Did you hear the one about the "upscale" New York grocery store that advertised ham as a Channuka food?

I can't make this stuff up...See for yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balducci's

Chanukah, oh chanukah...

After eating some latkes and fried chicken (it goes with the theme),
lighting the first candle on the Menorah,
singing some Chanukah songs
and getting the good gifts out of the way early,
we went and torched Yoni's new beautiful grey winter coat on the flaming menorah - oops!

The miracle was, he wasn't wearing it at the time!
But it is pretty much ruined.
I think he wore it a total of 3 times
and it had lots of life left and room for him to grow

I'm tired of Chanukah already and we have a whole week to go....


Can anyone tell me how you make a 3 year old sit still long enough for guitar lessons?

Aunt Carol ROCKS!!!
She found Yoni a rock star guitar with an amplifier (we're not using that-EVER!) and a microphone and stand.
Plus she got Yael a touchy-feely cloth book and a relatively quiet duck clacker, its still a clacker.

Pics/video to follow when gramps downloads them.
Did you know (or care) that the iTunes store has free Sesame Street downloads...where am I gonna put em all?

Bowfire

I'm such a geek.

I was flipping through the channels and landed on Channel 8, public television. This group Bowfire was playing and I mean they were ROCKIN'!!!

They're Candian mostly, but we'll forgive them as they were AWESOME stage show for virtuoso strings and fiddlers and just throw in some Celtic dancing for good measure.

They're playing the Beacon theater in New York on April 28, 2008 and if you have any way to get there to see them it is totally worth it!

The TV show was electrifying, can you imagine what it would be like in person?
Support the arts and have a good time doing so!!!!

Oh and as an aside, today was my first day on my new job...
We had an employee meeting this morning in our new space - where our engineering bullpen will have 2 flat screen TVs for starters and there are to be no cubicles on our floor as far as I can tell - goodbye CUBE FARM!
Now if I can just head off my co-worker at the pass and not get caught in the same old "territorial biddy" trap and be misreable from the start, all will be well with the world.

It was an interesting evening in my world...
Let's start with my weekly Monday afternoon meeting which is normally extremly long and drawn out. It was even more so yesterday as our new boss sat in on it to get a run-down on all our activities and future planned projects - drawing it out from a lengthy hour and a half to an unbearable almost 2 hours. My canned soda was no longer cold at the end of the meeting and I had drank it all anyway (which almost never happens)
So I left the meeting a bit parched and overheated with the beginnings of a headache. Somehow I made it to the 5:00 hour and looked up - I was already late in leaving, meaning my dash across town would now become much more like a crawl in heavy traffic. For every minute late in leaving my desk, I was likely to sit in traffic on the freeways for another 5 min or so.
Then as I was waiting for the series of elevators to get to the tunnels to get to walk to my garage, in the relative warmth and not have to face the biting cold wind on the street level (lately there has been a strong sewage smell in a certain area of the tunnel - yesterday I was in such a state as to not even notice it) I was chatting with a female colleague and pretty much ignored (not on purpose, mind you,) one of my male engineers I work with pretty much on regular basis.

I had a pretty strong headache by this time and probably should have stopped to take some Advil before I left my 57th floor office. But I didn't.

I got in my car wearing my husband's blue winter coat (which didn't match my outfit, and was probably too warm) and didn't bother to take it off. Somehow, the little plastic bag that was covering the brand new vanilla scented air freshener in my car (that's a whole other post) had fallen off and I didn't notice the strength of the scent till later.

Eran has asked me now to go watch TV since the clickety-clack and the glare are irritating to him at 4:15 in the AM...

Happy Thanksgiving from Ms. Hana

Inscribed on the back of this picture,
taken by one of the BAC Staff members
(who only supervises Jonathan
for less than an hour in the mornings,
and is one of the hordes of staff
who is simply enamored of Yael)

"Nov 2007

Happy Thanksgiving
Thanks for your
Trust & support

Love Ms Hana Karny

and Happy B-Day to Yael

I love you too
Jonathan"

Eleventeen

Oh don't you long for another list of Yoni-ims?

Well, first off there is our Electric Company counting song which gets us through 12 quite nicely without any reference to "eleventeen"
That only comes up when he is outright counting on his own and gets so carried away that ten is followed by eleventeen. This usually comes on about the 3rd round of counting...

Another continuing Yoni-ism is his use of "baby" as a strong insult. He also knows that some words are "potty" words and makes sure you do too. Kids'll keep you honest for sure!

Lately he has been the line leader a couple of times, which I make sure to make a big deal of. He was line leader and snack helper (I guess it was his turn) on Yael's birthday and he also got to come to her birthday party in her class at school. Then a few days later he was granted the PRIVILEGE of being line leader since he followed directions ALL morning long. Sometimes he just has GOOD boy days, then there are the other times when you wonder why they don't call it "the terrible threes"...

Yaeli [miskenah] has had a rough bout of teething lately. At one point her fever got so high as to make me consider heading for the ER. Even had the grandparents on standby to take me there. But then the Motrin kicked in and we just kept feeding her Pedialyte and Motrin at regular intervals. She was a pitiful mess! And alternately slept and howled. She did want to be held pretty much all the time too. She still only has the bottom nub and a small beginning of the second bottom tooth, but the upper gums were trying to break through (I know I saw one tooth at one point, but have yet to confirm its continued existence at present since every time I try to get a peek in there she bites down on my finger; or when I let nurse her that one [or more] time at night lately, she has been trying to chomp down - not pleasant for mommy and makes me reconsider this whole nursing with teeth thing).

We recently had the memorial service for Aunt Clara (Z"L) and Maxine came in from New Orleans to be there. I still haven't made it to the Renassiance Festival like I wanted, nor Dewberry Farms which are both supposed to be family fun events. I missed the Family Fun Festival with my morning drive time DJ at Seven Acres (and I was there the day before, and saw all the preparations for it).

