Push cars, remote control cars, and air hockey

Connor pushing Ari, from last month.

   

The big present from us this Hanukkah: remote control cars. (Note we had the carpet cleaned since the last video.)

   

The big present from Mom and Savta: air hockey!

Connor's birthday part(ies)

Pic from Connor's bday celebration at Mom's last month.

Cake at Mom's with all of the Long Beach friends/extended family present.

Two weeks later, we were back at home in Sacramento and had a small party with mostly adults from temple, and a few friends of Xander and Ari's.

Cake the second.

The traditional-in-our-generation "smash cake" - Savta, its purpose is exactly what it sounds like.  See pictures of happy smash-caked-Connor below.

When he was done, he and I went straight to the bathtub.

Clean and smiley after his bath.

It's fun to be one!

21st century sibling retaliation

Xander and Ari were playing a kid video game together.

Xander hit Ari.

We put Xander on time-out.

While he was gone, Ari took revenge the best way he knew how.

He killed Xander's character.

Sweetness

It was excruciatingly hard to get up this morning.  Connor was nestled in tightly next to me, his little hand resting on my face, lips pursed, peaceful and calm.

I forced myself out of bed.

I get a text from Jonathan a few minutes after I arrived at temple:

"I want you to know that you were not given babeleh approval to leave this morning.  He woke up.  Looked for you.  Then screamed his lungs out."

Is it bad that I'm kind of grateful, that I know I don't have this bond on my own?  I missed him too!

Yowch.

Our eldest son just schooled me in how to set up a local multi-player video game, so he and Ari could play together.

That was painful.

What's worse is that I know it's only the first time of many.

Hanukkah

Books.

Remote control cars.

Gelt.

AIR HOCKEY TABLE from Mom and Savta.

More books.

Latkes.

Squish balls.

Israeli candy from Abba and Shula.

Singing.

Puzzles.

Hanukkah parties with friends.


It's a good life we lead. :)

Holiday epiphany

A congregant made me almond roca as a gift.

Almond roca is chocolate toffee matzah without the matzah.

How did I never realize this before?!

Book reviews

The Interestings: A Novel, by Meg Wolitzer.

A very intriguing, very well written book, about six friends who meet at a New England camp for the arts in the 1970s, and what happens to them all as they grow up.  The characters were real, in that I liked them, didn't like them, understood them, didn't understand them.  But the whole book was tinged with sadness.  It felt like no one ever truly got what they wanted in life.  And I'm an optimist.  If you don't like what life doles out, do your best to change it.  I kept waiting for the book to get more positive, and it never quite got there.  So in the end, it was a worthwhile read, just laced with more disappointment than I had been looking for.

Practical Wisdom for Parents: Raising Self-Confident Children in the Preschool Years, by Nancy Schulman and Ellen Birnbaum.

Exactly like the title advertises: good practical wisdom.  What do you do when..... type of questions and answers.  The book is divided into section on "school" and "home," and I liked the latter more than the former.  It dealt with everything from toilet-training to moving houses to transitions to siblings to pretend play to buying toys to holidays to grocery shopping to illness, and had very good suggestions for all of it.

The main reason I didn't like the school section as much was because it left me a little horrified at the state of the NY preschool system.  It talks about what to do in the child's interview, how to fill out the preschool application, and what to do if a kid doesn't get into a good one!  A whole chapter emphasizes over and over not to put the kids in more than 2 after-school activities a week, and touts the value of free play and unstructured time with parents.  This is a no-brainer to me.  And also, why I could never live in the greater NY area, if that's the expectation.

The difference between Xander and Ari

All of the pets in the childrens' classrooms need homes over the winter break.

The pets are, in no particular order: walking stick insects, 3 geckos, 1 spider, 2 bunnies, 3 hamsters, 1 bird, 2 guinea pigs, and some fish.

There aren't that many we can bring into our home, seeing as we also have two extraordinarily inquisitive cats.

So what did we volunteer to take?  The spider.  It's in a glass terrarium and needs minimal care, just feeding it crickets once or twice over the two-week period.

------

"We're going to be taking Sally the Spider home," I told the kids on Thursday.

"Sally?!  From Ari's class?!" asked Xander.

I nodded yes.

"YEAH!!!"  he shouted, throwing his arms up in the air.

Ari is so much more like me.  

The look on his face was one of utter confusion.  "Oh.  WHY???" He couldn't fathom it... why in the world would we ever want a spider?

I have nothing to blog today.

I'm too tired.

But world, I'm not ignoring you.

That is all.

Connor loves blackberries

Connor's birthday party

Temple friends, preschool friends.

Smash cake and blue icing.

Giggling and laughter.

Racecars and walking toys.

Talking about work, about our future, about our kids.

It was a lovely afternoon.

Pictures to come.

Finding Ari

Last night's dinner:

- Mini chicken sausages rolled up in crescent rolls (Ari loves to do the rolling)

- Cooked peas for the older boys, frozen peas for Connor (he loves them, it seems to help with teething)

- Baked beans for all of us but Ari, who doesn't like them

"Your loss," I mentioned to our middle child, as I scooped up the last bite of beans.

