It All Began With a Lost Earring
This morning, as Wil was changing Samara, he yelled: "Babe! She's missing an earring!" "What?!" I shouted back. I was in the kitchen, which is at the complete opposite end of the apartment. "Wait! I found it, it was on the changing table. But the back is gone!" The next thing that occurred was that we each took turns trying to put the backless earring in Samara's ear. One person would hold the baby while the other person would attempt to get the earring in the earring hole. Meanwhile Samara was not happy about this whatsoever. She screamed the whole time, mostly because she was being restrained and wanted to crawl around and eat things. "I have to get a replacement pair of earrings from the doctor!" I exclaimed. "What are you talking about?!" Wil replied "Just go get a pair of cheap earrings at the 99 cent store and use the backs." "No! They're going to get infected!" "Wait, maybe your mom has an earring back downstairs." He said with a gleam in his eye. He ran down to my parents place, and swiftly came back up with an earring back. But, alas, it didn't fit! I had to [...]
Ten Years Ago…9/11
Here is what I remember:I was a senior in college at NYU (New York University) and living at home in Brooklyn. The evening of 9/10/01, I stayed over at my friend Brian's dorm. We had the same political science class in the morning. I was asleep. It was morning. I heard a loud "BOOM!" That sounded like a plane crash I thought to myself, but I went back to sleep and put it out of my mind. Shortly thereafter, Brian and I got up and headed to class. When we got outside the dorm, Rubin Hall, which was located on 10th street and 5th Avenue, there was a crowd of people standing completely still looking in the direction of downtown Manhattan. We approached the crowd to see what they were looking at. One of the Twin Towers was on fire. We stood there transfixed. We didn't know what to do. So we went to class. To this day, I can't believe that we went to class. Our class was, ironically, a political science course that addressed terrorism. I can't remember it's exact name, but I know it had the word "War" in the title of the course--"War and Morality" maybe? [...]
Bed Lover
A quick bed update: After being bribed with stickers for days on end, Ari finally slept in his bed last night for the entire night! In fact, he's in his bed right now sound asleep and it's only 8pm. Excuse me while I relax with Wil's headphones and my neck pillow. What do you do when your kids are asleep?
Marking His Territory
Ari has taken to peeing...everywhere. After he pees in a place that is not the toilet, he has a variety of reactions includingDelight/Amazement"Look! I peed in the cat's water bowl." "I peed in Samara's crib!"Shame "Mommy, I peed in my underwear."Frustration: ARI:"I peed in my bed." ME: Why did you do that?!" ARI: [Sighs loudly]Because I wanted to go to the potty!I took him to the pediatrician, and he doesn't have a urinary tract infection, so that's out. It appears to be a behavioral issue. I've heard of kids going through "potty-training regression"; I wonder if that's what this is.Maybe it's a jealousy thing? Now that Samara is crawling and more of a person, perhaps he's feeling a little envious that she's getting more attention than him? Whatever the case may be, it's so hard to stay calm when he pees in absurd places. So, what do I do? How do I handle this behavior? Thoughts?
Get Out Of My Bed And Into Yours
Since Ari was 20 months old he was able to climb out of the crib. Once he realized he could do this fantastic trick, all bets were off. The next logical solution was to ditch the crib and get him a real bed. I tried that and it worked...for a while. Then he started having night terrors, and eventually he found his way into my bed, along with Simon the cat. On top of that, I became pregnant with Samara, when Ari turned two, and I started freaking out about how I would continue to co-sleep once she was born. Co-sleeping was fine while I was pregnant and too tired to deal with putting Ari back in his own bed...until Ari decided that he was an insomniac. Thankfully, my friend Leigh offered a great solution of audio books, which seemed to calm him down enough to sleep at night...for a while. After Samara was born, nobody in this house, including the cats, really slept more than three hours at a time for about seven months. Thankfully, Samara sleeps through the night now, so I decided it was high time to get Ari in his own bed. I've been so cranky [...]
Uncle Dan Proposes to Uncle Dan
Yesterday, at a fantastic Italian restaurant in Long Island City, NY, Ari and Samara's Uncle Dan proposed to his boyfriend of seven years, Uncle Dan. That's right folks, my kids have not one but two Uncle Dans. Wil had to work, sadly, so he missed the proposal, but Ari, Samara and I were there to see it. It was incredibly romantic. I almost cried. Ari was transfixed and didn't say a word throughout the whole thing, a miracle for this loquacious three-year-old. Here's how the whole thing went down: The day before the big event, I told Ari what Uncle Dan had planned and here were his thoughts: I'm so happy for my Brother-in-Laws! Mazel Tov/Congratulations Uncle Dans!
Sibling Rivalry
When I was pregnant with Samara, I had no idea how Ari would react once she came along. I'd heard stories of older children becoming jealous of their new younger sibling, but I didn't know if that would happen in my house or not. Typical me, I dove head first into having a second child without thinking about what might transpire. At first, Ari was excited about having a younger sister. When Samara was a newborn, Ari was a big helper. He would comfort her when she cried, help me throw away her dirty diapers and sing her lullabies to help her go to sleep. He did display some jealousy as well, but I wasn't shocked by it, because (as I said) I've heard that older siblings typically become jealous when a new baby enters the household. When I say Ari was jealous, I mean he would get upset and start acting out when I nursed Samara. If Wil was holding Samara, Ari would demand his attention at that very moment. But once Ari got used to the idea that Samara was here to stay, his demands for attention at inopportune moments subsided, and he accepted that Samara ate and [...]
Samara’s a Person!
