Happy New Year!

No, I am not a few months early! I am right on time on the Jewish calendar. Today is Rosh Hashanah. Today I am home sick. I can't deny that the only place I want to be right now is sitting on the couch in my mom's sunroom wondering if my kids are sleeping upstairs. Instead, I am in the Pitty and I know both kids are sleeping. The reason I am in the Pitty is of my own choosing. The girls and I were supposed to go home, but since SJ is such a hot mess (which may become her new nickname for this blog), I decided traveling right now was not the greatest idea. Which left us here and homesick.

Because of this homesickness, the holiday kind of snuck up on me, and I kind of fell down on the job last night. For Rosh Hashanah Eve, I was at the grocery story instead of services. My Favoritest was on call, and I was afraid that he would get called in if I went to shul. So, I stayed home. My lack of prior planning resulted in a fantastic meal of chicken nuggets for Doodle an pot stickers and rice for My Favoritest and I. Like I said, I fell down on the job.

This morning I woke up with every intention of making sure Doodle knew that it was a holiday in our house. It is tradition to have apples and honey to ensure a sweet new year. So, we put a new spin on that tradition this year. We had our apples and honey for breakfast before services. Doodle was syked about the apples for breakfast and while she tried the honey, she wasn't a fan.

We finished breakfast with a call to Bubbie and Zayde. It only made my homesickness worse! I then got all of us into pretty dresses and even managed to have time to take a few pictures before we headed to the tot service at our new synagogue.

My big girl so excited about her dress, her shoes (with little heels from Jenny's wedding), and about heading to services. I hope she never looses that excitement for going to synagogue.

Here is my first attempt at getting a picture of both girls. It didn't work out so well. SJ was not in the mood for a bink free photo shoot.

Like any good mom, I plugged that scream fest and tried again. Success. This is really the first picture of both kids that you can see both of their faces. It's going in a frame!

After pictures we headed to the tot service. Doodle had a wonderful time. She sang and danced and learned a little. I looked like a fool and cried thinking how much Bubbie would love to see her. I also thought about my grandmother and how much she would love to see us celebrating the holiday. As I watched Doodle dance, I even though about Zayde Irving (not my grandfather by birth, but part of my extended family) who encouraged my dancing in the front row of services when I was about the same age as Doodle. We finished the tot service and I dropped Doodle off with the rest of the kids and the babysitters. SJ and I made our way upstairs for adult services. My little hot mess lasted for a little over an hour. I got to kiss the Torah and then she declared she had had enough, so we packed it up and headed home.

The service was warm and enjoyable. It made me miss home, but at the same time made me feel closer to home knowing that the same prayers were being sung 700 miles away. For me, Judisim has always been as much about family as it is about faith. I am realizing that it is my turn to step up to the plate and help Doodle and SJ feel the same way. To all our family and friends I wish you a happy new year. May it be filled with as much love, joy, and happiness as your hearts can hold!

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Oh Brother!

Last week I enjoyed a day that wouldn't have been possible a few years ago. It was a simple day spent with my brother, but until recently, it wouldn't have happened. When we were kids we got along as well as any brother and sister. As we got older, we grew apart. There were times we went months without even speaking to each other. My brother went through a phase where he was very unhappy with his life and as a result he was not a nice person to be around. About 3 years ago he moved to Orlando to go to golf pro school. He took a gamble at following his passion. He finally found something that made him happy, confident, and motivated. With the change in outlook, his whole personality changed. He took an interest in his family. He would randomly call me. He took time to skype with Doodle. If I came home to GA he would find a way to come up for a night or two to see us. I finally got to know my brother as an adult. Turns out he is a pretty cool person!

So, when he got offered the opportunity to work at a golf course in PA for a couple of months, I was thrilled to have him a little closer to us for a little while. For him it was a big leap of faith. He decided that since he had no obligations to anyone, and his boss was offering him a free place to stay, he would head north. So last week he hopped in the car and headed to the Pitty. He got here just in time to go with me to pick Doodle up from school.

