Nes Gadol Hiya....

Hanukah is on the horizon, but I am talking about a modern day miracle that happened to yours truly.
Here is the text to the email I sent out to my co-workers:

From: Brenda Namer
Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 11:34 PM
To: OpsUsers
Subject: accident

On the way home from the office yesterday (Wednesday) I was in a major automobile accident and totaled my car. The accident happened in front of a fire station and they sent me to St. Luke's, in an ambulance on a back board and in a neck collar. I am thankful that I literally walked away from the accident unscathed, but spent the majority of the evening at the hospital getting checked out.
Thanks,
Brenda

What I didn't say to them because they don't need all the details is that I was alone in the car, my kids were already taken care of for the evening and the first responders at the fire station were able to reach Eran in an instant. I was seriously shaken up and incurred a few pretty multi-toned bruises, but thankfully no major damage was done (I had multiple x-rays and a doctor checked for internal injuries) and they discharged me pretty quick with a prescription for some pain killers. Some of the questions they ask you when admitting you while you are duct taped to a back board with a neck brace are downright scary. As you can see from the pictures, I was sure lucky to be able to walk away much, less unscathed.

I recall seeing the other car at the very last instant, but had no way to stop in time and I am 100% sure that I had a green light. He turned into my lane in front of me and I have a vague memory of seeing his Isuzu trooper in the parking lot of the fire station and him speaking with one of the other firemen while I was being treated.
Thank goodness it happened in front of a fire station, the best place it could have happened if it had to happen, and I was given treatment on the spot. I got out of the car on my own and walked across the street to the curb where they tended to me and my high blood pressure. They were able to call Eran and I was able to speak to him, but not enough to calm him down. I told him that I was walking, but that I was going to the hospital. He proceeded to yell at me that my cell phone was without battery, as it is perpetually broken, lost or not charged up. The first responder apparently spoke to him at least 4 times and kept him abreast of where I was headed.
They also had cones out and flares and started directing traffic to clear out the chaos almost immediately. I am lucky I didn't lose consciousness and other than being in a serious state of shock with my BP soaring, it was a sight to behold for all the onlookers, I'm sure.
I was wearing my seat belt and the air bag deployed but I truly think that HaShem was watching out for me on that fateful drive as I was contemplating some of the things I had discussed with my learning partner the night before. I only knew the airbag had deployed because of the smell and the wafting smoke that barely pervaded my consciousness at the time. In case anyone forgot, it was after a much similar event that my grandmother was involved in a car accident and was awake at the scene and passed away later in the hospital. And some of the thoughts that ran through my head were instantly about Eran and the kids. And earlier in the day, I was commenting that I felt like I was just beginning to feel truly comfortable with who I am professionally and personally.


"Carit Aveer" in Hebrew an airbag literally translates to "air pillow" - get it?

When we went to check out the car at the impound lot, it was one of the more impressive wreckages there. What used to be the front end was smushed up into the winsheild as you can see from some of these pics.
Maybe I should call Toyota and thank them for their feats of engineering that made me able to walk away from a such collision and offer to be a spokesman.
All of these heroes gave me a chance to re-examine my life and to be grateful for the friends and family that were able to help and give me a chance to live a more fulfilling life.

Beer and Taxes

I think this an interesting example -yes I got it off a political blog -but it speaks to me in everyman terms. Not saying I agree or disagree, I'm just saying...

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
“Since you are all such good customers”, he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share?”
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”
“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

This is of course a light hearted way to poke fun at “the system”, but still yet an interesting look at the North American tax system. It also observes how we can sometimes get caught up in our own worlds such that we lose sight of the forest through the trees.

my Hurricane Ike story in a nutshell

This is the message I sent to some of my work colleagues:
Our Houston office is finally back open for business. The office had power but low water pressure last week, so they kept most of us away till today.
We were truly blessed here in Houston. At the very time of the storm we were moving out of our apt and into our new house that we just bought in August and everything worked out very well. The four of us (myself, husband and 2 small kiddos) spent our first night at the house on the night of the storm. The apt sustained some serious water damage (and soon had mold growing on the ceiling-just great for my respirator-ily challenged son), but my not so for my neighbor [who shares a staircase] Her bedroom roof was blown away and the ceiling collapsed - so we were also lucky there. The apt had power pretty quickly, but only our section of the complex. So since all the furniture and most of our other belongings were already at the new house, we just slept on the floor in the apt enjoying the AC, a small television [that ran the news most of the time and PBS for the rest], picnic meals on the living room floor, and shuttling back and forth between houses. I had been living at my parent’s for the previous week or two. The kids’ school is still without power so that is another major challenge. Their schedules are all off and they are mighty sick of grown-ups and yard work.
The new house dodged a bullet as the tree limbs that fell, fell in the yard. In my parent’s neighborhood, there were a few trees that fell ON houses and toppled over with roots and the sidewalk intact and blocked the roads. Needless to say, they are without power and lost all their food in the fridge/freezer. They moved in with us to be in the AC and to use the stove and fridge. The new house got power back on Friday afternoon. Those of us fortunate enough to have power are feeling guilty for enjoying it while so many others are without, but we are sharing with family, friends and neighbors as much as we can.
Yesterday my Aunt and cousin came back from Austin and moved in with us too. They had a downed power line on their roof and a fire to go with it till the power went out at their place. So I am back to sleeping on the floor in the kids’ room - my aging parents naturally need the bed, and my aunt and cousin got the couches, and the kids need the comfort of knowing we’re nearby. We’re definitely a full house, but we are lucky that we don’t have serious damage to contend with.
Hope all is well with you all. Be in touch.

