Sometimes someone can give you a compliment that can change the way you deal with things ie change your life. I read an article about a woman who kept finding mice in her house. The exterminator said to her: "My, you're a brave woman!" She kept running this phrase through her head and everytime she felt like freaking out, she'd say to herself, "A brave woman wouldn't act like that"... and it changed the way she viewed mice. I have the biggest mousephobia in history btw. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself that one day, I WILL see a mouse here. But BH not yet. There are traps everywhere, but what should I expect? It's a really old huge house.
Y'know, it just goes to show, we should actually believe in bitachon. When I was in Seattle and knew a mouse was living in our house in the last few months that we were living there, I would daven really hard that I should never have the experience of seeing it. And looking back, I never did. I knew it was there because our poison collection was emptied out (which freaked me out for months) and one night I heard a scurry (which my brain will never be able to silence again). But look at that - I never did see one. If only I believed in my own prayers when I asked not to have to see it, I could've gotten rid of a lot of mouse anxiety. A LOT OF IT.
So recently someone very dear to me told me that I never yell at my kids. This is someone that sees me often. And I said, "Are you sure?" Because I definitely get to that breaking point. But this person said no, they have never heard me yell. No, I'm not perfect - I probably take it out in other ways that yellers wouldn't even dream of doing. But, now - when things get tough, and all 4 kids are screaming at the same time - I remember this line - "You never yell" and somehow I am able to pull through on the calm side. It's amazing what one compliment can do to a person. Next time you see something you don't like in someone, tell them that they are the opposite! See how quickly they change! (Menucha, you are such a good taster of new foods...) (For my sister's 4 year old: "You are just so good at controlling and holding in when you need to use the bathroom, I'm so impressed!")
Remember that good advice that people give? Here's another one that came from Seminary Girl. MAKE it a good night. Isn't that strong? When the kids come home from camp, the day can either go one way or the other. Either it can be lots of whining, headache Mom and we struggle to get through the day and count down the hours until bedtime OR I can MAKE it a good evening. Turn on music, we can dance together and sing, we can smilingly get dinner ready together and everyone can laugh their way to bed. Instead of waiting to see what day occurs, get up off your tushy and MAKE it the day that you want.
(I don't get to blog often. So I take notes about things I feel like writing about, that's why there are a few random topics in here!)
Penina is such a good communicator BH. Over Tisha B'av when I got a lot of time to rest and read, and she played around me, I realized what a good baby she is BH BH BH POO POO POO. (That's Jewish for superstition, knock on wood type of things.) BH I can get a lot of things done around her. When she wants me, she looks at me with those big delicious eyes and I immediately know what she wants. She lays down nicely when I put her to bed, and if she can't fall asleep, she yells for me. When I come into the room, she looks at me with those big eyes and the eyes are saying, "Hold me. I can't sleep. I need some love." I can practically hear everything she says, because she looks at me so intently.
Then I had this thought -- if my 10 month old can communicate - ISN'T EVERYBODY COMMUNICATING?! duh. So that child that sits on my couch in wet clothes, and picks at her booboos until she makes a hole in her skin, and rubs my bathroom soap all over the sink, and leaves wet tissues in the sink drain, and uses up all the new lotion in one day and pokes holes in the plate before dinner is also communicating????? Maybe I need to think about those huge eyes and realize that they all are communicating, just in very different ways.
Two more days of camp............. then Camp Mommy for 4 weeks (with a break to visit Monsey in the middle IYH). I'm prepared, I think. I have schedules and some new paint, birdseed and a new sprinkler. But, am I really prepared? I know I can do this, because Hashem knows it. I think I can, I think I can.... I hope I make it!
Sara
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
My neighborhood
I didn't think I would change, but I put away one of my skirts, so maybe I am. I go downstairs to this "ahavas Yisroel" thingy once a week and I felt so exposed, knee-wise that I figured I should stop wearing that skirt. At least I still have my tichels. Although I stopped decorating them - it was annoying and no one else does it, so there's no one to impress about which tichel goes together with which. There's no need to impess here anyway. I noticed a few kids with shoes that are completely falling apart. I asked one of them if she's getting new shoes, so said, "No, my mother says we'll get new shoes when these don't work for me and since they still work..." I want to offer her some of our many pairs, but her mother might get insulted.
