Daddy's 50th Surprise Party

We have almost no photos but very good memories. This was all Shara's idea - having a surprise party. I wasn't sure we could pull it off but we did and Alan had no clue. We arranged for Oma, Jidor & Auntie Chris to come over for cake after church. Then Shara would take daddy out for lunch. We figured somewhere sit-down so we'd have a descent amount of time to get set up, but without the help of John & Maggie (and also Hannah!), and then Pat and anyone else I could bark orders to, we'd never have been in place when they came home. And they didn't call like they were supposed to, so it was a real surprise for us when Shara comes in, runs downstairs and calls, "we're home! we're here!". And just a minute before they start coming down, the phone rings and it's a friend of Shara's and I couldn't hang up on a little girl! so I missed Alan's expression but he was very surprised.

This is the best photo we have!

It was nice having friends and family come together when they wouldn't normally have a chance to meet each other. Next time I'd like to have more people - I don't like having limits! I want everyone to join in the fun - and if we had planned better, could have asked the NY family to come too. Oh well, ideas for improvement are always good.

Cosmic Birthday

Fun (and easy) 9th birthday today. A local bowling alley does "Cosmic Bowling". It was a nice group of ten girls, most from Shara's class, who came. What a great age - they pretty much took care of themselves. Shara & Keira took the first kid to arrive, up to get shoes. Then as the other kids came, they keep adding the new girl to the pack up to the shoe counter. Alan helped get them set up with the lanes and learn how the scoring worked. After a game we took a break for some pizza, which was order and paid for online, and delivered right to the bowling lanes. Then more playing and two hours goes by really quickly - the one group who got started early finished their first before lunch and then started another after lunch. The other group, which ended up being a little bigger, didn't finish until right before cake. And cake was eaten while Shara opened presents because we had about 20 minutes left before the official end of the party!

The kids were really cute and had fun bowling (a lot of fun bowling), dancing, and really just hanging out with each other. It looked like a good chunk of the time was sitting around the ball return, rolling the balls back and forth to each other.

End of the Summer - boo

Shara & Jack looking spiffy on their first day of school.

Bus stop girls.

Fun time at the "labor day" party. 

Jack, relaxing in the sun

How cute!

Well, last weekend was the official end of summer. We had a nice time with family and friends at a Cuban themed cookout. Good mojitos, sangria, salsa and food.

It was nice that several people got to go into the pool. Unless there's a heatwave, and you never know!, I'm guessing it's pretty much the end of our swimming season. But what a season we had. I think we were in the pool at least 3/4 of the days, and many nights. Earl couldn't keep us out.

Feels a lot like summer

Friday evening we went to our first professional baseball game. We saw the Brockton Rox with several others from Shara's school. It was fun. What was most enjoyable was just being silly with Shara and not needing to look at the clock or feel like there is something that needs doing. Since it was opening night, we also got to enjoy some fireworks. It's also fun that, though neither Alan or I are big sports fans, we do know most of the rules and were able to teach Shara what was going on.

Saturday Shara and I went shopping at Target and had a good time looking at the clothes and picking out squirt guns. After lunch, I weeded 1/2 the garden while Alan & Shara cleaned the pool a bit and had a squirt gun fight. We decided to relax that evening with dinner & a movie - sushi or Shara & Alan, shrimp & pasta for me, and Alice & Wonderland (Disney version) for all.

Sunday was busy. We went to church, then to work to change the backup, then home to have some lunch & get ready for Theresa's going away party. We're really are going to miss them. Hopefully the new people will be friendly, but it's rare to get neighbors like Matt, Theresa, Anna, and Johnny. The party was great. Fred & Sandy are wonderful hosts and the bbq was fired up 2x. It was so nice to see all the kids playing together and so nicely. They really are sweet with each other. Shara & Alan got their first swim of the season. We all danced the night away - Tina doing the hussle, all of us singing, Fred yelling and scaring the kids (he was telling the grown-ups a story and told the kids to go away, that this wasn't for kids, Jack & Shara came back over and he yelled at them to get out of here, and I never saw Shara run so fast! Of course he was laying it on thick, but they didn't know that!), and of course Sandy teaching them all bad words. Toward the end of the night Shara asked what those things were up there, the things that look like shooting stars swirling around. I asked if she meant the moths and she thought they looked so beautiful.

