What a Day!

Aliya and I left the house at 9:30 a.m. to go to her soccer tournament, while Ben hung out with Adlani and Norah with strict orders to have them fed and dressed by 12:30. The soccer tournament was great. First they had team and individual photos, then a game and lunch. They also had some games the kids could play - Aliya won a visor - and discontinued team jerseys for sale for $5 each. We booked out of there at 12:20 to go home and pick up everyone else and head to the fun fair at Adlani's preschool.

I got them moving toward the door and drove to BJ's since I forgot that I was supposed to bring something to Aliya's kindergarten picnic. Ben met me in the BJ's parking lot and we drove to preschool. The fun fair was really nice - Aliya and Adlani had a great time playing games and somehow we found 4 more costumes we had to have. For $5 each you can't go wrong. Aliya fell in love with a Bratz costume. Ugh. After about a half hour Aliya and I left to go to her picnic, while Ben oversaw the wild man and Norah, who was contentedly riding around in her stroller.

The kindergarten picnic was a lot of fun. They had a few games for the kids, and lots of food and then a treasure hunt. I felt a little like a minority because most of the people there spoke Spanish. We saw Aliya's teacher and she told me what a great helper Aliya is and that she's their little translator. She said she was like a sponge soaking up the language. We also talked to the principal. We saw our neighbors who have twins in two of the other classes, and also some friends from soccer.

It was a very hectic day but a great time and I'm glad we were able to fit everything in. I think stuff like this really helps the kids feel more like a part of their school.

Hot Tickets!

I woke up this morning with that feeling of anticipation you get when you know something BIG is going to happen, like the first day of school, Christmas Eve, or the day of your annual gynecological exam. I sent Aliya, Adlani, and Ben off to Aliya's soccer game, fed and bathed Norah, cleaned up the kitchen, and bided my time until 10 a.m. when the hottest concert tickets in town were going on sale. No, not the Pussycat Dolls, Bruce Springsteen, or even the John Denver From the Great Beyond Tour. HANNAH MONTANA and MILEY CYRUS!!! For those of you who don't have daughters between the ages of 4 and 14, or who have been living under a rock, Miley Cyrus is the 14-year-old star of the Disney Channel hit series Hannah Montana, and the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, the Achy Breaky Heart guy. Aliya LOVES Hannah Montana, and last night Karen and I strategized on how we could get Aliya and Victoria to the show, short of paying $500+ per ticket on eBay or sleeping overnight on a Worcester sidewalk.

By 9:50 I had Norah settled in front of the TV, my credit card ready with a back-up just in case, and two computers connected to our high speed fiber optic network and logged into my Ticketmaster account. I was poised on the edge of the couch... 9:57...9:58...9:59...I can't remember the last time I felt such anticipation. I knew that Aliya and Victoria might suffer permanent psychological damage if I couldn't score these tix.

At exactly 10 o'clock I clicked "Find Tickets" on both computers, one for the Friday show and one for the Saturday show. The Saturday computer never even got to the screen where you have to enter the oddball code word that thwarts automated ticket-purchasing programs. The Friday computer, however, coughed up 4 tickets - section 201, Row L. Not bad considering that at least a third of the tickets had already been sold in the fan club presale. By the time my order was complete, the concert was sold out. We'll have to bring the binoculars but at least when the girls look back on 2007 they'll remember that they were *there*...kinda like Woodstock - NOT!

Fun Fair and Costume Sale

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours at Adlani's preschool helping set up for the PTO's Fun Fair and Costume Sale. Last fall, one of the PTO ladies called TJX and asked what they did with their leftover Halloween costumes after Halloween. She ended up with a donation of 250 brand new costumes from TJMaxx and Marshalls!! We sorted them all by size and got them ready for the sale. They are REALLY nice and they will be sold for $5 each. It's a shame I already bought the kids' costumes for this year. The Hello Kitty costume that I bought for Aliya was one of the ones in the preschool costume sale. See...procrastination can be a good thing!

