This week . . . was a full week. And a bit of a doozy. Let’s start at last weekend. We’ve been chomping at the bit to get started on the remodel of our new house, but the previous owner is renting it back from us for a few months. She let us know that she was going out of town for a few days, so we got all Extreme Home Makeoever on the house. We put in new windows, scraped the ceilings, demo-ed the exterior, and re-stuccoed the house. In one weekend. 
Our goal was to have the whole thing looking new before the tenant came home. There were some seriously hairy moments. Construction workers were basically working on top of each other. Mark and I were there 24/7 too. But with managed to pull it off! 
This is what it looked like on Friday: 
And this is what it looked like when the tenant got home: 
We still have a whole lot of work to do, but it was really nice to get some of the bigger items done. Never mind that the kids have to learn to cook for themselves over the course of our demo weekend. 
On Sunday I took a break from the house stuff to take the kids to a book fair at Orange Coast College. One of our favorite movies, The Feelings Show, has several books out now and Ruby was on hand to read. 
If you have kids age 8 and under you should definitely check out The Feelings Show DVD. It’s a really great tool for teaching kids how to identify and talk about their feelings. 
We had Karis’s back-to-school night this week. At Montessori, they have the children come and demonstrate what they do in the classroom. 
All of these activities are called their “work”, and they each have specific educational goal. Karis was so proud to have all of us there to show what she can do. And I felt a little misty that we only have one more year at this amazing school. 
This week was also Lunch with Loved Ones at Jafta’s school. He requested that I bring sushi. I have mentioned that Jafta didn’t get in to the magnet school, and that he ended up at a nearby school that is “underperforming”. I was really bummed about it but I am here to tell you: I LOVE THIS SCHOOL. It has ended up being a great experience. 
On Wednesday we celebrated Kembe and India’s birthday at Pretend City. I will write more about the big party in another post. Afterwards we went to dinner as a family and each of us affirmed them for the strengths we see in them. I think that was their favorite part. 
On Saturday we were invited to Disneyland to come check out HalloweenTime at the Magic Kingdom. I’m not sure how it’s possible but I’ve never been to Disneyland during this season. It was a lot of fun. 
Then today, we were invited to check out Camp Spooky at Knotts Berry Farm. 
Two amusement parks in one day – these kids have no idea how good they have it. 
I had to sneak out early to catch a cab to the airport – I’m in Miami for the night and heading to Haiti in the morning. I’m glad I’m having a couple hours to regroup here in Miami . . . between the birthday school school stuff, and theme park tour, my head is spinning! Tomorrow at this time I will be in Haiti for the first time since the earthquake. If you are the praying kind – say a few for my anxiety. I could use it. 
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