You've GOT to be kidding me

Jonathan woke up the other morning and said his foot hurt.

A few days later, it got worse. He started hobbling around with a cane.

Yesterday, I convinced him to see a podiatrist.

The doctor took an X-ray. And guess what? My husband has an extra bone in his foot. To use his words, he's a "mutant." And luckily for him, he banged this mutant bone somehow, and now has a hairline fracture.

Only Jonathan, I swear. Poor thing can barely go up the stairs. And to think that we wanted a house with multiple floors. How silly were we.

First steps!

Xander took three steps last night! From Lynn (my mom's girlfriend) to my mom. My mom had the biggest smile on her face for the rest of the evening.

In other Xander news, he's gone from nesting his cups to stacking them up himself. And the best was when we were in Target yesterday. He was whining, wanting to go home. I said, "honey, we just need to get one more thing." And he looked straight at me, went "uuuuuuhh" and in sign language signed, "all done." Which he had only ever signed in his high chair before (booster now actually, not just high chair). Oh yes, and he also wipes his own nose now with Kleenex. Thank God.

"The Jew tour"

Last night, Jonathan and I decided to forego the traditional Jewish December 25th Chinese and a movie. Instead, Deann and Justin invited us over to their house for Christmas dinner. We got all bundled up, drove the 40 minutes over... and stepped into a movie.

I had never been before to a house that had a real Christmas tree with golden lights, and an angel on top, and a train track all around. There were cookies on the table, since Claudia and Deann had finished baking and decorating gingerbread angels, trees, and reindeer earlier that morning (some had apparently been eaten by Santa on Christmas eve, Claudia was quick to tell us). There was a fire in the fireplace, and personalized stockings hanging on the mantle. Xander was overwhelmed. Shinies on the tree! A train going choo-choo! Flames leaping on the hearth! Oh, what should a boy look at first!

I, on the other hand, immediately went into sociology mode. I crouched down under the tree to look at its stand, and noticed it was sitting in a huge bowl of water. Very seriously, wondering how they managed to make the tree stand up straight, I asked, "so how does this thing work?" Jonathan, Deann and Justin just kind of looked at me - then buckled over laughing. Apparently it came out wrong. So for the rest of the night I got the "Jew tour" of the tree and all Christmas accoutrements.

In high school (and in Jerusalem) I'd been to Catholic midnight Mass, and really enjoyed the liturgical aspects. This was very different. It was more "secular American," the way it's pictured in every Christmas TV special. It felt like observing a slice of someone else's life. Also, as the first Christmas we've been to since Xander was born, it increased my self-confidence about how to best raise him in the larger non-Jewish environment: it was very much about "celebrating someone else's holiday" and getting a chance to talk with friends over good food and wine.

By the way, eating birthday cake for baby Jesus after Christmas dinner? Totally neat way to teach a toddler the religious, not just the materialistic, meaning of the holiday. Deann had warned us before, and I was okay with it, but it sure didn't hurt that the cake was smooth red velvet with vanilla icing. :)



Oh yes, and P.S: Xander was all over Claudia and her younger sister. He kept giving them hugs. Finally he went over to Deann and gave her a hug. And she had the best line of the night: "You thanking me for giving you two cute girls to hit on? You can't marry them both, you know!"

Snow, snow and more snow

It is 75 degrees in California, as my mother's girlfriend keeps reminding her. Right now it is 35 here, and yesterday my mother drove in snow for the very first time. Xander took a long walk around the block in the snow, and loved it.




My mother cooked food! Our oven only gets used when parents come over. It's fabulous. All of our tupperware will be full by the time she leaves. (We may need to buy some more, actually.)

I finished my last monster 18 page paper. Now I'm working on transcribing Lutheran council meetings of 1968 on Vietnam and conscientious objection for my side job.

Between that, errands, kid, mom, husband, and everybody being sick... life is good!

Babeleh boy... and everything else

So my mom got here yesterday, and told me that I've been holding out! Apparently Xander can do lots of little things that I have neglected to post.

1) He stands up on his own and claps.
2) He stacks cups, instead of just knocking them down.
3) He likes to get into the kitchen Tupperware cabinet.
4) He's moving from two naps to one.
5) He's VERY talkative.
6) He waves, gives high-fives, and says "all done" after a meal in sign language.
7) He turns pages of books by himself.
8) He's very affectionate and gives lots of hugs.
9) He's extremely well coordinated and has good depth perception.
10) He's very strong and can completely lift up and turn his cart in the air.
11) When we sing the candle blessings, he looks straight to the candle holders and knows the blessing is for Shabbat.
12) Last but not least, in my mother's words, "he's cute as the dickens." But I'm sure you all knew that already. :)

In other news, I finished my Talmud paper, hooray! Still have one left, and that 40 hours worth of work at the AJA. Vacation, shmacation.

