old school - video games

One after the other on my FaceBook page:

tattoo tributes to old-school video games

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propaganda

I do not like this front page image one little bit FOXNEWS. especially without a disclaimer of it's graphic nature. what if my innocent children happen to walk by the computer exactly when this pops up on the screen as I troll my various news sources? this image is inciteful propaganda and also does not take me to a happy place. I know it is purely for shock value but it needs to be buried within an article where I can choose to read it or not like most of the links to your headline articles. Not a happy mama at this moment even though I know my kids are all in school and my toddlers are with their grandparents.

landline vs cellphone

• I am so old I have actually dialed a rotary phone before! said:

Things you wouldn't say if you only used rotary phones #515. :)

• We have a variation of this as a running joke in our family. I'm driving along in the car and Eran will ask me if I know where the keys are. On a good day I smile at him. On a frazzled day, I start looking.

• Shut The Front Door said:

Remember when we all had landline phones instead of cellphones and when the phone rang everyone in the house ran to it and yelled "I'll get it" and now if a landline phone rings nobody moves because it's obvious we don't know who it is or they would call our cell phone

amud annan

I said this a few days ago in my angry post about the Israelis living in fear and having to run to bomb shelters. CNN had a professional writer do a whole piece on it on their front page of the website today:
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/20/name-of-israels-anti-hamas-operation-has-biblical-meaning/?hpt=hp_c2

internet

Nov 16: Spent the morning at school and when I finally remembered that of course they would have wifi capabilities there, I opened my browser to find out that rockets had been fired at Jerusalem. You could have knocked me over with a feather I was so shocked.
So of course I spent the whole rest of the afternoon at work listening to the 9PM-Midnight news broadcasts from Israel that were interrupted every few minutes or more by the anchor throwing to the field reporters stationed all over the south and beyond. I think my favorite report was of the Tel Aviv bartender who was working a last shift before SHE (yes, I was shocked too) got called up tomorrow morning to report for reserve duty. And she was young and blond and most likely has a very important Army role to fulfill as she was mum on where she was headed and what she would be doing. And I didn't even know that girls got called up for Miluim. Guess because she is not married with kids and the army invested in training her (not to be a bartender, but whatever) so she is theirs for a few more years anyway.

So today I am thankful that we live in an age where I can keep up with what is going on far far away by news reports and all the broadcasts that I can stream online and not just read from a news updated crawl.

I hope everyone stays safe. and that we have a drama free weekend.

sleep

Nov 15: I am grateful for a husband who finally saw how tired I was since I took myself off to bed at 7:00. Of course I had company in the form of a sore-mouthed Yoni and a jealous Yael and a "me too" Ben child, so I didn't get much rest. But I was too tired to care and let them lay on me and entertain each other until the whining grated on my nerves. I woke up around 10 ish with knees in my side and snoring all around, so I stumbled to the kitchen and made myself some leftover noodles and cheese. I then just called it a night and slept on the couch rather than trying to make myself a space in the midst of the sleep-fest. I woke up with a sore-ish throat which means I probably need even more rest, but I have a full load today. Observing Montessori class, work, somehow getting Eran to and from the eye doctor and then remembering that he will need to pay for the exam and likely new glasses to the tune of at least a few hundred dollars. Trying to reschedule Daniel's surgery (another few hundred dollars deductible) and then dealing with my mini tummy flare this week. And that's just part of today's agenda.

BDE

Nov 14: Thankful for a G-d who knows when a person's time on this earth is done. [Spoiler: last paragraph is not about anything related to what is going on in Israel.]

• Israel made a precision strike on a wanted terrorist today and basically finally started the ball rolling on what is likely to be a casualty heavy operation on both sides Operation Amud Annan (Pillar of Defense) which may have it's origins in the story of the dual pillars that led the Israelites out of Egypt (the pillar of clouds during the day and the pillar of fire at night).
  Israel has been blessed and lucky that most of the damage that has been caused thus far by the recent rounds of lobbing missiles and rockets in the south has been property damage and thankfully not much more serious than people with panic attacks and mostly "light" wounds. Of course the psychological damage may be immeasurable and continue to terrorize for many years to come.

• CNN is not my favorite barometer of international events because of some of more their obvious slanting of the stories, however I do tend to think that the average American is likely to get at least some of their news there. Along those lines, the first time I saw this graphic was around various facebook friends' pages and also here about 2.5 weeks ago. I think it makes the point rather well.

