It arrived this morning! I got the camera, a battery (and a little plastic case the battery was in), a/v cord, transfer cord, battery charger, software, and a few books. The camera comes with a 90 day warranty (it is a factory refurb, not new).

There are no visible marks on the camera, in fact, it looks brand new. The battery did not arrived charged, and took about two hours to fully charge (from plug-in to charging light off). The camera is incredibly light. I wasn’t expecting that. It feels kind of plasticy in my hands (you know what I mean, right?) and I’m not sure if it’s cheaply made or if I am just used to my bulkier Lumix and my dslr. The thing is tiny. Seriously. It’s about the same weight as my iPhone, about twice as thick, but about 3/4″ – 1″ shorter than it. It will fit nicely in my back pocket

It has fewer options than my other Lumix (I can’t find any presets other than power ISO and macro – I think it auto detects them, if I read correctly) and appears to be idiot proof. It has a “mode” button, that pops up a menu, but the only options are intelligent auto, normal picture, scene mode 1, scene mode 2 and motion picture. It’ll be great for on the go quick shots, you know? It has a much smaller screen on the back than my other Lumix as well.

All in all, I am not (yet) complaining. If I had wanted the *same* camera, I’d have ordered it. I took a few photos with it today and they seem just fine. I didn’t find any *bad* reviews of this camera, so I don’t expect to be complaining about it any time soon.

RefurbDepot.com shipped fast, next day I think. I ordered UPS ground (10$) and it took less than seven days to arrive (I was expecting it next week b/c of the ground shipping).

A Seasonal Pass entitles you to admission** to Magic Kingdom® Park, Epcot®, Disney’s Hollywood Studios™, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park Except the following dates:
* March 15 – March 28, 2008
* June 7, 2008 – August 14, 2008
* December 21, 2008 – January 3, 2009

* April 4 – April 17, 2009
* June 6, 2009 – August 13, 2009
* December 19, 2009 – January 1, 2010
**Except for activities/events separately priced.

You also get:
* The exclusive “Mickey Monitor” Passholder newsletter
* Special offers on Walt Disney World® dining, merchandise, backstage tours, and much more!

When you order the Seasonal Pass, you will receive an exchange certificate in the mail. Redeem the exchange certificate for a Seasonal Pass at any Walt Disney World® Theme Park ticket window by presenting the exchange certificate and valid photo ID. The Seasonal Pass is valid for 365 days from exchange certificate redemption.

Proof of Florida residency is required — you must provide any one of the following:
* Florida driver’s license
* Florida state-issued ID card (must have Florida address)
* Florida voter’s registration card with corresponding picture ID
* A college ID for a Florida college
* Florida- based military ID

Passes are non-transferable, are only valid during regularly scheduled operating hours and exclude activities / events priced separately. No additional discounts apply.

http://tickets.disney.go.com/buy/TicketTrans#subcat2

(you can put in 32181 as a zip code – that’s mine!)

So, this morning we dropped the boys off at Chabad for school and went to Target. I picked up a large (38 quart) Igloo cooler, bread, turkey, doughnuts (impulse buy), drink boxes and some misc. stuff. We came home and he went to work. I packed a picnic lunch and went to pick up the boys with Michael & Sara in tow.

We went to Lions Park (photos on my camera) and had a nice picnic lunch and the kids played a while. Then we left and came home. Dorian walked the dogs with me, and on our way back to the house my Zaide called. Gram had fallen in the tub and couldn’t get up and my aunt & uncle were out for the day, and he asked if I could come up. No problem, but I asked why didn’t he call 911? Apparently Gram wasn’t hurt, she was just stuck and he couldn’t pick her up. I told him I’d be at least a half hour but I was on my way and if she is hurt please call 911, don’t wait for me. I phoned my Dad, we put the dogs back in the house and the kids back in the car and hightailed it up to Delrey Beach.

