Amira went to another sleep-under (see previous post) tonight, so Yaakov gets the very exciting runner's up package of being able to choose the bedtime stories all by himself, with no Amira to roll her eyes in true Sendor-Woman fashion at the very surprise choice of "Cool Cars" for the millionth time, PLUS he gets (by permission of Amira herself) to sleep in Amira's bed.
Anyhow, in a surprise Yaakov move, he chose to read a book about animals instead of "Cool Cars" (Amira, you missed out!). We were looking at a picture of some whales and dolphins, and he asked:
Mommy, are those Killer Whales?
Me: Um, yes, I think they are.
Yaakov: Cool. We saw Killer Whales at Sea World.
Me: That's right!
Yaakov: Are they called Killer Whales because they KILL people?
Me: UM....Yes. But...
Yaakov (Interrupts) Well, if the Killer Whales at Sea World try to kill anyone, the dolphins would just tell on them.
Me: Um...(trying, as always, to keep a straight face and hoping that my little 3 year old really doesn't know what he is referring to.)
Yaakov: Hey- is that a BEETLE!? Beetles are SO COOL.
Me: Maybe we should just stick to "Cool Cars."
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Conferences and more dentistry
I'll begin with the good news:
I survived another teeth cleaning despite my phobia of things being scraped against each other (chalk, pots on grates, forks on plates, scraper thingys on teeth, etc) have no cavities (and the dentist was very happy that I am still match for match with Yehuda the Dentist's pet super flosser, no cavities for all!, and a shout out to Jen, who thinks I should make Yehuda a Super-Flosser costume for Purim- genius!) and Yaakov's parent teacher conference was a success.
He is doing very well in nursery, learning a lot, apparently very popular and super smart (can't hear enough of that!). He picks up all the songs and stories immediately, and is starting to actually have an interest in art projects!
Oldest children have clean slates going into their first conferences. Subsequent children, on the other hand, very different story. I think about my parent's conferences and laugh. By the time they got to Noam, the teachers just couldn't have any expectations since the first 3 of us were so, so different. Shira- Just fine, probably could work a little harder, Atara- Wish all students were like her, David- well, um, we'll skip that one, suffice to say- he is super-successful and well educated NOW, and then Noam...well, by that point they probably gave up any preconceived notions.
Meanwhile, Amira had the same nursery teacher (we love her) and her opening statement- wow, Amira and Yaakov really are night and day, aren't they. Yep.
High expectations result for little Mr. Yaakov thanks to little Miss Amira (looks like she takes after Auntie Atara!).
On the "needs work" end, Yaakov is a space cadet. Yep, surprise of the century.
When they ask the kids to line up with their coats on, he is staring into space on the wrong side of the room. When they walk down the stairs, he is the only one on the wrong side. When they sit in circle time, he is playing with his shoe, the crushed milk cup from lunch, his hat, and yet somehow manages to learn everything they say. But hasn't quite gotten the weekly routine down yet. So, needs work. But again, surprise of the century it is not.
I would not be particularly surprised, either, if Yehuda-Super-Flosser's parents (Mom feel free to comment!) had similar discussions with his teachers back in the time of no baths.
I survived another teeth cleaning despite my phobia of things being scraped against each other (chalk, pots on grates, forks on plates, scraper thingys on teeth, etc) have no cavities (and the dentist was very happy that I am still match for match with Yehuda the Dentist's pet super flosser, no cavities for all!, and a shout out to Jen, who thinks I should make Yehuda a Super-Flosser costume for Purim- genius!) and Yaakov's parent teacher conference was a success.
He is doing very well in nursery, learning a lot, apparently very popular and super smart (can't hear enough of that!). He picks up all the songs and stories immediately, and is starting to actually have an interest in art projects!
Oldest children have clean slates going into their first conferences. Subsequent children, on the other hand, very different story. I think about my parent's conferences and laugh. By the time they got to Noam, the teachers just couldn't have any expectations since the first 3 of us were so, so different. Shira- Just fine, probably could work a little harder, Atara- Wish all students were like her, David- well, um, we'll skip that one, suffice to say- he is super-successful and well educated NOW, and then Noam...well, by that point they probably gave up any preconceived notions.
Meanwhile, Amira had the same nursery teacher (we love her) and her opening statement- wow, Amira and Yaakov really are night and day, aren't they. Yep.
