Scary Ladybug!

Using a familiar costume...which Maya has been using since her first Purim, Maya asked to be a "Scary Ladybug" this Halloween. Enjoying the cooling weather, we took a nice family walk and Maya enjoyed her first trick-or-treating. It was a lovely evening!

Noah's Brit Milah

While I am not a proponent of cosmetic circumcision, we did look forward to the celebration of Noah's Brit Milah. The surgery was over rapidly, and the ceremony was an intimate affair of close family and friends. We were also able to share it with our family in Israel via a live Skype cast, which was a very cool experience.

Hatching

The chicks have finally hatched. Of the 12 eggs, 9 hatched, but one didn't make it overnight, so now we have 8 hearty chicks. One is lemony yellow, several are golden, and several are tan with black stripes on the wings. Can't wait to see what breeds and genders we will end up with!

Welcome Noah Mordechai

Noah Mordechai Mayan was born at home at 8:15am on October 23. After 6 hours of labor he was born in the water, with Haim and Maya at my side. It was a wonderful labor and birth and we are all very excited for the addition to our family.

Lemon Bars!

On Monday night Haim and I had a date night...something that we try to do fairly often, but usually consists of Maya sleeping out, and us watching TV together...It's hard (actually you just have to be creative) to do a budget date night, but it's nice to do something out of the ordinary. In the morning I had told Haim that I wanted to do something (actually anything) besides sit and watch TV together, as a gentle warning that he not get all wrapped up in the garage conversion project that he's been working on.

Haim picked me up from yoga in the evening, and we went for an "early bird" pizza at a restaurant we both enjoy...(even though I had dinner prepared at home). We sat outside to enjoy the wonderful breeze and weather which the recent (and now gone) cold-front had brought. After dinner, we came home and took a walk over to Hollywood Blvd and around the circle. While walking, we came upon a new fudge shop, and we went inside for a peak. Haim was the proverbial "kid-in-a-candy-shop." His eyes were giant as he took in all of the beautiful candies and treats. I also discovered that Haim had never before tasted fudge or caramel. He had both, and enjoyed them immensely, but it got me thinking of other typically American treats that he had never experienced.

Last night Maya and I made Lemon Bars. They were really nice to make with her, because she could do most of it with supervision rather than assistance...she got to get her hands messy and had fun pressing the crust into the pan and mixing the lemon topping....and the bars were a delicious hit!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, 1/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, and butter until butter is in very small crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 11x7 inch pan.
2. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and lightly browned. While the crust is baking, whisk together the eggs, 2/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Just before the crust is done, stir in the baking powder. Pour over the crust while it is hot, and return to the oven.
3. Bake for another 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Dust with remaining confectioners' sugar when cool.

Delicious weather....and cookies

We've had the first cold spell (thank g-d) of the season...and I was really hoping that the change in weather would also bring about the birth...oh well, guess the baby's not "fully cooked" yet! However, I did take the opportunity to do some extra cooking today. Maya and I made black & white cookies...she's been into them lately, and they were really easy!

I used the following recipe from Gourmet, which made about 5 cookies, though teh recipe said it would make 8. I might make them a touch smaller (though oversized is good for these cookies) and make sure they are a bit flatter on the pan before heading into the oven, since they do puff quite a bit while cooking.

For cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg

For icings

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.

Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.

Patience and presence

I'm feeling big and I know that it's coming to an end. I'm trying to be patient, and enjoy the last days of our family as it is at this point in time. I know that this birth will be a wonderful and much anticipated event for all of us, but at the same time, there is a bitter-sweet feeling since things will obviously never again be the same.

I'm really trying to not rush through the last days of this pregnancy, to be present, and to enjoy special time with Maya and Haim (separately and together). Extra time in the bed nursing with Maya (who insists that my milk tastes the same as always, even though I can see it's now colostrum), a couple of fun craft projects, and lots of cuddling and watching TV on the couch. Also date nights with Haim...which I know will probably be in short supply for the next year or 2. Of course we will do these things after the baby is born...but understandably it will be different too.
This truly is a wonderful time for us.

It's easy to say YES!

Every day's we look for ways to say yes to Maya's requests....big and small. Sometimes those requests are simple..."I want salami with mayo".....and sometimes they are a bit more complex...."I want it to be my birthday NOW!" In the last day or two, we have had the following requests, and managed to meet all of the "needs"

1. Maya (totally into birthdays....mostly the cake and singing) wanted it to be her birthday....we explained that a birthday was only one day a year, but that we could have a pretend birthday with candles, cake and singing...she was thrilled. I then realized that the following day (today) was her "Birthday minus 1 month"....so we celebrated that all day. Lots of singing, lunch with grandpa, cupcakes and a cookie (her choices). She had a lot of fun explaining to us that her birthday was actually in "vember" (November)...but also had lots of fun celebrating all day.
   