Hanukkah has been lovely. My mom brought over literally an entire suitcase full of books plus a carry-on, probably about 60-70 pounds worth. I have no idea how I'm going to fit them all on my shelves, but I'm excited about the prospect of trying. Jonathan and I got Xander a xylophone and this peg-and-hammer toy (you know, where you hammer the pegs down, then turn the toy over and hammer them again?) And he likes it quite a lot. I got Jonathan slippers, and he gave me the Harry Potter Marauder's Map! Complete with spiffy display case, it's awesome. Now I can display the map with Hermione's wand!

We've been getting into Battlestar Galactica, and are now well into the second season. I'm still a huge Star Trek fan, but I must admit that BSG has better characterization. The show doesn't shy away from internal conflict the way that ST does. Sigh. I still love both.

Other than that? It's snowing. I'm staying inside. Simcha is glued to the window watching the world. And the baby took a long nap. All in all, a good day!

The boy

Checking mail.

Okay, and this isn't about the boy, but watching this fake preview was like a Hanukkah present to myself.... Harry Potter fans, click here.

I wouldn't have believe it if it hadn't happened to me

I set my hair on fire last night. While lighting Hanukkah candles.

The menorah was in the middle of the kitchen table. I was sitting at one end. I tipped my head far to the side, toward the table, to stick my tongue out at Xander.

Tipping one's head is a bad, bad thing when one' s hair is fluffy.

Did you know that hair is flammable?

The side of my head went up like a... well, like a Hanukkah candle. Jonathan smacked me with a magazine to put me out.

Xander's eyes went wide.

After we realized there was no damage other than to my pride, I told him that Mommy was the shamash.

He didn't laugh.

Jonathan, on the other hand, nearly fell off his chair.

I had to wash my hair three times to get out the pieces of ash.

Only me, people, only me.

La dee da

My pulpit this weekend was great. I led a 15 minute Shabbat service, then we all adjourned downstairs for a Hanukkah party with menorah lighting, latkes, dinner food, songs, and dreidel. Jonathan has had the flu the past week though, and I got struck with it later that night. Suffice it to say it was a miserable early morning/night, and I had to cancel my Adult Ed in the morning. I had such a good lesson plan too! Anyway, it was a bad drive home. I was grateful to be out of the car and back in bed.

Other things? Xander can stand up on his own now. And he's no longer a wind-up toy, he can turn his push cart around and avoid obstacles with no problems. It's much less frustrating for all of us. We went to a party for his daycare last night, and it was adorable, all these toddlers running around... it was like, that could be you next month!

I have a Philosophy final tomorrow, then a Liturgy and Talmud paper due. My mom comes in Friday, so the goal is to be done by then. 'Course, when I finish that stuff then I have another 40 hour contract as a research assistant, so she may end up babysitting Xander more than she expects!

Happy Hanukkah, everyone.

I love my pulpit.

You haven't lived until you've seen a bunch of small-town retirees sing along to Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song.

Winter has arrived

Special weather statement for Hamilton, Ohio:

A STRONG HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL BRING WEST WINDS OF 10 TO 20 MPH TO THE REGION TONIGHT. THE WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE TEENS TO CREATE WIND CHILL VALUES AS LOW AS 5 BELOW.

PEOPLE WHO NEED TO BE OUT TONIGHT SHOULD TAKE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS AND COVER AS MUCH SKIN AS POSSIBLE. THEY SHOULD ALSO DRESS IN SEVERAL LAYERS... RATHER THAN ONE BULKY LAYER.

We should cover up as much as possible, and stay in if we can. You think?!

Reading week

First I should say, it wasn't actually a conference last weekend, more a retreat. It ended up being quite good, after I got over missing Xander and Jonathan. We talked all about conversion, what it entails, the role of the rabbi, what to say to someone, "seekers" versus people converting for marriage, halacha and law codes about it throughout history, a panel, role playing opportunities, etc. We ended around 10pm each night. And of course, instead of going straight to bed, I decided to be tired but to have fun. So I watched TV for a couple hours all by MYSELF each night - not one interruption! It was strange, I'd forgotten what it was like to not have husband, kid, or cats wanting my attention.

School-wise, I've finished the Talmud Oral Exam, the Human Relations paper, and the Hellenistic Literature paper. Up next is prepping for my pulpit tomorrow, then a Philosophy test on Monday, then a Talmud and a Liturgy paper (15 pgs each, ugh). My laptop and I have seriously bonded.

Also, things I do not like about winter? Cold snow that seeps through tennis shoes. Having to have the heat on constantly. Dressing up a baby boy in four layers when he doesn't even want to have to put on one. Wet cats who come in from outside, then want to climb on our bed with snow on their fur.

