Living with Construction

You know your kids have grown up with construction when they are typically quite reserved, but greet the construction workers like long lost relatives. At least someone is happy to see them. Don’t get me wrong: I enjoy the planning that goes into home projects and I love the finished product. But, the actual period of construction (any transitional, disruptive period for that matter) kind of stresses me out. I can be a pretty high-anxiety person. The world can be a jungle for me sometimes. My home is my sanctuary. And when it is invaded by others for long periods of time, I sometimes feel that I have no sanctuary. I have to deal with the mess. And the noise. And my car perpetually getting blocked in. And HAVING TO WEAR A BRA ALL DAY LONG.

When we met with our contractor to discuss this phase of renovations, I concluded the meeting by enthusiastically saying, “I’m really excited about this!” To which he, experienced contractor and father of seven replied, “You say that now, but this is like having another baby. At first you’re really excited, but then when it comes you’re tired and annoyed.” He is a smart man. However, like having a baby, even though I am tired and displaced, I am still pretty excited. This is my passion. Planning, designing, and overseeing the completion of a home project is fun and fulfilling, despite the stress. Kind of like parenting…

Mothers Day 2011 in Pictures

First, I celebrated as a mom:





Then, as a daughter:



Great day, all around :)

Chag HaAviv

Passover is also known as Chag HaAviv, Festival of the Spring, and with good reason. No matter when in the secular calendar Passover falls, be it mid-March or late-April, that is when Spring seems to occur. We spent Passover in its entirety at my parents' house, as we do every year. We had a fabulous time. I especially enjoyed sleeping in an extra hour every morning while my dad fed and entertained the kids. It was so nice to spend so much quality with our family- and so much of it outdoors!

Highlights included:

Seders (complete with our kid-friendly seder on the afternoon before the second seder):




Playdates with friends (including blogger friends- say hi to CBHM's Z and E!):



The National Zoo:



----> entire lion family!

When we got home we found that Spring had indeed sprung at our house while we were away. The blossoming tree that we played under the week before we left was now covered in leaves. Bushes that had previously been bare were now in bloom. The water that had accumulated on top of our pool cover was full of tadpoles, some of which have metamorphosed (that is the correct word, I looked it up!) into frogs that croak in the evening. And, once again, there is a nest right outside the kitchen window. Spring is here to stay! Until, of course, Summer arrives, which is even better :)

These Are The Days To Remember

When I checked my cellphone over coffee this morning I saw a most wonderful text from one of my good friends, "cancel playdate water broke." I had been asked to be on-call as caretaker of her son, who is Lilah's age, should this happen before her parents arrived in town. I awaited further instruction. I smiled all day long, picturing my friend preparing to welcome her baby girl into the world. While at Target, Lilah and I bought the most adorable bathing suit, floppy hat, and sunglasses for our future pool party guest. At 2:30pm my friend called to say that labor was progressing nicely but that her parents were still a few hours away- could I pick her son up from daycare and bring him back to my house until her parents arrived? Of course! At 3:25pm Baby Girl (not sure if my friend wants her kids publicized on my blog) arrived and I received the call shortly after! (It's awesome how many times my friend and I spoke during her labor- God bless epidurals.) A couple of hours later my girls and I headed out to pick up the new big brother. We brought him back home with us, changed him, fed him dinner, and played with him. In the middle of all of this, Sophie turned to me and said, "Mommy, you're good." I said, "I'm a good friend to X?" She said, "Yes, and you're a good mom." MADE MY DAY. It's amazing how much she notices now. She watched the way I cared for someone that wasn't my own child and I think she was proud. And that makes me proud. Awesome day all-around. Baby Girl arrived and she and her mama are doing great! And my girls, growing and maturing by leaps and bounds, are doing great too!

Coming Out

Hey, guess what?



And guess what else? I've been blogging about it all along, over here:
http://thirdbunintheoven.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to start from the beginning!

Lilah's Birthday

Sunday was Lilah's *actual* birthday. We had celebrated with friends the week before. Sunday was a day for us to celebrate her birthday as a family. Despite forecasts of snow, the weather was clear, and we headed down to see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom, as we have done every year for as long as I can remember. I love seeing them. I love seeing them through my children's eyes even more. Sophie is now old enough to remember how much we love them and to look forward to them every year. I think Lilah might be getting there. We took time to really enjoy them up close before walking around the Tidal Basin and finally stopping to picnic. After a wonderful afternoon, we went to Nana and Poppa's for dinner and birthday cake. Lilah had a great birthday- and so did I :)

Purim - Panic = Success!

I was talking to a relative on Friday and telling them about Sunday's party. He asked, "why is it that you always have to host the party every Purim?" "Because I LIKE to!," I replied automatically. And I do. The one year I didn't host Purim I was literally depressed all day. Despite my usual panic, I really do love throwing parties. Which brings us to yesterday's party.

This year's annual Purim bash was SO MUCH FUN! We decided to go with a Sesame Street theme. I was Grover, Shimmy was Big Bird, Sophie was Abby, and Lilah was Cookie Monster. We had a great group of friends over, great food, and no pre-party panic! I'm not even sure how that happened. I'm always prepared, so it's not the last minute rush that stresses me out. I have been known to have the pre-party panic even if everything is 100% ready and I am sitting down waiting for guests to arrive. Maybe blogging about it last week helped? If I put it out there in the universe (or internetz) it can no longer attack me from within? Who knows. All I know is that yesterday we had one heck of a good time.

Since Lilah's birthday is this coming Sunday, I had already thrown parties the previous two Sundays, and the same group of friends would have been invited to a separate birthday party, we decided to celebrate her birthday yesterday too. This weekend we will celebrate with family!


(Best family pic of the day even though Shimmy had lost his costume by this point, Lilah took off her hood, revealing very messy hair, and Sophie is wearing/holding the entire contents of the dress up bin. Hey, I look okay.)

Location:
Our house, which was clearly made for entertaining. We can seat 30+ people around tables comfortably in our dining room. Love it.



Menu:
Glazed corned beef
Sweet and sour meatballs
Chicken stuffed wontons
Mock shrimp cocktail
Sesame noodles
Whipped potatoes in phylo shells
Vegetables and dips

and for dessert:
Ambrosia (I cannot wait to make this again- it was SO GOOD)
Pumpkin muffins (per Miss Abby Cadaby aka Sophie's request)
Hamantashen of course, with a BIG birthday hamantashen for Lilah (also Sophie's idea)



Activities:
Eating, hanging out, and a costume contest for the kids, which Lilah won! I think people voted for her because it was her birthday party. She was super cute in her cookie monster costume, but she had some good competition.


(Sophie was Hawaiian Abby Princess Aurora- she definitely got points for creativity)

Party favor:
Our Mishloach Manot bags, which were Sesame Street themed to match our costumes! The bags contained Bert's Oatmeal, Cookie Monster's Cookies, Oscar's Mud Cakes (brownies), Big Bird's Bird Seed (sunflower seeds), and Elmo's Juice Box



As successful as it was, I'm taking a break from parties for a while. As the host, that is. I'd love to be a guest if anyone else is so inclined to do the planning :)