But next on my fun family radar is the All School Family Dinner/Fundraiser for BAC and then the Light the Night Extravaganza
where I promised to WALK from BAC to Seven Acres and back - pulling my kids in a wagon, and contending with an illuminated balloon or two - to raise money for Leukemia Research. Unfortunatley, like always, I will probably be flying solo - though this one is in the early evening/nighttime. We shall see!

As an aside, Today was Veteran's Day here in the USofA and Sam-O had off from work. Ask me how I know this...Go on, it's killing you right? Well I'll tell you anyway. He was at home in his Brooklyn apartment and felt the urge to while away the morning by chatting with his SUPER (stressed for a change) big sister. Can't wait to see Uncle Sam and Aunt Carlye LIVE and in person later this week on their whirlwind trip to Texas for some down home country food - Tex-Mex and Bar-B-Q and of course some turkey, fit in there for the traditional Family Thanksgiving Fiasco, I mean Feast! - was that Freudian or just a slip of the lip?

Enough rambling...I feel like it's midnight!
Goodnight one and all and lets all hope my children will sleep through the night with no feverish wakings or crying that their legs hurt so that I can continue to have coherent discussions in the morning.
My next post will bring you up to speed on all the exciting trials and tribulations regarding my JOB situation...the good, the bad and the ugly!
It should be a treat!

Yaeli's first Birthday!!!

Pics to come soon, as soon as grandpa grump downloads them from his "broken" fuzzy camera

Phew...

We can finally breathe a sigh of relief (or ramp up the indecision meter in my case) since we heard about the sale of our division.
It has been bought by a small private company that supposedly wants as many of us to come to work for them as we can.
Now comes the ringer, do I want to continue doing what I am doing or get the opportunity to try my hand at something new...
I think I'd like the challenge, boredom and monotony stinks!

SURPRISE!

Blogger FINALLY let me upload pics. Here's the invite in case you missed it...

But, now that it went off successfully,
I can blog about the secret surprise party we had for Mom, hee hee (turnout of 50 people or so, who all managed to keep the secret!)

Marie is finally turning the BIG 60
Do we need another reason to celebrate?
Join us in making this her best birthday surprise ever!

Our party theme is the 1950's
That's when Marie came of age
Join family and friends to celebrate
This party will be all the rage!

GAG GIFTS ARE ENCOURAGED
(BUT NOT ESSENTIAL)

It's a surprise party
so please don't spoil the fun!

Slow down some so I can catch up

Once again, I am typing one-handed while cradling an inconsolable child in my arms. This time, Yaeli, my beautiful, wonderful barely 11-month-old TODDLER (yes you read that right, she is more upright than not)
She is now trying out her 4th pair of soft-soled shoes and I think we finally found a winner. The first pair was clothe - pink and white polka dots - about the size of an 18 month old foot, but it was what I had at the time. She manuevered out of those shoes and socks before we even hit the door of the school across the street.
Then I tried some hand me around leather shoes that a friend gave me. No dice. Too big, she was out of them in a flash. So I bought some infant ballet slippers that I knew were the size of her feet. She couldn't get her tootsies in, [they were exactly the size of her foot, but the opening was too small to get them on] so I gave up on them.
Finally, success!
I got a pair of leather shoes at the closest Babies R Us I could find. They would be SO adorable with the wedding dress tulle thingie she already outgrew, as they are white with little pink rosebuds on them. She wore them today with her blue top and 18-month old (Yoni hand me down) rolled up cuffed navy pants cause I am a little sick of pink! And she lasted the whole day in them. I even called to check on her and they said she fell asleep in them outside.
What?!?! The lady [Quin, whom I love most of all since she is there when
i come to pick her up] told me she was having so much fun that she wore herself out and had to be carried inside whereas she fell asleep the second she was lifted up onto the shoulder of said lady. [Aside...I LOVE Yaeli's daycare ladies, and they LOVE her. Recently, I gave the summer workers who watched her a special gift, just from Yael - I hope they liked it]
Tonight she is ruthless...she must be teething or growing again as she has sucked down 2 full bottles, won't stop crying or nursing, and has acidic diapers that leave her nether regions RAW and hurting. She has already had a dose of herbal teething tablets and baby aspirin. And she is still only fitfully sleeing...

We survived

The high holidays came and went and we survived. We even had a few moments of intense spirituality thrown in while chasing after the "under 5 crowd" in the play room next to the shul (keep reading).

We spent all of the time as a family and even managed to be part of the Meyerland community for a minute or two...

Yoni didn't get sick at all until the holidays were all over and, drum roll please my baby Yaeli learned to walk - unaided - at the playroom at shul on Yom Kippur in front of all the other mothers who were chasing their little ones to get them to sit down and eat something. I was so proud, but sad too, as she is REALLY no longer a baby. And of course to punctuate that point the newborns were there and she is a giant next to them, but petite in her own class.

Also to punctuate the point, I was feeling blue as my body adjusts to this new phase (maybe it was actually fasting again for YK that did it) and generally yucky as I forgot how hot it is walking to shul in Houston after 10 AM. I REALLY wanted a shower after that and the ripe smell of all the other unwashed bodies was a little overwhelming if not distracting in shul.

So there - I felt more spirituality running after the children and watching them interact with each other than I did in shul for the few minutes I actually made it in there. I took Yaeli in shul there to fall asleep for a few minutes since there was so much activity that it was impossible for her to relax and get a nap which she desperately needed. Yoni was having none of it - he was WAY too busy having fun. When we went home for break is when he finally succumbed.

We may have…

Toothage.

