A Boy and His Sheep

Jake has a stuffed sheep that he is deeply in love with. This plush toy was orignially given to Bekah by my MIL who identified it as a monkey. After a closer look we discovered it had cloven hooves and Jake decided it was his.

My dad used to tease me that the reason I have curly hair is from the Irish sheep-herders from way back in my genetic lineage. Ha ha funny dad, but now when I witness Jake in his more amorous moments with Sheepy-Sheepy (that's his name), I wonder if my Dad's sick joke has a shred of truth. Most of the time Jake and Sheepy-Sheepy are just cute, but there have been times both publicly and privately where Jake has shown Sheepy-Sheepy some serious attention, if you know what I mean. Embarassing when it's in public and one time I walked in on him and Sheepy-Sheepy in his crib and I walked out to give them some privacy. Yikes! Jake is going to kill me for putting this into print. I will have to delete this before he starts elementary school.

One day Jake had a double ear infection and I took him to the pediatrician. He took Sheepy-Sheepy with him and Jake was so sick he slumped over Sheepy-Sheepy the whole time he was in the stroller and when I took him out for the doctor to look at him, I had to pry Sheepy-Sheepy from his arms. Very sweet.


Below is a pic of Jake whispering sweet nothings into Sheepy-Sheepy's ear. If you say the name Sheepy-Sheepy, Jake makes a squeaky sound of pure joy. Then he picks up Sheepy-Sheepy and bites his face and hugs him.

Oh Sheepy-Sheepy let me stare deep into your eyes. I love you even more than my brother's Radio Flyer Rocket. And that is some serious love.

Pure, unconditional love, there is nothing better.

Hanukkah/Xmas 2008

So the Saturday before Christmas we had a Hanukkah/Xmas party at our house. It was a lot of fun and food but probably would have gone a little smoother if I hadn't stayed out until 1am the night before.

My new mom's club had our first girls night and it was a huge success. So I know a handfull of mom's hearts just leaped into their throats. Don't worry I am not naming names or going to put in print what was discussed at this particular event. I have learned my lesson.

I do have to say that our new group of friends is far superior to the old mom's club that I had to quit. We cherry picked all the moms that are least likely to get offended or cause drama in any way, shape or form and it makes a huge difference in the quality of our gatherings. Less formal and way more fun!

So anyways I was hurting that Saturday following that gathering and when I went to take the turkey out of the fridge it was still frozen! I had put it in my fridge on Thursday and by Saturday it was still an ice cube, shit!! So I went and bought a fresh turkey and roasted that along with a brisket in the crockpot. We also did all the traditional turkey fixings as well as latkes. Everyone was so stuffed nobody had room for pie and we were left with a lot of desserts. My step-mom Cherie, as usual, was a giant help. And thankfully Auntie M made salad because we were short on any healthy foods.

Sunday we cleaned house and Monday we went to Auntie M's for some more Hanukkah, Tuesday we all went to dinner at Chevy's and Wednesday we just chilled out at home and I made reservations for an overnight stay in S.F. So Christmas morning we just cleaned house, Erik saw a patient, we packed a bag and drove to the city. It stopped raining and was clear but as cold as a witch's tit.

We checked into our room and then walked to Fisherman's Wharf. We just checked out the sights, the sea lions and bought the kids some cookies. We went back to our room and I put another layer of clothes on the kids and then we walked around until we found an Irish pub open for dinner. The kids were so tired and hungry they were actually well-behaved!

Back at the room we pretended to light the menorah and opened real gifts and then took a bath and we all went to bed at the same time. Mike and Bekah in the pull-out sofa, Jake in a pack 'n' play and Erik and I in a queen bed. Jake and Bekah slept all the way through the night!! But Mike was coughing a lot, and restless, and since I can't sleep in a hotel well without kids, I was wide awake of course. But it could have been a lot worse.

The next morning Erik and I hit the breakfast buffet and the kids ate free. I shamelessly stuck a bagel and cream cheese in my purse. Erik rolled his eyes at me.

We had the nicest waitress who insisted on coming over and trying to clean up Jake. She must think I am a horrible mother but it's really pointless to to try to clean him while he is still eating. The dude needs a haz mat suit to get through a meal instead of a bib. Which is why I brought several changes of clothes for him, so I wasn't worried about him pouring orange juice all down his front.

After breakfast we went to The Exploratorium. Best museum in the world. Some exhibits are so great they have been there since Erik and I were kids. My 3 actually lasted an amazing 2 hours before we encountered a double melt-down. Jake and Bekah hit the deck and it wasn't pretty. They were both having the kind of melt-downs where strangers try to help you. It was bad, and loud. Erik was nervously laughing, and I was shaking. We left.