Across the street from me lives this Asian couple with a set of their parents. They have a 1 year old. Their house looks like all the houses on my side of the street, except that it's so incredibly put together. The parents work and the grandparents look after the kid together. For fun, the grandparents rinse their outside garbage and recycling bins with their hose. They work on their grass and bushes daily. This is such a contrast to my side of the street that it's like Hashem put them there on purpose! My house is the first house on my side. The outside looks horrendous. Any money that has been put into the house goes for the inside. There are ten kids living in the house, between mine and my downstairs family. There is always at least 4 bikes lying around somewhere. (This is so nice for me, to be able to leave a mess outside. That condo in Seattle gave us so much pressure to clean up IMMEDIATELY after the kids played with anything.) Next door to me is another house that looks like it's falling apart. There are 4 floors in that house. The basement is filled with instruments where one of the men gives lessons. The next floor houses a family of 5 plus their elderly parent. The next floor has another family with children ages 8,4,3,1 and newborn and the top floor houses the children's clothes Gemach.
And the house after that is my favorite -- the mom is due this summer with her 12th child IYH. They share a house with a single woman and also with a family who's mom is due this summer and they have kids ages 1, 2 and 3. The kids in that large family are so sweet. The oldest is "seminary girl" who is now sending nightly chizuk texts to me (and 40 other people, she claims.) I heard they are extremely organized and have triple bunk beds (hi Tova!) but I don't know when I will ever get the pleasure of going into their house. I don't think they do guests.
My point was this: I was at the library and one of the large families from around here came in. That mom just had her 12th child too. The mom was big and pregnant and she came in, put her feet up and relaxed. I looked over and saw 5 teenage girls with her! She said they were ages 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17. They each had a few little ones in tow and they came to the library to collect their prizes for finishing their summer reading charts. I asked one of the girls if she goes to camp. Her response was "No way!" She said she spends her days reading and doing chores. Her mom thought about it and said, "Yeah, that's pretty much what they do." The kids were so well behaved. One picked up bubbles from the prizes and the other said, "Mommy doesn't let that" and she put it right back. I asked about it, "My mother doesn't like messy things." Then they all got books and sat and read to eachother. They were so sweet and it all looked like it was running so smoothly.
Then there's me - with my clingy son who was arguing about getting books for twice his age. I'm thinking, I have one kid who's giving me a headache, does this woman EVER have that? I looked around at some of the other moms. There were about 3 moms with one or two kids each. One was tantruming, another was whining and the moms looked tired and fed up. What does this tell you?? HAVING A MILLION KIDS IS WAY EASIER THAN HAVE ONE OR TWO!! At least it looks that way from the outside:)
I'll leave you with a gem of a thought that I came up with while giving Penina her bottle before her nap. "I may be exhausted and falling on my face, but at least I am exactly where I've always wanted to be."
Across the street from me lives this Asian couple with a set of their parents. They have a 1 year old. Their house looks like all the houses on my side of the street, except that it's so incredibly put together. The parents work and the grandparents look after the kid together. For fun, the grandparents rinse their outside garbage and recycling bins with their hose. They work on their grass and bushes daily. This is such a contrast to my side of the street that it's like Hashem put them there on purpose! My house is the first house on my side. The outside looks horrendous. Any money that has been put into the house goes for the inside. There are ten kids living in the house, between mine and my downstairs family. There is always at least 4 bikes lying around somewhere. (This is so nice for me, to be able to leave a mess outside. That condo in Seattle gave us so much pressure to clean up IMMEDIATELY after the kids played with anything.) Next door to me is another house that looks like it's falling apart. There are 4 floors in that house. The basement is filled with instruments where one of the men gives lessons. The next floor houses a family of 5 plus their elderly parent. The next floor has another family with children ages 8,4,3,1 and newborn and the top floor houses the children's clothes Gemach.
And the house after that is my favorite -- the mom is due this summer with her 12th child IYH. They share a house with a single woman and also with a family who's mom is due this summer and they have kids ages 1, 2 and 3. The kids in that large family are so sweet. The oldest is "seminary girl" who is now sending nightly chizuk texts to me (and 40 other people, she claims.) I heard they are extremely organized and have triple bunk beds (hi Tova!) but I don't know when I will ever get the pleasure of going into their house. I don't think they do guests.
