Here's the story of how Rachel got here, as she narrated it to me this morning at breakfast:
""Before I was a human baby, I was a mermaid baby, and then I grew up to be a little bit older and I was 4. Then the fairy turned me back into a human."
My friend Amy's response: "That's awesome. I like that way better than Jake's version: 'I was dead and then some guys builded me.'"
***
Rachel also told us this morning: "A long time ago, before you were born, I goed to the sea park and all the sea creatures loved me so much because they rubbed against me and I rubbed against them and they played with the toys I gave them at the sea park. And then BunBun fell into the tank and I lifted her back up and she went into the sea tank with me. It's down in the sea basement of an old castle."
BunBun is the bunny in Rachel's preschool class. We think the references to the sea park are from a book she likes us to read about Little Critter's visit to the local sea park. Little Critter is an ongoing character in a series of books Rachel has.
See why she's so entertaining to be around? Some days I think Rachel makes more sense than all the adults around her....
***
We are leaving tomorrow morning to spend the New Year's Eve weekend with Uncle David, Auntie Anne and Grandma Jean in Seattle. I'll try to post while I'm there, but in case I don't -- Happy New Year to everyone who reads this blog and enjoys following the adventures of The Little Girl. One of my New Year's resolutions is to post more often and get a new computer so I can add pictures. A great 2012 to all!!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Rachel the sensitive one
This morning I attempted to go swim at the local community center, but the pool was too crowded and I went at night. Pool was still crowded, but it cleared out at 7 p.m. leaving me exactly 15 minutes to swim. (We tried to turn that into a math lesson for Rachel at dinner, but failed).
As I left this morning, Rachel stood by the window next to Drew and said:
"Goodbye, Mommy! Be careful! You don't want to be dead!"
And as my car pulled away from the driveway she said, "...And there she goes!"
***
Rachel is fascinated with the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and is constantly asking us to sing variations of it. Today she noted, "The other reindeer were being like the stepsisters. But they weren't as bad because they gave Rudolph things. Each reindeer did. The stepsisters were mean for the whole time."
(The stepsisters, of course, being the ones from "Cinderella.'").
***
Devin, Rachel's little friend from preschool, apparently said something mean to Rachel today -- something along the lines of calling her "stinky" because she hadn't taken a bath.
Rachel told us she yelled at Devin and then she walked away. I suggested that next time she tell her, "I'm not going to listen to you. You can't play with me," and walk away.
***
Rachel's a girl, all right: We now have quite the collection of princess and cupcake Band-Aids; now add Hello Kitty to the mix. I have no idea where this comes from (probably from her friend Tessa at preschool, who is very into Hello Kitty), but Rachel is now a big Hello Kitty fan. She has offered me numerous Hello Kitty Band-Aids to cover the owies from my bike accident. I think that's her way of telling me she loves me and is worried about my health.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Last night of Hanukkah
I was actually somewhat sad to bid farewell tonight to Hanukkah, even though I've had way too many latkes (6 out of 8 nights) and making sufganyiot is time-consuming and I feel that all I've been doing the last few days is eating food I shouldn't (although this was slightly mitigated by skipping breakfast this morning because I wasn't hungry and am coming down with a cold, I think, and I had a dentist's appointment anyway...plus I swam tonight so that gives me an excuse to eat well).
Anyway....
Tonight after swimming I got home and was pleasantly surprised to see that Drew had set the table, peeled the potatoes and gotten out the brisket that had been left over from my catering gig last month (which now seems like a million years ago), so all I had to do was chop an onion, cut the potatoes (with Rachel's help; she plopped them into the blender), and blend everything together. Rachel is still a little afraid of the blender's loud noise, so Drew gave her a set of headphones and she looked like a little sound engineer. I fried up the latkes and when I was done Rachel hugged my legs and said, "Thank you for making latkees, Mommy!" I hugged her back and we had a nice dinner, with Rachel whining a little about how she was worried we wouldn't have time to open presents because it was taking so long for us to eat (she refused to try the brisket, which was GREAT, and ate a couple of bites of a latke and LOTS of applesauce). I feel compelled to say here that the container of applesauce Drew bought for Hanukkah lasted exactly eight nights. Call that our little 21st Century version of a Hanukkah miracle.
Rachel impressed us with her near-perfect rendition of the prayer over the Hanukkah candles. Really, in a few months, she'll be able to say the Sabbath prayer all by herself!
She also asked me, "What did you do at work today, Mommy? I really want to know."
We finished opening presents -- thank you Tia Daniella and Valerie and JoJo for the tea set, which Rachel instantly adored, and the Frances book, which she made both of us read twice. She also got some old cake pans from my friend Miriam, whose daughter played with them she was little (that daughter is now studying for a master's in social work). Rachel's gift to us was a little Christmas tree she made at school, which we placed on the living-room mantel (Drew noted with pride that the kids at preschool also made mini-menorahs; he was grateful that both Jews and Christians have a place at St. James). We also thank Amanda and Jenn for the artists' brushes and paper for Rachel's multi-tasking easel, and Richard for the Twin Peaks anniversary set, and Mom and Dad for the truffles and Hanukkah Haiku book, and Jack and Kay for the beautiful vase...happy Hanukkah, everyone!
Cute Rachel saying today: As we were cuddling in bed this morning, I remarked that she had beautiful blue eyes.
"Your eyes are the color of the earth!" she said. Looks like we may have a budding poet in our house..
Anyway....
Tonight after swimming I got home and was pleasantly surprised to see that Drew had set the table, peeled the potatoes and gotten out the brisket that had been left over from my catering gig last month (which now seems like a million years ago), so all I had to do was chop an onion, cut the potatoes (with Rachel's help; she plopped them into the blender), and blend everything together. Rachel is still a little afraid of the blender's loud noise, so Drew gave her a set of headphones and she looked like a little sound engineer. I fried up the latkes and when I was done Rachel hugged my legs and said, "Thank you for making latkees, Mommy!" I hugged her back and we had a nice dinner, with Rachel whining a little about how she was worried we wouldn't have time to open presents because it was taking so long for us to eat (she refused to try the brisket, which was GREAT, and ate a couple of bites of a latke and LOTS of applesauce). I feel compelled to say here that the container of applesauce Drew bought for Hanukkah lasted exactly eight nights. Call that our little 21st Century version of a Hanukkah miracle.
Rachel impressed us with her near-perfect rendition of the prayer over the Hanukkah candles. Really, in a few months, she'll be able to say the Sabbath prayer all by herself!
She also asked me, "What did you do at work today, Mommy? I really want to know."
We finished opening presents -- thank you Tia Daniella and Valerie and JoJo for the tea set, which Rachel instantly adored, and the Frances book, which she made both of us read twice. She also got some old cake pans from my friend Miriam, whose daughter played with them she was little (that daughter is now studying for a master's in social work). Rachel's gift to us was a little Christmas tree she made at school, which we placed on the living-room mantel (Drew noted with pride that the kids at preschool also made mini-menorahs; he was grateful that both Jews and Christians have a place at St. James). We also thank Amanda and Jenn for the artists' brushes and paper for Rachel's multi-tasking easel, and Richard for the Twin Peaks anniversary set, and Mom and Dad for the truffles and Hanukkah Haiku book, and Jack and Kay for the beautiful vase...happy Hanukkah, everyone!
Cute Rachel saying today: As we were cuddling in bed this morning, I remarked that she had beautiful blue eyes.
"Your eyes are the color of the earth!" she said. Looks like we may have a budding poet in our house..
Monday, December 26, 2011
Hanukkah party!
We had a great time this afternoon/evening at a Hanukkah party at the house of Rachel's friend Lila Anne. One of these days I'll get around to posting pictures. I brought homemade sufganyiot and, boy, were they a big hit! I had to cut some corners on timing of the dough to rise, but I actually followed directions and pinched the edges of the dough together, so the jelly stayed inside. People were anticipating them and when they tasted them they kept asking me questions about if I REALLY made them from scratch, how I did it, how much better homemade donuts are than real ones (I have to disagree on that last point, though). The sufganyiot I make taste like beignets, especially since I douse them in enough powdered sugar to provide snow for an entire showing of "Nutcracker."
It was a fun time, even if one of the little girls at the party asked me if I was Rachel's grandma. OUCH!
Anyway...the girls had fun running around and shrieking. There were some boys there, too, but they were a little older and clearly outnumbered. At one point Drew emerged from Lila's bedroom to announce that the room was dark, Lila and Rachel were in Lila's old crib, and they were heading to China. To do what? Who knows??
When we got home Rachel opened her present from PopPop -- the movie "Beauty and the Beast." She was so excited that she insisted on racing upstairs, where I was working, to show me. "WOW!" she said. "I can take it to school for MOVIE DAY!" I told her it was a great movie; Drew and I had seen it years ago before we even thought of having kids.
And PopPop, you will appreciate this: As she was getting ready to go to bed, Rachel walked over to your picture on the bookcase and said, "Thank you for the movie, PopPop!" and gave you a little kiss.