Today I got up and went to fix lunches at church and Shara & Alan fended for themselves. When I came home they were outside doing more pool work and playing with the squirt guns. I was able to get most of the garden planted by the time we needed to get ready for Shrek. What a surprise that movie was. Much darker than I realized, but Shara liked it. She did get sad enough to tear up but duckie & giraffe stayed in my purse and Shara stayed in her own seat. When we got home and ready for dinner, we had a new, but usual fit about sitting at the dining room table. We're trying to figure out what's going on with this. A few weeks ago, several meals a week Shara has a fit about sitting at the table. She says it's not straight and she freaks out about it. I'm not sure if she's uncomfortable because she can't adjust her chair while in it or what, but it's a real issue these days. I seem to remember this happening a while ago and allowed her to move her table into the dining room, and then it shortly went back to her eating at the table with no problem, so maybe that will be the case this time, but it's not fun having battles, especially when I think she's really upset and not playing a game. She was super tired today (though she slept until 8 AM), so maybe that was the real problem.

Easter fun

Last weekend we went on 3 easter egg hunts. First was at our "bus stop crew" party at Theresa's house. The bigger kids hid most of the eggs around three of our yards. But before we did the egg hunt, we decorated eggs. It was a lot of fun and proves that some of the best parties can come together quickly and just take everyone chipping in. I'm not sure if the kids had more fun than the grownups. Shara had the most fun playing inside with Anna. I went to check on her and both Anna & Shara were sitting on Anna's bed, coloring out of the same coloring book. Kira was sitting on the floor playing with Anna's Littlest Pet Shop toys. Later, after a hot dog & hamburger dinner (with canned beans that were actually really good, not that Shara would eat them), the kids all played Wii. We didn't leave until after 9 PM.

Next day we had another hunt at church, where we found unfilled plastic eggs in an old cemetery. Shara said that this wasn't the kind of cemetery with dead people, that would be scary. I had to burst her bubble, but we both decided that nightime may be scary but daytime was fine and the cemetery was so old there probably wasn't much of the people left, so no need to worry about walking on them.

Then we headed home, had some lunch and went to our third party/hunt at Oma & Jidor's. By this time, Shara was a bit tired but had a good time finding the eggs. She really liked the camouflage ones (especially since they were filled with money). She also did an inside hunt and those eggs were filled with even more money. We still have to open all the eggs and then open Shara's bank account.

So the Easter Bunny gave Shara a huge pink bunny that currently resides in her bed, a brownie bunny pop that she had for dessert (thank you Auntie Bunny), Shara actually was very cute thanking Chris for the brownie, a Bakugon from Mommy Bunny, and a boatload of candy from Oma Bunny. There's also a very pretty decorated bunny cookie. The cutest is a set of egg cups from Oma Bunny. Shara's getting pretty good at eating soft boiled eggs.

C is for Cookie!

Shara & I spent about four hours making and decorating Halloween cookies today. My, you may be saying, that's a long time, but really, that is a long time. I'm done, the cookies are cute and I was very proud of both of us. Shara used the pastry bag to decorate the faces on the ghosts and I just needed to put on some Dead to deal with letting go of my cookie control. You all know what I'm talking about - my need for my cookies to be perfect. Well I was very good and these cookies are not mine, but ours. And we plan to share. Because there are so many (or at least it seems like there are).

Yesterday we had a nice reunion with all of Shara's friends from Kindercare at Molly's party. The ones she didn't know from Kindercare, she knew from either dance or schoool. It's a small world and really nice that she's able to see them on occasion. She made a very cute stuffed kitty that she named "Rose" and it holds something special inside, so if you see Shara, ask her what's inside of Rose.

Off to have dinner & a movie. Tonight's special feature is Scooby Doo and the Witche's Ghost.

Block Party Pictures

Here are some pictures of the Block Party and hopefully some people will add their memories of it as well. For now, just a few pics.

Block Party

Yesterday we attended the 2009 Block Party for our neighborhood. It was a lot of fun, especially with live music. We didn't realized there were so many kids in the neighborhood, especially teenagers. Mostly Shara stayed around us, not wanting to go play with the bigger kids, which was understandable. She liked being around the all though. The other kindergartener from our street was there too and she spent much of her time the same way Shara did - riding the ride-on vehicles, making art projects, getting face painted, eating, etc. It got dark fast and then so cold! Good thing we lived close - Alan went back home to gather provisions like jackets, wipes and wine. Very important things to have around! We'll be posting pictures to a community site for all to share.

