Thanksgiving

Watching the Macy's parade (on TV, not in New York)

tossing the pink pigskin around

Me kicking Casey's hand, otherwise known as his livelihood

QB Palbicki

end zone victory dance

cutest jock in town

the old bird

competitive eating champ in training

say "tukey"!

grateful for family, health, and togetherness

Charlie (boy) and Sam (girl)

dessert thief

tiny tap dancer

my baby

VID00025 from Megan Seltz on Vimeo.

almost T-day

Not seen on Pinterest, for obvious reasons

We are mopping the floors and vacuuming under furniture long neglected. My Dyson found not only dust bunnies and dog hair, but a piece of toast, pom poms, stickers, blueberries, and a kazoo under the art cupboard in the dining room. Hosting Thanksgiving again this year so it would give me some peace to do it with a clean house, although that is ironic because have our family over to our hellhole all the time and don't even bother clean let alone to cook for them. "Why now?", they will probably wonder. I should not even tell you about these because they will take over your life but here goes: Sea salt dark chocolate caramels from Whole Foods. I bought them for Thursday but will be lucky if I can mange to make them last though today. So good.

a Sunday walk to the park

best friends

Twinsies

true story

family date at the pool followed by pizza at Punch

dominating the baby pool

not afraid to go under water, even if it was an accident

she will do anything for a laugh

 

smooching sisters

leche lovers

Friday was a rough day

Dear Diary, it's me Foosie Sue

fake sick day

neighborhood watch

family

 

only Tuesday

It is normal for Henley to yell "Hi Dadda!" or "Bye Dadda" every time Marcos (the guy jackhammering in our basement) comes or goes?

Nori invented a silly game all on her own where she writes out a ballot with random letters and then you have to vote by choosing one indecipherable name. Whichever name you pick she will yell,  "No not that one, that's Mitt Rom-in-ney!!"

thar she blows

I swear,  he was really born in Hawaii!

 The big excitement this week was making butternut squash without glass.  And the election.  Also, touring the first two of six schools for kindergarten! I know, get a life.

Expo
This is one of our neighborhood school for which we have admission preference based on the Strong Community, Strong Schools initiative. We really liked it! Pros: engaged community with fun events for students, parents and staff, emphasis on social and emotional development in additional to academics, strong science, math, and literacy curriculum but not at the expense of art class and gym class, Treasure Island  a huge playground, free breakfast, and a really cool Mac lab which I would have no idea how to use. Expo has six kindergarten classes with about 20 kids each and classes gradually increase in size until about 30 kids in 5th grade. They "loop" classes which mean the same kids and teacher stay together for two years building continuity. We met the principal and he was really approachable and involved with the kids.  We like that there is racial and socioeconomic diversity among the kids and that they embrace and celebrate individual/ family differences. The downsides are that it is a big school with 750 kids this year (although it will be down to 600 next year due to busing changes) and they do not offer second language or music.

German Immersion School
I have to be honest, I kinda loved it.  A language immersion school is a free charter school that still follows the same academic standards as a regular school, including all standardized tests and state standards only they teach it all in, get this, NOT ENGLISH!  Pros: small classes with fluent German teachers and Amity interns in each class, vibrant community of involved parents, framework of cultural inclusiveness and multiple viewpoints, grades K-8 so no big middle school experience/trauma, emphasis on social emotional development and character building through the Responsive Classroom model, high test scores, area specialists in art, theater, music, science, and sports, and Spanish language starting in fifth grade. Downsides: full-day kindergarten has an extra fee, lottery for admission, no bus service, and currently no playground equipment.

