True Love

I will forever be amazed by the love my children have for each other. In these five short months since Bella was born, they have formed an alliance, a bond so strong that it blows me away.

Truth be told, it was love at first sight. From the moment Benny laid eyes on his little sister, there was no way she could do any wrong in his eyes. And as soon as Bella realized who this little prince was, gazing at her endlessly, calling her his little princess, he could be nothing but amazing in her little heart.

He will smush her as she adoringly coos at him.

She will pull his hair as he whispers sweet nothings to her.

Mid-tantrum, Benny will stop to tell Bella how much he loves her. And then continue screaming at me and Shuky.

In the car, she instantly lifts her head up and around, looking for him. Smiles that go on forever when those eyes find him. He asks me to remove things between their car seats, should it block his line of sight. And if she starts whimpering during the drive, he is on the alert. "MOMMY, BELLA'S SO SAD!!!" And then he turns to her, "It's ok my sister, don't cry my Bella." Cue my heart melting.

He can make her laugh for endless amounts of time! It amazes me every time! Deep, belly laughs! Well, as deep and bellyish as a baby's laugh can be, anyway. But you get my point.

My kids are madly and deeply, head over heels, in a completely adorable way, in love with each other, and I can't get enough of it!

Food for Thought

When Shuky and I were dating, I made it very clear that I could make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. That was about it. If he didn't want to go hungry, he would do well to take over the kitchen. I registered for nice things for him to cook with, let him have control of where things went (mostly). I stayed out of his way and I tried to help with clean up. It worked out well because at that point, he was working from home so he could be on the phone for work while making an amazing meal!

Over the past few years, much has changed in our lives. With Shuky being a full-time-student-plus-two-part-time-jobs, two kids who like to eat every so often, and me being home all day, I have pretty much taken over the kitchen.

And I have seriously surprised myself and I feel pretty confident saying Shuky is on the impressed train with me!

I HAVE BEEN KICKING FOOD BUTT!

We just finished the second week since I started meal planning and I am loving it! It is so great knowing what I'm making in advance, no hemming and hawing in front of the fridge. No running to the grocery store every day (if I do it right!). I try out new recipes, make note of the ones that are a big hit.

I've actually been posting my menus on Facebook. Letting my friends in on the fun! Having a digital copy when I forget what that night's meal is!

Big perk, numero dos: I seem to be losing weight as we seem to be eating healthier! I am only using myself in this equation because Shuky is losing weight from other factors as well, i.e. the 6 am running he's been doing! I, obviously, am not doing any running and can solely attribute my weight loss to this.

Here's to many nights of amazing food and pound sheddage!!!

PSA for Chani Goldsmith

Sometimes I feel like going back to myself when I was single, just for the sake of giving myself a message. There are two things that I feel every single/non-parent person should take advantage of at whatever cost.

1. Sleep in on every possible occasion. Whenever you are given a chance. Don't get out of bed until it's almost time to get back in. And even then, push the snooze button for a little more sleep!

2. Take LOOOOOOONG showers. Like the kinds where you wonder if you're bathroom is going to fall down around you from the steam. Maybe even take a nap in the shower. Kill two birds with one stone. Leaves you more time for bed. Or another shower.

Sigh. To be clean and well-rested.

Success in the Form of a Tantrum

He loved school! Not that I expected otherwise from my social dragonfly (I can't call him a butterfly now can I!), just happy it went as expected. Shuky and I dropped him off together and met up at the school to bring him home. We both got there a bit early to see him in his element. Love the boy!

I know I'm biased. He's my son. My firstborn. My flesh and blood. Doesn't change the fact that I truly believe he is an amazing little boy, poo poo poo. Besides the fact that he is just plain adorable, he is funny and friendly and a total ball of energy.

Obviously he didn't want to come home. Had to be carried out, screaming and punching us.

I enjoyed my time, we now all have clean clothing and my kitchen was somewhat organized for a total of about ten minutes. It is now a mess of dishes and whatnot again. Never ending cycle. Not gonna go there even.

On a side note, we had to take Bella to the doctor today. She's been getting a rash around her mouth after nursing and at other random moments over the past few days. Turns out it's a yeast infection of sorts, moisture spots that stay wet in the heat or whatever. Drool behind the ears, bam - it's there. Who knows what collecting in her chubby neck crevice, bam - it's there. Non-stop nursing baby, damp area around her mouth, bam - it's there. I have a topical cream to treat it and Dr. advised me to use it on myself so it doesn't transfer and become thrush. Thanks but no thanks there, on goes the cream!!

And another side note, my meal planning is going awesome. Not only do I love knowing what I'm making in advance, I am really surprising myself (and probably Shuky) by pumping out some DEEEE-LICIOUS (Benny's own word!) meals! Who knew I could tear up the kitchen like this!?!?!

Off to bed to make sure I get up in time for the little guy's second day of school.

School Bells Are Ringing!

The big day is pretty much here. Benny starts school in the morning. It could not be more anticipated by all of us!

Benny got a haircut today.  He is looking quite dapper! The lady commented on the fact that his hair wasn't long anymore. This was in the Walmart salon, where Shuky usually goes to get his cut. Benny usually makes quite a bit of noise so no surprise that she would remember us!

We went to pick out new shoes. He was hilarious. We went to a store we go to every couple of months and that guy also remembered Benny, this time by name. He even remembered the last pair of shoes we bought. Brought them out in his new size but I wanted something different. I had Bella in my Ergo so he took Benny by the hand and helped him try on the different shoes. Waved me away when I offered to do it. That's why I go back to this store! Anyway, Benny ended up trying on a few pairs and when we found the one that fit best, he wanted to know if they were good for running in. Ran around the store a couple times. Came back to me and said, "Yep, I think they're good. Can you go pay for them?" He wasn't willing to take them off for they way home. It was adorable. When we got home, he reminded us that they ''are running shoes, I have to run to the house!'' Love him!!

