mush ado about fish

We looked outside yesterday and No snow. the elders of Cleveland don't recall the color of the ground on this day. Even rarer still is both I and Alla home on a weekday. to celebrate this combination. we got another kid. Nathan came for the day. with the 2 hell raisers together, we need significant play room. Chabad house, god willing, has lots of slides and we had there. but one of the lights explodes and glass is all over (we are told about this as we arrive) and we settle for 2 play rooms full of toys. the kids get to run around non stop and i get a bit of reading of under Tuscan skies.

about 2 hours of running later, outside slides included, we take them home.

the running around continues and i sit to continue a puzzle i started the night before.

the night before- I decided to do a puzzle, it's been a while . i took out the Simpsons puzzle, opened it and D'oh. it had a little vial of glue inside that broke and pieces were stuck together, not in the form intended for puzzles. with the puzzle being salvageable, I had to select between African trees or a dragon. since we need some white to supplement the snow. i choose the white dragon puzzle. 

we find with the cousins together it is easier to handle them, since you only have to convince Nathan to do something and Mattan will join. Nathan is much more agreeable and now they both eat soup and watch something. time for bed and we are jealous. we place Nathan in bed, he asks for a blanket and places his head down... so easy. Mattan does everything but sleep. I take Tal to sleep and get 2 hours myself.  Mattan remains awake.

very difficult day, i get up and do a bit more puzzle. Nathan wakes later all smiles and the boys begin to fight over a fish. its a bath toy with  a string, you pull it and the fish eats the worm string.

Nathan takes it and Mattan, who never plays with this fish decides that he wants it now and the anguish begins, "my fish" and other such sentences. i try to divert the attention, they dont want the crab, but for a while a tiny dinosaur is a good replacement.

Alla thinks Inna will owe her one for the day and i laugh a bit, what can you owe for few hours of kid sitting , but i plan to send both Mattan and Tal there for a week in return. inna is now enjoying the cold snow of the Rockies and missing the unexpected lack of frozen-ness here.

Building of train tracks and magnet mall begins and soon followed with destruction of same structures. the sky, water are done and the clouds begin to form on my puzzle.

bath time, and again, Nathan just goes in, while Mattan still clamors about the fish. results of no nap time, but finally relaxes after a shower. the Fish is still a cause of aggravation and when it falls under the couch, i "send the fish home" for the night. the puzzled kids are still concerned but then Nathan grabs a Thomas trains and immediately Mattan attempt to claim the train as his own. a truck distracts him and now they both ride along.

Alla's phone buzzes and i catch a glimpse of a text message from Colorado. "a bath too, I owe you one". apparently this day off is worth more than i thought, perhaps we can get two weeks back...

its time to go home and now the kids are all hugs and kisses, waiting for the next day together, forgot all the toy fighting .

we sit for dinner, main course is potatoes and ...fish.

how was your X-mass? 

happy holidays

 

on chipotle and cooties

its approximately 2 hours after event and i am still much upset.

i was entering chipotle  when a call came it. My phone is usually on silent and now i think i will forever keep it silent. I should have kept playing words with friend but i answered.

the IRS. i left the store with no bowl of goodies and set in my car for over 20 minutes listening to my dark looming future as a tax evasion criminal. the caller identified themselves as the IRS, gave me a case number and a list of violations i committed, but not following the tax code, omitting important details and cheating uncle Sam an impacting the US economy. I was told that I would be soon arrested, spend 72 hours in jails, then the evidence against me will be presented.

he advised me to get a Tax lawyer which would cost 20-30 thousands. said the IRS has send me mail which i supposedly ignored on specific dates and sound very formal and official.

the call ended with me asking my self the following questions- should i go to Canada right now? or stay go to jail for 5-7 years and have all my assets frozen.

much terrified, i called the person i knew might know who would know a lawyer. lucky Inna knew of this scam attempt.

I looked it up on the IRS web site and this is a common scam. what seemed legit to me is that they didn't ask for money in any way or personal info, though i did confirm my address and the fact that I don't have any issues with my postal service.

i filed a complaint with the Treasury department, but i am one of ten of thousands of suckers.

i spoke before about the Sucker written on my forehead, but i didn't know it extended to my cell number.

after the IRS web site and returning to semi normal breathing, drove out and got my chipotle.

last Week Alla proudly told me that she got cooties at Mattan's day care. i was a bit surprised, Lice perhaps , but not cooties. thought only girls get cooties- said Bart Simpson. Alla had a chat with one of Mattan's teachers and the Cooties became Kudos! they say Mattan is doing very well

he tells them when he needs a diaper change, or even when he gets his clothes dirty. that surprised us since at home he does not. he is much more childish with us, he regressed a bit since Tal joined the fray, but it is good that outside he acts more mature. in 2 weeks we will have a Diaper off weekend, targeted at de-diapering him- expects reports of carpet poop and watch where you step.

when i pick up Mattan, Alla asks me what the teachers say and i say what they said, but i don't know who said it.  an ancient problem of mine was to match people and faces. Mattan has 3 teachers. two of them look alike to me and i dont recall which is which. both brunette, aprox same height, aprox same age, aprox same build. Alla doesn't understand why i can spot a cheetah lurking in the savanna , but cant see a water melon in the fridge or tell the teachers apart .

Alla is trying to help and told me that Lauren just got blond highlights. sure, as if i would notice something like that. Alla got highlights before our vacation and i noticed it a week later...

after my last visit i tried to pay attention and truly one of them, not alex... has highlights, maybe now i will try to differentiate - i also think now the Lauren hugs Mattan more when he lives, she has a crush on him. well it could be the other one....