 

• This image is on the front of CNN today and it's caption is
  Hamas: Israeli attack opens 'gates of hell'
  This may be the case, but why did it take a targeted assassination of a known terrorist (who was largely behind the kidnapping and ultimate release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit) and the ISraeli declaration of a major military operation to get the coverage that this situation deserves for several weeks now?

• The Israeli media is preparing it's citizens for a messy operation and indeed the rocket attacks have continued to rain down for hours. It has been and will continue to be a LONG night for the residents of all the locations in the south of Israel - see the map below. the bands of color indicate the amount of time people have to run for shelter when a Tzeva Adom (Color Red Alert) sounds on the civil air defense system speakers. It is now a daily and many times a multiple times a day event for these people who may not have a choice but to live in these cheaper cost-of-living areas. My heart breaks for these people and especially the children and other people who can not understand why this is happening. Or think that this chaotic semblance of life is NORMAL.
  Green band = 15 seconds, blue band = 30, purple band = 30 seconds, orange band = 1 whole minute.

• On another note, I got third-hand news that my arch enemy in the business world had passed away. While it took my breath away, it reminded me that HaShem knows when a person has fulfilled their purpose on this Earth and maybe one of her tasks in her life was to teach me some important life lessons the hard way. While it saddens me to hear of anyone's demise, I had to remember to bless the ultimate judge who makes those decisions. Baruch Dayan Emet.

kids' acheivements

Nov 13: thankful today that in the midst of 3 meetings and stomach issues and myriad school drama (I also forgot to sign up for teacher conferences in addition to the other nonsense that is going on) I remembered to send in the consent form for my son's poster contest.

turns out he is a second level finalist in a national tikkun olam poster contest.
If I understand correctly that is in the top 50 of all the submissions.
I am super excited for him.
He may even win an ipad - wouldn't that be awesome.
I think the top 12 winners get one.

When I called his art teacher she hadn't been informed and we were both excited.
So she sent me a pic of it...

It also said to list the community rep on the consent form  if we wanted to make it known in the community.
So, I made a few calls around and finally got to the correct person at the federation and now she and the art teacher know. The federation rep even made mention in our phone call that he may get an article in the JHV.
Of course, I was kvelling. what mother wouldn't be and I even got so excited because he just had a haircut so he'll look respectable if they do decide to do the article :)

I couldn't be happier to give my permission for my child’s poster to be included in the second level winners’ category of the Make-a-Poster Contest 2012.

·         I understand that my child’s poster, first name, age and possibly the submitted description, may be used in connection with external communications about the Make-a-Poster Contest 2012 or posted on www.voices-visions.org

Tzeva Adom

Watch this video. How far could you get in 15-20 seconds if your life depended on it?
Tzeva Adom

Nov 12: I am thankful that we are not raising our children in the Southern part of Israel where it is raining rockets daily right now. Or that just when a particular flare up dies down, then you just live in fear of when the next one will come. I guess it's a lot like living with my stomach issues. Just when I think things are better, then they go an get bad again, but I digress.

I am thankful that my toddlers do not need to be comforted by adult nannies who are scared themselves and that the magic of a popsicle might NOT make it all better.
I am thankful that my older children were able to enjoy a 2 hour concert outside this week, unfettered and without the fear of needing to run for their lives to the nearest shelter so that they would be safe if a rocket fell in their vicinity.

My heart is heavy with the thought that one of the reasons these people choose to live in this area is because it is relatively cheap. If you extrapolate that out, it means that these people likely do not make much money to begin with and then are faced with the consequence of living farther away from the center of the country.

I wonder if I would be brave and stand to make sure others who needed assistance (kids and the elderly) would get there in time, or would I run like hell to get myself to safety. Would I be able to clamor up enough strength to carry my babies or would I forever leave them in a stroller so that I could easily push them to safety (not that they would be having any of that - they don't know how to sit in the stroller anymore.)

Interesting food for thought.
And when we do eventually move to Israel you can rest assured that we wouldn't move to the south.
It's mostly desert and really E couldn't handle the constant heat - even if it IS that much cheaper cost of living-wise.

vetrans day

So these topics have a way of picking themselves.
Nov 11: Veteran's Day
I am thankful for all the servicemen who have served this country to protect our rights and freedoms.