Yaeli my darling sweet baby is maybe, finally getting that first terrible tooth that makes her especially clingy and cranky and adorably squeezable.

She has spent the entirety of the RH holiday and even a might before that with her lips and gums firmly clamped around her passy. It has been a series of pacifiers as they indubitably get changed around and fall on the ground, etc.

So she stands alone unaided for a few seconds at a time and is even coordinated enough to clap her hands at the same time. So taking the customary step or two is now usual fare rather than an accident. Why she can’t figure out how to move her feet as well as she moves her hands to clap is a little beyond me. Maybe she just has to figure out how to balance that small frame of hers.

She better not wait 7 more months to walk on my birthday like her brother. In a few weeks time is Bubbe’s birthday and that would be just fine for me. Then she would have a special sentiment on each of her grandmother’s birthdays (She was born on Safta Yosefa’s b-day)

Wowie zowie...

So this is another post about the weather, but OMG! We were in the middle of the dirty side of Tropical Storm/Depression Erin and after all the wet weather here already this summer it was a doozy! Working in downtown Houston with a view of the rainstorm from the 57th floor has its advantages, especially when there is a lightning storm going on and the buidling next door has a grounded communication tower that acts as a lightning rod. I was watching the storm out of one of the engineer's windows and we saw no less than 3 direct strikes in a matter of less than 10 minutes. It was AMAZING to say the least. I was in such a mood that I was flabbergasted rather than scared (or too stupid to realize that that could have hit our building if it were not for the fact that the tower was higer than our 71 floors up.) The soundtrack in the background was the firetrucks on the ground and the faint of heart swooning nearby. Luckily this all played out around lunchtime and the less hearty could descend into the tunnels and the bowels of the buildings to escape the show.

This was the scene on Highway 288 just before Holly Hall. Where I go by almost daily from downtown to get the kids from school. Good thing I went to get Eran on 59 first, but that was under water earlier in the day, too.

We (Houston and South Texas in general) just have no place for the water to go since we are so over-saturated at this point. Some places have had more than 36" of rain in the past 2 months. It's been a great summer for Eran, except for that fainitng spell, but not so much heat - except for those few days of over 105 in the shade heat advisory days...

Oh so cute…

Pic from Disney, but still applicable

Yaeli is progressing by leaps and bounds, or at least one step at a time.

We wave bye-bye to ourself (and even on cue, like she know what it means), babble a little and even....(drum roll please)

started standing independently for a few seconds last Thursday (which the day-care lady neglected to inform me till) I was all excited about it this AM.

This weekend she even accidentally took a step or two.

It’s official, we are now a toddler.
LOOK OUT WORLD, HERE WE COME!!!
Yay Yaeli!

in case you were wondering

Mother Nature has decided to play games with us this summer. First it was the summer of endless rain, now it is the super heat we are usually accustomed to. See here the REAL heat advisory that the NWS felt compelled to issue for several Texas counties. They should title these things, "use your common sense, stupid!"

heat advisory now in effect until 7 pm cdt Wednesday
The heat advisory is now in effect until 7 pm cdt Wednesday.
Greater than normal relative humidities will lead to a stretch of afternoons with heat indices of 105 to 109 degrees for the next several days. Heat indices will reach around 100 degrees by noon, and peak between 2 and 5 pm. Heat index values near 100 degrees may persist as late as 7 pm. Overnight low temperatures will only drop to between 75 and 80 degrees. [Ed: That’s reasonable enough]

If possible, seek shelter from the afternoon heat in air conditioned areas [Ed: Duh!]. Direct exposure to sunlight can increase the heat index by another 15 degrees. If you plan to be outside, avoid prolonged exposure or strenuous physical activity. [Ed: Duh!] Your body can lose up to a gallon of water an hour through perspiration. Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration. [Ed: Duh!] Alcoholic and caffeinated beverages can increase the rate of water loss in your body, increasing the risk of heat exhaustion or stroke. Wear lightweight, light- colored, loose-fitting clothing. [Ed: Duh!] Wear a hat to shield yourself from the sun. Always use a sunscreen to reduce possible sunburn. [Ed: Duh!] If children will be outdoors playing or practicing sports make sure they stay hydrated and keep a sharp eye for signs of heat exhaustion. [Ed: Duh!]
Pets can also succumb to the effects of excessive heat. Insure [Ed: Uh, spelling, much?!] pets have adequate drinking water and a shady place to rest. [Ed: Duh!] Do not keep pets [Ed: or kids, see this recent sad story] in cars with windows rolled up, even partially. Temperatures inside a car with the windows up can reach over 150 degrees quickly, resulting in heat stroke and death.

A heat advisory is issued when a heat index of 108 degrees or higher is expected in the advisory area. The heat index is a measure of how hot it feels when the effects of humidity are combined with the temperature. A heat index of 105 degrees is considered the level where many people begin to experience extreme discomfort or physical stress [Ed: Duh!].

The Greatest Show in Houston

So we went to the circus and we saw this version which was actually quite a nice change, since there was only one ring and your attention was not too divided to enjoy all the acts. We walked in the door and this was the first thing we did even before we got to the pre-show festivities.


Guess we're big on getting the souvenir photo op everywhere we go, along with that twirly, spinning light-up toy. We got one of those with a piroutte-ing elephant on top.

Here are some pics of the Namer family "clowning around" at the Circus





I could have lived my whole life quite happily without the stupid acts with the cat and dog tricks that I found to be silly and boring, and a waste of time (or at least filler time). I'm sorry, but I'll just never be able to be excited about a dressed-up poodle, carrying its own hoops to jump through, in its mouth.

