Winters can be fun...i guess :)

As winter continues all I dream about is green grass, spring breeze and colorful flowers. I really do like seasons and I do love snow, ice skating, snow man building....but having it just cold without fun snow (or worse-raining) and the lakes slowly defrosting really makes winter sucky. If it is going to be frigid out it mind as well snow! Kids did get to play outside the other day when the weather warmed up to 45-50 two days in a row. We loved it. Went for a bike ride, played on scooters and of course stomped in the slushy melting snow. How awesome was it to be able just to wear my shell instead of both layers of my ski coat...no mittens, no scarf and no

hat. And now, 28* cloudy and chance of snow Saturday or Sunday....Kids cannot wait to sled. They never have been sledding and Devin has been talking about it for weeks. Last two snow storms have been a total bust in Shamong so hopefully we get some this weekend that will allow him to try it out.

 Devin is beyond excited to go to his first dance. I got him a new tie per his request and he told me that he will try to not step on my feet :) I just love him. His classmate asked him to dance with her so I will upload a picture of them if I get her Mommy's approval. She was in his kindergarten class as well and was sweet on him then as well. She's a good kid and I think it is harmless and cute. Devin is going to be serious trouble in years to come I can just feel it.

Riley has started to request things for her birthday. She wants sneaker roller skates meaning regular ones not the kind you strap your shoe in. That is her number one request and finally today she asked for something else. Golf clubs. Yup she said that she no longer wants her other ones "because they are short and for babies and we need to give them to Brock." I am not sure Deidre would still love me if I gave her son a 3 piece real metal golf club set...My only question is do I do lefty or righty. She plays lacrosse lefty and holds an ice hockey stick lefty. She has only ever used the righty clubs simply because that is what we had but I am thinking if she had leftys she would be more comfortable with them. The only other thing she asked for is a skate board which she is not getting because neither her nor Devin use the one skate board we already have.

reoccurances from July illness-wasn't tick borne!

Back in July I got really ill. On a Monday I felt weak and light headed and almost like I was going to passout after I dropped the kids off to camp. I thought I was dehydrated or suffering from heat exhaustion. Frank and I had taken some trees down the day prior and had been out in the 95* heat for the better part of the day. I ended up going to the ER that night because I felt just terrible. Now I am a pretty tough person and have never been to the hospital besides for labor....that said the ER DR was not very patient with me and really just blew me off. After my blood work came back he said I had a mild summer virus and that I needed to hydrate, take motrin for my 102.8 fever and sent me on my way. Frank had to stay the next day for the first time of me being a stay at home mom due to me being sick. I slept 23 out of 24 hours and could not kick the fever. Next day same thing but Frank went to work. I finally went back to ER (same hospital system, different location) and they immediately admitted me. Due to the fact my blood work was in the gutter and I still had a fever over 102 they were quite concerned. They did a spinal to rule out meningitis and tested out the wahzoo for tick borne illnesses and blood infections. I figured I would stay a night and they would give me some steriods etc. NOPE. The illness attacked my heart, giving me a VERY low heart rate, and chest pains which gave me the opportunity to have rapid response come in (they were super awesome.) I had an EKG, Echocardiogram and was the lucky recipiant of a 6 sensor heart rate monitor that attached to a little sachel I wore 24/7 for just under 4 days. The cardiologist was super nice and very professional while also being extremely thorough. I also had daily meetings with the head of infectious disease as well as hematology/oncology. Now they were originally treating me for a tickborne illness given it was the summer time and I live in the sticks...but all tests were negative. Infectious disease dr told me that there is a good chance that it could be a false negative so he kept me on the IV antibiotic concoction. That shit burns like a mother when being run. They had to dilute it big time and change my IV site daily. I then started to have collasped veins and the path department ended up having to use infant draws in my hands for my daily draw. Just awful. Since my blood levels were in the drain, I was in reverse isolation. Meaning everyone who came in...drs, nurses, visitors all had to be masked. I felt like bubble boy. I got discharged with them still dangerously low but there was nothing more the hospital could do for me and I was finally able to eat so they felt confortable to release me. From the spinal I had on the first night I got a spinal headache. WORST headache I have ever had in my entire life. I could not stand upright and that was very difficult to function with. Thank god for some super awesome friends and family that helped with the kids, cooking and such! Now fast forward a few months. My hair is falling out, my nails are brittle... Why? I go to the doctor. They run full blood work and I thought it was thyroid or hormonal....NOPE reoccurant issues from this illness. SO yes, my hair was falling out. In wads. Daily. My cycle was messed up. For months. The doctor said that its extremely common and I can see improvement around 6 months post "trauma." He was right. In early January my hair stopped falling out. My energy level was better and my cycle seems more normal. Oh heres the kicker it was NEVER a tick borne disease. It was some virus. all my repeat blood work was negative for any tick disease. Some crazy horrible virus that attacked my blood and heart while sending me to the hospital for almost a week. I wish that on noone. In hindsight. I should have listened to my body sooner. I do not know if it would have done any good, but it may have saved me a day in the hospital. I will however suggest Virtua Voorhees for all your hospital needs. They were AWESOME. the Nursing staff, all the doctors, all the specialists and even the triage was great. Since I was a bubble boy, I had my own room....but I think that is standard? You can order food any time of the day from a book of a menu and although it was bland, it was much tastier than my 8 plus hospital stays in Vegas with the babies. 5 stars to Virtua Voorhess. :)

