What Works for Caden and Allie...

Caden went into school without crying again today. He now has 2 stickers on his chart. 1 more and he'll earn another prize.

Allie is collecting 5 block day certificates from her teacher. When she has 10, she will earn another prize. Last weekend, she earned donuts with daddy (and she was nice enough to bring the rest of us back some). This week has been a little tougher - be on the lookout for a post about yawning!

Since it's working so well with those two, and I'm tired of Jaelyn's coat tantrums, I made her a sticker chart this morning. To earn a sticker, she has to put on her coat willingly and not complaining about the weather. Sounds easy, right? She did it this morning and earned her first sticker. Yea - finally a peaceful morning. She will also earn a sticker if she gets off the bus wearing her coat. It was so cold yesterday afternoon and she didn't have her jacket on. I made her stand at the bus stop until she put it on. Crazy girl. 10 sickers and she earns a prize.

All About Jaelyn

I'm very behind in putting a post about Jaelyn's glass so I thought I'd treat you and give you an all around update.

Jaelyn got her glasses last week. So far so good. She wears them only for reading and says she wears them everyday. Several of the kids in her class make fun of her which I hate. There are a few others that wear glasses that have been nice to her though. She says the glasses help her read better. I think she looks cute in them.
Jaelyn is doing great in school. She's rotating for math and reading. She's only brought home math assessments (on which she's done really well). I don't know how she's doing in reading other than what I see when we read. She has a ton of sight words now and is getting faster and faster at sounding out words. She can read me entire books now without any help from me. Her spelling is improving and I'm watching her going from stretch spelling to wanting to spell words correctly. I keep wondering when her class will start having spelling words every week. There seems to be no emphasis on it yet. She brings home good citizenship marks everyday as opposed to the constant yellow lights from last year. Parent conferences and reports cards are in a few weeks and I can't wait to talk to her teacher.

Our biggest problem with Jaelyn right now are a return of the tantrums we experienced last spring. We had a break this summer and the first 2 months of school. I have no idea why they started again, but they have started with a vengeance. Last week, she had a tantrum almost every morning and afternoon. I am choosing to blame the weather. It's gotten colder and if you read my earlier post, we are having issues getting her to wear a coat of any kind. BTW for all of you who thought my chart was awesome. I did too, but it didn't work! Not all of her tantrums are focused on wearing warmer clothing, but a lot are. If she's not whining about wearing a coat, she's probably whining about the fact that she likes summer and doesn't like fall and winter. I keep telling her the same thing...I can control a lot of things in her life, but the weather is not one of them. She is wearing me out. Last night's tantrum getting dressed for ballet was so bad that I left her at home with Dan and just took Allie.

When Jaelyn isn't being Mr. Hyde, she's a sweet, loving little girl. I love to catch her sitting with a book reading to Caden. Her drawing skills are improving. She's drawing pictures that look like actual things and is adding background scenery. Here's an elephant she made out of play doh. If you look closely, he is putting a peanut in his mouth with his trunk.

The Difference in a Sweater and a Jacket

Jaelyn liked her chart. She got on-line and checked the weather as soon as she came downstairs. She saw that the high today was going to be 65 (it's cold outside - we won't be hitting it) and the low was 41. She looked at her chart and saw that 40-60 was long sleeves and a jacket. She has 2 medium weight jackets. She chose a purple sweater. Hmmm...not quite medium weight as I had explained. We were late and I chose not to push. At least she put it on without a fuss, but then she complained about wearing a sweater on the way to the bus stop. The funny thing is, she"ll say "I don't like wearing sweaters when it's cold. I only want to wear my shirt!!!" and then in the next breath, she'll say "I'm cold. I don't like it when it's cold." Hello...wear a jacket so you'll be warm! I'm missing summer already!

The Chart

Dan and I talked and we came up with a coat plan. Jaelyn loves to check the weather online. We made a chart and have assigned her with the job of checking the weather. Once she knows the temperature, she can check the chart and it'll tell her exactly what she has to wear. There will be no more "but it's not cold outside" tantrums. We didn't come up with firm consequences for not obeying, but surprisingly, I don't think we'll have much argument from her now that she is in control of what she wears (sort of). She seemed very excited about the idea when we told her.