My point was this: I was at the library and one of the large families from around here came in. That mom just had her 12th child too. The mom was big and pregnant and she came in, put her feet up and relaxed. I looked over and saw 5 teenage girls with her! She said they were ages 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17. They each had a few little ones in tow and they came to the library to collect their prizes for finishing their summer reading charts. I asked one of the girls if she goes to camp. Her response was "No way!" She said she spends her days reading and doing chores. Her mom thought about it and said, "Yeah, that's pretty much what they do." The kids were so well behaved. One picked up bubbles from the prizes and the other said, "Mommy doesn't let that" and she put it right back. I asked about it, "My mother doesn't like messy things." Then they all got books and sat and read to eachother. They were so sweet and it all looked like it was running so smoothly.
Then there's me - with my clingy son who was arguing about getting books for twice his age. I'm thinking, I have one kid who's giving me a headache, does this woman EVER have that? I looked around at some of the other moms. There were about 3 moms with one or two kids each. One was tantruming, another was whining and the moms looked tired and fed up. What does this tell you?? HAVING A MILLION KIDS IS WAY EASIER THAN HAVE ONE OR TWO!! At least it looks that way from the outside:)
I'll leave you with a gem of a thought that I came up with while giving Penina her bottle before her nap. "I may be exhausted and falling on my face, but at least I am exactly where I've always wanted to be."
Sunday, July 12, 2015
house pictures
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| As per request, here are my house pictures. This is the view from the living room through the dining room |
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| That's me, preparing the days lunches in the kitchen |
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| I tried to capture the uniqueness of the house. This is a window in a small closet |
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| there's our front door (it leads to a windy staircase that leads to another door to outside) |
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| the office/den/future playroom? with all its windows... |
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| dining room |
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| staircase leading upstairs to kids' area |
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| the upstairs, it's really one big attic room divided into lots of little areas/rooms |
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| shelves to hold toys in the attic area |
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| just showing how the walls don't reach to the ceiling |
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| this is the staircase to get back downstairs |
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| stairs going down the maids' quarters (that's what it feels like, it's really going to the downstairs family!) |
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| surprise! it's us! |
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Lonely Mom Needs Friend
Today I'm blogging (and taking up precious houseworking Penina sleeping time) because I'm craving friendship contact. I walked the kids to camp and smiled at all the kids and grownups, but everyone is just so new and so not familiar. There's a certain niceness to living somewhere for a long time and just knowing everyone and being familiar with people. It's like watching a TV show and knowing the characters really well. I'm still part of a new TV show and I'm patiently waiting to get "into it".
Moving is really more difficult friendwise than we think. How do you jump from pleasantly smiling and answering questions about how much is unpacked and how the kids are settling in, to really having a real conversation? Or being able to be weird and people loving you for it?
I'm clueless on how to feed a growing 9 month old who doesn't nurse. Never had that before. I used to feed unwilling to eat babies and then just nurse them for nutrition and hunger. So this morning I made egg salad and then wondered if maybe I should add avocado because she doesn't like avocado by itself. Then I threw in random spices and it was so delicious that I put it in my own bagel and I'm eating it now. Throughout the experiments though, I texted a friend, sister and mom to ask about their opinions. One was interested and we had a whole discussion about food for babies. Another said yuck and wondered what color it would be (grey) and then said that she's eating avocado with sauerkraut. And the third said "yum". This is me being me with my old familiar people. If I randomly texted someone in Prov, they'd be like "this woman is strange".
Speaking of random texts - Seminary girl has been texting me nightly now with great chizuk texts! First, it's so nice to know texting exists in Providence, the computer-less world. I love that little ding that means someone is thinking of me. Second, late at night is when I usually feel exhausted and kind of depressed looking around at my huge mess and wondering when I'll be able to get a handle on things. To get a text that says, "Make it a beautiful night and remember Hashem is in control!" is really helpful at that time of night. I could probably give her a long list of people to add to her nightly chizzuk lines! If only she was more my age, maybe we'd actually get along... But then, some people marry someone twenty years younger than them. Why would she be interested in an old lady with 4 kids? I must be desperate.
