Better

I wrote that the sleeping situation was bad in our house. Miraculously we had two great nights after that. So I wrote that things were getting better. Then we had two bad nights. Now things are good again-- we've had two good nights. Am I jinxing it? I should keep a chart.

In this picture Talia is wearing her "Team Petra" shirt. We wore it to the Ironman Race and got to see our friend Petra who participated (and finished!). I love going to the Ironman; we went last year too. Ron says he feels worthless while watching the racers-- I feel quite the opposite. It is incredible to see people who set such an outlandish goal for themselves-- swim 2.4 miles, then bike 112 miles, then run a marathon of 26.2 miles. All in the same day. I love seeing all the supporters on the sidelines. It brings tears to my eyes to see kids wearing shirts that say "See Mommy Swim. See Mommy Bike. See Mommy Run." Each participant has their name printed with their race number. The people who look especially worn out get the most cheers and encouragement from strangers along the side of the road. It's also striking that some of the participants don't look like what you might expect a triathlete to look like. They look more like, well, me. (Ok, not exactly but closer than you'd think). Watching the race I feel the opposite of worthless. I feel energized to know that when I set an incredible goal for myself someday (whatever and whenever that will be) I'll be able to reach it.

Beach Time and Friend Time

This is the first time we really let Alex play in the sand. He loved it; we did not love cleaning him... The bottom two shots are at the Levy's and the Munson's. The girls had pizza in Sabrina's princess nightgowns and then a big sundae bar at Lily's house-- Thanks for having us over! It was great to see you!

Pink Party

We had a big playdate on Saturday with friends Isabella, Olivia, Gabi and Addie. The kids played beautifully together-- no fights! We had pink pancakes, pink cupcakes and pink milk. The kids colored placemats and made crowns. Ron had to work so we thought, why not a party? It really turned a snowy Saturday into a fun time. Alex seemed to enjoy all of the attention he received from the girls as well. Let's do it again soon!

Sunny Vacation

Took the family to Miami to meet up with our Israeli friends who now live in Holland. We had an easy time getting there and beautiful weather the whole time. Talia and Yoav played extremely well together. He is 9 months younger and basically did everything she said. He played Legos, Polly Pockets, Disney Princesses and My Little Pony. It was great. We just went to the pool every day and then geared up for the big activity of dinner. Alex was wonderful and practically slept through the night each night. The trip home wasn't awful but we had a two hour delay and ended up getting home at 2am. Apparently there had been a big snowstorm in Madison and our driveway had been plowed in and then iced over. I had to pay someone $150 to come with a pick-axe so I could get the car out of the garage. Subsequently, we bought a snowblower!

"Hike"

These days a hike means pushing two sleeping kids in their strollers. Talia refused to use a stroller from the age of one until now. She ses her brother in a stroller and wants to ride. Whatever. It was a nice day and the trees still have some color. Our friend Corey visited from Chicago.

First Plane Ride, East Coast Visit

I don't have the time to give a detailed description of our vacation but here's the quick version-- The kids were great on the planes, especially considering we sat on the runway for 2 hours while waiting to take off for our 1 hour flight. We had a great time at my sister's and played with my niece Marley. we also went to a festival where Talia took her first (and second and third) trip down a super big slide. Had sushi with Katie in the city and saw her new apartment, where Talia ran around naked. Drove Talia through Times Square on the way to NJ. She was sufficiently impressed! Relaxing time at Nana and Papa's. The weather was fantastic and it was nice to have other people who want to play with my kids! Ron and I even went to the movies. Off to Philadelphia where we saw many friends and had a nice time. If they ever send me pictures I'll post them (ahem ahem). We definitely miss friends and family (and I bought 5 pounds of yummy La Colombe Coffee) but we still love living in the midwest! We've only been here 4 months but I hope we feel that way forever!

Pumpkin Patch

Went to the Pumpkin Patch over the weekend. Talia had a great time with her friends and really enjoyed the corn maze, hayride, playground AND petting the farm kitties (wash your hands!).

Welcome to Suburbia!

We've been "ghosted!" Someone left this on our doorstep this evening. It's a bag full of Halloween Goodies (almost all non-candy-- thank you!). The thing that freaks me out is that I answered the door pretty quickly and there was NO ONE in sight! Yikes! Those stealthy bastards! I honestly don't know who it was-- the only people who would bother don't live in our neighborhood and I think you're supposed to keep it local. Anyway, we get to pick two unsuspecting families to "ghost" ourselves. I have on family in mind but anyone else I would think of has most likely been "ghosted" already. You put the paper ghost on your door to show that you have already received a goody bag. I'll have to pay more attention when I drive through the neighborhood tomorrow morning. Anyway, thank you very much-- it really makes us feel like part of the community! PS- my flash no longer works so the pictures are coming out dark dark dark and quite wobble-y.

Impromptu Spring Picnic

It was so nice out yesterday that we had a picnic dinner on the front porch. My goal was to NOT have to clean the kitchen and pick up rice and beans (Talia's favorite) off the floor. That worked-- I just shook out the picnic blanket and swept the rest onto the grass. There still ended up being a lot of dishes though. Oh well. We all had fun and it was a real change of scenery to sit outside with some good friends!

In other news, my new house cleaning plan seems to be working. The house has been picked up and basically clean (the best I've ever managed anyway) for a week so far,with beds made and shades opened each day. My cleaning people are coming today and all I have to do is wash the bath mats and put out new sheets. Most of the surfaces are cleared off already and the 5 hours of picking up is essentially unnecessary at this point. Even my car is clean! Note to all who know me: clean is a relative term. I really only have two (big, cluttered, overwhelming) rooms to clear out for moving plus the basement, which I tackled in January but definitely have to do again with a clearer focus-- do we REALLY need those items? NO! GET RID OF IT is my new theory.

A Sweet Pesach

We had two very nice seders-- one with friends and one with family. Here are some of the pictures. Of course, it's the third day of Passover right now and I still haven't cleaned out my kitchen or bought any Pesach food.