Hurricane Sandy Update

I've been getting a lot of emails and questions about how we are doing in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Despite fearing the worst--losing power, flooding in our basement, trees uprooting/falling--we made it through the night just fine. We still have power and until it's lighter outside we won't have a sense of how much, if any, wind damage hit our house and trees. But for now, all looks to be relatively fine, if extremely, extremely wet.

I'm thinking of everyone in New York and New Jersey who got slammed with the hurricane and flooding and all of those without power. I'm also thinking of folks west of us in West Virginia and Ohio who are living through a Halloween blizzard, much like we faced last year at this same time--wet snow plus trees with leaves still on them is a recipe for disaster.

I'm also thinking of my cousin in Brooklyn, hoping all is well, as well as J's family in Connecticut.

Weekend in the Poconos

The weekend of RUS's birthday, we headed up to the Poconos with Grammie and Grampy. It was a beautiful weekend and we had the most lovely time--cool, crisp weather, trees changing color and all kinds of leaves falling on the ground. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the weekend.

Grammie and Grampy took the kids for the afternoon while J and I went on a hike at nearby Bushkill Falls. Here's the animal taxidermy set-up, just after you purchase tickets but before you walk into the hiking area. J wanted a picture of the coyote and I agreed to pose.

This scenic overlook on the Delaware Valley was breathtaking. Of course my camera does not nearly capture how vibrant the colors and scenery were.

On the way home (about a 2.5-3 hour drive), J remembered that there was a vegan bakery in Bethlehem, PA, so when we passed by Bethlehem, we took a quick detour and stocked up on goodies at this bakery. I am not kidding when I say that the treats at this bakery were 100 times better than goodies I have gotten at just about any other bakery, ever. They were amazing. Worth driving 2 hours to go visit again, for sure. Maybe for J's birthday??

Happy 3rd Birthday, RUS!!

We celebrated RUS's 3rd birthday with a weekend in the Poconos with Grammie and Grampie. Here are the kids waking up in the morning, ready to open presents. Can you just see the excitement radiating off their faces?

GUESS WHAT! It's BOB THE BUILDER!!!!!!!!!!

And he got a castle that has a dragon's head that comes down and shoots wheels out of its mouth. Oh my gosh. The kids both love this thing! There's also an ogre (you can see it right behind the castle in the picture below) that talks to the castle--I can't remember what the ogre says--probably just arrgh, and the castle talks back, saying, "We're under attack!" and stuff like that.

After lunch, we had cupcakes!

and here's RUS wearing a fire hat he got on his card from GiGi and PopPop, telling us how old he is with both of his hands

 And my very favorite picture of the birthday boy!! He was so excited to have a birthday, I love it.

Halloween Party

The kids were invited to a really cool Halloween party at one of their friends' houses. The food was AMAZING! I couldn't resist documenting it all--there were deviled eyeballs, cake pops in various Halloween colors (see pic above) and in the pictures below you see witches' brooms, oreo spiders, popcorn balls, a skeleton veggie tray, and a dirt cake with gummy worms.

There were lots of games and crafts and all kinds of Halloween decorations. RUS loved the giant spider's web, partly because our back porch is often filled with spiders and we talk about them a lot.

My favorite activity was when the kids made mummies out of each other. Here's R converting RUS from a Skeleton into a Mummy.

Potty Training . . .

RUS wore underpants to school for the first time today and he was dry all day until his first accident around 4:00. I think we are going to take the plunge and really go for potty training now. We might be diaper-free very soon (except at night). This is simultaneously very exciting and very scary.

Matzo Ball Soup!

My awesome friend D made the kids some matzo ball soup. We served it, and after finishing her bowl, R immediately went to the art table, grabbed her markers and pencils and a writing pad and drew this picture.

She told J tonight she is going to be a beautiful artist when she grows up.

Fun with GiGi, PopPop, and H&M

Last night we had a really, really lovely visit with GiGi and PopPop and their friends H and M, who all drove down for a visit to Delaware. R pulled out Grammie's play jewelry and got all the guys decked out. They were all really good sports, and boy did we laugh and laugh.

P.S. I'll give you three guesses what RUS was doing (with Grampie, who conveniently absented himself from the room) while this was all going on!

