Category Archives: Daily Fun

School Tour

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Jack and Friends on their new school tour

Today we took Jack on a tour of his new school, the one he will start next year for kindergarden.

At the tour we learned there are only 30 openings for kindergarden. Of those 30 slots, 16 were siblings. Siblings get priority under the current system. Fourteen slots were left. There were 1000 people applying for them (another 1000 applied for other grade levels). They call it a lottery system for a reason. Truly, we won the lottery. This school rates very high, with 93% of it’s students meeting and exceeding the state standards. The Great Schools website gives it a 9 out of 10 score, as did Education.com.

We were also very happy to hear that one of his classmates from his current school got in as well. At least he’ll know someone from his old class next year. I think it will make the transition easier.

The school has a fine arts focus. Art, drama, music will all be studied in detail. I wonder how my shy little Jack will fair in the drama department. Because of the focus, things like gym and a second language fall to the wayside. However, I don’t think I would take Jack to art classes after school, but I’ll be sure to sign him up for after school sports. So perhaps this sort of set up works well for our family.

At one point they had the drama students do a 10 minute piece on stage. They were doing Salman Rushdie’s short stories. They looked so big and self assured! I couldn’t fathom Jack going to this school until he looked as big as them.

It was all very exciting to see our future and the future of our other kids laid out in front of us like this.

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Easter Sunday

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Ready for the Easter Egg Hunt!

I love that my Jewish husband has no problem celebrating Passover Saturday night, then joining our Christian friends for an Easter Egg hunt the next morning.

Unlike last year, Ben needed no help finding eggs.

Since I didn’t grow up in the Jewish faith, I think it would be upsetting to have my kids miss out on the fun things Christians get to do. Like egg hunts.

This was our third year organizing the Easter Egg hunt. This year we expanded the amount of families. And the amount of toys. There was still plenty of eggs to find. And all the toys: croquet, T-ball, soccer, kites, bubbles, and more were all put to good use.

Jack manages to fill his entire basket!

In the three years we organized the hunt, I was pregnant twice. But this time, birth is much more eminent. And I’m as big as a house. Adam insisted on bringing lawn chairs for me instead of trying to find a comfortable position on the blanket. I sat in lawn chair the entire time, except when I got up to find the port-a-potty. Everyone pitched in to help with our kids. If Adam was covering Jack and Ben ran off, another adult quickly brought him back. No one let me carry anything. I was very grateful for the help.

I told my father about our plans for the day and he reminisced about taking my sister and I to Easter Egg hunts when we were kids. He said they would line the kids up by age group. When it was my sister’s group they shot the gun to start the hunt (Yes, they shot a gun. It’s Florida, people.) and my sister took off running. When my turn came, they shot the gun and everyone started running except for me. I stood at the starting line looking up at the sky, day dreaming. I don’t think Jack and Ben inherited any of my lackadaisical disposition, thank goodness!

Pot Luck Picnic Spread

 

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Passover Seder

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Emma as One of the 10 Plagues (Locust)

Passover is traditionally Bubbie’s holiday, but this year Bubbie was in Los Angeles celebrating with her daughter and kids.

Which freed us up to spend the evening with the Bornsteins. They have a daughter around Jack’s age and twins a little younger than Ben.

They are a very helpful couple for telling us what to watch out for in the future with twins.  For example, your mini van is much bigger than your last car so do not to side swipe it when you are driving it in a state of utter exhaustion.

They put out a huge effort for the occasion. Not only did they host but they got passover games, masks and puppets for the kids.

Joseph our Master of Ceremonies

The kids managed to sit though the entire ceremony, thanks in large part to Joseph’s mix of speed reading and ability to keep the kids involved in the event.

The kids ate a surprising variety of stuff they don’t normally eat, especially Ben who took an entire potato latke and mashed it into his mouth one bite at a time.

Shortly after dinner, with their bellies full, all the kids started a screaming, full speed run up and down the hallway. Amazing how a full belly can make kids silly. And that was before the macaroon and chocolate cake dessert.

Over all it was a huge success and I was glad to see that even if Bubbie can’t host it, we still have friends that can help make this occasion special for our kids.

Apple Sauce and Yarmulkas

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A Shanghai Surprise

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Emma and I (circa 2005)

Monday I received an email on my old email address, the one I had before I got married. It has me so excited I could barely contain myself.

My good friend Emma, who I met in Shanghai, was in Chicago for a meeting and could she stop by for a visit Wednesday night?

Yes please!

I was introduced to Emma through my gay ex-boyfriend, Stan. Actually, Stan introduced me to Emma’s fiancee at the time, Alan. Through Alan I met Emma. I ended up much better friends with Emma.

