more...

I've moved...

2010-06-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

I have finally made the move to a new blog format with my a new domain name: http://ihavemorerocks.com.

It just makes sense. I just have more rocks. So bookmark me!

I also have a new gorgeous site designed by @napwarden which I'm loving... It's nice to get a fresh space.

So come visit me! I promise, I will be writing more these days!

happy 4th birthday, naomi rose...

2010-06-02T11:45:00.001-07:00

wordless wednesday...

my small contribution to fighting cancer...

2010-06-01T14:02:00.000-07:00

Last month I signed up with the American Cancer Society's DetermiNation program to dedicate my run with the Seattle Rock n Roll half marathon to saving lives by raising money for cancer research, medical care and support for cancer patients. And specifically to support two close friends battling cancer now--Josh and Lani.

To be completely frank and honest, though I've always loved the aspect of dedicating runs to very deserving non-profits, I've never done it. I've always figured the race entry fee was manageable enough and the fundraising was too much for someone already juggling a family and heavy workload.

And then, the Rock n' Roll Seattle sold out this year. Raising money for cancer was my ticket to run it. It was a perfect opportunity, actually, because unfortunately cancer is pretty much the reason why it was so important for me to run it this year. It was one of those coincidences that couldn't be more obvious if it had smacked me in the face.

Last year for the Rock n' Roll Seattle inaugural race, the Shalom Bayit Running Club was formed. Comprised of a bunch of moms desperately needing the outlet (hence the name Shalom Bayit, which means Peace in the House in Hebrew) and one dad who pushed us harder than we'd go on our own, we'd meet once a week for our long runs. Lani was one who pushed for t-shirts, thus making our club OFFICIAL and even after she learned she was moving to Nashville, she postponed her move long enough to stay with us to do the run. We were determined to run the Rock n Roll half in Nashville on our birthday this year (We are Birthday Twins down to the same year and state...)

Just a few months after her move to Nashville, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. You can read about her story on her blog, ChemoBabe.

I've written about my friends Josh and Kim on this blog before. Josh is still fighting his fight and posting about it on his blog. But really, without Josh and Kim, I would've never developed a love for running. There were a number of treks up 95th with him, all three of us chugging away on that huge hill. And Kim pulled me through my first 10k, first half marathon and introduced me to the um, pleasures of Gu.

So it just seems natural that I'd be running for these two incredible friends of mine. And while it's a small contribution to the scheme of things, I've already gotten so much support from other friends and community members. And there's still work and kids to juggle and lunches to make and carpools to drive and all the craziness that comes with life, I feel like this run is one thing I can contribute to the cause of fighting cancer--this wretched disease.

Running this race is my way--albeit a small way--of fighting back against a disease that has taken too much. It's small. But it's something...

Please visit my DetermiNation fundraising page and support me with a donation so that together, with the American Cancer Society, we can help save lives and create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

it's so nice to be thanked...

2010-05-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

As I was cleaning out the lunchboxes this evening, I found this note from Tali, thanking me for lunch. Sometimes I send little notes in her lunchbox for her to find later in the day, but this is the first time I received a note back. And a thank you note, no less.

It totally took me by surprise. One, the fact that my daughter realized that today, my first day on a new job was a big day for me. And two, the fact that she was thoughtful enough to do what I did for her made me proud. It made me even think that I was doing a pretty damn good parenting job.

And then of course nobody would go to bed tonight and I ended up taking away screen time privileges.

Sigh... I'll take what I can get. Oh, and tomorrow, she's getting a pretty great note in her lunch box.

how i didn't embarrass tali at her oneg....

2010-05-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

My kids’ school has this tradition of honoring a couple of kids at their Shabbat celebration each week and dedicating the Oneg to them. Each student spends time during the week writing a note and making a drawing for the kids being honored at the Oneg about why they are special and then on Friday afternoon, the kid gets to sit up in the front of the room with their family and special invited friends. During the service, for the primary grade, the teachers read from the notes to the group and then the kids get to choose from parents, teachers and friends to tell them out loud, in front of the whole assembly why they like that kid.

This is a huge event for the kids. They look forward to it all year and really, it’s incredibly adorable. It’s a truly big deal for them. They know they’ll get to pass the tzedaka box around, they know they get to sit up in front of the classroom, and they get their first experience with public speaking as they introduce their families.

When Sam had his first oneg, I was nine months pregnant with Naomi. I’m pretty much a sap, anyway, but put my huge pregnant belly on an itty bitty elementary school chair to watch my firstborn’s class tell us they love him because he has a heart of silver and gold turned me into a blubbering mess. Tali watched in horror, the moment etched in her heart forever. Sam turned to me and told me frankly, “I’m going to have to call on Daddy next time.”

For Tali’s first oneg, she invited her Aunt Kate and cousin Asher, who showed up dressed as a tiger. He was roaring at her classmates, but guess who she was embarrassed about? At least she warned me ahead of time. “I’m sorry, Mommy. I want you to know I’m going to call on Aunt Kate because she’s not going to cry.” Fine. The teacher went on to say wonderful things about my wonderful girl, her friends professed their love for her heart of silver and gold and her aunt blubbered at what a wonderful person she was and how proud she was to be her auntie. Tali beamed proudly.

Last week Tali had her oneg. Because of the remodel we’re in the middle of, the job craziness B and I are in the middle of, the insanity of our schedules, we told my parents at the last minute and they came. I could tell Tali was surveying her options. Her teacher said lovely things about her, her friends still considered her heart silver and gold, plus she helped people when they fell down on the playground, and many of the pictures they drew for her proclaimed “Tali rocks!” I beamed.

When the time came, she chose me as her family representative to say why they loved her. She put her hand on my leg as she came up to me and then gave me a look that I would never mistake for being anything other than “Don’t mess this up.” Gulp.

I thought about baseball and those little charts Boaz uses to keep score with during the game. I thought about watching golf on TV. I thought about split pea soup. I said something about how I loved Tali because she had a great sense of humor, makes me laugh, and has the best hugs ever. She smiled broadly at me and moved on.

I didn’t cry.

But the thing is, I didn’t say anything about how Tali is one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met. I didn’t mention the fact that when she was two and we took her to see the Pooh’s Heffalump Adventure, she sobbed inconsolably when Lumpy was separated from his mother, walked out of that movie and said, “There is nothing sadder than a movie where a kid can’t find his mommy,” and then proceeded to cry everytime she thought about it.

I didn’t say anything about the fact that Tali is capable of such incredibly silliness that she can make me forget that I’m a grown up. Her smile takes up her whole face and her freckles make you happy just by looking at them.

I didn’t say anything about how my sweet, gentle girl is a maniac on the soccer field and will throw herself into walls on an indoor court. She runs like a wild animal and when she’s concentrating on something, you forget she’s a child because her expression is so fierce.
And I didn’t mention that she is so sensitive that she already feels emotions so deep they make her physically sick to her stomach. But that she has the depth to understand that it is her
feelings making her feel a certain way.

When I was pregnant with her, I had some bad test results with my triple screen that implied that there were chances of her being born with some chromosomal abnormalities. I felt her first kicks on my way to the amnio and was devastated that it happened to be that I felt her on the day when I might learn so much about her future. Later that night, after the procedure while I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep and not think about the day, I felt her kick again. And I had such a strong feeling that she would be okay.

That is how I feel about Tali still. She is someone who will persevere and who will succeed. She is someone who can still look beautiful even while doing her infamous lizard nose (I’ve never seen a girl with such nose muscle control!!!). My Tali… I will listen to you and contain myself in singing your praises in public, but at least now I’ve had my say.

noah's chucks...

2010-05-12T00:31:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday...

mother's day--not just another hallmark holiday. or maybe it is...

2010-05-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Before I was ever a mom, and before I had any idea what being a mom is about, I had a friend with two small kids. It was her first year in Seattle (also, I think it was her last) and it was rainy and gloomy out and she called me and asked if I wanted to join her for some spa time.

"It's Mother's Day... Don't you want to spend it with your kids?" I asked. (Oh, the naivete...)

"We had a great morning together before naps. But, boy, you just wait."

I'd shrugged off that conversation then--it was during the years when I wanted to start my family and had idyllic romantic ideas about what being a parent entailed--and, at the time even wondered if her reaction was really normal. But every year on Mother's Day, I think about that conversation and Sarah and my different reactions, because it was so blatantly obvious that I had no real idea how complicated it was to be a mother.

I have just had the best Mother's Day I've ever had. And I think it's because finally, after 10 years of being a mother, I actually truly feel like a mother.

I know that sounds sort of bizarre, but this time I saw Mother's Day for what it could be worth. When I realized that nobody was making plans, I called my mother and along with my sister-in-law we made plans to go have have pedicures and drinks in the late afternoon and then meet up with the crew for takeout dinner afterwards.

The whole day was spent enjoying being a mother. I got my breakfast in bed. Twice. (Starting at 5:45am. Frozen Krusteez pancakes--I guess what goes around comes around.) I had amazingly adorable handmade cards delivered to me all day long. (Also starting at 5:45am.) I spent the day with the kids gardening, being silly, breaking up fights, kissing booboos, helping with homework and also engaged in some totally unfun disciplining. In short, it was a parenting day, but it was one where I remembered all day long how much I've always wanted to be a mother and how much I love being a mother to my kids.

And then at 5pm I got to sit in a chair next to my mom and Kate and sip a drink while someone else massaged my legs with hot oil and lotions. It was relaxing and lovely. And because the three of us are usually accompanied by six kids, it was a treat to actually be able to track each other's conversation. Kate even fell asleep in her chair while having her feet rubbed (ah, the joys of night nursing...) It was heavenly. The perfect mix of enjoying what you have and getting a break, as well.

Tonight I'm back to laundry and making mediocre lunches that will come back to me tomorrow night all smushed and uneaten. But anyone who says that Mother's Day is just another Hallmark holiday is... Well, they're probably right. But I'm certainly not complaining.

And the remodel begins...

2010-04-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, if we stopped now, we'd at least have another bathroom!

parenting techniques that work, but that you shouldn't be completely proud of...

2010-04-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

This is the first of a series of parenting posts I am working on about techniques that work, but that you should really keep under wraps because they really don't project that all together parenting image you're probably going for.

And because I am over-worked, over-committed and a crappy blogger, I'm spreading this series out for as long as I can.

The Fake Phonecall.

This is a act of desperation. It basically involves picking up the phone in front of a screaming, tantruming, and otherwise totally hysterical small child and faking a call that will instill the fear of all that is holy in her (Does that last sentence make sense? I'm thinking not but moving on...)

For example:

Me: If you don't take a nap, you won't be able to come with the entire family to dinner at your best friend in the whole wide world's house.

Small Hysterical Child (SHC): (whilst rubbing eyes) I don't care. I'm not tired...

Me: Okay, then I will need to find a babysitter. [Pick up phone, dial fake number, and then hang up]

SHC: Noooooo! [pause] Okay, I don't want to go.

Me: Ignoring SHC and pretending, like the ridiculous loser that I am at times, to talk on the phone. To the dial tone.

"Hi [insert most hated babysitter's name here], Is there any possibility that you're free tonight?"

[SHC stops crying and perks up to listen to phone conversation]

"Oh great! There is? That's awesome. Because SHC had a very late night last night and won't nap today, and there's pretty much no way she's going to be able to make it through dinner at her best friend's house tonight."

SHC: Yes, I will!

Me: "Okay... Uh huh.... Mmmmm hhhhmmmm.... Yeah... Great! So you'll be over at 5 o'clock?"

SHC: Noooooo! I'll nap, I'll nap!

Me: "Okay, great. See you then. And wait, if by some chance she falls asleep and naps, I'll give you a call. Bye!"

SHC: I'm actually sleepy, Mommy. Will you pat me?

Me: Happily, baby...
-------------------
NOTE: Be sure to really hang up the phone. That off the ringer beeping is sure to give your plot away, if not to the SHC, definitely to her older siblings who have wisened up to you by now.

somebody left her trike outside...

2010-03-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

why there is pride in choking it...

2010-03-25T00:07:00.000-07:00

Juliet came to my twitty rescue when I tweeted about neglecting my blog and I couldn't be more thrilled and grateful. She's a wonderful and thoughtful writer and you should definitely be checking out her blogs: The 40 Year Old Bat Mitzvah Self & Thanksgiving Feast.

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

Our seven year old, Eva, choked at her violin recital. I could not have been happier.

Eva is one of those people for whom things come easily. She knows all the spelling words before the teacher hands out the list. She memorized times tables without having to use flashcards.

Along came violin. It has rocked her world.

Violin is hard. There’s no two ways about it. I don’t think I fully appreciated how technically difficult an instrument it is before Eva began lessons. There are no “cheats” in violin. Her teacher embraces nerdy violin humor, Star Wars quotes, and a no-shortcuts approach.