2. We were heading home from dinner with my grandma lat night and drove by a park with kids playing...Maya expressed an interest in going, and I told her YES, when we pass by from some errands and dropping off grandma we can go...as we kept driving, and were about 2 blocks away, I realized that in 15 or 20 minutes there might not be kids there, and that we were not all needed on the errands...I had Haim turn around to drop us off, and Maya got to play in the park for 40 minutes while we waited for Haim to return. Heading into the park Maya said "this is so good"....so simple and accurate!
3. At Maya's "Birthday minus a month" lunch, we were at a beautiful bakery counter to choose a cake or sweet...first she chose a black and white cookie....and then a box of 4, beautifully decorated mini-cupcakes. Why not...it was her choice. At the table, she chose the first cupcake, ate the frosting off of the top, and handed the cake part back to me (i ate it, it was delicious!). She happily shared one with her grandpa, knowing that we would get more if she still wanted them after the box was empty. Next, she chose a second and requested that the frosting be removed, which I did, and then happily ate about 1/2 of the cake and handed it back. She left the remaining cupcake "for later" and asked for the cookie. She split it into several pieces, had a nibble of each, and asked that it be put back in the bag. Knowing that she could have it seemed to be enough...it took me about a year in Spain (and 30 lbs) to figure out that I could order a pastry without eating it all, and that I actually liked looking at them more than eating them, and she knows this already.
4. Driving to grandpas to wait for Haim to pick us up, we passed by a park that offers pony rides. Can we visit the ponies please, was answered by a turn into the park. The big smile on Maya's face was worth the 20 minute delay in getting back to the couch to rest (at 39 weeks pregnant, exhaustion is frequent)

Why not say yes whenever possible...even if that yes is followed by an explanation of when the yes will occur, if it cannot be immediate. Our daughter knows that we will do whatever is within our power to meet her needs and desires, it doesn't mean that a "yes, later..." isn't sometimes met with a meltdown (she's not even 3 yet)...bit I do think with each day we are building an intrinsic bond and trust that is invaluable.

Broody Bunch

One of my hens and I are having a race to see who is going to have a baby first. Right after the Yom Kippur holiday, she went broody and began to sit on some eggs that had accumulated in her nest for a day or 3...I then decided that it would be fun to let her hatch...unfortunately, not owning a rooster, I had to figure out how to get fertilized eggs. After making some local inquiries and a day of looking on the internet, I found a farm in Archer, FL that sells and ships fertilized eggs...a mix of Rhode Island Reds, Amerucana, Golden Comets and Dark Cornish. While waiting for the eggs, I realized that each morning, the hen would move over so that the others could lay their morning egg (my breakfast) on her nest...
Knowing that once there were fertilized eggs under her we would need to keep them separate, I figured maybe I could leave her in the coop, but put her in a "1-chicken" sized basket. I bought a new basket, filled it with pine, and at night transferred her and her eggs into the basket. In the morning I happily observed her in the basket with the eggs, and one of the other hens laying in the second nest box...Victory! I came out an hour later to collect the egg and found that my determined girl had carefully rolled all of the eggs out of the fairly high-lipped basket and over to where the lone egg was laid....she was once again happily sitting on all of the eggs! I really do admire the determination of this mother hen!
I moved her and all of her eggs back into the basket and looked forward to seeing what would happen the next day....The following morning she stayed in her basket, but managed to make room for the second hen to lay her egg there as well. (this is really a 1-chicken basket).
Well, today our fertilized eggs arrived and Haim eagerly swapped them for the unfertilized eggs beneath the hen, who is still happily sitting, unaware that her situation has improved greatly! We will have to figure out how to isolate her tonight so that the eggs do not mix if the other hens lay in the morning.
Now begins the count-down....for both her and me. We know she's got 20-21 days to go, and I really hope I have a baby in my arms before she does!

Feeling Blessed

It's easy to forget how blessed you are in the hum drum of day-to-day activities.

Today, while doing household chores, I've been constantly reminded. Maya and Haim are on a nature field trip in the everglades for the day, and I've had a quiet day of kitchen cleaning, laundry, bread making, and resting. Yes, I did have to clean the kitchen, but i'm very lucky to have a beautiful kitchen to clean after it has been "torn apart" while preparing delicious and healthy food for my family.

I've done a load of laundry, but with the luxury of a washer and dryer in my garage...and the laundry that I have done is all of the beautiful baby clothing that I used with Maya and will soon be reusing for the baby that will bless us in a very short time after (g-d willing) an easy labor. How lucky to have had the ability to buy such lovely things the first time around, and to have the opportunity to use them again!

It is so nice to experience the peace and silence of the house, and to know that it will soon again be filled with the noise and chaos of those I love.