Our friendship outlasted many things, including her marriage. When I first moved to Chicago we continued to meet up. First in Jackson Hole. She also came to Chicago. She flew to Marco Island, Florida to witness Adam and I get married. Her signature is on our ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) as a witness.

Shortly after the wedding she made a very tough decision on her life. After waiting over a decade to have children with her husband at the time, she found herself divorced and childless. She was in her late 30s. Her ex-husband has ruined her dreams of a happy marriage, but she didn’t want him to ruin her dreams of children too. She contacted a sperm bank in California. Now she has two beautiful girls around the same age as Jack and Ben.

There is nothing greater than a good friend who ends up having kids the same age as your kids. I am hopeful we can start to meet up again around the globe at some point. I think the twins will keep us from travel in the next few years but eventually meeting up with same age kids will be easy and natural.

I don’t know what is wrong with me lately but I forgot to snap a picture AGAIN! So, I’ve included an old one of us.

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Pregnancy Update – Week 34

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I have been a bit on edge all week. My plan for birthing the twins is to have my friend Carrie, who lives close by, cover my kids until my mother in law can make the long drive from the suburbs to the city and take over.

But this week both Carrie and my mother in law are out of town for Spring Break.

On top of this, I heard from a woman at Starbucks who had twins that a lot of people she knows gave birth at 34 weeks. So it was in the back of my mind all week.

My first non stress test last week did nothing to ease my fears. Adam took Ben for lunch while I went to the hospital. I was told by the nurse? resident? that the test only takes 20 minutes if all goes perfectly. But sometimes it’s hard to find the heart beat and sometimes they move away from the monitors and you have to start all over again. I laid on a hospital bed, propped up. The first time she strapped on the monitors, she found 2 strong heart beats. “Too easy” was her comment.

I was left alone in a room for 20 minutes where I promptly fell asleep. I’m like a narcoleptic these days, can fall asleep anywhere, anytime, and can stay some what asleep even if there is a toddle jumping on me. After 20 minutes, she returned. She asked if I felt any contractions. No, I was sleeping. She was asking because she saw a few on the monitor.

Contractions already?! Argh! I’m not ready! Apparently she said it doesn’t mean I should start packing my bags just yet. But it’s out there, and getting closer every day.

Pregnant with Twins, 34 Weeks

I’m starting to get very uncomfortable. My four little twinkle toes have turned into Olympic gymnasts. They have gotten so big they are starting to push under my ribs. And they are stretched the entire length of my abdomen. When I stand there is a lot of pressure on my bladder and ligaments. Much more than previous pregnancies. I swear there is a little hand punching my bladder a few times a day, resulting in a little leakage. That never happened before either.

The view of my belly from the front looks just like it did 2 days before I gave birth to Jack. Lopsided. And just… well, wrong.

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Oz Park Baseball

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Last summer we did a Lil’ Sluggers baseball class over the summer. It was mostly drills, hitting, throwing, catching, running bases. It was fast pace and kept the boys interested for the hour. My girlfriend Pam and I were able to sit on a blanket with our younger children and soak up the summer sun. Coach Jeff was amazing. However, now that the boys are 5, it’s time to move on to real baseball.

We signed him up for Oz Park Baseball which is the start of playing real baseball.

Adam took Jack to a specialty sports store for kids in the suburbs this weekend and kitted him out with new cleats, his first cup, a real baseball glove, baseball sock for sliding, and a semi soft baseball.

He was all ready, equipment wise. However, not sure if he’s quite ready for the sport yet. Here is a picture from his first practice…

I guess it's more important to protect the head than the hand?

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A Surprise Lunch

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Mercat

Last month while I was entering the monthly birthday parties we were scheduled to attend into Adam’s calender, I stumbled upon the entry “Brunch for Nikki”.

Before I could stop myself, I asked what it was. Adam said nothing. It was at that moment I remembered my good friend Anna’s 30th birthday in Hong Kong. Her boyfriend was planning a surprise party for her. At every turn she tried to catch him doing it. Finally he got so annoyed he told her everything about the surprise. She was shocked. And speechless. I learned a valuable lesson that day. If someone is trying to clandestinely plan a surprise for you, let them. I never mentioned or asked about the brunch again.

The day for the ‘Brunch for Nikki” arrived last weekend. Adam rushed me to our regular brunch spot. It was just us and the kids. The day passed without surprise. I guessed it was cancelled.

