Riley Turned 5!

Exactly 5 years ago today, I gave birth to this beautiful, curly haired little girl. Of course, my labor lasted the span of 2 days... so when she came out she looked more like a cone head. But she was ours and she was perfect. It's hard to believe that it's been 5 years. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home ~ and then bringing her back to the hospital to spend another night under the bilirubin lights to get that extra fake Jersey Girl tan. My how time flies!

Today we had Riley's party at school. I had to put together a picture board of photos from every year of her life. I also had to bring in a snack for the class, along with the obligatory cake. Since five is such a big birthday, I pulled out all the stops and made these adorable cupcakes that I saw in my latest issue of Parent's magazine. They were a dog design, and they were lovely. They were also a pain in the a** to frost! It took me over 2 hours to frost, accessorize, and gingerly place them into the large tupperware tin to transport to school.

The party at school was sweet. They sang songs to her, they danced around her, and they put her in the chair and raised her 5 times for good luck. Finally, they all got to eat their snacks and cupcakes ~ and boy were they a hit! To top Riley's special day, I also brought in a cake to her ballet class. She asked for a pink and yellow cake in the shape of ballet slippers. Another labor of love for my little love. We finished off the night by taking her to her favorite restaurant for dinner: Zozobra.

This is Riley's 3 birthday celebration in Israel. We wanted it to be memorable, so we invited her entire class (and siblings) to a bowling party next Sunday. We'll blog it with photos and video of the kids attempting to carry the 6 lb ball down the lane and throwing it against the bumpers.

An Oenophile

About 4 months after we arrived in Tel Aviv, I began keeping all the corks to the bottles of wine I opened at our house. I have a large bowl that I keep on the bottom of our wooden beverage cart where I throw them. While I was steaming broccoli tonight (what better time would there be...), I decided to count how many corks were in the bowl. Want to know the total? 150. Exactly. I'm sure that there would be at least 5 - 10 more had I started collecting them from the very beginning. So basically that means that I've been drinking about 1 bottle of wine every 5 days.

I don't know what that says about me... maybe I need to tighten up the gap?

The Jury Has Reached A Decision

It's fairly unanimous ~ the cookbook is a hit! While Riley DEVOURED the zucchini chicken nuggets and the sweet potato schnitzel, Sheridan decided to throw a complete tantrum and not eat anything until she was done screaming and throwing a fit during a 45+ minute on/off time out. When she finally gave in and realized that I was serious when I asked her to take 3 bites, and she was NOT going to go to bed until she ate them, she liked them too.

The mozzarella cheese sticks were a great addition to last night's meal. However, unlike Riley who isn't a fan of cheese (clearly my daughter), Sheridan loved the mozzarella cheese sticks with cauliflower. One word to the wise if you're making cheese sticks ... don't try to double the recipe on your first try. While I thought that I'd make twice as much, I ended up over-rolling the cheese sticks, which turned them into pancakes rather than sticks. They were still good, but they weren't as aesthetically pleasing.

In all, if you're sitting on the fence, the book is definitely a good purchase. Riley now wants me to make the pink pancakes (they're made with beets). Maybe we'll use strawberries instead.

Deceptively Delicious?

Well the jury is still out on that one and won't be back in until tomorrow... If you have young children and you haven't heard of the new cook book out by Jessica Seinfeld, then you must be living under a rock. She's already being sued for copying someone else's cookbook. But... seriously??? How may possible ways are there to make brussel sprout cookies or beet cupcakes?

Several months ago she published this cook book that I perceived as a horrible way that parents would/could/should deceive their children into eating fruits / vegetables. It was heavily publicized and sold at every bookstore and online retailer. My cousin Jody gave me a copy when I was in the States back in December, and it was only this weekend that I finally unpacked my last box from my trip and looked through the book.

Boy was I wrong.

This cookbook has some phenomenal recipes and lots of ideas on how to get fruits / vegetables into every possible meal. While I don't love everything, I have already taken many ideas and incorporated them into this weeks meals. The main premise is to take an hour a week, cook as many fruits and vegetables as possible, puree and freeze them, and then use them in every recipe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You add the pureed fruits / vegetables in small increments in everything from pancakes to chicken nuggets, and cookies to brownies. You name the food - you can add a fruit or vegetable to it.

