Catching up....again

You know, when I started this blog I was thinking that it would be a better way of keeping friends and family updated with what's going on with us, since I don't email as often as I'd like. And now, in addition to not emailing folks often enough, I'm not updating my blog often enough either! My New Year's resolution is to post more frequently. And, unlike dieting, I think that's a resolution I'll be able to stick with!

So, to catch up: things are going well for the LeVines. Matt's made an almost complete recovery from his back issues and returned to work for a couple weeks now. There have been lots of changes at his company - namely, business is booming! Despite the bad economy, Direct EDI's customer base is steadily increasing. So much so that they've almost doubled the staff in Matt's department alone. It's exciting stuff, and great news for us.

In early December, we had the usual parent-teacher conference at Joey's school. His teacher said Joey is doing really well, and she's pleased with his progress. She also shared a funny story illustrating Joey's knowledge of science concepts. Apparently, they were reading a story in class, and at one point it mentioned lily pads floating on the top of a pond. Since this was the first time the Spanish term for "float" (flotar) was being used, the teacher asked the class if anyone knew what it meant. Joey raised his hand. She called on him, and he began to explain, "Well, when the density of the water is greater than another object..." The kid is just too smart for his own good!

Kristin is having a great time in preschool. Recently, they completed a series of lessons about space. They all made these cute space helmets out of old milk jugs spray-painted silver. And then they'd go on pretend missions to outer space in a rocket ship. Kristin had fun learning more about the solar system, especially since she knows it's one of Joey's favorite subjects! Hooray for sibling bonding!

We've been busy around the house as we prepare for the holidays. This year, since we actually have space, we'll be hosting the big family Christmas dinner. We're going to try making a Turducken for the main course. That's a turkey, stuffed with a duck that's been stuffed with a chicken. I'm a little nervous about how it's going to turn out - but I'm trying to just look at it as a culinary adventure. I'm also making a regular turkey breast on the side, just in case. Hee!

And finally, I wanted to share our family's Christmas miracle: my sister Tandy is pregnant! Tandy and her husband didn't think they'd be able to have children of their own. The chances of conceiving were very, very slim. But - surprise! They're both thrilled, and we're so excited for them. I can't wait to be an auntie!!

Merry Christmas to all! (Or Happy Chanukah, or Kwanzaa, or Solstice...or Festivus! Whatever you celebrate, I hope it's wonderful!)

Thankful

Hope everyone out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a nice day over at my mom's house. Lots of good food and good company. And we have much to be thankful for this year.

For one thing, Matt's back is slowly recovering. Lots of rest and lots of medication seem to have done their job. He's up and around and feeling pretty good! He's off all the pain meds now, and is only taking Motrin to keep inflammation down. He still has his MRI on Tuesday, and then a follow up appointment to discuss the results. But he says that if he continues to feel good, he anticipates going back to work next week! Great news for us! I'm very pleased that he might avoid having more surgery. Though his first back surgery was an absolute miracle with a quick recovery, it's still not something we take lightly. The more they're in there, messing around with his back, the more likely the problems will reoccur. I have to say that when Matt was in a ton of pain, it really made me realize how much I take my own healthy back - and really, my health in general - for granted. So, we're going to make some steps to improve things in that arena in the very near future.

Back to Thanksgiving - after the big turkey dinner, we had our usual photo shoot for our family Christmas cards. Lots of good ones of the kids. Here are a few. The last one is my very favorite.



Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Kristin's Preschool Photo

We just got Kristin's (pre)school photos back last week. She looks so grown up, with her hands posed on her lap like that. The morning of picture day, I had asked my mom if she could "try to do something with Kristin's hair" because normally it's....shall we say, a little wild? So Grandma curled it and put clips on the sides. And, miraculously, Kristin left the clips in her hair longer than five minutes!

Trilingual!

Next month at Joey's school, in addition to his usual Spanish language instruction he will also start learning to speak Mandarin (Chinese). He'll be having lessons each week at school. We have parent-teacher conferences in a couple weeks, and at that time they're supposed to tell us about the new schedule and Mandarin curriculum. I'm excited for Joey to have this new opportunity. He already knows a few words and phrases. In fact, he came home the other day and was saying "I love my little brother" to Simon.

