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. :)