Tal has started sitting, crawling, holding his bottle and generally being aware of everything around him so it is harder to put him to sleep, but he is developing very nicely

well time to finish this report , going home soon and hoping i will not be arrested

p.s if you see me in Canada this weekend, you know why.

p.s.2 anyone got a boat or a private plane?

on beached whales and ownership

I am sitting here on the porch, the sun begins to shine, Palm trees are dancing in the wind and Mattan is napping so i can't go to breakfast.

Yesterday morning we left home for a short Florida excursion. how difficult can it get, the two of us and the two of them and some luggage. Mattan decided that today is all about mom, any check point, I want mommy. when mommy goes to get an extra wrap for the baby sit, he is wailing, even though he can see here in the next counter, so every step is harder. he also runs and runs… we finish security and he just starts running, he doesn't see all the do not come here signs. we didn't even board and i need a shower. 

on the plane, he doesn't come down for a second. playing with the back trays , touching every thing that looks like a button while Tal is mostly quiet , i take hikes up and down the plane with him on my shoulder. its a direct flight, lucky and Mattan falls a sleep in the last 10 minutes… and now he is cranky

we get the luggage, head out and then remember about the car seats, go back.. 2 people, 1 suit case 4 back pack 2 car sits and 2 kids… one of them a runner. so we pay for the cart, we walk 50 meters and get on the car rental bus. there is another ay cart as we land. but i will not pay another 4$ for 50 meters, i carry the whole thing somehow and now my back aches, but hey, i saved 4$..

there is a line at the car rental, and cranky becomes crankier.

on the way there, Mattan is troubled by the rental car. it is not ours he says repeatedly… 

lots of traffic today as we head north from fort lauderdale. we stop at a grocery store to de-parch the kids with yogurt and chicken fingers for us and continue driving. it takes us 3 hours + to get there, in the last 30 minutes the loud one finally sleeps..

at least club med.

after check in, we head right to dinner. Rattan is thankfully napping in the stroller and Tal has plenty of family now to entertain him so i can check the food. lots of it looks much better then it taste, i sample stuff and leave it out. but the bread is great and the butter is fluid.  the ice cream is also good, the rest is not worth mentioning.

We play Taki later on and spend time with everyone. it rained so i didn't go to dodge-ball. how cool is dodge ball at night, i am expecting to enjoy today

on the agenda, volley ball, football, trapeze, fun games and muscle pain.. perhaps some paddle boarding as well.

mattan, wake up!!!!

Alla said that when i watch the kids they sleep more, not just me , but others as well.

i tried to figure out why for her they sleep less. i think i may have some hints

yesterday Alla cleaned Tal's ears while he slept

she went to the kids and "gently" nudges them to check on them

and other such activities, so i think i have moved this riddle. I , on the other hand, will close the door, change the other's diaper in another room and do everything not to wake a sleeping child, except now, in my mind i am willing him to wake up…

my mind is weak, i guess.

Tall begins to crawl, he bobs front and back, leans on his side and even does a few crawl steps here and there, so adorable. and also grabs every thing he sees for an oral inspection.

guess who woke up?,,, cont later

and later..

sometimes plan and execution differ slightly. started the morning with 5k. i have not done 5k in over a year, that felt as 8 k but the sun was out , nice birds, green grass ,palm trees lakes. I ran the whole way at super slow speed, then my foot was aching and i began limping, 2 extra strength tylenol later… we played water polo which was fun. i tried some paddle boarding , but exhaustion got the better of me and i couldn't do it. i took a double ride as alla paddles and i sit. movies of my so called heroics are on a Facebook near you. lunch followed  and later while napping i missed the trapeze, but an hour of beach volley ball was a good cure.

dinner is shortly but tomorrow will fulfill the plan.

next day

After breakfast i took a sailing lesson, followed by beach volley ball. they had a competition at the end, there are several rotating couples and you only get points on the one side, these are all beginners, some better some worse and points are won more by luck then skill, at one point i get coupled with a tall guy and we start making points and finally get to 5 and crowned kings of the beach... after lunch i miss ping pong again with kids duty, then miss the trapeze again... but i do play volley ball once more in the after noon. in the evening there is an award ceremony, multiple awards for all the sports academy. they read out the names for tennis and some name like mine is mentioned and i get prompted to go on stage and claim a medal i didn't earn- but hey, i didn't lose a single tennis match! then i get my medal for volley ball. i will place it next to my ping pong champ from some cruise to the hall of fame...

in between all the activities, the kids are at the various pools, and play ground activities. but this night, Mattan has passed his bed time and is on a cry fit- "this is not our house" for a long time. he is right, this isn't, he believes club med is owned by Moti. when we place him in bed, he falls a sleep right away.

next day, started with ... more beach volley ball training, i get a bit better now and spike a bit, later i go on the paddle board and this time succeed! its fun but my legs are tired from sand jumping.I skip ping pong once more but do manage the trapeze. this is the most graceless display of acrobatics you will ever see, i swing, but did not manage to do a loop or anything fancy. i leave the device with a hurting finger and a booboo that i see only later. its time for volley ball again, free play in the after noon. at one point i try a fancy move, the ball is far and i try to kick it back. my other legs doesn't like the move and i pull my groin muscle.. ouch.. lucky this is the last evening.. but i am now with a serious limp.

the last day is just breakfast say good by and drive back. we get there early and spend an hour in a kids fun park for Mattan to blow off some steam and reach home to a cold Cleveland..

photos will be sent in a couple of days

cheers