Thankfully both Riley and Sheridan love vegetables and you'll often hear them ask for broccoli over chocolate (well you'll hear Riley ~ Sheridan would eat her body weight in crap if you let her). I'm not using this book as a substitute for eating their healthy greens, but I sure am going to be adding some of the vegetables that they don't normally eat into fun foods. Tomorrow night I'm making chicken nuggets with zucchini and sweet potatoes. Wednesday we're going to try homemade mozzarella sticks with cauliflower.

We'll let you know what the jury decides.

It's Official

Sheridan is now wearing "Big Girl" underwear. However, I don't know who's really getting potty trained ... her or us. She was perfectly content wearing pull-ups, and would in fact announce that she needed to change her pishy pull-up in the morning, after her naps, whenever she felt the need. She probably would have gone several more weeks, maybe even months before she approached us about wearing underwear. So yesterday we had enough and decided to go cold turkey and pulled the plug on the pull-ups.

She's had a few accidents; the first one being in the bathroom right next to the toilet. She also had one standing right next to me tonight. I forgot how frustrating the first few weeks of active potty training can be with the never ending question "Sheridan, do you need to go pee pee?" I sure do.

This is going to be a fun week!

Sheridan's Swimming Lesson

Here is Sheridan at the end of her swimming lesson.

More Ballet Fun

Here's another video clip of Riley's Ballet Class. Remember she's the only one wearing black ballet slippers.

Riley's Ballet Class

Here is the first of a few videos I'm going to upload of Riley's open ballet class held today. It was the first class that the parents have been able to see all year! The girls had to wear all pink to class, though as you can see, we didn't entirely conform (Riley's the only one wearing black ballet slippers). This is their opening circle ~ clearly the girls were excited that their parent's were there and wanted to show off.

Beauty and the Beast

Last night Matt took the girls to the American International School to see their winter play, Beauty and the Beast. They went with our friends the Flemings, and he gave me the night to relax at home by myself. They arrived a little late and the only seats available were in the very front row next to the orchestra. The play was extremely long; at 9pm he sent me a message from his Blackberry telling me that they were just starting a 15 minute intermission. It ended around 10 pm, and before they left Riley, Kit, and Gabby took a photo with Belle (Sheridan was tired and cranky and refused to get in the photo). Matt said it was a great time and arrived home around 10:30 pm with two sleeping little girls. Surprisingly they woke up at 6 am this morning, bright eyed and ready to go to school!

Gabby's Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Gabby's 6th birthday. John and Christine hired a pony to come to the house, and the kids took turns riding her throughout the day in their backyard. The party lasted almost 2 hours past its end time, and everyone went home cake-filled and happy.

Sheridan's Swim Lessons

Last Thursday Sheridan started her new swimming lessons. She is now taking semi-private classes with her friend Ailie. These new lessons will make my life much easier as both Riley and Sheridan will now be swimming at the same time.

Happy Anniversary To Me!

Eight years ago today I walked down the aisle to Pachelbel Canon in D. Eight years ago today I married my best friend. Eight years ago today I became a Mrs.

These have been the best six years of my life... Kidding. At least the best seven.

Who Is This??

...............(photo circa 1975) ...................... (photo taken today) ...........

If you stand my beautiful baby girl next to her father, there's no doubt that they resemble each other. However, she's a SPITTING image of me when I was her age. Riley looked at the photo and wanted to know why she wasn't playing in the pool with Sheridan. It's almost scary...

Parties Galore

I should have blogged this last weekend, but we were so busy and anxious to be paneled, that I kinda forgot. The girls had 2 parties they attended last Saturday; one for a girl in Sheridan's class, and the other for a boy in Riley's. They had a complete sugar-filled day with cake, cupcakes, cotton candy, and crap. It was a total blast and they surprisingly lasted until we got home around 8pm. After a serious face washing and teeth brushing, they fell right asleep and thankfully they both slept until 8 am on Sunday.




Sheridan eating cotton candy ~ Riley snarfing down a hot dog



Me with Kit & Gabby ~ Sheridan having fun



Riley's entire class made it! ~ Riley & Kit



Riley & Gabby ~ Sheridan and John

We've FINALLY Been Paneled!

