August 29, 2006
We enjoyed the State Fair, but it seems Caleb picked up a wicked case of food poisoning (as traditional as the 4-H exhibits - I still have clear memories of my own county fair food poisoning back in the day). He started barfing around 9 a.m. and kept it up pretty steadily until around 3 pm. Then he took a nap and seems fairly recovered now (around 5 p.m.) I felt so bad for him - he said, several times, "I don't like this day at all." It was awful to watch, but he's bouncing back quickly, now that the worst is over.
Interesting: we ate all the same foods . . . Larry says the hotdog we shared is the likely culprit - my system could have handled the bacteria that would have made Caleb so sick.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Settling in
August 29, 2006
I found my favorite salad dressing and my favorite salsa (after frustrating searches), but could not find my favorite kind of wine (Chenin Blanc) even after visiting four local wine and spirit shoppes. I as ready to despair until I discovered Liquor City (I'm not kidding, that's really the name). It's a large discount liquor store (small warehouse, really) near where Larry works (everything is near where Larry works). Among other things, they have the largest selection of wine I've ever seen. And they had at least three kinds of Chenin Blanc (it's arranged by country and region, not by types of wine).
I'm also happy because Larry ran a cable up from the basement so I can watch cable on my TV in the kitchen. I know that's pathetic, but I spend so much time in the kitchen, I've always had a TV there. In Philly I was perfectly happy to watch the networks, which came in fine with "rabbit ears," but here I could literally only get one channel (not even PBS!) So now I'm wired for 80 channels, just in time for the (inevitably disappointing) fall TV season .. . . (I think Larry was pretty proud of his Tool Time act too).
Other than those highlights, it's just the same old same old - being a domestic goddess and job searching in my spare time.
Hope all is well with you.
I found my favorite salad dressing and my favorite salsa (after frustrating searches), but could not find my favorite kind of wine (Chenin Blanc) even after visiting four local wine and spirit shoppes. I as ready to despair until I discovered Liquor City (I'm not kidding, that's really the name). It's a large discount liquor store (small warehouse, really) near where Larry works (everything is near where Larry works). Among other things, they have the largest selection of wine I've ever seen. And they had at least three kinds of Chenin Blanc (it's arranged by country and region, not by types of wine).
I'm also happy because Larry ran a cable up from the basement so I can watch cable on my TV in the kitchen. I know that's pathetic, but I spend so much time in the kitchen, I've always had a TV there. In Philly I was perfectly happy to watch the networks, which came in fine with "rabbit ears," but here I could literally only get one channel (not even PBS!) So now I'm wired for 80 channels, just in time for the (inevitably disappointing) fall TV season .. . . (I think Larry was pretty proud of his Tool Time act too).
Other than those highlights, it's just the same old same old - being a domestic goddess and job searching in my spare time.
Hope all is well with you.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Ramblings
August 28, 2006
Dear family and friends,
I feel like I'm terribly overdue for an update and especially, I feel like I'm behind on photos. I'm sending a bunch with this email - probably too many. If you have trouble seeing all the photos, let me know, and I'll resend them in smaller batches.
I feel like the summer has flown by. Caleb finished YMCA camp last week. He had a blast. He starts school (first grade!) on Wednesday, September 6th. Alana starts daycare at the YMCA on September 5th.
Today we went to the much-vaunted NY State Fair, which is held just east of Syracuse. I took the kids on the shuttle bus from one of the strip malls near our house. We spent several hours at the fair and only scratched the surface of all there is to do, but we saw cows and horses and chickens, and we saw a small shark show, and watched a guy carve wood with a chain saw. Maybe the highlight was right after we arrived - we watched a terrific street perfomer who picked Caleb as his assistant - Caleb rode on his shoulders while he rode a unicycle! Seriously!The kids have had tons of fun in August, with friends and family (Larry's parents and son, Matthew) visiting. I didn't get photos of many of the things we did, but we took a lot of pictures at an amusement park in Rochester called Sea Breeze. That was great fun - we played in the water park section for a couple of hours, then ate lunch and went over to the rides side. I got adorable photos of Alana riding the kiddie rides, plus a few of Matt and Caleb doing older kid stuff. The park offers an observer ticket, which costs about a third what a participant ticket cost - since I got the obsever ticket I was in a good position to take pictures!
