{36 reasons} Independent Pancakes

The other morning, David asked for pancakes.

I love to cook. I love to make breakfast (after all, my Pinterest meal boards are called "My Favorite Meal" and "Not Breakfast"). But I thought this was a perfect opportunity to start him on cooking things other than baked goods.

And so I used the simplest pancake recipe I've ever made, to which Rebecca introduced me.

And I stepped back. Pretty much gave directions and let him do all the work.

And guess what?
He made pancakes.

Now he can even make dinner. Because everyone loves breakfast for dinner, right?

I'm aiming for total self-sufficiency...

Blessed are You, O God, Ruler of the world, who has given us skills and has enabled us to pass them onto our children, and who has helped to balance dependence and independence as our children grow, and who has brought me to this day.

Backwards Birthday

Last week, when we were eating breakfast donuts for Sam's birthday, I asked David what we were going to have for breakfast on his birthday, one week later.

He grinned at me with an impish glint in his eye and said, "I think we should have backwards day - pizza for breakfast!"

Challenge accepted.

Breakfast, er, Dinner was pizza, made fresh from our friend Adam's City Pizza that he delivered to our house on Wednesday. (You can't exactly order pizza at 7am and the thought of making crust and all that in time for school...oy.) The kids even got to drink soda! It was a special birthday day, after all. And then we had dessert, one Oreo each.

And then for dinner breakfast, we went to our favorite pancake house. I brought along the morning paper so that David could, as is his daily custom, read the comics. Over breakfast, of course.

Why yes, he is eating french toast AND hashbrowns. He ate it all, plus one of Solly's pancakes. Oy.

How do you make birthdays special in your house? This one was pretty simple but everyone will remember it!

My Son, the Tween

I am realizing that the dramatic changes that took place in my children from age 1 to age 2...age 4 to age 5...are growing less...definable.

I re-read my post about David's birthday from last year.
It pretty much all holds true still today.

Things are a little different. Each day, he has new questions, new ideas, new stories to tell. He's definitely gaining his own sense of self, of what kind of person he wants to be. There is a little bit lot more attitude than before. But that's to be expected, right?

I look at this tall, gangly creature...it's so hard to believe that 11 years ago, he made me a mom.

 Happy birthday, David!

Off to Camp 2012

Today was David's first day at OSRUI. Last year, I wrote a prayer for him as he went off to camp. It still holds true, so I'm reposting it here today. My heart is now in so many places....

A prayer for my dear son embarking on his second third year at summer camp...

May you find learning and growth of all kinds.
May you gain independence and feel comfort in your Jewish identity.
May the mosquitoes be guided away from you, and may the raindrops not fall into your tent (too much).
May the food be delicious and the pool the right temperature.
May you seek out new experiences and try new things (vegetables would be nice but I'm doubtful).
May you smile brilliantly for the camp photographer and show up daily in the online photo albums.
May you avoid the camp crud and may you never lose your socks.
May you take a shower and brush your teeth every day.
May you not send wet towels to the laundry, because the laundry is charged by weight.
May your arrows fly straight, your fishing line never get tangled, and your tetherball not whack you in the nose.
May you not fall off the top bunk.
May you not spend your whole canteen account on silly junk.
May you not lose your hat and water bottle in the first week.
May you not lose your way in the night to the outdoor bathroom.
May you write me at least one letter besides the mandatory first-day-letter.
May you create a life-long friendship (at least one, if not many).
May you  renew old friendships, since they are the most precious. (Are 9 year olds allowed to have "old friends"?)
May you learn more and more about yourself and your spirit and being.

May you return home in one piece with all your belongings,
and may you ever yearn to return to the land of summer camp.

His shirt says a lot about what is on our mind...

 We also left behind the little girl...just for a few days. But already she wants to stay longer. Which is exactly how I feel about camp....

Double Digits

From this...

To this...

And all of a sudden...to this:

 Doesn't every 10 year old request a homemade apple pie for his birthday party?

TEN.