Homemade pizza-going loco stuck in house

Last night eagles played and frank wanted pizza to go with his football watching. I went to the grocery store at 12 so it was too early to grab a pie from riv. I usually buy their dough and make our own mini pies from it but I decided to save my $4 and make my own. Last time I did this I did not have bread flour and it was a bit chewy. I have since picked up bread flour so we tried it out. Using bobby flays Pizza dough recipe we had a dough that was tasty and not too chewy. It wasn't as sweet as Riv's but def good and super easy to make. Recipe on link. 

http://m.foodnetwork.com/recipes/493982

I roll it out and kids spread sauce, add cheese and topping if choice. Devs is on left and was just about ready while Riley's was on right and needed a few more min (about 6-8 total) In the summer I do it on the grill w my stone. Love homemade pizza. It allows us all to customize and it's so easy. 

Devin had a buddy over for a playdate today so Riley did an alone craft. She received shrinky dinks from Santa and decided to break them out today. How awesome are shrinky dinks! They'll never get old. 

Who doesn't love a charm hair clip? She's such a peach and really loved sitting and choosing very methodically which ones to color. Big decisions here in the skinner house. 

Devin finally agreed to letting me cut his hair. He has always had short hair until this past spring he told me he wants to grow it out. I said sure bc I know I can always trim it. If it grew over his ears I trimmed it and he figured out how to whip his head to clear it from his eyes. He really does have great hair for a med/long hair cut but at his age it just was driving me nuts. When he gets older and wakes up and styles it I'm game but fit now I had to cut it. He can have a surfer cut again in a few years. I did have to bribe him. I offered $10 to put toward his savings for new Legos and he countered with $10 towards his savings and 30 min playing xbox 360. Solid counter so I agreed. 

Before 

After- he looks so much more handsome And older? 

Snow day! The next Betty Crocker

With the frigid temps outside (currently -3*f) we will remain inside all day. So far we have made pumpkin muffins and homemade chicken nuggets. The kids never turn down my homemade nuggets and since we have nowhere to go i have been in the kitchen all morning. 

Dev lost two teeth yesterday and the tooth fairy left him $5 and a lego starwars planet with an xwing ship that he put together this morning during breakfast. He only has one lego kit left to put together from Christmas from the 16 he received. He had a ball putting them all together. I'm sad to see the pile gone ;) 

Riley is healing well from her incident on New Year's Day. The glue really is working well and hopefully the scar will be minimal if visible at all. She is not in pain and her only restrictions were no swimming or gymnastics for a week. Being 2cm and straight it has been a pretty easy recovery. 

I planned on going out today for dog food but both local stores are closed so I made it from scratch. Needless to say they loved the concoction I made. 

Dinner is in the crock pot and Christmas decorations are coming down. Laundry is in and kids are wrestling and perfecting their love/hate relationship. Pretty much couldn't get any better then that. I'm sensing a fire tonight and uncorking a new bottle of wine. 

Christmas!!!!!!

Kids were very fun this Christmas. They really were so excited and very anxious for the holiday to come. Spending time with family and gift exchanges were a huge success! 

Devin made a huge list for Santa so that made it very easy for family and I to shop for him. His top few gift from Santa were a telescope, marble run. Hot wheels triple track twister and two very specific lego sets. None were hard to find and he really  loved opening them all. 

Riley on the other hand was a little harder. She asked for a Sophia amulet, back yard trampoline, Legos, razor scooter and despicable me fart blaster. We were not ready to do the back yard trampoline yet but the other four items were under the tree. Last minute she asked for roller skates "that are real ones, not the ones you put your "neaker" in." Well since she is only four and will only be using them in the driveway she's not getting $35-$50 roller skates every shoe size until she's a bit older! 

They had a ball and took turns and truly are fantastic kids. Riley ended up get the calico critters manor and a bunch of rooms bc Santa needed more gifts for her. She ended up loving it and wouldn't even let me help her set the rooms up. The details on those toys are amazing. F-ing tiny and truthfully difficult to maneuver with my adult hands-but cool nonetheless. 

They had gifts under the tree from aunt Dana and uncle Troy As well as my bf Maria and her hubs Massi which is always fun since they're surprises for them too! 

as for me- signed up for one tri next year and looking for one or two more. Thinking I want one each month of the summer. I'm out if shape and really looking forward to updating my iPod and hitting the pavement. Ok so I'll never look forward to running, but I really am looking forward to hopping on my bike again and getting back in the pool. Running blows. 

Foyer is almost done. Pics to follow when it's finished.....