I am also thankful for the fabulous concert that I took my son and daughter to last night. It may have been long and over their heads, but they got to hear one of the most amazing guitarists ever. David Broza sat alone onstage with his guitar for the entire show last night and was energetic for the whole show,
It was fabulous and free tickets since it was at the Miller Outdoor theater.

noise

Nov 10: trying to find things to be thanful for has not been so difficult this week.
Today I am thanful for the endless noise that is the soundtrack of my life. Screaming toddlers, spongebob, doodlebops and chipmunks playing in the different rooms at the same time.
Balls bouncing, scooters racing, thunder blowing the thundering storms that yael is sc
ared

o
f

at the momemt.

Kids randomly needing help at the top of their lungs and crying endlessly in the kitchen cause they are so overtired from the long evening we had the night before.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we live loud and raucous rocks around here.

Now I am going to be thankful for an unusually imposed nap-time for us all.

feed perpectives

• James 
  Happy 237 USMC, and thank you
  

  
  

  Shannon 

  Happy Birthday, USMC!

• Two totally unrelated people in my FB feed commenting on the US Marine Corps birthday one after the other.

  Not sure what James's connection (a punk rocker with a masters degree in history living in Austin) is,

  but Shannon's husband is now a small-town preacher who was a Marine who saw at least 2 tours overseas

  Small world and infinitely connected in myriad ways.

friends

Nov 9: Make new friends and keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold.
This little song is one that we sang a lot in Girl Scouts and one of the first I taught my children when they were old enough.
So I am grateful for the friends that are oldies but goodies, like my scout friends and HS reunion peeps that I wanted to see and college buddies and friends that you can pick up with as if you never left off even when life gets in the way.
But I am also grateful for new ones like the ones that are going through all this school drama about the monumental 3rd grade.
So tonight we celebrate the new friendships that are being forged between mothers of 3 or more children. (3 families with 3 or more children each are getting together for dinner at one of their houses - and I totally wish I was organized enough to pull it off at my house, but hey, they all have housekeepers or mother's helpers or both)

People are put in your life for a minute or a lifetime but there is always a reason.

I am grateful to be able to rely on friends in tough times and friends who understand when you need your space.

Zen

Nov 8: Grateful for being in a place where I am very Zen about some very stressful issues. It almost feels like the normal stressors that affect my life have been magically stripped away and that I am having unusual clarity in seeing things clearly. In observations I have made regarding a school situation, the executive director said something that could have been taken quite offensively in that he was impressed by the intelligent things we had to contribute to the conversation. I suppose that because of the audience which involves a surgeon, a pediatric neurologist, a Rabbi and a teacher, as well as 2 stay at home moms and my husband and myself, I guess this could have been a backhanded compliment since he is a rather brash individual. I did not take offense and was actually pleased at the level-headed back and forth that we were able to achieve. It's almost as if a certain calm is pervading my deameanor by divine intervention.

In addition to the school drama, there has not been a lack of family drama either. A birthday and a baseball game culminated the end of a very long day. I was beat and couldn't keep my eyes open even though we had family over to celebrate. I even took being hung up on multiple times in stride. I kinda know what my dad must feel like when I can't even listen anymore...

I am grateful for this zen feeling and hope it stays around awhile.


In other related news, my stomach issues have seemed to iron themselves out for the most part and I am learning what will and will not be tolerated by my currently fragile system. Unfortunately, all the healthy things that I would like to include in my diet are irritating. I am able to subsist on candy and cakes and sandwiches for now, but not for too long I hope.

my little girl

Nov 7: Today I am grateful to be mommy to the most amazing little girl that ever was (I'm not biased or anything). Six years ago Yael decided to make her debut into this world and almost didn't give me a chance to get to the hospital to do it. She hit the ground running and has barely stopped ever since.
She is a smart, effervescent child whose smile lights up a room. She loves drawing colorful pictures of hearts and rainbows and flowers, just as a happy child should. She charms her way into the hearts of children and adults alike. Like her mother, I think she has never met a stranger, only friends she doesn't know yet.
I hope for her sake and mine that she will carry this characteristic with her for a long time to come.
She's scared of the dark (I tell her I am too) and dogs. Hates to sleep alone (that's gonna bite me in the butt down the road - hello, no teenage boyfriends at least until she's 30ish) and loud, scary thunderstorms - but loves to watch the lightning.

