I Bet You Forgot This Blog Existed

That (sort of) makes two of us! It's been a few years (oops!) since I posted on Ben's blog, but I vow here and now to (try my hardest) to be better about this. I don't even know if anyone reads this or even missed it for that matter. Do me a favor - if you read it, let me know. Leave a comment. Send me an e-mail. Give me a call. Whatever. Just let me know that you're out there! So here's where we are now... - Ben is 8 3/4 (he likes when I give him that 3/4 worth of credit). - He is in the third grade at MICDS. - School is over in about four weeks at which point he'll be in the fourth grade at MICDS (God willing!). - Ben broke his right elbow a month ago while on Spring Break in Florida. When we got home it was determined that he needed surgery to have two pins placed. He just got his cast off this morning after having it on for 3 1/2 weeks. He's been a real trooper throughout the whole thing. I told him this is the only break he gets. If it happens again (which it had better not), he owes me money. - We moved in early March to a new house which we both really seem to like so far. Anyone want to buy my old house?? Please?? - Ben's aunt (my sister-in-law) and cousin Zazie (my super adorable niece) just visited for a few days from Brooklyn, and she's super cute (I'm referring to his cousin, but his aunt is cute too). His cousin is 11 months old. She didn't exist last time I posted on here. She wasn't even a twinkle! She sort of looks like me (and my brother - her dad - and my mother - her grandmother). I could eat her face but will try to restrain myself. - Ben is currently obsessed with Xbox and Xbox Live where he talks to strangers and plays video games with them. All he wants me to do is ask him about those games. He gets mad at me when I don't ask the right questions. - At this point in time Ben has lost 8 teeth and has recently had 4 (!) cavities filled. He currently has no loose teeth. He kept telling people about his 4 cavities like it was something to be proud of. It's not. - Ben played on a basketball team with his friends the last several years. We're still not anticipating an athletic scholarship. - Ben was a psychopath last Halloween (he chose the costume - trust me, I vetoed even worse costumes). It was just an orange jumpsuit and a makeup 5 o'clock shadow plus he had a plastic ax, and I made his hair all crazy and gelled. He looked sort of like he was on a chain gang. I REALLY miss the days when I got to pick out his costumes. I'm not sure that there's much more to post right now. I'm sitting here listening to Ben yammer at his Xbox friends. I think he might already be a teenager. If that's the case, we're in for a very bumpy ride. Don't forget - get in touch with us!! Let me know if anyone actually reads this thing. And if you want our new address, let me know too.

Our "Otherwise Known As" Week So Far

Here's a rundown of our week so far:

Monday is now otherwise known as Meltdown Monday. Ben had a SERIOUS meltdown after waking up from a late nap after school and lots of tension and stress filled the air. It was a lousy night, but we both survived it. Enough said.

Tuesday was better so it's now otherwise known as Terrific Tuesday. After school we ran by the payroll company then headed out to shop for birthday presents for upcoming birthday parties and some grocery shopping. We headed home after that and had a quiet, calmer night until I realized that I had to run to Walgreens to pick up prescriptions that I had to have that night. Ben wore his new Mario jammies and looked very cute!

Wednesday - otherwise known as Today - has been quiet so far. Today was Late Start Day at school (otherwise known as The Most Wonderful Day of the Week!) so it was already destined to be a better day. And today was the Pokemon Dojo/Club/Thing that Mr. Ives arranged for the kids so Ben stayed until 4:15. He loves it although I don't know if he knows about Pokemon other than what he's seen on the cartoon on TV (and I have a feeling it's pretty different). I don't understand it at all so hopefully Mr. Ives does. After all, that's all that counts, right? Either way, Ben LOVES that he's with some big kids in the club (it's for SKers - 2nd graders according to the flyer), and he really loves Mr. Ives so it's a double bonus for him to take part in this.

Friday is the Big Day this week at school. Everyone in Beasley (Lower School at MICDS) dresses up and parades down to the MAC (the gigantic gymnasium) where the kids sing a bunch of Halloween songs before they parade through the Upper School for the big kids to see them in their costumes. It was so incredibly cute last year! I'm really looking forward to it, and I know that Ben is too. He's only asked me about 30 times if I'm going to be there, and each time I tell him that I wouldn't miss it. The teachers do a great job getting the kids prepared. Ben has been singing cute Halloween songs around the house for awhile now (taught to him by, coincidentally, Mr. Ives).