The Coat Fight

It's barely getting cold here and the fight with Jaelyn to wear a coat has begun. I'm not talking little fight, I'm talking major 30 minute tantrums. It is 40 degrees out this morning and she was wearing capri pants and a long sleeve shirt. I let the capri pants go because I still need to go pants shopping for her. All of the girls' long pants are too big in the waist for Jaelyn and slide right off her hips. Not wearing a coat or sweater or light jacket, however, is not going to slide. I've tried doing the love or logic thing of "you have to bring a coat. Do you want to carry it or wear it?" That still elicits stomping and wailing. She has 3-4 light weight sweaters and 2 medium weight jackets to choose from. Any ideas on how to get Jaelyn to wear a jacket without the meltdown that inevitably ensues?

For Annie - My Christmas Spirit

My sweet friend Annie loves Christmas and I upset her greatly by telling her about my baa humbug feelings towards Christmas this year. So this is for you Annie...

The kids are currently watching Mickey Mouse saving Christmas (and it's not even Halloween). I bought my first Christmas present for the girls and have been thinking and planning out the rest. Slowly, very slowly, that Christmas spirit is sneaking in...even if I don't want it to! I even found a Christmas CD in my car the other day. It has NOT made it to the CD player, but you never know??!?!?! Don't worry about us, Annie! We'll be fine :).

My Favorite Sound of Fall

I love fall. My favorite thing has to be the sound of the dried leaves as I crunch them under my feet. In the next month, I'll find myself going off the sidewalk often so I can walk on leaves piled in the grass. I don't know exactly what it is about the sound that makes me happy, but I feel satisfied as I hear that lovely crackle. We went to Edan Mill Nature Center today to hike on the trails. It's the first time we've been there and we really enjoyed it. The leaves are just beginning to turn so the hills were filled with bright yellow, red and orange leaves. I was able to crunch my first leaves of fall and the kids had fun running in the cool air, hunting for the perfect hiking stick (aka sword for Caden). Along with our hike, the kids got to throw a few things in the creek. We almost had an incident. Caden walked through the tall grass to get to the creek. I caught him just in time. One more step in the grass that was overhanging the creek and he would have been in it. Dan says he wouldn't have gotten wet. He would have thrown me in after Caden to fish him out. Not nice. The girls even managed to find a hill to roll down while giggling wildly at each other. Another of my favorite sounds of fall...giggling!

When All Else Fails

...bribery is a good option. Actually, it wasn't bribery; it was more of earning a reward. Caden started off great at preschool. He'd go right in without any troubles. The last few times, we've reverted back and his teachers have had to pull him off of me while he cried. It's been horrible. The only good thing is that he calms right down and has a great day. It's just the initial separation that's hard. In the car this morning, I talked with him about how Allie is earning rewards for having 5 block days. He liked that idea. We decided to make a chart and he would need to earn 3 stickers to earn a prize. He could earn stickers by going into class without crying. It sounded great in the car, but as soon as we got out, it wasn't sounding so good anymore. I sweetened the pot a little by offering to let him earn his first prize (a Scooby Doo car) with only 1 sticker. That helped. I held him with his head on my shoulder while we waited for the room door to open. He didn't want to go in, but when Miss Heather opened the door, he went inside with his friends without a tear! Score 1 car for Caden!!! At less then a dollar a car, I'll buy him one everyday if that's what it takes :p!

Pictures of My Room

I'm DONE! Dan said it looks pretty much the same, but when forced (and believe me I forced), he could tell the problems I fixed and agreed it looks much better...even though it's the same color. Good Dan!

I'm super thrilled with it. Before, the walls were semi-gloss so you could see every imperfection. The previous owners used big anchors EVERYWHERE so all the places I removed the anchors and patched could be seen. The patches have actually been glaring at me just daring me to fix them. They painted on the ceiling and the baseboards and I truly don't believe the baseboards had been cleaned for years. I know...I've tried and couldn't get all the built up dirt and dog hair. It's so pretty now. There's a crisp line between the moldings, ceiling and walls. The walls are flat so you can't see every little thing. The moldings are clean and white and will be so easy to maintain. (I've already decided my next project - after the grout - will be to repaint all the trim in the house). Sorry, no before pictures, but take my word for it, it looked horrible and dirty.