Speaking of Simon, the little guy apparently thinks Spanish is hilarious. He will crack up when Joey says the word "sombrero."

Challenges

Over the past few weeks, we have unfortunately been experiences a recurrence of Matt's back issues. I say "we" have been experiencing it, because it really does affect the entire family. Back in 1999, Matt was helping a friend move a bookcase and hurt his back. It caused a herniated disc and severe sciatic pain. The problem was in his back, but the pain was all in his leg. He had a really hard time walking, and often had to use a cane. After several months of various treatments that didn't work, Matt finally had surgery in October of that year. The surgery was a miracle. Matt could barely walk without help when we got to the hospital that day, and an hour after leaving the operating room, he was going up and down stairs on his own and feeling great. The doctors warned us that the surgery was not a lifetime cure, and that Matt might have problems with his back again in the future.

Well, my friends: the future is now!

It was about 3 weeks ago that Matt started feeling sciatic pain. It's gotten progressively worse. The doctors put him on pain medication and told him to rest, but so far his condition is not improving. Sadly, it's the opposite. In fact, on Saturday Matt was in so much pain he couldn't walk at all. He's also on some seriously heavy medications for pain, which make him a little loopy. When he's really doped up, he almost can't carry on a conversation because he loses his train of thought so easily. Considering he can't walk, can barely stand to sit up, and practically a zombie because of the medication, he can't work. We're not sure when exactly he'll be able to go back, or what this will mean for us financially. We just bought a house, after all. So we really can't afford to be on one income right now. But we're just taking things one step at a time. No need to panic.

Matt is going to call today to schedule an MRI so we can find out exactly what's going on with his back. Once we can see what's going on, we can find out more treatment options, or maybe schedule another surgery. We just have to wait and see. In the meantime, we'd appreciate all the prayers and good vibes you can spare!

Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos is a celebration in Mexico. Since Joey is in the Spanish Immersion Program at his school, the kids learn about many Spanish/Mexican holidays. So every year, in addition to the school doing Halloween stuff, they also observe Dia de los Muertos. For those who might not know about the holiday, here's a little blurb, encyclopedia style:

The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos in Spanish) is a holiday celebrated mainly in Mexico and by people of Mexican heritage (and others) living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. The celebration occurs on the 1st and 2nd of November, in connection with the Catholic holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day which take place on those days. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Though we celebrate Memorial Day here in the US, I've always felt like that holiday was geared more toward those who died in wars. It was like Veteran's Day was for celebrating those who served, and Memorial Day was to celebrate the memory of those who were lost. But I guess Memorial Day is the closest we have. Anyway, I really like the idea of this tradition - a day set aside to honor those close to us who have died. This year, Dia de los Muertos has special significance since we so recently lost my dad.
It's been over four months now since he passed away, but with the holidays approaching, I've been thinking of him a lot. I had kind of a rocky relationship with my dad, but I have many happy memories as well. Especially memories of him laughing and playing with his grandkids. He just loved them to pieces, and even when he was sick he still made every effort to be an active part of their lives. Like, he'd go on hikes with Joey, and put puzzles together with Kristin every morning. They had such great times together, and it was a joy to watch.I really miss him.

Halloween

Hard to believe another Halloween has come and gone! This year was a really fun Halloween. The festivities started on Monday when we were invited to a pumpkin carving party over at the home of our friends' The Smiths. We all ate pizza and then carved pumpkins. Well, Matt and Joey did most of the carving. I was taking care of Simon most of the time, and Kristin was more interested in playing on the slide in the yard.
Kristin said she wanted "a happy pumpkin" this year, so here's what Daddy carved for her. It's pretty simple, compared to other pumpkins Matt has done in the past. (Remember when he took over 6 hours to carve The Sorting Hat? Sheesh!) But it was everything Kristin had hoped for.
This Halloween was also special because we got to trick-or-treat around our new neighborhood! It may not seem like that would be a big deal, but when we lived in our old apartment, we didn't really know (or trust) most of our neighbors - nor did we get very many trick-or-treaters at our door. So, our trick-or-treating was always limited to the few family and friends we'd go visit (by car, no less). But it's a whole new world in our new neighborhood. It was really great.