What I didn't mention to my colleagues is that we got power at the house at about 2PM on Friday, which gave us enough time to prepare for Shabbat and warm dinner which had been shipped in from New York. We had also offered some friends to keep their freezer running at the apt, but they opted to travel to Dallas for Shabbat instead. I truly believe that Eran was right in not removing the mezuzot from the apt until all our stuff was out and for not letting us sleep in the house until all the mezuzot were up there as well (2 days before the storm, and after we had the kitchen kashered) He just knew that it needed to be that way! AMAZING!

One more

There are you happy now?
this picture is of Yoni and Yael twirling their umbrellas and singing on the porch during the non-existent rain spell during TS Eduord a week or so ago.
This picture along with some awfully cute video of the same instance was taken with my camera phone. I wanted to post the video but the phone won't let me send it via the internet so I am going to have to investigate a different way to get the pics/video off my stupid phone before I go and lose it (the phone, not my sanity) again.

Wow! Gymnasts are amazingly attractive athletes

For the most part anyway!
If this-pic 1 or maybe this-pic 24 or this-pic 25 (I tried to post the pics but the site wouldn't upload them right!) isn't the poster on every American pre-teen girl's wall between Zac Efron
and Hannah Montana in the next month or so, then the world is just a sad, sad place.

This American gymnast, Jonathan Horton (I'm partial to his name - Jonathan is a winner in my book and anything that conjures up Dr Seuss) - again, not the movie but the book - is clearly a winner! He is the picture of what a sport is all about. He's petite and was probably tortured mercilessly by schoolmates. He hails from Houston or Katy, but we'll claim it, and then ended up in Olympic gymnastics. But wowee-zowee look at those arms and that game face - such visible concentration! He was a gracious competitor and a team leader and between him and the Prince William look-alike Justin Spring and the clincher Sascha, Raj, Kevin and Joey - I have a new respect for the sport. I never really watched mens gymnastics before but I was rivited to the rings and high bar and parallel bar events. I'll admit that I prefer watching the ladies on the floor routines which just seem too technical and not very artistic. And I never got the vault or pommel horse other than another part of the all-around rotation events.
Again, I'm a day late and a dollar short here - but Americanism has pervaded my mind apparently and as I am in the throes of a serious headcold, not to mention that my surefire insurance broker is still working on a stupid policy for my closing on Friday since my initial one has been rejected by the issuer. This is a minor MAJOR nightmare, but at least we have some time to gnash my teeth and hope they can pull this off.
In the meantime I managed to call in sick to work and arrived a few hours late. During that time I actually slept for an extra hour as my wonderful husband got the kids dressed and off to school all by himself - I just couldn't move this morning. And he also managed to make sure that they got food for breakfast and lunch. Then we enrolled Jonathan in a week-long camp at a more Jewish school and put in an application for financial aid for him. We will give the camp a try and see if he likes or hates it and go from there. there are MANY logistical issues about putting him in school there, but the Jewish and Hebrew Education he would get there would be far superior to what he has had up to this point. And I have been looking for a way to make it happen as the Momma I feel that it is my duty to provide the best education possible within our means. And Hashem will see to it that it is possible if it is meant to be.
Along that thought, I just have to share this story and then I'm off to bed cause I need to get over this headcold so I will be lucid for the extremely difficult personal days ahead!
So every afternoon on the way to scoop up my beautiful children from their school by 6 PM, I drive on a strech of highway 288 where there is a dead spot for my cell phone service. How do I know this? because I am generally taking advantage of the half hour or more in the car to chat with friends and family, as we can still do that kind of thing in the wild state of TX. So usually I recognize the area from the variety of bridges and intermittent service along with dropped calls.
Today however, I was talking to a complete stranger and I overstepped my bounds even of TX friendliness. They had a garage sale (which I couldn't go to and buy anything for my house because that's like the Namer family/sepahrdic new baby superstition - you just don't do anything new or in prepartion for it until the day that it comes to fruition, which is why I have yet to start getting boxes and packing) and they still had a few items that we might be interested in obtaining.
So I was being nosy and asked where they were moving. She told me they were moving to Israel to make Aliyah and I got so excited, I told her I would be happy to help rid her house of stuff to make the move less stressful, and she mentioned it would be a mitzvah to help her too, etc etc etc. The fact that the items she has left just happen to be pretty much the items I was most interested in - make this an even stranger coincidence. We talked about Nefesh B'Nefesh for a second and even where they were moving (Houston to RBS - seems like a familiar route) And the whole time I was driving I didn't really pay attention to where I was on 288. I looked up after the call was over and I was already past my usual dead zone and we had carried on this entire conversation like old friends with no dropped call and no interruptions. It was just a little sign I think - since I was so genuinely excited that she and her family had the opportunity to make this move at the very time where I am putting down roots for the first time in my life. Things always have a way of working themselves out!
And on that happy note - GOODNIGHT BLOGOSPHERE!