Anyway, it takes time to be able to be your own strange self. I don't let Mo wear his ties to school anymore, because he needs to be normal first before starting in on that foot. Yes he can wear his green crocks on Shabbos, and his blue TDS uniform shirt on Shabbos, but no - the bathrobe/bekeshe and basket/streimel on his head have to stay home. Maybe in a few months. It's funny, he won't get in Shabbos clothes on Friday because people will laugh and wonder why he's in Shabbos clothes when it's not Shabbos, but he will wear a basket on his head to be chassidish. (I'm looking for a toy streimel for Purim.)
And now back to housework. Big houses are roomier but way more work to clean. I need to stop blaming my kids for all the messes even though it's them that made them. That sounds confusing. If they made it, who else should I blame?
Moving is really more difficult friendwise than we think. How do you jump from pleasantly smiling and answering questions about how much is unpacked and how the kids are settling in, to really having a real conversation? Or being able to be weird and people loving you for it?
I'm clueless on how to feed a growing 9 month old who doesn't nurse. Never had that before. I used to feed unwilling to eat babies and then just nurse them for nutrition and hunger. So this morning I made egg salad and then wondered if maybe I should add avocado because she doesn't like avocado by itself. Then I threw in random spices and it was so delicious that I put it in my own bagel and I'm eating it now. Throughout the experiments though, I texted a friend, sister and mom to ask about their opinions. One was interested and we had a whole discussion about food for babies. Another said yuck and wondered what color it would be (grey) and then said that she's eating avocado with sauerkraut. And the third said "yum". This is me being me with my old familiar people. If I randomly texted someone in Prov, they'd be like "this woman is strange".
Speaking of random texts - Seminary girl has been texting me nightly now with great chizuk texts! First, it's so nice to know texting exists in Providence, the computer-less world. I love that little ding that means someone is thinking of me. Second, late at night is when I usually feel exhausted and kind of depressed looking around at my huge mess and wondering when I'll be able to get a handle on things. To get a text that says, "Make it a beautiful night and remember Hashem is in control!" is really helpful at that time of night. I could probably give her a long list of people to add to her nightly chizzuk lines! If only she was more my age, maybe we'd actually get along... But then, some people marry someone twenty years younger than them. Why would she be interested in an old lady with 4 kids? I must be desperate.
Anyway, it takes time to be able to be your own strange self. I don't let Mo wear his ties to school anymore, because he needs to be normal first before starting in on that foot. Yes he can wear his green crocks on Shabbos, and his blue TDS uniform shirt on Shabbos, but no - the bathrobe/bekeshe and basket/streimel on his head have to stay home. Maybe in a few months. It's funny, he won't get in Shabbos clothes on Friday because people will laugh and wonder why he's in Shabbos clothes when it's not Shabbos, but he will wear a basket on his head to be chassidish. (I'm looking for a toy streimel for Purim.)
And now back to housework. Big houses are roomier but way more work to clean. I need to stop blaming my kids for all the messes even though it's them that made them. That sounds confusing. If they made it, who else should I blame?
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Real Birthday Reflections
It's an exciting day, just the fact that it's my birthday. Some years I just don't care, but this year I felt excited and rejuvenated by the thought that I came into being on this day. Maybe it's just my happy mood because all three of my older kids are out all day for the first time ever. It leaves me room to think and be.
My first order of business is something I need to work on. We can call it a birthday hachlata if we must. It is incredibly hard though. Do not let Penina's sleep set the tone of my day. I would think it's pretty hard to "--wake up one morning after having gotten woken up a few times in the night, rocked and sang the baby back to bed and then woke up for the day at 5am, and dealt with a cranky baby together with normal morning children who have many needs" and have the same happy, cheerful day as a night like this: Put the kids to bed. Silence. Silence. Everyone sleeps. No one wakes up before 6am. I wake up on my own and find the house silent and everyone still sleeps. (I know my sentence structure could use some help, but there is no other way to express myself, I'm sure of it.)
Being the same cheerful happy person after both of those nights, in my book is utterly IMPOSSIBLE. If you can do it, let me know. At least I made myself conscious of it, and that's the first step.
As a birthday present, I am going to think of THE BEST ADVICE LINES that I have ever gotten and share them with you. You know, once in awhile, someone will just say something small in passing - but it is so monumental to that person personally, that without realizing it, they live their lives differently. Every person takes different ideas to reshape their thoughts, here are some of mine. Please think about it and Email me some of your's and I will share them with my blog world if I may.