We're all enjoying our house and yard. Alana loves the little wading pool stationed out in the yard and frequently can be found in her "birthday suit" splashing around in it (like many kids her age, she shucks her clothes frequently while we're home). The picture of her in the bath tub is her "taking a picture" (with her cup) of her favorite bath toys - Dora, Boots and Diego.Lately, Caleb is obsessed with card games. We've played a lot of War, and his latest favorite is a simplified version of Rummy called Scat or 31. He's very good at these games, though he isn't always a good sport about losing. He's recently discovered Pokemon cards (which involve trading and "battlling" with a complicated point system). Unfortunately, he missed the sign-up deadline for local soccer, so he'll have to wait for next year to participate.
I'm sure there's more news, but it's late and I want to get this sent. Hope all is well with you and you're having a good summer.
Best, Danielle
Dear family and friends,
I feel like I'm terribly overdue for an update and especially, I feel like I'm behind on photos. I'm sending a bunch with this email - probably too many. If you have trouble seeing all the photos, let me know, and I'll resend them in smaller batches.
I feel like the summer has flown by. Caleb finished YMCA camp last week. He had a blast. He starts school (first grade!) on Wednesday, September 6th. Alana starts daycare at the YMCA on September 5th.
Today we went to the much-vaunted NY State Fair, which is held just east of Syracuse. I took the kids on the shuttle bus from one of the strip malls near our house. We spent several hours at the fair and only scratched the surface of all there is to do, but we saw cows and horses and chickens, and we saw a small shark show, and watched a guy carve wood with a chain saw. Maybe the highlight was right after we arrived - we watched a terrific street perfomer who picked Caleb as his assistant - Caleb rode on his shoulders while he rode a unicycle! Seriously!The kids have had tons of fun in August, with friends and family (Larry's parents and son, Matthew) visiting. I didn't get photos of many of the things we did, but we took a lot of pictures at an amusement park in Rochester called Sea Breeze. That was great fun - we played in the water park section for a couple of hours, then ate lunch and went over to the rides side. I got adorable photos of Alana riding the kiddie rides, plus a few of Matt and Caleb doing older kid stuff. The park offers an observer ticket, which costs about a third what a participant ticket cost - since I got the obsever ticket I was in a good position to take pictures!
We're all enjoying our house and yard. Alana loves the little wading pool stationed out in the yard and frequently can be found in her "birthday suit" splashing around in it (like many kids her age, she shucks her clothes frequently while we're home). The picture of her in the bath tub is her "taking a picture" (with her cup) of her favorite bath toys - Dora, Boots and Diego.Lately, Caleb is obsessed with card games. We've played a lot of War, and his latest favorite is a simplified version of Rummy called Scat or 31. He's very good at these games, though he isn't always a good sport about losing. He's recently discovered Pokemon cards (which involve trading and "battlling" with a complicated point system). Unfortunately, he missed the sign-up deadline for local soccer, so he'll have to wait for next year to participate.
I'm sure there's more news, but it's late and I want to get this sent. Hope all is well with you and you're having a good summer.
Best, Danielle
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Grandparents visit
August 26, 2006
Well, I made it through another week. Larry's parents arrived Wednesday evening. They're leaving tomorrow (Monday) and dropping Matt at his house on their way home. It's always nice to have company, but it's a lot of extra work - more laundry, more shopping, more cooking and cleaning up.
Larry was off Friday and we all went up to the Thousand Islands area, right across from Cananda, and took the boat shuttle over to Boldt Castle (on one of the islands). It was a nice trip - the kids enjoyed it and so did the adults, and the weather was perfect. It rained all day Saturday, but today (Sunday) we went into downtown Syracuse (Clinton Square) to the Latin America festival (Syracuse is called the city of festivals - there's one almost every weekend). We heard some good music and ate some very authentic Spanish food and bought beaded bracelets. We left just as the rain was moving in. It was a very nice outing.
I still haven't heard from the University re that research job, except to hear that they're still deciding. I wish it was over, one way or the other. Last week I sent in my resume to another job, at the medical university, but haven't heard anything at all from that one yet. The best news, or at least the development that I'm most optimistic about, is that I met a woman who works in the personnel office at the University. She was very friendly and gave me her card and offered to bring me in to meet with a recruiter. I don't know that anything will come of it, but it's always nice to connect with someone who's actually in a position to help! I'm calling her first thing Monday and setting up an appointment.
Caleb just has one more week of camp left, and starts school Sept 6; Alana will start daycare that same day. I thought about delaying her start, since I haven't got a job yet, but I think it will be better for her to start with the other kids and get settled and into the routine. She watches way too much TV (though it's mostly PBS shows) and she's gotten way too used to having her own way. Her daycare will only cost a little more than Caleb's summer camp, so it shouldn't be too much of a strain money-wise. I feel discouraged when I think about the financial situation - I hate not earning my own money. But I just keep thinking - "it's temporary . . ."I keep busy and keep looking for a job and the time goes by . . . before you know it, it'll be winter and we'll just be trying to stay sane until spring (just kidding, sort of).