In short, violin challenges Eva daily. It pushes her into what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes as the optimum autotelic experience: the golden flow zone where the levels of both challenge and skill are high.

When you challenge yourself, you are bound to fall down some of the time.

As I stood in the corner of Library Room B, videotaping Eva playing one of the eleventy seven versions of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star that Suzuki children learn, my heart sunk a little for her as she stumbled, tried to recover, stumbled again, then stopped.

“Whatever you do, just keep on going.” It’s the golden rule of all performances and recitals. Nothing is worse than that embarrassed, awkward silence: the throats clearing, the programs rustling, while the child’s cheeks grow redder and hotter.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but in reality was only a few seconds, Eva signaled to the accompanist and played the last few notes.

She was as poised as a disappointed seven year old could be, and she’ll be even more poised next time it happens. There will be a next time because her teacher, in his infinite wisdom, sets a high bar. I hire him to do it because as her parent, I don’t always have the heart to watch her fail, even when I know she learns way more from recovering from mistakes than she does from cruising along on autopilot.

It took her a month to finally feel ready to watch the video to analyze what she did wrong. And there were a few tears as we ate our celebratory frozen yogurts that afternoon. But I think she really believed us when we told her we could not have been more proud.

Got a super successful, bright child? I recommend setting high standards in a safe environment, and letting her choke now and then. It’s the ultimate growth experience.

------------
Juliet also tweets at @batmitzvahat40.

can you tell we're in need of a little vitamin d over here?

2010-03-24T22:03:00.001-07:00

wordless wednesday

neti pots and oms... you're probably thinking i'm going all new age on you

2010-03-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

Now that's I've successfully caught my 20 billionth cold of the year, I finally took the advice of a good friend and purchased a Neti pot.

For those of you not in nasal health know, a neti pot is a vessel designed to irrigate your nasal passage. Basically, you pour warm salt water up one nostril while you hold your head sideways and keep doing it until the liquid flows out the lower nostril. Then you repeat on the other side. It's supposed to totally clean you out. And apparently (as it says on the neti pot box) it's an ancient yogi practice that helps cleanse your energy channels and balances the right and left hemispheres (of what? yourself?) to "create radiant, energetic health and wellness."

All of that sounds good to me because I was really thinking I'd just pop a few Sudafed and cover up the symptoms until they went away. But you know, a natural yogic way to get better seemed like a good thing. And you know how good I am about my yogic Oms...

So I went to the supermarket natural healthcare section (because this is Seattle, afterall...), and I picked myself out a neti. I'm thinking what sold me was this picture:

I mean, if you can smile while spouting water through your nostrils, it must be a pretty good product. She looks happy and relaxed. She looks like her nose isn't totally stuffed up.

And being that I'm all about the aesthetics of things (some call that superficial, but I'd beg to differ), I was pleased to see that my neti pot was sort of cute, too. The white ceramic design matches my dishes, though that did make me worry that someone might accidentally mistake it for a creamer.

Unfortunately, B was pretty quick to point out the phallic nature of its look and design, and um, it sort of seemed a little less like a good idea to stick that up my nose.

Nevertheless, I'm about to go on a cross-country ski trip on Friday that involves hiking four miles up to a cabin in the snow with a three year old tethered to my waist in a pulk. This means that:

1.) If I'm willing to do that, I may be crazy enough to stick a phallic shaped teapot up my nose.

and/or

2.) If I'm willing to do that, I'd better try anything to get as healthy as possible by Friday.

Luckily, next to the natural healthcare section there is a very UNnatural healthcare section, which is where I picked up some Halls cough drops and that familiar and comforting red and white box of Sudafed.

I don't think I'm quite ready for the Neti. And I really could use a new creamer...

my shattered attention span and why i fake my oms...

2010-03-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

Recently I was having a discussion with a colleague about how audiences now ingest media so much differently than they did when we were kids (we used to have to walk six miles in the snow in order to get to the Macintosh with dial-up...). We talked about the obvious differences, including form factor due to technology advances, but the most drastic difference seemed to be in the ability or need we have to multi-digest so many different inputs at the same time.

We used to complain when the person holding the remote while watching television flipped through the channels endlessly, unable to commit to one show. And with so many channels available on cable, it really was hard to stay satisfiedwhen who knew what possibilities were awaiting on the mulititude of other channels.

But now, with multiple windows, TiVO, TV programming online, as well as a number of other options, you don't need to flip through channels. You can have everything at once.

Because there is so much to see, it's hard to know where to direct attention to. Our attention spans aren't just short, they're shattered into tiny multi-dimensions. Which is where the problem starts...

How many windows are open on your computer right now? At any given time, I have about the 15-25 open on my machine.

There is a mess of Sticky Notes on my desktop that pop up at me when I logon. I can't make dinner without doing at least one or two other things, and the same goes with talking on the phone. And driving? Well, it's even hard to just drive these days. Even with a hands-free device, I find myself constantly tempted to check mail on my phone while stuck in traffic, eat breakfast, lunch or dinner , depending on the time of day, and catch the news on NPR. And obviously, this is also where we have heavy talks with our kids or overhear what's going on in their lives.

A basic requirement of most jobs is to be able to juggle multiple deadlines, of which I always have multiples of, along with multiple email threads, meetings, projects and stakeholders. There are times when I have so much going on in a single moment that sometimes I find myself switching back and forth until I remember to stop and do one thing at a time.

Then there is the whole work/life balance thing and managing multiple schedules, activities, and responsibilities for a family of five. Granted, I'm not doing a perfect job, but everyone goes to bed at night clean, alive and fed. (Managing expectations is a also good thing.)

Meanwhile, kids and adults in record numbers are being diagnosed with attention deficit disorders. Is it a coincidence when we're trying to stuff as much as humanely possible into a single minute? There could be any number of causes. I'm not blaming the epidemic on technology, but it does make you think for a second about what could happen if we slowed down a bit.

I've begun going to yoga again and as a result, have begun to understand that concentrating on being in the present is extremely and painfully difficult for me. During the class, I struggle with trying not to do more than one thing at a time, or cycling through my massive to-do list. And it takes all my will to be mature enough to get through the chanting of the Oms without giggling. Especially when some of the yogis in class start harmonizing their chants.

But every once in a while, after I am able to actually concentrate on the moment, I find that
the results are exponentially beneficial. I feel focused and even more productive. And it feels good enough that I've begun trying to incorporate that practice at different moments in the day. And this actually takes some effort. Especially when you consider that this post has taken me a week to write because even in the last hour, I've been interrupted numerous times to explain why forks don't feel good up your nose. (Seriously, I just work here...)

After working so hard to speed up, it's even harder to slow down. And how amazing that the longer term perspective and a single focus is even more productive. Maybe I'll even get to a point where I'll be able to not fake an Om.

Or maybe not.

another way my kids amuse themselves in the car (besides talking about the birds & bees) and why i love the PhotoFunia app...

2010-03-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday...

overheard from the backseat: more birds & bees...

2010-03-02T14:44:00.001-08:00

Tali: Hey Daddy, I got an inappropriate question for you.

Boaz: Um, Okay...

T: I get how you and Mommy made Samuel.

B: You do? Wait. You do?

T: Yes, and I get how you made me because Samuel was still little. But when did you guys make Naomi without us knowing about it?

B: Um, well...

T: Ohhhhhh, I get it! THAT'S why we go to school!

some things just should not have to be explained...

2010-02-24T15:09:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday

we'll miss you, fred z...

2010-02-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

I'm back in the air, flying down to Los Angeles to see my family and say goodbye to my Uncle Fred, who died last week. It was only a year ago that I flew down to say goodbye to my Aunt Liz. Though this time, the news was totally unexpected and it just doesn't feel right to keep having these family reunions for funerals. It feels a little empty knowing he won't be there with his constant smile and snarky remarks, and I wonder if this is just how it is as you get older and see how family dynamics and shape changes and evolves.

Last night I was trying to come up with some memories and I was talking with the kids about Fred. I told them the exciting stuff--how he worked in Hollywood on special effects and that as a kid, it was a thrill to see his name on the credits of movies I loved. That he'd worked with movie stars and had signed photos of them in his house. But mostly my memories aren't all that exciting to turn into stories for the kids. How do you explain the comforting humor in knowing that after a big holiday meal, Uncle Fred would sprawl out on the living room floor and take a nap? Or that it was inevitable at every family seder at his house, he'd hide the afikomen behind the huge Mickey Mouse clock? I remember his hugs were so strong they hurt and that his relationship with my dad, his brother, was one that I admired.

And then the bright side of seeing family unexpectedly.

Already I've connected with all five of my siblings and two of my cousins and I'm still in air. (BTW, I am totally loving the GoGo Inflight Internet Access). I saw some Hawaiian floral and fauna (Does a squishy niece count as fauna? I'm saying yes.) talking to my brother Dan in Kauai, and a coupla tan little nephews. And then loaded up my Google camera for a chat with David. Ahhh, the Interwebs are so cool. And they've absolutely helped me deal with the incessant and nauseating babytalk and macking the couple next to me has been practicing throughout this whole flight.

We've come a long way from Uncle Fred's cool Pachinko machine we played non-stop at his house. Somehow things don't feel all that different, though...

We'll miss you Uncle Fred...

the ashkenazy collective tomorrow @ egan's jam house in ballard...

2010-02-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

If you don't have plans tomorrow night, you should definitely head out to Egan's Jam House in Ballard @7pm to see The Ashkenazy Collective, the New York-based band to see.* Along with their own original compositions, they also play jazz standards and folk music from around the world, including Yiddish melodies and themes from Spain, Israel, Mexico and China. It should be a good time.

Oh, and bring your kids. We are...

*They're also bunking at our house, so we're pretty objective here.

retro-noem and fun with the iPhone Polarize app...

2010-02-17T07:59:00.001-08:00

wordless wednesday

in memory of the wheat allergy...

2010-02-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, so remember Tali's wheat allergy?
You know, the one that cured her chronic stomach aches? The one that forced her to happily eat bread made out of tapioca and macaroni and cheese made from rice noodles? The one that made grocery shopping a sort of scavenger hunt type experience where I had to carefully read labels and get all creative about new dinner recipes? Remember how we've had sushi for dinner at least six times in the last three weeks because besides nachos, it's the only meal that all of us will eat (and it's slightly less of a heart killer than said nachos).

Oh, and remember how it was all worth it because Tali's chronic stomach aches finally ended? She went weeks without mentioning belly aches at school and everyone, including her, felt relieved because we'd solved the problem.

And remember how the only bad part of the whole diagnosis was the EXTREME parental guilt because for this whole time I'd thought it was all in her head--that it was emotional--and that we had to teach her how to deal with her feelings. But in the end, it turned out it was an allergy and I had to feel like a totally neglectful parent for not. even. noticing. that. it. could. be. an. ALLLERGY????

Well, that was then and um, this is now.
Apparently, she's sort of over being celiac.

I took Tali to the doctor's last week to talk to her about nutrition and getting tested for celiac. But the funny ha ha thing is that when you don't eat wheat for a month, you can't get tested for celiac because you don't have it in your system! Yeah... Smart mom, huh?

Doctor M. asks Tali about her symptoms and nodded when Tali said definitively, "I feel so much better. It must be the wheat." And I nodded proudly, knowing that we'd solved all of our daughter's problems.

"Well, sometimes you can get over a wheat allergy," Dr. M. tells us.
"Really?" I ask. "That'd be nice. That tapioca bread is awful."
"Maybe you should start testing out little bits of wheat..." she says, giving me a funny look.
"Wow, really?" I ask. "It's barely been a month."

But when Tali runs out to the bathroom, the doctor says to me, "Give the girl some wheat and don't tell her you're doing it. I'm not sure by her symptoms that's what's going on."

I nod and say okay, but inside I'm thinking, "Nope, no way, uh uh. You are WRONG, Dr. M."

The next morning, I sleep late and when I wake up, Boaz is making pancakes for the kids. They smell delicious and look pretty normal.

"Look at these wheat-free pancakes Daddy made me," Tali says proudly. I taste one and it's really good. And really not wheat-free.

"Her stomach ache is yours today, Buddy," I whisper to him.

But the thing is, she never gets that stomach ache. That night he gives her noodles and tells her it's okay to eat them. Again, no problem. And then yesterday she eats a burrito.

"Is the flour tortilla bad for me?" She asks. And then before I can tell her that it's probably okay, she says confidently "I'm just going to eat it. I need to start working wheat back into my diet."

She ate wheat all day today. And when I came home from work, I asked her how she felt and
she said fine. "My wheat vacation did it for me," she said proudly. And then she went to bed without a stomach ache. "Dr. M. is really smart."

