the girls' schedule

i always swore i wouldn't be one of those moms who over-schedules their children. oh, well -- it's the thought that counts, right? there is just too much to do! and every activity has its benefits! so far, it is just chloe who is over-scheduled. hopefully i can save amelia from the chaos until 1st grade. fortunately, chloe doesn't seem to mind.

now that chloe is in first grade, she in school 5 full days. i drop her off at school at 9:00 (much easier for me since her school and amelia's school are right next door. otherwise, we'd have to be at the bus stop at 8:15). she gets off the bus at 3:50.

as some of you may know, i am planning on rejoining the work force next fall (2009) in the not-for-profit sector hopefully in a part-time role. (if you have any contacts for me, please let me know!) so, in order to prepare amelia for 5 full days next year, her schedule this year is 3 full days (m/w/f) and 2 half days (tu/th). she loves school! her teachers are amazing and really into art. amelia's schedule will also allow me the time i will need to update my resume (which is 16 years old), research, network, interview, etc. which i am planning to start after the new year.

every other wed, chloe has brownies right after school, which she loves! there are 9 other girls and 2 leaders and she talks about it a lot. on thursdays the girls have gymastics. on friday, they have swim. amelia is finally doing the doggie paddle! on saturdays they have soccer. this was not a crowd favorite at first, but i think it's growing on them. it is a very laid back league that just allows them to get the basics and get some fresh air. this saturday is the last day actually so we'll be free saturday mornings now! sundays is hebrew school for chloe only.

now chloe is expresssing an interest in piano lessons and when i told her she'd have to give something up she said "i'll give up school!"

one cute thing: at school, chloe recently had to talk about a hero of hers during "morning meeting" (formerly known as "circle time"). she wrote down "my casin molly is a hero beycas she is good at soker." then she drew a picture of molly kicking a soccer ball and chloe in the goal. adorable!

the funnies

amelia has had a few cute things lately:
* miley "siren" (instead of cyrus)
* miracle round (instead of merry-go-round)
* "don't even do a peek"
* re: a boo boo -- "it's getting goner and goner and goner!"
* eating a thin mint for the first time -- "it was minter and minter and minter!"

it is fun watching chloe reading new words and discovering what they REALLY are as opposed to how they sound. she recently saw "tug-of-war" and said "oh! i thought it was tuggawar"

one day amelia said she liked the shirt chloe was wearing. chloe didn't hesitate and said, "well you'll have it in a couple of years."

reid turns 5!

on 11/2, we celebrated reid's 5th birthday party, first at the bowling alley and then at home. a wonderful time was had by all! and i beat my father in bowling even after 2 gutterballs on the first frame!!! i was on FIRE! did i mention i had ZERO after the first frame and still won?? 8-)

HALLOWEEN!

halloween is my 2nd favorite holiday (after christmas, of course!)! that week the girls each had a parade at their school so i included a picture from that. then on 10/31, we started off the festivities with a pizza party at our house for all the neighborhood families with kids in 3rd grade or younger. this included 10 families with a total number of 36 attendees (21 kids and 15 adults). after the pizza was inhaled, we took some pictures (this is our back deck), gave out candy and headed out for trick or treating! the girls LOVED it! they got so much candy that they didn't balk when i asked them to hand over 20 pieces each for less fortunate children (our local toy store was collecting....).....

amelia's birthday party -- PART 2

this post has some pictures from the family/close friend party at home later the same day. it was a costume party with halloween bingo, pin the nose on the pumpkin and decorate your own pumpkin. i think the kids had a good time!

amelia's birthday party at My Gym

on 10/25, we celebrated amelia's 4th birthday with two parties. this post has some pics from her kids party at My Gym (like "little gym" or gymboree). there were 23 kids there mainly from her class.... much fun was had by all!

halloween at sesame place -- 10/08

on 10/19, we spent the day at sesame place with my good friend melissa and her two kids. it was so much fun! there was trick-or-treating throughout the park, halloween-themed shows (one that starred the count, of course!) and all the "dry" rides. (the water rides were closed of course.)

the top picture is the girls with prairie down in a hayride (without hay!), the middle is amelia, alexandra, chloe and jackson on some stationary haystacks. chloe, by the way, is a witch but she wouldn't wear her hat! the bottom picture is left to right melissa, alex, burt, jack, ernie, chloe, me, amelia.

chloe and her teacher -- 10/08

here is a cute shot of chloe and her teacher, ms. liotti, at the bridal shower that the kids (with the mommies' help!) threw for her. she is now mrs. van nostrand! chloe loves her and is learning so much! chloe's reading has jumped several levels since school began!

rosh hashanah -- 9/08

here is the only picture i took on rosh hashanah... the girls are enjoying the jewish holidays more and more, especially chloe who absolutely LOVES hebrew school! we joined the temple in town in august... chloe attends class from 9am to noon on sundays with 8 other children. it is a multi-age class which includes grades K through 2nd. a big coincidence was when i found out her teacher would be my former la leche league leader!

for both rosh hashanah and yom kippur, we attended family services for about an hour at the temple. it is really geared for the kids and they truly enjoyed them as did we!

our nieces, molly (on left) and emily (on right) are turning into beautiful young ladies before our eyes! molly will be 15 next month (december) and is a freshman in HS. emily will be 13 in february and is in 7th grade.

best buds forever -- 9/08

here's a cute picture of larry and jeff at the very last game at shea stadium. (the mets will have a new stadium next season.) jeff got tickets for larry's birthday and surprised him with a few special guests -- a few of his childhood friends whom he hadn't seen in awhile.

bathtime -- 9/08

at the risk of facing my daughters' wrath many years from now, i am posting this adorable shot. i love that the suds hide everything! it is the suds dripping down from amelia's elbow that are covering up chloe! 8-)