Today we'll be driving to have a short visit with Bubbe & Papa, and Aunt Jill & Uncle Andy, so we can pick up pig and go to shul for a bit. Shara's quite excited to see our family!

Wii today

Shara just got up - 7:15AM!, came into the office and announced, "I'm going to do the Wii today." I asked what made her think of that and she said, "while i was sleeping, my heart started pumping" and it reminder her of the running on the Wii. "Maybe I'll do it, maybe I'll change my mind, I don't know. Tumblebook please!"

Yesterday Shara and I went to Edaville Railroad for Caroline's party. It was a lot of fun and hot! We had pizza, cake and lemonade. Then everyone went to go on the rides. We rode the Dumbos (but not going up into the air), then the carosal, then the space ships (but not going up into the air), then the train, and the jolly caterpiller - Shara was in the green, so got to ride all by herself and in front of mommy! Slept on the way home, then relaxed a bit watching TV then we were able to talk her into going in the pool to relax and had fun floating on the float and getting wet!

Sam's Graduation Party!

We had a great time at Samantha's party. It was so nice to visit with everyone and fun too! Shara had a blast running back and forth from in the house to outside, and around, watching the big kids in the trampoline, and eating the chocolate dipped strawberries, marshmallows & graham crackers (thanks bubbe for the s'mores idea). Here are some pics.

Recital & Family Party

I'm so proud of Shara. She had a great time at her recital. Aunt Jill, Auntie Chris, Shara, and I went to the school early so the aunts could save seats for the others. Shara did go dressed so when we got to the cafeteria, there wasn't that much to do other than get her taps on. There were only a couple moms helping, so it was a little chaotic until all got settled. Shara wanted me to stay with her, so I did. I didn't like it because I felt in the way, but it ended up being a good thing because I could help dole out the snacks, of which there were many. So the kids ate and went to the bathroom, and then it was time to line up! They did and Shara knew I was going to go into the theater when she got lined up, so there is when we parted company. She was the line leader and after a few other dances, on she came! She was so cute. Our seats were pretty far to the left, so she did disappear for a bit, but we'll get the DVD. They did great! This year the show was very organized and all seemed to go much smoother than last year and the quality was also much better. Before we knew it, it was over! I watched one more dance and headed back to change her into her ballet shoes. When I got there, Liz (Anna's mom), was helping to change Shara. I didn't realize it would be so quick! So we got her changed and Shara told me, "you can leave now." so I did! Then on they came for the pre-school finale. Very cute. Shara also decided she wanted to be in the big finale, even if she was the only one from her class, so later in the show we went back and Alisha, one of the pre-school class helpers, found a spot for her. Taylor, also from Shara's class was going to be in the finale along with her big sister, so Shara stayed with them backstage and went out with them. I left as soon as she was settled with the big kids and she was fine. She was also the line leader for the finale. I asked her later if they told her when to go and she said no, she just went. Then she stayed and clapped along with the big kids. I was very proud of her for being a big kid too. Another big kid thing for the whole day was that duckie & giraffe got left at home and no one noticed. Shara later said she saw them but decided not to bring them. I'm not sure if that was really so, but they weren't missed!

Later we went home and had the family party. Shara got a big girl bike from Auntie Chris, Oma & Jidor. It's really cute - a pink John Deere and she gets to decorate the spokes with stars! She also got a couple of very pretty, pink dresses from Aunt Jill & Bubbe, and a cool spin-art kit that I can't wait to do and a picture frame for her school pictures, which will soon start to get filled! We gave her the scooter, which she's been wanting every since she saw one at the Village Toy Store and especially since she started watching "My Friends Tigger & Pooh". So it was a great day and the festivities continue today with her real birthday and Father's Day.

Movie Time!

5 Year Bday Party Highlights

Well after all that it's over! Everyone had a great time. I found out why so many parties are held at other locations. These kids have so much energy! I was very happy we have such a good space for them to all run around. They were great and so were the parents. The face painter was amazing. I'm thinking of having Shara take a vacation class/workshop (during the school year). The studio's just down the street from my work. I could take Shara to work with me, go drop her off at the studio, then pick her back up to finish the day with me. We'll see. Her name is Kara and the studio is Art on the Spot.