Huh. Okay... So that's it? I'm bracing for what's coming next.

In the meantime, I've got a whole arsenal of wheat-free goodies. Anyone want some donuts made from tapioca?

sorry, facebook... i'm a twit now.

2010-02-09T10:36:00.001-08:00

Dear FB,

It's happened. I've found someone else.

It took awhile, I'll admit. For a long time I withstood the pressure to fall madly in love with Twitter. I did set up an account a long while back, but after a few quiet chirpy little tweets, I decided that I did not need another addiction (really?). I held the position that Twitter basically mimicked the worst part of Facebook--constant mindless updates that I'm not saying I don't participate in, but I didn't really need another outlet to promote my evening status trifecta of weather, drink, and exercise. And I sounded just like my parents. I don't get that Twitter thingymabob.

I couldn't hold out for long, though.
I tried again using TweetDeck and the heavens parted and I totally understood.

Twitter is not a stunted Facebook. I'm not looking for anyone on there (because I've basically already found everyone I've ever known on FB) and I don't feel social obligations to friend people and keep them as friends even when I'm not really interested in their status updates. (I feel comfortable saying that because the people I'm referring to would not be reading this.) And while there is some networking going on, it's mostly about transferring information. I've found the coolest sites and people on Twitter. Where else can I follow @davidlynch, @aplusk, @jesus_m_christ and @princessmikkimo on the same feed? Plus, through retweeting, I've found amazing resources for social and digital marketing sites. And don't even get me started about the marketing opportunities being tapped into for businesses... You don't just have to be a "Fan"--you can view the personality behind a company and get notified of deals and offers.

And the best thing is that my social media short attention span is placated with short, clever tweets that just say what they need to say. No more wasted hours.

I'm sorry that I rarely come around anymore, Facebook. It's true, I still enjoy Bejewelled and Farmville (Damn you, Farmville, for tempting me with your inane and pinhead simple click-farming. But you played on my competitive spirit and I couldn't let my 9 year old beat me without a fight.). But Facebook, I'm just finding that I need my social media to be smarter. And you're so in my face all the time. Plus, I feel like you take advantage of me sometimes. You do not need to go into my privacy settings all the time and then "accidentally" sign me up for things like "Fan of K-Y Jelly" that nobody comments on because um, they really don't quite know what to say.

I'd say that it wasn't you, it was me, but that's actually not true. It's really you.
I'll come by and check that my crops don't wither, and play the odd game of Bejewelled, but I can't waste time on you anymore.

I'm through,
Amy

fave sites of 2009...

2010-01-29T08:21:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know 2010 has been around for about a month now, but I'm a little behind. And so now a little late, my fave sites of 2009:

10. Mashable -- It's not news that this a great social media information site. Still, it's one of my faves so it's on the list. So there.

9. Gilt Groupe -- I am admitting to you all that I do have snobby tastes, but this site is so fun because often the cutest things offered fit my budget! Seriously you guys, I got an Orla Kiely bag for $49 and that makes me almost able to forgive them for the foofy 'e' at the end of their name! Oh, and if you sign up, tell them I sent you with this link (http://www.giltfuse.com/invite/amyash) so that I get the referral bonus and then can buy more bags. Super fast shipping, too, so it's almost instant gratification, which is the best kind.

8. Tweetdeck -- All my social networking and information lists in one spot. Handy!

7. Chemobabe -- My incredibly lovely and totally geeky birthday twin, Lani, launched this site a couple of months ago and she's totally inspirational and incredible, besides being an amazing writer, mathematical genius and mother of three. Also, the site is keeping her from launching any more Facebook Gift Apps. (Though, she's now the Mayor of everything on FourSquare)

6. Cake Wrecks -- The utter stupidity combined with snarkiness never fails to crack me up. Hee hee...

5. Mayo Clinic -- Okay, I know this one looks weird on this site, but hey... I am a mom. I also am a bit of a control freak and so I find this site useful when I'm getting my facts right for a doctor's visit. Also, they have a great symptom checker tool but if you're a total hypochondriac, I suggest you maintain some serious distance from it. But they also have cool pictures, like this one of your small intestine.

4. Laughing Squid -- It's random. Enough said.

3. Unhappy Hipsters -- It's sort of the Cake Wrecks of Modern Architecture. Photography shots. Think Dwell spreads with a bitchy narrator. It's nice to see that not everyone takes hipsterism so seriously...

2. Kidelity -- This beta site is a financial management system for you and your kids to manage their allowances. It basically works as an online banking system for the Bank of Mom/Dad, but it does help you and your kids keep track of what they may actually be doing to earn allowance, helps them learn the power of saving, and ends the argument about how many weeks in a row you've forgotten to give them their allowance.

1. Etsy -- Again, most of you know about Etsy, but seriously, if I was to plan on wasting a lot of time online (as opposed to not planning on it), Etsy is a place I'd waste some valuable time. Besides being a cool site where you can find beautiful and original handmade gifts, home decor, jewelry, clothing, etc., it makes you want to go out and make stuff. Or maybe it makes you just buy their stuff and say you made it. Either way, super cool site.

small frye... this is when you know her momma is dressing her...

2010-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday

1,000 cranes for josh...

2010-01-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when someone you love is going through a hard time, it's hard to know what to do to help cheer them up.

But over the last three weeks, many of Josh's friends and family came out to fold origami cranes to fulfill the Japanese tradition of giving him 1,000 cranes to make a wish on.

It was an amazing experience to meet all of these people connected to our friend Josh and to see them all come out for the same reason--to send him our love and good wishes.

Plus, it was fun to see who had the skills and who were very good at fold origami turkeys. (I'm in the turkey club.)

Thank you to everyone who came out and folded, and also to those of you who mailed in and dropped off cranes. The result was spectacular and I think Josh really appreciated them.

what's to eat without wheat?

2010-01-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

So, if you know Tali, you know that she frequently suffers from stomach aches. This has been going on for years now and though we've been to the doctor a number of times, nothing ever comes up in her tests.

So for awhile now, we've attributed it to nerves.
Which frankly seems a bit like a cop-out. It's true, she doesn't like loud places with lots of people (oh wait, can you say school?) and she is a total slave to schedule, which is something I'm um not that much a slave to. Nor is her dad.

Last summer the poor kid carried around a plastic bag, even to Disneyland, for fear of throwing up. And though she only did once (and I'm 99.9% certain that was carsickness), I think she actually likes to drive her brother crazy by embarrassing him with the bag. And also, it does make a mighty nice windsock when you're riding a bike.

But this has been going on forever. I'd thought that if it were a transitional thing, we'd be transitioned by now. We've tried giving up lactose and dairy, and that helped a bit.

But now we're giving up wheat.
Which is a problem. Because that is sort of what kids eat.
Tali is up for it because the pain is real enough. But she doesn't like meat and well, she loves her some carbs.

Anybody have some experience in with the wheat free world out there? Recipes? Web sites? Insights?

When I announced last night that we were going to try this, Tali nodded and then laughed.

"Oh great. Now Mommy is going to have to learn to cook again. Maybe we should just keep going out for sushi."

Sigh... So much confidence. (Help? Anyone?)

kitchen music

2010-01-20T15:29:00.001-08:00

wordless wednesday

I'm here... Really...

2010-01-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

I know I have a bad track record of disappearing from my blog every once in a while. And okay, I've never really been good at maintaining an everyday posting kind of thing even though I'd like to. But you know that you've let things slide when you're advertisers send you messages that say "We miss you!"

And the funny thing is that usually when I'm super busy, I am at my happiest, but somehow I'm so full of things to do that um, some things aren't getting done. Sorry, blog.

So while I get my act together and finish up this campaign I'm working on for my day job (the one that actually pays me), check out the Suncadia article I wrote for the Examiner and see how happy my children were to visit there.

best wishes for 2010...

2009-12-30T01:38:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday!

things i've learned (or confirmed) in 2009...

2009-12-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

And the end of the year lists have begun...

Whisky is a very good thing for a parent--Evan is your friend.
Moderation is actually a good thing, too.
Reverse psychology works on tweens AND preschoolers. Not so much on six year olds.
Kids can actually get sick of mac and cheese.
They can get sick of noodles, too.
No matter how far you're running, the last mile is painful.
Even though self-brow waxing seems like an amazing time and money saving deal, um, it's not worth it. Same goes for any other kind of waxing.
Same goes for haircuts.
Costco is not a money saving venture for this family of five, especially since I spend as much on impulse buys as I do on groceries there.
AmazonFresh is my new best friend. When the delivery person comes to the door, it's all I can do to keep from squealing in delight that I got out of going to the grocery store. (Did you know they can do same day delivery, or if you order at 10pm they'll have your groceries on the doorstep by the time you wake up??? Oh, and that they will deliver Nobilo AND kosher chicken? Seriously...)

what i did on my holiday break...

2009-12-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday

what's in a name?

2009-12-21T22:09:00.000-08:00

Last week, Naomi decided to change her name. I thought it was cute, as it is everytime she says something that surprises me a little.

"What are you going to change your name to?" I asked.

"Gabrielle. Or Gabriella," she says seriously. "I will answer to both of them."

"Oh," I say. I think of all the Gabrielles and Gabriellas I know and try to wonder who might have recently made an impact on Naomi. I'd really thought that we'd have until at least six years old before she protested her name. "Gabrielle is a nice name," I tell her, "but I really love Naomi. That's why I chose it for you."

"I don't like Naomi or Noemi. There's already another Naomi in my class. I want to be Gabrielle."

"Okay, Noems..."

"No! Mommy! My name is Gabrielle," she says adamantly.

"Okay, okay..."

So this afternoon when I pick her up from daycare, she runs up to hug me and I say, "Hi Baby, how're you doing, Noemi?"

"Mommy! That's not my name!"

At this point her teacher chimes in, "She changed her name to Gabrielle. She's been calling herself that all week."

I can't help but feel a little rejected since I'd spent so much time pouring over the name books and thinking about her name. I love her name. And Gabrielle is a really nice name. But it's not the one I chose. I thought she'd forget about it by now.

Any bets on how long this will last while I take consolation in the fact that at least my three year old is persistent?

a real american girl!

2009-12-16T15:28:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday

three year olds are incredibly responsible...

2009-12-10T00:18:00.000-08:00

Last night Naomi stealthily snuck into our bed in the middle of the night, sneaking in between us and snuggling in quietly. I didn't even notice her until I woke up early (to make the lunches I'd put off making the night before) and punched down the snooze button.

"Momma, don't get up," she whispered when I started crawling out of bed.

"It's okay, Noems," I told her. "I'm just going to start the coffee and I'll be right back. Save my spot."

"Okay, I'll do that," she said. Naomi loves a good job.

So I ran downstairs to start the coffee and then hurried back up to our warm bed where Naomi was splayed out snow angel style and taking up as much room as possible.

"Noems, scoot over. You've got the entire bed," I tell her. I think I was probably whining.

"Mommy," she says as she moved over, "I was saving your spot and I think I did a pretty good job. You could say thank you."

It's good to have a stickler for details in our family. We need one.

sisters...

2009-12-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday

lego forgets half of their marketing audience...

2009-12-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

My office is in an amazing location.

Not only are there spectacular views of the Puget Sound and Mt. Ranier from the 28th floor where I work, but it’s a fairly close commute and BlueC Sushi is across the street and half a block away.

Sam and Tali have never been to my work, but they also think it is the perfect location. Not because of the views, or even because of the sushi, but because the Lego Store is a stone’s throw from my desk. And that makes my little vendor desk some truly prime real estate for the grade school set.

So the other day after work, I ventured over to Lego central to shop for some Chanuka presents. The kids are all in love with Lego and though we have a massive tub of them that they dig through practically everyday, what they really love are the people.

But these Lego people pose a serious problem in our household. There are very few girl Lego mini figures, and those that we have are not heroines, but sidekicks or enemies to Indiana Jones, Spiderman, Batman, or Anakin. Sure, there’s Princess Leia, but she’s wearing her Jabba the Hutt slave girl outfit which is not acceptable to my daughters. (“Why does she always wear her bading suit, Momma?”) And true, Padme must be around somewhere, but I think she’s hiding in an $80 set somewhere. And who are we kidding? Ahem... sidekick.

So I went to the Lego store. It’s an amazing place. Cool brick buildings everywhere, a huge Lego carousel that my kids would ADORE if it didn’t cost so much and was for ages 16+. They have a whole wall of spare bricks for those pieces you’ve lost over the years (does anyone actually rebuild according to directions after they’ve accomplished them once?), and bricks in different colors in case you prefer to build in pinks and turquoises.

