Hitting snooze on my wake-up call

When I heard about the bus bombing, I was entertaining a house full of children—my three and two neighbors. Well, it wasn’t that entertaining. Except when the two youngest started wailing and I got out a couple of one-eyed Steiff puppets to sing a classic Israeli children’s song about a rodent who leaves the door open and catches a virus (how Jewish is that?). That was one of my finer moments that afternoon. Mostly, I was periodically settling toy disputes and doling out snacks and then shooing everyone back into the nursery because I don’t like noise.

They shoot, I’ll build

I have been sick for a couple of weeks straight now with one thing and then another—our whole family seems to be building our immigrant immunity to a new continent’s worth of germs. And just as I was recovering from the last thing, I injured my back. My husband has been bearing the entire burden of caring for the kids, which we usually share. He is dressing them, feeding them, ferrying them back and forth from gan and babysitting, putting them to bed. The laundry is piling up and the Shabbat leftovers are running out.

Mini-victory: stop the screeching

There comes a point in every toddler’s life when he realizes that he can make a really cool, loud, high-pitched shrieking sound anytime he wants. No? Your children don’t do this? Okay, I don’t want to hear about it.

Anyway, my girls went through a shrieking phase, and now it’s B.A.’s turn. And you know how every mother has her thing, a personal pet issue that makes her a little crazy? Like how some women are freaked out about choking risks and other people can’t stand clutter? No, this doesn’t ring a bell? Nothing ruffles you? Fine, now I’m unfriending you on Facebook .

Parenting with ghosts

It was bedtime and I was trying to wrestle B.A. into his footie pajamas.  A.N. was standing off to the side, whining in a rising-and-falling monologue like an accordion. Something about a cookie? Two cookies of unequal size? Broken off in an unacceptable way? I wasn’t listening to the details as much as just trying to breathe and be calm.

In the midst of this, I was overcome by the pleasure of B.A.’s adorable arms and tummy. He is at that wonderful toddlerbaby phase where his body is still soft and mushy, too new to walking to slim down or muscle up. I hugged him and I hugged A.N.

“I love this little family so much. Thank you Hashem for this little family.”