I have to say, I think I agree

End the University As We Know It

More baby photos

We bought some bubbles to blow at the boy. Simcha and Osher jumped in, and it was entertainment for the whole family!























Here Xander is "helping" Daddy play video games. I think he actually killed him at one point by grabbing the controller in a crucial moment!











The wind blew a gorgeous breeze into Xander's room, and he was enthralled by trying to catch the curtain as it came by.









A few extra ones for fun.

Stuffing diapers with Mommy.

Why we think he's ready for food.

What a world we live in

Taking notes in class today, I realized that my pencil was dull. I reached into my backpack, took out a small pencil sharpener, and proceeded to twist the pencil clockwise in the sharpener, collecting the shavings on a piece of paper. The classmate sitting next to me glanced over, then did a double-take. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "I haven't seen anyone do that in a while! It's like lighting a fire by rubbing two sticks!"

Edited selection of CA pics

There were WAAAY too many shots of too many things. Here are the ones that made the final cut.

CA slideshow

Videos coming soon.

Xander update

At his six-month checkup (well, really, almost 7 month checkup at this point), the babeleh weighs in at 18.3 lbs and 29 inches. He's right on target for all his developmental milestones, too: he babbles, squeals, rolls over to both sides, pushes up on his forearms and pulls himself along, and can sit without support for 5-7 minutes. He also likes to play with toys and rattles, grasps objects with his thumb and forefinger, and we're pretty sure that he's starting to recognize his name. The coolest thing we found out in California is that he LOVES music: he was mezmerized by Marleena playing the piano, and adored it when Annie played her guitar for him. My mom got him a little kid-sized tambourine, and he's been having a ball banging on it every chance he can get.

That's about it on the baby front...

In case you haven't heard

HUC may be closing two out of its three stateside campuses. Everyone here is pretty sure Cincinnati won't make the cut.

Cincinnati Enquirer article from the 20th

LA Times article from the 18th

Let's just say that morale at school is low.

Wow, vacation goes fast

How did we spend nine days away? It's already a blur.

The time at my mom's house was a perfect mix of relaxing and seeing family and friends. And it worked for everyone: when I schmoozed with my high school friend Tara, Jonathan and Odelia went to a movie. When I helped my mom prep for seder, they went to Fry's Electronics. We opened up a bank account for Xander, got Jamba Juice smoothies every other day, and ate ridiculous amounts of ice cream. Not to mention, 72 people came in and out of the house on Saturday for our open house. Forget Jonathan and I... everyone wanted to meet Xander! The best part was when he fell fast asleep on Cliff, our 89 year-old neighbor. Even the plane ride back was good, as we sat next to a woman who works as a personal shopper at Prada on Rodeo Drive (Beverly Hills). She had amazing stories of celebrities she's worked with, and made the time pass very quickly. My one story of having dinner with Helen Hunt and Hank Azaria didn't compare.

There are honestly about 800 pictures. Expect multiple slideshows this weekend.

(And before I get lots of emails, I was friends with Helen's cousin!)

Things I miss about California

I haven't been back here in almost two years (we moved to the midwest in June 2007), and I had forgotten so many things. So in no particular order, things that now stand out:

DIVERSITY. Asian, Hispanic, black, white, Indian, people of every color. On the way to Marleena's, about 15 minutes away, I saw signs in Cambodian, Vietnamese, Chinese, English, Spanish, and another language I didn't recognize. How wonderful. (Edited to add a day later: Three people in line in front of me at Starbuck's had tattoos. Hooray!)

FRESH PRODUCE. Every salad here is amazing. None of the lettuce is brown. The strawberries bought at the corner Albertson's and Von's are better than the strawberries bought at the fresh markets in Cincinnati.

HOLLYWOOD. I'd forgotten how many movie billboards there are here. And the people... they're stylish in a different way, with lots of hats and jeans and a casual chic. In a way I really like that Ohio isn't like that - there's not as much pressure to be thin or blond or look good - but in another way I like being in close proximity to the glamorous lifestyle, even if I don't necessarily take part in it.

OPENNESS. This comes part and parcel with liberal-ness. One of our friends here brought up living with post-traumatic stress disorder, another started talking very candidly about their love life. I like that people aren't as private here, that it's acceptable, and even expected, to talk about subjects that are more intimate and controversial.

LACK OF SPORTS. No billboards for sports teams, no TVs in restaurants showing sports, and it hasn't come up in conversation even once, whether with our friends, my mom's friends, or people from the temple community.

GOING GREEN. Recycle bins are as big as trash bins. The city recycles plastic containers up to the number 6 (Cincinnati recycles only 1 and 2). A trash collecting vehicle had a huge "Recycle!" poster on its side. The server at a burger joint we went to for lunch made a point of telling us that the placemats were made from recycled paper.