This year, Joey dressed as an astronaut and Kristin was a witch. Though you can't tell in this photo, Kristin was actually very excited about her costume. She just wasn't thrilled about having to stop trick-or-treating for photo taking.Simon's costume for this year was a lobster - but hated it. He was anxious to get out of it as soon as we'd put it on. But we got a photo or two before the wailing began.

Kristin Turns Four

As I mentioned in my last post, on Sunday October 19th, our Kristin turned four years old. When we asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she said she wanted a BIG bunch of flowers. So we got her these gerber daisies. She was so excited when they were delivered!

We had the family over Sunday evening for dinner and some birthday cake. This was the first time we had a family gathering at our new house, and we all had a great time. Hooray for finally having space for everyone!! When we were getting ready for everyone to arrive, Kristin said she wanted to help set up. I asked her to put a stack of cups out on the counter. Kristin took that literally and stacked the cups, like so:

Can't believe it's been four years since the little lady joined our family. Let's take a little photo walk down memory lane. This first photo is Kristin when she's only one day old. It was right after we brought her home from the hospital. The other pictures are Kristin and her birthday cake on each of her birthdays.Happy birthday, big girl!!

Catching up

Haven't posted as much as I'd like to lately, so I thought I'd try to catch up!

We've been busy, but it's mostly run of the mill type stuff. We're still getting settled into the house - meaning that we still have A LOT of boxes to unpack! We're also still getting used to the new schedule with school and soccer. It's a challenge time-wise to get Joey's homework done in the evenings. He's given a packet every Wednesday to work on over the week, and turn in the following Wednesday. He also has a spelling packet that comes home on Mondays and is due on Fridays. It gets a little confusing. And, as this photo so perfectly illustrates, Joey isn't all that enthusiastic about homework.

While Joey works on his homework packet, Kristin also sits at the counter to do her "homework," which means she wants to draw. We have quite the gallery of artwork from Kristin when you combine her "homework" with the paintings she does in preschool each week.

And then there's Simon, who has recently started playing in the exersaucer. He's still getting the hang of hand-eye coordination, so he can't always figure out how to grab at the toys. But he seems to enjoy batting at things just the same (when he's not sucking on his fingers, that is).

He's also been really drooly lately. I wonder if he's teething. Both Joey and Kristin were drool monkeys for months before they got teeth, so Simon will most likely be the same. Months and months of wet chins, with teeth appearing when he's around 10 months old.

Here's a photo of all three kids, taken before church this past Sunday. Don't they clean up nicely? Simon is in a sweater vest. I challenge anyone to resist the cuteness of a baby in a sweater vest.

This coming Sunday is Kristin's 4th birthday. We're having a family party, which will be our first in the new house! Kristin informed me that she wanted a big bunch of flowers for her birthday. My mom's next door neighbor is an amazing florist, so I called him and asked for a BIG bunch of gerber daisies. I can't wait to see what they look like. Here's hoping Princess Kristin approves! Anyway, check back in a few days for photos of the main event!

Joey Scores!

At the soccer game this past Saturday, Joey scored his first goal of the season. He played a great game. As my previous post explained, Joey isn't always that aggressive when it comes to playing soccer. There are times when he's more content to watch dragonflies or examine the grass than watch the ball or run down the field. But on Saturday, he was into the game. At one point they got close to the goal, and the kids were all packed around the ball. Joey kicked at it, and the ball went high over everyone's head and right into the goal! It was amazing! The team all started jumping around, but Joey was Mr. Cool. He just turned and gave everyone cheering on the sidelines this subtle thumbs up:Joey cracks me up.

Cheeky

I love this picture of Joey and Simon. See? Even Joey can't resist Simon's squeezable cheeks! And I love the adoring look on Simon's face, too. Awww...brotherly love!

Kristin's Preschool

Kristin started preschool this year. She goes to the Children's Center of Wonder and Discovery (what a fancy schmancy name!) in the Lakeside Community Center. She goes for a half day three days a week. We figured that she would enjoy going to school, but we had no idea how much! She really LOVES preschool. In fact, she gets pretty angry when she finds out it's a day when she doesn't have class.

Here are a couple of pictures from Kristin's first day. First, she and a friend check out the sandbox in their classroom:


Here's a photo of Joey and Kristin at the end of the day when they picked her up. See? They get along just fine...once in a while.