We got there almost exactly a half hour after I hung up with Zaide (yah, I was flying low) and Gram was dressed, but still on the floor in her bedroom. She had managed to get out of the tub, but not into bed. Michael (my brother) and I picked her and got her situated in the bed. I was really stricken at how much she looked like mom – or how much mom looked like Gram. I can’t say I’ve noticed it before, but the shape of the head, the features, even the look… I must have asked half a dozen times if she was really OK. I sat and chatted with Zaide until 4 (we got there around 2:30?) to make sure she was OK and then we left.

I am exhausted. My shoulders hurt a bit. I am mostly just tired. I’ve not dealt with people getting old and dying, at least not when I was conscious that getting old and dying was what was going on. I can’t say I care for it at all. I was really taken back when I looked at my Gram and I saw my Mom in her last few months. It worries me. Dorian came in to her bedroom right after me to make sure she was OK. He was with me when I took the call and while I had assured him she was OK, he was quite worried. Even Malachai came in to check on her.

So that was my exciting day. We’re headed to the movies tonight. At the very least I can relax then.

We spoke to the dentist about Malachai (again) and I explained to her that our speech pathologist (who can’t call her directly as she is a student, but she is amazing) said that simply removing the teeth would be detrimental to any progress he has made. I explained that he was 100% unintelligible and not having the two front teeth would send us right back to square one.

She explained our options, but it boiled down to the fact that since he will not tolerate having x-rays done, they just have no clue what to expect. She said they could go in, expecting to do crowns, but if the cavities are to the nerve, they have to pull. Because he already has crowns on all the molars they cannot cement a bridge in place and she is worried that using a temp bridge (one that comes out) would be more trouble than it’s worth (he could swallow it, it could get lodged in his throat, he could lose it…)

I said I hate to Benadryl him up just for x-rays, but if we do them and find out the cavity isn’t as bad as all that and they can do the crowns or just leave the teeth until they fall out on their own, I’ll do it. She sent us home with the x-ray tab to get him used to it being in his mouth, so maybe they can do the pictures without the Benadryl. I doubt it, but maybe!

Michael is taking him in next Thursday.

Today Michael took Atos to the vet. He has an ear infection, but we can use the meds we have for Sasha, and she only charged us for the test on his ear, not the visit itself. He is otherwise healthy and friendly. We both ran down to Lauderdale and picked up Sasha’s Interceptor (the Abandoned Pet Rescue gave us a months supply for 80$ instead of 12 pills for 80$)  and she started that today. The gal in charge there said she should start to look better in a couple of weeks. Yay!

Once we were done in Lauderdale we came back up to Coral Springs and signed the boys up for camp for next year. I never did hear back from Camp Gan Israel, so we signed them up for three days a week at the place they went last summer. I am going to make plans for the other two days a week, so we should have a busy summer! I inquired about VPK for Eshiva for next year, and tomorrow morning we’re going to fill that paperwork out. KIM offers a 50$/week full day of pre-K when coupled with VPK. 7:30 – 3 (VPK runs 9 – 12, so we can drop her off after the boys and I can pick her up after the boys too). She also gets one day a week of swim instruction (not the full day of course, but the instructor comes in once a week) as well as time in the gym and daily school stuff, etc. It’s a great deal, and Olivia waived the registration fee since we’re bringing Eshiva for VPK.

Ah… we also went to Target and went food shopping. Eshiva spent some of her birthday  money and got a Hello Kitty CD/Tape/Radio player. I burned her a couple of CD’s today and she is in heaven. Michael got a full sized acoustic guitar and is going to learn right along with Dorian, who has a kid sized acoustic. He got a video from NetFlix and they are going to do it on Mondays. We went to GameStop and the boys bought some games with their cash. We went back to GameStop and bought a new PS2 because the dog broke ours (total accident). Today was a money kind of day At least camp is paid in full and I don’t have to fret about it (ha, fret/guitar) and we saved a little to contribute to the fence fund.