And everyone knows what Saturday is...one of the biggest days of them all for kids...Halloween (otherwise known as The Day It's Okay to Ask Strangers for Candy and/or The Day It's Okay to Take Candy From Strangers)!! Pictures will definitely be posted.

Last Weekend

Not much happened this last weekend. We took it very easy since Ben seems to constantly be on the verge of a potential cold and with the weather as wet and cold and back and forth as it's been, I'd rather not have him get sick. Besides, a three day cold for him turns into a two or three week ordeal for me.

Friday night Ben spent the evening with Grammy Eleanor while I attended the MICDS 150th Gala at the Ritz Carlton. It was very nice. More than 800 people were there so it was a bit of a madhouse (particularly during cocktails), but I had a good table so it was fine (Alex's mom, Harrison's parents, Jack and Paige's parents and Jack M's parents - it's all about who your kid is at this stage of life). Ben really enjoyed the special time alone with Grammy, something he never gets. She was dog/housesitting for her sister and brother-in-law so Ben got to spend some time with Hattie, their standard poodle, and he particularly enjoyed that.

Saturday we hung out at home during the day. For lunch we made homemade crinkle cut oven fries, and Ben got to crinkle cut the potatoes. He LOVED doing that! That night we had dinner at Michael's with Adam. Sunday we hung out at home until it was time to go to soccer where Ben actually kicked the ball a few times! Afterwards he hung out with Adam for a couple of hours then we all grabbed a quick dinner at Wonton King where Ben actually tried a couple of new things, one with a bribe of a quarter (which he forgot about so it's still in my possession) and the other completely on his own.

Halloween is what we're concentrating on now. Ben is going to be Luigi of the Super Mario Brothers, and I'm evidently going to be Mario (at least I'll be wearing Mario's hat - Ben's child size 4-6 costume won't fit me). We were even talking like Mario and Luigi this morning on the way to school, and I got several thumbs up from Ben so I must be doing a good job. Pictures will definitely be posted.

La Di Da...

Life is meandering right along. Ben has been busy with school and battling as usual. Yes, I said battling. It's all about battling around here. If we're not battling with Gormiti (which I don't know how to do yet am constantly forced to do) then we're battling with light sabres and swords. I'm evidently not so good at that either.

There was no school last Friday so a bunch of SK parents took the kids to India Palace for lunch since the kids are studying India. It was fun, and no, Ben didn't eat a single thing (even though he claims that he did, but I know the truth). Afterwards we went to the pumpkin patch with everyone, and the kids all ran around and had a great time for awhile. Wow, was it cold and gross out! When we left there we went to K-Mart for some more Halloween decorations (we'd been to Wal-Mart earlier in the week) then headed home to decorate. Ben was so excited to do that!

Sunday we went to Sweet Tomatoes for their brunch buffet. Since Ben wore his pajamas he got in for free (the whole reason we went...). Afterwards we headed to the Kirkwood Farmers Market for our annual pre-Halloween visit there to purchase pumpkins (because the 9 - yes, 9 - we'd bought on Friday at the pumpkin patch weren't enough). We bought a small gourd, three miniature pumpkins and a big one to carve that almost killed me as I carried it all the way to the car. I stupidly turned down the nice man's offer to help me carry the stuff to the car when I paid. Obviously I won't be doing that again.

This week Ben's class took a field trip to The Green Center, and he took part one afternoon in a Pokemon club/thing after school. He feels like a really big boy because he does that. Parent Teacher Conferences are in two weeks, and I'm extremely curious to hear what his teacher has to say about him. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Jack-O-Lantern

This year we went a different way with our Jack-O-Lantern. Instead of carving it we decided to use a neat face set that I found at Wal-Mart that came with three different sets of stickers to use to decorate the eyes, nose and mouth. It's really cute and was kind of fun for a change. Here are some pictures of our front door area and "carving" our Jack-O-Lantern this year.