"LET GO OF THE GUILT". Once in my adult years, I tried therapy. I hated it. The therapist was way too happy for me. She smiled too much. She also was Asian and totally did not get my life at all. She was shell-shocked by most of what I told her. But she did tell me this, Let Go of the Guilt. To this day, I just love that advice. So many moms say, "But I feel bad..." or after the fact they regret or feel guilty... it just works so well to let go of it all. I did it, it's done, NEXT. I may try to change the way I do it next time, but I will NOT feel guilty for what I just told my kid/ or did or whatever. Because then we just get lost in it and can't move on.
"I MARRIED THIS PERSON AND WHATEVER NEGATIVE QUALITIES I SEE, I NEED TO GET OVER BECAUSE I AM MARRIED TO THIS PERSON FOREVER." This was told to me by my very own husband. I don't know when or where but once he told me that he thought of this when seeing a negative thing in me early on in our marriage. Do you know --- to this day I stop and think about this often. What was it? What did he need to get over?!! Haha!! When I ask him, he doesn't remember. Riiight. But it is great advice. Why get annoyed when you see that extra long hair coming out of that birthmark? (Just an example, not a real-life one!) It will always be there and you will always have to see it, so move on.
"MY JOB IS TO CREATE A POSITIVE MARRIAGE FROM MY END." I blogged about this one and I made it up! Go me. I love this and it comes up sometimes when I want to get annoyed over something. I stop, breathe and remember that my job is me, not him.
I can't think of any more at the moment, but I am sure there are more. Be aware of them and let me know of your favorite advice lines!
And now for the best part, what I miss and don't miss about Seattle.
What I miss:
My friends. Today was my birthday and as I walked home by myself after taking the kids to camp, I thought about if I had even wanted to make a Game Night (which is what I did in the past few birthdays), who would I even invite here? These are just not Game Night people. I miss you guys!
I miss the moms coming outside with the kids in Seattle. The kids hang out a lot here, but the moms are always inside, making dinner or whatever it is that moms do.
Well. Can't think of anything else I miss. I think I'm gonna like it here!
What I don't miss:
The up and down weather. When it's hot here, it's hot. For awhile. Much easier to pick out clothes that way!
My squooshy house. BH I am done with that one, at least for awhile.
My husband being away overnight. Often.
The carpools and the driving everywhere. I took my kids to the library the other day, we walked! We walk to school, to shul, to Bnos groups and camp. They are all in the same building! Next door I have the shaitel lady, the babysitter, the children's clothes Gmach and the mikvah lady. Right next door! I will now publicly thank Hashem for this move to Rhode Island, with all its conveniences. And my parents and sister's family are coming for Shabbos, G-d willing. When's the last time we got to have that?! Boruch Hashem.
My first order of business is something I need to work on. We can call it a birthday hachlata if we must. It is incredibly hard though. Do not let Penina's sleep set the tone of my day. I would think it's pretty hard to "--wake up one morning after having gotten woken up a few times in the night, rocked and sang the baby back to bed and then woke up for the day at 5am, and dealt with a cranky baby together with normal morning children who have many needs" and have the same happy, cheerful day as a night like this: Put the kids to bed. Silence. Silence. Everyone sleeps. No one wakes up before 6am. I wake up on my own and find the house silent and everyone still sleeps. (I know my sentence structure could use some help, but there is no other way to express myself, I'm sure of it.)
Being the same cheerful happy person after both of those nights, in my book is utterly IMPOSSIBLE. If you can do it, let me know. At least I made myself conscious of it, and that's the first step.
As a birthday present, I am going to think of THE BEST ADVICE LINES that I have ever gotten and share them with you. You know, once in awhile, someone will just say something small in passing - but it is so monumental to that person personally, that without realizing it, they live their lives differently. Every person takes different ideas to reshape their thoughts, here are some of mine. Please think about it and Email me some of your's and I will share them with my blog world if I may.
"LET GO OF THE GUILT". Once in my adult years, I tried therapy. I hated it. The therapist was way too happy for me. She smiled too much. She also was Asian and totally did not get my life at all. She was shell-shocked by most of what I told her. But she did tell me this, Let Go of the Guilt. To this day, I just love that advice. So many moms say, "But I feel bad..." or after the fact they regret or feel guilty... it just works so well to let go of it all. I did it, it's done, NEXT. I may try to change the way I do it next time, but I will NOT feel guilty for what I just told my kid/ or did or whatever. Because then we just get lost in it and can't move on.