This morning I did the unthinkable. We arrived to school in time for carpool. She is always trying to cajole me into walking in with her. This morning, not only did I walk her in, I helped deliver her to her classroom with her birthday cookie cake for her school friends. A little birthday gift from a busy mommy.

Now don't get me wrong, I am also the proud mommy to 3 amazing boys who are all finding themselves in their own way. But my little girl changed my world forever.

Jonathan made me a mommy
Yael made me the mommy of a little girl
Daniel and Ben put me into the mom of multiples club.

I am truly blessed

Election 2012

Left my house at 7:19 when the polls opened at 7:00 to go around the corner to vote at the neighborhood school where I attended grades 2-5.
I expected the line to be out the door and it was long, but thanks to the coffee I bought in support of the school band's trip to New Orleans, I was entertained in line and caffeinated beyond belief by the time it was my turn to finally vote. Eventually we got to chatting in line (I've never met a stranger and I was buzzing from the caffeine) The gaydar was pinging on the gentleman in front of me who was wearing his american sign language interpreter badge and I brought up the fact that people had been giving Mayor Bloomberg's interpreter a hard time. Turns out he knows her personally and that she really is licensed to interpret for the theater. She has been an interpreter for Broadway and he himself did some work as an interpreter at the Alley theater until they lost the grant.
I was nervous as I had to figure out (again) how to use the electronic polling booth and to make sure I made the choices I wanted to make. Was I willing to have my taxes raised for this or for that, etc. My hands were literally shaking (from the caffeine overload and the magnitude of the event) and I think if I didn't know how to read I would have been inconsolable. I did not find the electronic voting booth to be very intuitive until I got the hang of it midway through entering my #.
I am proudly wearing my sticker so I can show it to my children later in the day and get the dialogue started with the young ones and I have already gotten several comments from co-workers. Don't care. Important to show my kids.

I could have been having a colonoscopy today instead.

Nov 6: I am thankful for having the ability to exercise my RIGHT to vote freely and independently in the American democratic process.

Nov 5: I am thankful to have a whole day to spend with my children and have a break from their studies and my day-to-day grind. We played and ate and wrastled and bonded and even managed to get a play-date in.

trigger foods and playdate

bit of a flare today after I took the older kids to a restaurant E is not keen on.
I got pecan crusted chicken which would have been fine except that it was super fried. Deep fried food = no bueno for my fragile system. I started by dividing it into 3 portions since we all were sharing. So I had less than a third of a cutlet (Jonathan really enjoyed it and I took some home too)
Also cauliflower was in the vegetable medley. I feel like that was also a big factor since I have had green beans and summer squash and zucchini before and never noticed a problem.

So now I will monitor my intake a little closer and stay away from fried foods and cauliflower and raw tomatoes with seeds.

I kinda wish I could convince my system that candy and icing and chocolate were trigger foods too. I would miss the junk, but my figure would be a lot better off. Feeling bloated again after the emergency bathroom episode whereas just a few days ago I was feeling svelte and full of energy for the first time in a long time. I even played on the floor with the littles and had plenty of energy to do silly dancing in the kitchen just because. I might have to return to the dry popcorn and pretzels that I know are easy for my system to digest.

Wonder how much the inadvertent stress really plays a part.

We had a marathon play date that just wouldn't end. Yael wanted to have her friend over so at 7:30 I was texting the mother to see when they would be coming. Then there was the mad dash to clean the house (even more than it already was) Y's friend came over for our first ever play date at our house. She came with her 4 year old sister and their mother who brought her almost 6 month old twins to stay for the duration. It really all went ok for the most part. We had a little art project to do, they played with the markers and glitter and nail polish, made lots of heart pictures, played dress up and dolls, typical play date stuff. And because we already had a full house of little girls, somehow the neighbor girl ended up coming over as well. The more the merrier, I guess.
Then we decided to make lunch (for 6 hungry kids) and just about the time when they thought to get ready to leave since dad was coming in from an out of town job, a huge thunderstorm blew through. No way was I letting her take her babies out in the blowing rain, so I pulled out a brownie mix and even found a way to make it so that each of the girls got to help. And they all licked their spoons and got a finger-full from the mixing bowl too. Brownies to the rescue and I dusted them with powdered sugar just for effect.

