After school today we were winding down and Jory wanted to play 'School'. So he takes this new Roll-A-Rounds Gumball machine and he distributes the gumballs. He comes over with the machine and asks 'Which color gun-ball do ou want?' and you have to answerwith a color. He will pull the lever and see if the ball that comes out has the right color. if not, he will pull it again. If he remembers he will ask you for $16. When you finally get our color you have to eat it. After the process of getting and eating the gumballs, Jory decides its cleanup time. Everyone has to put the balls in the machine and I tell him we all have to cleanup. he tels me

Short Term Memory

We all know that our Jory has his issues with food. His menu is limited and on top of that his desire to eat is just as bad. Tonight we took the family out to one of our favorite mexican restaurants for a change from the usual Friendly's or Johnny Rockets. Mira munches on the free tortilla chips and feeds me in the process because, well, mommy just doesn't eat enough. She nibbles here and there on her dinner, my dinner and Jory's dinner as well.

Jory on the other hand looks at his chicken fingers and immediately declares that he doesn't like them. No way is he eating them!! He eats a few waffle fries and thinks he is done. Us parents know he will be asking for potato chips or cookies as soon as we walk back in the door so we push and threaten and negotiate in order for him to get enough food to be acceptable. Every bite was a struggle and a tear. It was quite a scene and only a strong parent can deal with. I am sure many parents would have just left him sitting there and came back later. (if at all)

We finally gave up with the warning that he will not be getting anything after this meal. He will get his nighttime milk and it's bedtime for him. We pack up, take home the ice cream that he will never eat, bundle up and get back in the car. 4 doors close and the car is turned on. The next thing we hear is from Jory, "Mommy, can I have something to eat, please?!"

Short Term Memory

We all know that our Jory has his issues with food. His menu is limited and on top of that, his desire to eat is just as bad. Tonight we took the family out to one of our favorite mexican restaraunts for a change from the usual Friendly's or Johnny Rockets.

Facebook has become a pretty big part of our lives here in the Shapiro home. It is great to connect with people you haven't spoken to in a long time. See whats going on with others without the hassle of picking up the phone to call everyone which is great when you have little ones tugging at you all the time. The list of good things that come from facebook are endless. I really love the games that keep popping up on there. You can farm, fish, join a sorority, be part of the mafia, run a resturaunt and so on. And of course, all these games are highly addicting and suck countless hours out of your life.

My personal favorite is FarmVille. I have dabbled in the other games out there and really haven't gotten attached to them like I have the farm games. Jory discovered the fish games when I started to explore them. There are dozens of them. I was playing this one fish game, Fish World, when Jory spotted it. He instantly wanted to play so I let him. I earned enough coins to get his own tank that he can buy and sell fish, decorate and take care of. He wold constantly sell my fish from my tank without asking or telling me and I would get annoyed. So instead of getting aggrivated over this, I just stopped playing and gave him the gam to play. FarmVille, here I come.

So I haven't really been ontop of what he is doing all these fish games he has been playing, but I know he loves playing them. He tells his teacher about them in school. He draws pictures of him playing on the computer with Fish World on the screen. It may be borderline on whether or not his addiction to the game is healthy. It does keep him quiet and out of my hair when I really need the time, so I don't complain.

Lately he has been asking to get the special fish and decorations. These fish and decorations are what supports these games. There are a few nut cases out there that actually put in their credit card numbers just to get cooler items in their tanks and on their farms. Some of them you have to earn mad coins to get them or they are exclusive to people that give them money and that is the only way to get them.

Over and over Jory asks and I tell him when he gets his own credit card or when he is an adult or some other crazy thing that probably will never happen (well, in my mind) that he can put money into the computer and spend it on the games. This has been going on for days and I KNOW he really wants an algae eater or some other exotic fish and I just cant give it to him. I refuse to put money into these things!

The other day we had this fun blizzard and were stuck in the house. Jory jumped from game system to game system to play-doh to game system. He was good and played quietly throughout the day.

That night, after I get both of them to bed and I am trying to relax and play on my farm I hear a weird sound from my laptop. I shake it and I hear it even more. The I think, "Oh CRAP! Something is broken in my computer and I better back everything up!!!!!!" So I do this.

Who are you sleeping with?

