Turkeys in the wild, by Jonathan

OK, not Thanksgiving, but the day Ari and I found turkeys as we sped down the 5 freeway at 65 mph.  Yes, wild turkeys have made a home in the corporate campuses around Sacramento.  I pointed them out to Ari: "Ari!  Do you see the turkeys?!"

Ari was all "What??"  I don't think he knew what a real turkey looked like, so I decided this was a learning opportunity and pulled off the exit and went into the parking lot that lined the freeway section where the turkeys were hanging out.

When we pulled into the lot, I swung the van so the turkeys were just a few feet from the window.  He was thrilled.  "Those are turkeys?!  They're so big, Daddy!"


Here is a picture  of the male turkeys.  Notice how they are showing off their studly plumage.

Here is a picture of the female turkeys they were protecting.

This is funny... this shot make it look like there is just one turkey with two heads.  Hehe..

Jeffrey the jungle gym

Big smiles with Xander.

Leaping.

So happy.

Upside-down Ari.

Xander beginning the jump.

High in the air.

Ari's turn to fly!

Good-bye hugs.

Convo between Xander and Mom

From her visit last week (two weeks ago?  I'm behind):

One day when Connor was crying and Ari was being three... whiny and crying, I turned to Xander who was working on an art project and asked him how he handles all this chaos when his younger brothers "go off like this." Not even looking up from his project he calmly said, "I just entertain myself." No judgments, no complaints, no put-downs. He simply took care of his own needs and didn't make it about them. What an awesome kid!!!

Swinging at the park

Jeffrey came to visit last weekend!  Here was the celebratory time at the park.

Ari with Hollywood hair.

Cracking up.

Our eldest getting a push.

Connor having a ball.

Everyone at once!

Skating safely

And then later that day...

Hey!  Let me out so I can play with my brothers!

Enthralled with Mom's stories

Xander's homemade Valentine

Ari has pink eye

Argggggggg....

My life, as seen through my mother's eyes

"Why, universe, why? The moment 2 kids fall into bed, the third one wakes up crying. Seriously? Why oh why?"

Energetic Ari and his lesser naps

We noticed that Ari has been having a hard time going to bed at night, so we've been considering shortening or eliminating his naps.  I spoke with his teacher about it, and today was the first day we implemented the new plan.

She emailed me after lunch:


Hi Michal,

Just a quick check in to let you know Ari did very well this afternoon. He woke up so happy, went to the bathroom, washed his hands, and proceeded to take out the letter sounds just as we had discussed. He is awesome!!

- Martha

Sexism at Safeway

So, I kind of suck at being romantic.

I mean, I try.

But my husband is SO much better at I than I.

So Saturday morning at 8am, Valentine's Day, I'm at the grocery store buying roses and a card for my husband. (And no people, I'm not crazy, I was up on my way to Torah study and realized that I had to buy them in the morning, because by the time I would be back home after services all the good flowers would be gone.)

The store had a large section of last-minute gifts for people to buy their loved ones.
- plush puppies
- scented candles
- balloons
- lotions
- some kind of weird ceramic rabbit
- chocolates of every type and variety

I looked around desperately, hoping for some kind of last-minute tool gift, an aftershave, a computer gadget, anything I could get Jonathan.  But no.  It all catered to women!

And then in the check-out line I actually laughed... I was surrounded by men.  Not one woman in the entire store was buying Valentine's Day things, except for me.

LIFE IS SO UNFAIR.


-------------

The evening was great though.  Robin and Mom stayed with the kids, and we went to a Victorian bar with great food and live music!

Scientific acumen

Guest post from Mom:

The boys are playing with their bazooka squirt guns outside and I just overheard the following:

X: Ari, see that cloud that looks like a zebra?
A: Which cloud?
X: There (pointing). It looks like a chain.
A: I see it.
X: Well, aim for it. That means point at it.
A: It's over there now.

Me: You're right, Ari. The cloud is moving. The wind.....
X: It's not really a cloud, Bubby. It's a jet trail!
Me: A jet trail?

He pauses, stunned at my ignorance. 
X: Basically it's just water, Bubby!

And says it as if to say, EVERYONE knows THAT!

"Temple at home"

Every Sunday at religious school I put up a different question on a whiteboard in our faculty Resource Room, as a team-building exercise for the teachers and teacher's aides to answer.  Over the past three years, the questions (and answers) have ranged from serious to silly, to enlightening to surface.  They're things like:

What living person would you most want to have lunch with?
What is the first CD/cassette/record you ever bought?
What's your favorite book?
What did you have for breakfast?
If you could have any superhero power, what would it be?

The morning of a pancake breakfast at temple, I had put "What is your favorite kind of pancake?"
Xander had accompanied me and chose the marker color in which I wrote.

At home, later that day, he wrote the exact same question on the kids' white board and called it "Temple at Home."

Today's Temple at Home question was so telling of who he is:

What is your favorite math problem?

His is "16+14=30," because can add up big numbers.

Jonathan's is "i3<9u=i<3u," because it ends in "I love you."

I thought long and hard about mine, but finally wrote:

"1+3+6=10"

Why?  Because the ages of Connor + Ari +Xander equals the number of years Jonathan and I have been married!

Superheroes on a plane

Mom sent over a fabulous gift yesterday: two Spiderman carry-on cases for the boys.

They were elated.

They immediately zipped and unzipped and zipped them up again.

Mom had written a letter to them which I read out loud.  Which they didn't listen to, because they were too busy zipping and unzipping and zipping up again.

There was $5 in each of the boys' bags.  Xander's eyes got wide: "Now I have $26, Mom!!!  I can buy the Nerf gun for $25!!  Let's go TOMORROW to get it!"