They have Knights and Kingdom sets, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Agents, some Miner things and a whole flux of underwater beasts and robots and battle things, as well as firetrucks, garbage trucks, police stations and cranes for their city sets.

“Where are the girl Legos?” I asked the sales guy.

“Girl Legos?” He paused. “Well, we have the Belville sets,” and he directed me over to the pink section filled with tiny Polly Pocket type dolls and horses. The sets are not made of bricks, or at least not very many, and the sets are in large pieces that can be put together quickly.

A few years ago, we bought a set for Tali. We were thrilled to have some girl Legos FINALLY. And you know what? She hated them. The dolls were sort of strange looking and it wasn’t fun to build when the pieces were so big and easy. Total disappointment. They now live at the bottom of the toybox in toy purgatory--not quite dolls and not quite Lego. And even now, there aren’t any new sets. Just the same horse stable stuff.

“What else?” I asked.

“Um…This little camper set has a girl in it?” It was cute, but tiny. And the girl was an obvious sidekick. I think she was holding the picnic basket while the guy minifigure got the surfboard.

“That’s it?”

“Well, there’s that pink box of bricks over there. And girls can play with the other stuff. They have some girls in the Indiana Jones sets. His girlfriends and stuff.”

I was getting nowhere. Even the minifigure bin had only male figures.

So I walked out of there with a set for Sam and nothing for the girls. Lego is missing a huge consumer sector out there. Their homepage, newsletters, and online clubs are all geared toward boys.

Hey Lego, I've got some news for you. Girls like online clubs and newsletters! In fact, I can see that you know that pre-tween demographic is a huge consumer marketing base since you've done an amazing job engaging my son in newsletters, online games and clubs, and catalogues that double as magazines. They play Wii and DS games, too, and they don't even require pink accessories for them.

Did you know that 50% of that age range are girls?

Oh, and girls like bricks and can handle a lot of them, too. Also, sometimes, they like to be the star and not the sidekick.

And I thought for sure by now you’d understand that boys aren’t the only kids who like to build things.

let the festivities begin...

2009-12-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

With only 9 more days until Chanuka, I've finally started my holiday shopping. I know, I know... Chanuka isn't supposed to be a big commercial retail fest. But try telling that to my kids who, despite going to a Jewish school, are fully and completely immersed in American culture. At least Sam and Tali are. Tonight, Naomi noticed all of the xmas lights for the first time and I forget that at her age, she's sort of like an amnesiac.

"Mommy!" She squeals as we were driving home tonight. "That house put up all those lights outside. Why did they put those up?"

"Those are xmas lights, Noems. That family celebrates xmas, " I tell her.

"Oh," she says, and then points to another house with lights. "Mommy! They have lights, too! And so does that house! When are we going to put up lights?"

"Sweetie, we don't put up lights. We're Jewish. We celebrate Chanuka."

"So we're not having xmas this year?" she asks.

"We don't celebrate xmas. But it's fun to look at the lights, don't you think?"

"I like the lights," she says, then pauses. "Are you sure we don't have a little xmas in our blood?"

"Yep," I say. "I'm sure."

"That's too bad," she says. "I really wanted some new scissors."

"Guess what?" I tell her. "I have good news for you. You don't need xmas to get new scissors!"

"REALLY?!!" If she weren't locked into her carseat, she'd be out of her seat. "Wow," she says. "I'm going to get new scissors!"

I hope it's always this easy, but I've got a pretty good feeling it's as easy now as it'll ever get...

asher has the one-up on his parents...

2009-12-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

wordless wednesday

braine power--who needs new math?

2009-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

wordless+wednesday...

it's been a long time...

2009-11-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

Princess Mikkimoto: Remember when you used to blog?

Amy: I did that?

PM: Yeah, you did. That was fun.

Amy: Yeah, those were the days... Working is really ruining my schedule.

......................................
Dear More...,

I haven't totally forgotten you and abandoned you. It just feels like that. I think of you often, though. And then, well, I am having trouble really getting down to writing anything.

I've started working again on a project I'm really enjoying, and am now working full-time, which feels amazing while I'm actually working. But when I get home to the dishes and after-school activities and the homework and the laundry (oh lord, the laundry), and the lunches (and you know how successful I am with those--just ask Tali's teacher), well, something's gotta give and lately it's been you. Hey, don't feel too bad... My Bejewelled score is suffering terribly, too. And you know, I've got this half marathon next Sunday, and um, it's been awhile since I've run 13.1 miles. Like, since last summer.

But after a month, I feel like I'm getting the hang of things. I love being back on a project and how productive it makes me feel. I love the challenges and the opportunities to find creative new ways to do things, and I'm really enjoying thinking about marketing and how people use, love, and hate it.

It's good to be back at work and it's so good to know it.

Apparently Tali was so excited when I started back that she shared me for sharing at school Nevermind that when asked what I did, she had to pause and then say "She answers phones or something..." She was excited for me and to see her understand how much working means to me absolves a lot of that working mom guilt. Not all, but a lot of it.

So I haven't forgotten you, Blog... Now that we're all getting used to my schedule, I'm recommitting to the things that I've had to drop in the last month. Be patient. And though I can't promise that the laundry mountains are getting smaller, I think I saw the icecaps at the top melting just a bit.

Talk to you soon,

Amy

portrait of a seattle princess in fleece and boots...

2009-11-18T10:39:00.001-08:00

wordless wednesday

scary, not cute...

2009-11-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

Contrary to their grim faces in this pic (can't you tell they're looking scary?), Sam and Tali had a great Halloween. Because Naomi was sick, we had to cancel dinner at our house, but the bigs trick or treated with neighbors and friends they met up with in the street, went over and trick or treated with friends, and just as we were about to call it an evening, more friends came over and Sam and Boaz went with them to go check out a haunted house down the street. Even the rain didn't put a damper on the festivities.

And even Naomi had a great time. She dressed up in her costume, and we took her outside for a few minutes to greet our neighbors (from distance! :) And when one of Tali's friends knew exactly what she was dressed up as (a Cheetah Ballerina Kitty), Naomi beamed.

And the thing about Halloween is that it really is an awesome community evening. There are very few other times when you can walk outside and greet your neighbors and all walk around together, without even planning it. I loved seeing all the kids dressed up and excited to see each other's costumes and giving visiting neighborhood kids tips about which houses give the best candy. We all belong to a lot of different "communities" but it's so nice to feel apart of our actual neighborhood, too.

It was also really interesting to see the evolution of costumes over the years. Sam insisted on being as scary looking as possible, and I think Naomi's screaming until she realized it was him confirmed his success. And while Tali wasn't quite ready to give up the princessy thing, she conceded with her own creation of Vampire Fairy. And by the end of the evening, she was just a plain vampire. It worked for her.

Though, I'm not sure any holiday is really a good excuse for culinary experiment of Veggie Jacko Burgers. Hmmm...

-------------------------
I also wanted to share with you a great promotion from Motionbox and Shutterfuly to help you share your Halloween pics and videos.

From now until November 8th, you can get up to 60 free 4x6 prints just for posting and sharing a video on their site. Motionbox seems like an easy way to share videos online and their editing features look like a fun and easy way to play around with your videos. Let me know how it goes if you try them out!

it's official...

2009-10-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

I no longer know more than my kid. I can no longer help him with his Hebrew homework.

Hebrew math in Rashi script???

Um, good thing I have Google to answer questions like why the sky is blue...

what a city girl puts at the top of her wish list (or why kids shouldn't be admitted to costco during the holiday season...)

2009-10-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

kids these days, or how i prove how old and out of it i am...

2009-10-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

After school today I took the kids to our friendly neighborhood Target to peruse the Halloween stock. We checked out the costumes, the candy (did you know that Hershey Kisses now come in Pumpkin Spice? Is that truly necessary?), and of course, the Halloween makeup where you can make disgusting scars and disfigurations that my kids are totally obsessed with. No longer fascinated with Star Wars or fairies, the kids like the scary and disgusting. And nobody could be bothered to check out the cute animal costumes.

"Not even Noemi would like those," Tali sighed, rolling her eyes and giving her shoulders a little pre-tween shake.

After we'd looked at everything, we headed to the groceries (OMG, Target now has groceries??? Do I need another excuse to head over there?) because once again we are out of milk.

"Hey, Mom! I'll bet they have stickers!" Sam suddenly yells.

"Um, sure," I say, heading toward the coolers. "Why do you want stickers?" I ask. "For your locker?"

"Noooooo!" he says totally insulted. "Why would I want stickers?!"

"I don't know," I say. "That's why I'm asking?"

"No, Mom," he says slowly and carefully, as if he's talking to someone who needs some special help (like his mom?). "Stickerz! You eat them, but you can also use them as stickers! For your face!"

"Those are so cool!," Tali chimes in. "I love those! They stick!"

"Wait," I say, "You eat them and then put the fruit snacks on your face? Why would you do that?"

"No, really," he says. "They're cool."

"Don't you usually try to avoid food on your face?" I ask.

But nobody answers me because they've found the Stickerz and hallelujah, they're on sale for .87 a box (um, that somehow did NOT surprise me that the store seems to be trying to close them out), but I score major points by splurging on two boxes.

In the car, they squeal as they each rip open a package and promptly lick their fruitsnacks and apply them to their faces like large, juicy star-shaped pimples.

"We are so cool..." Tali sighs.

sukkahs are for sukkot, not camping...

2009-10-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: So I know it's Wordless Wednesday, but because this whole week has been wordless, I felt like I needed to actually put some words down.)

That said, we've been celebrating Sukkot this week and since this is the first year for as long as I can remember where it actually did not rain during the holiday, we've actually been eating in our Sukkah. And not only that, but we've been hanging out in it and even reading bedtime stories in it, though nobody is willing to really sleep in it.

"Wow," I found myself saying last night. "This is so nice. We've never gotten to enjoy it so much."

"Not true, Mama," said Tali with a smirk on her face. "Sometimes we use our sukkah twice a year. And it didn't even rain when we took it camping!"

Apparently, I will never, ever, ever live that down. The giggling (or cackling) started Naomi in on a spontaneous improv song and dance she called "Luckiest Sukkah."

"Do you even remember that I accidentally took the sukkah camping?" I asked her.

"Nope," she said happily. "But don't you like my song?"

eva loves a good bowl...

2009-09-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday...

just call me the meanest mom in the world...

2009-09-22T08:31:00.001-07:00

We've been working on structure and organization in our house.
It's part of getting into the rhythm of the school year, but also to get the kids into taking responsibility for getting ready in the mornings and getting their things together.

And for B and me, too, this has been an undertaking. Making sure keys, wallets, and communication is in the right spot, grocery lists are filled out, and that lunches are made.

In my unemployed state, I've gone completely OCD.

I've put a significant amount of time into this project. I talked with Sam's teacher and that unlike last year, this year I would not be driving forgotten schoolwork or books to school. I sat with the kids and made checklists for the mornings and evenings, and together we even decorated them with their fave characters.

We go over the reasons why it's important for them to take charge of their own things, and to take care of their schoolwork and belongings.

But week three of school has been our undoing.

Yesterday, Sam forgot his glasses at home and called me from the office at school.

"Mom, can you bring me my glasses?" He asks nonchalantly.

"Seriously, Samuel," I start. "Haven't we gone over and over you getting your stuff together?"

"Mom, I can't see."

Fine. I bring him his glasses. The kid can't see. And when I get to his school, his teacher confirms the fact that yes, he really needs his glasses.

This morning, I double efforts.
"Everybody sure their backpacks are ready?" I ask. Tali nods seriously. Sam hmmms and continues drawing pictures of baseball players.

And then not five minutes after their carpool takes off, I get the phonecall.

"Mom, I left my book on the table."

I see it, sitting right next to his drawing of Ichiro.

"That's not so good," I tell him.

"But the good thing is school hasn't started yet," he tells me. "You could bring it over now."

And I tell him no. He gets upset and angry with me. He tells me he's going to be in trouble. And when I repeat that I cannot bring it to him, he gets quiet. I know there will be consequences for forgetting his book again.

I know I'm doing the right thing. I know I'm teaching him something. I know I'm not supposed to be his best friend.

Too bad the right thing feels completely crappy...

manamana shana tova...

2009-09-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a healthy, happy, and sweet New Year!!!

(and as our house is once again infected with strep, I'll add a little emphasis on the healthy part...)

he's been around the block...

2009-09-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, after much needling and nagging about how I never let him do anything, I gave Sam permission to skateboard around the block. Alone.

"Just around the block and nowhere else," I told him.

"Okay," He said. "Can I go now?"

"And stay on the sidewalk on the busy street."

"Why would I ride my skateboard on the street? I'm not stupid, Mom." And he rolled his eyes in that pre-tween way he's working to perfect.