High expectations result for little Mr. Yaakov thanks to little Miss Amira (looks like she takes after Auntie Atara!).
On the "needs work" end, Yaakov is a space cadet. Yep, surprise of the century.
When they ask the kids to line up with their coats on, he is staring into space on the wrong side of the room. When they walk down the stairs, he is the only one on the wrong side. When they sit in circle time, he is playing with his shoe, the crushed milk cup from lunch, his hat, and yet somehow manages to learn everything they say. But hasn't quite gotten the weekly routine down yet. So, needs work. But again, surprise of the century it is not.
I would not be particularly surprised, either, if Yehuda-Super-Flosser's parents (Mom feel free to comment!) had similar discussions with his teachers back in the time of no baths.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Bible Lessons
As I head off to Parent Teacher Conferences tonight (for Yaakov, Amira's ELEMENTARY SCHOOL conferences are next week) to hear all about how Yaakov is doing (certain to be a very different kind of conference then I am used to as of yet....), which I will be sure to post about soon, I leave you with the conversation at dinner tonight.
Yaakov: Mommy, Yaakov dressed up as Esav and he was really hairy and he was bad and Yaakov was good.
Mommy: That's right.
Amira: Good, Yaakov! You listened in school!
Yaakov: Esav liked to hunt and fight (said in his cool MAN voice) and Yaakov liked to study. We like to study too. Abba always studies.
Mommy: That's right!
Yaakov: Is hunting bad?
Mommy: Um...
Amira: Hunting isn't bad, if you need it for food, but it isn't as nice of a thing to do as study.
Mommy: (phew)
Yaakov: Fighting is really bad. And if we fight our Mommies, we get in a time out. (says he who experienced this phenomenon multiple times today)
Amira: (laughs) I don't think they had time outs in those days. Wouldn't that be silly if the Parsha talked about Exav's time out?
Me: (laughed. really hard. tears in my eyes) um, yes. Yes that is very true.
Amira is very into "In those Times." Last week she saw an old picture of Yehuda (in camp, circa 1989) with his Super-Cool Jew-fro and her comment:
In Abba's time, did they have baths?
Yaakov: Mommy, Yaakov dressed up as Esav and he was really hairy and he was bad and Yaakov was good.
Mommy: That's right.
Amira: Good, Yaakov! You listened in school!
Yaakov: Esav liked to hunt and fight (said in his cool MAN voice) and Yaakov liked to study. We like to study too. Abba always studies.
Mommy: That's right!
Yaakov: Is hunting bad?
Mommy: Um...
Amira: Hunting isn't bad, if you need it for food, but it isn't as nice of a thing to do as study.
Mommy: (phew)
Yaakov: Fighting is really bad. And if we fight our Mommies, we get in a time out. (says he who experienced this phenomenon multiple times today)
Amira: (laughs) I don't think they had time outs in those days. Wouldn't that be silly if the Parsha talked about Exav's time out?
Me: (laughed. really hard. tears in my eyes) um, yes. Yes that is very true.
Amira is very into "In those Times." Last week she saw an old picture of Yehuda (in camp, circa 1989) with his Super-Cool Jew-fro and her comment:
In Abba's time, did they have baths?
For your viewing pleasure, the Picture:
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Mommyish
I begin, tonight, with the conclusion of this blog entry:
I must purchase Yaakov BOY dress up clothes.
We have lots and lots of GIRL dress up clothes, including many tutus, fairy costumes, flower girl dresses, princess costumes, high heeled shoes, "mommyish" (as in Amira and her little girlfriends' compliment du jour, loosely translated to mean that something looks grown up, I think. And involves the wearing of a lot of black, heh. Whatever it is, I am happy that for the moment, moms are still cool. Although I don't think anyone uses the word cool anymore, except maybe me, which I am sure Amira will find decidedly un-cool at some point. But I digress, and for now being "Mommyish" is good. Go Me!) jewelry and purses.
On the other hand, our boy dress up includes a cowboy hat, and last years Purim Dragon costume, which he puts on, gets scared of, and takes off. And then he puts on the Tinkerbell costume, complete with wings, and gets annoyed and embarrassed when I laugh, especially when he zooms around his race cars in said costume.
But then, I remember that Atara and I (ok, fine, just I) used to dress Noam up in our old ballet tutus, and here is, happily married B"H and expecting his first child in the next month, G-d willing!! I wonder why we never inflicted this on Davidi?
