Happy Hannukah

At my MIL's house tonight she was playing with my kids and reading to them from a Hannukah version of the advent chart. For those of you who don't know they are those cute little cards with little flaps to open up on each of the twenty-four days/nights before Xmas. I remember my grandparents buying me the same exact one when I was a child. I got really excited about it. It is called the Jewish Museum Storyboard. You open up little flaps corresponding to one of each of the eight nights of Hannukah.  Super cute!! It is surprising how happy something from my childhood resurfacing can me. My hubby's grandmother was an art docent in the Manhattan Jewish Museum for over twenty-five years. I hold the Museum and their gift shop close to my heart. Thank you Grandma T for all the beautiful gifts you gave us over the years. We miss you!

Hey Y'all

My baby is a chubba wub. He's big, with chunky polkas and and large keppi. (Bli Eyin Harah). If I have to think of the baby products that I've depended on in the past few months I would jump at saying Aden+Anais products. I couldn't live without their gauzy muslin blankets. Okay so baby J was born in the summer so, they were perfect for the Eastern Seaboard's hot and humid weather. I'm not so sure if I would have been so into them had he been born in the winter. You can use them for swaddling, hanging over a bassinet canopy, around your head, or even as a privacy cover on an infant car seat. They look a lot like a tichel, shmata, headwrap, or whatever you call them. I loved carrying baby J in my front Baby Hawk with an Aden + Anais covering his head and draped across my front. The material was fabulously breathable and protected his head from the sun while making me feel rather hip. Yes, it can come off a bit like an Arab turban if you use the plain white version, but they do come in a lot of cute patterns. The other fab find from Aden+Anais is their Burby Bib. From the moment my newbie was born he has been quite the puker. The aden + anais burpy bib fits perfectly on the shoulder and makes a great full front covering when snapped around baby's neck. I purchased my swaddles from BuyBuyBaby but I know you can get them in loads of other places, Diapers.com for one. They make easy and great baby gifts.

Hello Everyone

I had a whirl wind of a day. I'm essentially comatose on the couch with my feet up at the moment. My kitchen is a wreck and my husband is still finishing up Chumash homework with my son a few feet away. I guess I'm not actually off duty yet. I'm on a mandatory break, otherwise I would pass out on the floor. A few months ago I wouldn't have been able to fathom how tired I could be at the end of the day with five kids. There is so much more I wanted to do. Where did the time go and why do see myself yelling at everyone most of the day? The babies, (the twins; I still call them babies), love to lay on top of my four month old. I caught one of the girls poking his eyes. Wow, do I have a low tolerance for their smothering. Besides for my regular carpool duties, lunch making, and Shabbat grocery shopping, I made dinner for a friend that just gave birth and took everyone to my eldest son's hockey lesson. Hockey ends at 6:45. I've posted a few times about his hockey lessons last year or so. Well, he is getting really good. His ice skating is so much fun to watch and he is really getting a good grip on his stick holding and puck maneuvering.  I have to come prepared with a bag like Savta Simcha or Mary Poppins. I have dinner in there, an etcha-sketch, coloring book, crayons, and an emergency candy treat. My girls, now three and four, wear me out playing on the metal bleachers that I need constant bribery available. So, I had to run out of the house to hockey practice the minute I finished making dinner. For those of you curious it was; minestrone soup, Indian yellow rice (Grandma Doreen's recipe), shnitzle, green salad with dressing on the side, and my mother's fabulouso fruit cake. So, yes I'm sitting on the couch unable to move and my kitchen looks like a bomb went off. At least I managed to cook a little extra for my family for Shabbat in the process. My bed has no sheets on it, because one of my twins managed to have an accident and then quietly sneak into my bed last night, great. I guess I'll just stay on the couch just a little longer. Thanks Dad for convincing me to buy a new couch. Making good use of it.

So Now I Need a Large Cup of Coffee

...Just to write a short blog post. I also need to block out all the chaos the twins are causing in my room. Every moment not on the job will cost me somewhere else. Usually, it is a wipe case fully emptied around their bedroom or baby diapers on all their dolls. What to write about? I haven't had much presence in a while on the blog, for my normal excuses, fatigue and muddled brain. So, now I need a large cup of coffee to make it through the morning not just the blog. Poor baby J gets thrown into the car barely changed to make sure my two school goers make it to school on time. Yesterday was a winner. I drop my four year old three houses down and across the street to go to school with carpool. I pick up every afternoon. Upon arriving at the little girl's house I noticed two missing backpacks with lunches missing. I got out of my car and ran home with kids still all buckled. Amazingly enough, I locked the door, but I had left the keys in the car. I ran back to the car and back to the house to get those blasted bags. What was funny about it was that I felt like I was doing sprints. Taking care of kids is taxing on the body. You run up and downstairs all day and do interesting yoga poses to buckle three sets of car seats, but nothing like real cardio. Especially, when you get your heart pumping first thing in the morning outside on a crisp day. My gym membership is on freeze because they don't take babies under a year in the babysitting room. I'm busy like crazy or too exhausted these days to even bend down to touch my toes during the day. The change of pace was unexpected and really enjoyed.