We really loved the second act though which was the live elephants and tigers and cossacks horse tricks and flying acrobats and an amazing display by the Shenzhen Acrobatic Troupe and "video game" and the last act was the most amazing of all. Read more about the Yunnan Flyers and these other acts here. The Motorcycle Mania thing was really awesome as the closer. I even caught myself with my mouth open catching flies. The best part was an exhausted Yoni sitting on my lap and me whispering to him in awe "Wow, how'd they do that?" As we were leaving, Yoni was perched on Abba's shoulders and he says so precociously - "Wow, That was amazing, How did they DO that?" in the most awe-filled innocent voice. It was a priceless moment, with no prompting, that I just had to share.

As I said, Yoni was exhausted. So much excitement for such a little one and he missed his afternoon nap to top it all off.
So here we a have another priceless gem...He was so tired he fell asleep in the car with his snack pretzel in his mouth.
Abba removed it only when we saw it at home and only after we had a good laugh and snapped a few pics of the event for posterity.

So that was a run-down of our trip to the circus. Yael was clositered at Bubbe's house and meanwhile learned how to get around on the walker. Guess we're in for a quick learner with her as she's not even 9 months and does all kinds of (in my non-biased mother's opinion) amazing, circus worthy, cute baby tricks!

cuteness!

So this has nothing to do with my cuties from home, but it amused me so you in blog land get to hear about it.
I work on the 58th floor and have to take several elevators to get to my floor. In the evenings as everyone is trying to go all at the same time, the elevators can tend to get “cozy” and all the gentlemen will generally defer to the ladies to let them get on first. Well this woman was holding her golf umbrella (since Noah is making a comeback – literllay we have had rain for 37 of the last 48 days – since June there have only been 4 days without rain of some kind, not to say that there haven’t been periods of lets say “not rain” rather than sunshine)

Anyway, she reminded me of my mother’s cousin Roselle – cropped non-colored hair, sporty glasses, strappy sandals, leather briefcase and stylish but youngish outfit.
The second elevator came and all the ladies entered in as per the custom. Then we arrived at the tunnel level and she was now in the back part of the elevator with the gentlemen standing in front near the doors. Well the men started to part ways to let the women pass. There were a few younger gentlemen there and this particular lady just started to beat them with her umbrella in a jovial way. She was kidding that the gentlemanly ways need to go out the window in elevators in a tunnel and to just move on outta the way. It may have been on of those “you-had to be there kinda moments, but it made me smile all the way to the car – which is actually quite a hike in the tunnel. Usually I take the street if possible (not raining) just cause it’s a bit shorter, but I still get stopped by crosswalks at street corners and have to inhale the food smells, and the occasional homeless person, and police whistles while directing traffic, and fumes from buses and cars the whole way. Also have to push my way through the throngs of people waiting for the buses to come. But I like the idea of walking outside.
So there!


Here is a cute picture of my little doctor from our Purim in July day at Camp! I told him he was a surgeon in his Spiderman do-rag and sent him with his doctor case with his stethoscope and bloodpressure cuff. The coat must be from their dress-up clothes at camp! Isn't he adorable?

camp bami

Supposedly the kids are supposed to go swimming everyday, but it rained for 2 weeks solid here so that didn't quite happen. Despite that, Jonathan has definately made some improvements in the Waterfront area. In Florida I was able to convince him that he could use floaties and finally let up on the death grip on momma...Now he has real lifeguards who have taught him to blow bubbles - which I couldn't do all on my own...Baby steps. At least I know he's learning water safety!

Here are a couple of Summer Camp pictures of my camper.

Here are some busy bees making an art project for posterity...


Here is Dancing Yoni at the Pajama Day Parade. We're still working on snapping our fingers, but isn't he cute for trying

Walt and the girls

Minnie, Yaeli and momma with Pappa Walt

corporate readjustment and other general chaos

So I think I am finally over the intial shock of the announcement that the powers that be (read: the money hungry executives in corporate America) have decided to sell off my division of our company. Now there are several things that are strange about this decision (irreverent of its effect on me personally and my immediate coworkers)
We are the Gulf Coast Division of my company. Our company now has several offices, including a large one in Tulsa which covers a different region. We are in the corporate office in Houston which houses the executives and another region besides the Gulf Coast.
Our executives and HR just recently moved their offices to the 58th floor of our building (from the 8th) and the other region to the 55th (also from the 8th) The Gulf Coast is on the 57th and the Accounting and IT Depts are on the 56th floor. This has been within the last month. The announcement about the sale of our division came about 2 weeks ago. Now why would they spend and invest all kinds of time and money on moving to sandwich the Gulf Coast if they knew they were going to put it on the market??
We may be bought out all together and not have any jobs going forward, or we may all have jobs with the new company or some may go on with other positions in our current company or some may not be offered jobs with either company.

I just know that I can't afford to be without a job or medical insurance.

This announcement was made a few days before my birthday. My birthday itself SUCKED!
There were high points: I went to lunch "off-campus" at a favorite restaurant with my co-workers, but there was really no "celebration" as the pall of the the announcement made us all a little off kilter. Last year I got balloons and confettia and a card and and and. This time, I didn't even get a cake on my actual birthday, even from my family (mom and dad were in Israel, to be fair) and that's pretty yucky! Kids love birthdays and I want to do all of them up special, but mine was lacking - definately not one for the record books. Eran did bring me some beautiful roses which he had to walk home with from the store, but it garnered us a dinner invitation for Shabbat where the hostess went out of her way to get me a parve triple chocolate birthday cake and surprise me with it! That was so NICE that it saved my birthday from being a total wash.

And of course, I have been thouroughly lambasted by my internist for having the insides of a 57 year old, considering the amount of high blood pressure and cholesterol in my body for such a long time. I think she hates me since she rushes around as if she is SO busy and its a huge incovenience to see me - and I hate going to the doctor as it is. I hate the fact that I am now on so much damn medication, I hate the fact that I now have a "condition" or two that just adds stress to my life!
And she took me off the meds that make it easier to take, claiming they induce weight gain and that is contra to the other health issues I should be facing. So I joined the gym and have even been once during lunch.

