Brothers playing

Xander showing Connor how to rattle his toy.

Playing blocks together.

 He's so gentle with the baby.

Look at the pride on Xander's face. :)

Kisses!

Dog day afternoon

Our little feline human, watching Frozen.

Connor at six months old

Pooped out after post-bath playtime.

Guest blog from Bubby

As cribbed from her FB posts...

Xanderism I overheard yesterday. "Mommy, would you make us spinach smoothies on Shabbat!?" Ask me how thrilled I was!!!!


Bubby's famous grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner tonight. Ari helped butter the bread and put it in the pan. Then he ate 1-1/2 sandwiches!!!  Delicious!!!


Having a great time with Michal and her family. Ari and I went grocery shopping yesterday...strawberries, grapes, watermelon, honeydew, raspberries, blueberries, avocado, bananas, plums, apricots, nectarines. I turn to Ari and ask him, "Did we forget anything, Ari?" He scans the basket and exclaims, "Carrots, Bubby! Don't forget the carrots!" We bought carrots. I'm so grateful they eat all this stuff. 


I love that all of my mother's recollections are about food.  I definitely get it from somewhere! :)

How one crawls

Connor crawled today.  For real.  Not scooting, but crawling on his hands and knees.

Jonathan and I were so excited, we clapped.

The clapping scared Connor, who cried.

Xander said, "Let's say Shehecheyanu, Mommy!"

We sang Shehecheyanu.

Ari was very upset.  He thought we should only be singing Hebrew blessings on Shabbat.

So in the end, we comforted Ari. We comforted Connor.  And Xander danced.


And THAT is how one crawls in the Loving household.

The good, the bad, and the ugly of Memorial Day weekend

The good:
- Mom is here, hooray!!
- She and I did a puzzle, hooray!  I'd forgotten how much I liked them.
- Connor is 6 months old, in 12 months clothing.  And I'm wearing some of my pre-pregnancy clothes, hooray!


The bad:
- My grandmother isn't doing so well, and is in the hospital with a broken pelvis.  It's clear that she'll have to go to a home when she gets out, so my mom and I are figuring out what to do with her apartment and things.  From half a world away.


The ugly:
- Remember six months ago, when Ari fell and had to go to the dentist for an emergency visit?  Well, the X-rays showed it had cracked in half and needed to come out.  So today we extracted it.  Now, of course I'm not calling my child ugly, but the process of removing his front tooth was.  He was so brave though, we were so proud of him.  After some ice cream and then a nap, he was back to almost normal.  (I was the one who needed a drink.)  Bedtime was a cinch, as soon as we mentioned that he had to go to sleep before the Tooth Fairy would come.

You can tell a lot about a woman by the contents of her purse

I went digging in my purse to find something and laughed at myself by what I pulled out.  It couldn't scream "clergy parent" more if I tried.  For your amusement, the contents of my handbag:

- wallet
- keys
- lipstick
- "Princess Celestia" My Little Pony Figurine
- pocket-sized journal and pen
- pair 12-18 months socks
- container of breath mints with HUC logo on it
- baby rattle
- folded photocopy of "Meditations on the Mikveh"
- kippah clip
- mini-bottle of Purell
- toy Matchbox car
- business card holder

That, folks, is my life in a nutshell.

6 months old next week!

Gain a child, lose a tooth

There's an old wives' tale that for every child you have, you lose a tooth.

Apparently studies back it up.

And for me, it's definitely true.  I'm in denial no longer - after a trip to the dentist today, I can definitely say that there is a distinct correlation between kids and dental issues. I never had any problems pre-babies.

Even stranger is our medical system.  I got an estimate for some dental work and my eyes popped out of my head.  I thanked them politely and then left.

Ten minutes later I walked into the office of another dentist down the street, and handed them the dental plan of the first dentist.

It was over $600 cheaper.

What kind of world do we live in where providers can vary so drastically?!

Going to the mikveh

Yesterday, after sitting on a beit din and participating in enabling two people to become Jewish, I and the other clergy drove over an hour to get to the mikveh (the ritual bath that completes the conversion process), in this case a swimming pool in the person's country house.

We drove further and further away from the city.

We saw cows.

We saw horses.

We saw deer.

We arrived at the house and the host told us of a mountain lion sighting in the area.

And I thought to myself, Jonathan bought sleeping bags at Costco... is it so bad to only ever want to camp out in the backyard??

My foray into the unknown

Yesterday I had some time to kill downtown, and I found myself in the big six-story Scientology church, out of curiosity.

Here are some quick observations, with an attempt to be non-judgmental:

- Wow, they have money!  The first part of the entrance was an information center and self-guided tour, with state-of-the-art LCD touchscreens and comfy chairs. (I might have disagreed with the information of most of what I watched, but I have to admire the set-up, it was flawless.)