Finally getting well....feeling like a crappy mom

Back on Top and the Granite State visit

Out w the old and in w the new

Frankie and I have been together for going on 11 years this June. I'm sure he'd tell you it was more like 17 :) our first year was spent apart since I was still in college and he a grown up in nj. For our first apartment we bought a wrap around sofa and that couch became the best piece of furniture ever. It wasn't the most stylish couch but man alive was it comfy. It just swallowed you in and I cannot tell you how many times that we have fallen asleep on it. My bestie Maria has actually preferred to sleep on it rather than in the guest room. Today 10 years later out beloved couch is on the curb.

Frank and I held off on buying Christmas gifts for one another (we both almost followed this) so we could purchase new furniture for our family room. We needed a new media console since our multi piece set from Vegas is way to big for the room (if anyone wants it-free come get it out if the garage) and the sofa didn't match at all. Investment made and we now have an awesome media console to match the room and sofa arrives today. We went with another wrap around bc they are the best for lounging and snuggling. The room is big enough to have it and we added a chaise to the one return.

This is the last piece of furniture left from our first years. It's been in 6 apts/homes, been lowered off a second floor balcony and traveled about 8000 miles around this county. Sigh it weathered well w just a small two inch tear across the back and a few rips on the edges of the cushions from when Cera was teething.

Other news, tomorrow is our one year anniversary as nj homeowners (part 2) and valentines day! Kids are very excited to exchange cards with their buddies at school and I'm baking some festive cupcakes for devs class. They are not allowing valentines day parties (boo!) but since I volunteer on Thursdays I will just (happen) to bring cupcakes for the class.

Wallpaper is down in my master and it only took me 5 days. Ugh! At least the task is done and now I just have to head to lowes Friday and pick out some paint. I have an idea of that color but just need to pull the trigger. Painting sucks, but taking wallpaper down sucks way worse. Thankfully I have at least another few weeks before I start the upstairs hallway/landing.

Come on spring...

I have decided that Riley will attend education station for pre-k next fall. I wasn't crazy about their 3 year old program but I live the pre-k program they offer. Her current preschool is not challenging enough and the 4 year old program is no better. She is really starting to enjoying formal learning and writing and I want to keep on a roll with that. She loves loves loves to learn new words and how to play "what's that word start with" while we drive in the car. She also loves to play eye spy and "I've got a good one" which is a game that we play when we give hints about characteristics of animals and she or I have to guess what the other one is hinting at. She calls it "I've git a good one" simply because one day when I was totally over playing eye spy I said "I've got a good one" to interrupt her a d it stuck. Gone are the days of quiet car rides where I can listen to music and drink my hot coffee. I do enjoy playing the games with her and ultimately helping her become a creative thinker.

Devin is uber excited for his 100 day celebration at school. He gets to go to the first grade classroom and visit. Not sure if that's all they do, but I know that's the highlight if the day for him. He's really doing well with reading and he's almost done his required 220 minutes to get a free 6 flags admission. I was hoping we could go one more summer without him knowing what great adventure was but oh well. I think this summer ill finally take them to the boardwalk in OC too. Last summer Riley still napped so it really wasn't conducive with the drive down...this summer we can do it!

I am not going to be able to ref this spring. With franks traveling I am not able to attend the classes required for certification. Next year :)

Devin got fitted for pads and is so pumped for lax to get started. Unfortunately it doesn't start until march 18th, but we can definitely get outback and have a pass. Next year Riley can play! Gosh I love living back east where the best sport is available to my kids at such a young age!

Dev and I had the stomach virus, Riley had the flu in jan and now she has a cold. I have allergies and our pets heads are falling off!

Spring is just around the corner as we reach our 1 yr. anniversary in this house. Can't believe it's almost been a year!

Sick sick sick

Devin woke up two nights ago at 3 am to throw up. He was up all night after that and slept all day yesterday but maybe 3 hrs. He spiked again at 2 am last night at 102.4*....so for the second day in a row we are home. He seems fine otherwise and wants to eat. Yesterday he tried to eat crackers but they didn't stay down.

Riley is fine. And I hope it stays that way. I have to go out of town to NYC this coming weekend and I don't need them or I to be sick. They are both playing on their leap pad 2s and until I get some more caffeine in me that's fine by me.

Riley is doing very well with her writing and drawing skills. She enjoys doing her "homework" daily to practice a handful of words. She's getting much better with drawing things on colorectal proportion and continues to color well. Tumbling wise she loves her coach. She has been practicing at home and truly looks forward to Friday so she can go back for more.

Devin is very excited for spring so he can play lax. I welcome this change from tball with open arms! :) in the next few weeks here I need to get him fitted for pads and a helmet. Yay to being back in south jersey where he can play at 5!

I may become a lax official this spring as well. It will all depend on if I can find a sitter who can come here to get dev off the bus and stay until I get done the game (s.) I think it would be fun to do. I cannot coach the medford lakes middle school team again since I would need to pay someone to be here to get devin off the bus and stay til 5 when I'm not getting paid for that position. It's a shame the cut that budget since I really enjoyed working with the girls. We shall see!

When you think back when you were little-then think about it as a parent...