Four Things You Can Count on Hearing from RUS At Least Once Every Day

1. I'm going to have oatmeal for breakfast in the morning, OK? 
He says this when we are tucking him in to bed and trying to get him to relax. He will pull my face towards him, with a very very serious look on his face, and proceed to tell me he wants oatmeal in the morning. I have to reassure him several times that yes, he can have oatmeal in the morning, before he settles down.

2. I want to go to Grammie and Grampie's house!
We hear this throughout the day: when he first wakes up and announces what he wants to do; when we pick him up from day care (he knows the route to Grammie and Grampie's house and gets angry when we don't turn in that direction); throughout the day on the weekends, especially when we know we're going over there later in the day but not until after nap. We usually have to review the entire day's schedule: "First we're going to the grocery store. Then we're having lunch. Then we're having nap. THEN we're going to Grammie and Grampie's house!" before he will quiet down about how he wants to go to Grammie and Grampie's house RIGHT NOW!

3. I want to watch Bob the Builder!
He never wants to watch anything else. It's all Bob the Builder all the time. We only have one Bob video though so R will literally groan when she hears this, because she is SICK and TIRED of "Bob the Builder Roads and Bridges." Grammie and Grampie also have a Bob the Builder video and RUS loves to watch the trailer at the beginning which is a preview of the live Bob the Builder show that travels around. He knows how to work their Xbox controller to play that preview over, and over, and over, and over again. We have to just cut him off because otherwise he would probably watch it for hours on end.

4. I want to eat macaroni and CHEESE!
Hands down his number one favorite dish and the most requested item in our house.We don't serve it as often as he requests it but we do hear about it at least once a day.

Impressionism

When I picked R up from school yesterday the following display had been added to the large art room in the center of the school. They've been looking at Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting as well as numerous paintings of his and other sources of inspiration, and went forth and made their own creations. Here's a closer-up view of R's.

Self-Portrait

Done by R during her first couple weeks at school.

Puzzle

R made this puzzle at school over the summer. It tickled me so much I've had it hanging on my fridge most of the summer. Can you figure it out?

Apple Picking--2012 Edition

I really look forward to apple picking each year. This year all the apples were ripening earlier than usual because we had such a mild winter and spring, so a lot of things are already ready for picking. It happened to be an absolutely glorious day--we have had such lovely weather the last few weeks! I'm so glad we've been able to soak it up.

And what are we going to do with all the apples we picked? Make pie, of course!

Tidbits from the Week

--On the mornings that I drop R and RUS off, R and I have about half an hour together that we spend walking a bike trail near her school. Yesterday she told me that her best friend at school offered to share her money with her for pizza day, which is every Wednesday. We had to have the talk about how we don't share money and I promised her that next week for pizza day we would send money for her to buy a slice.

--I still absolutely LOVE the laptop lunchbox that J bought for me, actually, but which has become R's lunchbox for school.

--It's so much fun picking RUS up from school because it's so obvious that his teacher loves him. Yesterday I was carrying him and she came over to say goodbye and they just had the cutest conversation filled with smiles and mutual adoration.

--We went to an annual arts festival last weekend with Grammie and had a lot of fun browsing. They bring together really accomplished artists of all kinds and stripes. Then we went up to the zoo. Here's the only picture I took, of the kids and Grammie stamping animal prints onto little cards.

So, how is RUS doing in Preschool?

I don't know if I mentioned yet that RUS started preschool! He moved up into a new classroom back in August, I think, just before we went on vacation to Maine.

Just today J got a little update from his preschool teacher--he actually has two of R's old teachers, and we couldn't be more thrilled because we loved them both. We were a little worried about how his preschool behavior would be because:

• while he does use the potty regularly, he also regularly resists using the potty.
• he loves loves loves, LOVES to run away from us and we have to keep a death grip on him most times we are in a store or somewhere where he really needs to stay close.
• he has become quite the willful child and he loves to throw things in places those things really shouldn't go, like finding something of R's that she doesn't want him to take and then throwing it as soon as we tell him to give it back.

Well, his preschool teacher said the following:

• RUS is an absolute delight in preschool
• He's a model child for all the other children to emulate
• He listens well, follows directions, stays in line, and basically does everything the way they want the children to do things
• He had the easiest transition of any child she's ever seen from toddlers to preschool

So, in case you were wondering, he's doing GREAT in preschool!

