Acorns - Are they bad seeds?

Sam had been collecting acorns for Etan. Do you remember Etan, he's the kid that has taught my kid lovely words like kill and pummer. They aren't even in the same class! They only see each other on the playground and if there are special events going on. So from what Sam tells me he gathers them to give to Etan for his collection. They call then super balls or beads. Part of me feels like telling Sam, I don't like that kid and you shouldn't either! Like when he asks if he can go to his house or have him come to ours. Instead, I say I have to talk to his mom and I don't know her phone number. Which is true, I don't know it but I could see if it's in the student directory. I know that this is the first of many kids that I will feel like negatively influence Sam. What I don't know is what to do? I do know that there are other moms that feel the same way.

How do the single moms do it?

I have just survived my 5 day stint as single momma. When Mich left for work Thursday morning she went straight to the airport and still hasn't been home yet. She took the red eye in last night/this morning and went directly to work.

Thursday night I got home from work and I am ashamed to report that I just can't remember what we did. Not one bit! Well, I guess I remember that once I finally got into bed, I watched Survivor that I had recorded.

Friday morning Isaac woke up at 6:30 a.m.! He and I had a great time together but I didn't get to go into the shower until Sue arrived. I had gotten Sam ready for school so that she could take the boys downstairs and I could get ready in peace. I took Sam to school and went to work. That night we had dinner at my parents house. We got there early and ate early, we were done by 7:15. Mom was coming back home with me to baby sit since I was going to a grown up party. So funny that both Mich and I were alone and going out without the kids too bad we weren't on the same coast. So off I went to a party at Miriam and Joe's house. The party was being held because Miriam was going to be on TV. So the party was very nice, great drinks and yummy food. I knew that I'd be with the kids all day the next day so I didn't over drink or stay out too late. I came home at 12:15 a.m. and went straight to bed.

Saturday I woke up at 6:45 and thought should I sleep more or take a shower today. The shower won. I was all ready by 7:30 waiting for the boys to wake up. I had been waiting until 8:00 to call my cousin Vicki and at 7:59 the phone rang it was her. She was wondering what we were up to and I told her that since it was raining I thought that I was going to go into the city to the American Museum of Natural History. Our family membership would get all of us in for free. The boys and I went to my mom's house to take her carseats to put them in Vicki's car so that we could all travel together. We got to the museum quite easily and parked in the garage there. All the kids had a great time and so did we! The favorite part for everyone was seeing the big whale hanging from the ceiling in the underwater exhibit. On the way home both of the boys fell asleep. When we got home I transferred Isaac into his crib and we carried Sam still attached to the car seat into the house. He stay asleep in the car seat for another hour! I spent that time picking up around the house. Once both boys were awake we ate dinner. We made an after dinner run to Trader Joe's to get coffee and then drove past two of the nearby houses that have really great Halloween decorations. I got the boys to bed and I was not far behind.

Sam woke up asking to go to the zoo again. He has been asking for days so I was thinking that maybe we should try to go. The weather was perfect, sunny and about 65. I called Cynthia to see if they wanted to come she said that Marc's parents were coming for dinner and she needed to be back early. I said that I needed to go to Costco and planning to be home early enough to shop there before they closed. She ended up not wanting to go to the zoo but suggested that I drop Sam off to play with Julia while Isaac and I went to Costco. I took her up on the offer and my small boy and I shopped unloaded the stuff at home and went back to get Sam. We ended up staying there for 2 1/2 hours. When I got back to the car I had a message from my brother saying that he was available for pumpkin picking after all. So we drove straight to Uncle Robbie's house to pick him up and we headed to the farm. We took a farm tour and it turns out that this place is the largest dairy farm in NJ. They have 650 cows that produce 16 percent of the milk consumed in NJ. We got to see the cows and pet them. They had about 50 baby cows that were so cute and little. They also had other farm animals like chickens, goats, donkeys, etc. Then in was back on to the tractor pulled wagon to the pumpkin patch. They great thing is that they planted pumpkins and gourd together. So there were lots of choices in the field. Sam ended up picking 10 gourds that are sitting in a bowl on the table in our kitchen. He was so proud of them! We dropped Uncle Robbie back at home and we were off to mom and dad's for dinner. I told them that I couldn't stay long because the house was a mess and I wanted things to be nice for Michy's arrival back at home. I got the baby to bed and Sam and I spent the rest of the night picking up the mess that was in nearly every room in the house. Then he and I went to bed.

Monday morning's Sue doesn't come to work because Sam has school at 9 and Isaac has school at 9:15 so I drop Sam at school and then Zack and I go to class and Sue meets me at 10:15 to take him home. I don't know what I was thinking telling her that she shouldn't come to my house first! It isn't easy to get all three of us ready and to school by 9 but we made it. Poor Mich's flight was delayed in LA and then she circled over Newark for 45 minutes.