Adlani's First Field Trip

I'm officially a grown-up! I was recently allowed to chaperone Adlani's preschool class' first field trip to go apple-picking at Honey Pot Hill. Have any of you ridden on a school bus lately?! It's like a roller coaster! There have been some important safety advancements - color-coded seatbelts, padded seat backs instead of the exposed metal framing that my old school bus had, although they still have the exact same windows that are hard to open and end up crooked and jammed. Adlani loved the bus and sat quietly for the whole trip. His teachers have obviously gotten to know him pretty well because he was the only kid that I was assigned to (there were about 150 kids on the trip). After arriving and waiting fairly patiently for our tractor and wagon to arrive, we piled on and I clandestinely told the driver to make it fast and bumpy...the hayride, that is. He had us out in the orchard in record time, where we had a short lesson on apple pollination and proper picking technique. Each kid and chaperone was allowed to fill a 1/4-peck bag, and eat as many as we could stuff in our mouths before the tractor came back. The apples were delicious! After a slightly more leisurely ride back to the parking lot we went to visit the farm animals and the pumpkin patch, and then reluctantly sat down for a picnic lunch. Adlani passed out about 10 minutes after boarding the bus to go home. Aliya will be going on the same field trip tomorrow but I'm all chaperoned-out.

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Ready for the Prom?

She may be ready...I'm not!!! Aliya went to her friend Reece's birthday party at Snip-Its last weekend. For some reason she looked much more grown up this year than she did when she and Victoria both had their parties there last year. The bottom half of the bright pink hoochie-mama ensemble she chose for both parties last year was missing, so she went with the navy velvet prom gown. I guess that's better than going bottomless. She has become quite adept at "the pose", and chastised me because I took this picture before she had her toe pointed. So sorry.

One of the party attendees seemed a little tall for a 6-year-old but the girls welcomed her with open arms. Her performance during the fashion show drew rave reviews, although I think the girls are still trying to figure out what "Future Occupation: Pole Dancer" means.




Happy Birthday Reecey!!

Legoland

The two smallest Funsecas came over last night for the first monthly Kid-Swap Date Night. Karen and Nelson went out for dinner while we hung with the kiddies, and in October it will be our turn. We feasted on Papa Gino's and then spent quite a while with the Legos. The girls were trying to build an animal hospital complete with barfing horses (with sound effects) while the boys had their own (unknown) agendas. The end result looked nothing like an animal hospital but it kept them occupied until it was time for hide-n-seek. I was the champion hider, since it took at least 10 minutes for them to find me and in the end Ben had to look too. For some reason (Ben), the girls thought that when they found me I was supposed to pay them. I don't remember any game of hide-n-seek ending with a cash payout but since Ben made the deal, he paid them $1 each. I guess they play a little different in Morocco.

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On deck for today...over the range microwave replacement, Reece's birthday party at Snip-Its, 2 pecan pies, and breakfast at Driss' house.

Mr. Clean

When I met Karen 5 years ago, she told me that she would sometimes go to the Stop & Shop parking lot to drink coffee. Since I only had one kid at the time I thought that was a little odd, but I loved her despite her weird habits. A few days ago I ended up in my car with Adlani sleeping in his car seat and 20 extra minutes before Aliya's bus arrived. I joyfully drove at a high rate of speed to the Dairy Queen drive-thru, sped on to the bus stop, and sat there for 15 blissful minutes - just me and my strawberry Blizzard. At some point I realized that I have become the strange lady who sits in the parking lot just to be alone.

A few days later I was headed to the mall for Norah's 1-year photo shoot. Norah fell asleep while I was doing an errand, so it was just me and the wild man, Adlani. It was too early to go to Portrait Simple so I drove home, ran inside while the kids were strapped into their seats with the doors locked (bad Mommy), and grabbed my cereal so I could sit in the car in the driveway and eat breakfast. A few minutes later Norah started to wake up so I quickly threw the car in gear and drove to the mall. Once there, I realized that there were at least 50 construction workers to entertain Adlani, so I pulled into an empty spot and continued with my breakfast.

As I sat there scraping the last of my cereal from the 2-cup measuring cup I had chosen for my cereal bowl (it's actually very handy - a handle, a place for your spoon to rest, and it's big enough to avoid spills), I realized that a security guard who looked quite a bit like Mr. Clean was standing outside my window (apparently my good fortune at finding an empty space had to do with the construction-vehicle-only parking signs). As the window slid down he said, "Hi...What can I do for you?" Me: "Well, my floors just don't have the same shine and fresh scent since you've stopped coming around." OK...I didn't really say that but as I sat there in my junk-filled car, wearing yesterday's clothes and hair, no makeup, eating cereal out of a measuring cup, and facing Mr. Clean, it was either say something funny or just throw my pitiful self on his mercy. Since my brain is shot and I'm not as quick as I once was, I chose the latter. Me: "I'm letting my kid watch the construction guys while I eat my cereal. Can I have 5 minutes?" Mr. Clean: "No problem (you poor pathetic loser)."

