Crusty

I posted a version of this to a blog I wrote on occasionally.

And then I deleted it.

I guess my direct tone doesn't fly everywhere.


We all know it is not politically correct to refer to any colleagues as "old." Instead you should say "experienced" or "seasoned." So, if after almost 6 years of motherhood, I am a "seasoned veteran," my level of seasoning would be "crusty."

Why crusty? Because I am smug. I am over-confident. I roll my eyes at new moms and moms-to-be.

I am sorry.

I, too, was once a new mom:

• I called the pediatrician to see if my one-week-old slept too much. in fact, I even did this for my second daughter (I had either forgotten - 2 years is a long time! or I was so used to an active, talkative 2 year old that a silent newborn was disconcerting).

• I also stressed about my day care situation. Granted, several of the teachers were illiterate, but in hindsight, both of my little ladies are smart, healthy kids. They are social. They are bright. In short, the impact the Hoos and I have on them as their parent is way more significant than that of day care. Even if it does seem like they spend a lot of time there.
• Was I ever sleep deprived? You betcha! Did I ever imagine that I would sleep past 8 and have my babies take care of themselves? Never. But did that happen? Yes.
• Did I wonder how I would deal with two children? Only for about 9 months. Okay, and maybe an extra two or three. And, even if LP and AK don't always get along, I have no doubt that my girls will always be best friends. And before too long they will undoubtedly plot against me - together.

So, I promise to try to minimize the eye-rolling and head-shaking - if you all promise to remember that it does get easier, no one is perfect, and you are doing an awesome job. Oh, and that your kids will love you no matter what.

Parent Teacher Conference

This morning I had LP's parent-teacher conference. I am so proud of her. She is doing so well with her reading and writing. She is really leaps and bounds ahead of where she was even a few months ago (e.g., she uses vowels in words when she writes now).

It is hard for me to believe that in two months LP will be done with kindergarten. It honestly seems like the Hoos and I were visiting day care centers for our "Bump" only last week. And it was yesterday when I attended kindergarten orientation with her, right?

The good news is that as much as things change, a lot stays the same too. For instance, the teacher told me that LP is a very rules oriented kid. Some days she will tattle share information with the teacher more than a half dozen times before morning snack.

This is classic LP.

At day care if her job was "book collector" she would literally rip the books out of other kids' hands when the teacher said it was time to clean up.

Oddly enough, at home she is often less likely to rat her sister out. Sometimes she does just the opposite. If AK does something wrong - often at the detriment of LP - and gets admonished, LP explains away her transgression, "It's okay, AK. You can have it," she soothes, shooting me a look.

Ah, sisters. Ganging up on dear old mom already. 

The Evolving Kids' Table

Hard to believe it is already April. APRIL!

Once again, my mom and dad and grandmother pulled off a fabulous, food- and family-filled Passover Seder. This year there were only 35 attendees. My mother-in-law hosted us for the second Seder (also wonderful) and there were 21 guests. Pulling off a sit-down dinner like this is a true feat. I am happy to say that it is also one that I have not yet had to attempt.

Like most family events - no matter what your background - both Seders had a "kids' table."

When I was a kid there was a "kids' table" with me and my brother and my seven cousins once we were old enough to be left to our own devices.

Unfortunately for several of my cousins, they are still sitting at the "kids' table". Only now it is called the "young, single" table. Two of my nieces (11 and 13) brought down the average age to 22.

That isn't to say that there weren't a lot of little kids at my parent's house. There were actually 7 kids under the age of 6; and, as much as LP likes to lead the charge and act like the other hen, no one thought she was up to the task of watching her second cousins. 


On the second night, we had a true kids table that included LP and AK. The average age was 9.

I have to say, it is still kind of odd to me that I don't fit it at any kids' table - no matter what the composition! 

Children are the Mother of Invention

Today I got to spend an hour at Wilton High School as part of their "Real World" panel, where adults from the community talked about their jobs and their career paths. While I may be the height of a teenager, it is true (although very odd) for me to say that I have almost 15 years of experience in my field.

I was on the Environment, Architecture, IT and Entrepreneurship panel - how is that for a random assortment? The man sitting next to me, Dave, the "entrepreneur" part of the panel, is an inventor. And, as luck would have it, the DoodleMark, is his tres cool product. Part bookmark, part Magna Doodle, he created it to fill a need he saw when reading with his daughter.  As soon as he started talking about it, it all clicked.

I thought about how lately LP has been a reading machine. For an almost-6-year-old reading can be exhausting work. Which means she stops often. And she is always searching for a bookmark.

She is also learning to write, so she liked to carry around a separate notebook to write down a hint to remind her of where she left off:

If you can read the right page it says, "I left off at the letter I". She was very proud of how small her writing was on the left page, but it makes it hard to read, - this one I will write verbatim, "I LEFt of At tHE LEDr you AND PAJ NUMBr 27."

Can you see how this handy-dandy device can save 1. a lot of paper and 2. a lot of headaches? So, while I may not have imparted that much wisdom to the 125 students that showed up (my key point was, "focus on your strengths" - can you hear their eyes glazing over?), I got to meet a really smart and interesting guy - and potentially avoid future meltdowns.

As I left the choral room where our panel was held, three kids had pinned Dave down, asking for advice on how to make ideas into a reality.  Man, do I wish I had a good idea!

Another Day, Another Party

This weekend we celebrated my eldest nephew's bar mitzvah. Our entire family was looking forward to this for a long time - especially LP and AK.

1. They love to dress up - and we had a great time picking out their dresses a few weekends ago (H&M has an adorable, wallet-friendly kids line)
2. They love spending time with their cousins - big and small.
3. The love hanging with the big kids - and a DJ dance party is the best way to do it (but of course)
4. They love free stuff - especially when it involves light sticks, sunglasses, fancy hats and pretty much anything shiny.

In addition to the fabulous party, my nephew did an awesome job reading from the Torah - as did his uncles (including the Hoos) and cousins.

The weekend also gave LP the opportunity to explain to her baby sister what a disco ball is.

They also demonstrated for us the difference between synagogue dress up wear (see top picture with aforementioned adorable H&M dresses) and party dress up wear. Note in the second picture we are on our way to the party portion and they each added headgear, bike shorts (LP explained this was in case their dresses "flied up") and socks pulled up to their knees.I am not exactly sure where they learned that some vents require head wear - perhaps from watching the Royal wedding?

It was a late night on Saturday and a long weekend overall. When we got home Saturday night at a quarter to 11, both ladies had fallen asleep in the car. Of course, they both woke up, but just to tell us which pajamas they wanted to wear. Apparently divas never sleep in anything less than their finery. 

Sunday morning AK was not content to let the party mystique disappear and she layered on all of her party wear - including home made arm warmers (fashioned from LP's tattered stockings from the day before), cowboy hat, paw gloves, and various necklaces. 
 

Obviously the next family party can't come soon enough. The good news is that we don't have to wait too long - the Passover Seders start Friday night and a family bat mitzvah is already on tap for May. I am going to start sleeping extra now.