Laila Tov...

I am not sure when everyone in the house will be completely "sleeping through the night", but I hope for a time when bedtime can take place without procrastination, last minute pajama changes, requests for more and more night lights, and whatever else Amelia can think of to gain precious minutes together. As frustrating as bedtime can be, if I can get through a night without any visitors, I am pretty happy. I do dream of a day when the kids will get up in the morning and play with each other until we come out of our room. Don't worry, no one is holding their breath on that one.

Favorite Pastime

Most of my time at home is spent cooking and baking for my family. Amelia and Leo always want to get in on the action. If any sort of appliance is "on", Leo will run from across the house to see what I am making. I am getting to be an expert one handed baker, holding Leo in one hand and mixing with the other. Amelia is more hands on and likes to pour everything into the bowl or sprinkle the veggies and cheese on the pizza. Things take twice as long, but I think they also taste twice as good. Lately, we have been listening to the new Barenaked Ladies CD in the kitchen - it must be in the kids' genes - and they start dancing and shaking their little tushies. If I could, I would always start my day like this.

Partner in Crime

I have always referred to my kids as my partners in crime. Whatever I do (99% of the time), they do - bottom line. They come with me when I get a haircut, when I go to the doctor, the bank, the grocery store, to work, to wherever I need to be. Drawers are emptied at my work, stickers and stirrups are discovered at the doctor's office, shelves are re-organized wherever we go, and I spend a good chunk of the time cleaning up before we can start on our next adventure. Other than that, they are both great to be out with and I usually choose to take them with me. Today, Leo and I were in and out of the car six different times (including dropping and picking up Amelia) and then we all ran one more quick errand on the way home - this is all before lunch. We had a few minutes in the car before going in to get Amelia so we played a little "Leo, where are you??" to pass the time. It's a classic and can go on for minutes. I really can't think of a better partner in crime.

Day for Daddy - February 18

Danny has wanted to go to the Museum of Science and Industry for as long as he can remember - at least for the last six years that he has lived in Chicago. He has also wanted to go see the special exhibition, Body World, since it was here a couple of years ago. When this whole (slight obsession) thing was brought to my attention, I organized a day for everyone to go. Danny and Gary went to see Body World and Becca and I and the kids went around the museum. The kids and I also saw the omnimax which was totally cool - just ask Amelia. We bought a membership because if you visit a museum more than twice - which we do when we love a museum - it is more than worth it. We already have the next visit planned, most likely with Zadie, to see the CSI special exhibit coming in May.

Stylin'

There are two cute things about these pictures. First, anytime Leo realizes there is a camera ready to take his picture, he puts on the cutest smile. Not sure why the JcPenney camera doesn't have that effect on him, but whatever. Second, Amelia's friend, Race, gave Leo these Nike shoes when he was 2 months old. I couldn't imagine a time when they would fit him. With his sausage feet (the shoe lady said that, not me!), they are perfect for Leo.

Early Morning Visitor

Noah went to visit Solomon Schecter today so Ari came to see us at 7:15am. We had a fun morning, before getting everyone ready and heading off to school and work.
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Before she could start her breakfast, Amelia had to show Ari her little ouchie that has been plaguing her for days.



Silly faces for all.



Amelia is known for her "gate kisses" and now Leo has joined her in this special ritual.



A cutie, anytime of the day.

My two favorite reasons why I get nothing done and, at times, am ready to pull my hair out

Since we had no plans today, I really wanted to get the house cleaned and make a nice dinner for Danny. It didn't take too long to come to my senses and realize that if I wanted to accomplish either of those things, I would have to ship the kids off to some other country. Since we are on a rather tight budget and I would miss them dearly, we decided instead to meet Danny for lunch and spare the house any further disaster.
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Danny brought this box home to pack something up. It had been full of toys for the past few days - I believe Amelia packed it for an airplane trip - but I insisted that we empty it this morning. Leo had other plans and Amelia immediately followed suit.



My heart is pretty much full at all times around these two, but when they hold hands, I just melt. Every time I put music on, Leo looks for Amelia and takes her hands. I dont know what is sweeter, that Leo looks for Amelia, or that she is always happy to see him.