Portrait Simple

These are some of Norah's 1-year pictures.

She really needs to cheer up a little, huh?

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Ferberizing (Again!)

Poor Norah never saw it coming. Last week we decided that it's time to dust off Dr. Ferber's book for the third time and get her to go to sleep in her crib. To date, we have been rocking her to sleep with a bottle and then trying to sneak her into her crib without waking her up. Some nights we just go straight to Plan B which is for Ben to take her to bed with him while I work my second shift of the day. She always ends up sleeping with me eventually.

We have a long history with Dr. Ferber. With Aliya, I tried to go by "the book" (any and all books), and I was dead-set against the Moroccan tradition of having her sleep in our bed (because some of the books said that was a bad idea). Tonight I found my notes in the Ferber book from when I Ferberized her at the tender age of 3 months. It took less than a week and I had her sleeping in her crib. It wasn't easy since I had to physically restrain Ben to prevent him from "rescuing" her. I eventually lost the battle against the Moroccan contingent (the in-laws thought it was crazy that Aliya would be sleeping in a separate room) and ended up with her in my bed. She started climbing out of the crib at 18 months and flopping onto the floor, so we put her in a toddler bed. She STILL sleepwalks to my bed almost every night.

When we moved Adlani's crib into Norah's room before she was born, I realized that he had never spent one night in it. He hardly ever napped in it either. At about 18 months we bought him a really cool bunk bed unit and used tough love and Ferberizing to keep him in bed. We still have some rough nights with him, especially since he cries and wakes up Norah, but we're committed. He usually migrates to my bed every night too.

Norah wasn't impressed with the new bedtime ritual but I think it went really well. She cried for about a half hour - not screaming, just fussing, and then fell asleep. Unfortunately, when I went in to check on her she had pooped, so I had to change her and she woke up. I snuggled her a little and put her back in the crib not fully asleep. She cried for about 10 minutes and fell asleep. Adlani woke her up twice more and both times she cried for about 5 minutes and fell back to sleep. Tomorrow WILL be better and then we'll start working on cutting out the 4 a.m. bottle. I'm REALLY looking forward to getting a full 5 hours of sleep a night.

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Update: On Norah's second night of falling asleep in her crib, she cried for 12 minutes before zonking out and she didn't wake up again. Yay!

Update #2: On Night 4, Norah slept from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. in her crib! Yippee!

Update #3: Night 6, less than 2 minutes of crying!!

Grandma Ginny and Grampa B

We had a great weekend with Grandma Ginny and Grampa B...well at least WE had fun. We started their visit by witholding food until sundown, accompanied by the constant noise and chaos that we don't even notice any more, but which can really freak out people not currently living with children. We continued the hospitality on Saturday morning by taking them out into the rain, wind, and cold, to watch Aliya's soccer game. Due to the weather, the afternoon activities consisted of naps and picking up Norah and Grampa B's birthday cake while Grampa B worked on our household projects. We had a big couscous feast in preparation for watching the Wizard of Oz...except when we started the movie it was the CARTOON version! I couldn't bear to watch it. Today after G.B. finished up his forced labor, we had breakfast and sent Aliya and Adlani out with G.G. and G.B. for a few relaxing hours at the mall. Hopefully they've made it home safely by now...thanks guys!!

Ya Say It's Your Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday Norah!!!!

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Norah's accomplishments to date include:

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~ saying the words "mmmmore", "Dada", "Mama", and "Yaya" (Aliya)

~ walking/running at full speed but with a lot of falls and head bonks

...(hence the nickname "Lumpy")

~ dancing and clapping simultaneously

~ nodding "yes" and shaking her head "no" - mostly "no" right now

~ feeding herself finger foods and drinking from a sippy cup or straw

~ blowing raspberries of varying types in response to others

~ peekaboo and a similar game that involves covering her ears

~ climbing up the stairs and getting off the bed feet-first

~ record-breaking escape from shopping cart and high chair restraints

~ nose/eye identification including ownership (Mama's nose, Dada's eye)

~ giving kisses and hugs - still working on the kiss timing
~ simultaneous finger wagging, head shaking, and "nonono"

~ mounting her ride-on toy and rocking while talking on the phone

~ waving and blowing kisses

~ opening her mouth on command so we can search for contraband

~ making assorted noises involving tongue action and hand-on-mouth
~ running into the activity garden while being chased and closing the door

~ inserting "Lala" into the Teletubbies theme song at the proper time

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She's obviously a genius!! :-)

Rain Can't Put Out the Fire(balls)!