Ari was bitterly disappointed.  "This NOT good, Xander!" he exclaimed as he crumpled the $5 bill in his hand.  Jonathan realized why first - it's not a currency he understands.  So I grabbed 20 quarters (we always have a roll on hand, because we give X his allowance in quarters so he can easily split it up between his money jars) - and spread them all out, putting them in 5 piles of 4.  THEN Ari was impressed - Bubby gave him 20 quarters!! That meant ever so much more than a flimsy piece of green paper.

When they had finished zipping/unzipping to their heart's content, had ooh'd and aah'd at the Spiderman logo, and were calming down, I re-read them the letter.

Then we "practiced" being at the airport going to Florida, and they excitedly walked all over the house dragging their cases behind them as I said things like "We need to get to Gate 14, to the left!"

A whirlwind for sure.

Taxes FILED!

All hail TurboTax.

Transition

We're working with a real estate agent to decide on renting or buying.

We picked our top choice and second-choice school for Xander.  (The other boys will be at the temple preschool).  Now to find houses within those districts.

I just signed the contract with the movers.

Everyone knows we're going.

It's really happening!

These next four months are going to be a whirlwind, aren't they?

The honest truth

I always blog about how much Xander loves school, and math and science, right?  I was amused when a few evenings ago he told me about how he was "researching" weather at school.

"What do you mean 'research,' sweetie?" I asked.

"I look in books and find out stuff about tornadoes, and hurricanes, and other weather," he said.  Then he added, unself-consciously, "Well, I don't really read any of the books.  I just look at the pictures. They're interesting!"

Trials and tribulations

Text from Jonathan:

"I want to take a nap with the baby, but I can't sleep, he's snoring too loudly!"

Math

I'm amazed by how our children's minds work.

Xander wants us to quiz him on math problems all the time, and he quizzes Ari too.

Ari thinks one plus one is eleven.

I can see how he gets there: that's what it looks like if you put the numbers next to each other.

He also said that zero plus zero is eight.

I get that too: two zero's on top of each other looks like an 8!

He thinks spatially, which I think is pretty cool.  Ari's always been more interested in letters and books anyway.


Xander, on the other hand, is straight-up numbers and science.  Yesterday we were talking about how fast time goes by, how a period of time can feel longer or shorter depending on one's emotions.

I said, "Sometimes I can't believe you're 6, I feel like I just gave birth to you!"

He responded saying, "Yeah, and now you're 33 and have three kids!  One day I'll be 33 too."

"Yup," I said.  "And maybe you'll be marrying the person you love, or you'll have a family of your own too.  I had you when I was 27, so how old will I be?  27 plus 33."

"Give me a minute," he said.  He was quiet in the backseat.

"Sixty!  Almost like Bubby!"  came the answer a quick moment later.

"That's right, Xander," I said. "How'd you figure it out?"

"On my fingers."

"But what did you do with your fingers to get the answer?"

"Ten plus ten plus ten is thirty, and then three plus seven is another ten, and then two more ten's."

I was seriously impressed!

Feeding toddlers

This is what fell through the small space between his body and the removable tray.  It's easy to tell that dinner was mac n'cheese, peas and strawberries.  Thank goodness for bathtubs and washing machines!  The meal after this was taken we finally figured out a way to make the bib stay without him ripping it off...

Family weekend project

Putting up a shelf for the video game accoutrements, so Connor can't get to them.  The bigger boys helped and learned how to use a power drill, level, and how to measure.  They know more at their age than I did as an adult before I met Jonathan!

Three little things that made my night

1) Me telling the older boys how much Connor cried after they left for school.

"He cried for an hour?" asked Xander.

"Umm, not quite that long," I said.  "Maybe six minutes.  But that's a long time for a baby."

"Yeah, 360 seconds!"  Xander replied.

I actually had to think a minute to do the math in my head, he was faster than I was.  And he was right.



2) Looking over their calendars with them last week.  It was the end of January, so of course we just now got around to getting the 2015 calendars (don't judge).  Ari picked Rescue Bots, and Xander Guardians of the Galaxy.  They turned every page to see the pictures and were flabbergasted by their glory.  Their interests are so different than mine were at their ages - I was all about the cute kitty calendars as a girl!



3) At a Havdallah event (end of Shabbat) a few night ago, this two year-old girl really liked Connor.  She chased him around the whole social hall, signing "he mine!" and finally he got upset and crawled under a table.  When we pulled him out, he looked at her, then at me, and signed "all done," even saying the words - "aww duh" - to accompany it!

Playground time

Happy Ari on the slide.

Religious school report cards

Xander Judaica:

Xander can be very quiet during our group discussions, and is focused and attentive to details in individual activities. Xander’s demeanor is respectful and good-natured, and he gets along well with his fellow students. I hope as he grows more comfortable in class, Xander will share more of his thoughts and ideas. Meanwhile, we will also look for more comfortable settings for our quieter students to express themselves, such as smaller groups. I look forward to sharing the next semester with Xander.

Xander Hebrew:

I am loving having Xander in class this year.  He is a very quiet boy most of the time.  That being said, he is frequently beginning to raise his hand to participate during class.  Yay!   Xander seems to enjoy the projects we do each week to help us learn our new letter.  Be sure to go over any papers that are sent home.  A little reinforcement is very helpful! 

Ari [remember that his name means "lion" in Hebrew]:

Ari has so much fun in K’tonton! He knows so many of the answers to the questions I ask the group! During circle time, Ari sometimes has a hard time if another student has already taken the lion spot on the rug. Once we begin, he can refocus if helped by Dad. Ari loves our electives and is always excited to do new things.