As the kids get older and finally to an age to remember information when they are adults I get more and more sentimental and overly excited that they will finally be able to recall what we do. On average a persons first memory (aside from picture reference) is 5ish. Some people can recall earlier times and some cannot really recall until 6/7 years old. I can remember a lot from preschool and my 4 year old year but mainly 5 years old. I have a superb memory for useless information. One reason I excelled at being a biology major is because I can read something once and memorize it. Vacations from here on out should be a permenent memory for Dev----YAY.

You never think that when you are 7, 8, 9 years old you will think about your actions and events that happened and smile. Its the little things....for example when I get Devin up in the morning if he sleeps in I tell him softly, "its time to wake up." The first time I said it I immediately smiled. It brought me back to when I was ~9 and sleeping over my friend Julies house. We used to sleep in her basement and her dad would come down and sing in the stairwell that it was time to wake up and come up for breakfast. He did this every sleep over for years.

When I was really little our best friends were the neighbor hood kids and our cousins. I really hope that some younger families move into our neighborhood as the years go since a lot of our neighbors are my parents age. There are a few kids here and they are nice-but we need enough for flashlight tag! Our houses are not really "sprucer tag" friendly but they can definitely play flashlight tag and simply ride bikes to one another's houses to play. We used to play as kids with not a care in the world. Climbing trees, swinging into the creek behind Wilson field, bike riding, walking to 7/11-Riv....and of course each others back yards with forts and turtles and GI Joe vs Barbie battles. I mean what kid did not love growing up in the 80s in small down America. Yes I live very close from Philly and NYC is just a hop skip and jump away but my lil town was and (kinda) still is small town life. Kids still ride their bikes to school on nice day---but is this realistic with what just happened on Friday? Newtown was a small town...

You cannot keep your kids home all day-they need to live and experience life as a kid. I know this. But then you think of the parents who sent their lil guys off to school, kissing them and waving as they went on their way to the school bus. Somewhere you should never think twice about when it comes to their safety. As a stay at home mom watching your kid pull away in a bus is heart breaking but you are happy for them since they are so excited and so proud. You get used to it since it's part of the every day routine and you enjoy your alone time with the second born since its the first time you really get more than the 2.5 hr preschool day. You then you love to watch him come off the bus and wave daily to his driver and then his friends as they continue down the road. He does this EVERYDAY. He gets off the bus, runs across the street to our driveway and then stands and waves. It really is so sweet and so kind. So innocent and so loving. And some asshole had to take that sweetness away from 20 parents. I have not watched the news about it nor do I plan to read any of the articles about the funerals and press releases about the school as it plans to reopen. Why? Why watch it? I can sympathize with the feelings but I truly hope I NEVER have to experience what they feel. There is a lot of arguments about letting your kids know what happened. Almost every parent I talked to or who has messaged me said (if they discussed what happened) they were very simple and no details were given. People with 8,9 10 year olds and up can obviously discuss what happened but the parents with 3,4,5,6 year olds gave no details or simple events. There is one person that told their young child what happened and I do not agree with it. That is their way of parenting and I have my way. Neither is wrong or right but I feel good about my decision knowing that people my parents age, most of my friends and every educator I have spoken to all agree that they do not need to know and if they do keep it very simple.

Christmas is going to be here in 5 days and I want Devin and Riley to focus on that and what it means for Christmas. Its not just about Santa and gifts. Too many parents now a day do not focus on anything but presents and Santa. I want my  kids to know what Christmas is (even though we are not religious) and to appreciate time with family and friends. My kids are not allowed to just go into a present opening frenzy. They take turns and say thank you after each gift-if its from someone else. I find it appalling when kids just tear through everything like its a race. Why are parents not teaching them manners? And how can a kid see; really see what they are receiving if they are opening and then moving on to the next so fast? When I ask Riley what Christmas means she says "Its Jesus' birthday and we celebrate him." This is the first year I am not ready. I am usually done every preparation by the first week in December....but with Frank traveling with work and being so busy with dumb things I fell behind. Christmas cards just got finished Monday. Sad sad sad.

So now I get my day started with Riley wanting to watch yet another Christmas movie since that is what she only wants to watch these days and I get things together for the day. Devin has his serious Santa count down and is very excited to wear jammies to school on Friday for Kindergarten pajama day. Yesterday he was questioning if a bad man would come into his school and although he did bring it up again today, I was able to divert him to finding Missy his elf. 5 year olds should be focused on playing and enjoying life-not worrying if a gunman will be busting into his school and killing him. Yes there's protocol to practice drills in case of emergency now...but he does not need the fear of what happened Friday to plague his daily life.

As our first holiday week back east (in 6 yrs) approaches I am getting excited for the kids to experience it all with family. Most of our friends in Las Vegas traveled to family for the holidays so it was typically just us...and now they have a line up of events. Its festive and fun and mom and dad will be drinking lots of wine :) Hooray for being back east where it all is so much more festive with cold weather, fire places and that cozy holiday spirit! Except the weather has been screwy and my irises and daffodils are coming up already!