More Milestones

As far as I am concerned, my Yaeli is growing and changing daily.
About four days ago she realized she could say mommee instead of momma.
Yoni has become noni instead of no-no.
Abba has become ba-ba instead of Ba and she is still ya-ya.

She can also say some 2 word phrases such as my shoes and my turn.
She also know how to play "peek-a-boo" it comes out as pee-boo from her, but is so much fun when she hides under the blanket and/or so do I.
She has definitely grasped the toddler concept of what's mine is MINE!

Yoni has finally gained the confidence to get in the swimming pool on his own - as long as he is wearing his full-on floaty suit. But it makes him happy to splash around. And he can also swim underwater when the mood strikes him. When he can stand the length of the whole pool he is like a little fishy.

We went to a swimming birthday party recently and it was just about half an hour too long. The 2 year old birthday girl who had been jumping off the side of the pool and going down the slide all evening long into the waiting arms of one parent or the other, decided to jump in the deep end un-aided and with no-one to catch her. Scary few minutes as there was general confusion. then the lifeguard jumped in and got her safely to the side of the pool and into the arms of her shaken parents. needless to say, that was the end of the party. then yoni in his extremely tired state, fell off the picnic bench backwards and conked his head on the concrete pretty hard. He was a little shaken and cried for a few minutes but we watched for any signs of a concussion and all seemed ok. Oh-and earlier in the day, Yael had drunk too much of the baby pool water and threw up into the trash can -right before dinner was served. And the other kids were over tired too, making for general crankiness all around.


In other news, we have secured flood and homeowners insurance and are set to close on our very first home on FRIDAY, AUGUST 15. I along with my loving family will be eating macaroni and cheese and tuna and Ramen noodles for the very near forseeable future!

Sins of the Spies

In reading up on some of the traditions and stories about Tisha B'Av and the 3 weeks leading to that day I ran across the story of the sins of the spies who were sent to scout out the land of Canaan before the Israelites were to enter after their 40 year exile and exodus from the land of Egypt (am I pretty accurate here so far, if not simplistic?) These spies were shown the best of the crops, the fortified city walls (undermining the implied strength of the city) and the death of a local leader whose funeral preparations consumed the city. Without all the various rabbinical interpretations that were offered at the aish.com site, [I'll admit, it was late and I only read the first few paragraphs of the article...] I drew my own conclusions.
In any case, I don't ever remember the story being that the Israelites cried when they were denied entry into the land and that HaShem insisted that the Israelites cried for naught on that day, but that in the future He would give them a reason to cry - but that is how it was portrayed there. And in my recollection, the 3 weeks were a time of strife and anger and stress.
Since in my family we are on the brink of one of the biggest financial and life-changing events in our life, I took this story at a very personal stance. And of course the fact that it was late and I was tired, again, that surely factored in as well.
What I see is that we are running around like a chicken with its head cut off in all the time leading up to this and that now because of the timing of the events and our ingrained superstition as Jewish souls, we decided to prolong the agony and do the deed after the Tisha B'Av phenomenon is well past.
These last few weeks have been a very positive outlook for us in that the future looks bright - and in other realms: other work-related issues have magically worked themselves out in an unforseen, but positive twist for the better. But unfortunately, I am glad that the immediate thorn in my side has been removed for all intents and purposes and without any scarring on my end anyway, there has been fallout and I'm sure there will be more and that it will all come clear (or maybe not) in the next few months - or when I have the guts to ask her about it personally.
And to be fair, since my support system has broken down a little - the parents are in Israel enjoying themselves I'm sure, but leaving me with even more responsibility here at home that I just am not happy about shouldering at this particular moment in time, and my backup plan is a little wonky too as she has started a new job and is still adjusting to the time constraints it is putting on her in her world -I've had extra added stress to an already extremely taxing time. Then of course there is the constant struggle with my son's health and he is to undergo a sleep study at TCH (which I am sure I have totally blown out of proportion and is now a lot scarier than it should be) but that is another wrinkle in the fabric of my life that I have to find a way to iron out. But in addition to all that, despite taking it all out on my poor brother yesterday - who is in the midst of his own general life upheaval process, and that's a different blog post altogether - my personal vibe is pretty optimistic right now, and I'm not even waiting for the other shoe to fall, yet.
SO the point was, what happened to the idea that I had in my head about the 3 weeks being mournful and introspective and downright depressing that we lost the spiritual shrine that was to the Scheina here in this earthly plane? The Sins of the Spies story that I read made it sound like G-d was showing all these wonderful aspects that the spies misinterpreted. Are my blinders off? - why am I still seeing the world through rose colored glasses? And will the cosmos blindside me on Tisha B'Av cause I'm not sure how I will handle it righ about now.
I keep feeling that I am growing and having realizations about things that are all different but the same, but sure does seem sad that they haven't evolved - I both love and hate that Facebook thing for just that reason: again, a whole other post for another time...[Are we all back in HS? and why haven't some people moved on since summer camp? and why are (or aren't) all the scattered pieces of my life the fragments of what make me me? and why can't I continue to be that fragmented person and be ok with letting some of those fragments lie dormant or buried or be revived - told you it was a whole other post...
I really miss my learning once a week and I hope that my inspiring partner (and I consider her a friend as well, hope she feels the same) will be ammemable to continuing to meet when the program starts again in the fall. I think I will give her a call - as soon as I find my missing phone again! and see if she really does want to do the pool- party get-together with her kids and mine and another friends. Maybe next month or at least after Tisha B'av. :) At least I'm not homesick for Israel (at the moment) even though I took the plunge and searched out some of my friends (on FB) from my time in Jerusalem