Bekah fell asleep with her chin on her chest before we even hit the freeway and Jake was soon to follow.

This Saturday evening we had another nice Hanukkah party at a friend's house and had a really good time. It's nice to go to a house where you can relax and know that your children are safe and understood. It's also nice when you can pig out on good food.


Below are two pics from Fisherman's Wharf. I couldn't get Mike to sit with me so that's why I only have Jake and Bekah. Michael is going through a daddy phase right now.

Jake The Tank

So this video is from our Christmas Day trip to San Francisco. We are strolling along the wharf and decided to let Jake out to get some exercise. I just wanted to demonstrate what I mean by Jake the tank. He is a very fast and indestructible tank. He runs everywhere and just points his body forward and goes, and goes and goes. Even Mike can barely keep up and Mike is fast too.

Jake catches up to me, pushing freezing Bekah in the stroller, and see how fast I have to walk just to keep up with him. When I am alone with all 3 Jake has to be held or strapped into astroller. He will not hold your hand and he will not listen. He just keeps running full-steam ahead.

Jew Lights

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday and not going into further debt or gaining too much weight.

I am not exactly sure how this conversation went but Auntie M and Uncle Chrissy were discussing with Mike going out to see Christmas lights. Well recently we all went to the Oakland Zoo and saw their Christmas display, which is called appropriately Zoo Lights. I am sure you can see where this is going.

Mike often makes up his own words for things and will not budge. He calls The Incredible Hulk, Humpback and Kung Fu Panda, Fandu Panda. It's just his thing. So of course he started calling Christmas lights, Jew Lights.

So after a super yummy Hanukkah dinner at Auntie M's the other night we all loaded up in seperate vehicles and went to see the lights from this particular neighborhood here in San Ramon. One house has a sleigh in their driveway that you can sit in and watch a movie that is displayed on their garage door. And the most spectacular house has pirated (well not really I just like to say that because I have always wanted to pirate a radio station) a radio station which plays music in time to the lights on their house. Well there isn't just lights on their house but on their lawn, trees, bushes, etc. etc. Pretty amazing!

Well my oldest was not at all impressed. After waiting our turn to view the lights we pull up and Mike says, "Hey these aren't Jew lights, this is just a house!". I have no idea what he was expecting and I can't believe at 4.5 years old he is already too jaded to enjoy it!

So I went up to Auntie M's car and told them what Mike said and they all cracked-up and then we drove home to put them to bed.

I will have more on our Hanukkah-Christmas party and our overnight trip to S.F. on Christmas day.

Raiderzzzz and George W. Bush

Erik and I went to a Raiders game last Sunday and froze our asses off. It was 40 degress and raining. For the longest time I refused to budge out of our seats because if the damn Raiderettes cheerleaders can cheer in the rain then I can sit and drink beer in the rain. But obviously they are getting paid so I finally moved under cover. I have to say I am proud of my native Californians. We are sitting there freezing and soggy and all of a sudden, everyone starts sniffing and heads start swiveling, that's right somebody actually got a joint lit up. Hilarious! An only in California moment.

Raiders lost of course.

So George W. Bush was in Iraq over the weekend and an Iraqi reporter threw a pair of shoes at his head. I am sure you have seen the video a 100 times by now. I really hate the man but you have to give it to him for fast reflexes. Very impressive! Maybe he should play for the Raiders next season.

Mommy Blogging Nerdiness

Please forgive me but I got a shout out from another blog site. It's more like a whisper but it gives me another reason to continue my hobby. The site is called All Mediocre. As in all the mediocre blogs, and damn I strive for mediocrity. Go to this link below and you will see a list and my link is a sentence about "Charlotte not making friends at her son's preschool." Too funny.



http://allmediocre.com/

Jingle Bells

Every Friday is sharing day in Mike's pre-K class. And you have to share something that begins with the letter of the week. This week was "J" and I was drawing a blank. I was tired and just told Mike, "Why don't you just share your jacket?", "Mom that is lame.". Can't argue with that. Then I suggested that he talk about being Jewish and he informed me that he talked about that at snacktime. I have no idea what that means but I let it go. So I said," Why don't you just get up and sing Jingle Bells?". And he agreed!

So I taught him the Batman smells version on our way to school. When I went to pick him up this afternoon there is a window that looks into their classroom. It's one of those interrogation windows where you can see in and they can't see out. So he was the last person to share and they were all singing Jingle Bells Batman Smells. I was so proud!! The other moms were laughing too and said that was really creative. They didn't seem as amused when all the kids were singing all the way to the parking lot. Yelling it would be more like it. I still think it's funny.

Jingle bells, batman smells

Robin laid an egg

The batmobile lost a wheel

And the Joker got away

Hey!

