A topsy-turvy weekend

1) Based on this NY Times article about Bel Kaufman, Sholom Aleichem's granddaughter, who was teaching a college course in Yiddish at the age of 100, plus a recommendation by my grandmother, I read Up the Down Staircase, an alternatively funny, poignant, scathing look at one teacher's experience in the NY public school system in the 1960s. I highly recommend it.  (And wow, that first sentence was long.)

2) I, however, do not recommend going to one's pulpit with a 2 year old and nursing infant in tow.  The weekend went something like this: arrive at temple Friday afternoon.  Prep for services, complete with Xander "helping" by turning on all the lights he could reach on the memorial board.  Deal with multiple diaper changes.  Pre-service oneg includes cookies, one of which Xander takes bites of when we're not looking.  Turns out it has tiny amount of peanut butter in it.  Freak out as Xander starts to cough because he's allergic to peanuts.  Wife of congregational president flies to Walgreens to get Benadryl.  Start services late because hello, kid swelling up.  Lead services, distractedly, while husband entertains both kids in different room.   Finish services, schmooze forever because it's my last time there, then realize no one's had a real dinner, only oneg, but kids need to be put to bed.  Go back to hotel, put screaming crying children to bed.  Jonathan goes to Texas Roadhouse at 10pm to get parents food.

Next morning, back to temple.  Nursing Ari before adult education, he spits up, completely missing the burp cloth and drenching my nice outfit.  Attempt to clean up so don't smell like sour milk.  Start adult education late.  Jonathan takes both kids to congregant's house who has a 4 year old and a 1 year old.  Teach great lesson on Jewish identity.  Congregant picks me up to go back to his house to nurse Ari, where must stop Xander from hitting 1 year-old Leah on head because he wants her toy.  Back to temple for religious school.  Head swims with different roles as I struggle to be "rabbi" again.  (But once get back into it, am fascinated to discover that the adults and the kids have the exact same identity issues, about being the "token Jew" in a small Christian town, the responsibility of representing all Judaism, etc.  They just express it in different vocabulary.)  Clean up room, lock temple for last time.  Jonathan and kids pick me up.  Ari not happy, screams over an hour of the ride home.

3) Last night Jeffrey came over with mead and pie, which was fabulous.  We watched the new Tron, which only made sense because I'd seen the old one a few months ago at Jonathan's bequest.  Great special effects, but other than that (sorry, Jonathan), nothing special.

4) Today we got all packed up for a morning event that turns out is next weekend.  ARGH!   Made up for it with sale at Half-Price Books, burrito lunch, long naps for all, and afternoon/picnic dinner at the park with Nicole and Brett and their kids.  Their four year old is wonderful with Xander, and they played tag, went on slides, and got themselves soaked with the water fountain.  The evening ended with Graeter's ice cream and a bubble bath.

Kaya hugging Ari

5) Finished It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much-Needed Margarita by Heather Armstrong.  Fabulous witty take on post-partum depression.  You wouldn't think a memoir about such a serious subject (she ends up being hospitalized) would be so funny.

And finally - love this video.  Ari and I in cat form.