Fonzie goes to sleep

We put Fonzie to sleep yesterday and we all miss him so much. All of us were in the room with him when he died. He was our dog, part of our family. We all talked a lot about him last night and Sofia said this morning that he was her brother. Samantha agreed with her. Daddy and I still think every jingle is Fonzie's dog tags.  I don't know when or if we will get another dog. Fonzie had such a great disposition and was very tolerant of kids... He left such a void that we are all feeling now, but time will tell and we are all too raw from the loss to make any decisions. For our last day with Fonz we took him to his favorite place on earth... The dog park. He played with the other dogs and smelled everything, as per usual. Since it was such a hot day and the age he's at (over 100 in dog years), Fonzie was worn out pretty quickly.

I'm grateful to Fonz for forcing me to get over my fears of big dogs, for teaching me how to live in a pack, and all the years of annoyances, adventures and love.  In all the walks he went on, someone always pointed out his beauty. I'll never forget the strange looks from people whenever we went rollerblading, or correcting all the folks who thought he was a wolf. I'll remember the times he ran over our kids and others, the wrestling matches and his reaction whenever Daddy said he was going to pick him up (Fonzie would run).
Fonzie is forever a member of our family and is forever loved by us. We will miss you Fonz, so much.

Rest In Peace, old friend. 

Grammy turns 70!

Grammy is 70!

Happy Birthday to Grammy!

We took her out to dinner and she appreciated the firework for her:

In true Grammy fashion, she informed me on Mother's Day that she was expecting another poem, so as "requested", here it is.

A POEM FOR GRAMMY’S 70th BIRTHDAY!

Just a few notes about my mother

Who I’m often told is like no other

She’s stubborn, fun and not a quitter

Even her crazy daughter didn’t make her bitter

To be a grandmother, she didn’t expect

She loves to spoil them, as she can

Her granddaughters are full of love and respect

Many more adventures is their plan

You have to love her

She is a trip

She sticks by you

And will never flip

Nothing keeps her down

She is compassionate and funny

It’s been hard for her to say no

Remember my cats and pet bunny

Grammy is cherished and loved

Full of support, not afraid to defend

She is a force of nature

And remains my closest friend

She offers to clean up when no one else will

Helps those in need with rides or a meal

A treasure to her community

She is the real deal

To say I am grateful is an understatement

She gave me my fire, helped me let go of my wrath

Fought for me against the establishment

And somehow managed to keep me on my path

70 years old, Oh my!

How the time has flown by!

All I can is HOORAY FOR MOM!

For all the years she has kept me calm. 

Mother's Day 2012

We hosted brunch again for our extended family this year.  It was a great day to play with my niece and nephew, catch up with other family members and just enjoy my children.  Samantha and Sofia read to our guests and entertained us all with singing and dancing.  Daddy was exhausted, but pulled everything together as usual.  His efforts were appreciated by everyone, especially me.  I'm so glad for the family he and I have created together.

My annual picture of all the moms in attendance, minus Aunt Shelly.  Even Fonzie wanted to be included.

For all of the mothers who have passed on, I gave white roses to honor those women.  A mother's impact is never forgotten and I felt it was important this year to remember and acknowledge that.

Chaperoning Samantha's field trip

Both Daddy and I took the day off to chaperon Samantha's field trip to the Arboretum.  It was beautiful to see it in the spring!  Her teacher said that we were probably the first couple to chaperon together in her 40 years of teaching.  I'll take it as a compliment.  There were a lot of other dads, so Daddy got to make some friends too!  It was an adventure and fun to watch all the kids.  It was also Daddy's first bus ride in a long, long time!  Samantha was so proud to have us with her and very excited too!

Find the ladybug on Samantha's arm.

Find Samantha after rolling down the hill.

See Samantha having fun on the bus.

It was a good day.  

April 2012

We began April by giving Daddy some well-earned downtime and going to a small scale children's museum close by.  I was still reeling from unexpectedly missing spring break.

I love Sofia's reaction in the video... priceless.

Daddy was gone for 3 weeks in April. He was home on the weekends and we made the most of the time together, but he was missed by all. The girls and I kept ourselves busy with mostly good weather, playdates and living simply. I realize there will never be enough time so I try to cherish very moment I have with my children. As a family, we have taken an approach to salvage whatever sanity we have and not be over-scheduled. We know families that run themselves ragged every day of the week to activities, clubs and other classes. I am trying to avoid that for us. I don't judge those who make a different choice, or say we won't ever be in that situation (we have have our turn). I'm just trying to keep it simple for as long as I can. I don't see a benefit to signing The girls up for camps if they're not interested. I can put the money toward a vacation or their college funds. I think that Samantha is doing well with only one activity, but I don't know how long that will continue. Sofia is loving the arrangment because of all the playdates. I usually try to get together with another family at least once a week/weekend. I've offered to take kids to support other busy parents and am improving at accepting help. Mostly though, I've been allowing myself to just be instead of constantly enriching my kids. Relaxation is important too!


These are from March... Samantha loves her special breakfasts with her Dad.  Sofia struggles with missing him, which make moments like the one I captured below even more special.

Throughout April there was Family Fun Day and Science Night at Samantha's school, where I got to volunteer (and take the kids around).  We saw a lot of the kids and their families.  We got to have some time with our friends, watch our tulips bloom, see our extended families on both sides for Passover and Easter.  I also managed to spend some time with my friends and squeezed in time to volunteer for Art Adventure and my regular time slot at Samantha's school.

All in all it was another full month, but again, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Sofia's Reading!

We just had conferences with Sofia's teacher and we are so proud!  She is reading (an activity that she hasn't wanted to do much at home) and a very kind student.  She plays with everyone and it's great to hear how she's learning!  It's also a joy to hear her finally read at home!  I love watching her world unlock with the power of reading.

(The photo is from her keeping her entertained waiting for my doctor's appointment.  I thought it was appropriate!)

Samantha's Concert

Samantha's class performed a concert tonight. Grammy, Daddy, Sofia and I all went to watch our girl perform. She was nervous, which is typical for most people and was mostly excited. She walked in with her head high and sang and danced her heart out. Samantha's pose was chosen for the class to imitate so she was honored, which you can see in the video. Samantha was very proud of that. As always, it was a honor to watch her and know she was created from Daddy and me! How did we get so lucky?