Enough for now. More soon - hopefully good news!
Well, I made it through another week. Larry's parents arrived Wednesday evening. They're leaving tomorrow (Monday) and dropping Matt at his house on their way home. It's always nice to have company, but it's a lot of extra work - more laundry, more shopping, more cooking and cleaning up.
Larry was off Friday and we all went up to the Thousand Islands area, right across from Cananda, and took the boat shuttle over to Boldt Castle (on one of the islands). It was a nice trip - the kids enjoyed it and so did the adults, and the weather was perfect. It rained all day Saturday, but today (Sunday) we went into downtown Syracuse (Clinton Square) to the Latin America festival (Syracuse is called the city of festivals - there's one almost every weekend). We heard some good music and ate some very authentic Spanish food and bought beaded bracelets. We left just as the rain was moving in. It was a very nice outing.
I still haven't heard from the University re that research job, except to hear that they're still deciding. I wish it was over, one way or the other. Last week I sent in my resume to another job, at the medical university, but haven't heard anything at all from that one yet. The best news, or at least the development that I'm most optimistic about, is that I met a woman who works in the personnel office at the University. She was very friendly and gave me her card and offered to bring me in to meet with a recruiter. I don't know that anything will come of it, but it's always nice to connect with someone who's actually in a position to help! I'm calling her first thing Monday and setting up an appointment.
Caleb just has one more week of camp left, and starts school Sept 6; Alana will start daycare that same day. I thought about delaying her start, since I haven't got a job yet, but I think it will be better for her to start with the other kids and get settled and into the routine. She watches way too much TV (though it's mostly PBS shows) and she's gotten way too used to having her own way. Her daycare will only cost a little more than Caleb's summer camp, so it shouldn't be too much of a strain money-wise. I feel discouraged when I think about the financial situation - I hate not earning my own money. But I just keep thinking - "it's temporary . . ."I keep busy and keep looking for a job and the time goes by . . . before you know it, it'll be winter and we'll just be trying to stay sane until spring (just kidding, sort of).
Enough for now. More soon - hopefully good news!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
She barks, she chews, she mooches, she smiles
August 20, 2006
.. . . and she thinks she's a lap dog - the second you sit on the couch, she's on your lap, all 34 pounds of her.
We've found that Roxy does in fact bark, an odd sort of muffled bark. She doesn't bark at the dogs in the next yard (though they certainly don't return the favor) and she doesn't bark when someone knocks on the front door. She does, however, occasionally bark at absolutely nothing.
We've also found that she chews up toys - Alana's baby doll was the first victim. We're considering what to do about this - so far, she's only chewed up stuff when she's alone in the house. We're experimenting with blocking the doorway, so she's confined to the livingroom.
She's a big moocher and always hoping for a treat. And she has a weird "smile" where she lifts one side of her mouth when you talk to her.
The cats are still annoyed, but what's surprising is that Rudy, the biggest 'fraidy cat in the world, is standing his ground with Roxy, while that macho cat, Casey, spent days cowering upstairs (I don't think he came downstairs for three or four days). I thought it would be quite the opposite.
She's quite a character. So far, except for the toy destuction, she's turned out to be a great family dog.
.. . . and she thinks she's a lap dog - the second you sit on the couch, she's on your lap, all 34 pounds of her.
We've found that Roxy does in fact bark, an odd sort of muffled bark. She doesn't bark at the dogs in the next yard (though they certainly don't return the favor) and she doesn't bark when someone knocks on the front door. She does, however, occasionally bark at absolutely nothing.
We've also found that she chews up toys - Alana's baby doll was the first victim. We're considering what to do about this - so far, she's only chewed up stuff when she's alone in the house. We're experimenting with blocking the doorway, so she's confined to the livingroom.
She's a big moocher and always hoping for a treat. And she has a weird "smile" where she lifts one side of her mouth when you talk to her.
The cats are still annoyed, but what's surprising is that Rudy, the biggest 'fraidy cat in the world, is standing his ground with Roxy, while that macho cat, Casey, spent days cowering upstairs (I don't think he came downstairs for three or four days). I thought it would be quite the opposite.
She's quite a character. So far, except for the toy destuction, she's turned out to be a great family dog.