Then of course there is the fact that we were overextended from the renovations of half of the Houston Levine homestead. They went to Israel and we went to work (or at least Eran did) Eran went a little crazy and just kept going with all the changes...Luckily, I talked him out of painting over the wooden kitchen cabinets. It would have been a disaster!

So there you have it - Thank goodness my beautiful children are growing every day.
Yaeli is crawling quite nicely now and babbling "da-da" and waving - mostly to herself. She can squeal with delight and always lights up when she sees me, even when I came in the middle of the day to pick up Yoni. She is desperately trying to walk, pulling up on everything and getting frustrated when her legs give out.
Yoni is still struggling lately with laboured breathing but because of his runny nose and being off his asthma medicine. There have been a lot of issues with his camp class being out of control and not such a great environment for all of the kids. And to illustrate that point there was one morning (before nap time and right before Yoni got really sick from his lymph gland - which is still pretty swollen and sometimes tender to the touch) when the counselor called and told us that Yoni had hit a kid, bit someone else and choked a kid with his hands so hard that the other child was shaking. That is simply NOT the child I know and love. They always present it in such a way that you never know what exactly happened and which children were involved, but it was a definate reflection on the chaos that abounded in that classroom. There have since then been several staff changes, which is also difficult on this age group, but a lesser of the evils at this point, unfortunately, but hopefully the dynamics of the staff are now such that the overcrowding in the room won't be such an issue.

Back to Reality

Once we survived the madness that was Disney and Universal and the trip to and from Orlando, we returned tired and lighter in the wallet and on our feet.

Jonathan was of course over-extendeded and had to get sick the following week. He started out with an enlarged gland on his face right below his earlobe that looked like he swallowed a golf ball. We went to the doctor and I mistakenly thought I should take both kids in on my own. Yael had her overdue 6 mo well baby chcekup including vaccinations -she is only a little over 15 lbs, but started to crawl and pull up on things already. Yoni also had some blood drawn for a CBC on the spot, so I had 2 screaming unhappy children to contend with as I paid my money and slinked out the door.

Countdown to Disney World, etc...

T- minus not enough hours to sleep.
We hope to be packed and in the car tomorrow AM at the crack of morning thirty.

I still need to be sure to get the potty chair from my mother's along with the video camera. Right now I have the new DVD player and the car charger for my phone, but I can't seem to lay my hands on the damn camera. I think I even know where the new battery is.

Need sleep...

This is where we are staying. Click here. Thanks Aunt Carol.

But first we must make it to Mobile for the evening with the kiddos. I really love that Heavenly Hash - wonder if I'll be able to find some...
Hope Aunt Goldie and Uncle Himey are up for a visit.

The family wedding and recent other nightmares

Needless to say, that stress fest is behind us.
It made me so sick at the wedding (probably the hearty amount of salt-ingested while eating out in New Orleans had a little something to do with it too) that I had a horrible migraine that completely debilitated me for the wedding reception.
About the only good thing is that I did get a chance to leave some nice comments for the bride and groom on their pages that they left on the table to make up their memory book from later.
But the wedding food was 1. too rich or 2. not something I could put in my mouth in my kosher style eating habits. They had oyster rockerfeller and shrimp alfredo sauce over pasta and sushi and roasted vegetables and rack of lamb and mashed potatoes with butter and cheese and bacon bits...
We were also all stressed out by the lack of common courtesy from the hosts who seemed unable to let old grudges and hurtful sentiments lie. [Was that worded enigmatically enough to not count as lashon harah?]
My mother was uncomfortable, my father was not happy that my mother was uncomfortable {physically}, my brother was uncomfortable, my sister in law was uncomfortable, my husband was uncomfortable (we left our precious sleeping children in the care of a total stranger in a strange city with a pool in the backyard of the house - luckily Eran had the foresight to buy a toy train set and keep it hidden so that when Jonathan woke up he was instantly distracted by the new favorite toy)
All of these already uncomfortable adults then had to deal with me being totally incapacitated at a family affair where all I really wanted to do was hang out and spend time with everyone.

Then the ride back to Houston was a nightmare. I nearly fell asleep at the wheel several different times. So much so that I stopped off in Baton Rouge for a cat nap and then again somewhere else at a truck stop. Also we had frog choker storms along the way too not to mention bathroom and food and cranky Yael stops right off the interstate that lost us a lot of time too. It was a really long ride!

Also, as if the migraine and the terrible drive home weren't enough, I started coughing and getting sick on Friday afternoon - I'll blame it on the New Orleans germ pool for lack of a more acceptable excuse!
I spent the whole weekend ferrying people to and from birthday parties and Chuck E Cheese and running errands while hacking my lungs up about once every 10 minutes or so. And then I had to spend Monday morning catching up on rest and putting my life back together to get ready for the next trip with 2 small children - that is of course after dropping off the kiddos at pre-camp where we had to search to find Jonathan's new classroom and remembering that Yael is in a different classroom too - my routine is just shaken that much. Then took Eran to the post office and his office and by then he was running too late to even pick up a bagel for lunch, so he'll be super hungry later!

And I wanted to do the mounds of laundry that have piled up, thinking that Monday was a good day because everyone would be at work. NOT SO. All 6 washers were full and there was still a line. How frustrating when I planned on that to be effective use of my sick time on the couch. I washed dishes and picked up the living room instead! Gotta go now and get that laundry in before it gets too late...

Whew- glad that's over!

We survived the New Orleans family wedding only slightly worse for wear.

