From coast to coast

Ocean Blvd in Long Beach

I have to say, being home in CA is like putting on a well-worn pair of jeans.  I'm such a West Coast-er in terms of mentality and culture. I don't know why I tried to convince myself differently.  All happens as it's meant to.  Except that we are definitely not going to THIS beach in winter - it's in the 50s here and the water is freezing!

Winter break

Going to the park.  By ourselves and with new friends.

Bike rides around the neighborhood (it had been 15 years since I was on a bike, ouch)

Reading stories.

Playing with Crazy Sand and making new colors.

Playing Qixels (think fuse beads).

Making LEGO creations; here is another Minecraft one.

Watching SuperWhy and PG rated movies.

Having car races.

Going to the movies (for Jonathan and Antonio, to see Rogue One)

Minecraft and Lego Star Wars video games until they had horrible behavior and we took away all electronics for three days.

Painting in the bathtub  (I brought in water soluble paint and paintbrushes, and they painted the bathtub, the tile on the wall, and each other.  Then a very easy clean up after!)

Making and eating jello.

One brother creating mazes, the others doing them.

Train track creations.

Playing catch.

In a space of 10 minutes: Laughter. Yelling when no one listens to the adult. Hugs.  Someone hitting someone else.

In other words, great family bonding!

Marshmallow dreidels

My mom's FB post from a few days ago:

"The first night of Hanukkah. In preparation, Michal and I made edible marshmallow dreidels with the boys, we stocked up on sour cream and apple sauce, and I got a haircut....finally! We lit candles, Jonathan made latkes for dinner, we all sang songs, and Xander explained the true meaning of Hanukkah...love and being together. It was a wonderful evening."

The ingredients: marshmallows, Hershey's kisses, pretzel sticks, Nutella, white frosting, and blue food coloring

(with my infamous Hanukkah hat)

Xander designed and built his menorah all by himself.

Finished creations.

The grease-filled kitchen!  Dinner and dessert clogged our arteries wonderfully and was utterly delicious. :)

Ari reading with Bubby at school

"Breakfast and Books."  

Mom enjoyed the reading.  Ari enjoyed the donuts.

A's amazing kindergarten teacher

I love this teacher and this school.

She communicates to parents constantly through the Bloomz app.

On Monday the kids read a book about the gingerbread girl escaping her captors.  Tuesday they made gingerbread dough. Wednesday they put it into shapes.  Thursday, they decorated them.  And Friday, the cookies "escaped" and the kids had to follow clues to go all over school until they finally found them in the school office.

On Thursday, the teacher, Mrs. Williams, messaged me this photo:

"Ari wanted to make a Jewish gingerbread boy. Note the Star of David on the tummy.😊"

When I thanked her for supporting him, for having them make art menorahs as well as decorated Christmas trees, she responded:

"All children need to know that their faith and traditions are valued at school.  You're very welcome.  I wish you and all your family a very happy Hanukkah!"

The next day I picked Ari up from school and he was ecstatic.

It didn't last even 10 minutes once we got home. But he shared with everyone. :)

The good and the bad

The good: we went on a playdate with Ari's new friend Nora and her sister.

The bad:  our car wouldn't start when we tried to leave their house.

The good:  I got to know people at both AAA and the Nissan dealership, not to mention the family of the playdate.

The bad: I know them all so well because I was on the phone with them for three hours after the playdate ended, at the other family's house, going in occasionally for tea because it was freezing.

The good: I got to ride in a tow truck.

The bad: It was the third tow truck that showed up to the house.  I needed a car lift and dolly, and no matter what I said to the dispatcher, the first two tow trucks didn't show up with one.

The good: The tow truck driver, Paul, was lovely.  He's half-Hungarian, half-American, and his wife is from Japan.  We talked for over an hour waiting for all the various stuff to show up. He even gave me a ride home.

More good: The repair was free.  Thank god for warranties.

Even better good: I got home right in time for bedtime, and missed all the drama that went on in my absence over dinner and bathtime.  I got the snuggles and bedtime stories only without the crying and time-outs.

Abject lesson: there's always good, in everything!  And our car runs smoother than before.

Cat on a hot tin roof

I heard meowing. 

I went outside.

Yentl was not happy.

Behold Yentl meowing for a valiant rescue

My first thought: Where was Rescue Bots when you needed them?

My second thought:  I'll have to get a ladder.