Kids like to sleep in same room-is that ok?

Devin and Riley have recently started to ask to sleep in one smothers room. They usually request devins room and Riley sleeps on devins trundle bed. They still go to bed at 7/715 and do not fool around talking or playing. I'm not sure if this is normal or ok. I know I shared a room with my sister growing up but that was bc of lack of bedrooms. I do make them sleep in their own rooms every other night or so, but even then I still sometimes come up stairs to them having a slumber party.

I won't allow them to sleep in my bed with me so maybe that is why they want to have slumber parties? Devin requires a night light and his door open while Riley just wants a night light door shut. I figure letting them sleep in the same room is ok since they are able to sleep apart??? And they're at an age that devin isn't going to want his kid sister around sooner than later.

Riley also has started this odd separation anxiety thing in certain instances. She asks me if I'm ever coming back. She friend the last two days at preschool drop off and has cried when I leave her with frank or my mom to go to volleyball. She never cared before and never batted an eye esp at school. I have no idea why she all the sudden has this odd fear that I'm not coming back. She said the same thing to Kelly when she left from staying w kids over the weekend while frank and I were away.

She's in tumbling now and is just the cutest lil thing. Here's her walking backward along the tape...she's hit some killer calf muscles for such a lil squeak.

Cleaning out the playroom-sick again

In Las Vegas we had a huge toy room-20*25 I believe and it was only for the kids since we has a seperate living room down stairs for frank and I to watch tv in. Their toy room was upstairs which is even better and was a open loft so we could monitor them since they were so young.

When I was packing the house to move I did get rid of a lot of toys and misc stuff we didn't need/use as well. Their toy room here is the front living room and is significantly smaller than our Las Vegas house. Although a decent size (20*16isj) it is tight w their stuff. I do not even try to clean it up half as often as I used to. This house is larger than our last and the kids do not seem to spend as much time alone in there as much as the used to. I need to do a better job of NOT allowing them in family room to veg. They have their own room....right?

That said, every Christmas I have the kids go through their toys and get rid of some. This was super easy in the past since we had so much baby/toddler stuff but now the have less stuff and its more age appropriate to grow with. I have a few things I want to hold on to for them to have when they're older and have kids of their own, but most of this stuff I just want to give to a younger guy that can use them. I want the kids to know that they need to give to those less fortunate and be 'ok' with letting things go.

Riley had a tough time with this but managed to let go if two Minnie toys, three babies and a toy lunch box. She thinks that the amount of toys that she put in the box means that's how many toys she gets from Santa. Devin told her that the toys from Santa are a surprise and you may get 3 or 37 but you never know. He told Riley that we donate to kids who "can't have enough money to pay for toys. " Devin is getting rid if a collaboration of two play tool sets and tool box. I suggested it and he said "of course mom, they don't work anyway." Now this kind of pulled my heart strings. I remember when he got his first part and the second set came when he was 27 months old and fully potty trained. It was what he chose for his special gift to be in undies. He used to get his tools and help daddy when he was just a lil guy. Now he knows they're toys and don't work. Sigh.

Went to dr today after not being able to handle being sick anymore. Double ear infection and full blown sinus infection. She was surprised my ear drums had not bursts yet since they were so inflamed. Got some crazy oral steroids to take down ears which I have to take 6 tablets on day one along with levaquin. Dr reminded me that I was just in 8 weeks ago for this same issue and maybe I will be primed to sinus/ear infections since relocating back. She also commented that although I've lost 8 lbs (saying yay as she said it) that I still need to continue in that direction to get to the ideal weight for my height. Umm thanks lady-I'm well aware.

I wish I had a bottle of wine. Office space is on so that makes tonight bearable.

Welcome back

I haven't posted in forever....few reasons- first frank has been traveling a lot. While he is gone I don't have a lap top and blogging on phone or tablet is not the same. 2. Where has the time gone-how is it December 4th? 3. I just suck.

Kids are so excited for Christmas. They live looking for missy their elf every am and it's so cool that they truly believe she's real. Talk about a million or better yet, billion dollar company. Ya know pbk carried clothes for elf on the shelf? The love to look for Christmas lights at night if we are in the car and I finally finished ours here. Timer is set for 5 since it gets dark here beginning at 4:30 which is just crszy.

Riley is really enjoying school and is getting much better with writing. She actually enjoys it now when a few months back she was discouraged since she was not "good like devin." She loves crafts especially perla beads and coloring. She is such a sweet little girl with a great personality. She is excelling at tumbling and come spring I will probably get her on to a "preteam" team per suggestion of her coach. As for now, she's learning the fundamentals and loves it.

Devin is doing excellent in kindergarten as expected. He is a type a achiever and social butterfly. He is writing phonetically and doing a fantastic job at spelling words by sounding out the sounds. He is reading much better now and enjoys figuring out what the pages say by himself. He has met some great friends in class and finally has drop off play dates! Hallelujah for those!!!!!

Just to keep this post short and sweet we are getting ready for our first Christmas in nj in 6 years and acclimating to a wet winter instead of the dry desert winter.