While braving rain, wind, and 60-degree temperatures, the Fireballs played the Wild Bobcats this morning. In the Under-7 league they don't keep score or announce a winner but Aliya scored 3 goals. The weather conditions were less than ideal for the spectators, but we toughed it out to support our team. Yay Fireballs!!

The Shrimp Likes Shrimp

Rosh Hashanah, Day 2

Ben decided to stay home again today and Norah went to day care so it was a very productive day at the Greenabderrazak residence. Work, laundry, cleaning, a big meal for breaking the fast...what could be better than that? Grandma Ginny and Grampa B arrived for a visit this afternoon so the kids were wild. I was happy to see bedtime arrive.

Tomorrow is Baby Norah's first birthday...very hard to believe. On January 4th, 2006, when I got the shock of my life, I wouldn't have believed that I'd make it to this day without losing my mind or going bankrupt. It has been a very expensive year for day care and an extremely chaotic year on OCP, but we survived and Norah is a beautiful, happy, determined, little girl. Our lives wouldn't be the same without her. She has truly made our family complete and we all adore her.

If anyone would like to include something in Norah's time capsule, let me know or just send it along. As with Adlani and Aliya's, it could be anything from the first year of her life, and/or a letter from you to Norah, to be opened on her 18th birthday. I'll be sealing it and burying it in the yard with the others by October 15th. I hope I don't accidentally dig up Leo (the cat). Just kidding...they're buried in the closet, not in the yard (the cat IS in the yard).

Rosh Hashanah, Day 1

No, we haven't suddenly become a tri-denominational family, but we are celebrating the Jewish New Year with two days off from school. Yay. It's a good thing my job is flexible because even though Ben stayed home today I didn't get much work done. Aliya, Norah, and I went to Next Generation for a visit and saw a bunch of our favorite teachers and staff. Then we did a few errands and took Auntie Monica to lunch at Firefly's for her birthday. The $8.99 lunch buffet was great! In the afternoon I made harira, while also answering emails and voice mails. It looks like I'll be working third shift tonight. Zoe and I rounded out the day by dropping in on an obedience class at Alpha Dog K9. I was very obedient but Zoe was a little distracted by all of the other dogs, particularly a 5-pounder who I'm sure was very confusing to her ("...hmmmm....it smells like a dog, but it looks like a squirrel...I wonder what it tastes like..."). It was the first time in recent history that she had been with lots of other dogs but she did pretty well.

Ramadan FAQ

Tomorrow is the first day of Ramadan. Here are some answers to your frequently asked questions:

What's the significance of Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims believe that it was in this month in 610 A.D., that Allah (God) revealed the first verses of the Qur'an (Koran - the holy book of Islam) via the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed. It is a month of blessing that includes prayer, fasting, and charity, and is a time for reflection, devotion to God, and self-control, and a month that Muslims can connect with the teachings of the Qur'an.

What are the rules of Ramadan?
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims may not eat, drink, smoke, or have sexual contact while the sun is shining. Ben typically wakes up early, before sunrise (5:06 a.m. tomorrow), and eats bread, eggs, harira (soup), or whatever he can scrounge up. He can't eat or drink (including water) again until sunset (7:00 p.m. tomorrow). At sunset he will have "breakfast", which typically consists of dates, harira, bread, cheese, beef salami, hard-boiled eggs, coffee, orange juice, and sometimes cookies, pancakes, or other treats. After breaking the fast he can eat or drink anything until sunrise the next day and there are often gatherings of friends and family to break the fast and socialize. The fast is repeated for 30 days.

What's the purpose of fasting?
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims show their devotion to God by fasting, which is one of the 5 pillars of Islam. Fasting for this purpose is practiced in other religions as well. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to think about those who are less fortunate and to experience hunger in sympathy for those without food in order to gain thankfulness and appreciation for what they have.

What are the 5 pillars of Islam?
Faith - That there is only one God and Mohammed is his messenger.
Prayer - Five times daily, at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall.
Zakat - Giving to those in need.
The Fast - From first light to sundown for the 30 days of Ramadan.
Hajj - The pilgrimage to Mecca, which must be made at least once in a Muslim's lifetime.