It was a fun time, even if one of the little girls at the party asked me if I was Rachel's grandma. OUCH!
Anyway...the girls had fun running around and shrieking. There were some boys there, too, but they were a little older and clearly outnumbered. At one point Drew emerged from Lila's bedroom to announce that the room was dark, Lila and Rachel were in Lila's old crib, and they were heading to China. To do what? Who knows??
When we got home Rachel opened her present from PopPop -- the movie "Beauty and the Beast." She was so excited that she insisted on racing upstairs, where I was working, to show me. "WOW!" she said. "I can take it to school for MOVIE DAY!" I told her it was a great movie; Drew and I had seen it years ago before we even thought of having kids.
And PopPop, you will appreciate this: As she was getting ready to go to bed, Rachel walked over to your picture on the bookcase and said, "Thank you for the movie, PopPop!" and gave you a little kiss.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Quiet day
I woke up this morning completely wacked out and groggy from the pain meds I took last night. I slept until 9:30 (Rachel woke us up at 8:30 but Drew told her to be quiet so Mommy could sleep) and when I staggered into the kitchen at 10, I still didn't feel completely awake. Drew left for a weekend shift in Seattle at 11:30, so I had just enough time to shower before he took off.
Rachel helped me make a pie crust for a chocolate silk pie I was making for my friend, Anne, who came over to dinner tonight. Anne's husband died in August 2010 and I like to invite her over every few weeks so she knows her friends won't forget her. I had wanted to make a beef tenderloin from a NY Times recipe, but when I got to New Seasons I was appalled at the price ($46 for 2 pounds!! Are you KIDDING ME?!?!?) and I settled for a rack of lamb instead.
So, after Rachel poured in all the ingredients for the pie crust, I let her pulse the food processor for a while -- she got a total kick out of it. Then all of a sudden I was exhausted, and I need sleep RIGHT NOW, so I grabbed one of Rachel's bigger blankets and lay down on the loveseat in the living room. She joined me after saying, "I'm VERY TIRED," and we both curled up and fell asleep in each others' arms, just like two little kitties. When I woke up it was 3:45 and I still had to roll out the crust, chill it, bake it, prepare the lamb, wrap Anne's Christmas gift (some soaps), set the table, etc. Luckily Rachel was happy to color in the kitchen while I got everything prepared. And -- surely a Hanukkah miracle! -- dinner was served at 7 p.m.: lamb (perfect ruby red), latkes (still hot), baked cherry tomatoes (part of the lamb dish) and chocolate silk pie with fresh whipped cream. Rachel liked the lamb (I called it "lamb steak") and Anne took a second helping of chocolate pie. There's enough left for Drew to sample it when he returns tomorrow afternoon.
After dinner Rachel got extremely whiny for my attention; at one point she kept yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!" and I went over to her, leaned into her face and said, "STOP IT. Just STOP IT." So she was sobbing loudly when Anne left. I'm sure Anne, who has no children, was extremely glad to be childless at that particular moment.
Then I hurried Rachel to wash, brush and get into her jammies, all the while being short and uncommunicative. She kept crying until she got into her jammies and climbed into my lap in the glider.
"Why are you crying, sweetie?" I asked.
"Because I wanted to cuddle with you more" (in the kitchen before Anne left).
"Why is it so important for you to cuddle with me?" I asked.
"Because it keeps me warm," she sniffled. "And it reminds me that I love you."
Well, what could I say? We read a book, and I lay down next to her in bed -- only to have her start whining that her foot was outside her blanket. "Well, just tuck it back in," I said, crossly, and then asked her if she wanted me to stay.
"Yes or no?" I asked.
She made a noise that I couldn't understand; it sounded like a teenage grunt.
"Yes or no?" I demanded.
Same noise.
"OK, I'm leaving," I announced, swinging my still-sore knee over her bed and leaving. She started crying, loudly, but I ignored it and soon she was asleep.
Rachel helped me make a pie crust for a chocolate silk pie I was making for my friend, Anne, who came over to dinner tonight. Anne's husband died in August 2010 and I like to invite her over every few weeks so she knows her friends won't forget her. I had wanted to make a beef tenderloin from a NY Times recipe, but when I got to New Seasons I was appalled at the price ($46 for 2 pounds!! Are you KIDDING ME?!?!?) and I settled for a rack of lamb instead.
So, after Rachel poured in all the ingredients for the pie crust, I let her pulse the food processor for a while -- she got a total kick out of it. Then all of a sudden I was exhausted, and I need sleep RIGHT NOW, so I grabbed one of Rachel's bigger blankets and lay down on the loveseat in the living room. She joined me after saying, "I'm VERY TIRED," and we both curled up and fell asleep in each others' arms, just like two little kitties. When I woke up it was 3:45 and I still had to roll out the crust, chill it, bake it, prepare the lamb, wrap Anne's Christmas gift (some soaps), set the table, etc. Luckily Rachel was happy to color in the kitchen while I got everything prepared. And -- surely a Hanukkah miracle! -- dinner was served at 7 p.m.: lamb (perfect ruby red), latkes (still hot), baked cherry tomatoes (part of the lamb dish) and chocolate silk pie with fresh whipped cream. Rachel liked the lamb (I called it "lamb steak") and Anne took a second helping of chocolate pie. There's enough left for Drew to sample it when he returns tomorrow afternoon.
After dinner Rachel got extremely whiny for my attention; at one point she kept yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!" and I went over to her, leaned into her face and said, "STOP IT. Just STOP IT." So she was sobbing loudly when Anne left. I'm sure Anne, who has no children, was extremely glad to be childless at that particular moment.
Then I hurried Rachel to wash, brush and get into her jammies, all the while being short and uncommunicative. She kept crying until she got into her jammies and climbed into my lap in the glider.
"Why are you crying, sweetie?" I asked.
"Because I wanted to cuddle with you more" (in the kitchen before Anne left).
"Why is it so important for you to cuddle with me?" I asked.
"Because it keeps me warm," she sniffled. "And it reminds me that I love you."
Well, what could I say? We read a book, and I lay down next to her in bed -- only to have her start whining that her foot was outside her blanket. "Well, just tuck it back in," I said, crossly, and then asked her if she wanted me to stay.
"Yes or no?" I asked.
She made a noise that I couldn't understand; it sounded like a teenage grunt.
"Yes or no?" I demanded.
Same noise.
"OK, I'm leaving," I announced, swinging my still-sore knee over her bed and leaving. She started crying, loudly, but I ignored it and soon she was asleep.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Chavurah Christmas Eve
We belong to a chavurah (a smaller group within the synagogue) that meets once a month at someone's house. The members are similar to Drew and me: They're around our age and have kids (although older, in grade school) and they're really nice folks to get together with. One of the members, Mark Carver, had the brilliant idea of hosting a Chinese dinner/5th night of Hanukkah celebration, with a gift exchange. The catch: None of the gifts could cost more than $1 (which is how Rachel and I discovered the treasure trove that is the Dollar Tree store).
So, after I got home from the clinic today we piled into the car and drove to Mark's house on the edge of Lake Oswego. Rachel, as usual, dove right in to the activities; she doesn't seem to care that everyone is older because she thinks she's a lot older than she is and the other kids are friendly. She got compliments from one of the adults on the outfit she picked out all by herself -- pink striped leggings, a pink shirt with cupcakes at the bottom and a blue denim skirt with while eyelet trim. This is why Drew thinks she'll end up at NYU -- she has a pronounced artsy side.
I was feeling pretty mellow because of the pain meds and the adults got to spend long stretches of the evening talking about politics, birth experiences, Portland public schools, mortgage rates. (At one point, Anna, one of the adults, turned to me and said, "Can you BELIEVE we are talking about mortgages??" to which I replied, "Yeah, we are SO BORING. We all used to lead really interesting lives."). The Chinese food was pretty good, Rachel even ate some Chinese noodles and chicken, and we had lots of desserts to choose from -- including chocolate cake from Costco, homemade sugar cookies and fruit. Afterward we posed for a photo for one of the families who was in Arizona and couldn't make it, then the kids chose gifts and opened them.
And then, at Mark's insistence, we all caravaned over to a street near his house with the most awesome Christmas lights imaginable. It was like all of Peacock Lane compressed into one house. Ligths, lights lights everywhere, a snowman, a train, reindeer. Rachel, of course, was delighted. We closed the evening singing "Silent Night." The folks who slowed down their cars to take a look were no doubt Jewish, commenting on the crazy Christian carolers on Christmas EVE, for godsakes...
Peace, everyone.
Owies, owies everywhere
Hi folks, your faithful poster on All Things Rachel took a break yesterday because of a nasty bike accident I got into late in the afternoon. In its zeal to add streetcar tracks everywhere, the city of Portland seems to forget that a light rail lane in the absence of a bike lane is NOT a safe location for bikers. To wit: I was biking down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on a quick, 45-minute afternoon ride yesterday when I suddenly found myself in a regular car lane. To get out of the way of the car behind me, I veered off to the right, got my front wheel entangled in a streetcar track, and fell, hard, on my right side (bike fell on top of me. Yes, I was wearnig a helmet but my head hit the pavement and I felt the reverberations anyway). I dragged myself to the sidewalk in front of a furniture store, rested for about 10 minutes and debated whether to call Drew or not - he was finishing up his workday before we all headed to the synagogue's Hanukkah celebration -- then decided to let him know. As soon as he got on the phone, I started sobbing. I believe I was in shock.