SUN. It's 71 degrees right now. And bright. And sunny. Sarah, who's cat-sitting at home, turned our heat back on because at home it was icy and she didn't want our pipes to freeze. Enough said.

GEEKINESS. There are ads everywhere for Renaissance Faire. We heard IT jokes at Jamba Juice. Jonathan and I don't stand out!!

To be fair, there are also some negatives about California. LA isn't nearly as child-friendly. The natural lushness of Cincinnati is missing (this also means all the greenery is stylized here, and almost every house utilizes a professional gardener). Traffic is heavy and constant; the 405 freeway is 16 lanes at points, while the 75 in Ohio I think is only 8 lanes. (Jonathan hates this about LA, but I actually like it for the busy-ness. I learned to drive on these freeways, so everywhere else seems slow and plodding to me. It felt like we were really home when we had to go 80 mph to keep up with the flow of traffic!). Also, Cincinnati may be cold right now, but there is something to be said for having seasons, for seeing the leaves fall and experiencing snow, and having the weather be a marker for time. That's completely missing in southern California, and I know that Jonathan really enjoys it.

For both of us though, this visit has cemented our decision to move to one of the coasts when I'm ordained. Our first choice to live has been and will always be San Francisco, but barring that... Boston, Seattle, Portland, LA, here we come!

Apparently I'm a blog addict

Because I'm sitting here at my mom's computer, writing, as a way to wind down.

Our flight from OH to CA would have been great, except that we had a seven hour layover in Texas. Accidentally. The flight was delayed two hours, then there were mechanical problems, then they couldn't fix the problems so they gave us a new plane. Xander was a doll throughout though: "Mommy and Daddy here with me, all day?! What fun!" He made lots of new friends at the airport and completely charmed all the flight attendants. The plane rides were actually surprisingly easy, I just made sure to nurse him on takeoff and landing.

We got in and Sandra and David picked us up and took us straight to temple where my mom lead services, and bright and early the next morning we went to Gwen and Sylvan's for Passover breakfast. Oh my goodness, what a spread! Gwen makes the best matzah brei, an egg and matzah dish that's kinda like French toast (no toast or anything leavened with yeast on Passover, since the Jews had to run out of Egypt without giving their bread time to rise). They met Xander for the first time, and we played with their adorable cat Punim (literally face in Yiddish, as in pinching someone's cheeks and going oy what a shayna punim, what a sweet face!).

Then it was time for the four-hour ride to Fresno to see Jonathan's side of the family. My sister is with us, and sat in the back of the car and entertained the baby. He did NOT like going over the Tejon Pass, aka the Grapevine, the mountain area that separates Los Angeles from the Central Valley (anyone remember the yellow umbrellas that some artist put up by the side of the road about ten years ago? That's the area). Anyway, I couldn't nurse him for the half hour it took to get over the pass, he refused a pacifier, and his poor ears hurt. He was not happy. We finally pulled into a truck weighing lot to take him out of the carseat, nurse, and let him calm down.

When we got to Liz's house the place was filled with people for the family reunion. It was so wonderful to see people! Liz is one of four kids, all of whom were there along with some of Jonathan's cousins. And then Jonathan is one of four, and two of his siblings were there with their kids. All in all, I think it was over thirty people, at least. The best part of the reunion, for me, was catching up with Auntie Lois and Mike, who we talk to all the time on the phone but never see. (Xander very much enjoyed their gift of a huge frog puppet. He kept squealing in delight whenever we made the tongue lick him.) Lois and Perry told amazing stories of their father and uncle, Jonathan's grandfather and great-uncle. They lived in the late 1800s, early 1900s, and were in CA back when it was practically still the Wild West. (Grandpa Charlie was a Texas Ranger and once was shot in the neck and left for dead, just to give you a taste of the kind of tales I heard). I love family histories, and I know my own family's saga (Ellis Island from Russia, etc) pretty well. I want Xander to know his father's ancestry in equal detail, so I feel like I'm saving up all the stories so Jonathan and I can tell him where he comes from, from every angle.

Sunday morning was Easter itself, and after a great breakfast made by Kathleen and Gabriella (Xander's auntie and cousin), we went over to my brother- and sister-in-law's to "help" with the Easter egg hunt. It's scary how big our nieces and nephews got in two short years! We ended up staying there til past 4pm, having BBQ for lunch and playing Lego, video games, and catch in the backyard.

The ride back to southern CA was relatively uneventful, except that we took our time and made multiple stops along the way. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love food. So we had everything I'd been craving, that's nonexistent in Ohio. Breakfast dessert was Hungry Bear cookies, for Jonathan. Lunch was In N'Out Burger. And snack was Jamba Juice. YUM!!

So far we have 216 pictures on the camera. And it's only been three days. I see multiple slideshows in my future. :)

Gnight!