I'm on the hunt for a new quilt because mine is in bad shape with rips and wear. I've actually bought 2 and returned them. The hunt continues....


So, you can see the lengths I had to go to...check out that ledge. It's really high and I had to crawl all over it.
The color is way off in this picture, obviously. I love the color. It's Behr Butter Cookie - sounds good enough to eat or lick maybe!

I had these pictures over my bed, but moved them to the hall to add the wall words above the bed. I love them in the hall. It's been so empty.

The Pumpkin Patch

We took a trip to Brad's Produce today to pick out a pumpkin. We also contemplated the corn maze, but the kids didn't want to do it and who are we to force them to get lost in a rain forest maze for 2 hours until some kind person takes pity on us and helps us out. Instead, we took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch and let the kids play in the very small (and free) hay bale maze. It was a fun outing and this year, I didn't have to buy any produce because of Allie's sampling :p.

I didn't buy one, but aren't those Mums beautiful???

The Work Has Begun

Our master bathroom is done! It took two nights to paint and of that 2/3 of my time was spent cutting in. I hate painting kitchens and bathrooms. It's so much easier to paint bedrooms. After the painting, it took another day to replace the first new light fixture with a different one, buy upgraded towel bar and toilet paper holder and put everything back into the bathroom. The first light I bought was so pretty and way too much money. I was worried it would be too short and I was right. For what I paid for that light fixture, I was thrilled to get a new light (that looks right) and the new towel bar and toilet paper holder. The ones in there were so cheap. I painted the bathroom the exact same color in flat instead of semi-gloss so I can touch-up as needed and it looks so much better. I also painted a little shelf and hung a new picture. I still need to do some trim painting, but I'll do that when I do the trim in the bedroom.

I got our bedroom prepped today. I'm going to touch up around the ceiling with ceiling paint tonight (because the previous owners were STUPID and got paint all over the edges of the ceiling). Then, I'm hoping to be able to get the room primed and painted tomorrow and Monday. By Wednesday, my room should be all done. I'll post pictures then because the bathroom is a mess again with things from my bedroom piled in it.

A Lazy Day

I've been looking forward to today. The kids are out of schoool for a holiday (Yom Kippur - I guess we have a very multi-cultural school district). The kids climbed into bed with me this morning and we watched cartoons until 8. It's 8:50 and we are all still in pajamas. The only thing we need to do today is go to the library. I love it. Poor Dan is missing out. He had to go back to work.

Guess What I'm Doing Now

There are 2 rooms left in our house that I haven't touched and it's time to start working on them. Our bedroom and bathroom are in major need of paint and I want to get them painted before Dan leaves (so he can help move furniture :p). I'm very excited to get this project started. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but have been intimidated to do because it's such as a big project (as you can see by the 4 gallons of paint). Stay tuned for pictures!!!

The Little Things

Do you have anything in your house that just bugs you? With some things, after awhile, you get used to them and don't see the flaws anymore. Well, I have had something that's bugged me for 18 months....this cord. We have 2 cable jacks on our first floor: one in the living room and one of the wall above the kitchen counter. I think the kitchen is an odd place to have a cable jack, but then again, maybe I'm odd and people like having TVs in the kitchens. Anyway, we have our modem and router on a cabinet on the other side of this wall so we wrapped the cord around the wall rather than putting the modem and accompanying cords on the counter. I HATE it. It's bugged me since we first did it. Last week, I had a "duh" moment. We have cable in that wall, why not just move the cable. Of course, Dan tells me he would have done it if he'd known it bugged me. Apparently, I've kept my annoyance to myself. So while he was doing something else, I decide to investigate. I didn't want to go to the trouble of buying a new connectors, a splitter and whatever tools we'd need to split the cable. We don't really need cable in the kitchen. Dan got me the biggest drill bit we own and I drilled a hole through the back of the cable box and the wall behind it. We unplugged the cable from the cover, stuck it out the back through the hole and presto, no more cables running around the wall. I'm such a happy camper when I walk into my kitchen now! Look, no cord!