Anyhow, I am now frantically googling superman capes, and tool belts, and other such BOY dress up, because I would like for him to have that option, despite the fact that he looks very cute as Tinkerbell.
A superman cape for Chanukah maybe?
I must purchase Yaakov BOY dress up clothes.
We have lots and lots of GIRL dress up clothes, including many tutus, fairy costumes, flower girl dresses, princess costumes, high heeled shoes, "mommyish" (as in Amira and her little girlfriends' compliment du jour, loosely translated to mean that something looks grown up, I think. And involves the wearing of a lot of black, heh. Whatever it is, I am happy that for the moment, moms are still cool. Although I don't think anyone uses the word cool anymore, except maybe me, which I am sure Amira will find decidedly un-cool at some point. But I digress, and for now being "Mommyish" is good. Go Me!) jewelry and purses.
On the other hand, our boy dress up includes a cowboy hat, and last years Purim Dragon costume, which he puts on, gets scared of, and takes off. And then he puts on the Tinkerbell costume, complete with wings, and gets annoyed and embarrassed when I laugh, especially when he zooms around his race cars in said costume.
But then, I remember that Atara and I (ok, fine, just I) used to dress Noam up in our old ballet tutus, and here is, happily married B"H and expecting his first child in the next month, G-d willing!! I wonder why we never inflicted this on Davidi?
Anyhow, I am now frantically googling superman capes, and tool belts, and other such BOY dress up, because I would like for him to have that option, despite the fact that he looks very cute as Tinkerbell.
A superman cape for Chanukah maybe?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Dentist's Pet
This afternoon when Amira came home from school I reminded her that today we had to go back to the dentist to have sealants put in her new GROWN UP MOLARS. She got that "I am going to cry but I don't want to so I am going to hold it in but look really worried and get a permanent wrinkle like my Mommy's in between my eyebrows" (side note, I recall very vividly my first grade English teacher telling me that if I didn't stop squinting and making my worried face all the time, I would have wrinkles by the time I was 30, which wasn't such a big deal to me then, since 30 was positively ancient and who would really care by that point, but 30 is around the corner and darn it if she wasn't right about that. Sigh.) but she agreed to go and told Yaakov to get his coat because we were going to the Dontist (as in Ortho-Dontist). To which Yaakov replied, it is NOT called a Donist, it is called a Dentist. Hee.
She was really brave (of course!) and there was nary a kvetch out of her (yay!) and when we were leaving I told her that I was really proud of her for behaving so beautifully and she told me:
I didn't kvetch because I know it is something that is good for me, even though it tastes like I have sand in my mouth (and made a really lovely gagging face to go with it!), I was happy to do it. I really don't want to get cavities. This is also why she flosses every night.
Thank you Yehuda, Dentist's pet.
Yaakov, on the other hand, threw a fit begging for "his turn." To which Amira responded:
Oh Yaakov, you silly, sealants are only for grown up teeth, you still have baby teeth! And Yaakov promptly burst into tears and cried "But I don't want BABY teeth, I am a BIG boy."
Anyhow, I don't think Yehuda has missed a night of flossing (well, except Friday Night and Yontif, I guess, and I can see that that pains him) since we married. Which, I must admit, sometimes annoys the heck out of me. Not the flossing and brushing, per se, but the never makes a mistake, always remembers everything perfectly (We will have arguments, yes, yes, mostly me doing the arguing, where I will insist up and down that something happened exactly as I remember, but in the end, he is always, always right) never does anything wrong kind of thing, which, when you are as highly imperfect as I am, can grate. But I am hoping that the longer we are married (almost 8 year’s now- wow!) the more like him I will become and not vice versa (except in the area of speed. I am fast. Yehuda is not. I could do with added patience; Yehuda could do with added speed. Combine us and we are unbeatable!). And yes of course, I, too, floss every night. I really don't want cavities.
edit: Ima correctly reminded me that Yehuda does not play basketball slowly. He is very speedy in basketball. Notsomuch in telling a story, though, but after re-reading what I wrote here, who am I to talk really.
She was really brave (of course!) and there was nary a kvetch out of her (yay!) and when we were leaving I told her that I was really proud of her for behaving so beautifully and she told me:
I didn't kvetch because I know it is something that is good for me, even though it tastes like I have sand in my mouth (and made a really lovely gagging face to go with it!), I was happy to do it. I really don't want to get cavities. This is also why she flosses every night.