Saturday I saw one of my Aunts & Uncles, and Gram & Zaide. They brought down some studio lights from another Uncle, so I get to tool around with those tomorrow. I need to get Michael to come outside with me and his dremel and fix up my PVC piping so I can get my backdrop stand to, you know, stand. Had a fab visit. I may bitch and moan about my family, but I really miss having more of them live locally, and I should make more effort to visit the ones that are local.

I put all my tattoo equipment in Michael’s car tonight. I haven’t had time to work with it in months. I wont have time for a while yet, and my focus is kind of on my photography at the moment anyway.  I started out with the intention of learning how for the sake of knowing how, and well, I know how, so that’s that. I’m not going to go work in a competing shop, and I wont be hired to work at the shop Michael is at, so I feel like it was getting kind of pointless anyway. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be?

Starting in August I’ll have a full day to myself. I suspect I’ll have a very clean home (I hope so anyway!). I’ll have time to repaint the front room. I’ll have time to find a place for everything. I’ll have time to set up some bad ass photo shoots and put together props to show off how cute my kids are. I’ll have time to finish my digital work during the day so I am not up doing it at midnight. I’m pretty excited about it!

So, that’s the news!

But my baby turned four. She is right around the corner from not needing me home all day long. She is far from not needing me, I am aware of that. It’s just different with her than it was with the boys.

I know she is the last one. I enjoyed her babyhood more. I wasn’t chasing after a toddler, or missing out on toddler things because I was looking after a baby. I was not looking after someone who was sick and/or dying. I wasn’t moving (ok, we moved a few times) or packing/unpacking for months at a time (we stored the unpacked boxes).

I didn’t do anything for this birthday. We have no friends with young children (indeed, we have no friends) and she isn’t in any programs and therefore had no little friends to invite. My dads mom and sister came over. My moms parents were in Naples – we’re going to go see them next weekend. We had steak and knishes and salad and trifle and cake. We took her out to sushi the next day, because the plumber was here on her actual birthday.

I convinced her she really is four, and today convinced her that her birthday is over, but she is still four. I took some photos (which I haven’t unloaded).

And that was that.

Next year, school? Maybe, maybe not. Apparently VPK is only a 3 hour day through the public school. What a waste of time. I may keep her home. She doesn’t make the cut off for K next year.

Just spreading a little fantabulous news, Malachai had his therapy evals last week, and he is done with PT! This is amazing, because not six months ago he would fall over standing still. No joke. Now he can balance on one leg so long he can’t count that high (ok, maybe he can, but it’s a long time!)  He is still in speech and occupational therapies, but those are improving too. They will re-evaluate him in another six months. Maybe in the next six months he will learn how to sit in, and stay in, a chair

Not only is therapy going well, but he only missed one word on his spelling test today (out of ten words) and he has been helping me read Coraline at night. His speech therapist suggested I talk to the school and see what kind of literature we can tie into his daily work to keep him interested. He reads like crazy for her, not so much for me. Apparently, I just hadn’t picked the right books. We’re reading The Tale of Despereaux next (Dorian’s choice). I think I will be moving a bunch of books down the shelf for Eshiva, and finding some more appropriate books for Mal & Dor.

Speaking of Dorian, he is doing basketball after school once a week and he loves it. I think we’ll continue to do it once it’s up. It runs in five week sessions and he started last week. I looked into the local rec center for something for both the boys to do, as our PT suggested Mal do some type of sport. I don’t know what, but we’ll find something. I think they are looking into karate (ok, I am pushing karate) but I am not going to push it if he’s really not into it. We were also thinking bowling, but the PT specificaly said sports that work the entire body. We need to increase (and maintain) his muscle tone, as it’s significantly “below age level.” Eshiva is going to be taking a dance class once a week in the mornings, and she is uber-excited about that. She wont stop talking about it, in fact.