And he's right. He's not stupid. He's actually a pretty conscientious kid. And at his age I was walking a mile on a busy street to the bus stop with my younger brother (and through sleet and snowstorms without shoes, blah, blah, blah). I remember once when my brother was younger than Sam, he got so angry at another kid after school (Or was it me? Selective memory serves me well) that he refused to get on the school bus and then walked the three plus miles home alone.

Nobody stopped him. Not the bus driver, the yard teacher, or any of the parents standing around.

As a parent, I shudder to think about that little kid walking home all that way by himself. Who knows what could've happened to him.

But the thing is, nothing happened. He'd felt confident enough to do it and he did. The biggest issue here was that it was a long walk for a small kid, but he wanted to do it, and that was really his own problem.

Last weekend, the New York Times posted an article about the anxieties parents these days have about letting their kids do things they did as children, like play outside the gated yard, walking to school on their own, or staying home alone. And while I was relieved to see that my paranoia and skittishness as a parent is the trendy thing these days (natch--we even get a lame term--helicoptor parents) it makes me sad that each small step toward independence is such a struggle for our kids. What's the point of having a skateboard if you have to ride it up and down the driveway and wait for your parents to take you to the playground? But events like the Jaycee Dugard case hit us all in our most tender nerves.

The article talks about a ten year old who, during his walk to school alone, was picked up by police who were called by a concerned neighbor. His mother had made an informed decision to let the boy walk alone because she wanted him to be able to develop the confidence and self-sufficiency to somehow grow into a full-functioning adult someday. And surely, a fourth or fifth grader, a kid only a year or so away from middle school, should be able to handle this task. But the deluge of media content about horrific events involving kids come at us all day long--news, radio, television, newspapers, blogs, tweets, and so on...

It's a struggle to let them get older and need us less. Sam's delight at making his way around the block alone seemed pathetic to me--for both of us. He has so little of that carefree ownership of his neighborhood that I did, and we have to think too hard to allow him small freedoms we took for granted.

After he left, I thought to myself that if he asked, I'd let him go around the block again. And when he came back, dawdling down the street as if he would take all day, I asked him how it went. He smiled and said it was nice to be alone.

But he didn't ask to go around again.

you need your tongue to kick...

2009-09-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

the biggest smile is the one behind the camera...

2009-09-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

when there's nobody younger than you, sometimes you just have to get mad at flowers...

2009-09-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

a little look back at the magic kingdom...

2009-09-01T15:21:00.000-07:00

class of '89 is still mighty fine...

2009-08-31T22:46:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was my 20th (gasp!) high school reunion. And I went. Which says a lot about where I am in my life. I think. Or else it should say a lot.

I didn't go to my 10th because I was four months pregnant with Sam and to be perfectly frank, I didn't think I could go to that event simply looking fat, not yet totally showing, and also totally unable to drink (because remember, with your first pregnancy, you're completely convinced that smelling alcohol causes birth defects).

Ten years and three kids later, I finally felt mature enough to go (though not mature enough to go without being able to have a drink). And though I freaked out about what I'd wear and put Boaz through the horror of being emailed a multitude of photos of me in dressing rooms wearing a variety of potential reunion-wear options, and though I had a little panic about what I would even talk to people about since um, we haven't talked in a very, very long time because as many of you know, I'm pretty crappy at keeping in touch (though keep remembering that it's nothing personal and I really love you), reunion night was incredible.

First of all, I was thrilled to see that my high school friends (all as bad at keeping in touch as I am, though really we had more in common than that) are all really cool, interesting people that I still really enjoyed talking to. And so even if we made some crappy behavior choices back then (think 4x4 Honda Hills in pitch dark after parties at Dom's house), we all turned out relatively well. And sociologically, how interesting that the people I loved back then are the same people I'd still want to be friends with today (if location and schedules weren't an issue, of course?) I'm choosing to go with the fact that sociologically, this isn't pathetic.

And not only was it amazing to see that we pretty much picked up where we left off as far as conversation goes (please tell me that's amazing, not pathetic), but also, we all looked pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Nice.

in the living desert...

2009-08-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

california, here i am...

2009-08-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

We're pretty much trying to get as much out of the summer as possible so we took the opportunity to make my 2oth High School Reunion into a chance to visit family in California. And as usual, I've packed as much as humanely possible into this trip. Luckily, Boaz is a good sport and in return for him not totally freaking out when we go to visit twelve of my closest old friends and family in one afternoon, he's been scoping out golf courses everywhere we go.

At this point in the trip, we're drying out in the desert. The kids have rediscovered their cousins, Dallas and Jacob, and Dallas and Tali have taken to calling each other "Sista." And they're all having a great time splashing around the pool at their Saba and Grandma's. We're here till Wednesday and then heading to LA to see more friends and family and then to gasp... Disneyland. I'm really not so sure there are enough golf courses in this state to get Boaz through that.

sick nunchuck skills...

2009-08-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

My latest move in this whole jobsearch endeavor has been to expand my online search and subscribe to TheLadders jobsite. It's actually been an interesting experience, though not completely unlike what I think dating sites might be like (I can't believe I'm too old to have ever experienced the joy of online dating). I get access to apply for choice jobs and can even see how many recruiters are looking at my resume.

Which got me looking at my resume. Again.

I'm a total resume updater. Everytime I do something new, I add it to my resume. But it's been a long time since I've really thought about the theory or resume building. Which is apparent from the comments from my Resume Expert in the critique he wrote about my resume (another perk of TheLadders.com). And the fact that he started out this way, sort of sets the stage:

"Before you read the critique, I’d like to give you a fair warning that my comments at times can seem blunt. "

However, to be fair, he did offer some very sound advice that resulted in my adding a new summary and highlights section to my resume, since those are fairly important because recruiters rarely spend more than 45 seconds perusing a resume.

But after many hours of working on said resume, and maybe one too many glasses of Nobilo, I wondered if if were true that recruiters only have 45 seconds, and if so, would they notice if I slipped in some interesting factoids into my resume?

SUMMARY:
Results-oriented marketing and content professional with experience in managing campaigns and projects that continuously exceed their goals. Strategic thinker known for innovation, creativity, and on-time delivery. Recognized for excellent communication, killer Bejeweled scores, and people skills, client satisfaction, and strategic marketing development.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
· Digital/Online Marketing
· B2B and Relationship Marketing
· Campaign Management
· Sick Nunchuck Skills
· Client Relations and Development
· Copywriting and Editing

Hmm... It takes all kinds of well-rounded multi-taskers...

sometimes you get a virtuoso at camp...

2009-08-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

campsick, but home...

2009-08-09T23:19:00.000-07:00

We're home and while it's really, really nice to be sleeping in my own bed with just one other person who actually belongs there (instead of two very incredibly kicky little girls), I'm a little campsick for the late night wine and Weeds sessions we counselors indulged in most nights of camp.

Tomorrow begins another week where the kids are at home without camp to go to. I'm not sure how I came up with the brilliant notion that because I wasn't working, the kids would love to hang out with me day in and out and not be totally bored or tempted to chew each other's feet off. Or even, I'm not sure why after so many years of parenthood, it didn't occur to me that I'd begin losing tiny fragments of my mind trying to diffuse ridiculous and constant arguments between said bored kids while also trying to find myself a job.

But as my mentor Scarlett O. says, "There's always tomorrow," and I will come up with a grand old gameplan of activities for camp that will involve some rest-time for resume sending.

Maybe I'll even make them wear their Camp Runamucka shirts--just to get into the spirit of things.

joey and joe are quite a load for boomer the kangaroo...

2009-08-05T00:42:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

camp mail from sam...

2009-08-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Camp is fun. We get to do a lot of sports. There have been a few injuries, but Aunt Natalie made us some casts. Naomi and Tali got one, too, though they didn't really get hurt.

We tried to make friendship bracelets, but nobody could finish them because they were too hard. We did go sailing twice, and my dad made us call him Captain and salute him for days.

There are a lot of cousins here. We're having fun hanging out with each other.

And did you know that in Madison, the zoo is free? Except that I had to be the turtle.

The only thing lacking is a bathtime. I don't mind it, but Naomi sure has some dirty legs.

And at the end of the day, just before Taps, we all relax with a big glass of milk--Wisconsin style.

Wish you were here, but there's really not a lot of room.

-Sam

camp runamucka, we love you...

2009-07-31T16:51:00.000-07:00

We're in Madison attending Camp Runamucka, 2009 and we're having a great time, wish you were here, and aren't homesick at all yet, even though really we're pretty much the first campers here and camp hasn't quite runamuck yet.

Madison really is a great little city. The kids and I spent the day with Becky and Ben at Goodman Pool while Boaz and Dick took the architectural tour of the city. Then as a larger group we had brats, beer, and brownies and played chess with Playmobile figures. Tonight Becky and I may sneak out of our cabin to the local bar which is apparently only 32 feet away from her front door (location, location, location).

Unfortunately my camera seems to be broken so you'll have to make do with this stock photo of Camp Runamuck, though our camp admits girls as well, obviously. (Did you know that there was a tv show in the 60s called "Camp Runamuck?" Isn't it amazing what you can learn from Google?) But I'll hijack some photos from the Princess as soon as we remember to take some.

Wish you were here...

bye bye cable...

2009-07-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

We've been looking to cut back a bit because recessionista chic is the thing to do these days and well, the not having a job thing is also quite a compelling reason. So the other night, I started going through our budget and redlining certain items.

First to go... The gym. It's true that just having the gym membership in my very own name makes me healthier, but I haven't stepped foot in the place for over a year, and would much rather run in the sleet or pouring rain than get on one of those tediously boring eliptical trainers. I put cancelling membership on my list of to-dos and feel good. I am a budgeting wiz.

It's easy enough to not renew my subsciptions to American Girl and Nickelodeon magazines since I'm not exactly sure why we receive them in the first place. But I'm not so willing to get rid of my pedicure of the month membership since, um, nice toes help me run so much faster. And so the budgeting gets harder.

And then I notice that the kids are watching television again. They've snuck upstairs to my room and have closed the bedroom door so that I don't hear them (because they are sooooo sneaky) and when I surprise them (booo!), they turn it off quickly (embarrassingly, I was guilty of the exact same thing at their age, but we don't need to get into that), but not before I see that they've been watching Hannah Montana, which is probably one of the lamer shows I've ever seen. I mean, how come Miley's friends at school don't REALIZE that she looks exactly like Hannah M. because she IS Hannah M.? Come on, tv execs, do you think our kids are stooopid?

"Why are you guys watching this?" I practically whine. And then it hits me. I can barely remember the last time I watched cable. Last night I tried to and couldn't find anything I wanted. This is the perfect thing to redline.

I let the kids watch the rest of the show and I watch it with them. It is slapstick, superficial, and totally age inappropriate for a six year old girl, though Miley is pretty and has cute clothes. Tali smiles when she watches her sing. It's sweet, but there are many, many years for her to watch inane tv shows and not only will nixing cable save some money, but also a lot of arguments.

"You guys, next month we're getting rid of cable. We don't really need it and school will start and then we'll be too busy to watch TV," I tell them. "Plus there is a ton of stuff we can do besides watching these shows."

"Like what?" Tali screams dramatically. She might have just seen Miley do that on her show.

"You are the worst mother EVER," Samuel says to me. He storms out of his room, flops loudly on his bed, and opens up a book.

Suddenly I have the very strong feeling that I'm doing the right thing.

viva las vegas... the pic is a little fuzzy, but then so was the trip

2009-07-22T09:49:00.001-07:00

wordless wednesday

a day at the museum...

2009-07-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

As part of my crusade to pull Sam and Tali from their respective screens and to insert a hiatus to their incessant digs at each other, I dragged them to the museum yesterday. They were pained at the thought of quiet halls of ancient artifacts, even though I told them over and over that where we were actually going was to the Experience Music Project, a museum designed by Frank Gehry that houses incredible rock and roll and science fiction exhibits.

"Ewwww, exhibits," Tali whined from the backseat.

"Ugh, rock and roll," said Sam. "Let's at least go to the science museum, if we have to go to one."

"You guys," I told them cheerfully. "We're going to see the Jim Henson exhibit about the Muppets. How is that boring?"

"Ugh, Muppets," said Sam. "Old, ancient muppet exhibits."

Basically, I think the kids suffered from brief amnesia because the EMP is this huge, shiny, colorful metallic building inspired by Jimi Hendrix's guitars. It's been around for years now, but my kids are only just now old enough to potentially be interested in the place.

To get to the Muppets, we had to go through the Science Fiction exhibits exploring how images of space has evolved through popular culture. We passed by glass enclosed exhibits of all my old Star Wars figures, Alf, characters from Lost in Space, and Planet of the Apes.

The kids were mesmorized.

"This is a museum?" Sam asked incredulously. "Cool."