Do all Muslims have to fast?
People who are sick, elderly, traveling, pregnant, nursing, or menstruating can break the fast and make up an equal number of days later in the year. If they can not do this, they must feed a needy person for each day of fasting they missed.

Do the kids fast?
Kids typically start fasting when they hit puberty. I have fasted a day here and there but I don't fast for the whole month. I'm not Muslim but if we're having a family gathering to break the fast sometimes I feel more like a part of the group if I've fasted too.

What are the consequences of NOT fasting?
If you accidentally break the fast (for example, if you don't realize that Ramadan starts tomorrow and you eat after sunrise), you just have to make up the day of fasting at a later date. If you knowingly break the fast, you have to fast for 60 consecutive days (in addition to Ramadan) or feed 60 people in need. Traditionally, the third option was to free a slave but unless you count me, we don't have any of those.

When does Ramadan end?
Since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, the dates for Ramadan vary. Each month begins with the sighting of the new moon. Since the lunar calendar is about 11 days shorter than the solar calendar, Ramadan arrives about 11 days earlier each year. This year, Ramadan will end around October 13th, depending on the moon sighting. The celebration at the end of Ramadan is called Eid-el-Fitr. On that day the kids get new outfits and families and friends get together to eat and socialize. It is customary to give small amounts of money to all of the kids you see at the social gatherings that day.

Does Ben lose weight during Ramadan?
A little, but it comes back.

Is it appropriate to say "Happy Ramadan"?
In Arabic you would say "Ramadan Mabrouk" which means something like "I hope you're having a good Ramadan." It's not inappropriate to say "Happy Ramadan" but it's not the norm. It IS inappropriate to say, "Hey Dude...you must be REALLY hungry!"

Humpty Dumpty

When we picked Adlani up from school today we were talking about what he had learned. He proudly recited his new poem...

"Humpty Dumpty, *fat* on a wall,
He got a great fall..."

He also told me that his friend at school had "strawberry peewee" (kiwi) juice and that he pees in the "journal" (urinal). Aliya was hysterical.

I went to the preschool PTO meeting tonight. It's shocking to me the amount of fundraising the PTO has to do, and how much begging the teachers have to do. At orientation the teachers asked us to send paper towels, kleenex, and any miscellaneous craft supplies we have cluttering up the house. I don't think the schools had to beg for basic supplies when I was in school. I clearly remember having plenty of those folded brown paper towels. It looks like my volunteer job with the PTO is going to be to manage the teachers' wish lists.

Speaking of back when I was in school (aka "the old days"), Aliya recently asked me if I was alive when there were dinosaurs. When I said no she asked, "Well, how about Daddy?"

Big Night Out

Last night Ben asked Naima to babysit and took me out to Legal Sea Foods for my birthday (no, you haven't entered a time warp). While I was scrambling to get lunches ready with the kids acting up I wasn't sure it would be worth it, but it was GREAT!! It was so nice to have a quiet, peaceful, and delicious meal. The best part was the SANGRIA. I am committed to recreating it at home, even if I have to sample batch after batch. The other best part was that when we got home at 7:45, the kids were all asleep in their beds!! Yay Naima!

According to the Legal Sea Foods drink menu, the ingredients are:

Spanish Red Wine
Bacardi Limon
Stoli Razberi
Massenez Creme de Peche
Sprite
Fresh Fruit

I guess I need to hit the packie tomorrow! :-)

USIP

Here's another of my current projects - the United States Institute of Peace. The structures on the roof are doves. It took me a while to figure that out. I was paying too much attention to the doors.

Can You Hear Me Now?

What could she be talking about? She only knows 3 words - "mmmmmore", "Dada", and "Mama" so I guess we can narrow down who she's talking to. She also allegedly says "bum-bum" but I don't think she uses it in the correct context.

Pizza Party

We went to the Funseca's for pizza Saturday night and the kids had a great time playing and putting on a show for us. I felt bad for wrecking the place but I'm sure there will be pay-back when we host pizza-night at our house.

The Real Thomas!!

We've been bribing Adlani with a ride on "the REAL Thomas" if he went peepee on the potty. It finally worked, so Saturday we headed down to Carver where Thomas the Tank Engine was making a visit. We arrived about 3 hours before our Thomas-departure, so we had plenty of time to go on the other rides and have lunch. Unfortunately, Adlani only wanted "the real Thomas" and wouldn't go on any rides. We finally got him on the Red Baron, and for the first time ever I got a great picture of the kids on a ride in motion. Unfortunately he cried through the whole ride - not because he was scared, but because "I want to ride the REAL Thomas!! WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

He was happy when we finally got our ride on Thomas, and especially when he got to visit the Thomas Gift Shop. It was a nice day and a very quiet ride home.