Loved it

I LOVE THIS POST.
Like the tone of the post suggests the whole trip was fun, optimistic and upbeat (save for that 2 seconds I cried in the airport when they cancelled my flight after many weather related delays, because I was so ready to see my children who I had never left for so long in their entire lives)And we all have Eran and Senor Stew to thank for arranging such an AWESOME birthday surprise.
What Carlye also left out is that we also got a glimpse into her professional life by meeting one of her colleagues and a patient (albeit a brief encounter) and seeing the respect and affection they have for each other. We learned that since Sam has boycotted driving in NY we both shoulder much of the responsibility of driving our families around when we are with them. And that we are not visiting the pet store in the mall again because it makes us sad to see the aminals there and not be able to cuddle them.
Then we got to spend some Texas time with both Sam and Carlye over July 4th when we grilled and marinated some chicken for way too long (yes, in that order-it was a long weekend) after a whirlwind trip to the HEB. Lots of family fun (finally) as Carlye and I "sunbathed" (so neither one of us wanted to go swimming, since when is that a crime?), crocheted and watched Sam and Eran handle the swimming pool with the munchkins. We didn't quite continue the family photo tradition like we planned only because the Levine Jrs flitted in and out of Houston so fast on the back end of the trip that by the time we thought of it, it was already too late to make it happen.
In NY Carlye was {re-}introduced to the family habit of the women who talk in our sleep. Sam came downstairs and asked if I was sleeping and I told him that yes I was, but I could talk...and the funny part is that I remember that part of the conversation. Then of course he fed his cats cereal and I couldn't (in my brain-fogged state) fathom why he was still hungry...If dry cereal is good enough for my kiddos to eat on a sleepy morning, then why shouldn't Sam or his cats?

Frenzy

I'm in a creative frenzy. I am on the hunt for fun parve recipes for a lactose-intolerant toddler. I am starting with merengues and trying a tofutti cheesecake. I'll let you know how they turn out.
Also, my darling husband took 1-1/2 hours longer than he was supposed to in getting home thie evening, but he tried to smooth things over by bringing me a hot plate of couscous and vegetables which is all I ate while pregnant with Jonathan. Nice try, but I still had shopping to do and errands to run which is why I am blogging instead of cooking for the pot-luck dinner tomorrow night. I also managed to stop by the parent's house in the midst of their packing for their trip to Israel to drop off some clothes and to pick up some papers and to let the kiddos say goodbye (and Yoni wished them a safe journey all of his own accord - where did I get this special tzadikish boy?. Now I just need to get the $$ I owe Sam and Carlye deposited before my streak runs dry and I am officially broke.
Sorry for the dry spell, I will try to keep postin more often. I am hoping not to jinx the many things going on in my life by analyzing every detail and blogging about it, but at the moment, I am just trying to keep up and enjoy all the realizations that are coming with taking the time to decompress a little bit and not stress over everything.
At Work-newish company, new chain of command, new perspective, new colleagues, new outlook
more petty fights and irritating people to put up with and figure out

r u gonna make it thru today?

Check out these awesome pics and maybe find some words of wisdom along the way

http://www.scribd.com/doc/130102/beautiful-inspirational-quotes

I sent this link to a friend of mine who is going through a tough time. I have yet to hear back what she found most useful. I particularly like 13, 15, 9, 20 and 26 and the picture on 18, 25

Tell me what stikes you....

Oh, and Yael has learned some new words:
"Hi" said in just the right way with all kinds of inflection
"gehn" - it means "do it again" and is one of her favorites next to muh (which means more - drink, song, story, horsie, whaterver)
"book"
"bah" now means brother and grandPA too
Still can't get bubbe out, maybe we'll try 'Rie instead

wordlist

Once upon a time in a book or more likley an internet article somewhere, I read that toddlers are supposed to have as many verbals as their age (in months) Meaning that if Yael is lets say 18 months (for simplicity) then she should be able to say 18 meaningful words. Let's tally up shall we? First I'll make the numberd list then I'll try to fill it in.
1. Ba=ball
2. Ba= Abba (sometimes ah-ba comes out by accident
3. Ba=brother [ are we noticing the trend yet ]
4. Ba=grandpa (possibly pa?-arabs can't distinguish those vowels, try taking a cab from the American Consulate in East Jerusalem)
5. Ma= mommy {yoni's word for me was "e", a little confusing}
6. My=mine, a toddler favorite
7. Nah=No!-vigorous head shaking accompanying or sometimes not
8.Ma=more which can mean more drink, more food or another time to sing Hot Potato or the Itsy Bitsy Spider
9. Gehn=recently, this means again, as in throw me up in the air and catch me again
10. Da=dogs
11. Da=down in reference to the aforementioned dogs. these two are used simultaneously as one.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16
17.
18.
So since I literally fell asleep in the middle of writing this post, it will have to wait for anther tinw

Stud or Dud?

