Sorry in advance...

...but would you all mind terribly if I brag about my genius baby for a minute? If you do mind, don't read this post. I won't be insulted. In fact, I won't even know. I usually don't brag about exceptional things my kids do. I know their strengths, talents, and abilities. I feel thankful to God and I feel proud as a parent, and that's usually enough. I don't need to go out of my way to tell others about them. BUT, this blog is a way for me to archive my memories of their childhoods. And one day I am going to want to be able to recall specific examples of just how amazingly smart Lilah (21 months old) is. Here are those examples:
1. Some of the moms at playgroup were asking their kids where so-and-so was, hoping their kid would point to the correct person. I didn't participate, because I know Lilah knows who everyone is. When they were finished, Lilah said, "Where's Izzie?" Izzie was the one friend not there that day. Lilah pointed that out.
2. I asked Lilah's babysitter what she ate for lunch today. The babysitter said, "The chick patty, cheese, fruit, veggie chips, and water." Lilah, who had been listening the whole time, said, "and milk." Babysitter said, "Oh yea, and milk too."
3. We were leaving the house this afternoon and Lilah said, "right back," and went to get her hat and mittens.
4. We were sitting at the table eating grapes together and I noticed it was time to go get Sophie. I jumped up in a hurry and said, "we have to go now!" Lilah said, "hold on, Mommy." She put grapes back in the bowl and carried it to the refrigerator.

The kid is mad smart. My first clue was when, at just a couple of months old, she would kick the buttons on her mobile to make the music start again. I was clued in again at 15 months when she counted to six (actually pointed to 1,2,3,4,5,6 dots on a ladybug while saying the correct number). Again, and again I am amazed by her.

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about one of Sophie's amazing qualities too, namely, her incredible memory. The girl reminds me about things that happened over a year ago (which is a quarter of her lifetime)! I have always had a rididulous memory, so it's pretty awesome when she remembers things that I don't.

These kids are going to go far, my friends. Thanks for reading, and sorry again about the bragging. I'll try to keep it infrequent.

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!