Reads three books at a time

Loves video games

Amazingly proud of his ability to make the baby happy

Never stops talking

Hates to get his hair cut

Has a hollow leg

Makes a mean chocolate chip cookie

Loves camp

Reads three languages (wow)

Sweet and kind and wonderful and caring

I'm so proud to be his mama.

The Princess & The Peanut {Review}

Review by David, Resident 9-year-old Reader:
The Princess and the Peanut is a great book for children with peanut allergies and many other allergies because it makes them laugh when they find out that the doctor tested the princess with dragons, three blind mice, and witches. It can also be a good book for kids who don't have allergies because it helps them learn more about allergies. I have a friend that is allergic to peanuts and other stuff and she always has to carry around an epi-pen. I am careful about who I eat peanuts around (even though I don't eat a lot of peanuts or peanut butter) so I don't accidentally hurt my friend. The pictures in the book are hilarious. I think the book was great.

Some words from the Ima:
I agree with David, the book is really lovely. We have a "peanut free" school and I think this kind of book would be perfect in our school library (I'm going to donate it to them, actually) because while there are many kids with allergies, there are also many children who don't have them and who feel "inconvenienced" by the school policy (don't get me started). This book could be very helpful to creating additional empathy amongst the children (and their parents!) for the necessity of the school policies.

When David was younger, the school sent home a survey that we were asked to fill out with our children. The purpose was to see if the kids understood why we had a peanut ban in our school. I was so impressed that David actually did understand, in particular about not wanting to hurt his friend who is allergic. To me, sending a soy-nut butter sandwich is a small price to pay to make sure that someone else is safe.

(Note: I don't want to get into a debate about peanut bans, the difference between "peanut free" and "peanut safe" or whatever...I know there are lots of issues. To me, the key issue here is menschlikeit. I want to teach my children that it's not the end of the world to go out of our way to make someone else comfortable.)

This book would be a great addition to every school library.
Full disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publicist. I was not compensated in any other way for this review! (But I do like free books and get a little giddy when the packages show up!)

Cute trailer for the book:

Interview with a Kid: David

Hi, how are you?
Good.

Do you want your mom to interview you for her blog?
It's fine. Hi, everybody who is reading this!


Can you tell me your favorite thing about your mom?
She's a mom.


That's your favorite thing about me?
No.


So what is your favorite thing about me?
(Thinks....waits....)


Okay, fine. New question. What is your LEAST favorite thing about your mom?
You yell at me a lot.


I'm sorry. I'll try harder to yell less.
Thank you.


Why do you think that your mom keeps a blog?
Because she likes to talk with her friends, and it helps her share her feelings when she's angry.
Next question.

If you could ask me anything you wanted, what would you ask?
Could you let me build a go-kart? And then, buy some land and let me turn it into a private go-kart track?
(no.)

Do you like being the oldest kid?
It has its perks. But when it comes to taking care of Sam and Yael...it is really boring.

What is the best perk?
Being able to stay up at night.

What is your favorite movie?
Avatar.

Why?
Because they have the best technology and the best sci-fi that there is.

What is your favorite book?
The Glitch in Sleep.

Why?
Because there's a world outside the world that creates everything like a sunset with clouds made of hope and in the Department of Sleep they make bad dreams and good dreams and they make the noises of the night like snores and they send sleep in boxes.

What is your favorite thing that your mom bakes?
Carmelitas.
Anything else?
On-the-fence Brownies, which you haven't made for, like, ever. Can we make them tonight?

Thanks, David!

A Letter to My Son at Camp

Dear David,
Please take out the trash.
Love,
Ima

Dear David,
Please practice piano.
Love,
Ima

Dear David,
Please empty the dishwasher.
Love,
Ima

Dear David,
Just wanted to make sure you didn't miss me too much...
I'm sure you're having a fabulous time!
Love,
Ima

(This was an actual letter that I mailed yesterday...)

A Mama's Prayer for Summer Camp

A prayer for my dear son embarking on his second year at summer camp...

