florida.  I doubt there's anywhere that really has perfect weather.  I always thought that was San Diego, but the rabbi at our synagogue is from that area and he said it's only perfect if you're on the water - once you head inland it gets miserable, just like everywhere else.  Oh, well.

So, I'm sitting at Dad's laptop and I look over and notice his mouse-pad.  I had gotten the idea from my sister, a photo mouse-pad....and this one is a picture of Aubrey and Devon.  Devon was probably 15-18 months old, making Aubrey 5ish.  They were so beautiful, so sweet......I really miss those days sometimes.  Somethings were harder, but somethings were just so much simpler.

I think my favorite thing so far this visit was seeing my brother, Bruce's office.  He works from home and has designed himself a really nice office, with a standing desk that works great, and Ron covets.  My favorite thing about his standing desk is the chair.  The oxymoron in that kills me.  He has a couple different stations, at different heights, and the layout is actually really impressive.  He does know how to do his research and he lived with a few iterations before this one came into being.  I'm glad he found something that he likes and that works - it's so easy to find solutions that don't work for you for one reason or another.  And I will cut him some slack, he said he rarely uses the chair ..... and to be completely honest, the chair was not at the desk when I got there - I pulled it closer to get my Kodak moment.  What can I say?

So, the girls may go swimming tomorrow at this indoor YMCA-type place they have nearby.  It's so cool - my Mom used to go a lot with my sister-in-law Cynthia - it's got a couple of really cool water slides and a lazy river (strong current, a lot of fun) as well as HUGE hot tub and zero entrance to the pool....if I let them go they'll have a blast.  Of course, that means I need to go shopping for a bathing suit for Devon because I didn't bring one with us.  Aubrey can borrow one from her cousin.  We may also get Aubrey's ears pierced again tomorrow afternoon.  She's been wanting a second hole in her ears for a while now....and it'd be a lot cheaper than some of the the other stuff she wants....  not at the top of her ears, that's gross, that bar that goes across....we're talking about a second hole right near the first holes in her ears.  I had two holes when I was younger and had pierced ears, so I have less of a problem with this than Ron does, I think.  And I do like the look of the two earrings, as well.

We let Aubrey have her phone back for this trip.  It's been good and bad.  The best part was when she and Devon were out on their bikes and got lost - she called and it was easy to direct them home.  And she's loving [1] having the camera to use and [2] being able to be in touch with friends.  We'll see if she gets to keep it when we get home.  She's been pretty good about it's use so far.

I have two least favorite things about this visit.   One if the girls' behavior, which I've already vented about.  The other is that I'm sick.  I feel lousy.  I even went to the doctor I feel so lousy.  Co-workers....be glad I am not at work this week!  Not strep although I wouldn't swear by it with how my throat feels.  And my nose runs like a faucet, but only once I get in bed.....so no sleep for me....which makes me grouchy and gives me a headache during the day.  Did I mention I haven't been feeling well?  And Passover is one of my least favorite holidays, I find the whole prep of it stressful...although we did, for some reason, very abbreviated seders this year, both nights and it definitely felt like something was lacking because of that.  What can I say?  It's not my favorite holiday but I still want it observed traditionally.....at least, according to the traditions that I grew up with!

So, we're halfway through this visit and it's going by fast and slow and will be over before we know it.  I'm still hoping to get one day that one of the girls doesn't tell me she wants to be home and not here.  I want them to be making good memories with my Dad and their cousins and aunts and uncles and I don't feel like this has been a good visit in that regard.  Maybe tomorrow we'll all start as fresh and clean as newly fallen snow.

Cats rule

Aubrey is right.  My cat is spoiled.

One of my favorite things about our current house is the pet door leading to the backyard.  It's one of those inserts that you put in your sliding doors so the cats and dog can go in and out by themselves whenever they want.  So why does my little sweet cat stand by the front door and meow when she wants to go in and out? To top it off, she doesn't like to drink from the water bowl, either.  She likes to have water poured for he o she can lap it up as it comes down, her own private waterfall.

She actually used the door a lot when we first moved here.  Aaah, freedom!  The animals were finally not dependent upon one of us opening and closing doors to let them in and out.  Obviously, that novelty has worn off.   I think she was a very rich person in a past life who had a  butler to open doors for her and kitchen staff to prepare her meals and have constantly flowing water for her.  You know what they say, dogs have owners, cats have staff.  So true!