"I MARRIED THIS PERSON AND WHATEVER NEGATIVE QUALITIES I SEE, I NEED TO GET OVER BECAUSE I AM MARRIED TO THIS PERSON FOREVER." This was told to me by my very own husband. I don't know when or where but once he told me that he thought of this when seeing a negative thing in me early on in our marriage. Do you know --- to this day I stop and think about this often. What was it? What did he need to get over?!! Haha!! When I ask him, he doesn't remember. Riiight. But it is great advice. Why get annoyed when you see that extra long hair coming out of that birthmark? (Just an example, not a real-life one!) It will always be there and you will always have to see it, so move on.
"MY JOB IS TO CREATE A POSITIVE MARRIAGE FROM MY END." I blogged about this one and I made it up! Go me. I love this and it comes up sometimes when I want to get annoyed over something. I stop, breathe and remember that my job is me, not him.
I can't think of any more at the moment, but I am sure there are more. Be aware of them and let me know of your favorite advice lines!
And now for the best part, what I miss and don't miss about Seattle.
What I miss:
My friends. Today was my birthday and as I walked home by myself after taking the kids to camp, I thought about if I had even wanted to make a Game Night (which is what I did in the past few birthdays), who would I even invite here? These are just not Game Night people. I miss you guys!
I miss the moms coming outside with the kids in Seattle. The kids hang out a lot here, but the moms are always inside, making dinner or whatever it is that moms do.
Well. Can't think of anything else I miss. I think I'm gonna like it here!
What I don't miss:
The up and down weather. When it's hot here, it's hot. For awhile. Much easier to pick out clothes that way!
My squooshy house. BH I am done with that one, at least for awhile.
My husband being away overnight. Often.
The carpools and the driving everywhere. I took my kids to the library the other day, we walked! We walk to school, to shul, to Bnos groups and camp. They are all in the same building! Next door I have the shaitel lady, the babysitter, the children's clothes Gmach and the mikvah lady. Right next door! I will now publicly thank Hashem for this move to Rhode Island, with all its conveniences. And my parents and sister's family are coming for Shabbos, G-d willing. When's the last time we got to have that?! Boruch Hashem.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Birthday Reflections?
It's 6am and I realized, Maybe now is the time to write... After all, Nini wakes up in the 5's and I'm not going back to sleep anyway. Mo is going to a full day at camp today. To set my standards low, I'm prepared that today is his only full day (9:30-3). When I tried to send him to a full day of school, he didn't even make it to the first full day and I had to pick him up every day at ten to twelve, instead of 3:30!
I texted his counselor yesterday who just returned from seminary. I needed to feel better by preparing her for him, my speech deprived, sensory filled child. After texting me back a beautiful message ("Thanks for telling me. I will make sure he has as little frustration as possible and do the best job that I can:), she then texted her brother which came to me by mistake. I learned through this that she is one of those real post-seminary girls who mentions Hashem in every sentence and really truly lives Him all the time.
When I was post-seminary, I was hanging out in someone's house in NY. There were two frum moms there and I must've said something holy and they laughed and said, "I remember those days! Oh, you young innocent ones, it never lasts! Once you have kids, you just realize there's a real life out there..."
Now I'm on the other side and thank G-d I don't feel that way!! Yes, I may have become more real, but I just want to hang around this girl and let some of her bitachon rub off on me!
Tonight is my birthday, that's usually my time of reflection. I'd love to reflect but Penina keeps chasing the computer and Moshe Leib woke up and is trying to tell me lots and lots of things in his exceptionally slow way, so back to real life it is. I'll be back... muhahhaha
I texted his counselor yesterday who just returned from seminary. I needed to feel better by preparing her for him, my speech deprived, sensory filled child. After texting me back a beautiful message ("Thanks for telling me. I will make sure he has as little frustration as possible and do the best job that I can:), she then texted her brother which came to me by mistake. I learned through this that she is one of those real post-seminary girls who mentions Hashem in every sentence and really truly lives Him all the time.
When I was post-seminary, I was hanging out in someone's house in NY. There were two frum moms there and I must've said something holy and they laughed and said, "I remember those days! Oh, you young innocent ones, it never lasts! Once you have kids, you just realize there's a real life out there..."