I believe we are going to have a problem with our little Mira. She likes to hoard things. She is unlike her brother who likes to collect things like dice and rocks and other sorts. He at least puts all his collections in containers and keeps those containers in his room. Mira, on the other hand, collects friends. For awhile I would have to bring with me, not only my daughter, but all her doll 'friends'. She would have to lug them along to school.

Just before bedtime I took a snapshot of her bed all setup for the night. She MUST sleep with all these friends in their very specific spot. If they are not in their spot, she gets annoyed and immediately puts them in their proper place. If someone is missing, we cannot even get into the bed until he/she/it is found and put in their place. If there is someone in her bed that doesn't belong, they are quickly thrown out and onto the floor. But it's not only that she moves and removes these friends. She will point and say with a stern voice that they were misplaced and make sure whoever set it up, doesn't make that mistake again. Oy!

So this is the setup:

This all started with these two friends. Monkey always had to be in the right corner and Elmo had to be in the left. No IF's, AND's, or BUT's!

Then a few weeks ago we went to a diner nearby and she got her Pink Teddy Bear. She carried her around until a week later when Jory insisted we go back to get him a Teddy Bear (which has since been lost) and Mira got her own Blue Teddy Bear.

For awhile they slept in Mommy's room. But on Halloween Aunt Jill brought Mira the Orange Candy Bear and now the Teddy Bears must sleep in Orange Candy Bear's lap, right next to Elmo.

We had this small beanie cat for awhile. Last year she was nice enough to ask Ms. Rita at her school if she could hold it, and well, the cat never made it back to Ms. Rita. It's a good thing that Ms. Rita is smitten by Mira's cuteness, or we would have had a pretty big fight on our hands. Thank you!

Then this dog and Ms. Rita's cat used to be placed outside her door just before books/bed time, but they did eventually make it into her special lair of her bed.

Suddenly at a trip to Toys R Us she promised she would replace all her friends that she had to sleep with AND take everywhere with this very soft Webkins Jr. Cat. Soon did I realize that I was scammed and she was just added to the gang. So I guess she figured an appropriate place for her is holding Ms. Rita's cat on top of her by the pink monkey.

Just the other day she picked up this cute Bulldog at CVS and just couldn't put it down. This was his first night joining the crowd, but I soon learned that he didn't make the cut and sleeps on the floor with the other bed rejects.

Now just imagine in the mornings when I come and get her out of her crib, she hands me every one of these friends (and makes me pick up the bulldog off the floor). I have to carry her and them in my bed for her morning show. It's quite an ordeal.

Caught on Video

Tonight as Mira was having a late evening snack of healthy Froot Loops, she started to play with her food and babble to herself. As we started to pay more attention we realized she was actually saying something understandable to an English speaking person.

Mira says the alphabet from Randi Shapiro on Vimeo.

Will do anything for caffeine

Today Mira didn't take much of a nap. She has a bit of a cough and it was disturbing her sleep. She decided to play outside while we wait for Jory to get off his camp bus

Rolling Bears

A recent conversation I had with Jory...  Some backstory: he's been collecting dice.  Yes, dice.  After we found some in the house he saw how excited I was because as he started rolling them I was calling the outcome like a casino croupier.  Now he just likes counting the pips and asking whether that roll would have made me any money.  Anyway...  (I have scaled back on the Craps lessons....)

J:"Oh man, I just rolled a hard 3"

R: "You can't roll a hard 3, you can roll a hard 4,6,8 and 10"

J: "Well, rolling bears is hard..."

I had to pause for a second at this comment... It then occurred to me that some of the dice I bought for him were from the hobby shop "scrap dice bin".  A specific pair of dice that caught my eye had little bears instead of 1's.  I have no idea what game these are from, but whatever, I knew he'd get a kick out of them.

R: "You're right, rolling bears is hard!"

(I found the game!  Link)

Pre-School Graduate!

After 3 years our baby boy is a preschool graduate! On Thursday Ryan and I attended our first of many graduations for our Jory. He was so adorable wearing a handmade graduation cap and marching around with the rest of his classmates. They sand a few songs and each child's name was called out and given a diploma. It seems like yesterday he was a little baby and now he knows all his letters and can even do a little reading.

He really has come a long way in all this time he has been there and we couldn't be any more proud of him and his progress. Kindergarten is a big step and although he seems a little weary of it, I am sure he will do great!

Purim 2009

Friday was Jory's Purim party for the parents at his preschool. They put on a little singing show like they did for Hanukkah. Notice the similarities of how well he performed! Ill tell you this, he will most likely never be an actor or a musician. He sure doesn't like to sing, either. This time he actually looked bored towards the end.