As all of you know, our bid list came out in mid-August and was submitted in late October. We hymned and hawed about where we wanted to go... back to the States where Matt would be a supervisor in a field office, or stay overseas for 1 more tour. The selection was grim. Not only were there limited options for a family with a child going into kindergarten, but there was also an increased competition for the few available spots. We had the opportunity to put down 13 locations, though we could only find 6 where we were willing to go.

With careful consideration for our family structure, Matt's career, and opportunities for us as a family, here are the 6 places that we put on our bid list back in October. In order they were:

1. Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (Africa)
2. Lilongwe, Malawi (Africa)
3. Chennai, India (South East Asia)
4. Gaborone, Botswana (Africa)
5. Tunis, Tunisia (Africa)
6. Belmopan, Belize (Central America)

In late May we will be leaving Tel Aviv for our mandatory home leave in California, and then in late July / early August we will be heading out for another 3 year tour to....................................................

Chennai, India

Chennai is a large city on the south eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, with a population over 7 million people. It is the fourth largest city in India and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Matt will be the Regional Security Officer (RSO) for the consulate in Chennai, with a staff reporting to him, and additional oversight in southern India.

We are absolutely thrilled to be heading out to India for our last tour before we go back to the States. Matt is ecstatic with his assignment, I'm excited for our new adventure, and Chennai is a great jumping off point to the Maldives, Thailand, and other areas we've always wanted to vacation. Additionally, Lufthansa has daily direct flights from Frankfurt to Chennai! What more could we ask?

We don't have a lot of information as we were just paneled today. We'll keep you posted on our details as they come along.

Night in DC...Then Onto Home

On Friday January 4th, the girls and I made an overnight stop in DC before flying back to Tel Aviv. The stop served two purposes; it broke up the trip and it gave us the opportunity to see Kathie and Alison (friends we made in Oman in 2003). After a long travel day (see previous blog), we finally checked into the hotel just before 8pm. It was a whirlwind of an evening - a complete blast from the past. The last time that the 3 of us girls were together was almost 2.5 years ago when Alison and I drove from DC to NJ to surprise Kathie a week after her daughter Molly was born. We had adjoining suites with the door left open the entire night, we ordered in pizza, Kathie brought gifts, junk food, and cocktails for everyone, and we stayed up until 2 am reminiscing and reconnecting.

Saturday we had breakfast, packed up our stuff, and hung around the hotel until 2:30 pm when we had to head back to the airport to catch our 5:30 pm flight. The time flew by quickly and our time together was over as quick as it began... the shuttle bus gave me a minute's notice to get on or they would leave to the airport without us. :( So we said our good-byes and off we went to finish the last leg of our journey.

The sun, moon, and stars were definitely aligned on our trip home: United gave us the bulkhead seats on our flight to Frankfurt, the girls were on their best behavior and didn't have a single meltdown on either plane to Frankfurt and then to Tel Aviv, our luggage arrived quickly, and friends at home stocked the friends and left flowers, gifts, and chocolate chip cookies. What a homecoming.

Matt is busy working with the President and Secretary of State's visit, so we haven't yet seen him since our return. Hopefully he'll be home late Friday night. The girls are almost adjusted back to Israel time. They've been having a great week back at school and doing their normal activities. Tomorrow we have our swimming lessons, Friday a play date, and two birthday parties on Saturday. No rest for the weary.

Here are a few photos of Kathie, me, and Alison as taken by Riley. Pretty good, eh?

Kath, me, and Alison - in our PJ's

Sheridan, Riley, Matt, and Molly

Traveling Home

After a fantastic 3+ week vacation in California it was time to go home. We left my parent's home in the wee hours on Friday, January 4th amidst a horrible rain/wind storm that was coming into Northern California. We got to the airport around 5:45 am and after returning the rental car, checking in, and going through security, we were at the gate by 7:15 am. We boarded the plane around 7:30 am for our 8 am departure, but after sitting on the plane for only a few minutes, it was apparent that we weren't going to be taking off on time. The wind was whipping and blowing our 767 aircraft like a branch on a tree... it was scary.

Around 7:45 am, the pilot came on the PA to let us know that all baggage loading was suspended at the airport due to the high winds and rain, and that they would let us know when it would resume. Thirty minutes pass... then another thirty... soon it was 9 am. The wind was unrelenting and after squirming in our seats for well over an hour, the United agents decided to de-board the aircraft and have us wait outside while they determined whether or not the flight would be cancelled. I was annoyed! While I normally wouldn't have minded the delay, I had made plans to meet my girlfriends Kathie and Alison (friends from Oman) in DC for the evening on a layover before we headed back to Israel. I was now late and my precious time with them was diminishing.