Bottom line: Drew came to get me (my bike's gears are useless; need to go to the bike store to figure out what's up) and he went to synagogue with Rachel while I stayed home and parked myself in front of the TV, icing my hand for about three hours.
Drew called me every hour from synagogue just to make sure I hadn't lapsed into a coma, or something. Turns out they ran out of latkes and the brisket was inedible -- next year we will go only to the service and the music & sufganyiot afterward. Everyone was concerned about me, and Rachel told Drew she wanted to give me a big hug and kiss when she got home. She impressed the heck out of the rabbi when he taught her the word sufganyiot and she responded by singing the Hanukkah song. "In Yiddish, yet!" he said in wonder. She really will be the top student in her Hebrew school class someday...
This morning I was extremely stiff and sore and could barely move my neck, so I took Drew's advice for a change and went to urgent care while he and Rachel did the grocery shopping. No broken bones or sprains, just bad internal bruising. The doc gave me Vicodin and Flexeril, and I am so grateful (although I've been nauseous for the past day or so). I've been taking Vicodin every two hours, and it does seem to dull the pain and is making me sleepy.
One nice thing about all of this is that the doc who was on call today was...Ellen Singer, my primary care physician! (readers may remember that she dropped by for Rachel's baby-naming ceremony). She asked all about Rachel, and as long as I was there, she gave me a Pap smear, checked my ears for excessive earwax, took a bunch of X-rays of my bruises, and we caught up on all the family news. As I left, I told her that the nicest thing about all of this drama was being able to see her after a long absence. And yes, she's Jewish -- of COURSE she was on call on Christmas Eve!
Bottom line: Drew came to get me (my bike's gears are useless; need to go to the bike store to figure out what's up) and he went to synagogue with Rachel while I stayed home and parked myself in front of the TV, icing my hand for about three hours.
Drew called me every hour from synagogue just to make sure I hadn't lapsed into a coma, or something. Turns out they ran out of latkes and the brisket was inedible -- next year we will go only to the service and the music & sufganyiot afterward. Everyone was concerned about me, and Rachel told Drew she wanted to give me a big hug and kiss when she got home. She impressed the heck out of the rabbi when he taught her the word sufganyiot and she responded by singing the Hanukkah song. "In Yiddish, yet!" he said in wonder. She really will be the top student in her Hebrew school class someday...
This morning I was extremely stiff and sore and could barely move my neck, so I took Drew's advice for a change and went to urgent care while he and Rachel did the grocery shopping. No broken bones or sprains, just bad internal bruising. The doc gave me Vicodin and Flexeril, and I am so grateful (although I've been nauseous for the past day or so). I've been taking Vicodin every two hours, and it does seem to dull the pain and is making me sleepy.
One nice thing about all of this is that the doc who was on call today was...Ellen Singer, my primary care physician! (readers may remember that she dropped by for Rachel's baby-naming ceremony). She asked all about Rachel, and as long as I was there, she gave me a Pap smear, checked my ears for excessive earwax, took a bunch of X-rays of my bruises, and we caught up on all the family news. As I left, I told her that the nicest thing about all of this drama was being able to see her after a long absence. And yes, she's Jewish -- of COURSE she was on call on Christmas Eve!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Rachel's movie date
Today was special day at preschool: The kids watched Christmas-themed movies (including Polar Express, which apparently has enough of a moral theme that the kids spent the past couple of days talking about the lessons it imparts; I've never seen the movie) and were told to come IN THEIR JAMMIES. Late in the day one of the preschool teachers posted a photo of Rachel watching "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" with a little boy who, she later told me, was Andrew. One of the teachers had put Rachel's hair in little pigtails, and Rachel -- my 3 1/3 year old girl, who claims she doesn't like boys -- was HOLDING ANDREW'S HAND WHILE THEY WATCHED THE MOVIE.
The photo was from the back and they looked so adorable (and alarmingly grown-up), I could barely stand it.
***
Speaking of looking grown-up...Rachel has been complaining nearly every morning that she's cold, and she wraps a baby blanket around herself and insists Drew feed her cereal. So tonight after school they stopped at Fred Meyer and bought the most adorable kid-sized bathrobe imaginable. (I was swimming at the local community center since Willamette's pool is closed until mid-January. LOVE to be able to swim in such a warm pool near home!!). When I got home, Rachel greeted me in her new bathrobe, which is covered in pink, purple, green and blue hearts. It's so cool-looking that I immediately asked Rachel, "Can I borrow your bathrobe, please?"
"You can try it on tomorrow," she said reassuringly. I laughed and told her I was just kidding, but I really do need a bathrobe and it would be way cool to have the same one in an adult size...
***
As Drew was putting Rachel to bed tonight, he sang her an impromptu new version of "The Dreidel Song":
Rachel, Rachel, Rachel
I made her out of clay
and though she's very silly
I love her anyway!
And quick as a flash, she sang her own version back to him:
Daddy, Daddy, Daddy
He's a very silly guy
I tell him that I love him
and then I say goodbye
Perhaps there's a future songwriter in the house??
The photo was from the back and they looked so adorable (and alarmingly grown-up), I could barely stand it.
***
Speaking of looking grown-up...Rachel has been complaining nearly every morning that she's cold, and she wraps a baby blanket around herself and insists Drew feed her cereal. So tonight after school they stopped at Fred Meyer and bought the most adorable kid-sized bathrobe imaginable. (I was swimming at the local community center since Willamette's pool is closed until mid-January. LOVE to be able to swim in such a warm pool near home!!). When I got home, Rachel greeted me in her new bathrobe, which is covered in pink, purple, green and blue hearts. It's so cool-looking that I immediately asked Rachel, "Can I borrow your bathrobe, please?"
"You can try it on tomorrow," she said reassuringly. I laughed and told her I was just kidding, but I really do need a bathrobe and it would be way cool to have the same one in an adult size...
***
As Drew was putting Rachel to bed tonight, he sang her an impromptu new version of "The Dreidel Song":
Rachel, Rachel, Rachel
I made her out of clay
and though she's very silly
I love her anyway!
And quick as a flash, she sang her own version back to him:
Daddy, Daddy, Daddy
He's a very silly guy
I tell him that I love him
and then I say goodbye
Perhaps there's a future songwriter in the house??
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Hanukkah celebration
Tonight I stayed late at work; the higher-ups were drinking wine and invited me to join them, and I was racing to finish as much as possible before vacation starts (Friday, technically, although the dean graciously urged me to work from home tomorrow because as a fellow commuter he knows how much time two hours tears out of my life every day). Anyway....I met Drew and Rachel at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center for a Hanukkah celebration they were having. The "J," as it is affectionately known, is in Southwest Portland, where Portland's Jewish community got its start. Several of my friends from the suburbs do activities there because it's easily accessible from the city and from the 'burbs. (I also went to a lovely dinner there last week sponsored by the Oregon Area Jewish Committee, where I am a board member).
Drew said I missed the worst part of the evening -- a woman who couldn't sing was attempting to lead a sing-along of Hanukkah songs nobody knew. Ugh. But by the time I arrived, Drew was trying to make Rachel eat some of the quesadillas he'd ordered for her. Luckily they were serving latkes which weren't half-bad (although Drew insisted mine were much better) and I ordered a salmon burger (dreadful) and Drew had hummus and falafel (decent, he said).
A band played klezmer music while Rachel colored out of a Hanukkah coloring book. She insisted on wearing a beautiful lacy dress that Anne gave her -- it's the dress in Rachel's preschool photo -- and she looked so beautiful half-sitting, half-lying on the floor, the skirt of the dress spread all around her, as she drew and Drew and I tried to talk over the music. I suddenly got a flash of -- Belgium? Poland? Did Mom do that when she was little, before her parents were lost to her?
Later, as the band played hora music, Rachel and I joined a hora line that danced around the room, Rachel laughing and enjoying the music. I love klezmer music, it speaks to me of family history and a connection to the past -- a connection I'm trying to pass on to Rachel, hoping she'll associate laughter and dancing and good food and rituals with beauty and peace so she will always know she can return to a place of comfort.
She threw a little fit when Drew told her she couldn't go into the pool at the J, so he scooped her up and we left. Too bad -- I had wanted to talk more to Max, a former colleague at the Oregonian who was part of the klezmer band, playing the flute. I had no idea she had that kind of talent.
On the way home Rachel sniffled and asked Drew if he still loved her. (He got very cranky at her little tantrum and her reluctance to eat a good dinner. Can't blame him).
"Of course, sweetie," he answered. "Mad is just temporary. Love is forever."
"Like friends!" she said, brightening. "And chairs!"