Shivie is a little chatterbox, and thinks she’s a princess. She recently discovered dinosaurs (and I wish we lived closer to DC, because there are no decent dino exhibits around here that I can find) and barbie. She turns four on Feb 10th and woe be unto you if you try and tell her she’s three.

Everyone else is well. Dad and Michael and still employed (yay!) and I am still getting enough work to buy fun stuff by freelancing (also yay!). Michael and Sara are looking into the SAT and making plans and doing all that fun 17 year old stuff.

Ah… I think that wraps us up! I’m sure there is more, but it’s daily stuff. I was just so excited about Malachai! He is still having troubles, but there is a light.

and I posted this to PM’s yesterday:

Michael was given written notification today that the therapy place we go is closing on Friday.

Fucking economy.

They are going to try to farm everyone out to other locations, and we may be able to keep our OT if the other place she works can fit him in (and if they take our ins and if it’s in a reasonable drive). Our ST was an intern.

What really stinks is I really, really like our ST, and WTF giving us one weeks notice?

I know we can find someplace else (hell, maybe the place a few blocks down the street takes our ins and offers what we need) but this still stinks.

and I posted this today as a follow-up:

Yay!!! Our rockin speech gal called me up this morning and told me that she interviewed this morning at a place that is even closer and they are working their hardest to absorb all of the speech therapists AND their clients AND keep the same schedule!

She gave me the number of the new place, and I left a message around 10AM. She phoned me back around 5:30, apologized for it taking so long to get back to me, and told me what was going on. They do take our insurance, and are working to have the approvals transferred to them from our current place. She is hoping to start Monday!

We see Courtney tomorrow and Thursday and I am just thrilled it sounds like we won’t have a lapse, at least here.

I still need to find out where the place our OT works is located (she was split between the two places I guess), if they take our ins, and if we can fit in over there. I really like our OT as well – not like I like our ST, but she is awesome with Malachai. I’d hang out with our ST, not so much with our OT.

But wait, there’s more! We’re adopting a new puppy!

So, we’ve been thinking about getting a companion for Malachai for a while now. Therapy dogs are quite expensive, and the “free” ones take a lot of paperwork and legwork. No doubt they don’t deserve it, but it was more than we needed. It’s not like we were looking for a seeing eye dog or anything, you know? So, we found this little guy! We’re picking him up either Thursday or Sunday.

He’s been there for a year! I can’t imagine why someone didn’t want to take him home, but I am glad they didn’t! We drove down to Ft. Lauderdale on Monday and went back to meet him. He is so friendly, and energetic and playful. He jumped up on Eshiva, but did not knock her down. The gal who showed him to us said he gets along with all the other dogs/cats in the rescue, have never bitten anyone, and is healthy. Apparently he was purchased from a pet store, and then got sick. He had demodectic mange (yes, just like our Yorkie) but his fur is full and thick and I didn’t feel any scabs or anything on his body. They said nothing about meds or anything else, and he is neutered. This is good, because Sasha is so sick, putting her through surgery to spay her would be too taxing on her immune system (so says the vet).

He is a year and a half old, and is the perfect size. Yay!

From the rescue site:
More About Patches/Atos: Patches was purchased from a puppy store. He is a sweet fellow who is good with other animals including cats. He is waiting for a forever home with lots of playmates or toys. Walks in the park or just around the block. Nice yard to play in but not totally necessary. Patches loves his toys!

Oh, he’s a beagle/basset mix. Cuteness!

Anything else? Probably not. I am sticking with good news right now.

The black line in the middle is one of my few black dreads – somehow when it was sections she got my black chunks all together (which kind of rocks, if you ask me, it was just unexpected).

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Sorry for the blur – but red!

I’m not really this pale (I don’t think) – I busted the front screen on my phone and I think it busted my camera too

There is actually red, pink and orange, but it’s still wet and you can’t really see it yet.

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I have two of these in back, and a couple up front. They are nice and tight, I gotta give them that.

(PS – my hair was about 4 times that long before it was backcombed and started locking up)