After waiting for over 1 1/2 hours, during which time they issued new boarding passes, the rains had died down enough for the bags to be loaded on the plane and for us to attempt to re-board and take off. The girls were SO tired after being up since 4:30 am that once we boarded the plane at 11am, they fell right asleep. Good thing as we took off around 11:45 am and had the most HORRIFIC take off I've ever experienced. The rain and wind had picked up again just a few short minutes before we took off, and our plane shook and shimmied for the first 15 minutes so bad that I grabbed the guy's arm next to me and buried my head in his shoulder. I was actually frightened, and judging from the oohs and aahs of the other passengers, I wasn't the only one.

It was a quick trip to DC with the girls sleeping a majority of the flight, and once we landed, we had help getting off the plane, getting our very rain soaked luggage, and then we caught the shuttle bus to the Embassy Suites Hotel where my friends were eagerly waiting our arrival. More of our visit, including photos in my next blog.

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2008 ~ We're SO glad to see you! This year is bound to be a good one. It started off with a bang when we took the girls to see the adorable movie, Enchanted. Sheridan loved it, but Riley was a little scared. We're having a ball at my parents house doing all our last minute shopping, returning, and browsing for summer items. We're heading back to Israel on Friday where we'll be until mid-June (or so), and then home for the summer before we depart to our next location (TBD sometime this month!).

We wish you all a happy and healthy 2008 filled with family, good friends, and great memories.

Fun in Los Angeles

It's Official ~ Sheridan gets carsick! We had a big day planned today. We drove up to Los Angeles to have lunch with cousins Noah and Asher, and then went across town to have dinner with my grandfather and my mom's brother, Jon and his family. We left Orange County around 10:15 am and had an hour free before we were expected at Jody's around 12:30 pm. We were pulling into a mall parking lot at Old Navy when Sheridan announced that she was going to vomit. Without going into any details, let's just say that I wasn't able to get her out of the car in time and she ruined her brand new outfit that I just purchased for her the day before. It took me about 25 minutes to get her and the car seat cleaned up enough before we were able to walk into the Old Navy (with her dressed in the only clothes for her I had in the car - a pair of lime green pajamas) and buy her another new outfit.

After arriving to Jody's about 45 minutes late, we immediately threw everything in the wash, let the kids eat a little lunch, and sent them off to play, play, play. We stayed until our laundry was done and the kids were pooped out, and then we packed up and moved to our next location, my Uncle Jon's house.

The kids had another great evening playing with MORE cousins. It was wonderful to see Jon, Julie, and their 4 beautiful kidlets (who we haven't seen in about 2.5 years), my grandfather Jerry, and my brother Scott. Julie made a delicious dinner for us while her kids entertained Riley and Sheridan the entire time. They even helped feed them dinner! It was a real treat to get to see them after so long.

Riley and Sheridan with Lieba, Esti, Sruly, and the baby

Posing separately with Julie and then with Jon


Grandpa Jerry posing with both his grandchildren and
great grand children

Another Day With Friends and Family

We had a lovely day today visiting with Neil's family and Micky and Neil's friends. We had lunch with cousins from Florida, followed by a visit from my brother Scott and an afternoon nosh with their friends. The girls ran around all day, playing, arguing, laughing, and ending with eating several pieces of pizza.

Oh Yes - Another Night Out With The Cousins!

Last night we went to dinner at Jody and Darin's house with the whole gang; Cynthia and Marv, Uncle Marty, Shelley, Doug, Morgan, and Evan, and the Katz gang - Heather, Stu, et al. Jody hosted a great evening filled with chili, grilled cheese paninis, raviolis, salad, and of course, cake to celebrate Sheridan's 3rd birthday (again), Asher's 1st birthday, and Andrew's 5th birthday. Cousin Morgan even made cupcakes for all the kids. The kids ran around for over 5 hours without a single meltdown - it was amazing!!! They had an unbelievable time playing with all their cousins; we enjoyed schmoozing until 10:45 pm. A fantastic time was had by ALL. Tons of photos below.