On Sunday we celebrated Hanukkah with my family. Michael got a Happy Napper, to add to his collection of about 82 million pillow pets.
(And yes, that is a lovely shot of my finger in that picture.)
There was also the extensive collection of Harry Potter Legos, and about a million other toys.
We started our Hanukkah celebration last night, the first night of Hanukkah. We give a gift a night, and I try to make them relatively small, because he gets so much stuff from both of our parents. Last night we gave him a pirate castle he can color and build himself.
I found it via Cool Mom Picks months and months ago. It seems to be a hit. Which is good, because the companion ship is a gift later in the week.
We ate latkes (my recipe is here) and lit the menorah and had a lovely, relaxed evening.
That is until Doug had to drive an hour to exchange the coat I mistakenly grabbed Monday at karate for Michael's NEW COAT, the day after I replaced the one he lost at school that has never been found. Because all coats are out to get me.
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate. I hope you ate your weight in latkes and were surrounded by nothing but love and light.
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I have tried to be in denial about the holidays. Every time I go on pinterest and I see a Thanksgiving recipe I click away. But the bottom line is the holidays are here, and I need to get with the program. My inbox is filled to the brim with holiday invites, my Thanksgiving turkey is ordered, and my holiday cards are in a box upstairs, waiting to be addressed. And I even have some presents hidden in our storage closet, waiting to be wrapped.
The reason I am in denial about the holidays is that they are just so busy, and never fail to stress me out. Every weekend is jam packed. I feel overwhelmed before they even start. It starts with me hosting Thanksgiving for both families and doesn't end until after New Years. The endless parties and work events and wrapping and holiday cards and I feel like I never have a chance to breath.
I have learned in recent years that I have to say no. I do not have to attend every event we are invited to. I cut my holiday card list way back, simply by ordering less cards. If I haven't spoken to you in a year, you do not need a holiday card. We celebrate Hanukkah, and our tradition is to do one gift a night. I have decided that every gift does not need to be a big gift.
This year, holiday comfort is going to be about keeping close friends and family close, and trying to filter the noise and busyness away. Saying no is okay. Staying home is okay. Buying small gifts, or something homemade is also ok. While this is my 10th year doing Thanksgiving, it never fails to get me completely stressed out. I'm trying to breath and remember that the most important things about the holidays are the people you love, not the perfect mashed potatoes.
Although my mashed potatoes are really good.
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I am the least religious person alive. I may be Jewish, but I also married a non-Jew, and then I demanded my child be raised Jewish. (This is so not the point of this post.) So the "thanks the lord" is an "expression" as Michael likes to say.
The point of this post is this.
You guys, your comments, and emails, and tweets, on this post, a post that was by all accounts whiny and irrational....well, that is why I blog. That is why I show up, day after day, and pour my heart out on these pages. It's not for the glory, or the money, because let's face it, there is not so much of that. It is for all the love and support you all show me.
And all the times I thought about quiting, and over the past four years there have been plenty, well yesterday reminded me why I don't. Because when I feel like I have no where else to turn to there is always here.
And all I could think about yesterday, for some reason, was this song. I do that sometimes, become obsessed with one particular song. And I think I listened to it twenty times yesterday.
I took this week off of work, for the first time ever I took off just because Michael's school was closed. I normally work through school breaks and put him in his after care program. But truth is he hates that and I've gotten leave coming out of my ass and I need a break desperately.
We have no big plans, but a little thing planned everyday. Today we are taking my dad out to lunch for his 65th birthday. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD.) Tomorrow we are going to paint pottery, which is the thing Michael is most excited about. Wednesday we have his 6 year doctor's appointment (um, late much?) and a playdate with a friend from school. Thursday is a class at the Curiosity Zone and Friday, well Friday I have no idea.
I plan to unplug, de stress, and focus on Michael. I'll be on line, but it will be sporadic, and I plan to even PUT THE PHONE DOWN MOMMY.
I hope all who celebrate Passover have a lovely holiday tonight. Don't forget that today is the last day to enter to my contest for a Scout bag or bin.
I know, no one reads blogs on weekends but the weather sucks in DC, so what else are we doing?
(I should be cleaning for Passover. And exercising.)
1. There is still time to enter my contest for a Scout bag. I can not express how much I love these bags, and everyone who sees these bags loves these bags, so go enter.
2. And in case you missed the HUGE ALL IMPORTANT announcement on Friday, Jodifur now has a Facebook fan page. I know! It is so exciting! (It is not even a little bit exciting.) I've decided I'm moving all of the links to places I write over there, so if you want to keep up with everywhere I write go like it. Please?
Michael came home from school on Thursday complaining of a terrible headache. His teacher had written me a note that he had a headache at the end of the day and it just got worse as the day went on. I gave him some tylenol and he was still up all night complaining and unable to sleep.
We only left the house once on Friday, to go to the doctor, for the doctor to tell me he had the flu, even though we got the flu shot. "We missed the mark this year," she said. We went home, lounged around, broke all the screen time and not eating in front of the tv rules.
By Saturday he was feeling a little bit better but not enough to go to karate or do anything. I spent most of the day reading on the couch (I highly reccomend the new Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home) and went outside for a great run, as I'm trying to get back into running as the weather gets nice and I realize what NOT RUNNING has done for my body.
By Saturday afternoon pretty much everyone had cabin fever and we played outside for a bit and then Doug decided to work out on the wii to some NFL exercise program he has. Michael decided to join him. It may have been the funniest thing I have ever witnessed.
There were also quite a few Just Dance marathons. How is it that when I play myself I score 8,000 points, but the minute Doug steps in the game, I lose badly. I take this as a personal afront to my Just Danceness. Doug laughs. Alot.
By Sunday things were back to normal, the virus having running through his system and it was off to religious school and a playdate. At religious school he learned about Purim, and to hear Michael explain it Purim involves Justin Bieber.
Friday was a crazy a day. I had a ton of errands to run, but I ended up getting stuck at work even though I don't normally work on Fridays. I got called into a meeting and then I had a fire I needed to put out. I left with just enough time to run to the grocery store to pick up a sub par challah and provisions for Shabbat dinner before having to pick up Michael from school. I normally pick up challah from an excellent bakery by us but there wasn't enough time.
I was rushing through the store, raced through the self check out line, bagged my groceries in my reusable grocery bags, and as I was loading the groceries in the car I realized I never actually paid for the challah. It was buried under one of the reusable grocery bags. In an effort to save the environment I inadvertently stole holy bread from the grocery store. I literally looked around me to see if store security guards were coming after me. I looked at my watch, realized I didn't have enough time to walk in and pay for the challah and pick up my child on time from school, so I left. My child won over theft. I pictured him standing outside of school crying "where is my mom?" I still feel guilty about this.
Doug ended up getting stuck in a meeting Friday night and Michael and I did a very bare bones Shabbat. Quick blessings over wine, candles, a few pieces of Challah, and done. He ate chicken nuggets and smiley fries (his favorite Daddy is late dinner) and I ate with Doug when he got home. But I still had almost a whole loaf of contraband challah left. So I did what any reasonable person would do. I soaked it in liquor and made boozy french toast. Because if you are going to steal something you might as well smother it in Bailey's.
We started doing Friday night Shabbat dinners a while ago around here. Michael came home from Sunday school asking me why we don't celebrate Shabbat and since I didn't have an answer, we do now. Michael also insists most Fridays that we invite someone, "because Shabbat should be shared Mommy. My teacher said so." (Remind me to investigate exactly what is being taught at the synagogue we belong to.) I'm through my Jewish friends and am going to move on to my non Jewish friends soon. (I may be tapping in to bloggers also. Email me if you are interested.) I warned Amy she was next when I saw her. She giggled. I wasn't kidding.
I grumble, because he has swim lessons on Friday night and I spend Fridays at the grocery store and picking up challah and cleaning the house and getting a nice dinner together that I can throw in the oven as soon as we get home, but in the end, I'm always glad we do it. We sit down and light candles and say the blessings and have a relaxed dinner. We don't let Michael run off and play the minute he finishes dinner. We sit and talk.
Doug started this tradition where we all have to say something we like about each other. (My non Jewish husband is so lovely about these things and how much more observant we have become. He didn't exactly sign up for Friday night Shabbat dinners.) This week Michael looked at me and said "I like your love."
And I melted. And we will now have Shabbat until the end of time. Because I get the purpose now. It forces us to sit down, stop moving, and appreciate everything around us for 30 minutes. And even through we have family dinner every stinkin' night in this house, Friday night is different. We have dessert. Michael knows he isn't just getting up the minute he is done eating. There is no homework, play, shower, bed, rush. We connect, through candlelight and challah.
Thank you Michael for making us do it. I like your love too.
I have somehow failed as a Jewish Mommyblogger. I mean, I have both a random Jewishness category and random parentness category and I have not once mentioned Hanukkah. Really, it is because Hanukkah was low key for us this year. We were away for part of it and my parents gave Michael our presents. But also, we tried to do smaller stuff this year. Michael has way to much crap. And I'm not even talking about the pillow pets.
We lit the menorah every night and got him books and small toys and legos and things that went with things he already had. My house is filled to the brim with crap.
BUT, we did do one big gift. And to be fair. I didn't even pay for the gift. I won it months and months ago from my friend Mariana.
Yes, I gave my child something I won as a present. I'm evil. And cheap.
This may be the greatest gift ever.
It is, I kid you not, a life size cardboard playhouse, that is a rocket. You can draw on it, color it, and live inside of it.
You think he likes it?
In case anyone asks, I'm the doctor on this mission. Because every space shuttle needs one.
How was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine was wonderful with food and wine and family and only one food disaster that involved the worst creamed spinach known to man. Seriously. But everything else was super yummy and after cooking for days what more can you ask for?
Perhaps a lovely table. I also had that.
After hosting both families for Thanksgiving we escaped for the long weekend and went to my parents beach house, where we exchanged Hanukkah presents with my family. We still haven't given Michael his presents, we will do one present a night, but with my family we do one big celebration where everyone exchanges gifts. And there were latkes. So basically this entire weekend was about food.
Michael concocted this elaborate plan with my mom where he was going to get me a pillow pet for Hanukkah. Specifically the unicorn pillow pet. And he told EVERYONE about this he was so excited. It was actually kind of adorable. He was convinced I really, really wanted the unicorn pillow pet and could not contain himself that he was giving this to me. And my poor mom schlepped all over the world to find this thing. Doug got the bumble bee.
Michael sleeps with all 6 of his pillow pets. There is barely room for him in his bed. Yes, before you leave me comments about it, I know he is spoiled rotten.
It has gotten out of control. I feel like I could open up my own ebay store to sell these things for all those poor moms who are running all over trying to get their kids pillow pets for the holidays and I have 8 in my house.
Thank you, mominamillion for my most favorite tweet ever.
If only that was a possibility.
On Friday Doug and I fly to California for an adults only vacation. I believe our pillow pets are staying home.
(This post was is no way sponsored by pillow pets. All of our pillow pets have been payed for by myself, or a member of my family.)