And check this out: the car of the future!

Conferences

I'm sitting in a hotel room, waiting 10 minutes before I head downstairs to dinner. I'm not particularly excited about this conference, not because of the topic - it's on Outreach and Jews by Choice - but because I'll be gone from Xander and Jonathan for two whole days. Sniff.

Jonathan's last day of work was Friday, so he's home with the boy at least. If anyone in the Cinci area has a job suggestion for him, please do send it along.

Oh yes, and mazel tov to Auntie Lois and Mike, who are finally getting started on building their dream house!

I really am not into writing final papers

I've checked email, paid bills, organized my notebooks, even helped lead Tot Shabbat with the kidlets at HUC. And the papers are still there, waiting for me.

What do you do to procrastinate? I SOOO don't want to do work.

More Xanderbug

Daddy and Xander in the bean bag store at the mall.

He went for so long that I wondered how much stamina he had. The next day, I took him for a walk around the block. He walked TWENTY-TWO MINUTES (I timed it) before he sat down. The kid is stubborn!

Cell phone addict in the making.

The funny part of teething.

When we're gone, the cats don't miss us. They have kitty cuddles instead.

Words

First, an article entitled "Not Jewish but Jew-ish" provided quite the food for thought. It's by a Jewish man who considers himself cultural but not religious. He loves bacon, never goes to temple, and has no apologies for anything. An excerpt:

"I thoroughly enjoy and celebrate my culture, but I am deeply contemptuous of the madness and hypocrisy that has sprouted up in the organised religion, as it does in most cults. And I say this even though some of my best friends are frum and I'm a completely fake agnostic, because I still quietly recite the Shema when things get awkward."

Second, I just finished the book The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life. It was amazing. The author is a developmental psychologist as well as a philosopher. Parts of it were more engaging than others, but her last chapter, especially, is brilliant. I feel like I understand Xander's sense of consciousness and how he thinks much better now. Highly recommended.

Last but not least, in class today I was bored. To entertain myself I tried to decide upon my favorite word. I had a tie: "parallelogram" and "snuffle-up-ogus" (from Sesame Street). What are your favorite words?

I am so unbelievably domesticated

1) For Thanksgiving, we went to the prof's house who teaches my Hellenistic Literature course. Dinner conversation ranged from the history of Alexander the Great (of course) to Italy to kids to Korean soap operas. All this intellectualism, and yet what did we, as in the majority of the nine adults present, spend most of our time doing? Sitting on the floor playing with the kids.

2) Shabbat dinner last night was with new friends who we met through Tot Shabbats at temple. The couple's son is 10 months. None of us ever really finished dinner... we just took turns eating, feeding the babies, playing with the dogs, and helping the kidlets "walk" (which Xander can do holding onto someone by just one hand, by the way). Dinner conversation? Breast-feeding vs formula, stay at home mom versus working parents, Jonathan's new Android phone, and temple politics. At the end of the night it was so late we knew Xander would fall asleep on the way home, so we borrowed some PJ's from their son, and promised to return them on our next playdate.

3) Our big excursion today was to the Florence, Kentucky mall, about a half hour away. Why? Because we heard they had a great kids' play area. So after a short trip to Lady Foot Locker to buy me new sneakers (so sad, because I like cute shoes but can only really wear one brand of tennies with major support, because of my previous foot surgeries) - we went to everywhere Xander liked - to see the fountain, the bean bag store, the carousel, the big kids going down the slide, etc. We ended the evening at Once Upon a Child, the children's consignment store, and picked up some awesome Hanukkah gifts for a whopping total of $11. Jonathan and I were so excited about the variety of kid's toys, I can't even begin to tell you. They had a great selection of my favorite brand, Melissa and Doug!

So overall, yeah. I look in the mirror and ask myself... at what point exactly did I become my parents?

I want to see this

"Circumcise Me" in NY

Yet another reason why I'm weird

Jonathan and I were having a discussion about Battlestar Galactica, and I kept calling Starbuck "Starhawk." He was like, who's Starhawk?

Yeah.

One is a fictional character on a sci-fi TV show.

The other is a very real woman, a fixture in the Wicca and eco-feminism movement.

I think it's funny that I'm more familiar with the second than I am with the first. :)

Two reasons life is magnificent

One, I've had a "rabbinical" issue for three months that I haven't been able to solve. I went to the Dean of the Rabbinical program and shared it, and boom, he solved it in five minutes flat. 30 years experience as a congregational rabbi comes in handy!

Second, and much more importantly, I tasted something called "gorilla bread" today. I'd had monkey bread before, that Anne had made, but this was even better - it was the same cinnamon-y, sugary, buttery goodness, only it had cream cheese in it, too. Soooo good! We'll ignore the fattening part....