"I'm not lost!" he exclaimed, looking around in confusion.  "I'm right here!"

Because most posted pictures are usually happy...

Observe a teething, sad little Connor at Climbaroo.

Last of the vacation pics

Marleena and I met in college.  Look at us now!

J and I on our 3-day cruise to Ensenada, for Tom and Cindy's wedding.  The cruise was amazing; relaxation and self-care can never be overrated.  

Mom watched all three boys when J and I were gone, and what a shock, it killed her immunity and she got bronchitis.  X wrote her this note, I didn't even know til she put a picture of it on Facebook!

Tour of the battleship U.S.S. Iowa

Utterly ecstatic, about to go on board.  "OH MY GOD, this is the best day EVER!" shouted Xander.

Standing in front of a 16" shell.

Really big guns that shoot the really big shell above.

Size perspective: our kids are in the middle left of the frame.

Smiling even through the sun.

"Favorite Foods" Thanksgiving 2014

Playing at Mom's house

The first night.

Making a track.

Deciding what to play with.

Wrestling.

 Xander looked at these instructions....

And built this.

Open house at Mom's!

X and Lauren; I taught her kids when they were in 6th grade, and they're now in college.  Ouch.

The three introverts (Sheryl, Wendy, Jonathan) hiding in the kitchen.  Mom asked them to squish closer for the picture. "Introverts don't cuddle!" proclaimed Sheryl with a smile. :)

X and Dawn

Chana and Linda

Barbara and Cristina

Eileen (my own 3rd-grade religious school teacher!), Cathe who made the beautiful tree tapestry in my office, and Sheryl who understands my love of arcane Hebrew books.

So many other people came to visit us, it was amazing!  My former Whittier professor Marilyn, Mom's friends, Temple Israel friends, even Susan and Howard who now live in Redlands!  Thank you to everyone for traveling to be with us - the only reason your picture isn't here is that is most of them were blurry.

And last but not least, Connor pushing Ari... see below, this happens at home too.

Coming home from vacation

Jonathan's recap:

First, the baby pukes this morning.  Clean up king bed and baby.  Next, 3 year old throws up in doorway, while baby is screaming in other room.  Clean up 3 year old, throw food at baby, spend 45 minutes cleaning up floor.  Next, 6 year old throws up in bed.  Clean up twin bed and debate pointing gun at self.  I now have a trash can ready to go as I feel it's just a matter of minutes before I join them. Sometimes I just feel smited.

And... he joined them about an hour after sending me this.  I was the only one unaffected.  We think it's food poisoning from a skeezy fast food joint we stopped at on the road.  I stayed home today to stay with the afflicted family.

At least they were all cuddly.

And we're off!

We are offline for a Thanksgiving vacation!  Catch you in December. :)

These milestones are never mentioned in the parenting books!

There is a whole world of children growing up and having experiences away from us that is foreign to me.  Xander is our first, so of course, it starts with him.  Two examples:

1) Me: "Honey, what are you up to?"
    Him:  "Oh, nothing you need to worry about."

    Me:  "Honey, how was your day?"
    Him:  "I don't want to talk about it."

He's SIX.



2) Xander, singing to himself and Ari in the car to the tune of ABC's.  Jonathan and I realize we've never heard this song before, so ask him to repeat it.  We're stunned when we process the words.

"A B C D E F G,
Gummy bears are chasing me.
One is red and one is blue
One is hanging on my shoe.
Now I'm running for my life
'Cause the red one has a knife."

Apparently he learned it at school, and it's his new favorite song.

It reminded me of the movie Parenthood with Steve Martin, where they listened to the song "Diarrhea" over and over again in the car.  Why?  Because the kids learned it at school from their friends.

We have reached the age of peers.

Mind. BLOWN.

Showing off his tower

Ari building a tower with specific patterns after school, to show me how fun it can be.  Martha was just telling Jonathan that he's one of the most popular kids at school, that kids stop by where he's working just to chat with him.  Teachers have to shoo them away!  It's a whole different world than when I was a girl. :)

Sleeping cuteness

Passed out on the floor, bottom in the air.  Gotta love babies.

VERY belated Xander birthday party

These were on my phone, finally got around to transferring them yesterday...

Spiderman cake

 

Going through the obstacle course

He communicates!

Connor was crying.  I asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?  Are you hungry?"  And he responded with a very specific yelp that I knew was meant to be an affirmative.

And then later on, sitting in the high chair, he signed "all done"!

I was so excited. :)

Sweetness in my morning

I'm getting ready for work and I hear the boys playing in the adjoining room.

(THUD)

Ari, indignantly, "I going tell on you!"

He runs out to find me.  "Mommy, Xander hit me with the ball.  He hurt my heart."  He touches his chest.

I kneel down next to him, concerned.  "Did he hurt your heart because you're sad, or because that's where the ball hit you, in the chest?"

"Because I sad.  He hit me, he not love me anymore," he says with a sniffle.  I pull him into a hug.