Halloween!

Friday was Halloween, and it was an extremely busy day for Ben. It started with the Lower School Halloween Parade at MICDS. I woke Ben up on Friday morning and got him dressed in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume, and we headed to school and to his classroom where Mr. Wuertz and Mrs. Schneider were there in their costumes. Mr. Wuertz was a fisherman (complete with a sign on his back that read "JK + Candy = I'd Rather Be Fishing"), and Mrs. Schneider was a beautiful queen. Ben was the first one there, and a few minutes later the rest of the kids started to trickle in. They were all so cute in their costumes! There were two pirates, three superheroes, four princesses, a blue fairy, Hermione Granger from "Harry Potter", a mummy and an airline pilot in JK-B. Everyone met in their classrooms or the cafeteria for pictures then the parents headed down to the gigantic gym (I'd never been there before. It's huge!). After a few minutes the entire Lower School paraded down to the gym with the adorable Junior Kindergarten leading the way. It was SO CUTE and so much fun to see all of the kids in their costumes. They all sat by grade level at the end of the gym and took turns singing Halloween songs that they'd been practicing in music class. After that the entire Lower School sang a song together before they paraded out of the gym and through the administration building where there are also some Upper School classes. I *think* that there might have been some sort of further partying and merriment that day, but Ben wouldn't tell me what happened (as usual). We came home and waited for Adam and my dad to come over to go trick or treating. Ben fell asleep, already exhausted from the excitement of the day. We woke him up a little bit after six, and the three of them headed out to see Grammy Eleanor and Paw Paw Richard Rosenbaum and to do a bit of trick or treating in their neighborhood (the houses are closer together there) then back to our neighborhood for some more trick or treating before heading out to see Mr. Jay and Aunt Marilyn Cohn for a final trick or treat stop. There was only one knock on the door at our house so the two Army boys who came by where treated to large handfuls of candy (Ben also knocked on the door which was very cute.). Ben was the only Ninja Turtle that I saw out there so his costume was obviously a huge success! I think he had a good time, and he definitely has more than enough candy to rot his teeth for quite awhile!

Mr. Wuertz as a fisherman with Ben: Mrs. Schneider as a queen with Ben:Most of the JK-B class (missing one pirate and one princess):
The entire Junior Kindergarten singing after their parade into the gym:Getting ready to head out of the gym and on a parade to Olson Hall:

Getting ready to hit the road:On the prowl for CANDY!!!!:

Not Much Going On

There's not much going on this week which is just fine with me. Ben had an appointment yesterday morning with the pulmonologist at his doctor's request, and his test for asthma came back normal so there's no asthma which is a good thing (and no real surprise). He's going Monday for a sweat test and to an appointment with the endocrinologist to check his growth. None of this is that big of a deal. He's perfectly healthy and doing just fine. He did get a flu shot yesterday as well as had his blood drawn. Let's just say that Ben does NOT like "pokes" as he calls shots and needles. The poor thing was just devastated by all of the needles. The bandaid from the blood draw fell off at school, but the bandaid from the flu shot will undoubtedly remain on his arm for many, many weeks like (just like the bandaid from his shots did this summer at his 4 year old check up). I don't have the heart to tell him that he's probably going to have more blood drawn on Monday for tests by the endocrinologist. I went to Wal-Mart this morning after I took him to school to buy my big brave boy a few little rewards. I bought him a Diego game for his Leapster for yesterday's bravery, and I got a couple more small goodies to give him on Monday after his long day.

Other than that there's really not much to report. My dad (or Ga as Ben calls him) comes back from Europe tonight. Tomorrow is Halloween. Ben is still planning on being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle although last night he told me he didn't want to go trick or treating so we'll see if he really meant that or not. This weekend are also the two final soccer games of the season so that should be fun. The kids are all so cute out there on the field and the sidelines!

Halloween Sneak Preview

Ben tried on his Halloween costume today to make sure that it fits. I had actually bought it last year after Halloween for half price for dress up. He's had a hard time deciding this year between Batman, Teenage Mutatnt Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers (we happen to own all three costumes right now JUST IN CASE). Here's what I *think* he's sticking with - Leonardo the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: