Back to the park

It was a beautiful day, but it was starting to cool off by the time we went to the park. We had a very good time. The boys (Caleb and his friend Phillip) were occupied with dueling (as always), and Alana and I found a patch of adorable mushrooms.

Brrr!

After two weeks of very springy weather, with temperatures often in the 80s, we're back to a much more seasonal situation, with highs staying in the 50s and getting chilly at night. In fact, some areas can expect a bit of wet SNOW tonight. The weatherman said it "pained" him to tell us that. It pained us to hear it!!

Scooter kids

It actually turned into a beautiful day. Caleb has been riding his scooter with his friend Phillip every day and here, Alana tags along.

Cousin Emma

Emma is almost 2 months old and totally gorgeous.

Reading test

Caleb was very proud to get a perfect score on this practice reading test. (Thanks to No Child Left Behind, they're already being prepped for the 4th grade state achievement tests!)

Mud puddles are so fun

This afternoon we went to our favorite beach, Oneida Shores. The lake water was cold, but rain the previous day had left a big puddle with much warmer water. The kids had a FINE time, throwing mud at each other. I would have LOVED it, at their age. Matt came with us but spent the time very diligently studying for the AP exam in European History which he takes on May 13.

Flower girl

After we dropped Caleb at Sunday school, Alana and I walked to a nearby Starbucks with some friends and Alana collected flowers along the way.

Final Passover seder

To top off a very full day, we went to my friend Dawn's house for our seder. The gefilte fish that we made on Thursday came out really well and was a big hit. I think it will have to become an annual thing. And the folks who brought soup (neal did the cooking) kept the matzah balls separate, so I had soup AND gefilte fish for the first time in MANY years. We had excellent chicken (by Dave Satterlee) and brisket (by Meredith Thomson) and various side dishes. And for dessert, I made my special flourless Passover cake (with ground almonds) that came out especially nice this year. So needless to say, I thought it was a terrific seder.

My only regret is that we did not manage to engage the kids in the event at all. They spent all but a few minutes downstairs in the basement playroom. They had a wonderful time, but next year I would like to try harder to get them involved - the main purpose of Passover is to pass the story to the next generation!

Yet another zoo BD party

Our THIRD in just a few weeks, but still a big hit. Alana liked it so much she asked me, "Why don't I ever have a zoo party?"

Golfing

While Alana and I were at the party, Caleb went to play miniature golf with Larry. In this photo, he's trying to BLOW the ball the last couple inches into the hole.

Alana's early morning tattoo

Alana couldn't wait to apply one of the temporary tattoos that Grandma Jeannie sent in the mail, so we put this on first thing this morning, while Alana was still in her nightgown. It's a calico cat.

Jump rope-a-thon

Caleb's school is holding a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. The kids are getting sponsored for jumping rope. Caleb is trying to raise at least $75 because the prize for that level is a small radio. Today, the kids did the actual jumping. Caleb's class jumped more than any other - 7361 jumps total. Caleb jumped at least 600 himself. All for a good cause!

I'm such a balabusta (housewife)!

My friend Dawn and I were quite inspired by the demostration we saw a couple of weeks ago showing the steps to make gefilte fish from scratch. It's easier than we thought and we agreed to try a small batch ourselves.

I bought 2 pounds of tilapia (whitefish is already out of season, because Passover is "late" this year), and brought it to Dawn's house tonight, along with my ancient food processor. The kids played together while we made the fish stock and a dozen fish dumplings (this photo shows the dumplings before they were cooked). We went home while the dumplings cooked (they take an hour) and Dawn took them out and put them in the frig.

We tried a small bite before I left and it was very good, but the real the test will be Saturday night at our group seder. Our friend Chris doesn't like gefilte fish, but agreed to try ours. We'll see what the masses think.

Rabbi Beth at the WVU Yom HaShoah program

Sunday Fun Day

Larry was off today and we went to our favorite miniature golf place, Hickory Hill. Caleb got TWO hole-in-ones! He did well in general, but Alana was tired from the past several days of activities, and she only played a few holes. It was hot again, but there was a nice breeze that made it very comfortable.