Thank you Yehuda, Dentist's pet.
Yaakov, on the other hand, threw a fit begging for "his turn." To which Amira responded:
Oh Yaakov, you silly, sealants are only for grown up teeth, you still have baby teeth! And Yaakov promptly burst into tears and cried "But I don't want BABY teeth, I am a BIG boy."
Anyhow, I don't think Yehuda has missed a night of flossing (well, except Friday Night and Yontif, I guess, and I can see that that pains him) since we married. Which, I must admit, sometimes annoys the heck out of me. Not the flossing and brushing, per se, but the never makes a mistake, always remembers everything perfectly (We will have arguments, yes, yes, mostly me doing the arguing, where I will insist up and down that something happened exactly as I remember, but in the end, he is always, always right) never does anything wrong kind of thing, which, when you are as highly imperfect as I am, can grate. But I am hoping that the longer we are married (almost 8 year’s now- wow!) the more like him I will become and not vice versa (except in the area of speed. I am fast. Yehuda is not. I could do with added patience; Yehuda could do with added speed. Combine us and we are unbeatable!). And yes of course, I, too, floss every night. I really don't want cavities.
edit: Ima correctly reminded me that Yehuda does not play basketball slowly. He is very speedy in basketball. Notsomuch in telling a story, though, but after re-reading what I wrote here, who am I to talk really.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Tendu, Jete, Grand plié
When I was maybe 4 years old (my memory of real and false things is not as good as my sister's, so Ima, please correct me if I am wrong) my Grandparents came to visit and I told my Grandma all about my ballet classes and what wore and what I was learning and who I carpooled with and my Grandma was very happy for me and mentioned to my mom how wonderful it was that I was taking ballet and loved it so much. Turns out I just had a really active imagination and was not, at that time, taking ballet lessons. My mom promptly signed me up for said lessons, although I never turned out to be particularly agile or coordinated, and sadly, did not continue on as a dancer (of any sort. I can barely do an aerobics class.)
So, what else are children for but to live vicariously through?
Amira has taken gymnastics and Israeli dance and loved them both, but really, really loves ballet. And she is actually very good at it! She came home this past Sunday truly thrilled because her ballet teacher only had to correct her posture once! And she had done a perfect tendu! And I must buy her a pink ballet skirt!
Nebach! Nebach! Nebach!
This morning in carpool, Amira and her friend "Y" were talking about the new girl’s choir that their school is starting for girls in first through eighth grades. This choir will be for a one time performance only- at the all important "Mother-Daughter Brunch" which yours truly is chairing for the PTA! (Curtsey, bow!)
Amira really wants to try out (she makes up for lack of a particularly good voice, or ability to sing on key as of yet, with lots of enthusiasm and hilariously mispronounced words) and was telling her friend all about it. They then proceeded to discuss how "Y" would be able to hear the girl’s choir, since the performance will be for women and girls only, and he came up with a brilliant plan to dress up as a girl! Amira thought about it for a second and said:
Amira: Um, I think they would probably realize that you were not really a girl.
"Y:" Why? I would wear a dress.
Amira: They can tell by your voice.
"Y:" Ohh. Nods. (His voice is higher pitched then either of my kids, plus he is 5.)
Me: not able to keep from laughing out loud, so I turned up the music and happily listened to them singing along with all the wrong words.
Yaakov's favorite song of the moment has the words "Revach, Revach, Revach" to which he sings (loudly but on key!) Nebach, Nebach, Nebach!
Amira really wants to try out (she makes up for lack of a particularly good voice, or ability to sing on key as of yet, with lots of enthusiasm and hilariously mispronounced words) and was telling her friend all about it. They then proceeded to discuss how "Y" would be able to hear the girl’s choir, since the performance will be for women and girls only, and he came up with a brilliant plan to dress up as a girl! Amira thought about it for a second and said:
Amira: Um, I think they would probably realize that you were not really a girl.
"Y:" Why? I would wear a dress.
Amira: They can tell by your voice.
"Y:" Ohh. Nods. (His voice is higher pitched then either of my kids, plus he is 5.)
Me: not able to keep from laughing out loud, so I turned up the music and happily listened to them singing along with all the wrong words.
Yaakov's favorite song of the moment has the words "Revach, Revach, Revach" to which he sings (loudly but on key!) Nebach, Nebach, Nebach!
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