February? Where Did it Go?

Hmmm...so after Mason was accepted to Einstein, what happened during the rest of the month? Jenna somehow contracted pink eye. The source remains a mystery, but we had to give her drops for a week (which she absolutely detested). It ended up in both eyes, but thankfully, no one else caught it. It was a constant hand washing frenzy.

Oh, yes, Jenna also cut her two bottom front teeth. That made for very exciting times, because even though she was already eating table food, she now had the ability to use teeth on it. She even used those teeth to bite mommy one time while nursing. Very uncool.

I almost forget the most important advancement...Alan, while attending a Stammtisch (gathering of people) with other preschool parents (ironically, mostly dads), was pressured to break Jenna of her every 2-hour wakeup calls all night long that Deb was handling. He came home on a Friday night and announced that he would care for Jenna over the next few nights, and she was going to scream, but she would learn to sleep through the night. It was rough, but within five nights, we had success. For the first time since we started having this brood, we have restful nights. Hallelujah!

As for Mackenzie, her vocabulary continues to grow with new words such as "cookie," "bike," "thirsty," "sofa..." It's hard to think of all the wonderful words at 11 PM in the evening. Mackenzie is also excited to let us put little ponytails in her hair now. See the newest hairdo. They don't usually last long, as she loves to pull them out again, but they're fun while they last.

Mason started taking ballet this month and really seems to enjoy it. She knows that ballet is on Tuesdays, and is trying to learn the days of the week. She looks very cute in her little ballet outfit (no pictures yet, though), and listens to her teacher far better than her mom and dad would have imagined. Mason is also becoming a great big sister and helper. She likes to help out with Jenna, and is great at retrieving things for her sisters when mom or dad is unable to do so themselves.

Life can be very enjoyable...at times! :-)

Mason's Interview

On February 6th, we experienced something you only read about and imagine, in a humorous way, under normal circumstances. We had to take Mason to the "big" school for an interview. We are trying to enroll her in the Albert Einstein Academies in San Diego. It is an International Baccalaureate accredited program where the instruction is in both English and in German. The interview was required to demonstrate that Mason can speak fluent German. We know she can. Her teacher in her preschool, Die Rasselbande, knows she can. So, we took Mason for her interview, telling her only that she would be meeting Renate, her teacher, at the "big" school, and should speak Deutsch with her. We were on pins and needles, because there were already more than 200 applicants for 80 kindergarten slots. The slots go first to siblings, then to fluent German speakers, and then it is a lottery. We desperately wanted Mason to prove her ability so we could avoid the lottery. She told me she had sand in her shoes, as we walked to the classroom where Renate was waiting. I suggested to her that she tell Renate this problem "auf Deutsch" (in German), and maybe Renate could help her out. Sure enough, Mason walked in and said in German, "I have sand in my shoes." It was the only complete sentence she said throughout the interview. It was enough. Thank goodness.

Last week, we received our notice that she was accepted to Albert Einstein for kindergarten. There are so many magnet and charter schools out there, it has become very competitive to get your children into any school but your local one. It's a crazy system!

Note: This is our future protege! >>>>>>>>

Disneyworld and Other Fun Events

At the end of January, we packed clothes for warm weather and for cold weather, from swimsuits and sandals to winter boots and snow pants. We flew to Orlando, and in addition to our plan to see Nana, our sole surviving grandparent, we decided to just have fun. We spent two days at Disneyworld and one day at Epcot Center. The kids had a blast at Magic Kingdom, where all the greatest rides are, and the kids could go on so many of them! Mason loved to drive the little drag racing cars. The girls enjoyed riding through Tomorrowland on the train, and way up in the air on rocket ships that we could control. Dumbo was a hit, as was the Toy Story ride where we're moving around shooting at targets like a video game. We saw a show with Mike Wazowski (I can never get his name right) from Monsters, Inc, where he interacted with the audience. Very cool. We saw a 3-D movie where Donald Duck flew over our heads and got stuck with his butt and legs hanging out the back of the theater. Mason thought that was hysterical. We saw an interactive show with Crush, the sea turtle from Finding Nemo. That was definitely cool. We went on a jungle safari ride, climbed a tree house, and so, so much! We also met some great characters including Ariel the Mermaid, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio, and Jiminy (sp?) Cricket. We all had a great, but exhausting time. Here are some pictures showcasing our time.

From Florida, we flew through Chicago, to Minnesota. We left 80 degrees in Orlando, arrived late in Chicago, after departing late due to a snowstorm in Chicago, being diverted to Indianapolis, because we were low on fuel, and finally getting into Chicago and trying desperately to fly our family of five standby on the last flight to Minneapolis that night. We made it, but there was a lot of headache and chaos involved. Once in Minnesota, we happily crashed at Deb's parents, and let them and Aunt Tammi (pic on left) deal with the kids, who woke earlier than we were ready to wake. We visited with some of our good friends this time. We played at Edinborough Park, a huge indoor play area for kids. We played at the amusement park in the Mall of America. Mason was too small for many of the rides, but could go with a chaperone, which was good. We had an abundance of chaperones! She's about 40 inches tall. She needed to be 42 inches for the "big" rides. Just as well.

Although we had great fun on both legs of this vacation, we do not have any future plans to fly with three kids, their baggage (car seats, strollers, toys, clothes, etc.), and our own baggage, for that matter. It's TOO much work! Not to mention expensive. So, we will happily take driving trips for now. :-)