Amelia was quick to eat her chicken and broccoli so that she could have her breadstick. Something I created to have with plain old spaghetti, both kids go crazy for these breadsticks, begging me first thing in the morning at times.



Leo lingered at the table eating his chicken and apple. I love watching him eat, his lips are so cute and he really savors every bite.



After dinner, Amelia decided she wanted to "race" with Leo. The two had a blast. I realized that pictures were cute, but not really the best medium for such action so I pulled out the video camera and they loved it.

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I always say - probably a few times on the blog even - that five years from now, noone will remember the dirty dishes in the sink, just the fun that we had making them.

Snow Day

We all knew that when we woke up today, there would be a blanket of snow on the ground. What we didnt know was that it would get progressively worse during the morning, making it impossible to get around by the time we had to pick up Amelia from school. Thankfully, I made it to SAMS with Leo and stocked up on the essentials - milk, eggs, and flour - so we could survive on muffins if we happen to be stranded over the next few days. An extra bonus was that Hebrew School was cancelled - yay - so Mommy got an extra day to play!

Feel Better, Uncle Irwin!

Bubbie is in California taking care of her brother, Uncle Irwin. In this house, we know all about taking care of our brother. I told Bubbie that I would try to take a picture this morning, in case they could look at the blog together. I hope they have a chance to because both kids saw that camera and *smiled*. They were in the middle of playing airplane together, but as Amelia will tell you "Bubbie is on a different airplane". Duh, Mommy!

Not da momma!

I dont remember the exact phrasing from the show "Dinosaurs", but the same idea rang through our house tonight, except in a more shrill and dire tone. For the past few nights, Amelia has been coming out of her room numerous times at bedtime. Amelia's reasoning - "but, I miss you Mama" - is very sweet, but spending an hour each night getting her to bed is not my idea of a good time. Everytime she comes out, I walk to her bed - like the books say - with no words, no special attention. I have tried taking things away, I have tried rewarding her with special treats - nothing has worked. Tonight, for the first time, I had Danny greet her at the door as she escaped. Whoa - if I had only known that throwing Danny into the picture would freak her out as much as it did, I would have done it last week. Major tears, major screams, major pleads to him for just one more kiss from Mommy. He put her back twice, but when the screaming from her bed sounded more like the beginning of a bad night of throw up and messy sheets, I went in there. Not a word came out of my mouth, I covered her and that was it. There is a fine line between giving in to your children's whining for the sake of shutting them up and being there for them, no matter what. I hope Amelia remembers that because the craziness of tonight will not be repeated. It's a good thing that Leo takes after his Daddy in the sleeping department, for now anyway. Maybe by 5th grade or so, we will all be sleeping through the night.

She doesn't just *look* like me...

Before her party, Amelia told me straight out that she did not want to blow out her candle. When discussing her special birthday snack at school, Amelia told me that she did not want her picture taken (something I didn't even know they did!). Her friend Race was kind enough to help her with the candles yesterday and I will speak to Mrs. Posternack tomorrow about the picture taken. I remember very clearly what it feels like to have my picture taken when I just didnt feel like it and I would never want Amelia to go through that. I am lucky enough to witness Amelia's smiles all day and do not feel the need to pressure her to smile when she just doesn't feel like it (and dont understand other people's desire to do so) . I have been explaining to her that smiling does show me, and everyone else, that she is happy with things, but that is all I can do. Happy Birthday to my big, sweet, delicious 3 year old! It's been 3 years filled with a love that I never imagined.

Worth every sleepless hour

Just as predicted, Amelia popped into my room exactly 6 hours after I (finally) went to bed (this morning). After a lightening quick shower, we were making the frosting for her cake and scrubbing down the house. I had to leave for Hebrew School at 8:30am, ran back to the house at 10:45am and everyone was here at 11:15am. We made pita pizzas, frosted cupcakes, made cookie pops, got a little messy, and had a great time. That's what birthdays are supposed to be. I am completely and utterly exhausted, but it was worth it to know how much Amelia enjoyed herself. Two birthdays in two months, with Chanukah stuck in the middle, is quite tiring. Now, maybe I can get my pictures from the summer developed and get to scrapbooking all the fun we have had the last several months.