All of a sudden, Samara is no longer a lump, but rather a person. When each of my kids were born, they seemed like little blobs that cried and pooped a lot. But now, Samara is seven months and she's really starting to become expressive. She is quite a character. Samara has decided that she loves cheese, anything from Cheddar to Havarti. She crawls and sits up now, which makes life a little easier, but also more challenging because I have to watch her more carefully. She loves playing with her big brother. Ari loves bossing her around, and hoarding his toys. They both enjoy screaming, because it's something they can do together. She has at least one tooth! There might be a second one on the way, but I know for a fact that there's at least one out there. It's wonderful to see Samara grow and change and become a "real person." I wonder what she'll be like at Ari's age. When (at what age) do you feel like your kid's "personality" began to come out?
Older Brother Knows Best- The Little Dietitian
I was trying to feed Samara her scrumptious dinner of Earth's Best Sweet Potato and Chicken baby food, but she decided that she wanted nothing to do with baby food at all. Each time I attempted to spoon feed her, she screamed. Ari said: "Excuse me mommy, Samara wants Cheerios!" "Okay, you think so," I said skeptically "Hand me the Cheerios please." "Only a few mommy. I want Cheerios too." He said definitively. I bit a Cheerio in half and put the other half in Samara's mouth. She gobbled it up like it was an M&M. So I decided to get fancy, and intersperse feeding her half eaten Cheerios with spoonfuls of baby food. This was going well for a while, until I turned my back for one minute and this happened: Needless to say, Ari was very upset that Samara spilled her food, and he told her so.
Taking Anti-Bacterial to Another Level
Yesterday I had the most amazing acupuncture session. I was totally relaxed. Then I came home. My mom was watching the kids. I was home for five minutes, and Ari started scratching his butt crack. I told him to go to the bathroom and wash his hands. This is something he's totally capable of doing by himself and has done many times before. Off he went. He was taking a suspiciously long time in the bathroom. So I called out to him: "What are you doing in there?!" He ran out of the bathroom at warp speed and met me and my mom in the living room. He was covered all over his body in a shiny liquid. "What do you have on your body?" I asked, afraid for the answer. "SOAP!" He exclaimed. Apparently, he used the anti-bacterial hand soap everywhere but his hands, go figure. Then, he touched his eyes and began to scream. It's totally understandable since that stuff burns. So, I rushed him to the bathroom and irrigated his eyes with water for a million years. He was wailing the whole time, poor guy! My mom stayed with Samara while this was all going on. Then [...]
Parenting is Like Pulling An All-Nighter to Study For an Exam
I've been thinking about parenting a lot lately. There are phases or milestones that I got through with Ari that seem like a very distant memory. I can barely remember how I dealt with certain behaviors. I remember when Ari was a baby, I told myself I would absorb each moment. I wouldn't forget. I could advise my friends when they became parents what to do, how to react, what to say. But now, I can't remember a lot.Parenting is like staying up all night for an exam. You'll only have to take the test once, and it's unlikely you'll need the material again. I mean, once your kid isn't two-years-old anymore, you won't need to know how to deal with a two-year-old on a daily basis. Your brain can release that information and it can be absorbed by osmosis. But, maybe someday, you'll have another kid or you'll be a grandparent, and you'll need to remember how two-year-olds act. Or perhaps your friend will need you to watch his/her kid for a few hours while he/she goes to the supermarket or the movies.So, I've decided that while my memory is fresh, the best thing to do is write down [...]
A Momentous Day For Ari
Ari often watches Wil and I do household chores. I feel like I am constantly in the kitchen doing the dishes with two little eyes spying on me.Today, when Wil was finishing up doing the dishes after dinner, Ari said:"I wanna help you Daddy.""I'm all done with the dishes bud." Wil told him as he put the last plate on the drying rack.But then, as he often does, Ari requested to eat something other than what we were having for dinner, a peanut butter and honey sandwich. So there was another dish to do. I knew he was up for the job!"Ari, do you want to learn how to wash dishes?" I asked"Yes!" He replied enthusiastically.And so he washed his first dish ever in life, at three-years-old.I'm going to remember this day when he's a teenager and refuses to go near a sink full of dirty dishes.
A Momentous Day For Samara
There are some memories that stay with you. I vividly recall that day. I was eight-years-old and I was coming out of after school. I was ready. Or...at least I thought I was. My G-d sister, Remy, and I, went to a pharmacy near my elementary school where the deed was to be done. I sat on a stool waiting. And then the gun came out. I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my ear lobe and it surged throughout my whole head. "I don't want to do the other one!" I said running up against the wall of the pharmacy. "You have to do the other one!" Remy said. "You're gonna look weird with one earring." I waited for my heart to stop racing, and then I closed my eyes...the pain again. But after that...it was done. My ears were pierced. I didn't want Samara to go through any of that. So here's what we did today: Do you have an ear piercing story to share?
An Interview With Ari
As soon as Ari turned three, he's had a lot to say. Recently, we took the time to have a sit down interview. Enjoy!
How a Giant Zit Landed Me in The Hospital
When I was a teenager, I never broke out. Maybe one or two pimples here and there, but nothing to write home about. Recently, however, I’ve had a serious of three enormous pimples. They looked more like cysts, actually. I am 31 years old and now I’m finally getting pimples. Oy! Anyway, the last of these zits was very persistent, and dare I say angry. I didn’t mess with it, because it was quite painful on it’s own. The only thing I did do was something my mom taught me to do, place hot compresses on it. Unfortunately, by day 3 of having this thing, this zit was about the size of a large grape and angrily red. My parents were in Las Vegas at the time, so I called me friend Donna, and begged her to come with me to the Emergency Room, while Wil watched the kids. *** After two and a half hours of waiting, which (by the way) is not bad for an E.R., the E.R. doctor diagnosed my supposed zit as folliculitis, or an ingrown hair follicle that became infected. He said he’d have to prescribe me an antibiotic, and I explained that I was [...]