Doodle was thrilled to see her Uncle Hank. The two of them have a special bond. Even though they see each other very rarely and for short visits at a time, Doodle loves him. I think they have a lot of personality traits in common and they just get each other. After school we headed for a quick lunch at Wendy's

and then made our way into the Pitty to go the Carnegie (pronounced by locals as car-nay-ge) Science Museum. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the museum. Mostly I watched my brother and my daughter make memories together. It was fantastic.



Doodle loved playing with the balls in the fountain. Lucky for her Uncle Hank was tall enough and strong enough to help her out!

They spent a good hour playing with the ball factory stuff. There are all kinds of ways to move the balls around and get them to the top of the display.

Leave it to Unlce Hank to find the quiet spot in the back to check out the body puzzles. Leave it to Doodle to mix the pieces to the "blood flow body" with the "skeleton body".

Doodle had a lot of fun with this exhibit in the robot room. The robot is able to identify the color of the ball as it rolls down the chute. The computer displays the color word in the window by Doodle's hand. Doodle had lots of fun checking to make sure it was right by making sure the first letter of the word in the window matched the first sound in the color word when she said it.

Hank got to take a picture with C-3PO

Playing a little xylophone

Doodle playing the worlds largest guitar.

SJ even behaved herself and slept most of the day away! And even better, she was happy when she was awake!

By the time we got home there was time for a quick and hectic dinner and tubby. Doodle wanted her uncle to read her bedtime story and he was happy to do it for her. I snapped this picture after they were done reading.

And this is my favorite picture of the two of them! I love it!

I am so grateful for the relationship we are rebuilding. I am more grateful that my daughters get to know their uncle. Grateful that he has made great efforts to be a part of our lives. We love you!

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Hip Hip Horray for School!

Last Wednesday was a big day at our house. Doodle started at her new school. She was so excited and ready to go!

She practically ran down the stairs as she headed to the car!

 

I think that she was just as excited that SJ got to take her to school as she was about actually going! She had to give her little sister a hug before we loaded up in the car.

She had a great first day, and a few more great days since. I am so lucky that she has handled all the changes in her little world so easily! We can't wait to see what this year has in store!

 

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Gym Time

Just before SJ was born, my neice Jenny wrote a letter to Doodle about how important it is to be a big sister. I haven't shared the letter with her yet, because I think she is too young to understand it. I am holding on to it until the first time SJ starts to make her crazy wanting to be just like her! The letter was beautiful and made me sob. I think it even made My Favoritest tear up a little. When I wiped the tears from my eyes, I swear in my mind's eye I pictured my girls grown up lying on the bed swapping secrets. What I imagined was a grown up version of this

The story behind this picture is that Doodle and I had picked out a baby gym for SJ at the store. Doodle was super excited about the purchase and wanted me to put it together immediately. I put her off until after she was napping. When she woke up, SJ was laying on the gym and Doodle wanted to get in it with her.

The ariel view is super cute, but this one was even more cute and even more fortelling of what I hope their relationship is like in the future.

The look on both of their faces speaks of secrets, middle school drama, and pre-teen angst! I look forward to them swapping secrets and sharing advice.

What I hope for them most is that they always sleep this peacefully

And that they always kiss each other goodnight and never go to bed angry with each other!

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What a Zoo!

I have told you in the past that part of My Favoritest's plan to make me like the Pitty is to get us out and explore the city as much as possible. We are quickly checking off items on our Pitty Bucket List (I think I should really write one if I am going to reference it). Doodle askes constantly if it is the weekend and if we are going to get out of the house and do something fun! A few weeks ago we decided to check out the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. Aside from feeling very out of place due to our lack of ill fitting Steelers gear (it was the first pre-season game) we had a great time! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day!

Doodle checking out the mingos! Love the side of her piggie in this!

Doodle with the baby elephant.

