Big Boy School

As many of you know, the big incentive for Gabe to get himself potty trained was so he could go to "big boy school". There, not only can you not wear diapers, but you are in a class with kids your age and up to 2 years older - big kids! So the momentous day finally arrived this week when Big Boy School opened for business, and Gabe was as excited as I've ever seen him. For those of us over 3, Big Boy School roughly translates into Montessori School which is part of our new simplified child care plan. Its a block away, so a 5 minute walk in the morning - hooray! Gabe is very impressed by the big kids and the cool new contraptions on the playground, and so far its a winner all around! Quote of the week: His new school requires a uniform of blue shorts and a red or white shirt. I explained this uniform concept to Gabe while we were getting dressed and asked him to choose a red or white shirt. His response? "Oh no! But where's the unicorn shirt?"

&*$#@ Error:

So my trusty laptop, which has lasted 3 years and multiple insults from grubby little fingers, has finally kicked the bucket. Which means I find myself in involuntary rehab for my Facebook addiction. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the fall TV lineup hasn't started yet, so now I'm forced to actually converse with my husband for the hour between when the kids fall asleep and I pass out. If this keeps up I may have to go to the gym at night, and we all know it will never get that far. Best Buy, here I come. You may be thinking, wait, don't you have a computer at work? Truly I do, but while my company may not be smart enough to foresee a mortgage meltdown or an executive bonus backlash, they have cleverly blocked Facebook, Twitter, AOL, and all manner of webmail and blog sites. Which means I actually have to work or read OMG! at work. (And isn't little Maddox growing up fast?) And in non-technology news...Riley turned 6 months old this week! She has become quite the active baby and while she's not technically crawling THANK GOD she does manage to wriggle, rock and roll her way across the room while you're not looking. She's also babbling a lot which my nanny swears is "Da-da" and I swear is "aaahhhh". Gabe is back in full force after a fantastic time at my parents last week. I thought they couldn't possibly top a week spent finding bugs, picking vegetables (cucumbers: now "my favorite snack, mommy!"), playing with older cousins in the rain, opening belated birthday gifts, dining on M&Ms, and ignoring naptime and bedtime altogether...but they did. On the way home they stopped by Virginia Safari Park which is like Disney's Wild Kingdom, only $200 cheaper. The camel ATE THE BUCKET mommy! Last but not least, today my decision for in-home child care was validated by the fact that I had to take Gabe to and from the JCC for the first time since going back to work (Ryan has taken him all the other days). It took me 70 minutes to get to work, and 75 minutes to get home. Without the dropoff/pickup routine, it takes 20 minutes each way. Which means I am getting back 7 hours of Quality Time with my kids each week. Which in turn means I can put them to bed a half hour early and not feel guilty! Everyone wins! Here are some pics from the past week or two...enjoy!

Attack Dog

So many of you have been asking how our sweet little Maggie is doing. To recap the latest doggie drama, Maggie was attacked by a pit bull mix at a concert in Rockford Park a couple of weeks ago, causing multiple wounds to her right ear. (Now, if my dog had nearly bitten the ear off another dog, I would've been down on my hands and knees with apologies and a checkbook. But this particular WT family decided to instead accuse of of causing this bloody mess.) Anyway, blood, drama, and $800 worth of stitches later, our little Maggie is doing just fine. No more concerts for her. In other news...I went back to work M-Th two weeks ago, and its been a remarkably uneventful transition. We have a great nanny who is with Riley and her own daughter 4 days, and with Gabe 2 days. In September Gabe is starting montessori at a school down the street, at which point he'll be there in the mornings and at home in the afternoon. Its a big transition from day care, but so far so good! This week though Gabe is hanging solo with his Caca and Poppa Jack in North Carolina. He's far too busy to chat with us on the phone, what with picking veggies from the garden and finding all sorts of wildlife (frogs, worms and a baby snake...all just on Day One), but we hear from his grandparents that's he's having a great time. We are taking advantage of the respite by going out to restaurants with no kids menu (Riley is still BYOB) and hanging out with our Philly friends until 2am last night. Seriously, I haven't stayed out until 2am since Ryan's college reunion last year...and before that it was probably business school. And Riley, the Ultimate Team Player, slept in until 9:30 so we did too! Rock on! So my laptop has some serious issues these days, so I'm on a loaner...so no new pictures this time. Stay tuned!