Off to California!

Blogging will recommence in 10 days. Happy Passover, Easter, or spring, whatever it is you celebrate. :)

Things that annoy me

1) Having to wash Osher. He hates it, with a passion. (Simcha, on the other hand, blinks a few times and then purrs at the warm wet massage). We had to wash Osher tonight because... wait for it... he CAUGHT AND ATE A BIRD. Jonathan actually caught it on camera, we'll download it later.

2) Paint and mattresses that off-gas. Sticking a mattress in the basement for a few days is one thing, but we were all ready to put up the painted letters in Xander's room, only to realize that they still smelled like paint. A few more days went by, and they're now up. Again, pictures will follow later.

3) Racism, in all its myriad forms. Xander and I were in the JCC (Jewish Community Center), in the main lounge reception area, reading a board book called My First Passover. An Orthodox woman came over to say hello to him and chat. She saw the title of the book and was taken aback. "He's Jewish?!" she asked, sounding very surprised. "He doesn't look Jewish! With that blond hair, blue eyes, and cute little upturned nose, he doesn't look Jewish at all." I honestly didn't know how to respond.

4) Bureacracy. Red tape at school sucks. Enough said.

5) Flights that leave god-awful early in the morning. I'm so excited that we're going to California in a few days, but OY! We have to be out of the house by 5am.

And I'm sure there are many more things on this list, but that's enough for now...

A happy mothering post, for Nicole

Lest you think mothering is all difficulty, let me just say that today was the cutest baby day ever. In the morning Xander sat on my lap during the Adult Hebrew class I teach, and charmed them all. He also played with his Pesach set during a session of the Interdenominational Spirituality group I'm involved in, and he got taken around to see all the sisters at the convent where we were meeting. Lastly, at Tot Shabbat he was the talk of the town, and was "kidnapped" by three separate women at oneg to schmooze and be cuddled. He's an easygoing baby, interested in everything, and always smiling. Such naches (pride) from the little one already!

In terms of milestones, he rolls over in both directions very easily, and if we set him down he can sit for about 3 to 4 minutes without falling over. His mouth is how he experiences the world, so he's always reaching for something, and it immediately has to be tasted. Even if I'm tired and grumpy in the morning I can't help but be happy when I see how excited he is to see me. It's so affirming, like pure love shines through his smiles and giggles. All his expressions are priceless, because everything is so new - whether it be a pen, a loud noise, a cell phone, whatever - he's fascinated by it, and that fascination makes me appreciate the joy of life even more. Playing with him and watching him learn helps me slow down and not worry, and just enjoy where I am in any given moment.

Here are a few pics and videos for you. Notice that he's not smiling in any of them; they were taken with my camera!

Cell phone addict. Next up, texting.





A board book AND a cool hat with my initials: thank you, Josh!!

Playing with his Pesach set:

Random Simcha shot. Talk about easygoing!

Whenever I take a video, I feel like it's always so long. Then when I watch it, it feels like it's cut off too soon. Oh well. There are no captions on these, they're pretty self-explanatory.

You know you are a mother when it is barely 9am and you have already...

checked email
eaten breakfast
had three nursing sessions
packed your backpack and the diaper bag
cleaned spit-up, drool, and urine off the baby
cleaned carpet of urine
taken a shower to wash said urine off yourself
done two loads of laundry
rescued the camera cord from the jaws of the cat
gotten yourself and the baby dressed
talked to your husband at work to complain about your morning

Amazing to think that six months ago I would have still been asleep at 9am.

Interesting musings. At least to me. Skim if they're not as interesting to you. :)

1) I learned in one of my classes that the Last Supper was not a Passover seder. I always thought that it was! I'd never realized the following: the seder plate has a shankbone on it, symbolic of the sacrifice done in the Second Temple. The rabbis instituted this after the destruction of the Second Temple, when sacrifices were no longer done in Jerusalem. So seders were a rabbinic construction, post 70 C.E. And the Last Supper was in the 30s. This explains why there is no matzah in all of the Renaissance paintings, huh?

2) Xander has been playing with his plush seder set. His favorite is the plush horseradish (picture a big white fuzzy carrot thing). The funny part is that I find myself incapable of just giving him the set to play with; I've completely internalized the requirement to explain the symbolism to your children, so each time we play I end up telling him the story. I am such a rabbinic student sometimes.

3) My sister and I frantically searched the house today for my missing wallet. I even missed class because I didn't want to drive without a license. It took over an hour before we found it. You know where it was? In the milk cooler next to the diaperbag. Sooo frustrating. How do these things happen?!

4) Jonathan and Odelia are, at this very moment as I type, competing in an off-road racing game. I'm so glad they have each other. God knows they could never play with me. (Though, to my shame, I did really enjoy Lego Star Wars and Overlord.)

5) Facebook Seder!