Bad Mommy moment

Yesterday I put Connor down in the middle of our bed to nap.

He woke up alone, scooted toward the edge of the bed, and promptly fell off.

Jonathan rushed in to the sound of screaming.

So... you'd think I'd have learned by the third baby.  But none of the others ever woke up so quietly!  They always squawked first, so we knew to look at the monitor and go in.  Connor's so happy he always wakes up with a smile, and didn't make a peep until he fell off.

Mobility at five months... life it is a'changin.

Another Funderland birthday party

Traveling with the three boys... they requested I push them, not J, so it became Mommy pack mule.

Riding the train with Noah and Will.

A little dubious of the upcoming dip on the log ride.

Odelia, Ari, and the ever-popular watermelon popsicle.

Connor with Saleha, mom of a child in their class.

Xander and his lime popsicle.

Ari hanging on for dear life as his fish turns.  

Look Ma, no hands!

And I shall end with a series of log ride pictures; I went on this ride with both boys, and J happened to be at the exact right angle to snap pictures of me and Ari.

 I'm noticing that my skirt and feet are totally soaked, and Ari wants to go again!

Hats from Tante Edna!

Xander helping Ari put his on.

Xander the penguin.

Connor the monkey.

Ari the bear.

I was amused by this outtake, thought you might be too.

Quote of the day

Jonathan to the babeleh:

"Connor, we're no longer primates.  Please let go of my hair.  I swear, you won't fall out of the tree!"

Send good thoughts our way

Jonathan has bacterial pneumonia.

Arghh.....

Relaxation

Nothing like coming home, eating dinner.

Having a dance party to the Frozen soundtrack, dancing and singing with each boy in turn.

Playing made-up games in the living room with bouncy balls and boxes and action figurines.

Laughing and giggling and having fun until bedtime.

I love these quiet moments, of just being.  They're what makes all the other craziness worthwhile.

Random photo collection

Cutting watermelon.

Sitting all by himself.  We have to help him up, but once he gets there, he's pretty good at staying put.







Better baby picture.

Playing with Blackie the snake.

Mornings in the world of Connor

Jonathan had put him down on the other end of the quilt.  He squirmed his way across the whole thing.

Well hello there, Osher.

Our drool monster.

Beginning laughter.

Full-on guffaw.

Going for a walk.

Flowers to explore on the way.

Birds in flight.

Landing.

Artsy bridge.

On our way to Pajama Passover

Smiling for the camera.

"Take a picture of me, too!"

Car rides are so soothing.

Hanging out with my sister at seder.

Kiddos learning

Mom got Xander a little notebook to practice writing.  And practice his letters he has!

More Ari bread-making.  The school photographer really does love him.

Movin' to the beat

Connor has learned how to scoot, for real.  He goes backward FAST.  I put him down in the middle of our bedroom floor, a safe spot I thought, and he went four feet straight back and hit the laundry basket with his toes.  He looked so surprised, like, "what is this strange thing I ran into?"

Also, since we're on the topic of the babeleh, I think I've written before that he loves to hear me, and even more so Xander, sing to him.  Well, we found his favorite music ever - the soundtrack to Frozen. He was screaming bloody murder in the car yesterday, but when we put on "Frozen Heart," the first track, he stopped immediately.  Then it ended and he started to cry, only to stop mid-wail when the second song came on!  Everyone in the car, including Ari, cracked up, it was such an immediate and obvious link.  Thank goodness the other boys, not to mention me and Jonathan, really like that movie, as I have a feeling it will be in even heavier rotation now.

Happy Pesach, and Anna and Elsa watching!

Best consulting gig ever

Jonathan gets a call from one of our midwives, asking for computer help. I overhear his side of the conversation.

He says yes, of course he'd love to help her, but there is one caveat: he's the primary caretaker, so if he comes in the middle of the day like she asked, he'd have to bring the baby with him.

I can hear her "I HOPED you would!" from the other side of the room.  :)

Highlights of Pesach

- An 8 year-old found the afikomen at the first seder.  Xander nearly cried.  Thankfully he found it at the second seder.