Funny things to make the crappy ones go away

My kids are very comical and that really goes for kids in general. They are so matter of fact and so genuine.

We were getting ready for the movies last week and I was in the shower with Riley. I told dev he needed to get in when I get out. He said no. I told home he needed to shower and please hop in. He looked at me and said, "mom why would I take a shower and get clean before we go to the movies? You said that movie theaters are dirty places. Why would I get clean just to get dirty again? I should just stay dirty then shower before bed." I just looked at him and said "valid point and that sounds great." What else can you say to that rebuttal?

Riley asked to snuggle with me while I was sick. I told her I didn't want her to catch my sickness so she then told me , "I can run really fast mom, your sickness can't catch me." And promptly snuggled in.

Devin is a genius negotiator. I think he may end up being a lawyer if he doesn't end up in interior design or fashion. I tell him he needs to pick up his toys (none of rileys) and then I'll help him make a craft. His first response-" how about I clean up a few toys and you just have to set up the crafts? I replied w my original offer. He then replies, " alright how about I clean up no toys and you let me watch cartoons?" I again replied same original. He then comes back with how about I just Leave my toys in a disaster, forget about making a log cabin out of popsicle sticks and I just go and play outside?" we both agreed that was a good idea.

Riley asks great questions daily. Some today were "Why does devins toots smell so bad when mine don't?" and "since it is rainy out that means I get to watch Tangled and snuggle with cera right mom?"

Yesterday she was in a mood and didn't want to eat anything but yogurt, yogurt raisins, grapes and pineapple. The girl usually eats anything I stick in front of her but yesterday she refused. Why? No idea, but it was very frustrating.

I think the move here affected them more than I think. Riley cries for her old friends. She truly misses them. It's not every day, but often enough she asks when she gets to see them again. Devin drew a picture the other day of a moving truck outside of the house with stacks of boxes on the paper. They both seem to live it here and adjusted quickly, it's just sad to see this in them. It's been almost 8 months since we lived in Vegas already...which is amazing. I cannot believe how quickly that went and how much living there feels like it was forever ago. Crazy how time flies!

holy time gap-kids, activities, NYC love



waiting for bus



I had not realized it has been so long since my last post. I sit here in the family room in the dark, miserable, sick and listening to my two kids fighting and crying at one another. Now they are here next to me telling on one another. Come on antibiotics-work. I thought I was having a really bad case of fall allergies...nope. Full blown sinus infection with the added bonus a side of double ear infections and of course a third course of strep throat. I am not feeling on top of my game and really do not want to play referee right now.



ready for lunch at the club



Done complaining.

Dev loves kindergarten. Loves, loves loves it. He does come home tired and crabby, but he is always excited to go back the next morning. He is gone from 8:15-3:25ish and that is a long day for a just turned 5 year old. I was worried at first, but he digs it and I dig the quiet time with Riley. Dev got his time before she was born and now it's her turn. He has learned so much Spanish and art terms but they are still going over basics in the classroom. He's ahead on the stuff he is doing now so he did comment that he is bored when they do math and writing.

Riley loves her school too. She would like to go more often than she does. She has two very nice teachers and they seem to really like what they do. It is not as formal as Devin's old school was, but it still is regimented which is good. She is learning the days of the week right now and its funny to hear the songs they teach them to remember things. Some things you never forget...like ROYGBIV, or Oscar Had A Heap Of Apples (or Olive had a hit of acid) for sine, cosine and tangent. And of course no one can ever forget that 6.02*10^23 is a mole(in my sing songy voice.) Funny thing is I never could remember the song for remembering the classification of biology terms from freshman year b.c I HATED my teacher. I know its kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species but cannot recall the acronym. Riley is in the midst of doing this for days of the week, months and seasons. Its adorable....and the cycle begins with learning through creativity.

I think tomorrow we are going to go and see Nemo in 3d since Dev's school will be observing Yom Kippur and we were not able to go to Baltimore like I had planned since I am sick and still contagious until tonight/tomorrow am. I am assuming the theater will be busy but not crazy since two rooms will be showing the movie. I know the kids have been amped up to see this since the previews started coming around we just have not had a chance to go plus it is forecasted to rain.



my all time FAV bridge



Activities wise-Devin plays soccer on Saturday ams. Its 30 min of clinic then 30 min of scrimmaging. Good for the lil guys since it is a cluster f on the field. It is painful to watch when you have an idea of what it should/could look like. He loves it and that is all that matters. Plus weather is amazing so any way we can get outside to play-I am game for.



Riley will be starting gymnastics in Oct. I was going to sign her up for ballet, but she told me she would rather do tumbling. She cannot do both so gymnastics it is! I am glad she will have an activity just for her. She had to watch Devin play tball and now soccer while she sat on the sidelines....now she will have her own. I have to grab her a leotard next time I head out. :)

 Other than that, gymbucks redemption and Janie and Jack's friends and family is this weekend. Baby Gap is having their big sale and I will be listing my eBay sales soon. Thank god b.c the kids need fall/winter stuff. This came around a lot sooner than I am used to since I am used to the desert weather. We have not had our heat/AC on for two weeks and it was 63 in the house this am. BUUURRRRR! I have been in pants and hoodies. Doesn't help that I am under the weather.

