best wishes for 2010...

wordless wednesday!

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

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

1. Whisky is a very good thing for a parent--Evan is your friend.
2. Moderation is actually a good thing, too.
3. Reverse psychology works on tweens AND preschoolers. Not so much on six year olds.
4. Kids can actually get sick of mac and cheese.
5. They can get sick of noodles, too.
6. No matter how far you're running, the last mile is painful.
7. 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.
8. Same goes for haircuts.
9. 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.
10. 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...

wordless wednesday

what's in a name?

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!

wordless wednesday

three year olds are incredibly responsible...

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...

wordless wednesday

lego forgets half of their marketing audience...

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...

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...

wordless wednesday

braine power--who needs new math?

wordless+wednesday...

it's been a long time...

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...

wordless wednesday

scary, not cute...

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...

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...)

wordless wednesday

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

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...

(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...

wordless wednesday...

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

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...