Third thought: Crap, the ladder doesn't reach that high.

Then the phone rang, it was our friend Joe. I told him I couldn't talk as I was trying to coax the cat off the roof.  He sounded surprised.  What, this isn't the usual answer to a phone call?  I texted him the photo to show I wasn't insane.  He reacted with proper sympathy and laughter.

15 minutes later, Jonathan made her a bridge from kindling wood (for the fireplace) and a nailgun.  

It didn't work.  

An hour later, the doorbell rang.  The neighbor's nieces and nephews were over to visit and were very concerned with the cat on the roof.  Thankfully the neighbor had a very tall ladder, and whew, Yentl was saved!

(blog title courtesy of Joe)

Smorgasbord.. kind of

We had lots of tortillas.

We wanted to use them up before they got moldy.

Everyone was tired of quesadillas.

I looked up online, "tortilla meal ideas," and it was amazing. Chicken salad with feta, beef and pineapple tostadas, huevos rancheros in a cup, salami and roasted red pepper wraps, asparagus cigars, all kinds of good things I would love... that my children would never eat.

I tried again.

"Tortilla meal ideas toddlers"

That proved much more helpful.  We had a buffet of wraps.

I split each tortilla into three, so the kids could pick and choose:

Cream cheese and turkey

Apple and cheddar cheese (melted)

Turkey and cheddar cheese (melted)

Apple, peanut butter, and honey

Peanut butter and blueberries

Apple, peanut butter and honey was by far the most popular (I think because of the honey).  They even wanted it in their lunches the next day!

Ari in repose

The first of the Minecraft LEGO

Sorting pieces

Almost complete (Connor drinking smoothie)

The finished product

Showing us all its various iterations

Much, much later... playing.  Complete with sound effects and songs.

X's winter play

He was participating in the musical titled, "It's Electric!" about electricity, volts, and Alessandro Volta (who I had to look up when I get home).  I love this new school.

Even more excitedly for Xander, he won two gift baskets at the raffle, both full of  Minecraft Lego.

Discovered a new park

Jonathan was on fire playing zombie - he chased the two littles all around.  We didn't take any pictures, we were too busy having fun.

Once we got home though:

We put on Superman II and Connor conked out 30 minutes in.  Ari followed 10 minutes later.  

Xander, on the other hand watched the whole movie and thought it was great. :)

Still amazed by technology

When we moved from Cincinnati to Sacramento, Xander would Skype with his friend Yasha on our respective laptops.  It was still new-ish technology for everyone.

Now, we were on our way back from the park, kids strapped in their carseats, when I heard a Skype call on my phone. I answered it, from Ari's friend Elijah in Florida, and handed Ari the phone in the backseat. They spoke for 10 minutes in the car, then Ari carried the phone into the house, still chatting, for another 10.  It's second nature.  Even Connor reached for the phone, saying, "I want talk to Elijah!" and he already knows how to hold the phone and what buttons to press to switch from selfie to regular mode.

Sometimes I feel old.

Partying to the max

One night after dinner last week, we were cleaning up and someone said, "Let's get this party started!" - referencing a Pink song that they know from the movie Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.  Jonathan and I, of course, know the song from... well, being alive when the album was released.

We have the Amazon Echo, a really cool device which, among other things, plays music per request, so as I started the dishwasher I asked it to play "Let's Get This Party Started."

And hence began the dance party in the living room.

I became official DJ, shouting orders to the Echo in our own odd little playlist.

We danced hard to Pink and Beyonce, shook it off with Taylor Swift and heartily sang along with "Everything is Awesome" from the LEGO movie.  Somewhere around Sean Paul we segued into spinning in circles, and during the Black Eyed Peas we played catch with two alef-bet plush balls.  When the little ones started to slow down we grooved to Adele, and we transitioned into bedtime with Sarah McLachlan and Indigo Girls.

The evening ended with Jonathan and I each telling a made-up story to the kiddos.  (His was better, I admit, they always are - this time it was about dragons with diamond scales who breathed fire and ice and acid and the dragonslayers who went after them).

Lights were out by 8:30pm, and Connor only got up once after.

It was peaceful, and loving, and joyous.

I think the universe gives parents these nights every once in a while, to make up for all the others!

Creativity in our own special way

Xander came to me upset because in his music class at school, he's been singing about Santa and reindeer and snowmen and sleighs, but no Hanukkah songs.