Brenda wishes she were made of money, or at least that Jonathan’s money factory was a reality…

At least I only paid a reasonable $350 to find out that I could be pre-approved for a mortgage.
[Dad-I am INTENTIONALLY leaving out all the nitty-gritty details and being deliberately vague]
But I also paid another 270 and 231 for inspections to find out that there are active termite colony/ies and a million other “little” problems with our potential house Click here for the HAR listing
– money spent now so that at least I can make reasonably informed decisions in the future. I should be able to get my 1800 earnest money back – eventually - if we back out of the deal.

Stud or dud - you be the judge! Comments appreciated...

Also, all of the deposits for Jonathan and Yael's summer camp and for next year are due - some of which I thought I had already paid, but really hadn't...I still need to find the tuition money for this month and to cover the credit cards, and the ever-increasing cost of gas while I drive around all over looking at other houses so as to keep in the game. At least I know there will be money to cover the car note - I automatically deposit that money ahead of time!
Maybe I'll go back to riding the train for awhile.

And Jonathan was sent home AGAIN today! At least this time they sent home 10 out of 11 kids in his class. Guess its time for a haircut.

Purim 2008

Normally I don't post a bunch of pictures of my kiddos - I guess I'm scared of the evil eye or something, but these were taken by a father of one of the other girls in Jonathan's class [thank's Oded] and they are just too cute not to share...This is right before and during the Purim parade they had from Bertha Alyce to the JCC and back (with the gym as a staging area)
Jonathan's sword luckily broke before the parade (and before he got me in trouble for letting him bring it to school-even though I insited he leave it in his cubby, but he got to use it all night at the party anyway!
Since we had been to hear the Megilla and be a part of the annual Purim costume contest the night before at Beit Knesset-until after 10, home almost at 11, my kids were just a little over extended (understatement much?) Yael was one of 2 in her category (the youngest ones) and she of course came home with a prize for her sweet, adorable costume!!! Probably sets the standard from now on of what they'll expect from me (I got the costume super on sale, right after Halloween at the supermarket of all places!!!!)
I didn't plan this really, but Jonathan was a pirate (the best one of the 6 or 7 at school, if I do say so myself, and I do!) And Yael was a fairy (someone suggested she could be Tinkerbell - I didn't come up with it on my own) In these pictures they forgot to put her wings on. Yoni called her the "butterly fairy princess". Works for me!
I almost forgot to mention the parrot I am wearing on my head is a luau prop from the Dollar Tree in Meyerland Plaza - I'm a real big spender, let me tell you - Enjoy!

Namerim Cuties

Last minute Mommy Magic Tips for the Parade

Super Drew, Cinderell-Ophir,
and Captain Jonathan, munching on a hamentash

The Monkeys Class, Purim Style

Henry, Ophir, Romi, Drew,
Jonathan, Carson and Ashton
not picured: Seth, Caroline, Noah, Sophia,
Jack (Batman)

The Monkeys Lead the Parade

Before the parade started, the Monkeys held their weekly Shabbat "service/snack" in the classroom. Because I am seldom there and Ms Fran feels guilty about never actually seeing me because I'm always working (do I really make it sound like I'm a workaholic or what?), and the fact that the real Abba wasn't there, she let Jonathan hold the kiddish cup and challah plate with his neighbor during the blessings. (He got to be the Abba, basically) Totally adorable! Especially since he was dressed up with those floofy sleeves and the kiddush cup looks like a chalis.

This joyous day came one day after the big scare that the whole Houston Jewish community was on alert for .[Sorry about the grammatical slip-up, I am running on caffine and it is after 1 AM on a school/work night]. There was a mailed vague bomb threat that was received at the JCC that targeted "the community" on March 20 at 4PM. I, like all the other parents, was a nervous wreck about it several days prior to the event, when all the hubaloo was coming out, and HPD and the FBI were getting involved (at your kids' school - its a little nerve-wracking to say the least!). Of course rationally I know that if there was to be a terror attack, there wouldn't be a postmarked letter announcing it beforehand. But it still made everyone, including me, jittery. They "beefed" up security by having an HPD officer at the school in the morning and in the evening, but who's to say they were there all along? I stormed into the "principal's" office freaking out the day all this came out and made my point that I didn't want armed "security guards" near my children's pre-school. My husband disagreed, in typical Israeli fashion, and wanted all backpacks and lunchboxes checked at the door. I think having visible, paid, uniformed, armed, police protection (which is what they chose) for a week or two is just about right. At least I THINK they have to undergo some sort of regular arms/safety training. And I'm not doing the research to disprove that theory!

On March 20, they did have extra police/constable patrols in the area around the JCC and even our little storefront shul had extra security measures including walkie talkies at both entrances and an armed constable in the front and back as well. All's well that ends well, I say.
Of course I went to my HR director and was such a basket case that she gave me a 24 hour help-line number. And then I went to present the situation (much more calmly) to my boss, who is or was some sort of minister and it rather piqued his interest both that I was Jewish and had lived in the "Holy Land". I then proceeded later in the week to ask for that day off to spend with my kids (I had a doctor's appt first thing in the AM and then took the 2 of them to get Jonathan's ear looked at - he had been SEEPING green yucky stuff from it and had been on antibiotics and I wanted to be sure it was all better and that he still had a tube in there and not that he had ruptured an ear drum!) Normally, I skip the short-term follow-ups if all is better, but wasn't taking any chances with his ears at this point. He has a hearing screening next week. While we were there, he got his 4 year old boosters and I took Yael with just so she wouldn't still be at school. It was VERY thin around there that day. When I dropped them off, my kids were #5 and #6 in the whole building. And when I picked them up, Yael was one of 2 in her class and Yoni one of about 15 on the whole hall. Were we all scared? Or just overly cautious? The truth is, it was the Thursday before Good Friday and most people (at least in the infant wing) were taking advantage of the long weekend to go out of town and visit family.
Interesting 2 weeks huh?

