Fall is in the Air

It has been warm during the day and chilly in the evenings and early mornings for the past week. Here's a picture of our cutie-pie on Sunday morning after returning from our traditional outing to the bagel shop. Shayna is so cute! I used to take her there when she could only travel in her infant car seat. This bagel shop was the very first place I ventured outdoors...alone... with Shayna. It's close enough to the house that it wouldn't be a problem rushing home if something bad were to happen. I guess that I can't believe how fast time goes by. I love her so very much!

Roseola & Rosh Hashanah

An update on Shayna's condition.... she has Roseola. She is feeling much better today and hopefully back to 100% very soon!

Tonight marks the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays with Rosh Hashanah. Below are some fun facts about the holiday:

Rosh Hashanah is Jewish New Year
Feast of the Trumpets remembers world's creation
by David Johnson

On Friday night, Sept. 22, 2006, Jews will begin celebrating one of their most important religious holidays, Rosh Hashanah. It remembers the creation of the world. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means the "head of the year." It is also called the Feast of the Trumpets. The blowing of a ram's horn, a shofar, proclaims Rosh Hashanah, and summons Jews to religious services. Sundown Sept. 22 marks the beginning of the year 5767 and the month of Tishri. Jews used the ram's horn as a trumpet in Biblical times to announce the new moon, holidays, and war. Today, a variety of horns are used, including curved antelope horns.

Putting your spiritual house in order
While it does have its festive side, Rosh Hashanah is not one big party, as the New Year's celebrations on Dec. 31 tend to be. Rosh Hashanah is a time for personal introspection and prayer. Jews may also visit graves. It is thought that the prayers or good wishes of the dead can help the living. By wishing each other well and sending cards, people let friends know what happened in the past year and what plans lie ahead. Christmas cards and get-togethers fill a similar role for Christians. Rosh Hashanah is part of a process of spiritual growth. The Hebrew month preceding it, Elul, is a time for charity, tzedakah. Rosh Hashanah falls on the first and second days of the seventh month, Tishri.

Food for thought
Traditional Jewish foods accompany Rosh Hashanah. Typically, a blessing will be said over two loaves of bread, known as challah. The round shape symbolizes a crown, a reminder of the kingship of God. Challah also stands for the circle of life, and the hope that our lives endure without end. Challah is sometimes baked with a ladder on top in recognition that only God decides who climbs up or down the ladder of life. Forming challah in the shape of a bird is also done. The Torah says that God will protect Jerusalem in the same way a bird hovers.Apples dipped in honey are another Rosh Hashanah tradition. It symbolizes the hope for a "sweet year" ahead. Honey is spread on challah. Tzimmes, a mixture made from carrots, cinnamon, yams, prunes, and honey, is also traditional.

Update...

OK... I called the doctor today because it has been 3 straight days that Shayna has had a fever. We have given her dose after dose of Tylenol and her fever just won't crack! I took her in and the doctor examined her. She told us to go home and try to collect a urine sample because it could be a UTI. Even though Shayna is still on Antibiotics every day to control this, our doctor just wanted to rule it out. She sent us home with a sample bag and a sample cup. OK.... How am I supposed to get a toddler, who BTW, is NOT yet potty trained, to pee in a cup? Here's how you do it.

1. Prepare a luke warm bath

2. Have toddler stand, not sit, in bathtub while you clean certain areas

3. Have toddler stand in water while holding a specimen cup underneath them

4. Get toddler out of the bath tub after 30 minutes of kicking water and trying to splash around, sipping water from a sippy cup, while holding a specimen cup underneath them

5. Have toddler stand on top of towel in the bathroom, sipping water from a sippy cup, and placing her hands in a cup of warm water (guess what, it's an urban myth! - cuz it didn't work!) while holding a specimen cup underneath her for another 30 minutes

6. Tell toddler not to pee, because they will pee if tell them not to, while holding a specimen cup underneath her

7. After almost 1 hour, toddler pees, mom rushes to place a specimen cup underneath them and startles toddler so only 2 drops of pee fall into cup.

I really do NOT wish this on anyone else! It turns out, the doctor said that there's just enough to run a culture... PHEW!

Ahhh... Poor Baby!

It' s really odd that Shayna has been acting up for the past few days - well, we finally figured it out. She's sick! Duh! She awoke from her nap yesterday with a 102 degree fever. Poor little princess! Here's a great picture of her last week (pre-sick).

And, here's my poor baby today... I left work early today because she needed her mommy....







I guess it's just me, being a first-time mom... I almost called the doctor this afternoon when she had a fever of 101... But then I thought, "What would the doctor tell me that I don't already know?" So, we gave her a bit of Baby Tylenol and some Pedialyte. Right now she's sound asleep in her crib and I have no worries that by tomorrow morning she'll be back to normal. I guess that I'm kinda getting the hang of this "Mommy" thing!

FUN X 3 = Loads of FUN!

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to spend it with the Lawrence Family. Charlie, Jenna, Carolyn, Elizabeth, and William. They were up from San Diego because Charlie participated in the Los Angeles Triathalon as a cyclist for his ExxonMobil Relay Team. We had a wonderful time together and the kids just loved sharing their toys with one another (LOL). We went to our local park (they have an enclosed play area) where we spent time swinging on swings, climbing on toys and of course sliding down slides! What a blast!

I love this picture of the 4 kids! Shayna is definitely the odd man out!

Here are the "Moms" and kiddos.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend hosting the Lawrence family! I sure do hope they come back soon!

And my favorite photo:

Patricia Kuras

2,996 is a tribute to the victims of 9/11.

On September 11, 2006, 2,996 volunteer bloggers
will join together for a tribute to the victims of 9/11.
Each person will pay tribute to a single victim.

We will honor them by remembering their lives,
and not by remembering their murderers.

Todays post is something a little bit different. Today we remember... We remember the victims of 9/11 . Today I am honoring Patricia Kuras. She was killed five years ago while at work as a Facilities Manager at One World Trade Center. She was only 42 years old and from New York, New York. I read about Patricia online and found her to be a kind, gentle person. Someone you could easily be friends with. I read her eulogy, which was delivered by her brother, Thomas Kuras on October 12, 2001. I read this eulogy with tears in my eyes. How could this happen to such a beautiful person? We'll never know... but the one thing I'm sure of is that I will never forget what happened that morning of September 11, 2001

***WE MUST ALL NEVER FORGET!***

A special thank you to Kim Monins for taking the time to email me Patricia's quilt block. Please check out their site at: http://www.unitedinmemory.net

Why Do We Have To Work?

OK... nice double chin, Lorie! I usually only have a double chin when taking self-protraits - so it really doesn't count! Here we are at the beach last week. It was a blast! Shayna and I collected sea shells and she went swimming with daddy. She then ran clear down the beach to catch up with some little birds - they, of course flew away when she got close.... so the next time she ran over to them she stopped about 20 feet from the birds, turned around and walked backwards towards them! She's so smart! Well, sort of... they still flew away - maybe because I was laughing so hard!


Here we are at the park on Saturday morning. Don't know why, but we were the only ones there enjoying the ginormous super slide. Shayna is completely fearless! I went down right after her and I was scared! I'm such a wuss! Anyhoo, we had a fun Labor Day weekend! We had the pleasure of hosting our neighbors, Jenny, Will, and their 11 month old daughter, Larissa, for a barbeque. Mark made his famous BBQ Salmon with grilled veggies and Jenny brought over a yummy rice dish, tasty guacamole, and some ice cold beer! All in all, it was a very nice weekend!