The Curse of the Vaporizers

I am not a superstitious person. I have always been a firm believer that bad things only come from superstitious activity if you believe they do. However, one thing has been very hard to deny for the past few years. And that, my friends, is the curse of the vaporizers. Like many caring parents, I feel badly for my kids when they are sick with colds and do everything I can to make them feel more comfortable. One thing being setting up a vaporizer in their rooms, delivering soothing puffs of eucalyptus-infused mist. However, I have noticed something very strange. As long as the vaporizers, in all of their sediment-filled tubs and ugly towels underneath glory, are there, the kids are healthy. As soon as I think we’re in the clear (that is to say, there has been nary a sniffle for a good two months) and put away the vaporizers, almost the next day, someone is sick again. We are not just talking about Sick Season (what i call October-March). It is so bizarre. I think I have finally accepted the curse of the vaporizers. Everyone has been healthy for some time now, and though they are so very unsightly, I am leaving those ugly things right where they are. Knock on wood. Poo poo poo.

I flip my latkes in the air sometimes, saying ay oh, spin the dreidel...

Chanukah is one of my favorite holidays. Unlike most Jewish holidays, it does not require a lot of advanced preparation. It also does not have the same restrictions and prohibitions. This is especially appreciated in years like this one, when Chanukah literally crept up on us just a few days after Thanksgiving. It was filled with good food, good family and friends, good parties, and a good youtube video. (I usually think these things are silly and that the people that make them are even sillier, but I'm telling you, these boys have got it going on. This will be the next Chanukah Song.)

Party at the Parents' House:



Eating:



Opening presents:





Inventing a new game- it's sort of like a cross between paper football and basketball. Played with chocolate coins, of course. Extra points awarded for getting them into the light fixtures:





Housewarming Party:

Greeting guests:



Enjoying a doughnut:



Me and one of my besties (good news, guys, she's single!):



Just 100 or s0 of our nearest and dearest:



Plus we had lots of fun on our own every night!

Lighting the menorah:





Singing songs:



Opening presents:

Where Have I Been?

Entertaining. Specifically: Mom's birthday. Sleepover company the weekend before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, including sleeping company for the whole weekend. A birthday brunch for Shimmy's almost-eighty-year-old grandmother the Sunday after Thanksgiving. A huge Chanukah/Housewarming Party the very next Sunday. Now it's time to start thinking about Sophie's birthday. But before I do, prepare for a barrage of blog posts.

Thanksgiving- A Bird's Eye View

Here's the story of our Thanksgiving, as seen through our turkeys:

The day began bright and early with the deep-fry. About 50 people, most of them men, came to drink, grunt, and fry things. Among the things fried were sausages, salami chips, this turkey:



And for the first time, a turducken, seen in it's precooked state here:


(as you can see, I had nothing to do with the process besides for the festive paper napkins)

The deep-fry lasted from about 9am, when people first started showing up, until 4pm, when our dinner guests arrived and the last of the deep-fry guests trickled out. This was way too long and really, really stressed me out.

Meanwhile, I was in the kitchen all day preparing dinner, which included: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, pumpkin bread, cranberry-apple crisp, corn muffins, and for the first time, a tofurkey, which was actually the most involved and time-consuming dish I prepared.

This is the dinner bird, aka the REAL bird, or MAIN EVENT, in its precooked state:



And here it is again, all carved on the table:




This is the tofurkey, which was DELICIOUS and was enjoyed and devoured by vegetarians and carnivores alike!




Around 4pm our dinner guests arrived and we had a wonderful meal together.

We had pilgrims:



Native Americans:



Dance parties:



And fun watching Lilah try new foods:




All-in-all it was a great Thankgsiving. The deep-fry fest went on way too long, making it hard for me to have the actual dinner prepared as perfectly as I would have liked (I am not posting pictures of the dinner table this year, because I get annoyed every time I see the aluminum pan that the corn muffins are in and the brita pitcher instead of the crystal pitcher). However, delicious food enjoyed with my family, while genuinely telling them how thankful I am for each of them and what makes them who they are, is what Thanksgiving is about and is why I love that holiday!

I never thought...

I never thought…

The silk scarf I bought at a street fair on my honeymoon in Paris would be a staple in my kids’ games. It has served as a super hero cape, a baby blanket, a table cloth for tea parties, and everything in between!

My old ratty flip flops would become evening wear for dress up.

The silk purse I bought in Chinatown in San Francisco would get absorbed into the dress up bin and I would never be allowed to use it for myself.

The small hairbrush I used to keep in my evening bags when I went out many years ago would become my daughters’ regular hair brush.

My high school notebook would become a coloring book for my kids.

My Power Puff Girls tin that I used to keep my makeup in when I was a teenager would hold the kids’ crayons.

My stickers that I saved when I was a kid would end up stuck all over the house, put there by my own kids.

My daughter would play with my old barbies, complete with eighties outfits and hairdos (okay, maybe I did think that would happen).

Sophie would take a nap after 6 months of no naps and I could have time for things like blogging again!

To be continued...

Octoberfest

Every Sunday this month I have planned a different fun Fall activity for the kids. This was mostly out of necessity (see previous post), although I do enjoy being outdoors during Fall. I love the weather and the colors. The first week of Octoberfest was spent apple picking (and then apple baking and eating!):





The second week we to a fall farm with a hay maze and huge slide:





Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch:








This coming Sunday we are going to a party! Once November arrives (presumably with colder weather and shorter afternoons), I will need to come up with a whole new list of activities!

A Case of the Mondays

Before I had kids my favorite day of the week was Sunday. I could sleep in, even stay at home in my pj's all day if I wanted to. I could catch up on my to-do list from the previous week. I could plan and do fun activities of my own choosing- even if that meant just watching old movies in bed all day. I could begin the next week rested and refreshed.

Now that I have kids I HATE Sundays. I get awoken around 7 am, just like every other day. The only difference is, there is no school, play group, music class, or any other planned activity. To adults, this equals relaxation. To kids, this equals boredom, which equals absolute insanity. Throw football into the mix and you have one parent trying to tame the insanity alone, and often quite bitter about that. The only solution I have found is to ignore both the fact that I should be relaxing and that there is another parent around. This means planning activities that take up the entire morning away from home. Another post on these activities to follow.

Before I had kids I hated Mondays. I hated waking up early and going to work after a relaxing weekend.

Now that I have kids I LOVE Mondays. Back to work for the football-loving parent! Back to school for the demanding pre-schooler! Babysitter will be here any minute for the tantrum-throwing-almost-two-year-old! I can BREATHE. Even if breathing means doing three loads of laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, and running on the treadmill (which is how I spent this Monday morning and most others). Because I can do all of those things BY MYSELF and think MY OWN THOUGHTS INSIDE MY OWN HEAD! Ah, relaxation! Monday just cannot come soon enough!