***
Tonight she pulled out the book of fairy tales and insisted on "reading" Cinderella to Drew. It is so wonderful to hear her little voice "read" a story, uninterrupted. When I came in her hair was damp from the bath and she was wearing pajamas covered with blue trucks.
"Even though I'm a girl, I can wear truck jammies," she announced. Then she followed it with, "Only girls can wear headbands."
Drew said I missed the worst part of the evening -- a woman who couldn't sing was attempting to lead a sing-along of Hanukkah songs nobody knew. Ugh. But by the time I arrived, Drew was trying to make Rachel eat some of the quesadillas he'd ordered for her. Luckily they were serving latkes which weren't half-bad (although Drew insisted mine were much better) and I ordered a salmon burger (dreadful) and Drew had hummus and falafel (decent, he said).
A band played klezmer music while Rachel colored out of a Hanukkah coloring book. She insisted on wearing a beautiful lacy dress that Anne gave her -- it's the dress in Rachel's preschool photo -- and she looked so beautiful half-sitting, half-lying on the floor, the skirt of the dress spread all around her, as she drew and Drew and I tried to talk over the music. I suddenly got a flash of -- Belgium? Poland? Did Mom do that when she was little, before her parents were lost to her?
Later, as the band played hora music, Rachel and I joined a hora line that danced around the room, Rachel laughing and enjoying the music. I love klezmer music, it speaks to me of family history and a connection to the past -- a connection I'm trying to pass on to Rachel, hoping she'll associate laughter and dancing and good food and rituals with beauty and peace so she will always know she can return to a place of comfort.
She threw a little fit when Drew told her she couldn't go into the pool at the J, so he scooped her up and we left. Too bad -- I had wanted to talk more to Max, a former colleague at the Oregonian who was part of the klezmer band, playing the flute. I had no idea she had that kind of talent.
On the way home Rachel sniffled and asked Drew if he still loved her. (He got very cranky at her little tantrum and her reluctance to eat a good dinner. Can't blame him).
"Of course, sweetie," he answered. "Mad is just temporary. Love is forever."
"Like friends!" she said, brightening. "And chairs!"
***
Tonight she pulled out the book of fairy tales and insisted on "reading" Cinderella to Drew. It is so wonderful to hear her little voice "read" a story, uninterrupted. When I came in her hair was damp from the bath and she was wearing pajamas covered with blue trucks.
"Even though I'm a girl, I can wear truck jammies," she announced. Then she followed it with, "Only girls can wear headbands."
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
HanukkahMom has landed!
Well, the presentation at Rachel's preschool this morning went much better than I'd anticipated. For one thing, the pastor wasn't there; just the teachers and A LOT of kids. I brought in freshly baked sufganiyot (which I'd spent until 2 a.m. making, and they turned out pretty well except I didn't pinch the edges of the dough together so most of the jelly fell into the oil, and, really, they're best eaten hot), the construction-paper menorah I'd made that looked kind of like a cross but had the transliteration of the Chanukah prayer on it, our actual menorah that Mom and Dad gave us years ago, and a bunch of dreidels and chocolate gelt for the kids.
I introduced myself as "Mrs. DeSilver," -- first time I've EVER done that -- and told the kids the very basic story of Hanukkah, then read from a book about one family celebrating the holiday -- inviting cousins over, having Grandma light the menorah, putting change into the tzedakah box, etc. Then I sang the Hanukkah song that we sing in Yiddish, ended with "Hip hip hooray for the MACCABEES!" and then it was time to leave.
Teacher Tracy told Drew that this was much better than other ones had gone, and Teacher Erin said she'd always wanted to have a parent come into her class and talk about Hanukkah and she was so glad I'd come. I also found out that one of Rachel's little friends, Tassanee, is Jewish too! (At least, her parents have a menorah). On the way out, Rhonda the recpetionist told us that the sufganiyot she'd tasted reminded her of a pastry her Polish grandmother had made but she could never find a recipe for it anywhere. I'm determined to locate one for her!
I had a wonderfully warm fuzzy feeling on the drive to work. Yes, I wonder if we're doing the right thing raising Rachel so far from the center of all that is Jewish in this country (i.e., New York), but so far she seems to have a very strong Jewish identity -- she's eager to learn the prayers and is open to the happier aspects of being Jewish rather than the suffering. And if I'm called on to be a cultural ambassador more often than I would back East, then fine. There are a bunch of little kids who heard Yiddish spoken for the first time in their lives today. Who knows what that could lead to??
And Rachel loved having me there. She bragged about it to the librarian who came in to tell the kids stories after I left.
***
Unfortunately Rachel woke up really early today. When I came home she told me, "Go away. Please go. I'm serious and I'm tired." She perked up soon enough, though, when I made latkes. "Um, yummy!" she said. I still remember when we knew she was ready for real food -- it was in December, when her little hand shot out to try some sour cream after I had made latkes for Hanukkah!
***
Drew was reading a book called "Ella visits Israel," to Rachel before bed tonight. When they got to the page about the Wailing Wall, and how people write messages on slips of paper and insert them into the cracks, Rachel said, "Yeah, and I would write, 'Happy Hanukkah, everybody!' on mine!"
I introduced myself as "Mrs. DeSilver," -- first time I've EVER done that -- and told the kids the very basic story of Hanukkah, then read from a book about one family celebrating the holiday -- inviting cousins over, having Grandma light the menorah, putting change into the tzedakah box, etc. Then I sang the Hanukkah song that we sing in Yiddish, ended with "Hip hip hooray for the MACCABEES!" and then it was time to leave.
Teacher Tracy told Drew that this was much better than other ones had gone, and Teacher Erin said she'd always wanted to have a parent come into her class and talk about Hanukkah and she was so glad I'd come. I also found out that one of Rachel's little friends, Tassanee, is Jewish too! (At least, her parents have a menorah). On the way out, Rhonda the recpetionist told us that the sufganiyot she'd tasted reminded her of a pastry her Polish grandmother had made but she could never find a recipe for it anywhere. I'm determined to locate one for her!
I had a wonderfully warm fuzzy feeling on the drive to work. Yes, I wonder if we're doing the right thing raising Rachel so far from the center of all that is Jewish in this country (i.e., New York), but so far she seems to have a very strong Jewish identity -- she's eager to learn the prayers and is open to the happier aspects of being Jewish rather than the suffering. And if I'm called on to be a cultural ambassador more often than I would back East, then fine. There are a bunch of little kids who heard Yiddish spoken for the first time in their lives today. Who knows what that could lead to??
And Rachel loved having me there. She bragged about it to the librarian who came in to tell the kids stories after I left.
***
Unfortunately Rachel woke up really early today. When I came home she told me, "Go away. Please go. I'm serious and I'm tired." She perked up soon enough, though, when I made latkes. "Um, yummy!" she said. I still remember when we knew she was ready for real food -- it was in December, when her little hand shot out to try some sour cream after I had made latkes for Hanukkah!
***
Drew was reading a book called "Ella visits Israel," to Rachel before bed tonight. When they got to the page about the Wailing Wall, and how people write messages on slips of paper and insert them into the cracks, Rachel said, "Yeah, and I would write, 'Happy Hanukkah, everybody!' on mine!"
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Mommy and Rachel Day!
Today Drew had to get up really early to leave for a weekend shift in Seattle (the only thing that makes this marginally OK is he's getting about $300 in overtime pay) so Rachel and I arranged a playdate at Portland PDX with Doug, Linda, Jack and Andrew. Rachel and I got there around 11:15, around the same time as the Grayburns.
Rachel barely gave a glance back at me as she raced off to the play area, so I got to have a nice long talk with Linda and Doug. It was almost like having a grownup coffee date, except for the shrieking kids in the background. Once Rachel figured out where we were sitting, she came over once in a while to visit, then raced off again. A couple of times she asked me to come in the play structure with her, and we had a great time sliding down the incredibly steep and fast slides. I now know better than to put her on my lap and slide down together -- something about our body weights made us go extra fast, and I ended up tumbling on top of her. She laughed, but I got scared and suggested we go down together, but on separate slides.
About 1:15, most of the kids cleared out and it suddenly seemed quieter. Rachel ate a good lunch of hot dog, apples and caramel sauce, and lemonade, and toward the end of the day she begged for a cupcake. I shook my head no, she turned up her big blue eyes at me and pouted, and Linda thought she was adorable. Luckily she listened to me when I insisted she finish her hot dog -- and then she ended up wanting graham crackers instead of the cupcake! Linda wondered how I'd gotten her to change her mind; Rachel often whines for dessert and sweets and ends up leaving half of them on the plate. I think she's like me; she really just wants the taste of something sweet rather than the whole thing.
We stopped by the library on the way home to pick up a book for me to read to Rachel's class when I become HanukkahMom on Tuesday, but EVERYTHING was checked out. Either there are a lot of curious Christians in this city or the library just doesn't stock enough Judaica. I finally put one book on hold at the central library downtown, but I'm unsure of whether to get it; it's about Hanukkah in Poland, and what I really want is a preschool explanation of the holiday. Sigh.