Awful, just awful

Bombings, shootings, massacres, suicides...ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ALREADY!
Seems like everywhere you turn lately there is a shooting or a bombing or a massacre or somebody attacked somebody else or a baby drowned or someone went postal at a fast food restaurant or publicly commited suicide....

Just in the last 24 hours we had news of:
a minor boming in Times Square click here or click here,
a digusting case of intentional child abuse click here,
2 separate incidences of murdering university students click here,
a potentail mob killing click here,
something out of a sick Hollywood science fiction flick click here,
an accidental death and attempted suicide click here,
another teen suicide click here,
a massive death toll after dual bombings in Baghdad click here,
an unthinkable terrorist attack at a Jerusalem yeshiva click here

Here (see the comments) are some of my thoughts about the last event on the list that really shakes an entire belief system to its core: If you believe in study and learning and dedicating your life to studying Torah, then how and why can this kind of terrible thing happen in a yeshiva, basically a school and study hall, of all places? My inital thought is that the standard answer will be something along the lines of the fact that the Jewish people are in need of Tikkun and therefore we should study even harder to enable it to come to pass...
And Eran mentioned, in that dejected voice he has lately, that they don't even have to bother with getting a bomb built and finding a willing suicide attacker - now its obvious that an attacker can just find an automatic weapon-that's easy to get your hands on anywhere

As always, comments are encouraged to confirm the fact that I am not writing this blog just for my own mental health.
I don't care: Agree, Disagree, Acknowledge, Praise, Slander, REACT

Golden Rule

You’d think it’d be easy enough to operate a stupid no-spill container for filling up with gas.
Not so much.
It comes with valves and spouts and even INSTRUCTIONS!

And I STILL ended up with gas from the pump all over my hands, the canister, the ground, and then the car when I tried to pour from the stupid canister into the tank.

But I will say this - Don't ever underestimate the kindness of strangers.
Thank you to the nameless geo-physisict with an Austrailian accent (I think it was Aussie) who has worked for Exxon for the last 10 years or so

And that's all I have to say about that - can you put the pieces together by yourselves my loyal blog readers?

Only in the South

Disclaimer: Be prepared to giggle aloud! May not be appropriate for teenagers to read unless you expect and can handle whining and stomping off to their room with an accompanying door slam!


APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from your doctor.

NAME_____________________
DATE OF BIRTH_____________
HEIGHT___________ WEIGHT____________
IQ__________ GPA_____________
SOCIAL SECURITY #_______________
DRIVERS LICENSE #_______________
BOY SCOUT RANK AND BADGES_____________
HOME ADDRESS_______________________
CITY/STATE___________ ZIP______

Do you have parents? ___Yes ___No
Is one male and the other female? ___Yes ___No If No, explain: __________________________________________
Number of years they have been married _____________
If less than your age, explain: ______________________

ACCESSORIES SECTION:

A. Do you own or have access to a van? __Yes __No

B. A truck with oversized tires? __Yes __No

C. A waterbed? __Yes __No

D. A pickup with a mattress in the back? __Yes __No

E. A tattoo? __Yes __No

F. Do you have an earring, nose ring, __Yes __No
pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring?

(IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION AND LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. I SUGGEST RUNNING.)


ESSAY SECTION:

In 50 words or less, what does 'LATE' mean to you?

_____________________________________
In 50 words or less, what does 'DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER' mean to you?

_____________________________________
In 50 words or less, what does 'ABSTINENCE' mean to you?

_____________________________________

REFERENCES SECTION:

Church you attend ______________________
How often you attend ____________________
When would be the best time to interview your:
father? _____________
mother? _____________
pastor? _____________


SHORT-ANSWER SECTION:

Answer by filling in the blank. Please answer freely, all answers are confidential.

A: If I were shot, the last place I would want to be shot would be:

_________________________________
B: If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my:

_________________________________
C: A woman's place is in the:

_________________________________
D: The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:

_________________________________
E. What do you want to do IF you grow up? ___________________
F. When I meet a girl, the thing I always notice about her first is:
___________________

F. What is the current going rate of a hotel room? ______________

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, NATIVE AMERICAN ANT TORTURE, CRUCIFIXION, ELECTROCUTION, CHINESE WATER TORTURE, RED HOT POKERS, AND HILLARY CLINTON KISS TORTURE.


_________________________________________
Applicant's Signature (that means sign your name, moron!)


_______________________________
Mother's Signature
________________________________
Father's Signature

_______________________________
Pastor/Priest/Rabbi State Representative/Congressman

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual.
Please allow four to six years for processing.

You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write (since you probably can't, and it would cause you injury). If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentleman wearing white ties carrying violin cases. (you might watch your back)

To prepare yourself, start studying Daddy's Rules for Dating.