Broken T.V.

Bekah ended up with a fever of 103 last night and I felt terrible for being annoyed at her potty training mishaps. I kept her home from school this morning and now she seems fine, no fever and torturing her brothers. She made Jake cry so hard he held his breath, turned blue and almost passed out. I had to run over and catch him and then blow on his face to make him inhale.

The lamp on our t.v. is burned out and I have a ton of laundry to fold. The connection there is that I find it physically impossible to fold laundry without the t.v. on. What am I supposed to look at? The laundry while I fold it? How boring!

Bekah's 3rd Birthday

This is Bekah with her 2 favorite gifts. Throne from Auntie M and Barbie guitar from my Dad. This is from the end of the evening and she is partied out! She had a beautiful butterfly dress on to match her butterfly theme party but she pooped all over it. Poop is actually a more appropriate theme.

Super cute butterfly and lady bug cake. Bekah is very excited as you can see. No poop on cake.

I chose this picture because I look thinner than any other picture from that night. Also nobody else's kids are in view and I don't want to post pics of other people's kids without their permission. That beer is courtesy of a dear friend and fellow beer drinking mom who gave me a 12 pack for my birthday which was last Friday.

That beer did eventually get kicked over and spilled by my oldest. When you are a parent you just can't have your beer and drink it too. At least nobody pooped on my beer.

I really hate potty training

xcuse typing jake is sitting on my lap eating teddy grahams, mike is running around talking on a banana like a phone and bekah is probably soiling her pants

potty training totally sucks and i suck at it. she actually peed on my foot today. and this was less than a minute after she got off the toilet. she came into the kitchen stood next to me and peed on my foot. i was so angry i had to walk away, my right foot going squish-squish. i wanted to scream.

what's wrong with me? why do i lose my temper so easily when it comes to potty training? whats gonna happen when i have to teach them how to drive?

bekah is my smart one too. and everyone always say girls are easier to potty train. easier than what taking out my own kidney? fuck!!

if freud was right than my kids are going to be serial killers or just plain neurotic. i even told bekah today i would buy her a maserati if she pooped on the potty. it's like i become possesed by this horrible person. i keep chanting little mantras to myself about patience, empathy, enmeshment and then i lose it and start yelling.

its like that last month of pregnancy where you seriously think you are going to be pregnant forever. you know you are going to be in a nursing home with alzheimers and still pregnant at age 85. that's how i feel today, that bekah will never be potty trained. she will be at her high school graduation and her gown will have a big wet spot on it as she steps on stage to receive her diploma.

Bekah's First Haircut

The day after her 3rd birthday Bekah had her first haircut. We went to a place specifically for kids and the woman who runs the place is a sweetheart and very talented. Even so Bekah tried to scratch her and was just plain awful. This wonderful woman managed to get it done cheerfully. She did an excellent job!

So Wednesday was Bekah's 3rd birthday and I went to bring the obligatory cupcakes to her classroom and I was there less than 5 minutes and another student fell down and started to seize and vomit. One teacher skillfully turned him on his side but everyone else seemed to freeze. So I calmly volunteered to call 9-1-1 on my cell phone. When you call 9-1-1 on your cell it goes to the CHP and that coupled with the fact that another staff gave me the wrong address may have caused a 10 minute delay in paramedics getting there.

So back in the day I used to manage a group home for severely emotionally disturbed teens, which included carrying an emergency pager, I worked in specialized foster care where I had 2 clients with a seizure disorder, and I also worked in an emergency psychiatric hospital. So I have had experience dealing with these situations. On Wednesday I just couldn't help wanting to take over and I tried really hard not to. I did end up waiting for the paramedics and going outside to help a teacher who took the initiative to take 10 kids and the cupcakes outside by herself.

I love this preschool and I admire the owners but I was concerned about the lack of protocol so being the busybody that I am I wrote them an email suggesting they review an emergency plan with their staff. It's better to be safe than sorry. Thankfully they were not offended and took my ideas plus more and the next day had a meeting with all their staff and had everyone sign off too. I am relieved. 10 minutes is a long time and this little boy turned out to be fine but what if he had aspirated some vomit and stopped breathing? Too scary to even think about.

So Erik is at the gym right now with all 3 of our savages and I am at home so I can prep for Bekah's big birthday bash. Being the big fat loser that I am, I immediately sit down and start writing on my blog. It's been awhile though and I needed to update.

Bekah's theme is butterflies and everything is pink, green, purple and orange. Very cute! All of my buddies will be here so there will be an after party for sure, woo hoo! I will post pictures later, like tommorrow later.

So I am off to clean, stuff gift bags, make appetizers and I guess I should shower and brush my teeth too.