Sponge Bob No Pants

I had to catch Adlani before he ran out to play with the girls wearing only a t-shirt and his rain boots. Then later I noticed that he was playing with a keychain with a tiny flashlight on it. When I asked him what he was doing he said, "I'm putting a decoration on my penis." Later still, I found him out front peeing on the cherry tomatoes. We're in trouble.

Update: When I was telling a recent visitor this story she said, "You mean the cherry tomatoes I just ate?!" Luckily she washed them. Ick.

Update #2: We moved Adlani's train table to his room and yesterday he was so excited to play with it that when he had to go potty he took off his shorts and underwear and peed on the floor (and his toys, clothes, etc.). When he got in trouble for that he said some bad words that started with "stupid" and ended with a four-letter word. THEN...we were at Aliya's soccer practice at her school. I was chatting with my friends until Ben called my attention to Adlani standing in the playground area with his pants down, preparing to pee. It's all you, honey.

The Fireballs

Aliya had her first soccer game for the Under-7 league, and she scored a goal!! She was so proud. Adlani loved hanging out with the future Fireballs and pushing Norah's stroller was a favorite half-time activity so it was all good. When Adlani had to pee I told him we'd go to the bushes and he said, "OK...and then a bear will come out." He's so brave.

AWOL?

No, I have not gone AWOL. I've spent the last 2 days in Waltham teaching a class on...try to contain yourselves...building codes! Woo-Hoo!!! I think it went well...we had 14 students and nobody skipped out on the second day. We had one guy who suddenly broke out in hives and couldn't take the test, but maybe he's allergic to test-taking like I'm allergic to public speaking. I didn't have to take my public speaking medicine so maybe I'm outgrowing that allergy (finally!). Thursday night I had to stay after class for a dinner meeting and presentation on...again, calm yourselves...glass! Am I exciting or what?!

Tomorrow we have Aliya's first soccer game with the town league and then we're going for a ride on "the real Thomas" which we've been promising Adlani as soon as he's a big boy (stops pooping in his pants). I'm sure there will be photos to post so check back soon!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Adlani and Norah both made it through their first day at preschool / day care without much trouble. The note in Adlani's folder said that he had a great day - no mention of any bad behavior or forgetting to use his indoor voice, listening ears, or walking feet - almost more than I could have hoped for. Norah cried a little when I dropped her off and cried each time the doorbell rang (twice) for kids that were picked up before she was. I'm sure she'll realize very soon that Lina's house is way more fun than I am. Either that or she'll be conditioned to cry at the sound of a doorbell for the rest of her life. This was the first time I've started one of the kids in a new place that I didn't cry. When we came out the front door this morning I yelled, "It's Adlani's first day of preschool!! Woo-Hoo!!!" The neighbors were cracking up. As you might expect, he wasn't all that cooperative for his first day of school picture. On the bright side, he was out cold by 7 p.m.

My big problem of the moment is what the heck to put in Adlani's lunch box. He will only eat hot dogs, chicken nuggets (preferably from McDonalds because the others "have too much chicken inside"), and pizza. None of those are that appetizing after sitting in a lunch box for 4 hours. He ate a hot dog and a half today but the leftovers were in a thermos full of icky grease. The cut up pears came home in both lunch boxes because they were "too squishy". Aliya ate 4 crackers for snack because the cheese was also "too squishy" by afternoon-snack-time. I'm at a loss. I'm sure the other moms are sending in smiley-face snacks made of organic veggies layered on soy-nut-butter on whole wheat bread, with little notes of love and encouragement. My kids' Thomas and Bratz lunchboxes are full of snack-sized bags of mini muffins and fishie crackers. How am I going to explain that there's no money for college because I spent it all at BJ's?

Dish Duty

This is what I do with Norah while I wash the dishes, particularly at camp where we don't have a dishwasher. She loves it!

Labor Day Pool Party

Aliya, Norah, and I spent the afternoon with our friends at the ce-ment pond. Aliya showed off her excellent diving and surfing skills. Now that all of the girls have left NGCC we'll have to work harder to stay in touch, but not to worry...Aliya, Maren, Reece, and Erin are all on the same soccer team. Look out coach!