We had guests for Shabbos, so aside from the regular house-work, I have a bit of putting-the-house-back-together to do. Perfect timing for a few hours without my three year old tornado! And I'm currently on a clutter-free binge, so to speak. Getting rid of things, selling them on Amazon/Craigslist or just donating them to Goodwill. I have no need for extras right now. We have no idea where life is going to take us once we're done with school so why hold on to things? An organized mama is a happy mama! Sometimes, anyway!

Benny's backpack and lunchbox are ready. His clothing are laid out for the morning. My home is quiet. I am currently headed to bed. Good night, hope everyone had a lovely Labor Day. For all those dealing with back-to-school this week, good luck and enjoy!

Home on the Range

Bella is napping. Benny and I are watching Phineas and Ferb. It's raining outside with bouts of thunder and lightning. It's as good a time as ever to catch up over here. Hopefully. It's been a while since I last wrote. A lot has happened, tons to write about. But, I am going to give you the abridged version, let's zip through it all to get up to date!

We had a beautiful upshernish, not at the park like planned. The weather changed things for us. We would have been able to put up with drizzles. Not the downpour, accompanied by thunder and lightning that we got! So we had it at a friend's house. It was still great, we had A LOT of people there! Food was great, decor was awesome, we had plenty of everything, the kids enjoyed the projects. It was definitely a success. We went straight from there to Benny's haircut appointment, which he definitely enjoyed! Sat in a train while getting his hair cut by a great stylist. She was super sweet and patient with him (and me!), familiar with Jewish law (so no weird looks about his payos). He came out with an adorable new hairstyle and a nice new train (courtesy of his cousins).

Traveling home was a story of its own. We shipped two boxes home - all the extra clothing and toys we accumulated over the summer. We went pretty early to the airport, turned out to be a blessing. The line for security wrapped all the way around the airport (inside) and took about 45 minutes to get through, maybe even more!! There were delays due to weather. Our first flight left a little late but the flight itself wasn't too bad. Our second flight had us sitting on the runway for over two hours. That was horrible, considering the flight itself was only about 45 minutes! We got to Des Moines, got our luggage, hopped on the shuttle (which waited about an hour for us!) and trudged up the stairs to collapse into bed. Spent the rest of that week catching up on doctor appointments, unpacking, reorganizing to make our apartment friendly for two kids, getting Benny's paperwork filled out for school (and meeting with his teachers), getting Shuky ready for school to start, and trying to squeeze in some family time! Needless to say, it was a long week. We stayed home that Shabbos, just stayed in pj's and did nothing. Well needed and well appreciated!

This past week was more of the same, although Shabbos went a bit differently. We made Bella's kiddush in Des Moines, staying at the Jacobson's house. My father drove out to join us. It was very nice!

The past few days have not really been anything new, laundry and organizing galore. I am trying my hand at organized meal plans for the week, for budget and easier grocery shopping. We'll see how that works out.

We are having guests for Shabbos this week (can't wait Slaters!!).

Then, drumroll please, Benny starts school next week!!!!!!! I may be slightly excited about the 3 hours a day I will have to let Bella actually nap, clean, shop, blog, whatever! If there were more hours for me, I would consider taking on a little hobby of some sort. We'll see how the time pans out. For now, I must go entertain my kids, little one is no longer napping and big one is getting antsy. It's raining so I'm not sure what we will do but we definitely need to get out!

Thank you to all the people that helped make our summer great, (especially my mother and step-father). It's good to be home!

The Long Farewell

It has come to that time. The part of the trip I abhor. Out come the suitcases. I become a slave to my belongings. Speaking of which, why the hell did I feel the need to pack so much to come here? It's not like we wouldn't have access to a washing machine. It is not even five feet from our bedroom door. It's not like we wouldn't have access to stores where we could **GASP** go and buy stuff! I felt it necessary to tote pretty much all of Benny's clothing, every article Bella owns (but for some reason, nothing from the next size, which we need already obviously), and anything I might fit into. Whether I like it or not. I'm pretty sure there is a full drawer of clothing I never even touched here. And then all the new stuff I got as I continued losing weight. Good stuff. Shuky is probably the best off out of the four of us. He packed a good amount, nothing excessive. Although, he was usually the one most affected by my pushing off laundry times if (read: when) I did. You live and learn. Or in my case, you just live. We all know I will over-pack the next time we go anywhere. At which point you can expect another fun little rant like this.

Being the realist that I am, I began packing last week already. One full suitcase done, another half completed. The drawers are emptying slowly. We occupied two full dressers while here. It will take some time. Been giving things away that we don't want to take back. It's been a full week already and it's only Tuesday night. Nope, make that early Wednesday morning.

This Sunday is Benny's upshernish. The long awaited party is (almost) here! As it comes closer, I'm getting more sentimental about the adorable blonde curls that will soon be no more. I took the kids to Prospect Park this past week to get some nice pictures, (I shot the pictures, my pipe dream of an outdoor photographer stayed a dream) and I do believe I got some great shots! In a rare form of my single-child-blogging life, I will actually post some pictures for you!

Big brother keeping our little model happy between shots. Sigh.

The hair :'(

And, while these are not Prospect Park beautiful, I had some fun with Bella at my mom's place. Enjoy!

Alright, just wanted to pop in for a quick update. Much to do this week between packing and party planning. We'll have to catch up on life later!