HUC library book sale

I JUST BOUGHT THE COMPLETE WORKS OF JOSEPHUS FOR ONE DOLLAR.

Can you see me doing my happy dance?

$15, 15 books. Aah the joys of life!

Xander update galore

He now pushes his cart standing up, not just crawling! He goes all around the living room, and can even turn it in different directions. The main problem is that our house is only so big, so he gets frustrated when he reaches a wall or other obstacle.

Two days ago he took my cell phone and instead of eating it, held it up to his ear and said “babababa!” Now he does it whenever he can, just like Mommy and Daddy! The best is when I was on my cell phone talking to Jonathan, and Xander picked up the home phone, held it to his ear, and “talked” to me. He had such a huge smile on his face, it was adorable.

He loves to play in the sandbox at daycare.

Here he was too busy shoveling and playing with the cement mixer to actually smile.

His communication and receptive listening skills are getting better and better each day. I can say, "Xander, please hand me the book/sippy cup/whatever," and he places it right in my hand. Earlier this morning when he needed a diaper change, he didn’t cry but went over to where we keep the diapers, brought one over to me, and waved it in front of my face. I got the message!

We’ve had whole conversations this week where he makes a funny noise, then I or Jonathan make one, then he makes one back. Lots of laughing is of course involved – and he’s so emphatic in everything he says!

Let’s see, what else… we have a purple shape sorter with red, orange, and yellow blocks, and so far he knows where the circle and rectangle go, without any help. He loves to play Legos by handing me pieces and then banging the pieces on top of the other (my cue to put the pieces together). He’s way into putting things in a container, so cleaning up the Legos is quite easy – I just ask him to help me put them away, and he puts one in the box, then I do, then he does, etc.

We went for his one year checkup a bit late, since he’s actually 13 months, but he’s right on track. 20.5 pounds, 31 inches long, in the 50^th percentile for both. I asked about his growth rate slowing down, and the doctor reassured me that it was completely normal for his age. He eats an insane amount of food, and then burns the calories playing around. Oh! And he's quite proficient with a spoon, so applesauce, yogurt, and other liquid-y foods are no longer terrible to clean up.

I can’t think of anything else… he’s a great kid, we’re so lucky to have him. :)

A very thoughtful few days

It started off on Wednesday when Matt and I were studying philosophy. We were going over a medieval Jewish theologian's argument for the existence of God. This naturally led to a discussion of what we, personally, believed. I had to say that I was still unsure, but that the all powerful, all knowing God of the Bible and rabbis was not for me. I believe that I was made with a purpose in mind, and that souls are reincarnated, but the concept of an overarching deity is something I still struggle with.

So of course, at my interview on Friday for CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) one of the first questions was, "Where is God in the relationship with your son?" It took me a moment to formulate an answer. What I told him was this: "I'm not sure where God is in that relationship, because I'm still formulating my conception of God. Spirituality is omnipresent in my relationship with Xander. It comes in what he teaches me about life, simply by being who he is. For example, I'm a very calendar-oriented person, always organized and going from one meeting to another. I always have a schedule. But when I'm about to go somewhere, and Xander sees a blade of grass on the sidewalk, he crawls over to it and it is the most amazing thing ever. He teaches me how important it is to notice the green of the blade of grass, the dew reflecting the sun, and everything else about it. It's more than spontaneity and realizing that I can make the time, it's about appreciating everything and seeing the world through his eyes."

Later that night, on my way to Tot Shabbat services (services geared to the preschool set), Holly and I had a similar phone conversation. "How can you go to services and pray," she asked, "if you're not sure what you're praying to?" I thought about that the whole time I was sitting in the sanctuary. I believe in Judaism as a culture and a people, not just as a religion, but I also find the morals and ethics in prayer to be of great value. Do I pray to a God? I'm not sure. Sometimes. Maybe sometimes I pray to myself, to grant myself the wisdom and courage to manifest all the values (peace, thankfulness, etc) that are found in the prayerbook.

Then yesterday, after Shabbat ended, our temple hosted a social get-together with people in their 20s and 30s. As the night came to a close, Jonathan and I found ourselves talking to one couple in particular; myself to the woman, and Jonathan to the man. The men talked about careers, and computers, and politics, I think. Instead our conversation revolved around Judaism as an "adult" religion based on logic as well as faith. Their son has a degenerative condition called Tay-Sachs, and we discussed the meaning inherent in Jewish burial rituals, what you say in a naming ceremony for a baby that doesn't have a future, and more. It was a very serious conversation to be having in an Indian restaurant, but I felt good about being able to give her some guidance, or even just provide a listening ear to bounce ideas off of. It reaffirmed why I want to be a rabbi, to help people... and it also showed me just why I need to be in CPE this summer, so I'll know better what to say in these situations. It was not at all what I was expecting on a Saturday night, but I left feeling strangely fulfilled, if emotionally drained.