I know the dog is happy.  She constantly goes in and out, up and down, roaming all over the place.  You can practically set your watch by her, too, when she out to bark to the othern dogs in the neighborhood at 10 each night.  She goes other times, too, but 10:00 is her favorite.  She goes out a few times a night.  How much can the dogs have to talk about every night?  I went to the dog par today, I got a treat, nobody walked me, I hate baths, my breath is bad but no one brushes my teeth.????   Cats are so much easier than dogs!

Don't get me wrong, I love our dog.  But if we didn't have a dog, I'd be perfectly happy.  I am a cat person. Fortunately I have Ron to stop me from becoming that crazy cat lady, because I have a hard time not taking them all home with me.

I do not understand how anyone can not like cats.  There are so any different breeds and personalities, you are bound to find one that suits you. They all have such unique personalities.  I would never buy a pure bred anything myself, I'm all about rescue, but I do so like the ragdoll cat - it's so relaxed when you pick it up it goes limp like a ragdoll.  How sweet is that?!  Our cats used to be more laid back and affectionate.  They'll be that way again next weekend when we're all here without ..dun dun dunnnnnn... the dog. She's being boarded for a brief time and the cats are not going to know what to do when they have the house to themselves.  Desi, especially, will be thrilled as he is the one that Bella the dog most terrorizes.  I think that Bella things Desi is a puppy or small dog.  She goes into play mode, but up in the air and tries to nip at his neck, the way he plays with dogs at the dog park.  Desi, being a cat, doesn't communicate that way.  Butt up with a cat is not usually a good sign.  So, I'll miss Bella until we get her back, but I'll enjoy having affectionate cats while we wait.

Devon is ready to get a new pet.  She is supposed to be the one to pick out the next pet we get, since she's never picked one out.  Aubrey picked out 2 of the cats, and both girls have conveniently forgotten that they had input on adopting Bella and if if either had said she didn't want this dog we wouldn't have gotten her. can take herself out any time she wants to go.  [3] at the slightest threat that we might get rid of the dog.  I'd say that 90% of the time Devon would easily give up Bella, especially if it meant she got to pick out her own animal....a bunny, no a puppy, no a kitten, no a chinchilla, no a bird (that's the animal choice du jour).  I'm not planning on getting rid of any of my pets anytime soon, though.  Sorry, Dev, sorry, Dad.

Aubrey claims Bella as her dog under certain circumstances: [1] to aggravate her sister [2] to avoid doing a chore or going to bed or taking a shower  (can't take a shower now, I have to walk Bella, can't put away my laundry, Bella needs to go out).  Of course, while Bella does love to go for walks, she

We were very lucky when we were house hunting to find a house that not just hit everything on the house wishlist but also allowed us to keep all of our animals.  We have a friend that had to get rid of their dog when they moved. That is so sad.  It's losing a member of the family.  Devon will tell you we have eight "people" in our family,, living here.  And the girls greatly out number the boys.  For boys, we have Ron and the 2 cats, Desi and Max, who don't need anyone else around, they have a total bromance.... I would say I've never seen anything like it but a co-worker has 2 cats that behave similarly - which is freaky because they're the same colors too, a black & white (we call him a tuxedo cat) and an orange cat.  I love to watch Max, the orange cat, walk, because you can see his jungle origins in the way he moves.  

What cracks me up every time is that if anyone takes Bella for a walk around the neighborhood, Max goes too.  You can always see him without about 10 feet, just tagging along.  I think once I had all three cats follow along, but that was unusual.  Max comes every time.

When she was young, we used to joke that Aubrey was always shopping for a new family.  She's never met a stranger and makes friends pretty easily.  We are always finding her leaving us behind and joining a new family group.....hmmmm.  Well, Desi has done that - he LOVES the guy next door.  He is a super nice guy, but it is so funny how Desi will just walk right into his house, make himself at home.  And our neighbor loves Desi - in fact, Desi is the only cat he likes.

We do have great cats....great pets, really, but I think we have the best cats anywhere, and no one will ever convince me otherwise.  Except maybe that meowing tortie that is constantly demanding we wait on her. .... nah, I probably love that one the most.