- I'd never seen "make your own charoset" before: little bowls of cut-up apples, nuts, mango, and golden raisins.  Brilliant.

- Ari loved helping me make matzah brie.  He broke up the matzah and beat the eggs, then chowed the whole thing down.  His older brother wouldn't touch it.

- Caryn gave me a new and improved Chocolate Toffee Matzah recipe.  It's been a major hit!

Ingredients
6 matzo
1 cup salted butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 bag milk chocolate 
**OR - 1/2 bag semi sweet and half milk chocolate (if you end up doing half-and-half then just double the amount of the rest of the ingredients – Matzah , butter, brown sugar- use 12 pieces instead)
Heath toffee pieces( baking section)
OR -bag of Heath bars( candy section) chopped into pieces)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 
2. Line baking sheets with foil and pinch the edges into a lip to contain drips.
3. Butter or spray pan with Pam.
4. Place the matzos onto the baking sheets, breaking them in half if needed.
5. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the brown sugar over medium heat; bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer the mixture until thickened, about 5 minutes. Mixture should change color and consistency, the color will be lighter . And the consistency will be very frothy looking. Ladle the hot sugar mixture over the matzos, spreading the mixture over the matzos with a rubber spatula or spoon.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the sugar mixture is bubbling and thick, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool until the toffee coating is firm, about 5minutes.
Place chips evenly over matzah. Place tray back in oven just to melt chips. You will know chips are melted when they become glossy looking..in less than a minute. take tray out and spread chocolate over Matzah.
OR- put chips into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on Low until the chips are just melted (do not let the chocolate overheat or scorch). Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee-coated matzah.

7. sprinkle toffee on top. 
8. Place the baking sheets into the refrigerator until the treats are cold, about 30 minutes. Remove the matzos from the foil, break up into pieces, and store in an airtight container or plastic bags in refrigerator or freezer.

From the middle shelf, to the top shelf, now to a locked cabinet.

I'm leading services last Friday, and Jonathan and his mother are sitting on the couch, talking with the older boys and playing with the baby.

Jonathan gets very involved in a conversation with Xander.  Liz coos to Connor.

A few minutes go by.

My husband notices that our middle child seems to be missing.

"Where's Ari?" he asks.

He and Liz look behind the couch, in the huge box in the family room, in the dining room.  As Jonathan walks toward the hallway, he hears giggling coming from the pantry.  The closed pantry.

He opens the door.

Ari had lifted up the stool.  Not dragged it, in case it made noise, but actually lifted it very carefully into the pantry so he could reach the topmost shelf with the candy.  He turned on the light and closed the door behind himself.

He beams when he sees Jonathan.

"I eat dinner!!" he proclaims proudly. "I have lollipop!" 

Pesach busy-ness

Cleaning.   Children.  Matzah.  Chametz.  Seder.  Diaper changes.

It's been busy.

Details to come.

Weekend morning

From L to R, for the uninitiated: Ari's lovey Twilight Sparkle, 3 year-old Ari, me, 4 month-old Connor

Hanukkah in April

The Oxford University Press "Religion" catalog arrived today.

I made my wish list.

I added it up.

I pondered.

We don't really have to pay rent this month, do we?

Ari making bread at school

Taxes FILED.

Hallelujah.

Ari's birthday circle at school last week

The poster that Jonathan made him.  He kept pointing to all the stickers and giggling.

Showing his friends the poster before school starts.

I love that he and Xander held hands!

Birthday circle in progress.  Among the discussion points was the fact that Ari was born with black hair and now has blonde... everyone wanted to know how that happened!

Pointing to his teacher: "Martha, you're so silly!"

 "And the earth went around the sun TWO times, and Ari was two years old..."

Blowing out the birthday candle after everyone sang.

They were the first to get cupcakes when circle ended.

This boy loves to pour.

And this is where Jonathan and I left them for the day, happily eating their snack.