Shara got some great presents and the food was almost completely gone - a great thing. I heard the cake had the wow factor. One sad spot, which Shara said she would like to not remember, was when her, Molly and Julia were playing in her room. Shara put moisturizer on her hand and the paint came off. Shara didn't care. She put it on Molly's hand and Molly cried and had a huge fit. Then Shara & Julia thought they'd get in trouble so hid under Alan's desk and it took a bit to find them. I didn't know what happened until after the party, but then explained (again) about accidents vs. on-purposes, etc. Other than that one thing though, it was fun for all!

5bday-2

(click for full size)

Getting ready for friends bday party

Shara and I have been planning for quite some time for today's party. Yesterday we decorated the cake. I'm putting up a pic here because I know no one who is going to be at the party today reads this blog. Boy is she excited! She said that when she woke up this morning she didn't shout, "today's my birthday" because she knew I'd be sleeping and didn't want to wake me up.

From 5bday-1

From 5bday-1

Yesterday we actually got in the pool! Alan and Shara much more than me. They went swimming. Shara went under and really didn't like it. But apparently recovered quickly and was playing again in no time. Yesterday was the last dance class - rehersal & recital! We also have her Kindergarten screening this week, so busy, busy!

We all can't wait to see everyone at the recital, but with all going on, it's one step at a time.

Playing with the big kids

Sunday we went to the Phillips' for a dinner party. Shara took about an hour to warm up, but then she didn't want to leave. She had a great time playing with Alex and Andrea (both 10). They were great - played hide & seek, had Shara being the ball girl for ping-pong, etc. It was very different for me - Alan & I were upstairs and the kids were playing by themselves in the basement. Very cool and she had so much fun! One time I went down and Andrea was playing Guitar Hero and Shara was doing this interesting dance of jumping from her right foot to her left and back again - side to side. She told me I had to get out of the way because this was the area for the important dances. She was really funny.

She also tried everything I gave her for supper and ended up really liking the raita - cucumber, tomato, yogurt, cilantro, and garlic. So I'm going to make that. That was the only thing she said I should make for us at home. She also ended up trying one of my bagels on Sunday and liked it. How about that. I actually got a thumbs up!

hmmm so much time has gone by, what's happened?

Shara has entered somewhat of a new phase - she's been wanting to have chores, so we are obliging and have made a chart. She wanted me to add listening as one of the chores, so I put it at the bottom, for the whole day. If she listens for the day - and I'm realistic here, assuming just not having a big fight is listening, she gets a sticker. This is surprising to me because she has tons of her own stickers, but i guess it's different if I give her one.

New years was fun. We braved the storm and went to the Senay's for dinner. The girls had tons of fun and played for hours with the pooping barbie dog that Hannah got for Shara. It really was cute. New years day we stayed home and relaxed, as we've been trying to do on weekends. The weather has cooperated for that. Last weekend we had shara's postponed dance party. Alan videoed the whole thing but I think we'll need to edit before posting. It was cute. Shara, and a couple of other kids, were rolling their tongue around in their mouths much of the time - nervous tic it seems. After that we came home, ate lunch and soon headed out for Jessica's birthday party at an indoor gym. That was fun too. Shara warmed up faster than she has in the past, but still didn't want to do any group activities. She was more than happy running around with the kids on her own, but as soon as it got organized, she got nervous and bowed out and stood with me instead. I didn't push. She was so proud that she did what she did, and didn't seem too unhappy about not playing the games. At the beginning, they wanted all the kids to sit on the bouncy thing that they blow up and then the kids bounce on. Shara wouldn't do it, but as soon as the kids were off checking out the foam block pit that you hang on a trapeze and then jump into (didn't want anything to do with that, no matter how many others were on it!) we took the opportunity to try the bouncy thing. She loved it and did circuits of that, to the balance beam, to the tunnel. Several kids were doing the same circuit so she felt a part of it but without pressure. Then there was a time for group pictures and she really didn't want to but after that was over, Jessica's so sweet mother asked Shara if she could get some pictures of Shara and Jessica because Jessica was so happy that Shara could come to her party. I teared up and am doing it now as I remember.