- In each church there's a replica of L. Ron Hubbard's office.  It was shrine-like, and reminded me of ultra-Orthodox sects' deification of individual rabbis.

- There were things to buy laid out everywhere.  And I didn't even go into the bookstore itself.

- According to my tour guide, the room called the "chapel" is used for "services" that consist of listening to and watching Hubbard's lectures.  I asked her if there was a liturgy surrounding the lectures.  She asked what liturgy was.  I swallowed down my smile and said "prayers that are set, that you say the same every time."  She said no, just the lectures.

- We talked about the "statement of faith," a Scientology creed, that to me seemed like placing oneself in the context of the individual, expanding throughout to one's place in the broader universe.  I asked if this was considered exclusive to other religions, and she said no, that people can be other religions and Scientologist both.

Religion, cult, non-denominational worship arena?  You pick.  Either way, it was a very interesting visit.

My Life as the Frozen Soundtrack

This parody was put on by a church minister, which makes it even better.  It's so well-done and true, even for all clergy parents. :)

Let It Go: A Mom's Tale

Monopolies suck... explaining net neutrality

I'm not a big fan of jargon, but this video actually made a lot of sense to me.

Explaining why the FCC's internet "fast lane" is a really bad idea, and why we should care.

Chai latte glory

A long long time ago in March, my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday.

I finally decided in May.

I had gotten lots of Starbucks gift cards when the baby was born, and I had been getting a $4 chai latte almost every day.  Then, shock-horror-atrocity... my gift cards ran out.  I hadn't wanted more, because it seemed like such a waste when I knew I could buy a box of chai concentrate at Target (that I could mix with milk) for so much cheaper.

But - and I do realize this deserves a #firstworldproblems hashtag - I tend to either scorch the milk in the saucepan, put it in too long in the microwave and have it boil over, or not put it in long enough and have it be cold.  Plus, it's never mixed particularly well and is never silky-smooth.

So as a gift I did my research and chose a milk frother.  A super-fancy one.

It. Is. Sheer.  Utter.  Brilliance.

New ritual: mug, frother, concentrate.  Milk not pictured.

In the morning I pour in chai concentrate, the same type they sell at Starbucks.  I pour in milk.  I turn the dial to my requested temperature.  I press the Start button.  Voila!  It whirs, mixes, and beeps at me when it's done.  Easy as pie, with almost no effort on my part.

Finished product. Isn't it pretty?!

It takes less than two minutes in the morning, tastes just like the Starbucks one, and - you won't even believe this, folks - if for some reason I'm too rushed to rinse out the parts, it's all dishwasher safe!!!  I should be a sales rep for this product, I love it.

The machine also makes to-die-for hot chocolate: pour in milk, add the powder, and it blends it together seamlessly.  The kids actually thought I had put on whipped cream!

I've had chai every morning the last two weeks, and I even bring it to work in my thermos.  It's the little things in life that make me happy... and it doesn't get any better than this.

Bedtime rituals

Can't go to bed without a story!

We're off to see the Wizard...

Xander's end-of-year school play is The Wizard of Oz.  And since we're all still sick at home, we decided to watch the original.

The older boys were entranced.  The baby loved the music.  Jonathan and I talked about how amazing the special effects must have been at the time.  (And personally, I was surprised by how non-scary the flying monkeys were, I remembered them as a child quite differently!).

After the movie Xander mentioned very off-handedly that he no longer had the role of the Cowardly Lion in his school play.

"What do you mean?" I asked, dismayed.  Immediately my mom feathers ruffled up, how dare they take away a leading role from my boy!

"I didn't want it, Mommy," he explained.  "I wanted more parts.  So now I'm a munchkin AND a villager AND someone in the Emerald City!"

I blinked rapidly, not sure how to respond.

"Okay, sweetie..."

Recovery

Limp noodle kiddos.  And Connor and I have it, too.  Ugh.

BUT... I have two cute stories to share so it isn't all depressing.  

1) Today Ari was eating an OtterPop outside and he tried to come back in, but Jonathan had closed the main door and it was too heavy for him.  Xander noticed and leaped off the couch to open it.  

"Tha's Xand-uh!" Ari told me excitedly.  "He's my bess fwend."

2)  Jonathan has been working with Ari on telling time on the digital clock.  Specifically, if it says "6:xx," don't come into our room in the morning.  Only come into our room to wake us up if it's 7am or later.

Tonight, when we announced that it would be clean-up time in two minutes, Ari was frantic.  "NOOO!"  he cried.  "Is 7!!  Is okay!  Is time to play!"

Jonathan and I were confused until Xander clarified.  "He thinks it's morning," he said, with a "duh" expression on his face.

And of course... the clock said "7:36."  Poor Ari didn't know that the numbers came around twice, and it was now PM.  I now see the advantages of military time...