May you find learning and growth of all kinds.
May you gain independence and feel comfort in your Jewish identity.
May the mosquitoes be guided away from you, and may the raindrops not fall into your tent (too much).
May the food be delicious and the pool the right temperature.
May you seek out new experiences and try new things (vegetables would be nice but I'm doubtful).
May you smile brilliantly for the camp photographer and show up daily in the online photo albums.
May you avoid the camp crud and may you never lose your socks.
May you take a shower and brush your teeth every day.
May you not send wet towels to the laundry, because the laundry is charged by weight.
May your arrows fly straight, your fishing line never get tangled, and your tetherball not whack you in the nose.
May you not fall off the top bunk.
May you not spend your whole canteen account on silly junk.
May you not lose your hat and water bottle in the first week.
May you not lose your way in the night to the outdoor bathroom.
May you write me at least one letter besides the mandatory first-day-letter.
May you create a life-long friendship (at least one, if not many).
May you  renew old friendships, since they are the most precious. (Are 9 year olds allowed to have "old friends"?)
May you learn more and more about yourself and your spirit and being.

May you return home in one piece with all your belongings,
and may you ever yearn to return to the land of summer camp.

OMGhowdidigettobethemomofaNINEyearold?

From this....

...to this

in the absolute blink of an eye.

Wasn't it just yesterday that I was made into a mom?
Wasn't it just yesterday that he was spitting up and learning to nurse?
Wasn't it just yesterday that he was taking his first steps?
Wasn't it just yesterday that he spoke his first sentences?
Wasn't it just yesterday that he learned to read?
Wasn't it just yesterday that he told his first joke?

And now....he's a big grown up 9-year-old.
He can read in THREE languages, shares conversation with adults and kids alike, sleeps away at summer camp, loves movies and video games but can't stay away from books, runs rather than walks, wants to be treated like a "big kid" but still loves to wrestle with his little brother and snuggle with his little sister. When I told him that we were going to have another baby, he was excited and cheered. (Oh, and he wanted "feetie" pajamas for his birthday.)

Wow, 9 years.

Birthday Planning...

My almost 9-year-old (it's coming up....I can't believe he's almost 9) decided that he wanted an Ipod Touch.

To me, this seemed a little bit of an extravagance. After all, he has access to almost every video game system available (my husband, bless his heart, loves them). So what did he need with a fancy ipod?

But I didn't say no. I told him to go ahead and save his own money.

And he did. He started saving, and the money slowly added up.

Then, it came time to plan his birthday party...and he couldn't decide what he wanted. We gave him many choices, all fun and interesting ideas. But nothing seemed to thrill him.

Then I had a brilliant idea. I offered a trade - I could make him a birthday party, the kind that we always make, or I could give him $100. I did not try to sway him either way - in fact, I wasn't totally sure what I thought about the idea.

And after some deliberation, he chose the money over the party. And he's even closer to his goal.

I think I got off easy.

What do you think?

Thanks to my dad for the picture.

Brothers

The Big Brother...

The Little Brother...

It's such a joy to watch when they're getting along, when they're playing together, when the Big Brother is giving the Little Brother all the encouragement and love that I hope I'll always see....

May they always be the best of friends...please?

Dispatches from Oconomowoc

Today we received 3 letters from David at camp. Yep, three.
(The third was relatively incomprehensible, I think it might be a continuation of an-as-yet-unreceived letter!)

The first is the required "ticket into dinner letter" that the kids have to write on the first day.
I laughed a little as I read it because I didn't sign him up for (expensive) horseback riding. Guess he missed that memo! A friend pointed out that he forgot to sign it (there's no line, probably why he missed it!), but luckily, I'm quite sure of its authorship.

Here's the second letter:

So...do you think he really misses me? (Note, it's addressed only to MOM) Or do you think that he's trying to make me feel better? Maybe a little of both.

One week down, one to go. I do miss my boy. I feel better going into Shabbat with this sign of life.

Shabbat Shalom!

One Happy Camper

So...we dropped off our oldest kid at camp on Monday.
(This is not a post about the importance of Jewish summer camp - this is purely an Ima post.)

Which means it's now been 2 days since I've heard from him.

I haven't called.
I haven't texted.
I haven't emailed.