So this week we've been very happy with each other, except for yesterday morning when Shara decided it would be a good idea to try and wash her own hair, about 10 minutes before I wanted to be getting into the car. She came into my room when I called her so I could do her hair and she said she (can't remember but basically said she fixed it). I noticed it looked wet so I asked if she put water on it. She said she did. I said ok. I looked closer and asked if she put soap in it and she said no. I asked again and then touched it and it got rather foamy so I basically freaked and said we have to take a bath, I'll just wash it in the sink, I need a cup, come on, it's freezing outside, this wasn't a good day to do this, you can't go out with wet hair, you have to wear a hat... So we got her head over the sink, I started pouring the warm water over her head and she's screaming. I'm fighting her and then say, "fine go to school with soapy hair. It's probably going to itch. We'll take a bath tonight." It didn't itch and Alan gave her a bath, and all was fine. I've realized that for 4.5 years I've dreaded bath night - without good reason. I really can't stand giving Shara a bath. It's 10 minutes tops, but something about it, I just never want to do it. So the past couple of times Alan has done it and I'm more than happy doing the dishes, laundry, etc. Maybe it's time to switch that task.

She's so cute

We had a great time at Hannah's 5th bday party on Saturday. I asked Shara what her favorite part was, thinking it would be making the pizza or the chicken fingers, and she said, "playing with Sophie. She's so cute." Shara was so gentle with her. Sophie was standing, wanting to eat some cherios, and shara brushed her hand. I told Shara she could touch her and she took her hand and was so excited. She really would make a great big sister, but she'll have to settle for baby sitting when she gets bigger.

Tonight she said, "guess what we're going to do in school tomorrow? We're going to make chickens, made out of paper, for Thanksgiving! We can put it on the table and everyone will ask who made this?" Yes, she meant turkeys. But, she can count to 10 in Spanish, including 0, so give her a break. She can also spell - cat, dog, mom, dad, shara, molly, tenley, on, no, book, moon, cow, pig. I think there are others but she doesn't perform well on demand. She also says she doesn't like to read, but apparently she likes to spell. I wonder if she realizes they're related?

Wilderness Family

Yesterday we all went to John & Maggie's for John's graduation party. They have the most beautiful new home. They certainly deserve it and I want one too - just like it! It's really a great home - huge and brand new. I may be getting a new oven though. Ours is making very bad sounding noises. We'll get it checked out first. My fears of one appliance breaking after another hopefully won't be coming true, but the dryer isn't giving me warm fuzzy feelings - no pun intended. Anyway, the party yesterday was fun and Shara had a great time playing with Hannah and Morgan.

Last night we had a little camp out in our back yard. Shara's first night in a tent! It was a lot of fun. We had beer (Alan commented that mommy should have a beer, and it did make things much more relaxed) & s'mores, which are really messy. I had to bring the marshmallows back in the house or I could have eaten the whole bag. Shara enjoyed them too. We all had a really great time. Shara enjoyed laying in my lap relaxing by the fire, watching the bats fly around, and listening to the band down the street. Our neighbors had their annual party and the band played until after 8 with the karaoke going till around 10. It was great and certainly lent to the festival atmosphere that camping out always has for me. Shara & I went in to sleep around 9 but she wouldn't fall asleep until Alan came in. He was staying with the fire. She did go to sleep and so did I, only waking to Alan's snoring, which made me feel every rock in our lawn. Shara ended up at the bottom of the tent, and I only moved her when she mumbled something in her sleep about moving her up, so I slid her back. She didn't remember any of it.

We woke in the morning all about the same time - around 6, and had coffee and breakfast outside, then went for a walk down the street and a jog back home with me having to have Alan time me doing the 300 meter dash, almost killing myself in my crocs. We then got a little cleaned up and went to West Bridgewater to find a geo-cache. About this time I realized that I hadn't even checked my email! I guess camping out made us all feel like we had a mini vacation. The Geocaching was fun, if not buggy. We saw deer, raccoon, dog, human, and horse prints. We also saw so many mushrooms. One was purple - very cool, but looked really deadly. Shara was a little scared about looking at the little waterfall - more like a drain, but had a lot of fun treking down the path and really wanted to walk in the mud. Of course she wanted to be the leader because mommy & daddy never let her do anything fun, etc. Her new thing! We went for lunch at Good Days. Later on we baked a cake for Jill's party, and then relaxed watching the Nutcracker.