Playing "hot lava" (the carpet) - pre-plague, obviously

The beauty of innocence

A nicer story to combat the current plague....

Last weekend I was telling our middle child a story, trying to prep him for Jonathan and I leaving that evening (we went to a temple event and left the kids with a sitter).

"Once upon a time there was a little boy named...."

"Connor!"  he says.

"Okay, sure." I say. "His name was Connor.  And Connor had a Mommy and a Daddy and a big brother and a little brother. And he loved to play with them.  Except for when his big brother would hit him."

[He nods solemnly, empathizing with Connor in the story]

"And Connor had a lovey named Twilight Sparkle, and another one named Simba."

Ari's eyes grow wide.  "Mommy, I have Twilight Sparkle and Simba!!"

"You DO?" I ask, feigning amazement.

"YES!!" he shouts gleefully.

---

And the story continued.  I don't even remember how it ended, but the whole time, Ari was continually flabbergasted that the kiddo in the story was so similar to him.  It was like all these wondrous coincidences happening at once.  I couldn't help smiling throughout, he was just so cute!

Forget Alanis. THIS is irony.

At the doctor's Monday?  All three children were a picture of health.

Tuesday morning Jonathan and I get this notice in our emails:

Attention Parents:
 

We have multiple diagnosed cases of hand-foot-mouth disease on campus.

This is a virus like a cold, but with a high fever and spots on the hands, feet, and inside the mouth. For symptoms and treatment there is information here, or contact your child’s physician.

Please be on the lookout for these symptoms in your child(ren), and thank you for your help in controlling this situation!Martha

 Wednesday, yesterday, Ari got sent home with a fever.  Today, Thursday, Xander got sent home.  And this evening Connor developed it.

We are the house of plague yet again.  We now subsist on yogurt, milkshakes, smoothies, and OtterPops.

At least the kids aren't lactose intolerant...

Children's check-ups

We brought all three kids in to see the pediatrician for well checks.  

Ari and Xander are fine.

So is the baby, who is now 17 lbs and did his very best to scoot off the exam table and join his brothers.  The doctor was amused.  That determination to move is part and parcel of being the youngest child, he said.

"Connor's skill level is probably average," he told us.  "But his motivation is off the charts!"

Xander did it! Karate triumph

Standing quietly waiting for his turn to test.

In the thick of it.

Very respectfully watching her put the yellow tip on his white belt.

He was shy about high-fiving everyone in the room when he passed his test, but was SO proud of himself, he beamed.  Our first babeleh is growing up!

Things

Thing the first: Last Friday I had the opportunity to attend a fabulous training on diversity issues.  I learned a ton!  Did you know that being transgender is on a spectrum, just like sexual orientation?  Or that "gay-dar" is when we notice the intersection between non-conformative gender expression and gender appearance?  The next day I filled out a survey from Whittier College, and I love that the bubbles to fill in under "What is your gender?" were "Male," "Female," and "Fill in," with a comment section.

Thing the second: I taught a Talmud class, my very first one, to an Adult Ed group!  It went really well.

Thing the third: If you have some time to kill, click here to watch the entire Frozen soundtrack in Hebrew.  They did a good job of making the lyrics still rhyme, and picked great voice actors.

Thing the fourth: Don't read the book Exodus by Deborah Feldman.  Or if you do, tell me what you like about it.  Because I had to force myself to keep reading.  I thought her first book was 150 times better.

Thing the fifth: Jonathan is feeling SO much better everyone, thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!

Thing the sixth: I finally watched American Jerusalem, the documentary on San Francisco Jews that I contributed to while working in the Archives.  And in the credits, I'm listed as a production assistant!!  How cool is that. :)

And now off to sort some pictures...

Long-overdue Purim pics

Only four months late...  I had to wait til someone else passed them along.

Our snake-loving boy.

A spider to match his Spiderman outfit.

Very seriously doing... something.  With an alligator balloon.

Coming out of the bounce house.

Connor asleep on a madricha, a teen aide.  I'd forgotten how bald he got!  Thankfully it's grown back now... in blond.

My senior and I posing. :)

The baby is surrounded by toys, and yet...

He scoots right past them toward my laptop cord and puts it in his mouth.

I take it away.

He scoots the other direction to snag my phone.

I take it away.

He cries deep, bitter tears.

---------

I understand that my toys light up and make strange noises, and that his do not.

But how exactly does one explain to a baby that eating technology is not good for him?

Score!

I finally got around to donating all my maternity and tiny baby clothes (plus all my pre-Ari size 4 clothes... it's time to admit that ship has sailed) to WEAVE, the local battered women's shelter.

While I was there I decided to shop in their thrift store.  And I found a pair of black pants for work for $3.77!

- Donating clothes to those in need, plus getting back space in my closet.
- Shopping and supporting a good cause

Is it still a mitzvah if I feel like it's a win-win?