Okay, that last one was a little lie. A rabbi-friend emailed to ask me a reasonable camp/work-related question. I snuck in a P.S. "how's my kid?"

But aside from that?

Truthfully, I miss him. I miss having him around and a part of our daily lives. But I'm also so curious to know how he's doing, I want to hear about every little detail, I want to know everything.

And I know that I just won't.

That is what I realized today. I just can't know it all any more. When he started in daycare (8 years ago!?), I got a little slip of paper at the end of every day. It charted every diaper change, every meal, every nap, every everything and I got a little written note telling me how his day went. Things have certainly changed since then.

But now? There will be mountains of details that he's not going to share with me. Not even because he's being secretive or whatever, but because that's just how it is.

And that's the sound of my heart breaking a little....

...but also rejoicing, too.
He's independent, bright, happy, and ready.

He's still my baby. Always.
But he's growing up too.
And that's okay.

Early Man

"Seriously, Mom, the fish was this big."

Uh-huh.

See more summertime fun at Summer Stock Sunday.

Separation Anxiety

I really want to write a post about packing up my oldest kid for his first foray into overnight summer camp. Alone. Without me there.

But I'm not quite ready yet.

More to come.

Terminology

Sign you don't actually watch a lot of sports with your kid (or ever):
While watching the Stanley Cup final, David: How many innings are there again?
Oy.

Don't Stop Believing...

My 8 year old son has adamantly refused to ride a 2-wheeler.
Even with training wheels, he's just not interested.

I've tried to trace it back to a particular incident, a fall, a fear. He remembers something that I don't, something that he tells me was really bad. I know we never took him to the hospital! But in some way, it left a mark on him because he has absolutely refused. Last summer, it wasn't even up for discussion.

But I really really really wanted him to learn to ride a bike. Call me selfish. I want him to have the freedom and independence of a bike as he gets older. I want to have this skill that I think is really important. And fun!

I've offered toys.
I've offered money.
I've offered....well, almost anything. (Except this.)

What I think did it? (I'm still not totally sure!) A young friend recently announced that he wanted to teach Sam, age 4, to ride without training wheels. Notwithstanding Sam's lack of interest in this project, I think a little older-brother-before-younger-brother rivalry came into play.

All of the honor of this teaching goes to my darling husband. Seriously, his patience and calm was amazing.  (He promised David that he wouldn't yell. But he never even appeared to get frustrated with him!)

Teaching David to ride a bike was a remarkably cerebral experience. Michael spent way more time talking than anything. He kept telling David, "trust the bike, trust yourself." It was really amazing to see David actually commit to the learning process.

And then, magically, it clicked.
It took only about 30 minutes total until we got this:
(can you see the smile on his face?)

They make a great team.

I've never tried to rush a milestone for my kids. "They won't start kindergarten in diapers," I would say. "They won't crawl to preschool." But this one I nudged. (and nudged and nudged)

And yet, he still waited until he was ready.

I knew it would happen. I just had to believe it.

Using Big Words?

David: Mom, how do you spell APPREKATE?
Me: What? What does that mean?
David: You know, like when you're really happy about something someone's done.
Me: You mean APPRECIATE?
David: Yeah, that's it.

Once upon a time, I informed my parents that an event was being held at a PresBYTErian church. They spent about ten minutes laughing until they could explain the correct pronunciation of the word. I guess it runs in the family.

But I'm sure you're also wondering why David wanted to spell "appreciate"....

Here is what he wrote in the thank you note to his Sunday School teacher:

Dear Ms. K,
I've had a great time being in your Sunday School class.
It is fun to read the magazines that we learn from.
I learned that it's best to stay away from friends most of the time during class.
Thank you for letting me be in your class. I appreciate it very much.
Best regards,
David

Yep, a whole year of religious school....

A Proud Ima Moment

Here's my oldest child, counting all the coins in the "donate" section of his piggy bank to give to those in need in Haiti. It was almost $45! He was very proud that he could help out the kids in Haiti.

Check out this sweet post by my colleague and friend, Rabbi Paul Kipnes, about the beauty of "Kid Tzedakah".