After I put Rachel down for a nap, I spent 90 MINUTES trying to make a decent-looking menorah for Rachel's class. I made it out of blue construction paper, pasted it on a black hardboard, and am including yellow cardboard flames so the kids can "light" the menorah every night while saying the prayer I pasted on the front of the whole thing. After all the time I spent, I can only say that only one of the Lednicer sisters got the art talent in the family, and it wasn't me. I envy Valerie; she'll have the cool art mom who does awesome room projects; Rachel gets the mom whom, um, writes.
Tonight when I put her to sleep, Rachel started telling me a whole story of how she is a horse princess. She's white with a pink collar, and Daddy is a gray horse with a blue collar, and I'm a brown horse with a brown collar, and she lives in a big field, and she wears a rainbow dress and a flower dress, and she is the Horse Princess of the Flowers. She told me she'd wake me up tomorrow morning, and I told her no, please, let me wake YOU up, and she said we'd wake each other up, and hopefully I'd have enough time to get to Horse Work on time. And this paragraph doesn't sound nearly as cute as Rachel does when she tells it to me in the dark, snuggled up against me in her afghan.
Cute Rachel-isms today:
"Even when I'm a grown woman, would you and Daddy carry me around when I'm scared?" she asked in the car on the way home. I assure her we would.
***
"We need a bigger house," she said, also on the way home from Playdate PDX.
"Why do we need a bigger house, sweetie?" I asked.
"So we can have more kids," she said.
"You mean more kids in the house, or so Mommy can have more babies?" I asked.
"So Mommy can have more babies," she answered.
I sighed, and she asked me why I was sighing.
"I'd love that, too," Rachel," I said.
***
Speaking of Playdate PDX, Andrew is quite a bit older than Rachel and I've always assumed they don't interact much. He goes to real school, she goes to preschool; she's a girl, he's a boy.
So imagine my surprise that as soon as I buckled her into her carseat after we left Playdate PDX, she started singing: "Jingle bells, jingle bells/Robin laid an egg/Batmobile lost a wheel/and Joker got away."
"Where did you LEARN that?" I gasped.
"Andrew taught it to me," she said.
And here I thought she and the boys never talked...
Rachel barely gave a glance back at me as she raced off to the play area, so I got to have a nice long talk with Linda and Doug. It was almost like having a grownup coffee date, except for the shrieking kids in the background. Once Rachel figured out where we were sitting, she came over once in a while to visit, then raced off again. A couple of times she asked me to come in the play structure with her, and we had a great time sliding down the incredibly steep and fast slides. I now know better than to put her on my lap and slide down together -- something about our body weights made us go extra fast, and I ended up tumbling on top of her. She laughed, but I got scared and suggested we go down together, but on separate slides.
About 1:15, most of the kids cleared out and it suddenly seemed quieter. Rachel ate a good lunch of hot dog, apples and caramel sauce, and lemonade, and toward the end of the day she begged for a cupcake. I shook my head no, she turned up her big blue eyes at me and pouted, and Linda thought she was adorable. Luckily she listened to me when I insisted she finish her hot dog -- and then she ended up wanting graham crackers instead of the cupcake! Linda wondered how I'd gotten her to change her mind; Rachel often whines for dessert and sweets and ends up leaving half of them on the plate. I think she's like me; she really just wants the taste of something sweet rather than the whole thing.
We stopped by the library on the way home to pick up a book for me to read to Rachel's class when I become HanukkahMom on Tuesday, but EVERYTHING was checked out. Either there are a lot of curious Christians in this city or the library just doesn't stock enough Judaica. I finally put one book on hold at the central library downtown, but I'm unsure of whether to get it; it's about Hanukkah in Poland, and what I really want is a preschool explanation of the holiday. Sigh.
After I put Rachel down for a nap, I spent 90 MINUTES trying to make a decent-looking menorah for Rachel's class. I made it out of blue construction paper, pasted it on a black hardboard, and am including yellow cardboard flames so the kids can "light" the menorah every night while saying the prayer I pasted on the front of the whole thing. After all the time I spent, I can only say that only one of the Lednicer sisters got the art talent in the family, and it wasn't me. I envy Valerie; she'll have the cool art mom who does awesome room projects; Rachel gets the mom whom, um, writes.
Tonight when I put her to sleep, Rachel started telling me a whole story of how she is a horse princess. She's white with a pink collar, and Daddy is a gray horse with a blue collar, and I'm a brown horse with a brown collar, and she lives in a big field, and she wears a rainbow dress and a flower dress, and she is the Horse Princess of the Flowers. She told me she'd wake me up tomorrow morning, and I told her no, please, let me wake YOU up, and she said we'd wake each other up, and hopefully I'd have enough time to get to Horse Work on time. And this paragraph doesn't sound nearly as cute as Rachel does when she tells it to me in the dark, snuggled up against me in her afghan.
Cute Rachel-isms today:
"Even when I'm a grown woman, would you and Daddy carry me around when I'm scared?" she asked in the car on the way home. I assure her we would.
***
"We need a bigger house," she said, also on the way home from Playdate PDX.
"Why do we need a bigger house, sweetie?" I asked.
"So we can have more kids," she said.
"You mean more kids in the house, or so Mommy can have more babies?" I asked.
"So Mommy can have more babies," she answered.
I sighed, and she asked me why I was sighing.
"I'd love that, too," Rachel," I said.
***
Speaking of Playdate PDX, Andrew is quite a bit older than Rachel and I've always assumed they don't interact much. He goes to real school, she goes to preschool; she's a girl, he's a boy.
So imagine my surprise that as soon as I buckled her into her carseat after we left Playdate PDX, she started singing: "Jingle bells, jingle bells/Robin laid an egg/Batmobile lost a wheel/and Joker got away."
"Where did you LEARN that?" I gasped.
"Andrew taught it to me," she said.
And here I thought she and the boys never talked...
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Peacock Lane
I've had a bad last two days at work -- interpersonal conflict with a colleague -- and so I was determined to do something fun tonight with Rachel.
We ended up visiting Peacock Lane, a street of tricked-out houses for the holidays. Every house on the block has unbelievable Christmas decorations; there's a booth with free hot chocolate and apple cider; and crowds of people walk up and down the sidewalk to admire the decorations.It was one of two nights in December when it was pedestrian-only; the street was closed to traffic and onlookers clumped up in front of houses, madly taking pictures and oohing and aaha-ing.
It was a hassle to find parking and walk in the damp air without a stroller, but it was worth it as soon as we arrived. "Ohhhh!" Rachel said, her whole face aglow. "MOMMY!!!!"
Her eyes remained lit up the entire time, right up until she decided she was hungry and I raced us home for a quick Shabbat dinner. Rachel insisted that I color some pages from her coloring book that I started last night and didn't manage to finish today. I promised I'd finish them after breakfast -- just about the time that I'll need to bake cookies (or maybe a cake) for our friend Deni's Christmas party tomorrow night.
We ended up visiting Peacock Lane, a street of tricked-out houses for the holidays. Every house on the block has unbelievable Christmas decorations; there's a booth with free hot chocolate and apple cider; and crowds of people walk up and down the sidewalk to admire the decorations.It was one of two nights in December when it was pedestrian-only; the street was closed to traffic and onlookers clumped up in front of houses, madly taking pictures and oohing and aaha-ing.
It was a hassle to find parking and walk in the damp air without a stroller, but it was worth it as soon as we arrived. "Ohhhh!" Rachel said, her whole face aglow. "MOMMY!!!!"
Her eyes remained lit up the entire time, right up until she decided she was hungry and I raced us home for a quick Shabbat dinner. Rachel insisted that I color some pages from her coloring book that I started last night and didn't manage to finish today. I promised I'd finish them after breakfast -- just about the time that I'll need to bake cookies (or maybe a cake) for our friend Deni's Christmas party tomorrow night.
Hanukkah Mom's debut edges closer...
I am officially on the preschool schedule for next week: "Special visit from Rachel DeSilver's mom to learn about Hanukkah!" Last night Rachel and I went to the Dollar Tree store -- everything is $1; I can't believe I've never been there before -- and we picked up a bunch of crafts for the menorah I plan to make this weekend in preparation for the visit to Rachel's class on Tuesday. Apparently the kids will also be making a classroom menorah, eating Hanukkah treats, learning about Hanukkah and working on "Hanukkah coloring sheets" that week.
I can only guess what the plans will be for Diwali. Or Eid-el-Fitr.
Special note to Mom and Dad: Rachel can sing the Hanukkah song! IN YIDDISH. I swear, you can understand every part of the song she sings. Drew was extremely impressed and hoped you would feel equally so that his 3 1/2-year-old daughter can already speak some Yiddish. He thinks that's way cool. So do I.
***
Speaking of languages, on the way to school this morning Rachel asked me to speak some Spanish and French. Then she asked me how to say "I love you" in both languages. That says a lot about the kind of kid she is -- sweet and thoughtful. As I was getting ready to leave the bedroom this morning, she knelt down and slid my slippers onto my feet and pulled down the leg of my pajamas, which had slid upward almost to my knee. Really, it's like having a little chambermaid in my house.
