Mads Turns 4!

We had over 60 people here today (a little over a third were kids). The Magic Genie put on an awesome show for kids and adults. No complaints this year about how Mads was mistreated as a birthday girl by the entertainment provider. It seemed everyone had a good time and plenty to eat. In hindsight, I should have cut the cake right after the magic show. Did I mention that I baked and decorated it myself? Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. “You could tell it was homemade,” said the husband after the party. I’m still wondering if that’s a compliment or not. My mother said, “You made it so sweet.” Um, mom, do you ever have anything nice to say about my accomplishments? In her defense, cakes from Chinese bakeries are not as dense or as sweet as the cakes from non-Chinese bakeries, or my home. Anyway, I was pleased, especially since my husband was able to eat it (no soy). For goody bags, I ordered a box of assorted magic tricks, stamps, and tattoos. I used paper bags and stuffed them. Then I stamped the first names of the guests onto the bags. That took hours of work the night before. I will have to order stuff earlier (had to pay shipping in order to have peace of mind) next time.

Clashing Celebrations – Christmas Spirit and Jewish Traditions

We started the morning with the WWL’s Children’s Holiday Breakfast, but we were off to a bad start. It took us 30 minutes to figure out that we had to park in the back of the Middle School and enter into the cafeteria that way. We went up and down School Road because the front of the school (except for the entrance to the pool) was closed. There was no signage indicating that the event was happening. Anyway, we didn’t take a picture with Santa, but we did get a picture of Mads with Mrs. Claus. WZR did not like the looks of Santa; Mrs. Claus got skeptical looks from him.

Mads even hip hopped with the Abominable Snowman after eating her hearty pancake breakfast.

After that we went to a Jewish wedding, where there was a lot of eating and dancing! It was interesting in that the men and women were separated during the ceremony and also during the reception. There was a divider in the middle of the room so the men had their celebration and the women had theirs. The bride and groom got together a couple of times, but most of the evening they spent it apart. The bride was absolutely beautiful (LOVED her dress). Poor Mads wanted to dance with her, but her mother was too shy to get involved in traditional dancing. At least she got a private moment with the princess and posed for a pic.

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Thankful Thursday

We arrived in Hingham an hour later than planned, but fortunately WZR slept the whole way through. Appetizers were complete with shrimp cocktail, crackers, cheese, pate, antipasta, mini hot dogs, and more! Then we had a bountiful traditional dinner with turkey, stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, potatoes, and other yummy food. Dessert included pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, ginger cookies, chocolate chip cookies…

Today, I’m thankful that I have family to spend the holidays with and that the kids enjoy themselves when we’re around them. Also thankful for the new friends we’ve made this year.

Magnificent Monday

If you asked me a year ago how I liked living in the ‘burbs, my answer would be mostly negative. I can’t walk anywhere, there are no streetlights here, I have to drive everywhere in a minivan, yada yada yada. While these are still true, I am glad we made the move. I’ve made friends. I can remember the names of Mads’ classmates and their moms (well, most of them). I’m back in a book club. I can walk to town from Mads’ preschool with WZR on my front/back. I can be at the beach within 20 minutes. I can visit multiple libraries in an afternoon. I am more comfortable with driving in the dark (what choice do I have when it’s pitch black at 5 pm?). There are more book sales in CT. Our weekends are fuller. The air is fresher. The skies are prettier, especially at night – I can see the stars! Ok, I still will decide whether or not to attend an event based on my research about the driving directions and parking situations. Let’s face it, I may be less intimidated by the roads in Fairfield County, but I still can’t park in lots with tight spaces between other minivans and I still don’t do well with joggers/bikers in my lane (or yours). So, if you see a minivan pulling in and out of a spot, or circling around the parking lot multiple times to look for a less accident-prone spot, have mercy on me. Sure I have more house to clean, more four-legged creatures staring me down, and bugs I itch just thinking about. That’s ok, because I’m good enough, I’m happy enough, and doggone it, people seem to like my family. What do I really enjoy? Driving home to the sunset in my backyard.

 

Somewhere over the rainbow…

It was such a gorgeous day today! I couldn’t let the afternoon slip by without going to the beach. We ended up staying there for 3 hours and met a girl who was born on the same day as Mads. Too bad the family will be moving out of Weston next summer so they won’t be in kindergarten together. Well, summer is still far away, so play dates are still in tow. Actually, it turns out that I’ve met her mother once during soccer and we’ve exchanged multiple emails in the past. Anyway, we saw three rainbows and they were amazing.

Thorough Thursday

This has been a busy day! First I dropped Mads off then went home and took part in a 2-hour webinar to fulfill my licensure requirements. Then I did some last minute preparations for the Boo! at Bisceglie and went to pick up Mads. Off we went to Bisceglie and set up the table. It was a nice gathering of 9 moms and about a little over a dozen kids. There were plenty of snacks and treats to go around. I lined up the kids and paraded them around the tot playground, stopping at various stations for treats. It was great! After that, we cleaned up and we went to a birthday party at Kids U in Norwalk. A driving adventure in that I drove past the entrance twice going both ways. Other than that, it was fine. The party was 90 minutes and we drove home in the dark (gasp!).

 

 

Pre-K Soccer is So Exciting!

Soccer season has begun! This time Mads actually learns skills from a professional coach and then gets to “play” against another team. Her team is smaller than the others to begin with (6 vs. 7), but 2 of the players actually do not seem to be interested in participating. Last season, she was on a team where half of members wandered off the field. That’s ok, that means more play time for Mads. If only WZR could join in on the fun!

Thanks for sharing her with us!

That is one of the nicest things I’ve heard about Mads. She started the 4’s preschool program yesterday and she got a lot of compliments about her smile and overall cuteness. Today she had an extended day due to Lunch Bunch and one of her teachers thanked me for sharing Mads with them because she is so sweet. Ah, but they’re not around when she says “no” to things, whines, or defies sleep. That’s ok, because she comes home and tells me she has a job in school – to pass out napkins. As long as I don’t get a phone call about misconduct, I’m fine.

Quiet Day at the Beach

If you just want to sunbathe, picnic, or read by the beach, now is the best time to go. It was really quiet today; a huge difference from yesterday’s crowdedness. Of course, everyone wanted the last hurrah before heading back to school/work. Anyway, here’s my panoramic of the playground taken and stitched together by my iPhone (love that thing!).

And here’s WZR steering the boat! Ok, not a real one, but he’s standing! He pulled himself into a standing position for the first time on Sunday night. Way to go!

Just Plain Cute

Sometimes I’m not sure whether I should laugh or cry. For instance, today I asked Mads why her princesses are all over the place. She answered, “No, I’m playing hide n’ seek with them.”

Definitely cute: I said, “Oh, Winston” to see where he had scooched himself to and he answered, “Oh, Mama!” So I kept saying his name and he kept calling mine. Kind of like Marco…Polo…