They had the model of the Death Star Station used in the fourth episode and we talked about how they could've used such a small piece in a film, but still have it look real. Sam stood and squinted at it from all angles, checking it out as if it were a piece of fine art.

And then we donned guided tours loaded on iPods and started the Muppet exhibit. They had napkin drawings of Jim Henson's early sketches, films, and best of all, a theater where the kids were taught how to manage muppets behind a stage using a televised screen and then they performed the muppets to a song.

Sam's fave was the Jimi muppet.

"I can't believe they put that stuff in a museum," Tali said afterwards. "How could they just put his drawings in a frame and call it famous?" She asked, referring to his framed scribbles on lined paper.

"Wasn't it cool to see how Jim Henson worked on the Muppet designs?"

She thought for a sec. "I'm going to frame my drawings, too, so that it's easier to put them up in a museum."

It was a good parenting afternoon. Maybe when they start bickering again this afternoon, I'll have them draw more Muppets.

the girl who can sleep anywhere...

2009-07-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

and i thought we were over the sleep issues...

2009-07-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today while in the pediatrician's office waiting for Sam and Naomi to have their annual well-child visits, I browsed through a tired and dog-eared issue of Good Housekeeping from last year. Though I was hoping for some truly miraculous good housekeeping secret, I found an article by a mother who was talking about how she let her eight year old daughter sleep with her.

"She's only little once," she was quoted as saying and my first reaction was that this was very sweet. I looked up at my brood waiting not-so-patiently in the waiting room, fighting over the toys, and rolling around on the floor like small possessed animals. But it was a nice idea and I thought at that moment that the next time they tried to climb in bed with us in the middle of the night, I'd totally let them stay, instead of escorting them back to their beds, exhausted and muttering the mantra, "We all sleep in our own beds."

And then I read on to see that she only had one child and a king-sized bed.

And so I changed my mind.

Because even though I love cuddling with my kids more than most other activities, I'm rotten company in the middle of the night. And now that these kids are continuing to grow bigger and bigger and bigger, there just isn't enough room in our queen-sized bed for five people, and that's what usually happens when one kid ends up joining us in bed. And a Brangelina-sized bed isn't in our cards.

But hours later after reading that article, I'm wondering if I'll regret not letting them sleep with us once they're too old to want to. I mean, we have the occasional slumber party where we know nobody is going to get any sleep. And we cuddle in the morning, though that usually ends up in a wrestling match between Tali and Sam.

But I know that the time is coming quickly when they'll be embarrassed by our public affection toward them. And soon they'll be sleeping in longer than us (one can really hope, right?), and we'll have all the room in our bed that we want.

So maybe if one of them sneaks into bed tonight, I'll just pretend I don't notice. I think I may be the one with the biggest sleep issue.

off to camp and rock and roll...

2009-06-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, if I don't finally post this post, I'll be writing an essay about what I did on my summer vacation.

It's just that this unemployed nothing to do summer has gotten itself very busy.

Sam is off to camp. Though, because he's pretty much the easiest kid in the family, life is just quieter, not less hectic. But even Tali says that she's totally bored without someone to pinch and fight with. Nice.

We spent the day last Thursday packing and gathering his stuff and while it was admirable that Sam wanted to pack his own bags, when I did my minor last minute check, I discovered he'd paid no attention to the numbers of items the camp suggested he bring. As in, instead of ten shirts, he packed five.

"You only have five shirts and it says ten," I say. "What are you going to do for the second half of camp?"

"You don't need to change your shirt everyday at camp," Sam tells me. "You're supposed to be dirty at camp."

"You don't know how dirty you're going to get. What if run you out of shirts?"

"Mom, last year I wore the same shirt practically everyday. I don't need so many of them. It just wastes water in washing them," he says, though I threw in five more shirts. And, oddly, when I look at the camp photos online, he seems to be wearing pretty much the same shirt everyday. What a sweet guy to be saving his mom the laundry and mother earth her water? Hmmm...

Also, last weekend I ran the Seattle Rock and Roll marathon and hit my goal time of under two hours at 1:57. I was pretty psyched and it was great to run with the group I'd been training with. There were 25,000 people running this race, but I think it was fairly well planned because it didn't feel like that many people.

This is us at 4am catching the shuttle to Tukwila, which for you out of towners is absolutely NOT Seattle.

Then, while the shuttles worked their way back to Seattle, we ran back. But it really was a nice route.

Here we are after the race. Note the team shirt not sponsored by Nike--just printed on their shirts. On the back we printed "Run like a Mutha..." which spurred a lot of conversation behind our backs while we ran.

"What's a Moota?" one woman asked. We didn't tell her that we'd used the spelling "Mutha" because Mitch didn't want to run with a shirt that said he ran like a mother.

Off to go send a care package like a good mother... Though at this point I'm sending it next day so that he at least gets it before he gets on the bus to come home.

getting ready to rock and roll...

2009-06-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm running the innaugural Seattle Rock n' Roll half marathon. It'll be my third half marathon over this past year and I'm truly excited about it, which is absolutely and totally shocking to me. I'm the girl who quit Little League at nine because even though I was the only girl to make it to the Mustang league, I, um, ran the bases backwards during my first practice and promptly quit the game for good when nobody could stop laughing. I pretty much gave up on any attempt at being athletic and totally succumbed to being the bookish nerdy girl. So the fact that I actually like running for long periods of time, and that I totally crave it when I can't run, is truly mindblowing to me.

So today I took Sam and Tali with me to pick up my bib and race packet. I thought they'd be bored, but they totally got into it. They made signs to hold up for me during the race (nevermind the fact that they won't actually be at the race since Sam will be at camp and Tali will probably be home happily playing Polly Pockets), and then went from booth to booth trying out samples and picking up swag and candy. My friend, Lani, and her two year old, Judah, came, too. And though Judah was on the brink of meltdown because he was missing naptime, Lani handed him a couple of sample Gu jelly blocks and he perked right up. Who knew there was another good use for those protein shots? Hmmm, I see an amazing marketing opportunity out there...

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

If you're in the Emerald City (or even if you're not), check out these fun things to do with the kids this week in Seattle on my Examiner's column...

"this is what summer is about..." --talia

2009-06-24T10:34:00.001-07:00

wordless wednesday...

first sam is nine...

2009-06-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

My boy is nine.

It seems so old. In the past, the kids' birthdays have always seemed like sort of my own celebration, too--my anniversary on becoming a parent. But somehow, Sam now seems to have come into his own birthday. He owns it now that he seems so old. And after spending the day with him talking, lunching and shopping for skateboards, I thought to myself that nine must be the best age ever, which is a thought I've had almost every year about Samuel.

I used to think that everyone thought that about their kid's age--every year is the best one--but having three, I've come to find that even though I love each kid dearly, it's just not all that true that every year is as enjoyable as others. And so it seems that my first gets a perk to counteract the fact that he's our test run in parenting. Because he reaches each age first, it's new and exciting and well, Sam has hit each with grace.

But mostly, I love hanging out with that kid. He's incredibly funny and sharp, and his humour is a bit mischevious, which is something I totally appreciate. He loves his baby sister so dearly that he is absolute putty in her chubby hands. And though they bicker, Sam and Tali are buddies.

His freckles and smile just send me and Sam's artistic talent constantly amazes me. And after falling in love with writing stories this year, I love to see him delve into a novel and then figure out how to write the sequels to the stories he finds end too quickly.

So happy birthday to my best and favorite son (as he likes to call himself)... Nine is going to be great for you--I can't wait to see what you do with it!

visit my new seattle children's examiner column...

2009-06-17T23:13:00.000-07:00

Come visit my new Seattle Children's Examiner column to read about some affordable birthday venues for your kids! I'll be posting there often on a variety of topics regarding kids in Seattle so check back often. And even if you're not in Seattle, you might just find something that useful. (Or at least see someone you're related to in the photos--if I can ever figure out how to get them to show up correctly!)

today it's an ipod--what will it be tomorrow?

2009-06-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of talk around our house about what Samuel wants for his birthday. Though it's a bit indulgent, my kids know that their birthdays are the one day a year where I'll finagle and wrassle whatever to figure out how to make things go their way (within reason, of course!). So after the kid got over the fact that we absolutely will not buy him an iPhone (seriously???), he lowered his expectations and told us he wanted an iPod.

Okay, I can get into that--he can listen to music in his room, or in the car... And nine years old seems to be about the time where a kid gets pretty interested in their own music. But then he started talking about being able to download movies on the Nano and play games, and the truth is, I just don't want him downloading movies or games so that he can sneak off to his room and watch in private. Partly it's because I totally don't trust his own judgement as to what is okay and not okay to watch, but it's also that I want him hanging out with the rest of the family, too. And seriously, the kid has a Wii and a DS. Why does he need another form factor to play games on?

So after much discussion with his grandparents, we all agreed that a Shuffle would be the best move. Super cute, no screen, lots of music. And the other day, a package arrived for Sam in the mail from his Saba Moty and Grandma Myra. When he saw the Apple box he was ecstatic. And then he noticed there wasn't a screen on the shuffle.

"Um, there's no screen," he said.

"You don't need a screen to listen to music," I said, holding tight.

"Hey, you're right!" He grabbed the shuffle to charge it and then listened to the songs his Saba recorded on the shuffle of his own music over and over until he went to bed.

The next morning he wanted to download music from iTunes.

"I need an email address," Sam told me as he maneuvered through the site.

"No, you don't," I told him. I'm picturing him receiving spam about xxx enlargements and not being able to filter that from real email, whatever that is when you're nine years old.

"But how else will I buy music?"

"You don't have a credit card," I said. "You need one to buy music, so until you have one, you have to ask Daddy or me. An email address isn't going to help you with that."

"Okay," he said thoughtfully. "I need a credit card."

"What you need is a full-time job," I told him. "But you can't have that yet, either."

I'm bracing myself... The tween years are approaching.

have I mentioned how badly I need to go back to work?

2009-06-12T13:01:00.002-07:00

This was last night's accomplishment. My parents must be so proud...

i'm bedazzled by bejeweled...

2009-06-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

So, you know how much fun it is to work on coverletters and resumes? Well it's such titilating entertainment that I've taken to rewarding myself with playing Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook every time I finish one.

And then every time I half finish one.

And then every time I work for ten minutes without stopping.

And then today, I gave up and gave myself an hour to play the blasted one minute game, which means I probably played at least 50 rounds.

Can you say pathetic?

That game is video crack. I can't stop, and all those sparkly jewels flying around (I like the diamonds best...) You just know there are subliminal messages entering your brain when you hit that five in a row blitz.

But also, I'm a bit of a competitive person and this is what really drives me:

Once I got ahead of Princess Mikkimoto and Aunt Princess Mikkimoto, I stopped playing and went back to working nicely on my um, work. I thought to myself that I should do a screenshot of the score because it's rare that I have a higher score than them, but then chided myself for being totally superficial and ridiculous.

But then later this evening, I went back to check on my status and as you can see, Princess has beat me again. Sigh... How does one get so good at Bejewelled? I ask you?

(Seriously, I need to get back to work before I lose my mind completely...)

getting ready for camp runamucka...

2009-06-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday...

if a blog falls in a forest...

2009-06-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's NY Times had a piece in the Sunday Styles section about the multitudes of blogs started lovingly and then left cruely abandoned in the vast ethers of the WWW to just fester and mold away, creating ghost towns of outdated personal information that nobody will ever peruse.

But then, one of the kids was in the middle of tattling on someone else at the moment I started the article and then there was screaming for some reason or another so I abandoned the piece, but it got me thinking about how so many people I know dropped their blogs for tweets (twits?) and about how bad I've been about blogging lately.

The truth is, I've just been totally busy, but in all that busyness, I haven't really had much to write about, either. I guess I've been a bit down about this not working thing--a reliable source tells me that I did the exact same thing last summer, too--and have felt totally uninterested in adding my blahs to the moldy blogs already on the Internets.

Or maybe I just needed a little break. But either way, I'm back. For now.

tali got da limbo...

2009-06-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday...

naomi rose is three???!!!

2009-06-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

How can it be that my curliest of girlies, my sunny pie o' my sky is three years old already?!

It feels like just yesterday I was doing anything I could think of to go into labor, and not so long ago that she was this caramelly chewy little baby. And now? Well, she's still caramelly and chewy for sure, but she's got this spicy streak that rivals her big sister's. Nothing gets past Naomi and nobody takes advantage of the girl and if you ask her how old she is, she'll stick three chubby fingers in your face and defiantly say "Three" as if she just dares you to challenge how big girl that makes her.

There is something about Naomi that is just sunny and happy, and even though she is typically little sister shrieky when necessary, she can easily be distracted from a bad mood. She loves to sing and dance and the girl can play for hours on her own in the backyard making up her own imaginary stories while her brother and sister run around her, playing their own wild games.