***
"I like waking you up in the morning," Rachel said as we were driving home. "I like to warn you that morning is here." (Later I told her to please, please let Mommy and Daddy sleep late tomorrow).
I can only guess what the plans will be for Diwali. Or Eid-el-Fitr.
Special note to Mom and Dad: Rachel can sing the Hanukkah song! IN YIDDISH. I swear, you can understand every part of the song she sings. Drew was extremely impressed and hoped you would feel equally so that his 3 1/2-year-old daughter can already speak some Yiddish. He thinks that's way cool. So do I.
***
Speaking of languages, on the way to school this morning Rachel asked me to speak some Spanish and French. Then she asked me how to say "I love you" in both languages. That says a lot about the kind of kid she is -- sweet and thoughtful. As I was getting ready to leave the bedroom this morning, she knelt down and slid my slippers onto my feet and pulled down the leg of my pajamas, which had slid upward almost to my knee. Really, it's like having a little chambermaid in my house.
***
"I like waking you up in the morning," Rachel said as we were driving home. "I like to warn you that morning is here." (Later I told her to please, please let Mommy and Daddy sleep late tomorrow).
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Rachel loves the rain
It has been raining for the past 24 hours after a two-week reprieve:
"I like the rain," Rachel said. "It helps all the plants to grow."
Later she said: "I have a wonderful surprise, ok? It's a watering can, and I can rummage around the house when it's dry and water the plants, OK?"
I made up a story today, at her request, about Christmas lights. It was about a family with twin girls (also at Rachel's insistence) named Anna and Sarah who had lots of Christmas lights every year, along with every other house in town, but then all the daddies started losing their jobs, and the mommies did, too, and soon none of the houses except Anna's and Sarah's had lights...
"And if I had jobs I would give out lots of jobs to all the daddies," Rachel interrupted.
The story ended with Anna and Sarah and their parents deciding to give some of their lights to every house in town -- but to do it during the day, when the daddies were looking for jobs and the mommies are taking the kids to activities, so no one knew what Anna and Sarah had done until the night, when the lights came on...
"...and then I'd wave a magic wand and all the houses would disappear!" Rachel concluded.
"I like the rain," Rachel said. "It helps all the plants to grow."
Later she said: "I have a wonderful surprise, ok? It's a watering can, and I can rummage around the house when it's dry and water the plants, OK?"
I made up a story today, at her request, about Christmas lights. It was about a family with twin girls (also at Rachel's insistence) named Anna and Sarah who had lots of Christmas lights every year, along with every other house in town, but then all the daddies started losing their jobs, and the mommies did, too, and soon none of the houses except Anna's and Sarah's had lights...
"And if I had jobs I would give out lots of jobs to all the daddies," Rachel interrupted.
The story ended with Anna and Sarah and their parents deciding to give some of their lights to every house in town -- but to do it during the day, when the daddies were looking for jobs and the mommies are taking the kids to activities, so no one knew what Anna and Sarah had done until the night, when the lights came on...
"...and then I'd wave a magic wand and all the houses would disappear!" Rachel concluded.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Too close for comfort
Tonight Rachel asked Drew, "Daddy, how old are you?" (I've told her the real number several times but she doesn't appear to remember).
"A million," Drew answered nonchalantly.
"Nooo," Rachel said sweetly. I chimed in that NO ONE can be a million years old!
"How old do you think I am?" Drew asked.
"51!" she exclaimed.
I laughed so hard I pounded the table. Drew joined in.
"The thing is, it's too close!!" Drew yelped. "It's too close for comfort!"
(The real answer, for those of you counting at home, is...46).
"A million," Drew answered nonchalantly.
"Nooo," Rachel said sweetly. I chimed in that NO ONE can be a million years old!
"How old do you think I am?" Drew asked.
"51!" she exclaimed.
I laughed so hard I pounded the table. Drew joined in.
"The thing is, it's too close!!" Drew yelped. "It's too close for comfort!"
(The real answer, for those of you counting at home, is...46).
ROAR!!!
Rachel's latest way of having fun is pretending she's a lion or tiger and scaring Drew and me. Most of the time, it's true, she enlists my help in scaring Drew when he's downstairs showering or returning from running errands. Then Rachel and I will whisper that it's a good idea to try to frighten Daddy, so she'll say, "I've got a great idea! Let's roar him!"
We were cuddling in the glider last night while Drew was finishing up a high-profile story in the latest of his "Bankers Behaving Badly" beat stories. She whispered to me, "When Daddy comes upstairs, let's roar him."
"Are we tigers or lions?" I asked.
"Lions," she decided.
The great thing is, whenever we both roar at Drew, he really does appear startled. There's nothing like a low Mommy roar accompanied by the tiny roar of a 3 1/2 year old trying to look fierce that is enough to make you collapse with laughter.
We were cuddling in the glider last night while Drew was finishing up a high-profile story in the latest of his "Bankers Behaving Badly" beat stories. She whispered to me, "When Daddy comes upstairs, let's roar him."
"Are we tigers or lions?" I asked.
"Lions," she decided.
The great thing is, whenever we both roar at Drew, he really does appear startled. There's nothing like a low Mommy roar accompanied by the tiny roar of a 3 1/2 year old trying to look fierce that is enough to make you collapse with laughter.
The latest Rachel-isms
Here's what The Cute One said today:
We are supposedly on the do-not-call list, but we still get annoying telemarketers calling during dinnertime. I used to jump up and answer the phone, but a couple of months ago I just stopped. When Rachel would tell me to answer it, I started saying, "I'm just going to let it go." She picked that up from me and now SHE says, "Just let it go." (Trying to communicate the importance of the dinner hour being sacred).
Tonight, while we were all eating Drew's spaghetti and meatballs at around 8 p.m., THE PHONE RANG.
"You should let that go, Dad," Rachel said in her most grown-up voice. "I think it's a telemarketer."
***
Rachel was telling us about a boy named Vicente that had pushed and hit her and her friend Devin at school today. We acted shocked and dismayed and told her he had behaved badly.
"I don't push and hit," she said. Then she thought about it for a second and said, "I like pushing buildings."
We told her that was perfectly okay.
***
Rachel also noticed a bow left over from the Hanukkah gifts I mailed to Mom, Dad, Darryl, Daniella and Duckie today.
"Will you buy me a bow at the store for my present?" she asked, a little plaintively.
Drew nodded yes.
"OK," Rachel said. "That's a good idea."
***
I was upstairs sorting through some documents for a story I'm writing when Rachel quietly crept up the stairs (though not so quietly that I couldn't hear her quiet little breaths) and yelled, "ROAR!"
When I drew her onto my lap and hugged and kissed her goodnight, she gave me a little kiss, got up, and said this just before she went back downstairs:
"When it's time for you to go to sleep and you get distracted of work, you gotta go straight to sleep," she ordered. I could only thank her for looking out for me.
We are supposedly on the do-not-call list, but we still get annoying telemarketers calling during dinnertime. I used to jump up and answer the phone, but a couple of months ago I just stopped. When Rachel would tell me to answer it, I started saying, "I'm just going to let it go." She picked that up from me and now SHE says, "Just let it go." (Trying to communicate the importance of the dinner hour being sacred).
Tonight, while we were all eating Drew's spaghetti and meatballs at around 8 p.m., THE PHONE RANG.
"You should let that go, Dad," Rachel said in her most grown-up voice. "I think it's a telemarketer."
***
Rachel was telling us about a boy named Vicente that had pushed and hit her and her friend Devin at school today. We acted shocked and dismayed and told her he had behaved badly.
"I don't push and hit," she said. Then she thought about it for a second and said, "I like pushing buildings."
We told her that was perfectly okay.
***
Rachel also noticed a bow left over from the Hanukkah gifts I mailed to Mom, Dad, Darryl, Daniella and Duckie today.
"Will you buy me a bow at the store for my present?" she asked, a little plaintively.
Drew nodded yes.
"OK," Rachel said. "That's a good idea."
***
I was upstairs sorting through some documents for a story I'm writing when Rachel quietly crept up the stairs (though not so quietly that I couldn't hear her quiet little breaths) and yelled, "ROAR!"
When I drew her onto my lap and hugged and kissed her goodnight, she gave me a little kiss, got up, and said this just before she went back downstairs:
"When it's time for you to go to sleep and you get distracted of work, you gotta go straight to sleep," she ordered. I could only thank her for looking out for me.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Rachel has a rough night
I got home late from work tonight to find a solemn Rachel in the kitchen. Drew was kind of quiet, too.
"What's the matter?" I asked, immediately sensing the mood.
Drew informed me that Rachel had accidentally dropped her little red plastic chair because she wanted to help Drew make dinner, and she dropped it on her toe. She yelped. Then a little later, she accidentally dropped Drew's salad and started crying. "I'm worried you'll be mad at me," she said.