Jeffrey had been babysitting a sleeping Xander, and when we got home I was feeling introspective, so asked him a question I'd been wondering for weeks: How does a son's love differ for his mother than for his father? I know all about mother/daughter relationships, but am more fuzzy on mother/son (never having experienced it myself or witnessed that interaction much as a child). That led into a very long talk about how you know you're loved by parents in the first place, how parents differ by gender versus by personality, etc. One thing specifically that Jeffrey said I thought was brilliant: I will unconditionally love Xander, and will tell him so constantly. He will unconditionally love me, but will only tell me so when he needs to, not when I want to hear it. Overall it left me with a lot of food for thought.

Ancient wisdom

While doing research for a sermon I came across this quote, attributed to Simeon b. Gamaliel II in Tractate Shabbat 10b (for perspective, this was redacted in 425 CE):

"If you wish to give a child food, first tell his mother."

Just when I think I don't like Talmud, it goes and does something cool like that!

Two article links

One for the natural parenting, gender-defying feminist mommy in me. It was written in 1999, but it's still completely applicable. Thanks to Holly for posting it on Facebook. :)
The Boy in the Blue Tutu

Second, the political awareness part of me, who really really wants Obama to succeed:
Former evangelist: Religious Right is "Trawling for Assassins"

Up there in the list of miserable experiences

Yesterday my last class was from 3-4:20. At 4:25 I went down to daycare. Xander was napping. I wanted him to sleep as long as possible, so I hung out at school checking email until 5. I got him up, put him in the car, and assumed we'd be home in our usual 15-20 minutes. Then we would eat dinner, play, I'd change into nice clothes, and I'd go to temple to teach adult ed from 7-8pm.

For some strange reason traffic was terrible, and it took me almost 20 minutes to get to the freeway. I had just entered the on-ramp when I saw why: the freeway was a parking lot. Literally, not moving at all. A sea of red lights. This is usual in LA, but not in Ohio. By this point I couldn't back up since there were cars behind me, so I figured I would just wait it out and get off at the next exit, 1.8 miles away.

15 minutes later, still on the on-ramp, I called Jonathan to tell him to hold dinner. Jonathan went online and told me that there was a terrible accident of some sort and the freeway was closed four exits up.

20 minutes after that, in the merge lane, I called Jonathan again to tell him that this really sucked, and that I had sung all the songs I knew to Xander, who was being very very patient and was only whining a little.

10 minutes following that, the boy was screaming his head off in the backseat - DINNER, MOMMY, NOW!!!! - and I still was not fully on the freeway. I called Jonathan back so that he could please call the temple educator and tell her I might be late for class. As Jonathan was on the phone with me the other line rang. He put me on hold, and when he came back he told me that it was one of my adult students, who had heard a traffic report and was warning me not to get on the freeway.

It took me over two hours to go those two miles. When I finally pulled off at the exit, Xander was hot and sweaty from screaming so hard. I nursed him, let him play with my phone, and fed him an oatmeal cookie that I found buried in my backpack (he didn't really care how long it had been there, and neither did I). Unfortunately I had to put him back in the carseat to go the rest of the way home, and the screaming resumed.

Everyone was doing the same thing I was, and the streets were so backed up it took another 25 minutes to go .7 miles. I completely missed my class. Xander got tired of screaming so reverted back to babble. We finally got home and had dinner about a half hour past Xander's usual bedtime. I was ready to cry.

All in all, let's just say that I've had better commutes.

Torah, clothing, cell phones, and bad eyes. In that order.

This pulpit visit was absolutely wonderful! I really got into teaching the Lutheran junior high school students; basically I brought in every Jewish ritual artifact and did a show and tell, ranging from Kiddish cup to menorah to Torah. They had lots of good questions, and the pastor and I exchanged email addresses so that we can maybe plan something in the future. Xander was a doll as usual, and stayed up til past 10pm when everyone went out to dinner. He also slept through the night completely at the hotel, and so was bright and perky in the morning when he and Jonathan joined me for adult ed.

It was definitely providence, because a store was having its grand opening right above the bagel shop where I teach on Saturdays - and it was a consignment store! Jonathan became a man right out of Porn for Moms. He played with the baby on the floor for an hour while giving me clothing advice... now that's love!