I did get to drive up to Long Island this past Saturday for the bridal shower of one of my very best girlfriends from college. She is marrying a man she met during her residency. He is from Flushing so there was a bridal shower in NY as well as Cleveland where she is from. It was so great to be able to see her and meet some of her inlaws to be. They are VERY Italian. Meaning most of the 50+ did not speak English. They thought I was Italian b.c of my dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin. I only wish. :( I am very happy that I am back by NYC. Love the city. Love all cities....but mainly two...NYC and SF. Sigh. Cannot wait until Frankie and I can go up sans kids for some adult fun. I will say I made it up to the city in no time...but took For-ev-er to get through Staten Island and midway through Long Island. Boo to NY traffic!





new trade center



Kindergarten-The "best school ever!"

Devin did not sleep well the night before his first day of school. He was too excited to get his first day going. He received sequins and a story from his new teacher to read the night prior and put the sequins under his pillow. He woke up early and said they did not help :). He got dressed and I got his back pack ready and off we went outside for pictures. Riley was very excited for Devin to get on the school bus too so she hurried outside with us. Devin's bus was scheduled to be at the house at 8:00am on the dot and due to first day delays at homes and a new route, it did not pull up until 8:21am.

Devin was SO amped up and anxious to for the bus to arrive that every car sound he was on full alert to look for his bus. Ever since he was 2.5 he has been waiting for his chance to board one....and yesterday was his turn. After weaving it's way through our neighborhood and picking up a few kids it drove up to our house. (Since he is in kindergarten, it comes to your house). He was adorable and waved the whole time the bus turned the corner and stopped out front. He got on with no hitches of course and went right into talking to and meeting "Driver John." Frankie, Riley and I walked around to wave good bye and all we could see was Devin standing next to John and talking to him. Who knows what he was asking him about but Lord knows by Christmas John will be ready for Devin to take a week off from sitting behind him.

Riley and I stayed home and got a lot of things done. Dev only had a half day and was scheduled to leave school by 1:10. I had no idea what time he would be home so I figured if we stayed home all day and got stuff done, I would not chance missing the bus drop off. He ended up getting home about 1:25 and I was out front waiting at the front door. He saw me and was waving his little heart out the whole way coming down our side street to turn to our actual drop point. He had a GREAT day and was so excited to show me his pictures he drew/colored and explain how "kindergarten is run by Mrs. Trauger." He got to meet the gym teacher and got his shuttle group. I am glad that he is in full day since that means he get to have all the enrichment classes. Gym, Art, computer, library, comprehension class and music. All in all, he loves it and cannot wait to get to go back.

 

First day of Preschool-Got to see AGT Live!

Riley woke up later than her usual yesterday at 8:07 am. She typically is up between 6:45 and 7:00. I guess the rainy dark day allowed her to get some extra sleep. She woke up, came in my room where I was getting dressed and simply said, "Mom, I am going to school today." I smiled, and said yes you are. She walked back to her room and got dressed in the dress she picked out the night prior. She came with with bow and cardigan in hand for me put in her hair. I of course started to get teary because my baby is no longer a baby and she is getting so big so fast. I did get all choked up when she asked if I was ready to go. No, I was not. I did not want to take her simply because that meant that she is slowly growing older and needing me less. We went out front, took the official first day of school picture and got in the car.

She walked right in, sat right down with another girl and started to color. She was ready, I was/am not. I met her teacher who seems nice (a little too much candy sweet for me) but great for kids. Riley is one among 10 kids in her class. She is March 13th and the youngest is March 17th, while the other 8 are this fall turning 4 and in the winter. There is another threes class across the hall and I am glad that Riley got put with the older group for a few reasons. 1. There were a lot of crying kids in the other class 2. The other class was more full. Riley has two teachers since the law cuts one teachers max at 9 students  which is awesome for Ri. I gave her a hug and a kiss and Dev and I walked out hand and hand.

He wanted to go grab a bagel and hang out so that is what we did. We had breakfast dine in at his favorite bagel store here and then went to the library. We spent about an hour walking around picking out books and reading in the bean bag chairs. We ran up to go to Trader Joe's and he wanted to go to Janie and Jack. I couldn't say no since it was his morning. He walked right in, walked to the back sale section. Then asked me if we are looking for clothes for fall for him size 5 or spring next year 6 top, 5 bottom. I was cracking up. The sales associate just looked at me and said, "so I guess he likes clothes and shopping?" I smiled and said yes, he loves clothes and picking out his stuff. I told Devin we were not shopping and told him I was waiting for Friends and Family to start in 3 weeks. He said he would "Look around to pick some things out." He found an aviator line with a button cap. He put on a tie, belt and hat and was walking around pulling things off the racks making outfits. The sales lady was a manager and was cracking up the whole time with how specific Devin was with what he wanted to coordinate.  We never made it to Trader Joe's since he insisted on looking at every line. I haven't shopped much there as much since moving to NJ since they couldn't wear nice clothes while playing outside all summer. Now that they are back in school I can dress them nicer again.