"Sweetie, I'm not mad at you," Drew said soothingly. "Everybody has accidents. But the important thing is to figure out why you had the accident and to figure out how not to have it in the future. Because anybody can have an accident, but only some people can learn from their accidents. And if you're one of those people, you'll be better off than everyone else. Do you understand?"
She nodded her little head and Drew gave her a kiss.
***
Last night Rachel and I were reading books by the firelight (she brought in two books from her bedroom and said I could read one book and she could "read" the other. I ended up reading her both, of course).
One book was "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes," a book about all the babies who are born in the world. It used to make me cry while I read it to her as a baby, because there's a part that talks about a baby that was "truly divine, because THIS little baby is mine, all mine," and it captured exactly what I felt about Rachel.
Then I read the first "Knuffle Bunny" book, which made me teary-eyed. I was also completely exhausted from lack of sleep over the past week or so. I drew Rachel in to my lap and whispered, "please don't grow up too fast, OK?"
"Okay," she said cheerfully. "I probably won't grow up because I don't eat my vegetables."
I, of course, cracked up.
***
When Drew picked Rachel up from preschool today, she was playing with a kid in her class named Andrew. He marched right up to Drew and said, "Can I come to your house and play with Rachel? It'll be a playdate!"
Drew said he'd have to arrange it with Andrew's mommy and daddy. If it happens, it will be the first boy playdate we've had (besides Noah, of course; he and Rachel are really fond of each other). Good to see that Rachel doesn't think all boys are "awful," although she does tend to take my side against Drew when he does something, um, boy-like.
"What's the matter?" I asked, immediately sensing the mood.
Drew informed me that Rachel had accidentally dropped her little red plastic chair because she wanted to help Drew make dinner, and she dropped it on her toe. She yelped. Then a little later, she accidentally dropped Drew's salad and started crying. "I'm worried you'll be mad at me," she said.
"Sweetie, I'm not mad at you," Drew said soothingly. "Everybody has accidents. But the important thing is to figure out why you had the accident and to figure out how not to have it in the future. Because anybody can have an accident, but only some people can learn from their accidents. And if you're one of those people, you'll be better off than everyone else. Do you understand?"
She nodded her little head and Drew gave her a kiss.
***
Last night Rachel and I were reading books by the firelight (she brought in two books from her bedroom and said I could read one book and she could "read" the other. I ended up reading her both, of course).
One book was "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes," a book about all the babies who are born in the world. It used to make me cry while I read it to her as a baby, because there's a part that talks about a baby that was "truly divine, because THIS little baby is mine, all mine," and it captured exactly what I felt about Rachel.
Then I read the first "Knuffle Bunny" book, which made me teary-eyed. I was also completely exhausted from lack of sleep over the past week or so. I drew Rachel in to my lap and whispered, "please don't grow up too fast, OK?"
"Okay," she said cheerfully. "I probably won't grow up because I don't eat my vegetables."
I, of course, cracked up.
***
When Drew picked Rachel up from preschool today, she was playing with a kid in her class named Andrew. He marched right up to Drew and said, "Can I come to your house and play with Rachel? It'll be a playdate!"
Drew said he'd have to arrange it with Andrew's mommy and daddy. If it happens, it will be the first boy playdate we've had (besides Noah, of course; he and Rachel are really fond of each other). Good to see that Rachel doesn't think all boys are "awful," although she does tend to take my side against Drew when he does something, um, boy-like.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sweet girl
We spent today (the morning part of it, anyway) at my friend Amy's house with her husband Greg and the boys -- Tony, 8, and Jake, almost 5. We brought over some homemade gingerbread and had brunch. The kids played more or less together (Jake sulked when Tony paid attention to Rachel) and then Rachel asked Tony if she could go upstairs and play with his toys. He took her upstairs and then rejoined us downstairs.
After a while we heard a bloodcurdling scream, "DAADDYYY!" Drew went upstairs to investigate, then brought Rachel back down and sat on the living room couch with her, reading books. When I asked him later what had happened, he said that Rachel had accidentally turned on one of the toys and a song started playing. It was loud, and, as she told Drew, "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stop it and it would keep the boys awake."
I was totally speechless, and Amy was impressed. "She's so empathetic!" she said. "You can't teach that, you know."
Drew told us that he commented to Rachel about how she likes putting stickers on people. (She put three flamingos on Greg and one on me; and after we had moved into the kitchen and she was eating a piece of gingergread, she gave part of the piece to me and part of it to Drew, and then offered the rest to Amy and Greg). "I like giving people stickers because it cheers them up," she explained.
Later she sat on Amy's lap while Amy played the electric piano she and Greg recently bought. It was lovely hearing Christmas carols and then "Go Tell It On The Mountain." The house was filled with Christmas trees and decorations; it was very festive.
On the way home we talked about all the things we had to do with the rest of the day. "I can help you guys!" Rachel exclaimed.
Truly, we are lucky to have such a kind, compassionate daughter!
After a while we heard a bloodcurdling scream, "DAADDYYY!" Drew went upstairs to investigate, then brought Rachel back down and sat on the living room couch with her, reading books. When I asked him later what had happened, he said that Rachel had accidentally turned on one of the toys and a song started playing. It was loud, and, as she told Drew, "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to stop it and it would keep the boys awake."
I was totally speechless, and Amy was impressed. "She's so empathetic!" she said. "You can't teach that, you know."
Drew told us that he commented to Rachel about how she likes putting stickers on people. (She put three flamingos on Greg and one on me; and after we had moved into the kitchen and she was eating a piece of gingergread, she gave part of the piece to me and part of it to Drew, and then offered the rest to Amy and Greg). "I like giving people stickers because it cheers them up," she explained.
Later she sat on Amy's lap while Amy played the electric piano she and Greg recently bought. It was lovely hearing Christmas carols and then "Go Tell It On The Mountain." The house was filled with Christmas trees and decorations; it was very festive.
On the way home we talked about all the things we had to do with the rest of the day. "I can help you guys!" Rachel exclaimed.
Truly, we are lucky to have such a kind, compassionate daughter!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Cookie party!
Today was the first of...let's see...two cookie exchanges, one brunch, two holiday parties, two Hanukkah parties, one Hanukkah celebration at synagogue, one dinner for a friend, one New Year's Eve celebration in Seattle. I'm probably forgetting something. Most of this hasn't even happened yet and I'm already pooped.
Anyway....today was a cookie exchange at the holiday party for the NU Club of Portland (I interview prospective NU students as part of the NU Alumni Association). It was at a lavish house 11 blocks from ours; gorgeous kitchen, great kids' play area in the basement, lovely old woodwork, a comfortable porch -- just what you'd expect from 1911 construction. Rachel spent most of the time playing downstairs and watching the Christmas version of the movie "Shrek." I left a little early because I had work to do at home, and as I walked through our neighborhood I was struck by how beautiful it looks this time of year, with Christmas trees in the living room and lights outside. I was especially touched by the Jewish house I saw with a menorah in every window, a treehouse decorated in blue and white lights, and dreidel stickers on the front door. Almost went up and knocked and said how nice it was to know that my neighborhood isn't totally Christian.
Rachel got some nasty cuts on her face today; while she was with Drew at the farmer's market, they went inside Portland State University to warm up, and she ran to him and crashed into the edge of a very sharp table. We put princess Band-Aids on the cuts under and above her eye; poor little thing looks like a prizefighter. I told her that because she's so little and growing so fast, the cuts should heal fast, too. I hope I'm right; I hate to have to explain what happened to the preschool teachers.
I was a bit blue today and Rachel picked up on it. While I was upstairs sorting through papers for the story I'm working on, she came up to me and put a heart sticker on my chest. "This is to cheer you up," she said. I told her she was such a wonderful little girl to think of me.
She's also developing a taste for old-timey music. "Paper Moon" played on the CD today, part of "Big Band" series of CDs I like to play, and as soon as it came on she told me, "I like this song because it cheers me up." Love that she's developing an appreciation for the classics!
Anyway....today was a cookie exchange at the holiday party for the NU Club of Portland (I interview prospective NU students as part of the NU Alumni Association). It was at a lavish house 11 blocks from ours; gorgeous kitchen, great kids' play area in the basement, lovely old woodwork, a comfortable porch -- just what you'd expect from 1911 construction. Rachel spent most of the time playing downstairs and watching the Christmas version of the movie "Shrek." I left a little early because I had work to do at home, and as I walked through our neighborhood I was struck by how beautiful it looks this time of year, with Christmas trees in the living room and lights outside. I was especially touched by the Jewish house I saw with a menorah in every window, a treehouse decorated in blue and white lights, and dreidel stickers on the front door. Almost went up and knocked and said how nice it was to know that my neighborhood isn't totally Christian.
Rachel got some nasty cuts on her face today; while she was with Drew at the farmer's market, they went inside Portland State University to warm up, and she ran to him and crashed into the edge of a very sharp table. We put princess Band-Aids on the cuts under and above her eye; poor little thing looks like a prizefighter. I told her that because she's so little and growing so fast, the cuts should heal fast, too. I hope I'm right; I hate to have to explain what happened to the preschool teachers.