In this photo, the kids are resting in the shade while Matt and Larry play through. =>

Side note: Larry was running an errand an the morning, so I took the opportunity to do a little housekeeping (something I normally avoid!) It's muddy this time of year, so I swept and vacuumed and even dusted a little. Caleb helped a little with the dusting and Alana helped a little with the vacuuming. And after an hour and a half, the house was much cleaner, which was great. But truthfully, I felt like the time was basically wasted - I would really rather have spent the time playing Monopoly, or going to the park, or something that counts as "quality time" with my kids.

Happy Pesach!

We spent a couple hours this afternoon at the zoo. I didn't get any photos because our trip, for Earth Day at the Zoo, was such a whirlwind - going through the special exhibits and then seeing most of the regular zoo features. It was SO hot. I have to admit that the animals mostly looked completely miserable, especially the llama, wolf, yaks, lions and tigers. I saw on the news tonight that the high temperature last Saturday was 44 degrees and today it was 87 degrees - a big change in a short time. On top of that, the normal temp this time of year is in the 50s. Is this evidence of global warming?

Tonight we went to the synagogue community seder. It was very nice and the food was delicious. The cantor, Fran Berg, invited the kids up to help sing the 4 questions. Caleb is on the left in the maroon shirt. You can see a little bit of a blurry Alana on the far left of the group, mostly obscured by the girl in the blue dress.

Matt enjoyed his first seder and even tried the gefilte fish.

First beach day

I took the day off work and we took our friend Jake and a picnic lunch to Oneida Shores, our favorite local beach. There were a few brave souls enjoying the sun and the water seemed a bit warmer than at Green Lakes. Mostly we played in the sand.

Alana and I made a nice sand castle and decorated it with shells and rocks (you can see it in the lower edge of this photo).




In this photo, Caleb is helping Jake launch the little box kite that we brought along. => Caleb got a good run out of the shark kite, but I didn't get a shot of that.


We all got WAY too much sun, especially Matt, who was in pain tonight.

Spring break!

I took off work at 12 noon to hang with the kids. First we had lunch at Caleb's favorite Japanese restaurant - Oishi Sushi. Then we met my friend Meredith, and her sons, Aaron and Adam, at miniature golf. Then we all went to Green Lakes and played on the playground and put our toes in the VERY cold water.

Then the kids and I stopped at the library where they had a bunch of craft projects available to do. Here Alana is making a bunny wind sock.

It's official!

Matt's going to West Chester University - he sent his acceptance letter today. How ironic is it that he's going to a school so close to where we USED to live? (And, if we still lived there, he could pay in-state tuition, which is 1/3 the amount of out-of-state!)

http://www.wcupa.edu

Mission Statement: West Chester University, a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, is a public, regional, comprehensive institution committed to providing access and offering high-quality undergraduate education, select post-baccalaureate and graduate programs, and a variety of educational and cultural resources for its students, alumni, and citizens of southeastern Pennsylvania.

Stats: 25 miles west of Philadelphia in Chester county. The second largest of the 14 institutions that compose the State System of Higher Education of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (joined the state system in 1983). Formerly the state teachers' college (1927-1960). Total enrollment is about 9,400 undergraduate students and about 2,000 graduate students. Most students are residents of Pennsylvania.

Rock and roll Alana

Matt had a gift card to Best Buy (he wants to get a guitar lesson CD), so me and the kids were hanging around the store. Caleb went off to play a video game and Alana got quite caught up in the instruments for the game Rock Band.

Saturday adventures

After taking Roxy for a nice walk, we went to see Alice in Wonderland at the children's theater, a terrific interactive show. Alana (in the red dress on the far left of the left photo above) got picked to run a race with Alice, but the guy dressed up like the White Rabbit scared her, so that didn't last long. Caleb was picked to be an arch during the croquet game (he's on the left in the photo on the right). Great fun by all.

Then we went over to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, New Century. Caleb had "crunchy rolls" and pho (soup).





Alana had stir fried noodles.

Caleb's frog worksheet

He's very proud to get 100%

Matt passed his driving test!

We're happy for him, but Larry and I agree that it's a little scary to think of him driving unsupervised.

ADDENDUM 4/11/08

I'm kidding!