She LOVES kindergarten!

We got an email from her teacher today in which all the kids said their favorite thing about the week. Here's what they all had to say:

Dear Parents,

It has been a wonderful first week! The children are making lots of new friends and adjusting well. We have been very busy. Thank you to all who attended our home room meeting. It was a great turn out. If you have any additional questions don’t hesitate to contact us. Have a great weekend!

K and T

 "News from the Kids."
R
- I liked Art class this week. I traced things on a folder with stencils and crayons. I also liked playing in the doll house.

Other kids
- I liked singing and meeting new friends. I liked our new Music class. We played with musical eggs and we also sang. I really liked the choo choo song!

- I liked Quiet reading time because I like reading.

- I enjoyed music and art this week. At activity time I enjoyed making pattern pieces, birthday cakes and attendance pencils!

- This week in Spanish we drew a picture of what we did on vacation. I liked it because it was good to be in Spanish class again. I’m glad to be back at school!

-I liked the riddle writing game. I had a buddy that I helped. I helped them write a little bit. I liked guessing who wrote the riddle! 


- I liked training my buddy how to do afternoon jobs. I taught him how we stack chairs.

- I liked writing because it’s my favorite time of the day! I wrote a story about when I went to Ocean City! I got a hermit crab.

-I liked riding in the wagons. My new friend Sofia was pulling me in the wagon. We were pretending. I also liked digging with the trucks in the sand box. We were using the big one to make a big pile!

- I liked going in Art class and making a folder. I also liked playing with the basketballs at recess.

- I liked playing in dramatic play and Art. I also liked playing in the doll house.

- The best things about my week were being with friends and making a beaded bracelet.

- I liked playing in dramatic play because I got to play with baby dolls. I liked making new friends and playing games.

-I liked playing the Get on the Boat game. K or T asked a yes or no question and then the kids got on the boat if the answer was yes. I also liked making my folder in Art.

- I liked making my name bracelet out of beads during Activity time. I also liked Art and All School Meeting.

-I liked Activity time because I liked making Pattern pieces and playing with the doll house. I also liked playing outside.

- I liked when I got to play with my brother outside.

- I liked playing with the big trucks. I made it roll down the slide

- This week I liked making folders in Art class. I liked writing my book that was when we were going to the Baltimore Aquarium. I’m going to share it in Author’s Chair.

- I liked playing outside with new friends, pogo sticks and helping (friend) making basketball episodes.

- I really liked Art and All school meeting this week. I got to sing Puff the Magic Dragon with everyone at the meeting.

Twisty Buns

This is what R's hair looks like when we put it in twisty buns while still wet and let her sleep on it for the night. Of course the curls flatten out over the day and end up being more wavy than curly but it's still a glorious tangle of curls in the morning. She specifically requested this hair do for her first day of school, although you can't see the curls well in the first day of school pictures, so I thought I'd add these photos so you can get a better sense of what her hair is like this morning.

First Day of School

I'm so proud! Here's R all decked out for her first day of school, in a brand-new outfit from Grandma that she absolutely adores.

Some Backdated Posts

Visit Day at R's New School

Sunny April Afternoon at the Neighborhood Park

Happy Mother's Day!

Florida!!!

Memorial Weekend Trip to Ohio

For My Grandma's Birthday: Me and My Brothers 

School Orientation

This past Thursday R had an orientation for her new class. She's going to be in a multi-age class, ranging from 5-year-olds just starting kindergarten to 7-year-olds in second grade. We could not be more excited about the school and her two teachers.

She officially starts on Tuesday, the day after Labor day, but the teachers had the kids come in for an hour to decorate their school tote bags (what R is doing in the first picture) and decorate their mailboxes (what R is doing in the second picture, along with RUS).

Her school offers an alternative curriculum that doesn't include any standardized testing or grades. Instead, students get individualized written reports about their progress and learning. And the two teachers work together as a team for all the instruction. The school fits almost exactly with J's and my educational philosophies, and we're just really excited for her to have this opportunity.

We'll keep you all updated. Today (Saturday) Grammie and I took R shoe shopping so she could get new tennis shoes for the school year. She chose--surprise surprise--glittery pink shoes decorated with butterflies and flowers that light up when she walks.