Day 6 - Coming Home

I was kind of ready to come home. I don't sleep well in hotels and honestly, I was kind of tired. We had to get up before the crack of dawn to catch our shuttle back to the airporton Tuesday. Our flights were uneventful and we made it home without any problems. Well, Dan's suitcase, did have a slight detour to New York before traveling by taxi to our house, but everyone/thing else made it without problems. Zack and Zoe were very glad to see us; although they had great care givers in our friends, Chris and Angie (THANK YOU). I think if we go off any time soon, Zoe has decided she'll be going with us!

Day 5 - Animal Kingdon and Magic Kingdom

We have only been to Animal Kingdom one other time and it was right after it first opened so I was really looking forward to this day. As soon as we got into the park, we headed for the Lion King show and character meetings. Believe it or not, this was our first Mickey Mouse sighting of our trip.



In addition to Mickey Mouse, we also got to meet Pocahontas (with a great Brooklyn accent), her friend Meeko and Baloo (who Jaelyn was just dying to meet) My favorite show, by far, at Animal Kingdom was the Lion King show. We got in the park early with Disney Magic hours so we were able to be first in line and get a front row seat. The show was amazing. The kids loved it and even got picked to participate. Caden wouldn't go, but Allie and Jaelyn got little rattles and paraded around the show. Later Allie told me they were playing Follow the Leader. The actors were totally in character. Towards the end, one of the monkeys danced up to Caden and picked a "bug" out of his hair and ate it. For the rest of the show, Caden pulled on his hair and the monkey kept looking at him and shaking his head like "yeah, I really did eat a bug out of your hair." It was so funny. He talked about it for the longest time.


I took the girls to the Bug's Life show and scared them just a little. I'm so glad we didn't make Caden stay for that show. We looked at the Tree of Life and I oggled all of the pretty plants. Next, we wandered through the Maharajah's Jungle Trek and rode the Kilimanjaro Safari to see animals. The Safari ride scared Caden just a little because of the story line with the poachers and the gun fire. He was okay though and did enjoy riding in the big truck.


DinoLand was a big hit with the kids. We rode Triceratop Spin (think the Dumbo ride at Magic Kingdom only with a three horn instead of an elephant). There was a fun playground with nets, tubes and slides similar to the one at SeaWorld. Jaelyn fell while we were there and skinned up her knee. I didn't have bandaids (for the second time, Jenn rescued us the night we saw her). We pretty much told Jaelyn to suck it up and be a big girl. Some moms sitting next to Dan gave him a bandaid and he said he got the funniest look when he thanked them and said "Bandaids are a luxury at our house." I wish I had been standing there.

Watch out, Caden. Your about to be eaten!!!

Leaving Animal Kingdom, a baby lizard jumped on our rented stroller (we finally rented another stroller on our last day and it was SO worth it). I thought it'd be fun to get him on my finger. Well...he hopped onto my finger and then ran up my arm onto my back. Oh my! Thankfully Dan caught him before he made it to my head or down my shirt! Oh the scene - I will never touch a lizard again! Promise!

We went back to the hotel and had naps before spending our last evening at Magic Kingdom. Someone gave up their fast passes as they were leaving so Dan and I were able to ride Space Mountain without standing in the hour line (it's a lot bumpier than I remembered). We visited Toontown again and the girls road Goofy's rollercoaster another 3-4 times. Dan took Caden on Dumbo's ride while I took the girls on Peter Pan. We even managed it's a Small World without Caden crying. We couldn't leave Orlando without riding it in honor of Baba! We finished out our night by meeting Goofy and letting Caden try to pull the sword out of the stone!

Day 4 - Hollywood Studios and Disney Marketplace

On Sunday morning, we slept in just a bit and had to wait for breakfast - oops, but I think we all needed the extra sleep. We made it to Hollywood Studios after 10:00.