Daddy's Rules for Dating
Your dad's rules for your boyfriend (or for you if you're a guy) :

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them..

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a 'Barrier method' of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: 'early.'

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge . Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual themes are to be avoided; movies which feature chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi . When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Deep Thoughts

This is an email that I sent a few weeks ago to an esteemed Rabbi Wolbe from a line of esteemed Rabbi Wolbes who sends out a weekly message regarding Torah parsha, upcoming Torch events and a "sermonette". These are some of my comments on part of the sermonette. I also copied a friend, mother of 4 and teacher/speaker/rebbitzen who is the head of the women's division of that same organization, and personally invited me to come to a women's conference in January that left me invigorated. Sometimes it's good to vent!

From: Brenda Namer [mailto:bnamer@Petrohawk.com]
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 5:14 PM
Subject: RE: To Be A "Mensch"



So I'm scrabling to make the house ready for Shabbat after I went to the VIP Shabbat program Friday morning at my son's pre-school and I read your article to take a break.



This part really moved me:

only this time it is not the Nazis who are finishing us off but we who are gradually doing it to ourselves through assimilation and intermarriage. The Jewish people are literally disappearing as we speak.



We have moved back to Houston (I'm native, my husband Israeli) and I struggle to keep our identity as a Jew in Galut - only bringing it up if someone notices that I am speaking Hebrew throughout the day to my husband on the telephone, food choices, etc



I haven't really come to grips with the fact that I am making a life for my family here and not in Israel.



Maybe that IS why I've found my way back to my roots here - to be the token Jew (it always seems like that is the case in my daily circle and with the choices I've made - {I went to LSU in Baton Rouge rather than Tulane where my mother went or UT Austin where my brother went}) who shows others around me that we are not all like the sterotypes and what I think it means to be Jewish. And of course to help others strengthen their Jewish identity by being comfortable with my own Jewish identity.



Thank you for these weekly drasha - it gets you thinking and sometimes even sparks a spark.

Brenda Namer


This is what I got from the author of the sermonette and whose children are at Sephardic Gan
From: TORCH [mailto:torch@torchweb.org]
Sent: Tue 1/29/2008 8:59 AM
To: Brenda Namer
Subject: RE: To Be A "Mensch"

Hello Brenda,

Thanks for you kind and touching words. I agree and think that just about the only way for a Jew to stay connected, especially in "galut" is by being empowered through Jewish learning. When we learn, we connect, and are able to stay strong and feel part of a community. I welcome you to join our learning opportunities.

All the best,
Aryeh
(have you ever gotten a note signed with just a first name from a distinguished learned Rabbi? Its a first for me too - and then last week he added me as a one of his 145 friends on Facebook..., its a new generation!)

This is what my friend wrote back later:
Sent: Mon 2/18/2008 11:50 PM
To: Brenda Namer
Subject: RE: To Be A "Mensch"
Well Spoken, Brenda. You are a wonderful Jew for others to meet and learn from…

What a warm fuzzy, just thought I'd share with the blogosphere!

Best laid plans...

So we're driving home from Bubbe and Grandpa's house this evening when Yoni brings up out of the blue that he wants to meet Santa Claus. Don't ask me where this came from?
Then he calmly mentions that "Jewish don't DO Christmas" as I plainly told him many times as we drove around looking at the "Merry Christmas lights" in December and watching all the Hallmarky goodness that are holiday time movies at the end of the year.
My question is: Why did he decide to remember all this right now at the end of Februaury?
Then he goes on to say that he has met Santa Claus at the North Pole and that it wasn't so cold. And that Santa had given him a lolipop, but not just any lolipop, a candy-corn shaped one that was filled with peanut butter. This from my child who is not super keen on sweets... What an imagination! I asked him if he could draw me a picture of that and he said SURE in all the beautiful tones of his innocence. Then he proceeded to hang his sister's pink and purple butterfly/flower blanket around his shoulders superhero cape style and took off running for the door. He won as usual by beating us to the upstairs door to the apt.



And another thing...
Sorry for taking so long to get back to blogging...Life somehow just keeps getting in the way.

Yaeli is "The Biter" in her class and she has left her indelible impression on a few of the other children, much to my chagrin. When they tell me she's biting, I give her a little more attention than usual and hope that those chompers will finally come through and stop tormenting her gums.... Sometimes a little extra TLC is all it takes.

It was president's day yesterday and BAC was closed as was my office (hooray, we didn't even have to think about who I was going to pawn the kids off on for the whole day - It was ME)
We took full advantage of the BEAUTIFUL almost spring day and went to 2 parks with the public library in between in hopes of calming down for an afternoon nap. Best Laid Plans....

The first park was quite nice until the first graders from Lovett had a picnic on the bleachers and then invaded our serene toddler friendly park.

So we went to the library (which worked so much better in my head than it did in reality) where Jonathan pulled so many books off the shelves that I thought the librarian was going to kill me on the spot. Yael was every bit a toddler and she promptly pooped 3 times in succession because I had no back-up wipes and then she was into everything and not wanting to sit still for the story I was trying to read aloud whilst the slight greasy gentleman in the back corner hid his glares from behind his laptop.