LA

That's where Michy is. She is going to a trade show and to visit factories today. Rosa and I made her dummy cards so that she could get into factories in LA that do what she does. I am so excited for her, she is hoping to see some new stuff out there. Apparently Los Angeles is the fashion trend capital of the moment. She was talking about opening another location in LA, but who would run it? So, I'm single momma until Monday, she is taking the redeye Monday night and going straight to work. Tonight we are going to have dinner at my parents house and then I'm going out to a party while mom watches the kids. An adult party, it's been a long time since I've been to one, it's a little sad that Mich can't go with me. It's supposed to rain all weekend, I had wanted to go to the zoo but not in the rain. Maybe we will go to the aquarium, I've heard that it's more then half indoors.

The shirts

So the shirts are on order. I am so excited about starting this little side business. Mich has been buying these really expensive Grail tee shirts and tells me that she has the ability to make these shirts in her factory. I'm not exactly sure how I will sell them, I think that I will plan to start by signing up for a table at one of the gift fair things that happens at Sam's school. I remember going to two things last year prior to the holidays where people had table set up with stuff to buy. I was thinking that I should probably have a label for them. But what? More news about this to come for sure.

Our little one is in school!

Isaac is in a classs called Me and My Shadow. It's a class for 13-22 month olds to get used to being in school. You stay in class with your child, it's one day a week for an hour. When Sam was Isaac's age my mom took Sam but this time I wanted to go myself. So my boss approved me going I'm only going to be 1 1/2 hours late one day a week. So we had our first class on Monday. It was so cute. We got there and they had free play stations set up. First Zack decided to play in the kitchen, then on to the playdoh, yum. Yes he always decided to eat it but at least now he spits it out. Then they did sort of attendance thing, where each kid had to take a little felt bear that has their name on it and carry it to the board and hang it up. Nearly all the kids did it successfully. It took Isaac a while, he'd go to the front of the room, nearly put the bear up, everyone would tell him how great he was doing and he'd run back to me. Finally he put his on the board. Then we all washed or hands for snack. He ate all the graham cracker and spilled the open cup of water that they gave him. They said he should practice, who am I to argue. It's only water, right? Then we went back to the mat and sang songs. The whole thing is so cute! I was glad to find that one of Sam's favorite classmates younger brother's is in the class too!

I was Shabbat Mom

Friday I was Shabbat mom at Sam's class. Each Friday a different parent goes into the classroom, reads a story, attends Shabbat "services" and has snack, that you bring, in the classroom with the kids. During orientation at the beginning of the year Miss Meryl asked that the book we bring has some special meaning, not that they don't love hearing about Thomas or Princesses but on Shabbat especially they are looking for something more. Sam and I went to Barnes and Noble, one of his favorite stores, to get a copy of Todd Parr's The Family Book. We talked about what kind of snack we should bring, the notice said a healthy snack so we decided on strawberries, pineapple and cheese fish shapsters. We arrived at school and although you aren't supposed to get there until 9:15 and drop off is at 9, poor planning what are you supposed to do it those 15 minutes? I stayed in the classroom. Sam did tzadakah (charitable giving), they have a tzadasauraus, a dinosaur bank that the belly fills with the coins, where each kid takes turns putting their money in the bank. Then it was time for the class to sit on the carpet but not Sam and I. I got a big chair and Sam got a little chair in the front of the room. Then I read the book to the class. At the beginning Miss Meryl, Sam's teacher, told the class to zip it, lock and and give her the key. That was so cute, all the kids zipped their mouths, turned the key and then "tossed" it to her. Then all focus was on me, I read the book and the kids seems to enjoy it. At the end Sam and I told Miss Meryl that we had bought that copy for the classroom. She was so thankful. Then all of the kids went to get their kipots to wear to Shabbat. We went to the chapel and the Rabbi talked to the kids about how special this time of year is and how we have to say sorry for the things that we did in the past and that we should be thankful for other things. She asked the kids to turn to the person next to them and say they are sorry. Sam turned to me and said, Mom I'm really sorry. It was so sweet! I told him that I was sorry too. Then we talked about what we were thankful for and both Sam and his friend Jon told me they were thankful for Thomas. Then all the Shabbat mom's (there were 5 classes together in the chapel) were invited to the front for the prayers over wine, bread and we lit candles. Amazingly Sam knows all the prayers. After that we went back to the classroom for snack. Sam had to give out the challah, see photo above. He was instructed to ask each kid if they wanted any and then give them some. He was quite the host. He then helped me with the rest of the stuff. Strawberries and cheese were big hits, pineapple not as much. Then I asked if I could take a photo of his class, which prompted Sam to want to take a photo. Then the rest of his classmates wanted to take photos too, so I let each kid take a photo. Miss Meryl asked for copies of the photos and she made a collage for the class that she called our view of the class. It was all so very special, sweet and cute. At the end Sam thanked me so much for coming. Later at home he said that he didn't want me to be shabbat mom again because he didn't want me to let his friends use my camera or let them give me high fives. A little jealous, huh!