Now I'm on the other side and thank G-d I don't feel that way!! Yes, I may have become more real, but I just want to hang around this girl and let some of her bitachon rub off on me!
Tonight is my birthday, that's usually my time of reflection. I'd love to reflect but Penina keeps chasing the computer and Moshe Leib woke up and is trying to tell me lots and lots of things in his exceptionally slow way, so back to real life it is. I'll be back... muhahhaha
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Fussy Eaters, Sleep Training and People who won't leave
I need advice. I have this one child who is an extremely fussy eater. Lately she is not eating any of our dinners. I play it pretty strict, by telling her that this is dinner and she can go to bed hungry or eat. I'm doing this because I want her to learn to taste new foods. I once met an adult who was picky, I thought that was so strange. I asked her what her mother did when she was younger and she said her mother always made her a different dinner of something that she liked. So of course this stuck in my head and now I will not do this. I know other people let their child have a go-to food that they can have instead of dinner. I feel if I do this, she will never even think to try dinner and will always go for that bowl of cereal immediately instead. But it's not like my way is working - she causes such drama at dinner by her tasting tiny bites and making a big deal out of it. She ends up saying forget it, and not eating.
We used to have dessert for those children who finished their plate. This worked for one child, he would eat quickly and get dessert. The fussy eater though, was very sad every night but it still didn't get her to eat. What would you do and how do you see this affecting her in the long run?
My next topic is that I feel so good to have a vocation! That's 'vo' not 'va'. That I can't have anymore as my in-laws don't live near me to take my kids anymore. (Having my tenth anniversary in a few weeks..) Anyway, the story is that when Menucha was 1, she was sleeping horribly. I was living at my parents and then we moved to Seattle after that. I treated her like a new-born and since I was living so precariously in someone else's home, (with a very young toddler too) I never got around to realizing that she was getting older. I rocked her to sleep and woke up all night at every sound she made to nurse her. I had no schedule and no knowledge of baby's sleep at all. It never mattered for the last kid - cuz she was the only one! By the time I moved to Seattle, I was miserable. She was one years old and I was waking up on the hour, every hour at night to nurse her. The first person we ate a meal at got to hear all about it. Hashem made her my messenger (thanks Sarah Simon!) to give me the book that changed my view on sleep. "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" by Mark Weissbluth. Now anyone who knows me, knows that I follow this book like a bible. Every baby since has taken me deeper into the world of baby sleep patterns.
Penina has been the most fun. I started working on things from the moment I came home from the hospital. Then a friend of mine and I suddenly started texting our baby's sleep habits all day long and that went on for months! Slowly, through texting her, and watching Penina's every breath and move, and reading the book and comparing my last children, I feel like I'm gaining experience on becoming a sleep advice-giver. Now, I have people all over coming to me to ask for advice. It's so wonderful to be able to help people on one of the hardest things to deal with after having a baby - sleep. Plus I'm free and Batya the sleep coach is expensive! I'm still learning though and Hashem bh gives me lots of opportunities to learn with my own tough child. But I keep a very detailed sleep diary for her to help me.
Last but not least- I like moms that drop their kids off at the door and leave. Yesterday a mom sent a child over, she didn't even come in. She said "Bye, have fun! Don't bother Mrs. Gallor and clean up your mess!" That was complete opposite to what I had on Sunday.
Rochel Miriam was invited out so Menucha begged to have a friend come in. We were out until about 4pm, which is late for a playdate but I got talked into it because fair is fair. The mom that we called said she'd take Menucha with them to the mall to check out the new lego store. Then nice me, felt bad having her take my child and made sure to invite them back here to our house afterwards. At 5?! Crazy, but I figured dinner was late anyway, so why not have a friend for Menucha? Since the friend had a little sister, I threw her in too, hoping for a miracle that Moshe Leib would find another "Naomi" and play with her. (Naomi was his best friend in Seattle - pretty much the only kid that could come over and keep him busy.)