As reward for him on the drive back, I consented to stop at the Sprint store to change our cell plan from Verizon. He'd been wanting to do it for awhile, so I caved. He now has a Smartphone, and I have one with a keyboard (20% off on everything with his corporate discount!). This means that we now have an old-old phone, the one I used before the one I just now discarded. I had kept it plugged in just in case we would want it again some day. We're now two phone generations past it, though, so decided to give it to Xander. The look on his face when we handed it to him was priceless. Technology? For MEEE??? He was so thrilled, he opened and closed it and opened and closed it and pressed the buttons again and again to make beeping noises. Oh the joyful squealing!

The only bit of bad news this weekend is that I went to the optometrist, and it was officially confirmed that my eyes are reverting again. (For those who don't know, I was born legally blind and have had two eye surgeries to correct it). I currently wear reading glasses, and am in discussions over whether I need to be back in glasses full-time. The optometrist said that I could legally pass my driving test, but that it would be safer to wear them at all times when I drive, and it would help to have them whenever I sit in a classroom. The only silver lining I can think of is that if I wear my glasses all the time now, I won't have to sit in the front in Talmud class and get called on! I also, for the very first time, felt my age... nearing 30 means that I had to get my eyes dilated so they could do a manual scan for retinal detachment. I've never had to do that before. Oh well. Could be worse, right?

And I do believe I hear the baby waking up from his nap. Happy Sunday!

Does this count as homophobia?

On the radio this morning, a newscaster was talking about how one of Elton John's houses is going to be featured in Architectural Digest. She went on to say, "Elton John and his husband own a lot of houses! I wonder, who wears the French maid outfit when they clean?"

Now, that just rubbed me wrong. What does everyone else think?

A very boring week (at least so far)

Not much to update... I'm totally stuck on a sermon idea for this weekend. I'm going to have a group of Lutheran junior high school students as well as my usual congregants. How do I bridge the gap? Any suggestions?

I applied to a few different centers of ACPE, a chaplaincy training program, for the summer. It looks like it will be really challenging and fascinating... but a little scary too. I'm not that great with sick people! Hopefully the summer will improve this lack.

Xander-wise, yesterday when I was changing his diaper I started singing "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands." And he clapped, right on cue! He knew the song and what he was supposed to do. He also went down our entire staircase by himself, head first. I was a little worried so kept going one step below him, making sure I could catch him if he fell. But he didn't lose his balance once, and was so proud of himself when he reached the bottom. Other than that, his new favorite food is peas. Last night at dinner he had great fun dropping the peas in his yogurt and then fishing them out with his spoon. Dinner and entertainment, all in one!

Libraries, conferences, and fire dust

Per Sheryl's request, I can describe the HUC library opening: it was long. And PACKED with people. I went to the 2pm event held at HUC, and the main sanctuary plus the balcony was overflowing with students, community members, and Trustees and Board of Directors. There were lots of speeches that unfortunately I couldn't hear, because I was sitting in the hallway outside the balcony area, near some classrooms. Myself and most of the people near me gave up on trying to hear what was going on, and we played with Xander instead. I do know that Prof. Meyer (who literally wrote the Jewish Encylopedia entry on "Reform Judaism") gave a Powerpoint on the history of libraries and this one specifically. I heard the first part, about the library of Alexandria, and missed out on pretty much all the rest.

There was also an event at the JCC at 7pm, but I didn't go to that one. From what I heard it was a resounding success, with over one thousand people, music, song, speeches, and lots of food. The library itself was a bustle of activity the few days beforehand, what with discussions by all the bigwhigs, vacuuming, putting up plaques, etc. - last Friday I actually left my cozy study spot on the first floor to go to the American Jewish Archives for some peace and quiet, it was so loud.

I gave my sermon last week on the current economy and what we can leave to our children, and I was so sad to hear that CAJE, the Conference for the Alternatives of Jewish Education, is now out of business. I went once in 2000 and it was an amazing experience; hopefully it will get started again when the world gets in better financial straits. Please donate to them, the future of Jewish education deserves it!

And last but not least, a funny translation error: Jonathan and my sister went to a shooting range Monday before she left, and in trying to say the word "gunpowder," she said "fire dust" instead. I actually like that word better!

Shabbat shalom, everyone.

Last week

Preoccupied boy - who needs hugs?

Shabbat dinner. Claudia and Xander are checking out the table.

Jeffrey giving kisses.




Curry face.

Yentl nibbles Simcha's ear. I don't think he even noticed.

By the way, do you remember at some point after Xander was born I said that when your baby's a morning person, you become a morning person? Well, it's been a year now. That time has passed. It faded very soon after Xander started waking up for the day around 5:30....

Halloween!

Our little lion.

Giving out Halloween candy with his Doda Odelia.

Halloween scene on the porch.

Our street all decked out.

This was a block from us! This was the front yard. The haunted house inside was amazing.

Odelia and the ghosts.

Watching the scene from the front door.