The Ring Man

As promised, here are a couple of photos from my brother's wedding:

Here's Sam on his way down the aisle! Our little man is so cute!!!!!

On the left of Sam is Alyssa and on the right of his is Julia, the girls are my cousin Vicki's daughter who were flower girls.

This one is so sweet I had to show you.

Me with the happy couple!

Where to begin?

I have had so much go on in the past week or so...

I went away for a conference for work. I had to go away for 2 nights to the Borgata in Atlantic City. Everything went smoothly both there and at home. I got amazing nights sleep, closed my eyes and then next thing I knew I heard my wake up call. My room was gorgeous, our convention manager upgraded me to a suite, too bad I had no one there with me. I had nice dinners with my co-workers. The best thing that happened is one of our long time exhibitors gave me an iPod. I took it to the Apple store and traded up to the Nano. Don't I think I'm cool! Now to figure out how to use it. Anyone have a knowledgeable teen to rent me.

Mich is still working like crazy. She hardly mades it home for dinner anymore and she had worked for at least the last 5 Saturdays and is planning to work tomorrow. Busy is good, she has lots of work but I feel so badly for all the problems that she is having. Hopefully things will settle and she will find the competent workers that she needs.

Sam is very lovable yet a total pain. He whines so much and I am having a hard time focusing on dealing with it properly. It grates my nerves and I feel like screaming and running away. He still comes home from school everyday talking about the evil Etan. Why does he like this kid so much and how can I get him to stop? I think that he's love affair with him is cause misbehaver at home too. He hits his brother for no reason out of the blue. Just walks past him and whacks him in the head or sometimes back. He has been getting immediate time outs for this but I'm not sure it's helping. I guess we'll just keep plugging away. Don't get me wrong he is still very sweet a lot of the time and we're not ready to trade him yet.

Isaac is a nut. He never stops moving, well to eat and sleep but that's it. He climbs as high as he can where ever he can. It's quite scary. He eats like crazy and anything we put in front of him. his latest unusual food was scallops. He still does not say any words but he is making sounds that seem like words. He uses some of the same sounds in the same situation so many they are words just not English. He now officially has 7 teeth. He has been slow to teeth but now the arrival of new ones come without fanfare.

Me, well, I have been thinking for a long time that I really should be doing Sue's job. I don't really make that much more then she does after taxes and Mich could put me on her health insurance at work, as long as I'm not working since I'd have to be shown as an employee because of the stupid domestic partnership laws in NY. Anyway, one of the main issues I had, besides the actually fear of leaving this job, taking on the kids and some little thing to make up the difference in $$ was that I worried that Mich would be jealous. It wasn't my worry, she said that it would bother her. If the roles were reversed I'd jump to let her stay home over Sue. Not that I would wish it could be me but I'd rather her them someone else. Well, she basically said that she thought we should get rid of Sue and that I should be with the kids. If only I could get off my butt and do something to make up the difference in dollars. I know that once I'm not working it will not make that much difference, I'll cook more or something. Anyway, Mich and I have been taking about starting this business doing embellishments on tee shirts and other clothes, to sell at the gift show and other places we haven't figured out yet. So today, I applied for a corporate account at American apparel to buy some garments to make samples. I think that this is a great business idea for us. Michy can do the embellishments in her factory so the cost will be minimal, it will also give her workers something to do during a slow period. I am going to try to start this while I'm still here and make sure that we think it's a sustainable business but I'm totally psyched! Maybe I'll even get to talk to Mich more, even if it's just to place orders.

This weekend I am going with the boys to the NY Children's Museum to see the new Alice in Wonderland exhibit, them hopefully Mich can meet us for lunch. Then on Sunday we have two birthday parties, one for Sam's classmate and the other is for cousin Julia. The funny thing is that they are at the exact same place, one starts at 11:00 and ends at 12:30 and the other one starts at 2:00 and ends at 3:30. Mich is going to take Sam to the first one, then we are going to meet for lunch and all go to the second one. After that, at Sam's request, my parents friends are coming over. He loves this couple, he calls them his friends Susan and Arthur, it's quite funny. So they are coming over to play with him and I had the dumb suggestion that they eat dinner with us. Oh and my parents are coming too, since I guess we can't have plans with their friends without them.

I guess that's all, I feel like I have so much more to say but I should get back to work. I'll post a photo of the ring man soon.