Our next family "vacation" is on the horizon. I think I'm going to have to take special vitamins to make it through.

Yoni and Yael made a few special appearances at the family events such as the evening deseert reception and the Sunday morning brunch before everyone left town.

Luckily Sam and Carlye were guests at the hotel for the duration of the weekend otherwise I would not have survived the wedding. I came down with a severe (high blood pressure induced-I'm sure) migraine that was only worsened by the reverberating of the bass of the cover band in my chest. I had to retire upstairs 3 different times because I came down too early so that my husband would have a chance to enjoy the festivities.

family tree

In light of Carlye & Sam's request for a quick rundown on the family of who might be at next week's wedding, and since I couldn't reach you again to find out exactly what you wanted, I put together a little flowchart of the family tree. This is only one side of the immediate family - for those who might be attending the wedding in New Orleans [And of course I left out the skeletons in the closet and interesting tidbits like the wives and children we don't talk about-we'll save that for an in person discussion]. Hope this helps - excpet for the few blanks I drew, I did this off the top of my head with a headache. Study and learn!
And if you wanted to know where Ellen and Perry and Marla fit in, they are all on Mom's father's side of the family...I can do that next week if you want, but Ellen knows more details...

stop the world - I want to catch my breath

These last few weeks have been BUSY.
After I got my wake-up call from the doctor that I need to take better care of myself if I want to be around to see my kids grow up, we've had all kinds of things going on.
We have the Ladies Luncheon Salad Pool which originated with me complaining that we were eating out way too much at work and wouldn't it be fun if a bunch of us pitched in and brought a few items from home - around a $5 per person contribution. The idea was that we could have a healthy alternative and that it would last for a few days and it wouldn't go bad and we wouldn't waste it - what a jewish mother I am.
It has taken off. One lady made humus to go with her cold tuna and chicken salad and that was a big hit. The salads have grown into themed luncheons. This week it was Mexican in honor of Cinco de Mayo.
We had nachos (with all the differnt fixins - pico de gallo and guacamole and sour cream and cheese and beans and and and....)
Next week we are having smoked salmon (lox) and spinach with asparagus.
It has become a real treat and we even had one of the VPs join us for lunch before our weekly staff meeting. He's been the only male brave enough to join us. Fun, fun, fun!

There were some industry "events" lately that I mostly skipped out on - crawfish boils and evening socials and the like (partly because I don't eat those things and why would I want to be around them and smell like that all day and partly because I truly cherish the few hours I do get to spend daily with my kiddos and my family)...but at one of these functions, some co-workers ran into one of the former ladies I worked with and she informed them that my nemisis is still jobless. I'm sure its because her reputation preceeds her. I really don't wish her any ill will, but its funny how things tend to work out if you just wait it out long enough. Guess you could call it all part of the divine plan.

I think I finally may have gotten a handle on using this program to do my reports.

And it seems Yoni may have turned a corner as far as his health is concerned. He did recently have one incident - we'll call it a spell -where he threw up, but then he was better and we got back on schedule with his meds and it seems to be controlling things better.

And of course the daycare ladies and my mother have started feeding my Yaeli Gerber foods.

I would have waited at least until she was 6 months to even start her off, but I have to rationalize it to myself that they have done this much more than I have...They are professionals and this is what they do and they haven't killed one yet. She has tried applesauce (mixed with her yucky rice cereal), squash, sweet potatoes and peaches. Good thing babies are resilient. I have only just mastered the art of the bottle and she has only tried eating cereal with me when she had another spoon to play with.

Maybe the medication has finally hit the correct levels because it doesn't make my head spin anymore (that I notice) and I am much calmer about lots of the mains stressors in my life. We'll see tomorrow when I go for some tests.


Yoni and Yaeli and I watched the impending rainstorm for about 45 minutes outside on the porch at the top of the stairs. I sat down on the concrete and fed Yaeli and watched the lightning show with Yoni. I explained that it is not at all scary as long as we are safe and dry. And isn't it a beautiful light show that Hashem made for free for us to enjoy? It was truly one of those moments where you hope it is meaningful, but it was beautiful anyway.

Recent Yoni-isms:
He wants to get married and he wants to be a doctor- I am a happy momma :)
"Mickey House" is still tops - He loves to watch the Easter special disk.
He has grown taller and filled out in his face a little...pictures don't do the transformation justice
Stop stop stop and chicken nuggets aer some of his favorite phrases
Understands Hebrew - still won't answer back
I noticed on some of his art projects - both stand alone and in comparison to other kids' work - he likes to have the whole surface area covered and won't even consider moving on to something else till he is satisfied with it - a little compulsive???
This morning out of the blue on the way down the stairs he told me it was a beautiful day - and it was!

ummm...trendy news?

My mother and I have started a trend.
I let her enjoy time with her grandchildren, but we take a leisurely walk around the neighborhood.
Once we stopped at the neighbors and once we took Yoni with us. So is 2 times enough to call it a trend. I hope the trend will continue cause its good for both of us.
It also only works because in Houston it stays light till almost 8 PM.
Otherwise we wouldn't be having so much fun. We did this once before with Jonathan so I could show her that it is possible to do this for her with Mr J only because you can easily distract him if she gets tired.
And it gets us both out of the house and off the couch. I can't speak for her, but I like it cause I feel good about having walked - if only around the block and only for a little while. That first step is the hardest one sometimes.
And we're eating healthier at work too. A bunch of us ladies have been bringing in a variety of salad fixings. This week's theme was Cinco de Mayo. This is now the 3rd week we've done it. It isn't going exactly as we envisioned it -I thought we would eat on it throughout the week, most people are doing it on Mondays and then not so much on Tuesdays and the rest of the week.
"Not so much" is my newest catch phrase lately.
The end.