After the library we went to the grandparents' house for lunch and a quick diaper change (even though neither one of them was there) Yoni let the dogs out and they had a fun time chasing each other in and out the patio door through the curtain. Then we drew a snowman with different sized round objects and Yaeli and Mommy fell asleep watching Rachel Ray tell us about her favorite hot spots in New York and Chicago


We went back out to enjoy some more fun in the sun at the newly renovated BLUE park, as Yoni calls it, since the equipment there is a sun collecting magnet of dark blue and green. (the new improved Godwin Park with mud repellent, oh so soft wood chips on the ground under the equipment - whose bright iedea was that?) As my friend Miriam the Mommy puts it, here comes a honking BMA (Bad Mother Alert)
So of course Yaeli, probably the smallest kid out there, fell off the swing and got trampled at the park yesterday in front of all the other parents who were so shocked and offended they were frozen in time (or maybe they were just so glad it happened to someone else's child and they could live another day satisfied in the fact that they were perfect parents) Of course she was scared and rightly so. I had put her tummy side down on the big kids swing and dropped the stuffed dog I was holding for Yoni so I looked away for just that one critical second for her to fall off that swing and somehow roll under the feet of the kid who was on the swing next to her. He was probably 5 or 6 and he tried his best to stop so as not to kick her and gravity being what it was and the pendulum effect, his feet and her little head and body just managed to collide at full force.
SCREAMING ensued and I did my best to calm the other child so that he knew he wasn't in the wrong, meanwhile brushing her off and cradling her to my chest and picking wood chips out of her clothes and hair and the random piece or two that ended up in her mouth (dont think she swallowed any as there wasn't enough wind-up time between the time she started screaming for her to breathe and swallow)


And of course just becasue I wasn't having a bad enough time at the park, here it comes - another HUGE BMA - I kept losing Yoni - between all the other kids (and hovering adults), my split attention in keeping up with our acoutrements and keeping Yaeli out of harm's way-fearless little daredevil that she is- and all the great hiding places on the new playground equipment, I was just sure someone was going to make off with my perfect precious angel without me noticing and I was going to end up the subject of one of those awful made for daytime TV movies.....

I started the day out with a little headache that never actually went away and by the end of the day I had a full-blown major migriane that had me moaning in bed for a sip of water (even worse than my raging hormones on pitocin delivering Yoni) Thank you Eran for bringing me water to the bed, but next time spare me the accompanying Israeli dehydration lecture...Drink some water, its the Israeli band-aid cure for everything that ails you!

But we all survived -maybe a little worse for wear- and work was an unexpected haven today after I was hit with the harsh reality of being a stay at home mom - definitely not for me, but big kudos to those who do it, it's not easy. so much for my dreams of being a schoolteacher ...maybe with some practice I could really do some damage to some other people's kids.

On to other things...Yael was sent home early Friday with a case of kinim (Think Pesach seder). YUCK! Then the school called me again to come get Yoni too-same thing. And it was Eran's milestone 30th birthday and it was all kinds of ruined. He also got bsorot lo kol cach tovot - a childhood neighbor and father figure had finally lost his long battle with cancer (zochur l'tov). And then Macabbi Haifa lost their game today so he lost a bet and owes a friend a pizza...bkitzur, not a great week for my sweetie Eran - and his homesickiness is even worse than ever.

And just in case we weren't struggling enough with random stuff...Last year, BAC made a big deal that at a Jewish day school we don't celebrate Valentine's Day, since its not our holiday. This year, Yael got 3 valentines gifts and the two other kids that didn't bring "gifts" were two other 2nd generation deep-rooted Jewish kids whose parents knew better (myself, a Topek, and the granddaughter of one of the teachers at the school) AARGH!

Then of course there is the PM teacher that won't stop badgering me (and whoever comes to get my children-maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that I had grandpa drop off the check for me at the office) for a late fee that I was unfairly charged and told by the office staff to forget about. This incident was over 3 weeks ago and it is still lingering despite supposed intervention by the vice principle. And this morning I made a right big mess of the interaction between the AM teacher and the other teachers and the principle over the whole kinim issue. Damned if you do and damned if you don't - I just want a few days away from all the politics and demands on me and my already thinly streched, finely orchestrated chaos. If I leave just right from my house I can drop everyone off in time to get to my office by 8:15 (which is still 15 minutes later than I want to be and more than an hour after everyone else - it seems -gets there) Then if I am not in the middle of something and can just drop everything at work and not get stopped along the way by chatting or traffic - I can just make it to the school to get the kids and let Quin go get her child on time. But then I have to tack on another hour in getting Eran and dropping off those STUPID (I really want to use a stronger word here but am trying to restrain myself) FEDEXES!!! But if I don't do it, then I don't see my darling husband till hours later as he feels obligated to run whatever errands his ride wants to run (sometimes including a stop for their dinner on the way home)

Is it possible?

Can it be done, she asks?
Can you be in 3 major cities in one day?
Only in Texas (and Israel, of course)

In Israel I could start in Jerusalem, travel through Tel Aviv and get to Haifa all in a matter of 3 hours. In Houston, TX it can take 3 hours to get home from rush hour traffic.

Today I was in downtown Houston - despite the MLK day stuff - and I parked at the corner of Austin and Dallas.
Wish I had my cell phone charged up so I could take a picture of that!
Maybe I'll do that tomorrow

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!].