This morning, however, Adam told me we were meeting some clients of his for lunch before one of the kiddie birthday parties we were attending. So, I dressed nice and made an effort. I wasn’t going to show up in my yoga sweats for clients!

Turns out the “clients” were 10 of my close friends holding a surprise lunch for me at Mercat!

It was a lovely lunch. Now that I have kids I appreciate how hard it is to ask your partner to cover them so you can go off with your friends to have fun. I was touched that not only all these busy women but their husbands also were willing to do that for me. As if that wasn’t enough, I received another spa gift certificate from the group!

Ironically last night when Adam and I were having pillow talk, I mentioned one of my new friends, Sarah, was moving to New Hampshire. Then I complained how I’ve tried to befriend a few new people but it just hasn’t worked out. I thought perhaps it was the universe trying to tell me that, after the twins were born, I would have no time for new friends. After today’s lunch, I think the real message is that I already have more than my share of wonderful, caring friends.

Thanks for organizing Cindy!

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Fresh Picks for the Week (Mar 28)

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This week I received red potatoes, romanesco broccoli, pea tendrils, cherry tomatoes, spinach, butter lettuce, and parsley.

I am planning on pairing the red potatoes and spinach together with other ingredients to make a Minestrone Soup. I used a recipe from my Best Recipe Cookbook. It’s super simple. Just add 2 small chopped onions, 2 medium chopped carrots, 2 chopped leeks, 2 medium chopped celery stalks, 1 medium chopped potato, 1 medium chopped zucchini, 3 cups of spinach cut into thin strips, 1 can of 28 ounce chopped tomatoes with juice, 1 parmesan cheese rind, and 1 teaspoon of salt to 8 cups of water. Simmer uncovered for about an hour. Then add 1 can of cannellini beans drained and rinsed. Stir until heated through. Take off heat, add 1/4 cup pesto and take out the cheese rind. I served with a big chuck of crusty whole wheat bread from the bread counter at whole foods.

Pea Tendrils

I had never seen pea tendrils before so I wasn’t sure how to use them. From The Cilantropist I learned that pea tendrils, also known as pea shoots, are the young leaves, stems, vines, and flowers of a pea plant.  All the parts of the plant are edible. The website also listed some recipes including sauteing them in garlic and oil and putting a fried egg on top, a suggestion from Alice Waters, one of the pioneers for local, organic produce eating. I think I’m going to try that recipe, even though I’m not suppose to eat uncooked egg during pregnancy. They also said you could use pea tendrils in stir fries or as a substitute for spinach.

For the lettuce, I chopped it up into the salad I made for dinner last night with cranberries, almonds, feta and some left over rotisserie Costco chicken. I added a home made balsamic vinaigrette.

Romanesco Broccoli

From the internet I learned the Romanesco broccoli was actually closer to a cauliflower, which made me want to steam it and mash it with avocado again. But I might steam it and add a little lemon and olive oil as a side dish instead for a change.

Haven’t decided on the cherry tomatoes or parsley yet, but everyone in the house loves a caprese salad so might use the tomatoes for that. Tomatoes are a house staple. We always keep some on hand to slice in hummus sandwiches or grilled cheese, or chopped in salads. Parsley can be added as a garnish to anything. If it sits around in my fridge I can usually add it to enough things that it won’t go to waste. Sometimes I add it to tinned tuna with olive oil, lemon and capers instead of the traditional recipe with mayo. The tuna can go on bread for a sandwich or on top of lettuce for a salad.

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Pregnancy Update – 33 Weeks

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This week we had another ‘growth ultrasound’.

The babies are measuring in the 75% again. This time she estimated they were about 5 pounds each. I can’t believe I’m carrying ten pounds of baby. No wonder I got up to pee three times last night.

Heart rates were 136BPM for twin A and 149BPM for twin B.

Also, I weighed in at 167 pounds, 5 pounds up from my check up 2 weeks ago and a total of 47 pounds so far.

I’m starting to get nervous about how much work it will take to have the twins. Some people have told me they were not able to get their twins on the same feeding schedule and the only way to survive the nights is for the husband and wife to sleep in shifts. I know this will not be possible for Adam, his job is too demanding for him to live off 4 hours of sleep or less a night indefinitely. I can see my dream of breast feeding exclusively for a year drifting away from me. Or the reality that I’ll probably have to give up some fun mornings with Jack and Ben (we hired someone every week day morning during the summer) to get some sleep.

This week also starts my weekly non stress test at the hospital. I’ve been scheduled for Friday so I’m not sure what is involved but I’ll let you know in next week’s update. If I’m still pregnant. Lord please let me still be pregnant as long as possible!!!

 

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