Saturday, August 5, 2006
More ramblings
A bit more on Roxy. She's a pitbull *mix*, to be precise. She's about a year old, so she's full-grown. She's a bit timid, but doesn't seem especially cowed or nervous or anything like that. I'm including another photo of her (with her True Love, Matt, of course), which is better of both of them.
Now a bit on me - I've been composing this for over a week, so it got rather long . . .
The big news is I finally got a call from the University and my interview is next week. I've been finding new places to search for work, though I still haven't turned up much other than this University job. I don't want to depend too much on getting it, but it would be a relief if I did get it . . .. we'll see what comes of the interview.
I'm hanging in there - too much to do and the days zoom by. I keep adding items to my To Do List but I don't seem to check too much off. It's a frustrating feeling, but I try to ignore it. I'm trying to enjoy the freedom of being jobless and having more time at my disposal, but I feel a lot of pressure to get stuff done (the American illness!), and there is still a lot to do (kids' records to pediatrician, finish putting together organizers we got for the closets, organize desk!, etc)
We had central air conditioning put in this week. They used the existing duct system (that was added after the house was built, for the gas heat), so it wasn't as expensive as starting from scratch. The heat was bothering me, but Larry really can't take it - he was even having trouble sleeping at night. We spent less on the fence than we expected, so we justified the A/C expense that way. And hopefully it improves the resale value (assuming Larry can ever convince me to undertake the moving process again!)
It's been great fun hanging out with Alana. She's at such an adorable age. And you miss that exclusive time with a second child - it's such a blessing to have some of it now. Being home together made it much easier to work on potty training and she's basically done - only one accident in the last week. She's still chasing after Caleb and copying almost everything he does. She loves to paint and still loves Dora the Explorer and pushes her baby doll around in the stroller. She loves swimming - she's played in our little plastic pool at home and last week we went up to the "beach" (lake) one day and we were in the water for over an hour and a half together. She's obsessed with pink and must have pink ice cream whenever we go to the ice cream parlor. She loves cheese and has "cheese bread" (an open-face, melted cheese sandwich) every morning for breakfast.
Caleb is doing really well at summer camp, having a blast. He's obsessed with a ball game called four square and we've been playing it at home as well. He's slimmed down a bit - he put on a little bulk while we were moving - watching so much TV and eating in restaurants for every meal. His hair is gorgeous - sun streaked like a little surfer boy. I suppose we'll have to get it cut before school starts, which will be a shame.
Larry was away for two days in Boston recently, but after being away two weeks at a time last fall, two days seemed like nothing. He's busy getting the Syracuse Texas Roadhouse open - they've interviewed about 800 people already, with plans to hire about 200. Matt (his older son, who lives in NJ) was with us for a few days and is now in Albany with a friend for a few days; he'll be back next weekend. Burt and Bobbie are coming up later in the month and will take Matt home (to his house) when they return home.
I got Caleb signed up for school (first grade!) and Alana will start daycare the same day (Sept 6). Everyone raves about the school Caleb will go to (Allen Rd Elementary) - depending on who you talk to, it's the best school in the district (North Syracuse), in the county (Onondaga), or in the state .. . . I hope they're right!
I finally started going to the gym at the YMCA. A very nice (young!) man helped me get started on my first visit (gads, they make me feel old). I just do a cardio workout while Alana plays in the playroom. She wasn't too keen at first, but is fine now, after being there a few times. They do fun crafts like making necklaces out of Froot Loops, and they have nice toys (doll houses and books and such).
I talked with the (only) Reform synagogue in the area; they have a prospective member Bar B Q in August (the Friday night that Larry's parents will be visiting). The program director there connected me with a neighbor who attends the synagogue. She's great fun, but just told me they'll be moving next year. Boo hiss. But that gives me time to make some other friends.
I've made good progress on unpacking, but there's more boxes to unpack and more home repair projects to do (and more repairs to get done - we're having the driveway repaved next week). I'd gotten really burned out on unpacking last week, but am still trying to do a box or two each day. Two months of doing nothing but packing and unpacking have taken a toll - I think I need a spa day or something to recharge. =)
Mostly I'm just plugging away at the To Do list, running endless errands, and trying to make the most of the newly bearable weather.Thought I'd include these two photos of the kids hiding in the closet, just because they're so cute (Alana's is almost, but not quite, X-rated).
Thanks for staying tuned.
Now a bit on me - I've been composing this for over a week, so it got rather long . . .
The big news is I finally got a call from the University and my interview is next week. I've been finding new places to search for work, though I still haven't turned up much other than this University job. I don't want to depend too much on getting it, but it would be a relief if I did get it . . .. we'll see what comes of the interview.