We started out our day by heading to Pixar Place where we THOUGHT we had talked Caden into going on the Toy Story ride. Of course, there was a line so we got fast passes and headed to the Muppet Show. Caden went in and then pitched a huge fit so I had to take him out. We sat on a park bench and waited while he calmed down. A man who worked at Disney came and talked to Caden. He was really nice asking Caden about our trip and what he'd seen. He asked him if there was anything he could do to make him feel better. I decided a location where we could find Mickey Mouse would be very helpful. He didn't find that but he did bring Caden a cheapy Walt Disney Resort pen (the kind they leave for you in hotel rooms). You should have seen Caden's eyes. They got so big around. He fell in love with this pen and had to have it everywhere. He even slept with it the rest of our trip.

After the Muppet's, I took the girls on Star Tours. I offered to let Dan take them since he's all about Star Wars, but he didn't want to. It was a very exciting ride and the girls came out telling Dan all about their trip through space with the asteroids and being caught in a star fighter battle.

We watched the Jedi show next. Allie wanted to go up, but she wouldn't jump up and down and wave her hands in the air like the rest of the kids. They picked about 15 kids and dressed them up like Jedi complete with light sabers. They trained them with the light sabers and then Darth Vader came out to fight them. It was a really fun show and my three are saying they will go up next time. Caden is all about being a Jedi now and is constantly practicing his "Jedi moves." It was hot on Sunday and there was no shade for the show. We were all sweating and at one point, Allie turned to me, really upset, and said "Mommy, I'm dripping." It was priceless.

We had some time to kill before our scheduled lunch so Dan took the girls back to the Toy Story ride. Caden refused to go, but once the girls came out, he changed his mind. I took him, but even with fast pass, there was a line. By the time we got right to the ride, he starting crying to get out of there. Poor guy. The girls got to meet Woody and Buzz Lightyear, but again Caden refused. There were cut-outs for pictures in line. This is my favorite...Oh No! The Claw!!!

Lunch was with Playhouse Disney at Hollywood and Vine. We did a character lunch last time as well and it's so worth it. Not only did Dan and I get "real" food, but the kids got to meet and dance with the characters without waiting in line.

After lunch, we were all pretty tired so we watched the parade and headed back to the hotel for a nap.

That afternoon, I discovered the shopette in our hotel had chips, peanut butter and bread so the kids had a home-made cheap meal before heading to Disney Marketplace to meet my dear friend, Jenn.

I met Jenn through Hannah's Prayer 6 years ago. We met in person for the first time over 5 years ago. We were about to bring the girls home from Russia and Jenn and Bob were waiting to get their sweet Angelina's referral from Russia.

Our 3 Russian MiraclesJenn and I are both the myth...Adopt and you'll get pregnant. For two girls who met on a primary infertility message boards, God's done a pretty good job of filling those empty arms!
(Jaelyn, Lina, Allie, Kelly, Caden, Lila, Jenn, and Lydia)

Day 3 - Sea World

Sea World is one of my favorite parks. I was really looking forward to watching the shows through the kids' eyes. But before we could get to any shows, we headed straight for the Kraken so Dan and I could have some fun. It's been a long time since I've been anywhere with a rollercoaster and let me tell you, the Kraken was a ROLLERCOASTER. Oh my word. It was awesome. I only rode it once, but Dan went back for a second ride in the front row. After we'd gotten our dose of grown-up fun, we headed to the kid stuff. We saw pengiun and polar bears, sea lions and sharks.

We went to all the major shows: Shamu, the Whale and Dolphin Show, Clyde the Sea Lion and Pirate Island and Pet's Ahoy. Believe, the killer whale show was unbelievable. I remember wanting to be a dolphin trainer after my first trip to Sea World when I was little. I still think it would be one of the coolest jobs in the world.

Sea World has a kids' play area called Shamu's Happy Harbor. We had a lot of fun there. I took the girls on their second rollercoaster of our vacation - twice. Next, we climbed through a net and tube structure. Dan was up there with Caden when the girls and I went looking for them after the roller coaster. I had NO intention of following them through, but the kids took off and I had no idea where they would end up. We had to crawl after them like little tunnel rats. It was actually kind of fun!