Doodle and I inside a tube that is the same size used to transport some animal but I cannot remember which one!

SJ taking a lunch break with us. This was the extent of her view of the zoo. She spent the rest of the morning in the bottom seat of the stroller covered with a blanket tent!

On the way out of the zoo, Doodle convinced us to let her ride the carosel. She even got on a horse that moved up and down. She practiced her princess waive. I think she has some refining to do!

Apparently the day was tiring for everyone! They slept like this for about an hour. We had a wonderful morning together as a family. We didn't manage to go to the aquarium part, but that is okay because we bought an annual membership. Good thing too because Doodle has already asked to go back 25 times!

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Annoying Moves

The boxes are almost empty. The kids both have beds put together. The dogs have figured out which door to whine at to go out and which door to whine at for food. And even Doodle will tell you we are starting to get settled in our new house. As we have unwrapped our belongings and made this our home, I have been reminded of the darker side of moving. Those little things about new houses that drive you crazy. If you haven't moved often or recently, you may not understand these problems. If you have moved recently, I know you will understand completely!

I have two small children. And I will admit it, I like to peek on them when they are sleeping. This leads me to my first annoyance at new houses. Doorknobs!

Seems like a simple thing right. Turn it, and push open the door. Shouldn't be hard. But in a new to you house, you have to learn which way to turn the knob for the quietest entry. You have to figure out how loud the click is when you close the door. And, in my 70+ year old house, you have to learn which doors stick and make a huge noise when you open them. This is all problematic when trying to sneak into Doodle's room.

Speaking of sneaking in, my next annoyance is floor creeks.

We have hard wood floors covering almost the entirety of this old house. Every step you take has the potential to wake the dead. I am trying to learn the spots in the house where the floor creaks and groans, but it seems like there are more creaky spots than quiet ones. Not only is this knowledge important for my ability to sneak into my children's rooms, and to prevent the dogs from waking up with every step I take, but it is also necessary for knowing who is moving around in the house. I am easily creeped out and need to know where every sound is coming from.

My next complaints about settling into a new house have more to do with replacing out knowlege with new. What do I mean? Lets start with getting the water temperature just right for a shower!

I thought it was complicated to get the temperature right with a modern one handle facet gadget. This is impossible! And once I get just the right balance of hot and cold the temperature changes and I have to fiddle with both knobs again. It is really annoying.

Another task that functions much on auto pilot is loading the dishwasher.

It shoudl be easy! You shouldn't have to think about it and strategize for the job. But after you move, even loading the dishwasher takes brain power. They are all different. They all hold your dishes differently. It is a pain to figure out where the best places are for each item. Ugg!

Next up on the list is one that is proably more an issue for us southerns moving north. This my warm blooded friends is what I think is called a radiator.

I have no idea how to work the darn thing. I am creeped out by them. They are dust traps and spiders like them. I am sure someone will burn their hands on them. And let's face it, given my track record with hot objects, it will probably be me. I am really not looking forward to dealing with these demons in a few months. In my mind the worry of them being hot is a good reason not to allow SJ any tummy time which will delay her development and prevent her from crawling during radiator season! Neglectful? I call it over protective!



And my final annoyance at moving is one that everyone can relate to, but in this house it is compounded by the strange layout of the house. I have had to learn new naked zones! You know what I'm talking about. Admit it! Everyone knows how to get from their room or bathroom to the laundry room! Well, here is the problem in my house

The flower bucket to the right is hanging on my front door. The door at the top of the stairs is the bathroom that we use. Our bedroom door is right beside the bathroom. Making this even more problematic is that the front door has a storm door and in the mornings when he takes the pup-pups for a walk my Favoritest has a habit of not closing the door. I am often in the shower and when I leave the bathroom have to do a combo curse prayer. You know cursing him for leaving the door open and praying that no one is outside witnessing my quick dash to the bedroom.

Now I have shared my most annoying things about moving! I feel better! If I left any out feel free to share with me!

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