Medication, and dry contacts, and a general stressiness at work and a lack of sleep makes me little less than coherent a lot of the time lately. . . oh well.
Love

Mother's Words of Wisdom

You are paying the doctor lots of money to worry for you.
Do what you can, but let her get gray over it.

Rodeo

So Michael Duke's mother is married to the only Jew in Houston who has committed to wearing a cowboy hat all the time - not just during the rodeo. How do I know this?
Well, the Meyerland Minyan gala event was held during rodeo season in Houston and I just happened to sit at the table next to the gentleman wearing a black cowboy hat. So out of nosy curiosity I asked Mr Levy if he was affiliated with the rodeo since I noticed his hat. His answer was yes, he did support the Houston Rodeo (read monetarily, I'm sure-he's a big wig with the Jewish Herald Voice, which I also didn't know) but that he chose to wear a cowboy hat year round. I forgot his exact reason, but it makes a definate statement and I sure won't forget him anytime soon.

Speaking of the Rodeo, Eran and I got to see a show this year at the 75th annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. There were some tickets from a vendor floating around at the office for the "Sugarland" show and I snapped them up. We even got a parking pass. Here's the thing. When I took the tickets I didn't know who we were going to meet and greet, where we were going to be sitting or that parking passes are hard to come by. We parked in the Teal Lot - two steps from Reliant Center, directly across the street (parking pass alone worth between 75-105 bucks) We went in the arena and up the stairs with the masses until we got to the third floor. Then we looked at our seats. They were for section 202. Look at this map. We were in an unmarked section that turned out to be a private booth party complete with food (bar-b-que, of course, roasted peanuts, etc) and an open bar and several flat screen tv screens, etc, etc. We ended up at a private party for a vendor that we work with. It was great fun. Eran was in awe. I was quite enjoying myself as well. We met the president of the Louisiana based company and his Houston salesman Ken Rothstein. He has to be one of the only Jews in Louisiana in the oil bizness. Since I read all the reports daily that come in from the field, I recognized the name of the company and look forward to seeing Ken again when he comes to the office. Then they had an ice cream cart with souveneir cowboy hats as bowls that we got to take home

Been busy

Just a little note to say hi to blogger-land and to admit that we have been busy leading our lives, not leaving much time for blogging.

Here are a few highlights:

• Yael went on her first buggy ride at school this week. And the daycare ladies still fawn all over her, its even a little embarrassing already. For example, they mentioned that she only had winter clothes in her cubby for changes and that I should really bring some lighter stuff for her. One of them even commented "Don't make me go to the store!" Every day I dress her in a onesie and something on her legs and I think that maybe they wait till I hit the parking lot to strip her down to just the onesie and sometimes the socks.
• Jonathan's has been a little pukey lately, and struggled for a long while with a barky cough, but we are overcoming those hurdles by giving him more medicine and a little more to drink and hoping for the best. Meanwhile his doctor gave him a stronger dose of steroids so as to avoid us going back in the hospital. So far so good. Kudos to the pulmonologist!
• He has also MOSTLY mastered the art of using the bathroom - at every opportunity, in every public place we go. Of course he sometimes misses the toilet and pees all over his feet and shirt and shoes and socks - so even if we make it to the potty, we sometimes still need a wardrobe change.
• We had class pictures at school and I remembered to send my kiddos in cute outfits, although my daughter was wearing a cute little hat that made her look like a silly little stupid orange flower.
• Eran and I endured the Magic of Meyerland Minyan 6th year anniversary Gala Dinner. It was actually quite nice, a silent auction, live music, kosher fleshig buffet, free drinks, some honored guests, lots of chit-chat, the usual drill. And I sat at the table next to Michael Duke's mom - what a blast from the past and such a small world. Guess I do know people (and have connections from way back when) and when the time comes I should be able to get our article for Aleh published in the Jewish Herald Voice. Remind me to post the story about the rodeo and how it relates to the dinner.
• We survived 2 Pesach seders (me and the kids while Eran "went to English class") We were invited to share them both with Aunt Carol and her father and the kids' grandparents, with other assorted family and guests. Thank goodness for the 4 cups of wine to get us through this stressful year.
  
• That was also the week I found out my blood pressure was through the roof - so much so that the doctor put me on medication immediately. But since I am my mother's daughter, the doctor ran an EKG in the office and changed the dosage of one of the meds before I even finished paying my co-pay and making my next appointment. Luckily, she reduced it to half a pill a day so I could make them last longer. But it is to bring down my pressure and to stave off my recurrent migraines and I hate the fact that I am ONLY 32 and have to be taking BP medication!
• Eran basically singlehandedly moved our apartment (with some muscle help from his friends - many thanks to Ben and to Ariella for sharing him, Javi, George, David, Brad, etc...) and right before Pesach - this is becoming a trend, the second time we have done that...Boy were my parents sick of me and my kids.

And the biggest news...

• Jonathan had his first haircut, and he looks like a different kid!

It was really much ado about nothing as I finally decided on Easter Sunday that it was enough already. I sat him down on a chair on a towel, grabbed the kitchen shears (the ones that are made to cut through chicken bones, but have never seen anything tougher than twine) and snipped away all his beautiful ringlets :(
He has one small spot that is slightly bald and one side that is longer that the other since he got wiggly towards the end, but I must admit that he doesn't look like I took a soup bowl to his head - I did alright for my first (and hopefully only) attempt at a haircut. Lets see if Eran will let me at him with the shears :)
I promise to post more pictures soon....

Bathtub baby

Yaeli-la-la as I sometimes like to refer to my baby girl, is a woman on a mission. According to Grandpa Grizzly Beard, {who is not always the most observant as far as childhood milestones go}, she has learned locomotion in reverse – the first step in becoming a moving menace [How’s that for alliteration?]