We had to stay at Sea World until 6 so it was another pretty long day. Dan gave in and gave Allie a ride for a bit.

Bye Bye, Shamu!!!

I just want to say one more thing about Sea World. Lots of places offer military discounts. We've encountered some that are so pathetic and limited that it's almost disrespectful and would be better if they didn't bother. I give a big thumbs up to Sea World and Busch Gardens for their "Salute to the Heroes" program. Not only do they offer 4 free tickets per military family (huge), but they also have a tribute to the military as part of their Believe (Shamu) show and ask military members and their families to stand up and be recognized. I know lots of people and places say they support the military...I love seeing some place that actually puts it into practice...kind of walks the walk along with talking the talk!!!

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

We decided to spend the first day of our vacation at The Magic Kingdom. It was probably our most stressful day of the trip, for me anyway. It was a long day and we didn't stop for a nap (which was a mistake and one we rectified the rest of the trip). We also had 1 double stroller thinking the kids would want to walk to see things and could take turns riding. Wrong! Who knew they would fight over the seats?!?! I'm a mean, cheap-skate mommy and refused to rent a single stroller for the 3rd bottom so we had to deal with some whining and fighting (I gave in on the last day and rented one - tried to on the next to last but Jaelyn assured me she was walking and would NOT ride...yeah right. Like that happened!)

After our trip on a bus and then the monorail, we entered the park and immediately ran into characters. We waited to meet Pluto and Snow White and then stopped to watch the show at Cinderella's Castle.

We rode Aladin's Magic Carpet Ride first and the kids loved it, especially Caden. Next, we had the bright idea to go on Pirate of the Carribean. I didn't remember the dark tunnel or the splash at the end of the small descent. Caden was scared!!! Poor guy. He couldn't wait to get off the ride and cried the whole time. Once it was over and we went through the gift shop, he was back to loving pirates and even bought himself a pirate hook.

From that disaster, we wandered over to Tomorrowland and let the kids drive the cars. This ride was a hit! Next, we took turns waiting in line with each child to drive the Indy Cars. My friend, Jen, has since told me about something called Child swap...why oh why didn't we know about this before hand? It probably took us an hour to let everyone drive a car around the track. I love this picture, you can barely see the top of Caden's head over the wheel.

We rode the people mover and Dan took the girls on the Buzz Lightyear ride. Caden, from this day on, would only go on rides that were in the open where he could see what it was all about. Bad, bad Mommy and Daddy for taking him on Pirates.

In Toontown, the girls rode their first rollercoaster and LOVED it...Goofy's Barnstormer. I loved watching their faces (they sat together in the front seat) as they looked at each other and giggled. It was great. We did a little bit of shopping and Allie got her Minnie Mouse ears she had been drooling over all day. From here, we waited in line and got to meet Belle, Cinderella and Aurora. Oh the excitement! Caden was funny and would not meet the Princesses. Later, as we were thinking about it, he would not meet "real" people...only furry animals and then he was very selective in who he'd go see. Cinderella did her best to get him to talk to her, but he absolutely refused.

We left Magic Kingdom around 6 and headed to Hollywood Studios for Mickey's Fantasmic show. It was wonderful. Caden started to cry in the beginning and was very worried about getting wet, but settled down quickly. I love the Fantasmic show. It's probably my favorite night time event. After the show, we headed for the hotel and bed since we knew we'd have to leave early the next morning for Seaworld.

Day 1 - Travel Day

I was so excited to wake up this morning and tell the kids about our trip. I actually thought they had a clue because we've been talking about it a lot. Last night, at bedtime, I asked all the kids to think about what we should do for Dan's birthday. Allie actually told me we should go to Disney. She quickly changed her mind though and decided on putt putt golf. I packed our bags on Wednesday night so all we had to do was get dressed, have breakfast and go. Our flights were good and we made it to our hotel around dinnertime. We ate at the pub at Shades of Green (the military resort) and then let the kids swim before tucking everyone in to bed in preparation for our first big day.