Purim 2009 from Randi Shapiro on Vimeo.

How do you make love?

I was reading Jory a book tonight about giving a gift for Mom for Mothers Day. At the end of the book the boy gives his mother a box full of kisses filled with love. As I am finishing up the book, of course Jory knows the ending because I have read it to him a thousand times already, he asks me a question.

"How do you make love?"

Now this is not a question I was prepared to answer with a 5 year old and certainly not tonight. Of course my mind is thinking that I have to come up with something quite good to hold him over until he asks me again.

To my relief he tells me that love is hearts. You give hearts for love. Then he asks me if I know how to make love. Do "I" know what? Oh god, my heart was dropping. Then he asks if I know how to make love in a toaster.

A toaster? I asked him how?

"You take a long wooden stick and put a strawberry on it and put it in the toaster. Then it makes a spark and that makes love."

Phewww.

I guess that was better than him asking how he got in my belly to grow and how did he get out. And how did Mira get out of my belly. Oh, the questions.

Happy Valentine's Day

Nothing like a little heart shaped lollipop to start off a birthday party day!

Class of...

The SCSD (Syosset Central School District) sends out newsletters every couple of months with blurbs and accomplishments about the neighborhood schools.  Here is the opening paragraph of the Kindergarten Registration Reminder:

Syosset School Disctrict resident children who will be five years old on or before December 1, 2009 are entitled to begin kindergarten in September 2009.  These children will form the Syosset High School graduating class of 2022.

Wait, what?!  I guess I just never saw it written that way.  Well, I graduated in 92, so I guess we're right on schedule.

3 am body parts check

The other night started out very quiet and calm. The kids went to sleep with not much of a fight and Ryan and I were able to watch American Idol off the Tivo undisturbed. We were looking forward to a full night of peaceful sleep. I hear whining coming from Mira's room. Then crying and after that was screaming. This is when I mutter words of dislike to my offspring and she just screams my name. "MOMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY!" I look at my clock, 3 a.m. "Ugh!" is all I could say.

I crawl out of my very warm and comfy bed with a very big, fat cat sleeping soundly above my head. She keeps screaming until I open her door and then suddenly silence. She looks at me and smiles, says a few unrecognizable words and then I pick her up to sit in the rocking chair. This time she did NOT want to sit with me.

As soon as I turned towards the chair she pointed with a fierce determination to the door and yelled "Da-yee!" So, she wanted her daddy and I was in no mood to argue with her. I brought her to our bed and plopped her on my beloved. She was wide awake and I think the two of us were hoping the other would watch her while we slept. She would have none of that! She likes to lay on her mommy. She requested her favorite friend Elmo a few times but the answer was NO. Then she decided that she was going to inspect her parents. Maybe she was trying to make sure we were the same ones she had before going to bed. She squeezed Daddy's nose. Yup! Still there. She touched her own and then came over to mommy. Nose: Check! Then she went onto the other parts she knows. Ears: Check, check and check! We all had those, too. Eyes, mouth, teeth and whatever else she could find. By then we were a bit baffled and even more exhausted.

When she was done checking the parent figures out, she insisted on getting out of the bed. So I put her down on the floor to see where she would go. I was figuring she was going to lead me to her room to read her a gazillion books or to the kitchen for another cup or a snack. I was even thinking for a brief moment that she may try to go to the den to see if Elmo was possibly available there. Nope. She bolted straight for big brothers room. I have never seen her walk so fast to get somewhere. I could have been so tired that it seemed faster than it really was but she was, once again, determined.

Oh no! We do not bother Jory when he sleeps. She was not happy that Jory's door was shut and not to be opened. It did take a gazillion books before she stopped checking all my parts once again and back to sleep.

Disrobed

Today is a pretty busy day for me. I have a ton of calls and appointments to make as well as cleaning up breakfast and some major laundry projects need to be done or no one will have clothes to wear by the middle of the week. After I got home from dropping Jory off at his first day back to school after a long vacation and running some errands, I decided to put Mira in front of a Sesame Street so I can get things done. Of course she is happy as a pig in poop, so I know she is fine.

After a few phone calls and unloading and loading the dishwasher I get a visit from the little princess. She is happy and chatty and of course asking me for a cup and a cookie. You would think nothing of it. I turn around and I see this:


Then when she turned around to find me, I asked her, "What happened to your clothes?" and this is what she does:

There is never a dull moment here. Now I am beginning to wonder what Elmo is teaching her.