Holiday Sampler

I somehow purchased a holiday sampler on iTunes. I found it recently when I was compiling a new list of workout songs on my song library. So, here I was listening to The First Noel randomly and realizing that I secretly love the tune. Why are Christmas carols so pretty? I feel almost sacrelig to even say it out loud. Then I had a creeping thought to steal the tune and use it for Jewish song. Is that wrong? Today was my inaugural post natal gym visit and I wanted a playlist to march on the treadmill to. I get an automated email from parentingmag.com with tips on how to lose the extra baby weight everyday. They claim all sorts of ways to lose those pounds fast.  I'm starting off trying to do the suggested five minutes of cardio daily, I do jumping jacks or treadmill, along with various Pilates ab work and the occasional plank move.  I'm a week into my new regime and haven't noticed anything much. Baby J isn't six weeks yet so I'm keeping things rather simple.

It's a boy!

My fifth little duckling has arrived. He was born on June 25, 2011, which was a Saturday evening. Lovely! Those of you who have experienced the excitement of a Shabbat birth and subsequently a Shabbat brit already know of all the challenges. I had experienced false labor the Shabbat before and had come very close to making a call to my OB. The contractions subsided and returned off and on throughout the week. Friday evening just after candle lighting on June 24th, they resumed at what I perceived as regular intervals. Thank Hashem my Husband called a Rav before Shabbat to deduce a good plan if I should actually go into labor. We set aside two envelopes of cash for a cab to the hospital, called to let the cab company know we might be calling, and put their number into speed dial. I got a psak to take a cab back from the hospital if it should be a false alarm. That was one of my biggest worries. I didn't want to be stuck all Friday night and all of Shabbat morning roaming around the hospital lobby. The Rav said since I might be inclined to wait too long at home in order to avoid ruling out false labor, he would allow me to return home by cab. I did not want to endanger myself by giving birth in my home or chas V'shalom a car. Baruch Hashem, we did need to call a cab that night. The cab driver willingly accepted the envelope of cash set next to the door inside our house, and after twenty hours of mostly unhelpful contractions I gave birth to an 8 lb. 2 oz. baby boy with no hair. None of my children are born with hair. Retrospectively, I could have waited to go to the hospital on Shabbat morning rather than Friday night. My fear of delivering quickly at home, I gave birth to twins last after all, was getting the better of me. I know that for some of you that's not daunting, but without a midwife set up, all I could think about was getting to the hospital. I like the constant attention of the nurses and love the contraction monitor. I think that if I had a doula  I would have been able to deliver sans an epidural. I tried everything naturally in my power to deliver on my own but was faced with time restraints by my OB and the hospital. This was my longest labor and was my fourth delivery. Go figure! I guess they are right when they say each child, labor, and pregnancy is from Hashem and can be totally different. Welcome baby J.

Another update

My son is just finishing up first grade this week. I feel like I need a little ribbon with the words, "I survived being a first grade mama!" I would wear around for a week. No more handouts to sign or you need to send money for projects envelopes. I will especially not miss the suggestions and comments directed to me on returned assignments. Love the big stack of worksheets my son gets to take home every Friday. I guiltily stash 'em in the trash when he is not looking. Yes, I really am looking forward to a break from elementary school this summer. I know my son is too and I can't wait to read books that we pick out that don't need to be signed off on a homework sheet. My son reads amazingly now. I know that it had nothing to do with all of the phonics and sight word practice he had to do this year and more to do with his mental development. It took until about two weeks ago to really get his letter sequencing. You need to be able to memorize strings of letters and letter blends before you can be expected to really take strides in reading. So, a few weeks ago my little seven year old son sweetly asked if we could read a really challenging chapter book on espionage. I was shocked on two accounts. Firstly, that he approached me with interest to read anything himself and secondly, that he had the patience to work out some pretty challenging words and concepts. I find him reading to all alone often now and we have read chapters of books on many occasions since. Spelling has become a breeze. He can spit out lists of letters and memorize them at heartbeat. I remember in the beginning of first grade the spelling tests were brutal. It didn't matter how many times we practiced. He couldn't remember the letters in the proper order. I do need a pat on the back. Its hard doing homework when you can't read the directions. So, goodbye first grade and hello summer. May this summer be a nice fresh break from academic pressure and stress, until second grade that is... ridiculous.