The newspaper of my head

World/U.S.: Huffington post article about a child's response to antisemitism in Manhattan. Absolutely lovely, if an article on that subject can be referred to that way.

Health:  Teeth-brushing issue solved!  We bought Xander a new pink toothbrush and that did the trick.  Also, Ari can now crawl up the stairs.  He's lightening fast.  We broke out the baby gates last night and the poor thing was so confused.


Arts: Xander, the excavator Potter, and the pink "music truck" (because it plays a tune when you open the door) all have conversations now.  Xander uses his normal voice to be himself, Potter's voice is squeaky and high-pitched, and the pink music truck is extra low.  It's utterly adorable, I'll have to try and videotape it when he's not looking.

Book/movie: We all watched Mary Poppins tonight and had a grand time.  I hadn't seen it since I was a child, and I'd never realized how much it had for adults!  The kids' mother was a suffragette, Dick van Dyke's character was a commentary on class relations at the time, etc.  I mean, it wasn't quite Upstairs, Downstairs, but it wasn't solely the magical realism kids' movie I remembered, either.  Also, Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran?  A completely engrossing, fun escape into the worlds of ancient Rome and Egypt.

Education: Oy this is true.  Just fill in "rabbinical school" instead of "grad school."

Real estate:  We showed our house yesterday when it was a complete and utter mess, and we were here, in our pajamas.  Why?  Because we never got the message that the realtor was coming by until after she already left.  

Dining and wine: Jonathan made Indian curry last night and it was fantastic, hooray!

Obituaries:  W. Gunther Plaut, who wrote "The Torah: A Modern Commentary" and helped shape Reform Judaism.  And on a less serious note, an unknown number of "bad guys" in our house, deceased for reasons of non-violence.  They entered Xander's room and threatened him.  He brought out his imaginary tank with missiles and guns to shoot them.  I intervened and asked if we could peaceably resolve the situation.  Why were they bad guys?  Because they were sad.  Why were they sad?  Because they were hungry.  How could we solve our problem?  By feeding them.  What did they want?  Candy.  Cherry lollipops, to be precise.  So we offered one lollipop to each of them, and the "bad guys" became "happy guys."  Whew.

Travel:  The last of the Sacramento pictures.

Lois and Mike's house in the background.

Facing away from the house.

A little dubious about the roller.

Better once his cousin's with him.

Milkshake moustache.

Playground joy.

And in the end, a passed-out child.