Lovely weekend

Halloween was wonderful! Xander was, what do you know, a lion in an adorable costume. It was a huge jacket basically with a mane and ears as a hat, plus a tail. For some strange reason here the kids don't ring the doorbells, but everyone hangs out on their porch to give out the candy. So Xander pushed his car all around the front porch when Jonathan and I handed out candy. At one point all three of us went to go see the haunted house that someone made, a block down, and Odelia gave out chocolate instead. Then we traded and she and Jonathan went to look at the house, while Xander and I played. He now walks when he holds onto a push toy, instead of just crawling. I have tons of pictures, but like always, it will take me a while to sort through and post them.

Let's see... my pulpit visit was good. I taught a class on "Comparative Judaism" (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Renewal) and it made me realize how little Jews know as a whole about Reform, our own movement. So I think next time I'll do a "what do Reform Jews actually believe, the party line" type session. The movement actually has very clear lines on God, Torah, Israel, etc, but no one knows them. Why is that?!

Jonathan and I spent a good couple hours today raking up the leaves in our backyard. They filled three garbage cans and two yard waste paper bags! And that was only the backyard. We were pooped, we'll do the front yard next weekend. The trees are pretty, but man when the leaves fall on your yard it's annoying.

I think that's about it... right now have to go study for a philosophy midterm.

Xander's bib is now stained yellow from curry.

Jonathan is so proud.

Off to Indiana for my pulpit...

A few musings when I should be doing homework

Sometimes your brain is just fried, you know? So here I am in the library ignoring my stack of books and taking a blogging break.

First, and perhaps most pertinent to this exact moment: I do not like Talmud. I have tried, really I have. The professor is amazing, I'm engaged in the material, I understand it perfectly. I just... don't like it. It's law. Stupid tiny picayune details that I can't bring myself to care about. I like the underlying issues, I really get into the philosophy of law (big surprise), but the class is focused on understanding all the details. It's torture. Albeit with a good teacher.

You all will be amused, but perhaps not surprised, to learn that Xander likes spice. We tried to give him chicken pot pie for dinner last night. "Tried" being the operative word, because he smeared it all over the high chair and refused to eat it. He kept looking at our food, Indian leftovers, and whining. All right, we figured, sure, we'll give him a little just so he'll know he doesn't like it, and he can eat his own dinner. WRONG. He ate it all up quickly and asked for more! So: chicken pot pie is boring, but basmati rice with chicken makhani and aloo sag apparently is just what growing boy needs.

And last but not least, Governor Strickland thinks that my son is cute! He showed up at the American Jewish Archives last night to record a greeting that will be played at the new library opening this weekend. He did a meet-and-greet on the way out, and of course he had to stop to talk to the babies. Xander gave him his best winning smile, the governor stroked his cheek, and yay! the boy now has political approval. :)

Gwen and Sylvan visit!

It's almost bedtime, but here are some highlights:

- Yentl loves to sleep in their suitcase. She pined in the guestroom after they left.

- FOOD. Crepes and samosas and chicken, oh my. I love when parents come to visit. They leave us with a full refrigerator.

- Gwen helped me organize the kitchen! We spent a blissful three hours rearranging pots and pans. Jonathan and Sylvan rolled their eyes and did manly things.

- We have new glasses now, and new wineglasses. This makes me feel better about dropping some, because now we have replacements.

- As Shabbat dinner ended, 2 1/2 year old Claudia needed to get past Simcha, who was lying on the floor. "Excuse me, meow-meow! Please move, meow-meow!" It was the cutest thing ever.

Renaissance Faire last weekend

If I take the time to think of cute captions these will never be posted... so sorry! The main thing to know is that we went with Deann and family, and it was 43 degrees. The last pic is of Xander's souvenir dragon.

Yesterday's fun

He likes to destroy Jonathan's creations more than he likes to build his own.

Birthday gift from Bubby. This is why we hate her.

Snot-nosed child

I always swore I wouldn't have one, and yet here I am. Sitting at home with a little boy who has a drippy nose. No matter how often I wipe it, it still looks the same. How does this happen? It's a mystery, on par with Elvis, Amelia Earhart and the Bermuda Triangle.

Wish us good healing vibes, and send virtual chicken soup.

Best toy ever

Shabbat cuteness

Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba, I say.





Look, Mommy, I'm driving the car!

Everyone cheer for a heated house.

I am going to cry

This is the weather forecast for tomorrow.