Xander has heard this interaction and comes over. "I DO love you, Ari," he says.  "It was an accident.  I didn't mean to hit you with the ball.  I'm sorry."

"Did you hear him, Ari?" I asked.  Ari nods.  "Do you accept his apology?"  Ari nods again.

And just like that, play resumed.

Kids at school

Xander seriously focused on sharpening his pencil.

Ari the gardener.

Jonathan

Me.

click here 

Clever boy

Xander is smart academically.

Ari is street-smart.

All of last week, he'd been coming home with an empty lunchbox.   "Good job!" we complimented him.  "Good work eating all your lunch!"

The teacher yesterday told Jonathan that she caught him throwing away his sandwich and yogurt.

Jonathan was taken aback.  Why??

Because apparently, at the school, the teachers don't let the kids eat their dessert or fruit dessert-like items before they eat the healthy things.

Ari was dumping his boring sandwich so he could get to the mango, or the apple slices, or the brownie.

We gave him a strict talking-to about wasting food and telling the truth... but honestly, I was kinda impressed.  That's good logic for being three!

Science is Real

Xander loves science.  He wants to be a scientist when he grows up.  He also loves music.

My brilliant husband found a CD called "Here Comes Science," by They Might Be Giants, and our son is eating it up with a spoon.

His favorite songs are "Why Does the Sun Shine?" and "Photosynthesis."

He asked us to tell his teacher, Patty, about it, which we did.  And she taught "Why Does the Sun Shine?" to his entire class!  He was so jazzed.  Lyrics below:

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas 
A gigantic nuclear furnace 
Where hydrogen is built into helium 
At a temperature of millions of degrees

Yo ho, it's hot 
The sun is not 
A place where we could live 
But here on Earth there'd be no life 
Without the light it gives

We need its light 
We need its heat 
We need its energy 
Without the sun 
Without a doubt 
There'd be no you and me

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas 
A gigantic nuclear furnace 
Where hydrogen is built into helium 
At a temperature of millions of degrees

The sun is hot

It is so hot that everything on it is a gas 
Iron, copper, aluminum, and many others

The sun is large

If the sun were hollow, a million Earths could fit inside 
And yet, the sun is only a middle-sized star

The sun is far away

About ninety-three million miles away! And that's why it looks so small

And even when it's out of sight, the sun shines night and day

The sun gives heat 
The sun gives light 
The sunlight that we see 
The sunlight comes from our own sun's atomic energy

Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine. The heat and light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and helium.

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas 
A gigantic nuclear furnace 
Where hydrogen is built into helium 
At a temperature of millions of degrees

When it rains it pours

And now we have a puking baby.

Sigh.

He looks so sad...

Superheroes, candy, witches and spells

Halloween last week was fun, we had two families over and went wild.  I went with the moms and the kids to go trick-or-treating, and Jonathan and the other dad stayed at our house to scare the kids who came to the front door (Jonathan was a ghoul and our house is totally decked out, so this was very easily done).  Fun pictures below:

In the hallway before going out.  Xander is Iron Man.

Ari Wolverine.

Pirate Iron Man and little brother; note Ari's claws.  He left them with me one house down because they were getting in the way of the candy bucket.

The funny part of this picture is Ari hiding out behind the skeleton.  Noah was "dancing" with it and Ari totally freaked out.

The flash was on so it looks light in this picture, but it was actually pitch-dark.  We gave every boy a glow stick for their candy buckets and a fluorescent arm band before we left, to see them by.  It was surprisingly quite helpful.

Oh, the seriousness of running from house to house!

Aaaghh CANDY!!

In the spirit of the holiday, last month I read Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking, which I thought would be cheesy, but which I actually quite liked.  It's beach reading, about a witch bounty hunter in an alternate USA where the supernatural and human live side-by-side.  I originally got it because it'S set in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, so it's really funny reading all these landmarks that I know and yet having them be paranormal.  It's a lot like the Harry Dresden series, so I'd highly recommend it if you're into that kind of thing.

This year I read Lilith's Cave: Jewish Stories of the Supernatural, compiled by Howard Schwartz, cover to cover, looking for ghost tales to tell to the 4th-6th graders in religious school.  They loved it, and the book is a great resource.  I was surprised by how many of the tales are decidedly NOT kid-friendly!

And last but not least, I'm almost done with Enchantress: A Novel of Rav Hisda's Daughter by Maggie Anton.  I love that the main character is a female sorceress in Babylonian times - the novel, like the first in the series, is basically a fictionalization of my rabbinic thesis - but I dunno, I'm having trouble relating to it, because so much of it is rooted in fact and then boom something supernatural happens.  It's told in first person, and obviously the sorceresses of the time believed in demons and spirits and spells... but I can't quite get past the dichotomy between the historical Talmud explanation parts and the witch-plot parts.  I enjoyed the last one significantly more, as the natural/supernatural link felt seamless.  That said, Maggie Anton is coming to CBI to present on her book this month, and I'm really excited to meet her in person!