He told me he was getting sick of "Jingle Bells," because they sing it every time.

I couldn't help myself.

I did a bad bad thing.

I taught him the "Batman smells, Robin laid an egg" version.

The child has never laughed so hard in his life. 

He actually guffawed.

He blinked a couple times before he allowed himself to laugh, like he couldn't believe that I, his usually-respectable parent, sang it to him.

When we got home, he taught it to Ari.  

Later that day we had to pile all of them in the car to go on an errand, and for 20 minutes, they made up their own bad parodies of Jingle Bells.

Consider this doing my best to pass on knowledge l'dor v'dor, from generation to generation. The tradition continues!

One-upped in logic by a 5 year-old

There is a space in the older boys' bunk bed, right underneath the stairs, that Ari has adopted as his "secret spot."  Tonight, Connor was hiding in it.

Ari was furious.

"That's MY spot!" he cried.

It was an issue.

It was a discussion.

I tried to explain that it was a physical space that was available to everyone.  

I was glad that Ari had found a space in this house that he felt so comfortable in, but I couldn't, and wouldn't, stop Connor from checking it out once in a while if Ari was in another room.

This did not go down well with Ari.

"I'm not going to bed until you say it's mine!!" he said.

By this point I was frustrated, about to lose my temper, and as such, was not thinking clearly.  

I started to say, "Well, then, you're never going to..." and then Ari's eyes lit up.  I paused, and rewound my sentence in my head.  

I had to laugh at myself.  "Ohhh, this is a lose-lose conversation for me, isn't it?"

Birthday present - first bike

Jonathan and I wanted to get Connor a new tricycle as a present.  Our old one was really beat up from the previous two children, and I sometimes feel badly that almost all of what Connor owns is hand-me-downs.

So we determined to get him a new bike!

(Of course, a new Schwinn is still $100.  Don't tell him, I found a like-new and new-to-him one on Craigslist for $25).

He was SO happy here, being introduced to his bike.  Jonathan had just finished putting air in the tires, and was fixing Ari's bike next to him.

We're right outside the front yard here, and this is the exact moment when he got the pedaling motion down.  He would either pay attention to where his hands were, and steer properly, or he would look at his feet to make sure they were working right.

On the road!  And a little scared that he would run into the wall.

A terrible picture, but I don't have a better one of the three of them.  The light was in their eyes.  But hey - first family bike ride!  I'm so appreciative of California's sidewalks so we don't have to go in the street and constantly move to avoid cars.  Connor really got the hang of it, and is a speed demon now.  We go out for walks (for me) and rides (for him) all the time.

Connor's 3rd birthday

Mater and Lightning McQueen, with three candles.  It's all a young boy needs!

Blowing out the candles.

Eating yummy cake and fruit.

What awesome books!

 Unwrapping is just as fun as playing with the present.

Excitement!  He was so happy after each gift was unwrapped he hugged each person around the circle, almost every time.

Epic multi-balloon game.

Jane winds it up....

and Ari's got it!

Petting Simcha.  

I haven't written thank-you notes, but the boy LOVES every gift.  He's been playing with the toys and reading the books non-stop.  Thank you, everyone, for coming!  (and amazing how many of you avoided the camera... in hindsight it looks like only 3 people joined us, LOL)

Nature walk

What do you know, we did something as a family that didn't involve a screen as babysitter!  (gasp)

Basically, it means we're unpacked now and life is returning to a new normal.

We went on the 1/4 mile El Dorado Nature Center walk.  Then the kids still had so much energy, we went on the full mile hike. I love this canopy of trees at the beginning.

I had to include this second one just for Ari's pose.

Looking for fish and turtles in the stream.

Connor was terrified of the many bridges throughout the walk, he thought he was going to fall in the water every time.  This is the first time he actually held Jonathan's hand and walked across on his own power, instead of insisting on being held.

Water break.

Tale of a time-out

Me, arguing with a child over his punishment.

"I SAW you kick him."

"I didn't kick him!!"

Eyebrow raise.

"I punched him with my foot."

Spare time

Ari is becoming quite the photographer.  He also likes to record videos of himself singing.

X the architect

Jello jigglers

Behold the glory.  Two types of jello mix, extra gelatin, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle molds

Ari comparing flavors

Xander making a sandwich

Utter and total exuberance