Pick up was fine and Riley told me that she met two girls, Melissa and Madelyn. She said it wasn't, "Her Maddie from Las Vegas or Madeyln from down the street but a new one." She said there are soo many Madelyns. LOL. All she could tell me about was they played duck duck goose and sang the ABC's and read a story. We went to lunch at her place of choice-PJ's and then we had a quiet afternoon since it was monsooning at our house! I haven't seen rain like that in a very long time. We had a river outside of our house!

Got to go see a live taping of America's Got Talent last night in Newark at the NJPAC. That was a super fun thing to see in person....I am anxious to see what the clips look like at the results show compared to what it was like live.  I think the "talent" at the other semi show was better than last night and my favs were in the last taping so I really just want to fast forward to next week to the finals :)
 Devin headed off to Kindergarten today. More on that once he gets home and tells me all about his first day. Bus was 21 min late and of course Devin was asking a bazillion times where it was

First room in new house-Rileys's room done (mostly)







before 2







before 1



We wanted to complete one room at a time and the kids were first. Two reasons-1. No wall paper and 2. cheap and easy. All we had to do was paint and buy new drapes, bedding and a few decor items. Riley chose the Camille set from Pottery Barn kids which I found on sale a few months back and I tried to entice her to have green or yellowey walls but she asked for pink so she got pink. I refused pink walls in Las Vegas but can't blame a three year old girlie for wanting pink pink pink.

Three of the four walls are pink and the one with the windows is white since she has pink black out drapes. Frankie and I painted it in about 7 hours since it required three coats of the paint with primer. That stuff sucks and is no different than regular paint.

Her closet had just a single shelf across the middle very high up and that just will not do since she cannot reach anything and it really was not enough hanging/organizing space. We took the metal bi fold doors off and bought 6 panel white sliding ones. They are 5/8 of an inch too big WTF! So, her closet is without doors until we figure out how to cut them down to make them fit? I think her room turned out great and she loves it. Its girlie and bright and not overly cluttered. I have one wall by the arm chair that i need to fill up and I will do that this fall now that I have a bunch of photos edited and ready to print. I can't wait to switch her closet over to her fall clothes! I am slowly pulling summer out that are still NWT and she never wore, but I cannot wait to get her into the deep purples and pinks I have for fall :) I really do not know how/why people keep clothes in kids closets that they do not fit into or are the incorrect season? How do you find anything? I know I am a lil anal that the lines stay together and outfits have to be hung together....but why have old sizes or even last fall's stuff still in there?

  

 

Devin's room is next and he picked out Batman as his new theme. Once school starts and he is gone all day I can focus on painted his room. He has a super awesome floral border at the top just like Riley did. God Damn 80's painting ideas. Our room will be after that but we have floral wall paper throughout and I am NOT looking forward to having to take that down. Lamps and paint is all our room needs. Painting is the pits, but I think taking down wall paper in a 16*24 ft room may trump that! At least the two walkins are not wall papered bc our master bath walls and ceiling are. Yes, the ceiling is wallpapered.

Kindergarten and preschool.....

Next Tuesday Riley will start her three year old program at Marlton Christian Academy. She is in the  older 3-younger 4 program on Tuesdays/Thursdays. I steered clear of parochial schools in Las Vegas simply because I felt that if they were only going to school for two and a half hours they really did not need to spend any of that time talking about Jesus. I LOVED Devin's Quaker school in Las Vegas and unfortunately the only one near me here does 5 day a week pre-K which would not work for our family and I wanted her to not have to switch schools for her three and four year programs. After  A LOT of time spent researching preschool programs here we decided on MCA. Its structured, not a day care, not a play room and although it is church based-it seems well run and well organized.

Devin starts Kindergarten next Wednesday. I cannot believe that he is old enough to be going to Kindergarten. He is SO amped up and excited for it. We go this Wed for an open house to meet his teacher and see the classroom. He is very anxious for school to start and get rolling. He has no idea that once it starts, it never stops until he is 22. His program (starting this year) is full day and his bus pick up is 8 am on the dot in front of the house and the bell rings at 8:45. He gets out at 3:10 and is scheduled to be home by 3:25. He is pretty much the first pick up on his route which is why it's so early....but also the first to be dropped off which is nice. I guess they do reverse route on drop off? Its a long ass day for a 5 year old and I am assuming he is going to be cranky for a while in the beginning.

I am a beach girl through and through but I must say that I am happy that fall is slowly coming around. I am over the humidity and the sweaty summer days and looking forward to the cool fall weather and change of colors in my trees. Acorns have already started to drop and pepper my driveway and front walk. I may try and attempt one more beach day before I put the chairs in the attic....but hmm not sure if I have it in me to do it. It has been so nice driving to the park and letting the kids run around there a few times a week.

I still need to get both kids some school shoes and a back pack but I have a week :) It really is amazing how quickly they grow up.