I'm hanging in there - too much to do and the days zoom by. I keep adding items to my To Do List but I don't seem to check too much off. It's a frustrating feeling, but I try to ignore it. I'm trying to enjoy the freedom of being jobless and having more time at my disposal, but I feel a lot of pressure to get stuff done (the American illness!), and there is still a lot to do (kids' records to pediatrician, finish putting together organizers we got for the closets, organize desk!, etc)
We had central air conditioning put in this week. They used the existing duct system (that was added after the house was built, for the gas heat), so it wasn't as expensive as starting from scratch. The heat was bothering me, but Larry really can't take it - he was even having trouble sleeping at night. We spent less on the fence than we expected, so we justified the A/C expense that way. And hopefully it improves the resale value (assuming Larry can ever convince me to undertake the moving process again!)
It's been great fun hanging out with Alana. She's at such an adorable age. And you miss that exclusive time with a second child - it's such a blessing to have some of it now. Being home together made it much easier to work on potty training and she's basically done - only one accident in the last week. She's still chasing after Caleb and copying almost everything he does. She loves to paint and still loves Dora the Explorer and pushes her baby doll around in the stroller. She loves swimming - she's played in our little plastic pool at home and last week we went up to the "beach" (lake) one day and we were in the water for over an hour and a half together. She's obsessed with pink and must have pink ice cream whenever we go to the ice cream parlor. She loves cheese and has "cheese bread" (an open-face, melted cheese sandwich) every morning for breakfast.
Caleb is doing really well at summer camp, having a blast. He's obsessed with a ball game called four square and we've been playing it at home as well. He's slimmed down a bit - he put on a little bulk while we were moving - watching so much TV and eating in restaurants for every meal. His hair is gorgeous - sun streaked like a little surfer boy. I suppose we'll have to get it cut before school starts, which will be a shame.
Larry was away for two days in Boston recently, but after being away two weeks at a time last fall, two days seemed like nothing. He's busy getting the Syracuse Texas Roadhouse open - they've interviewed about 800 people already, with plans to hire about 200. Matt (his older son, who lives in NJ) was with us for a few days and is now in Albany with a friend for a few days; he'll be back next weekend. Burt and Bobbie are coming up later in the month and will take Matt home (to his house) when they return home.
I got Caleb signed up for school (first grade!) and Alana will start daycare the same day (Sept 6). Everyone raves about the school Caleb will go to (Allen Rd Elementary) - depending on who you talk to, it's the best school in the district (North Syracuse), in the county (Onondaga), or in the state .. . . I hope they're right!
I finally started going to the gym at the YMCA. A very nice (young!) man helped me get started on my first visit (gads, they make me feel old). I just do a cardio workout while Alana plays in the playroom. She wasn't too keen at first, but is fine now, after being there a few times. They do fun crafts like making necklaces out of Froot Loops, and they have nice toys (doll houses and books and such).
I talked with the (only) Reform synagogue in the area; they have a prospective member Bar B Q in August (the Friday night that Larry's parents will be visiting). The program director there connected me with a neighbor who attends the synagogue. She's great fun, but just told me they'll be moving next year. Boo hiss. But that gives me time to make some other friends.
I've made good progress on unpacking, but there's more boxes to unpack and more home repair projects to do (and more repairs to get done - we're having the driveway repaved next week). I'd gotten really burned out on unpacking last week, but am still trying to do a box or two each day. Two months of doing nothing but packing and unpacking have taken a toll - I think I need a spa day or something to recharge. =)
Mostly I'm just plugging away at the To Do list, running endless errands, and trying to make the most of the newly bearable weather.Thought I'd include these two photos of the kids hiding in the closet, just because they're so cute (Alana's is almost, but not quite, X-rated).
Thanks for staying tuned.
Friday, August 4, 2006
Meet Roxy
August 4, 2006
We finally took the plunge and adopted a really sweet dog from the SPCA. This photo shows her out on the deck with Matt (who's visiting right now). Against my gut instincts, we adopted a pitbull. She was rescued from an abuse situation and had been adopted by another family, but in her new family, one of the children was terribly allergic to her and they very reluctantly returned her to the SPCA. The SPCA said she is extremely mellow and gentle, and we have certainly found that to be true - she hasn't barked once since we got her home and although our cats have both given her a piece of their minds, she ignored them. I'm especially relieved that she hasn't chased them or even shown much interest in them. She's great with the kids and they're already very fond of her. And Larry is quite smitten also. Roxy on the other hand, seems partial to Matt, but unfortunately for them, she's staying here with us when he heads home later this month.
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