before

In  other excitement, my high school friends got together for pizza at Chelsy's place in Savage. We have three new pregnancies in the group!!  Thank god we didn't have that problem back in high school!  I presented at a work event on Saturday in Hopkins and somehow managed to not get lost getting there but did discover the Stages Theater for children's plays. Speaking of the arts, we ordered tickets to The Grinch play at the Children's Theater for a special Jake and Nori date, due to her pleas to go and love /hate relationship with the green one. Our basement construction has started -world's most expensive floor is underway! BTB, this is old news, but I found my cell phone after three months. My dad is doing great after an emergency week long hospitalization. A word to the wise, when you get the call that your parent is in ambulance and/or in the hospital, you will immediately need to poop and/or puke. My dad is phobic that the Internet knows too much about him already so I will just say that all is well now!The girls are wonderful! Henny loves the book and song Wheels on the Bus and sings it to herself all the time. Nori was a super helper as we cleaned the house top to bottom today. I love them so!

I am addicted to them!!

  

Man work (notice the remains of our basement floor in the dumpster)

 

Momma!!!!!!!!!

my sweet little helper

fra-gee-lay

showing Gramsie the ropes

Hello again! How's your mother? Mine is great, she just left after four nights of kid corralling at Hotel Seltz. Nori decided she was lonesome for Gramsie about an hour after she left and refused to get dressed because wearing her pajamas reminds me of sleeping with Gramsie (whenever one of her grandmas sleeps over, she sneaks in to the guest room at midnight and shares a twin bed with her). I am reminded what a sensitive kid she is, and also very cautious. Nori was the only kid in preschool to be afraid to play Pin the Nose On the Pumpkin and the only one in gymnastics who refuses to try a flip on the high bar with teachers spotting. We continue to encourage her and help her build her confidence while celebrating the fact we may never have to watch a video of her bungee jumping in New Zealand or worry about skydiving adventures. That other kid of ours though... she's wild! Quite the mama's girl right now, but when she's in the mood to dance to tunes on her kitty piano...watch out! Nothing but feet in every direction! She speaks only a few nouns, some animals noises, and lots of commands whereas Nori was speaking in 3-4 word sentences at this age. Trust me, I am not complaining. One talker is enough. The first words out of Henny's mouth every morning are Ning Ning! which is what she calls Nori. And whenever her sister is our of sight, you will hear here calling, Ning Ning. Not that they don't fight because they almost exclusively fight, in between sweet moments.  I never had a sister but I did apply makeup to Casey so I think I know how they feel about each other. But, he also tried to stab me with a butter knife but in fairness, I did stick tape on him first.

her absolute favorite part of the whole museum

she wants to drink this water

MTV for babies

We are taking advantage of our Children's Museum membership by going there often. Gramsie Holly babysat Friday night so Jake and I could have another date. A free date no less. Free babysitting courtesy of my dear old ma, free dinner thanks to a gift card win by Jake, and free movie tickets (we saw Argo) courtesy of Ellen's Fandango gift last year. In an effort not to spend a cent, we ate popcorn off the floor and re-chewed gum from under the seats. Today we had our family photos taken at the sculpture gardens and even though our kids did not listen, pose, or smile for a single shot, I think she managed to get some cute ones, especially them in poofy tutus in the greenhouse. I am sure our photographer thinks we are not only the worst parents ever, constantly bribing our kids in exchange for a smile, but also that we are on the brink of divorce as I berate Jake in the chaos of coaxing smiles and uncooperative wardrobe changes: give her a Smartie!!,  give her the whole pack of Smarties!!,   you put her shoes on the wrong feet!!!,  where's the hairbrush?!,  did you find the hairbrush, yet??!!,  you put her leotard on backwards!!. Some say berate, I say communicate. I am sure you can relate.Tonight we invited friends over for homemade chicken & dumplings with a shards of glass. Just as I was finishing the dumplings, the glass bowl fell off the counter top and shattered into a gazillion pieces, some of which may have gone into the soup. They may not have as well. We debated risking it, but I was hesitant to feed the children glass so we ordered burgers instead. Incidentally, I also dumped a mug of coffee on the couch and spilled a whole banana cream pie on the floor.

falling back does not work on babies

these are the children who did not eat my glass infused stew and are not spending tonight in the ER