We had a little party for her on Sunday and her two little friends, Sophie and Rina, came over to hula with her. Though the party was dominated by older siblings and cousins, these three just took it all in, hung out, and enjoyed themselves.

Even though she'd been sick all week before her birthday and wasn't really feeli ng one hundred percent for her little luau, Naomi was enthralled with this first birthday that she'd been able to look forward to. When we asked what she thought about her birthday, she replied using her very serious voice and calling me by the name she uses when she's being most serious, "Mommy Rose, I think that was the best birthday ever."

Happy Birthday, Noemi! We love you...

in between...

2009-05-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm in between projects right now and thanks to the economy things are pretty slow, so I've found myself with an extra month between when I'd actually planned to slow down for the summer and when school gets out.

A normal person might be sort of excited about unforeseen time off. But since I have an insane and panicked reaction to unplanned events, I've been basically sitting on my deck in the warm sun, drinking iced tea and lemonade, connecting with people, sending out writing samples, and freaking out.

Until today. Because I had to stay home with Naomi who has some sort of ugly virus that I'm trying not to connect with anything porkish, I was forced to abandon the work part and just do the part where I sit in the sun drinking iced drinks and playing quietly with my girl. (Or rather, propping up Barbies on tiny Barbie stools over and over because they will not keep their skinny plastic bottoms on their seats.)

And I have to say that I think I may take this opportunity to get some of my own writing done, enjoy the rare Seattle sunshine, the time alone, and to maybe work on my patience and transition skills (funny how Tali and her Kindergarten peers and I are all working on the same things...). Also, the following ad below doesn't help me feel too encouraged:

----------------------
I will write your obituary. \
Location: Seattle
Compensation: $20 each
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

---------------------------
Geez, at least the guy could've gotten the ad in the right section. I'm just looking at it as a sign to stop looking for the day....

sometimes it's just easier to write a note...

2009-05-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday...

barbies get new wheels for spring...

2009-05-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday...

a taste of spring...

2009-05-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

Seattle was sunny this past weekend. It was notably lovely and everyone was out in their yards gardening and hanging out. We saw our neighbors again and people stopped by to just say hello. The whole weekend was downright neighborly.

Naomi and her friend, Sophie, played Barbie spa while I pulled so many weeds that I need to wait for the yard waste to be picked up before I keep going.

And on Saturday night, we headed to the Red Sox/Mariners game to watch our friend, Ari, throw the first pitch. Here he is (he's that little white blob on the pitcher's mound):

Unsure of who to root for, Samuel switched hats every inning, though when the Red Sox pulled ahead, he kept his Mariner's hat on for the rest of the game. You know, to support the underdog and all. But when I put on the Red Sox hat to go find our friends in their suite, Tali made me take it off. "Mom, you're embarrassing me!" Sigh... She needs to go hang out with the Boston contingent...

As you can see, Boaz and Naomi took the Mariner's loss much harder than Sam and Tali did...

We're back to rain this week, but hoping for some more sunny weather for the weekend!

there is a huge gaping hole in my blog...

2009-05-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

I don’t write about my dear friend Josh’s cancer because in the past I’ve felt like it wasn’t my experience to write. He does an amazing job writing about it on his own blog and way too often I feel like there is no way I could capture the intensity of his and his family's situation with my second or third hand experience.

Except that there are times when I find that I don’t write about the happy or interesting things in my life because what I’m actually totally consumed with is how this vibrant and beautiful family that I love deeply is suffering so much. And so Josh's story becomes all of our stories, too. And in supporting my friends in the best way that I can, I am superbly pissed off at the situation.

As I wait for Josh and Kim to get back from their latest scan, I’m finding it impossible to think about anything else but them.

It is totally unfair that when their oldest son comes over to play that I want to watch him for any minute signs of distress. Why should he feel anything but childish freedom when he comes to play with my kids in the backyard to swing and shout and play as if that’s all he needs to do? Why shouldn’t what game he chooses next be the most important thing he thinks about?

And, the thought of my strong and beautiful friend, Kim, holding up her universe on her shoulders just breaks my heart into sharp little pieces. Isn’t it hard enough to raise three small kids, carve out a successful career, and generally keep things together without having to watch your best friend, your childhood sweetheart, your husband suffer?

And while we all know it is beautiful and important to appreciate each moment with family, my wish for my friends is the gift of negligence. I wish they could greedily gulp up the time they have together, swallowing it whole, without worrying how much is left.

I wish Josh could rest now and know that there would be a time when he’d have the energy and strength to play hard with his boys and chase after his wild and beautiful little girl.

I want to run with him again. I want to swear him to the secrecy of the run so that Kim and I could talk freely and have him laugh at our superficial banter.

I want our families to play together, to camp together, to laugh together without this huge asshole that is cancer always getting in the way of things.

I want him to laugh.

So with whatever you’ve got, whatever faith you believe in, please pray for my friends and send healthy, healing prayers to Josh…

this pic just makes me happy...

2009-05-13T08:42:00.001-07:00

wordless wednesday

don't mess with HRH Princess Squishyface...

2009-05-08T00:46:00.000-07:00

The other night the kids and I went over to Dan's house to hang out with him and the boys while the Kate was at a class. For some unexplainable reason, 6 kids + 2 adults is always an easier combination that 3 kids + 1 adult, so hauled ourselves over there.

Of course, the other draw of the eve was HRH Princess Squishyface, a.k.a. Baby Eva. The girls are so incredibly in love with her that they fight over who holds her first, longer, better and then last night after she pooped in Tali's arms (I wish I could've gotten a photo of Tali's expression) and we changed her diaper, we all laid on the ground with HRH around her blanket as she gurgled charmingly to us.

"I think Baby Eva needs some lipstick," Naomi said to me. "Can I give her some?"

"Let's hold off on that for a bit," I tell her.
"Oh, because her lips are so small it'd be hard to get it on right?"

"Yeah," I say. "That's exactly right."

Meanwhile, as she rubbed Eva's wrist with her finger in the most loving way I've ever seen, Tali looks over at me and says, "Forget the dog. Let's have a baby..."

Oh, my girl... How to tell her that she'll probably have neither for a long, long while?

party like it's 1999...

2009-05-06T12:18:00.001-07:00

Last week B and I flew to San Francisco by ourselves for the weekend for the AIA conference, and we did not bring the kids.

We had adult time. Without kids. (I'm thinking that you're getting the picture, but wanted to make it very clear that we were kidless).

And being kidless in a city where we met, hanging out in the same neighborhoods we did, and even with the same friends we used to hang with (most kidless for the weekend, too!), we felt like we'd been transported back ten years. Oh, and we sort of acted like it, too.

We walked for hours and hours around town, running into the thousands of architects that had flooded the city (our friend Fiona even spotted one caressing a structural column at the Gap), browsed in bookstores, ate interesting foods that didn't involve noodles or hamburgers and we stayed out very, very late. I think we forgot that we weren't actually 26, though our exhaustion the next day reminded us fairly insistently. Boaz was pretty sure he had jetlag.

And the coolest thing thing was that B and I remembered how much fun we used to have with each other pre-kids. And we found out that we were still fun together, even though we hang out like that only once every three years or so. We may have to block out some more room on our calendars...

tali helps naomi plan a party...

2009-05-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

experiments in doing nothing...

2009-04-30T00:02:00.000-07:00

After driving around like a complete maniac week after week after frigging week, last quarter I made the decision to cancel all extra-curricular activities for my kids that would involve me and at least one of them to spend more than an hour carpooling a day.

Which left us piano lessons because the teacher comes to our house.

Tali gladly gave up gymnastics, even though I thought it was the perfect sport for her. But because she was always so lukewarm about going, I figured that not being allowed to go would either illicit a negative reaction or none at all. She went with the latter.

Naomi gave up gymnastics, too, but in her case it's a little unfair because she never really understood that she was giving it up. She asks about it sometimes and I just tell her that there isn't any gymnastics today. I figure that pretty soon she'll stop asking.

And Samuel had to give up baseball this year, which was probably the biggest sacrifice. Except that although every March he swears he loves baseball and is just begging to to play, but April Fool's Day he's ready to quit. And since this sport requires 2-3 practices a week, I chose this year to not have to talk him into going to practice.

So the outcome so far is that this is heaven.
The kids come home from school and play. Samuel does his homework, the girls like to pretend to do homework and bedtime is infinitely easier when we haven't rushed around all evening to get everything finished. I'm saving hundreds of dollars in extracurricular activity fees and we're getting totally relaxing evenings to spend together. The kids play together, they practice piano (when we beg and then force them to), and they go through reams of paper creating their own cartoons and paper dolls. And when the afternoons are dry, they play games outside in the yard or on the swings and then come inside sweaty and dirty and happy.

But when everyone around us is participating in about two billion activities a week, it's hard to not wonder if I'm holding my kids back from something. What if Talia could be the next Nadia? What if this is going to be the year that Sam develops his obsession with soccer? And Naomi wants nothing more than to be the next Angelina Ballerina...

And I find myself wondering if I'm holding them back just because I cannot stand the afternoons in the car shuttling across town and back again.

So today it all ended.

I signed up the girls for summer ballet lessons. I signed up the bigs for Fall soccer, and I'm signing them all up for swimming lessons in June. And this summer we'll also have the craziness of summer camps and schedules changing weekly.

But I think this semester off thing was good and I'm going to make it an annual tradition. I feel totally refreshed (well, at least as far as carpooling goes) and even though I thought the kids would complain about not participating in some of the activities their friends were doing, they actually never did.

Not even once.

Which is sad when you consider how much these activities cost (and what you could've bought instead). And it makes you wonder how much of what your kids are doing is for you or for them. And it is certainly telling when you think about how much they're missing when they lose the opportunity to choose their own activities.

Tonight Naomi put on her ballet outfit to practice for her upcoming lessons in June. And Sam and Tali are truly excited about soccer. And having had a break from it all, I can see that they're ready to dive back in. But I think by the time next Spring rolls around, they'll also be ready to take a break again, too.

the adventures of pickle the bulldog, volume 1...

2009-04-28T00:24:00.000-07:00

Since despite my urging, Sam has not yet learned to type his own homework assignments and I spent some time with him over the weekend typing this out for him (while he read over my shoulder guffawing over any typo I made), I figured I may as well make this count as a blog post even though it does look like a blatant copycat move of Princess M's post. Except that Sam really did write this (hee hee!). You can tell, because mature adult writers don't write personification essays about dogs who like to eat poop. Oh wait, I edited that out before he turned it in.

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

The Adventures of Pickle the Bulldog
by Sam A.

Ok, so I’m crawling down the street minding my own business when a person comes up with this thing they call a net and he puts me inside it! The guy puts me in this thing they call a car. I sat in the backseat. The man strapped me up with this thing called a seat belt. Then the guy pressed a button and the car ran somewhere, but its feet were round.

I wanted to work the car, too, so I pulled a switch on the door, but instead the back door swung open. My ears fluffed back. I said, “I love this creature.”

The man said, “Well, woof woof to you, too.”

Then we went to this thing they call the pet shop. I was put in this thing called a cage. It had no bars, so I decided to run out. Instead, I smashed into this invisible wall! The door suddenly opened and a person came in. He took better care of me than the Net Man. His name was Leo.
Leo is a nice person, but his little sister is trouble. She puts bows on my head and always plays this thing they call dress-up with me.

Before I talk about bad stuff, let’s talk about good stuff. My favorite thing they have in the house is this thing called a toilet. It has a switch and if you pull it, it makes a sound like FLLUUUSSSHH! And if you haven’t noticed, I love switches. It’s also the best water bowl because it’s bigger than the one they keep in the kitchen for me.

They also have this thing called a bathtub that is nice to sleep in. Once Leo’s sister turned on the water while I was in it and it sprayed me in the face!

Leo’s sister is rude. She does not let me eat my food and says it’s not good to eat too much cereal, Doggy. That’s what they call me—Doggy. Once she played a trick on me. She put a pickle in her pocket and I tried to eat the pickle because I really like pickles. But instead I bit her and now they call me Pickle.

Today a new family came to the house next to ours. Their last name is Morrison. And now, for the best part, they have a cat.

The next day I went to their house while Leo and his sister were at school. I went to the cat door and went in halfway. There was the cat eating tuna. But my waist was too big so I was stuck.
The cat saw me, and I said, “Howdy!”

The cat said, “The name’s Tuna Breath.”I couldn’t help it. I went bursting into laughter. “Ya wanna piece of me?” said the cat.

“I’ll have a piece of that tuna,” I said.