So they texted at 5 that they were on their way. There was a knock on the door, the two kids came in followed by the mom. Then the dad comes in, carrying her purse and handed it to her. That was the red light. Isn't she getting back in the car? I forgot to say that Penina was screaming, I was running extremely late on dinner and was planning on running around with my head off while the kids played. Shaul was extremely busy doing work on the computer too. But he graciously got up to shake the guy's hand. We all made small talk and then I casually said that I needed to get back to making my dinner. The mom said, "Oh, I'll come with you. I thought it would be nice for us to hang out." And the dad follows my husband, making conversation. OMG, I almost blew a gasket. They hung out and talked about stores and where the best prices were and Penina was screaming away, I was trying to feed her and run around. At one point, I escaped and prayed, "Please get them out of here. I can't take it anymore!" Hashem helped and they realized that the dad needed to be at the school dinner, so the mom left to drive him there and I got a ten minute break. Then she came back. Misunderstanding or sticklers? I don't know if I should be avoiding them or not....
We used to have dessert for those children who finished their plate. This worked for one child, he would eat quickly and get dessert. The fussy eater though, was very sad every night but it still didn't get her to eat. What would you do and how do you see this affecting her in the long run?
My next topic is that I feel so good to have a vocation! That's 'vo' not 'va'. That I can't have anymore as my in-laws don't live near me to take my kids anymore. (Having my tenth anniversary in a few weeks..) Anyway, the story is that when Menucha was 1, she was sleeping horribly. I was living at my parents and then we moved to Seattle after that. I treated her like a new-born and since I was living so precariously in someone else's home, (with a very young toddler too) I never got around to realizing that she was getting older. I rocked her to sleep and woke up all night at every sound she made to nurse her. I had no schedule and no knowledge of baby's sleep at all. It never mattered for the last kid - cuz she was the only one! By the time I moved to Seattle, I was miserable. She was one years old and I was waking up on the hour, every hour at night to nurse her. The first person we ate a meal at got to hear all about it. Hashem made her my messenger (thanks Sarah Simon!) to give me the book that changed my view on sleep. "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" by Mark Weissbluth. Now anyone who knows me, knows that I follow this book like a bible. Every baby since has taken me deeper into the world of baby sleep patterns.
Penina has been the most fun. I started working on things from the moment I came home from the hospital. Then a friend of mine and I suddenly started texting our baby's sleep habits all day long and that went on for months! Slowly, through texting her, and watching Penina's every breath and move, and reading the book and comparing my last children, I feel like I'm gaining experience on becoming a sleep advice-giver. Now, I have people all over coming to me to ask for advice. It's so wonderful to be able to help people on one of the hardest things to deal with after having a baby - sleep. Plus I'm free and Batya the sleep coach is expensive! I'm still learning though and Hashem bh gives me lots of opportunities to learn with my own tough child. But I keep a very detailed sleep diary for her to help me.
Last but not least- I like moms that drop their kids off at the door and leave. Yesterday a mom sent a child over, she didn't even come in. She said "Bye, have fun! Don't bother Mrs. Gallor and clean up your mess!" That was complete opposite to what I had on Sunday.
Rochel Miriam was invited out so Menucha begged to have a friend come in. We were out until about 4pm, which is late for a playdate but I got talked into it because fair is fair. The mom that we called said she'd take Menucha with them to the mall to check out the new lego store. Then nice me, felt bad having her take my child and made sure to invite them back here to our house afterwards. At 5?! Crazy, but I figured dinner was late anyway, so why not have a friend for Menucha? Since the friend had a little sister, I threw her in too, hoping for a miracle that Moshe Leib would find another "Naomi" and play with her. (Naomi was his best friend in Seattle - pretty much the only kid that could come over and keep him busy.)
So they texted at 5 that they were on their way. There was a knock on the door, the two kids came in followed by the mom. Then the dad comes in, carrying her purse and handed it to her. That was the red light. Isn't she getting back in the car? I forgot to say that Penina was screaming, I was running extremely late on dinner and was planning on running around with my head off while the kids played. Shaul was extremely busy doing work on the computer too. But he graciously got up to shake the guy's hand. We all made small talk and then I casually said that I needed to get back to making my dinner. The mom said, "Oh, I'll come with you. I thought it would be nice for us to hang out." And the dad follows my husband, making conversation. OMG, I almost blew a gasket. They hung out and talked about stores and where the best prices were and Penina was screaming away, I was trying to feed her and run around. At one point, I escaped and prayed, "Please get them out of here. I can't take it anymore!" Hashem helped and they realized that the dad needed to be at the school dinner, so the mom left to drive him there and I got a ten minute break. Then she came back. Misunderstanding or sticklers? I don't know if I should be avoiding them or not....
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