Matt just turned 18, so he's older than a lot of drivers when they start. And he's a good kid - he'll be safe, I'm sure. It's hard to think of kids as able to take care of themselves, but I'd been on my own for months by the time I turned 18 and I had bought my own car too (a clunker, but still mine). The truth is, Matt won't have that much chance to drive on his own, because we only have 2 cars, and Larry and I need them much of the time.

Sign of spring

It's not the first flower in all of Syracuse, but it's the first flower in our yard!

Snake in the park

In all the time I've spent in the park, I've NEVER seen a snake. I almost put my foot right on this monster. I said some VERY bad words, but I think I can be forgiven. I suspect he was busy digesting a big meal because he didn't move a bit, despite my, er, startled response. The kids got a huge kick out of my reaction, and Roxy was no help at all - she ran right past the snake without even noticing it.

Teacher conference

I met with Caleb's teacher this afternoon, for our 3rd quarter conference. She says he's doing GREAT! His reading was at the required level (24) after the first quarter and is well above the required level now (38). His class took a practice test for the state language arts score (required in 4th grade) and he got 86 (which she thought was excellent for a completely new test type). She said he continues to excel in math and is one of just a few kids in the class who immediately understands each new math concept. She gave the class a little fractions quiz on thirds (she said they're mostly fine with halves and quarters, but have trouble with thirds) - Caleb got it right away. His only issues - he tends to rush, and he talks to his friend Jonah too much during class. :o (Except for the talking) I was thrilled with his progress.

Perfect attendance, 3rd quarter

Larry, Andy and Alana

Larry brought the Texas Roadhouse mascot, Andy Armadillo, to Alana's daycare class today. Alana is in the striped dress, right in front of Larry - she looks incredibly proud.

Caleb's fractions worksheet

The black and white doesn't do this justice! Caleb got 7/8 problems correct.

Annual Syracuse snowfall

It may seem like Syracuse got less snow than normal this year, but we're winning the Golden Snowball Award yet again, and our annual snowfall (110 inches) is right on the mark for our average (112 inches), and we all know those last two inches could still materialize!

http://goldensnowball.com/

BIG day

Matt turned 18 today!!! The weather could not have been more perfect. We went to Skaneateles and walked down the lake pier, then had a wonderful dinner at the Blue Water Grill.

Birthday party day

Between the two of them, Caleb and Alana attended THREE parties today. Caleb went to the movies (no photos of that) and Alana went (back) to the zoo and then to a craft party at the YMCA where they made dogs out of clay.

Emma turns one month

Adorable cousin Emma (she looks just like her mommy).

Caleb's science test on plants

100% of course!

I GAVE BLOOD TODAY!

I'm SO proud and happy!! It's probably been 5 years since I successfully donated blood - my iron is always right below the acceptable level. But I've learned a lot - I avoid certain times of the month and I take molasses the night before. Plus, they got new equipment, and on the (second) test, I was just above the level. Hurrah!! I was told a couple years ago that I probably would reach an age where my iron would never be high enough, but clearly I haven't hit that age yet!

Next science unit

Caleb has a science test today on the parts of the plant. He did perfectly on this worksheet. I'm so impressed with the sophisticated information that he gets exposed to so young.

Matt's veggies

Today Matt made radish roses and other veggie flowers in his cooking class.

Alana's "bumpy" ear

On Saturday night, Alana slept badly and on Sunday was complaining that her left ear hurt and was "bumpy" (I never figured out what that meant). I put some drops in her ear (for swimmers, for water that gets stuck in there) and that seemed to help, but Larry took her to the doctor today and he confirmed that she has infections in both ears (no doubt due to her lingering cold). He prescribed an antibiotic, and I asked if it was totally necessary (because current thinking is to let ear infections run their course rather than administering antibiotics). He said that was a good question, and they were cutting way back on prescribing antibiotics for ear infections and other things, but that her left ear was pretty bad and he thought in this case, the medicine was warranted. She thinks the medicine is yummy (which is good, because we've had to force poor Caleb to take steroids a couple of times for his asthma and they taste very bad).

Caleb's contractions

Caleb was very proud to get all the combinations right.