Here’s a picture of her first real bathtub bath with momma freaking out nearby. Big brotha Jonathan just has to be part of the action. Then I decided that she was not secure enough in the 2 feet of water in the tub with her brother lovingly hugging (squeezing) on her and I hopped in there with them to hold her better - fully clothed (ok, I was still wearing some clothes, anyway). This pic makes it look like we're in jail, but really it is just a better way for us to get in and out.

Birthday Parties

This part of the post was originally started on Jan 14th at 7PM

So we're working on planning Yoni's 3rd birthday party. We've been to several lately including: a dance party, a clown, sports theme, fire museum, inflatables

I've talked him out of Elmo (for now anyway) since it seems babyish.
I was thinking Spiderman or Hot Wheels type racing cars.We also have the Thomas the Train or Bob the builder options too, Any ideas?

With Spiderman I was thinking tossing a ball of yarn around between the kids to make a web, or pin the spider on the web. With hot wheels, they could paint their own cars to take home. I really need independent things they can do together in a group.

So now it's official. We are doing this theme:
Things That Go!


We have an interactive book with that title that is all pictures that move and Yoni LOVES it. Since we have had so many health problems, we opted for an arts and crafts party where they can be stationary for at least some of the time...see the cute invite here.

I am missing many email addresses for friends we want to invite to come. Please send (or post) any friends and family that you might think of -
Brian, Norma, Ellen, Marla, Micah, etc...

We are family

I just had to post this picture...


Not only is MY Aunt Carol holding Ms. Priss, (Yael's great Aunt or Aunt once removed - I never have figured all that stuff out)
the Princess is dressed in a chick outfit that HER Aunt Carlye and Uncle Sam got for her.

Isn't family grand :)

Daktur

Am I psychic or what?

I took half a day off this morning to take Yoni to the doctor and half expected to be admitted to the hospital AGAIN since that's what happened last time we went for a follow up visit at this clinic with this doctor after our hospital stay (in May). We were even in the same room that we were in the last time. I could tell by the amount of time it took her to get in the room that something was not good, and then she took a long time scrunching up her face while reading the X-rays before telling us that she wasn't happy with the films. Then I went and peeked over her shoulder (from across the room) and unfortunately I understand enough about these chest x-rays to see the white areas she was concerned about.

Instead of admitting us on the spot, she just ordered a bunch of tests since Jonathan's lungs are still not clear and now it seems there is some irritation on both sides (we were only concerned about the right side before) Then she admitted that she would consult on this case with one of her colleagues who happens to know Jonathan as he was the one who visited us in the prior visit in the hospital.
Of course the fact that we had a barking cough for the past two weeks and that Yoni turned blue for no apparent reason except being excited should have been the first clue that we still have problems.

So now we are waiting to do a barium swallow study and then possibly a pH test of his stomach by way of a probe down his esophagus to see if maybe he is not aspirating food into his airways when he swallows or if he has more than normal acid reflux. We'll also decide whether to do a CT scan of his lungs to get an even better idea of what is going on - should be outpatient length of time she suggested.

I told you he doesn't have asthma, my mother's instinct still believes that, but it can't hurt to give him some Albuterol to make him stop coughing and breathe easier in any case.

At least the good news is that I am not crazy, he still has lung irritation which makes it hard to breathe and probably accounts for his waking up every night as well as his snoring, and of course the fact that he is not laying in the hospital right now and we will get to go back to do the tests.

Once we finished at the clinic, which was the first time Eran had been there - I've been there 3 times, we grabbed a quick bite and Yoni fell asleep in the car. So I took Eran to work and then took Yoni back to school for nap time. That was nice cause I got to pop in and see Yaeli being fed her noon time bottle and the ladies were so sweet. So I got extra time with her this morning and got to lay her down on the toys and then I got to give her kisses when I saw her in the middle of the day. And when I finally picked her up this evening she quieted down when I picked her up -no offense Grandpa, she just missed her Mommy that's all.

So the Jonathan 3rd birthday party ball is finally rolling - we set a date and an activity to do with a room full of 2 and 3 year old preschoolers - that was another thing I did this afternoon before going in to work where I did the only thing I HAD to do today - put together 2 books and have them overnighted to the drilling rigs - It was actually quite nice, I was greeted at my desk by 2 bouquets of Valentines flowers from an older gentleman co-worker (who graced a few of us with them last year too) and the departmental muckety mucks - too bad it was overshadowed by my shocking news from earlier in the day and the fact that I was too stressed about getting those books made to enjoy them, but they will be there all week and I will enjoy them then.

More on that birthday thing in later posts too....Now on to the pics...

A Golden Oldie from December of my precious Yael





3 Month old Yaeli after the rest of us came back from seeing Sesame Street and Elmo











Here's Big Brother Yoni "reading" to Yaeli about his most favorite "Things That GO" - trains









Isn't she a magnificently sweet way to keep your mind off the not so happy news about that other cutie?
These pics just don't do her (or me) justice...I have some really cute pics to post tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Presenting

The promised posting of some of the pics from Sesame Street Live

You must be at least THIS tall and love Elmo THIS much to be admitted


Happy Hands


Yoni and Abba Eran show us "its a GO to start the show"


Blowing kisses to our many fans


Being the Mommy is definitely something to look up to - at least in the bright eyes of an excited 3 yr old


Yoni somehow got it into his head that this was HIS party from uncle Sam. I'm not quite sure he gets the concept of presents and parties because we can look at the Nemo calendar where I marked last months parties and he'll still "read" the calendar to me.

Stay tuned for more pics of the Namer kids - Yaeli will be the star of the next round. And then you'll get to see the 2 of them together - how sweet. It's in the works.