The grass is always greener...

A couple of weeks ago we had a few days, maybe weeks, where eating was a battle with Mira. She would refuse to eat everything and anything that was on her plate unless it was a potato chip or something chocolate. (Yes, I think it's a little too early for PMS indulgences). So in my frustration, I decided that if she wasn't going to eat dinner, I wasn't going to try. After potatoes and chicken pieces went flying across the room, I took her out of the highchair and told her to go play. She went right over to her Daddy, who just a few minutes before we sat down for dinner walked in from work. Its so nice to see that she wanted to be with him. She insisted on sitting on his lap. We knew this from her persistent grunting and squealing. She finally got what she wanted, Daddy's lap. It turns out that it wasn't HER dinner she wanted.

Daddy's Dinner from Randi Shapiro on Vimeo.

It's Hanukkah Time

It's that time of year and Jory's school has a special show for the mommy's and daddy's. This year they made themselves little candles and sang a bunch of Hanukah songs just for us. Our little pride and joy was the star of the show. He sang so wonderfully, we are going to sign him up for American Idol! (...just kidding)

School Hanukkah Party from Randi Shapiro on Vimeo.

Tell us what you really think

Mealtimes are not very exciting for Jory. He eats a few bites and then asks to be excused. It's more like "I'm done, can I go watch TV?" We usually make sure he ate an acceptable amount of food and let him go especially if he asks nicely. At dinner last night he was being particularly antsy and we secretly were happy to let him go off to the other room for a few moments of peace while we finished our meal. Just outside the kitchen is a small wall where the wallpaper is slowly finding its way to the recycling bin. Jory had the brilliant idea of taking his sleeves and whack the lifting wallpaper to help it on its way. After many attempts to get him to stop and to get him to go watch his show, Ryan yelled out to him, "Stop Jory!!! Where do you think you live?"  Jory responds in a very quick, very sure, "A Barn!"

Table for...

The lack of posts from yours truly is not due to the kids not being funny.  In fact, they continue to be funnier every day.  But I get lazier.  Anyway, here's a couple of funny Jory-isms from tonight. We went out to dinner and we're on our way home.  Jory wants to change movies in the back seat theater and asks "What's N-O-D-I-S-C mean?"  It took us a second to figure out what he was spelling.  It's what the display shows when there's no DVD in the drive.


Then out of the blue he says, "There's four of us.  1, 2, 3, 4.  Yep, there's 4 of us, right daddy?"  I have no idea what he's doing.  "Yeah, there's 4 of us" ...  "Not 3 and a high chair like YOU said, you always say that daddy but there's four of us."  Once I stopped laughing I explained that Mira needs a high chair or she would not reach the table.  He suggested I just tell them we're 4 and a Mira.

DON'T play doctor with her

Mira has this funny habit of putting her finger in her ears. For the past 16 months I would constantly think that she had ear infections. I would trek her in and then get laughed at because her ears are absolutely perfect and clear. One doctor even jokes with me that she is trying to drive me crazy, already. I think she is right!

As Mira learns how to walk better and better each day she likes to do things with her hands. You saw a couple of days ago how she likes to carry evening purses on her arms. Sometimes she will walk around with a half eaten apple, dirty laundry (or clean; whatever she can get her hands on), cups, books...whatever. The past day or two she keeps sticking her finger in her ear while she is walking (and playing, but walking is what she likes to do most). Then she will try to put things in her ear like pretzel rods, toys, another persons finger. The list goes on.

After a long day, we were sitting on the couch relaxing and watching Yo Gabba Gabba. She turns towards me and yanks on my ear. She wants to see it. Ok, ill play along. She attempts to stick her finger in my ear. I turn my head and say NO! I continue to watch the show and she grabs my nose and pushes my head so she can see my ear again. I say NO! again and turn away. This time she uses all her might so she can see my ear and I, again, said NO! She gave up for a moment and found a toy 'shooter' from one of Jory's action figures. It has a 2 or 3 inch sword or spikey thing. She attempt to try it out in her ear and I looked at her and said NO! She put it down right away. The then turns my head with everything she had, and a few nails to make sure it happened, and tried to put the darned thing in my ear. That was it! Sword thing is gone and I will never let her be the doctor when we play.