“Get lost!” said Tuna Breath. He yelled so loud I got noticed by a neighbor, who called Animal Control.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in a fright. I must have been hit by a tranquilizer. But I realized something: this was the same petshop I had been brought to before I met Leo. I remembered someone, a parrot named CooCoo. I looked at CooCoo and said, “Hey, CooCoo! Can you break th e glass?”

“I’ll try,” said CooCoo. He came up, pecked the glass and boom! I let out all of the pets from their cages and ran out the door.

It was noon. Leo and his sister were on their way home from school. I had been looking for home for three days. I finally had an answer for Tuna Breath. I was lost. I walked four miles until I saw someone familiar. It was Tuna Breath, the cat who started all this trouble and he was in my yard, digging in my hole. I walked up to him to say “Woof-Woof”, but Tuna Breath fell straight into the hole. I walked past the hole to my doggy door and entered my home. He wouldn’t be getting out for awhile.

seattle votes to change school start times to 9:40...

2009-04-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Seattle recently voted to change the start times for some of its public elementary schools to 9:40 am in order to save on transportation costs by staggering bus schedules in order to reduce their fleet by 49 buses.

While this move will save approximately $2.2 million per year, which would be a significant help to Seattle Public Schools' $25 million budget gap for the 2009-2010 school year, I can't help but wonder who this change is really working for.

Considering the economic climate these days, I'm thinking that many two income families will find it difficult to ask their employers to accomodate a 10am start time in order to be able to get their kids to school. And many families will find it financially taxing to add on a before-school daycare cost.

Plus, numerous studies have shown that children at the elementary school age level perform better earlier in the mornings. And if we're truly working to create the most favorable learning environments for our kids, why is this not being taken into consideration?

I know that my kids don't attend the Seattle Public School system for elementary school yet (though they will for middle school), but I have to say that the learning conditions are not looking optimal. And while I'm lucky enough to have a choice as to where I send my kids to school, it seems criminal to not give our public schools the best possible foundation for learning.

If you'd like to sign a petition against this late start time, let me know by end of day Tuesday and I'll send your name on to my friend Sara who is organizing this petition. You'll need to add your school affiliation so you must be a Seattle parent. If your child doesn't attend Seattle Public Schools now, but you're considering sending them in the future, you can add your school affiliation as "Future Parent."

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

Oh, and as a side note, all the sand we used instead of salt on the snow and ice during this past winter's failed storm strategy has clogged up one of Seattle's larger sewer plants. But um, I guess this wasn't totally unexpected.

on being an actual person... escape from seattle!

2009-04-23T09:57:00.001-07:00

It's amazing what three days on your own will do for a person...

On Sunday at 4:30 am, I left my dark house, 40 degree weather, and climbed into a taxi for Palm Springs to meet up with some girlfriends and enjoy some sun and relaxation. Under normal circumstances, there are very few activities that would warrant a 4am wake-up call. However, with two nights and three days of pure freedom, I wanted to make the most of my vacation and booked the first flight out. I'm not sure I've ever been so alert that early in my life.

At airport security, where I was sent back and forth through the screening multiple times until my very thorough security officer finally dug through my suitcase and while commenting on how many cosmetics I'd brought on my carry-on luggage, he looks at me and says sarcastically, "Have you even been on an airplane since 9/11?"

But even though he asks another security guard to keep an eye on me while he tests my 3+oz. bottle of saline solution (I know those dark bags under my eyes and maybe my very large stature makes me seem like a serious threat at 5:30 in the morning), I knew that heat and sun were just ahead.

And seriously, when I got off that plane and was hit with a burst of fresh heat and sun, I unwittingly let out a huge sigh of relief and before I could even be embarrassed, the two guys behind me did the very same thing. Yes, folks... This was some serious Vitamin D.

The house was right on the PGA West golf course and I met my four friends there where we pretty much spent the next three days slathered with sunscreen while laying out in the sun, talking, swimming, reading totally trashy magazines (Wow, Valerie Bertinelli is really looking great these days!), and drinking cocktails. Oh, and there was also way too much ABBA, Beyonce, and Black Eyed Peas going on, as well. And some dancing. And did I mention the cocktails? Oh, and did I also mention that it was 60 degrees warmer there? Though I think every single one of those degrees was necessary to dry up my cold and moldy Seattle insides.

We went shopping at 5pm and ate dinner at 10pm and our only concern was finding a place that was open (which was actually surprisingly difficult).

But besides drying out in the heat and hanging out with good friends, it was amazing to just get away from my life and to look at it from the outside for a few days. On the way down I started reading Mary Gaitskill's new book of short stories, Don't Cry. She's a writer I truly loved in graduate school, mostly for her raw honesty. And I don't think I've read her short stories since.

Before I left Samuel said to me, "How come you have to go so far away to be with your friends? Why can't you just have lunch or dinner with them and then come home?" And so I spent a few hours of guilt over this thinking, why am I so anxious to get so far away?

But there was something about being alone on a plane and reading her new stories that made me realize once again how easy it is to get so sucked into your own life that you forget what your core is really made of. And I was able to go back to my old self--pre family and job and mortgage--and get lost in thinking about stories I might write or concepts that were only just interesting to think about but had no purpose in my life other than just being what they were.

And then I realized, once I had a few hours to myself, that I needed pretty much at least twelve hours completely free of scheduling and planning and worrying about kids, family and responsibilities to actually feel relaxed and myself again. It's good to miss your life a little and to be able to come home refreshed and happy and excited about taking on new projects.

-------------------------------
Congratulations to Ellen, winner of the BabyLegs raffle! And I used a very um, random, random number generator from the appropriately URLed http://www.random.org/, so it's all kosher and honest pickings and stuff.

sometimes it's just so very necessary to get out of seattle...

2009-04-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday

interview #2 with samuel

2009-04-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

Me: You're on Spring Break. What are your goals for this vacation?

Sam: To find those lost Wii games and waste time until I go to Max's house.

Me: Weren't you going to learn how to type so that you can type your own papers?

Sam: I'll learn how to type later.

Me: Before your next paper?

Sam: Maybe not...

Me: What is your favorite thing to do outside?

Sam: Swordfights

Me: What do you think is the perfect age?

Sam: Eighteen or twenty.

Me: Why those ages?

Sam: Because I get to make my own choices then.

Me: Will they be so different than the choice your parents make for you? What will decide to do?
Sam: Heck, yeah! I'll get a cell phone and get to text people and I'll get to take longer showers and I'll get to drink coffee...

Me: Hmmm, anything else?

Sam: I'd have parties.

Me: What kind of parties?

Sam: Just parties.

Me: What would you do at the parties?

Sam: I'd order ten pizzas and have some fast food and that's pretty much all.

Me: Would you invite friends?

Sam: Yeah, you can't have a party without your friends.

Me: What are you going to do right now?

Sam: Going back to watch tv. Though, hey, can I have my own email account?

Me: Seriously? Who would you email?

Sam: I don't know... My friends. And Ben. And Jacob has one.

Me: Maybe you should learn how to type first. I don't think you have time for TV--you need to learn how to type.

Sam: Maybe you're right... Can I use your computer?

no BlogHer09 in real life for me...

2009-04-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Princess M and I were fully intending to go to BlogHer09 in Real Life in July. I'd already cleared it with B and pretty much told everyone I knew that I'd be going and I was seriously psyched about it (yeah, I still say "psyched..." so what?). And then a few days ago I went to register and get my act together about buying my pass, reserving a room, and booking a flight because it was now only three months away, only to find that the conference has sold out. Yup. I'm too late so I guess what they say about good intentions is pretty much true.

BlogHer has some contests to try to win a pass and I may try, but really, I don't have too many good money saving tips (but I'm happy to accept any you might have) and the recipe contests are not really up my alley, either, considering some of my previous attempts at dinner creativity have not really gone down all that well.

So unless I get really lucky and I'm the only one entering the recipe contest, I may have to put off attending my first BlogHer conference for another year. But you can bet I'll be one of the first in line once they start selling tix!

BabyLegs for your baby...

2009-04-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

I just got Naomi a pair of of BabyLegs leg warmers to wear with her dresses this spring. I'd noticed them before and thought they were really cute and it turns out that they're not only really cute, but very useful, too. She wore them out to play today and they were cool enough for the warmer weather and warm enough to keep her leggies warm and since they're not full pants, they were perfect for her to take herself to the potty on her own! (gotta love that...)

They have super cute and funky designs and I especially love the pink and silver star patterns.

And the good news for you is that they sent me a pair from their spring line to send out to you to try!

Just comment and let me know you're interested and I'll randomly choose one of the comments. And, because I don't usually get that many comments (really, you guys should comment more!), you all have a very good chance!

yummy naomi giggles...

2009-04-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

wordless wednesday...

we're. crumbling... banish the maccaroons!

2009-04-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Pesach, Day 5:
We're on to our seventh box of matzah and things are sort of crumbling in our household. To say the least...

Nobody should eat so much matzah. And the butter... Oh lord, the butter. Enough already!

And the matzah roca... Who the hell thought that cruel one up? I love it, I hate it, I love it, I hate it... Help. Me.

Eggs were our saving grace, but this morning, the girls passed on their scrambles and went back to their old standby: matzah and butter. Even Samuel stopped at three eggs and that's saying a lot.

There is nothing anybody wants for dinner except for bread. And lots of it. Bring on the carbs!!! Fluffy french bread and some pasta and maybe some tortilla chips and salsa...

To get our minds off things, I took the kids to a movie this afternoon and stuffed baggies of kosher for pesach marshmallows and maccaroons in my purse. They each had their own water bottles and tried not to look at the snackbar as we walked in, but when the theatre darkened and the curtains opened, and I pulled out the maccaroons, the kids shook their heads dejectedly, but Naomi took one look at them and screamed "NOOOOOOO!!! POPCORN!!!"

Five minutes later, she was happily munching on marshmallows and I made a mental note to never ever bring out the maccaroons again.

So what's for dinner tonight? Meatloaf again unless someone can quick send me a good Pesach recipe. HELP!!!

spring has officially sprung seattle style...

2009-04-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

Three different people randomly, and in situations completely unrelated to each other, mentioned to me over the last week how lucky they felt lately when they looked at their lives and by the third mention, while I was glad people were feeling good, I also started to wonder what was up.

Things have been hectic lately, as really they always are. Getting ready for Pesach was a pain the way it always is, the kids were home from school on the longest spring break ever as we were getting ready for Pesach, and somehow I am STILL getting over this cold and am still coughing (is there such a thing as Walking TB?).

Our first two seders were really nice, though, and it was wonderful, as always to get together with family and friends. The kids were engaged in ways that they've never been before. Samuel led his siblings, cousins, and friends in a skit he wrote about the story of Passover and the kids worked for days on masks they created for Chad Gadya. And Naomi even managed to hang in there through her mortal fear that someone actually would come through the door when we opened it for Elijah. Granted, we had to um, lie to her and tell her that nobody actually opened the door, but she did stop screaming.

And somehow Spring got it together to show up and it was sunny and warm and even... hot. Just for a second, though, and then we were back to warm. But that was okay.

But the holiday was also exhausting and I've been finding myself crawling into bed soon after the kids are tucked into theirs.

And then on Friday night, after the girls got to sleep and Boaz, Samuel, and I got in our bed with our books (our usual Friday night routine), I found myself thinking, "How did I get so lucky?"

We'd had the nicest Shabbat dinner with just the five of us. We all sat and ate and talked through dinner and nobody fought or kicked each other under the table, or melted down. And even though my vegetarian daughters are practically starving during this Pesach because they refuse to eat anything besides matzah and butter, they managed to munch happily and not complain about their dinners.

Afterwards, we all helped clean up, we read a couple chapters of Little House in the Big Woods from the very same book my sister gave me for my eight birthday (Tali has to read the inscription each time we open it) and exhausted, they girls went to bed without getting up two billion times to pee, get another drink of water, or make sure we're not doing anything too fun without them.

But lying there in bed, reading with my family, I realized how lucky I was to be doing something I love to do with people I love, celebrating meaningful holidays together and really, it wasn't much of an accident that those other people in my life were commenting on how lucky they felt themselves. There's something to be said about a season of life reemerging after the winter and appreciating your lot. There's a lot to be said about stopping to appreciate your family and friends and the perspective between big and little things that fill our lives. And really, there's a lot to be said for simply stopping the everyday grind and taking on a new routine for a holiday break.

Of course, the next day it started rained and it hasn't stopped since and now we're all totally waterlogged, half asleep from lack of sun, and back to wearing our coats and boots again. But I have to say that the spirit of the holiday is still hanging on strong (could be that matzah...). Everyone just seems to be in a bit of a lighter mood.

And even Naomi said that next year she'd be ready for Elijah. Or maybe the next year after that. Or after that...