Daily Details for Cincinnati, OH

Today Thu, Oct 15 Fri, Oct 16 Sat, Oct 17 Sun, Oct 18 Mon, Oct 19 Tue, Oct 20 Wed, Oct 21 Thu, Oct 22 Fri, Oct 23

Hourly Forecast more details

6 am 44°F Feels Like 39°F

9 am 44°F Feels Like 39°F

12 pm 44°F Feels Like 39°F

3 pm 45°F Feels Like 40°F

6 pm 46°F Feels Like 42°F

9 pm 44°F Feels Like 41°F

Day	Night
Showers High 46°F Precip 70% Wind: From NE at 10 mph Max. Humidity: 95% UV Index: 2 Low Sunrise: 7:48 AM ET Avg. High: 67°F Record High: 86°F (1928)	Showers Overnight Low 41°F Precip 40%

Suddenly global warming doesn't seem so bad....

Six random things for your edification and amusement

1) Xander has two more front teeth coming in! This helps with the eating. And eat he does... bananas, pasta, cheese, crackers, apples, chicken fingers, you name it, he eats it. He must be on a growth spurt.

2) Thanks to said growth spurt, he's been sleeping 11 to 12 hours at a time. Can you see me doing my happy dance?

3) I read up on Samaritans because of the manuscript in the library (and because I was confused on Sheryl's comment on reading the language). They officially dated the manuscript to 1145 CE! The Samaritans are people in Israel who live as Biblical, and not rabbinic Jews (meaning they don't follow anything that the Talmud decreed, so they don't have the holidays of Hanukkah, they don't keep kosher, etc). Did you know that they used a paleo-Hebrew script, instead of the standard Aramaic script that we consider to be the Hebrew letters? I didn't know that before. The Encyclopedia Judaica article on it is quite boring, but Wikipedia has pretty pictures to explain.

4) Jonathan and I rented the Steve Martin movie Parenthood, and we sooo related. Then we felt old. :)

5) We recently celebrated our five year anniversary, yes? As of yesterday, I scrapbooked our wedding. I figured it was time. :)

6) And last but certainly not least - we've been trying to save money on utilities, but it was 58 degrees in our kitchen tonight when we were eating dinner. And would you believe, that baby just did NOT want to wear his hat. Jonathan finally caved to my demands and we turned on the heat. It's up to a whopping 65 and we're still bundled up, but ooohhhh it feels practically toasty...

I love my class on Hellenism

Why Josephus, the Jewish Roman historian, thinks that the Jewish political system is best:

1) The Greeks vacillated between three sets of government:

Monarchy= rule of one
Aristocracy=rule of the elite
Democracy=rule of the people

2) The Romans tried to have a "mixed constitution" with all three. The Roman Republic fell. (Incidentally, the U.S. Constitution copied the Romans.)

Greek monarchy=Roman consuls=U.S. president
Greek aristocracy=Roman senate=U.S. Senate
Greek democracy=Roman assembly=U.S. House of Representatives

3) Josephus actually coined the term "theocracy." He thinks that the Greek and Roman systems didn't work and that best rule was one where you looked to a divine basis for governance. He follows Plato, who said in the Republic that the ideal society is ruled by a philosopher-king, and in case the phil-king is lacking, you have city laws.

4) According to Josephus, the Jews rocked because they had a High Priest as phil-king as well as Mosaic Law. Theocracy is found in the Bible, and is superior because the Jews still exist as a lawful society.

I don't agree, obviously, but cool logic! (You should also know that this class involved heavy discussion of Star Wars, including how the Republic is always the morally right underdog and how Caesar gets a bad rap as the Emperor Palpatine...)

Totally made my day

I walked into the library to sit at my usual table, and was shocked - it was covered with an ancient looking manuscript with frayed edges, and a librarian was standing up over it on a chair taking pictures. Turns out it's a Samaritan manuscript that the library didn't know it had, so they're cataloguing it. There are two dates on it, so it's either from 1170 or 1391. Either way, I forgave them for making me move!

One year old Xander

Birthday party last weekend! The things you need to know: the party was at a park, and it was a chilly 65 degrees. It was a good mix of people from HUC, Jonathan's work, and my home birth network, and we all schmoozed, ate cake, and watched Xander open presents. The biggest hit was a push-cart from Janelle - the boy was so obsessed with it, he wouldn't let go of it even to pose for pictures. He also spent the last 20 minutes of the party pushing around Jonathan's sister's dog, Winston, who was amazingly agreeable.

It's my birthday, I'm excited!

Mommy, Daddy, and me on my big day.

Usually they tell me not to stick my face into my food...

Okay, frosting is a very weird texture.

When I grow up, Claudia's gonna be my girlfriend.

You mean the wrapping paper isn't the gift?!

Winston's a very cooperative doggie. I wonder if this will work on Simcha...

For more pictures of my birthday party (and aftermath at home, including the rocking horse from Mommy and Daddy), click here.


Deann and Justin gave me my very first car, and Daddy said that he felt like such a parent when he put it together for me. Check out my wheels!