I was a bit blue today and Rachel picked up on it. While I was upstairs sorting through papers for the story I'm working on, she came up to me and put a heart sticker on my chest. "This is to cheer you up," she said. I told her she was such a wonderful little girl to think of me.
She's also developing a taste for old-timey music. "Paper Moon" played on the CD today, part of "Big Band" series of CDs I like to play, and as soon as it came on she told me, "I like this song because it cheers me up." Love that she's developing an appreciation for the classics!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Rachel invents a word
Tonight Rachel finished a lollipop for dessert (she at a plateful of pasta shells, which is about all she eats for dinner these days except when we have chicken, duck or turkey soup. It's maddening that she won't even TRY vegetables. I can only hope she still develops normally) and she needed to know which place to put it...the paper garbage? Compost? Recycling?
"Is that garbageable?" she asked.
Astonished, I asked, "Did you hear Daddy say that? Or did you make that word up all by yourself?"
She smiled and said she made it up. I said something about her being very imaginative. Really, it's a great word. (And by the way, the lollipop stick went into the paper garbage. Apparently the first episode of "Portlandia," which airs Jan. 6, has a wonderful take on this city's obsession with recycling).
***
The stakes are getting higher for Hanukkah Mom: Rachel (and presumably her entire class) now knows the dreidel song: "Oh, dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it's dry and ready, my dreidel I shall play." And today, Teacher Erin informed me that the pastor of St. James wants to sit it on my talk. Great, now I'll actually have to be thorough and accurate. Perhaps I should just drop of the sufganyot and let them figure things out for themselves....
"Is that garbageable?" she asked.
Astonished, I asked, "Did you hear Daddy say that? Or did you make that word up all by yourself?"
She smiled and said she made it up. I said something about her being very imaginative. Really, it's a great word. (And by the way, the lollipop stick went into the paper garbage. Apparently the first episode of "Portlandia," which airs Jan. 6, has a wonderful take on this city's obsession with recycling).
***
The stakes are getting higher for Hanukkah Mom: Rachel (and presumably her entire class) now knows the dreidel song: "Oh, dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made it out of clay, and when it's dry and ready, my dreidel I shall play." And today, Teacher Erin informed me that the pastor of St. James wants to sit it on my talk. Great, now I'll actually have to be thorough and accurate. Perhaps I should just drop of the sufganyot and let them figure things out for themselves....
Monday, December 5, 2011
Hanukkah Mom
And so my life as a cultural ambassador begins: I was asked (actually, Drew was asked) to invite me to give a talk about HANUKKAH to the kids at St. James. Yes, it's a Lutheran church but a lot of non-observant Christians go there and I was very surprised to hear that Rachel is the only Jewish kid in her whole preschool. So guess who gets to try to convince all the children that Hanukkah is really a better deal than Christmas because you get EIGHT presents instead of one, and you don't have to listen to Daddy curse as he trips over the Christmas lights, and eating ham is a lot more boring than sufganyot and latkes??
I plan to head to a craft store and make a big menorah out of construction paper, complete with candles that the kids can "light" just before they head home for the night. And you bet I'm going to play up the Maccabees' victory (which all the warrior kids will love) and ply everyone with jelly donuts (homemade, if I can manage it) and teach them the dreidel song, plus the song in Yiddish than Mom and Dad taught us when we were kids...Rachel can almost sing it by herself! A 3 1/2 year old learning Yiddish! In America! Oy vey!
***
Tonight Rachel said that she and Andrew, a kid in her class, were playing "werewolves" in school today, and that they tried to scare all the other kids.
"We were running around and getting lots of exercise," she said. "He was a boy one and I was a girl one."
***
One of the reasons I'm glad to be teaching the kids Hanukkah songs is that Rachel has already started memorizing Christmas songs. Nothing with Little Lord Jesus, thank God, but enough mentioning Christmas that I can't help wincing (in fairness, she asks me to sing her the Yiddish Hanukkah song almost every night).
It's also my fault that I play albums like "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and some other Christmas-themed albums because, let's face it, there aren't any decent Hanukkah albums out there (I'm hoping Paul McCartney's recent marriage to a Jewish socialite will change that; he supposedly is converting to Judaism next year). Anyway, Rachel listened to a verison of "Do you hear what I hear?" and instead of "a child, a child/shivers in the cold/we will bring him silver and gold," she substituted, "the bumblebees, the bumblebees/we will bring them pollen/we will bring them pollen," which I thought was completely adorable.
***
She was so sweet tonight; as we cuddled in her bed together, she reached over to me, just like I do to her, and swiped my nose gently with her index finger, then kissed me softly on my cheek and lips. And just before she fell asleep, she kept patting my cheeks with her little hand.
Yes, it's true: I'm in love.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
We have reading!!
Drew, who is by far the better parent than I (me?), always is searching for teachable moments with Rachel. For instance, she knows the basics of very simple subtraction because while she was working away at her Halloween gummy bears, he'd say, "OK, you have 6 bears on your plate. What's six takeaway one?"
It took her a couple of tries, but now she knows to say, "Five!"
When she gets down to one, and Drew says, "What's one takeaway one?"
"Zero!" she shouts.
Drew apparently doesn't intend to introduce her to negative numbers. Yet.
***
OK, so tonight I was mixing up some chocolate quick bread as part of a fundraiser for our synagogue (the auction winner gets one quick bread per month from me, for six months; we're starting with chocolate peppermint bread and moving on to gingerbread, pumpkin bread, cinnamon streusel bread, banana chocolate chip bread and finishing up with orange tea bread) when Drew came in and announced flatly, "Rachel can read."
"What?!?" I gasped. "You really need to let me turn off the mixer before you drop a bombshell like that."
Turns out there was a reason she didn't get to bed tonight until after 10 -- they were reading "Snow White" for the millionth time, and Rachel asked, as usual, what certain words meant, and then Rachel started sounding them out, like Drew told her to, and after a couple of tries she can now read "the" wherever it appears in the story. And "snow." and "white."
She may, in fact, be reading even before she's 4! War and Peace, anyone??
***
Cute Rachel sayings today:
At breakfast this morning, she asked me, "Is today a school day?"
"No, sweetie!" I answered cheerfully.
"Yay!" she said. Then added in a singsongy voice, "I can fool around!!"
***
Drew and I were up quite late last night -- me watching an escapist movie because I really needed to; Drew finishing up the latest book he's reviewing for the Seattle Times. Result: We slept quite late this morning -- until 9ish -- and Rachel, bless her little heart, was so quiet! She never even knocked on our door.
Finally I heard her breathing outside, got up, pulled on some clothes and took her into the kitchen.
"I was windering, 'when are they ever gonna wake up?' she said. "I was worried!"
***
Drew made cinnamon French toast for breakfast out of the challah he bought yesterday. It was delicious. Rachel noticed our 90-year-old neighbor, Fay, through the kitchen window.
"I'm having cinnamon French toast, neighbor Fay!" she said (Rachel apparently believes "Neighbor Fay" is her name). "Do you want one? Is it yummy?"
It took her a couple of tries, but now she knows to say, "Five!"
When she gets down to one, and Drew says, "What's one takeaway one?"
"Zero!" she shouts.
Drew apparently doesn't intend to introduce her to negative numbers. Yet.
***
OK, so tonight I was mixing up some chocolate quick bread as part of a fundraiser for our synagogue (the auction winner gets one quick bread per month from me, for six months; we're starting with chocolate peppermint bread and moving on to gingerbread, pumpkin bread, cinnamon streusel bread, banana chocolate chip bread and finishing up with orange tea bread) when Drew came in and announced flatly, "Rachel can read."
"What?!?" I gasped. "You really need to let me turn off the mixer before you drop a bombshell like that."
Turns out there was a reason she didn't get to bed tonight until after 10 -- they were reading "Snow White" for the millionth time, and Rachel asked, as usual, what certain words meant, and then Rachel started sounding them out, like Drew told her to, and after a couple of tries she can now read "the" wherever it appears in the story. And "snow." and "white."
She may, in fact, be reading even before she's 4! War and Peace, anyone??
***
Cute Rachel sayings today:
At breakfast this morning, she asked me, "Is today a school day?"
"No, sweetie!" I answered cheerfully.
"Yay!" she said. Then added in a singsongy voice, "I can fool around!!"
***
Drew and I were up quite late last night -- me watching an escapist movie because I really needed to; Drew finishing up the latest book he's reviewing for the Seattle Times. Result: We slept quite late this morning -- until 9ish -- and Rachel, bless her little heart, was so quiet! She never even knocked on our door.
Finally I heard her breathing outside, got up, pulled on some clothes and took her into the kitchen.
"I was windering, 'when are they ever gonna wake up?' she said. "I was worried!"
***
Drew made cinnamon French toast for breakfast out of the challah he bought yesterday. It was delicious. Rachel noticed our 90-year-old neighbor, Fay, through the kitchen window.
"I'm having cinnamon French toast, neighbor Fay!" she said (Rachel apparently believes "Neighbor Fay" is her name). "Do you want one? Is it yummy?"
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