After lunch today, over which we lingered, I decided to take the kids up to my office so I could finish up some last minute stuff I didn't get to last week and that I wouldn't be able to do on Monday since I had planned to be home with the kids who are all out of school for a teacher in-service. Also wanted to take Jonathan for a haircut and maybe one for myself, and especially to get him some jeans or other pants since he was wearing some ridiculous hammer-pants looking pajama-like thing.

babies

Nov 4: Thankful for family, far away family
Like the kind that have a baby and make me an aunt again and I don't even have to get him a present this week because I won't get to meet the gorgeous child for quite some time yet.
So for those not in the know, my sister in law had another gorgeous baby boy via c-section. He is beautiful and both are doing well, thank G-d.
they have had the bris (which was another hotbed of drama) and Shai is now the newest member of our extended family.
Can't wait to eventually skype with them and finally get to "meet" him and hear his cries and see his tiny little fingers and face.


Here's a pic of the little man, my newest nephew Shai, being held by his maternal great-uncle Ovadia Saadia.

There seems to be another spate of babies to go along with the recent spate of funerals that have been happening. Glad to be having happy life-events rather than sad ones.

neighbors

For tomorrow: Nov 3
I am thankful for the (non-Jewish) neighbors and friends that keep my children sane and aware of the fact that there are other ways of doing things in the world.
The neighbors on our street have been such a blessing for Jonathan who is going through the dramas of bullying at school - both being the victim and by association, attacking others. These neighborhood boys all go to different schools but they all find it fun to play together in the neighborhood.
The fact that they have also adopted Yael (and even the littles) and have taken her to the museum of their own volition has been so great. I feel like so many people offer to do so many kindnesses for that child that it saves her (and my) sanity.

And the neighbors at my mother's house have also been a great thing. The irony of the fact that it is a small world is not lost. E's partner in crime at work just so happened to coincidentally buy the house next door to my parents, so that the big kids have friends to play with when they end up going there after school, too. Sometimes there are no such things as coincidences :)

And in all the destruction that has befallen the hurricane Sandy victims , it is times like this that communities and neighbors pull together. Hopefully it brings out the best in people during a bad situation. Everyone has bad days and the stresses of being without heat and electricity for days on end is obviously straining, but it also connects people because those that have are generally able to reach out to those that don't, and everyone is going through this phase together.
Many opportunities for people to help each other...

November Gratitude

All over facebook, people are taking a status update a day to give thanks this month.
It makes sense, what with thanksgiving around the corner and all.
I am not sure I want or need all 750of my facebook friends to know what I am grateful for at every turn so I am modifying the task and going to try and do it on my blog which is a much more intimate forum. I invite anyone and everyone who is so inclined to join me in taking a few minutes and remembering what we are grateful for in whatever forum you so choose.

Nov 1: I am grateful that my stomach troubles (possible crohn's disease-markers in the blood samples are not definitive to confirm diagnosis) are finally on the mend - without medical intervention, at this point. I did go through 7 weeks of daily diarrhea and then another 2.5 weeks of bloating and cramping and major flatulence issues. Most of that has subsided and now I have a much less severe case of flatulence to deal with. I have "postponed" the colonoscopy that was scheduled since the flare-up is pretty much over. After speaking with the dr, I called the nurse back the next day to make sure we had made a good decision. She suggested that I get in touch at the first of the year after all the stresses of the holidays. I like the fact that she validated the point that it may need intervention in the future and that now we have an action plan for when and what to do.

Nov 2: I am grateful that my oldest son finally had a positive education-related experience in last night's awards ceremony and celebration for more than a year's work at Kumon. Since the whole reason for having Kumon in our lives was the fact that he needed a boost in the reading dept and that he is still not on grade level according to their standard of measure, I am happy that at least he got recognition for all the work he has put in. Yael, may need to begin math study there just so that she has the opportunity to get a medal after putting in all the hard work. We as parents have really set up a bad situation in that Jonathan has all kinds of trophies and medals from his various sports teams and camps and that little Yael, subscribing to the poor middle child syndrome, has virtually none because she has been less active in after-school activities.
Thankfully (see what I did there?) she is a gregarious child and makes friends easily so that she has been the recipient of many more "play-dates" than her older brother.
But who's keeping count?
They are, obviously!

 

Yael actually shot this pic of her brother.

 

I love these faces, with or without the face paint :)