Kristin seems to especially love all the art projects they do at school. She comes home with new paintings every week.


Of course, some get a place of honor on the fridge:

Our Three

A Man in Uniform

For the past couple years, Matt has been a referee for soccer games through AYSO. This year he's extra official (no pun intended!) because he got this snazzy referee uniform. Though he'd probably deny it, it's obvious that Matt loves this uniform. In fact, every weekend that he's worn it, at some point he'll ask me if I love a man in uniform. How could I not?

Soccer Season

Soccer season is once again upon us. This is Joey's third year of playing with AYSO. This year, his team is red, and their name is The Red Dragons - which is kind of funny because his first year he was on a team called The Purple Dragons. Joey likes playing soccer, but he doesn't exactly have that competitive edge. Take the following photo for example:
This was taken during the game this past weekend. Note how all the action with the ball is going on behind Joey. Joey was busy kicking at a patch of dirt. (This happened a lot during the game.) There were times, though, when Joey would have a burst of enthusiasm and would take off running for the ball. And I'm not being biased when I say that kid runs like the wind when he wants to. Maybe he was more cut out for Track and Field stuff.


Next year, I think, Kristin will be old enough to play. I can't wait to see her out on the field. Joey might be mellow and uninterested in winning or losing, but Kristin is a whole other story. Heaven help whoever gets in her way.

(Thanks, Wendy, for taking pictures at the game!)

Soulful

Look at Simon's big brown eyes. I could just look at them all day! I don't know if they're really brown, because sometimes they look very green or gold. So, maybe they'll be hazel? I just don't know. They're definitely not the blue eyes Joey and Kristin have, though - that's for sure.

Self Esteem

Last night when Matt got home, Kristin ran up to him to give him a big welcome-home hug. Their exchange went something like this...

Matt: Hi, Kristin! I'm so glad to see you. I really missed you today!

Kristin: I know! I'm so pretty!

Boys will be boys

What is it about bugs that is so tantalizing for boys? Here is Joey, playing with "The Snail Family." He happily let them crawl all over his hands, then put them on the ground for a race. Can you guess which snail won? The one with the car. It had a big S on the side. And Joey said, "Look at that S car go!" Get it? Escargot? Thank you! I'll be here all week!

Ah, the 70's

After my dad passed away this summer, we spent a lot of time looking through some old photos. I thought I'd share these couple of gems. The first one, I think, is of my parents when they were at someone's wedding or...something? Or maybe they were chaparones at a senior prom somewhere? Mom's lookin' foxy with her big teased up 'do, that's all I'm saying. The second is of my dad looking, shall we say, a little scruffy? (That may be putting it mildly.) The disheveled hippie look is really underrated.

The 70's were such a magical time.

Kristin's Fashion Sense

The girl knows how to work a look, let me tell ya. It's all about the right accessories...in this case, the hat from her Yoda costume.

La Casa LeVine

This year, we were finally able to buy a house. We'd been living in a very tiny apartment, taking advantage of the cheap rent so we could save money. Buying the place was quite an ordeal. We put in our original offer on February 1st, but because it was a short sale (whoever called them short sales lied!!) it took almost four months before we got an answer. Then, the day before we were set to close escrow, the seller declared bankruptcy so that delayed the sale even more. We didn't get our keys until the end of July. Then we had to get the place cleaned and painted before moving in at the end of August - all right before the kids started school and Nikol returned to work after maternity leave!

The house underwent quite a transformation. It's amazing what a little paint can do. As you can see from the following photos, the original owner liked some very bright colors. She also had this fun wallpaper border in the dining room with pictures of cockatiels on it. In the photo of the kitchen, you can see some open cabinets. When we bought the place, that space was originally covered with plexiglass stereo doors. We've since had a cabinet maker install some normal cabinet doors that match the rest of the kitchen, though we didn't have them when the photo was taken, obviously. Here's a little before-and-after for you:

Welcome!

Welcome to the LeVine Family website! Thought we'd jump on the blogging bandwagon, and provide a way to keep friends and relatives updated on our crazy lives. It's been a busy summer what with the new baby, a death in the family, and moving into our new house. There's always something happening. So, check back for updates!