Snuggles

Much of Saturday was spent with Squidette snuggled up next to me. Now I have Little Squid doing the snuggle thing. Life is good.

What Mothers Do ...

The last few Mondays have been rough for Little Squid so this morning I called an end to it. I did the Curse Breaking Dance. Please imagine, if you will ('cause you are NOT getting a picture of this), a Mama Squid, clad in purple silk kimono (I kid you not), with damp hair and bare feet, jumping and leaping around the living room in order to break the Monday Curse.

The child in question went off laughing, so I think it worked. Keep your fingers crossed.

***

We found the woolies!!! The missing hats and mittens and glove (yes, singular) were mixed in with Squidette's Barbie clothes. We are now ready for winter.

And yes, she kind of knew it all along. She knew that the Dumb Donald hat was there but did not realize that if one hat was there, then the rest probably were there as well.

***

I did pick up my knitting last night and made major progress on Little Squid's sleeve. My finger is pretty much back to normal this morning. Woo Hoo!

Do I have to go to work now?

I Don't Claim to Make Sense, I'm Your Mother

Every night we have a disagreement as to which "child" bathes first. Tonight I settled the feud in a non-sensical manner. I don't have to make sense, I'm the mother.

Much of today was spent like this.Or in a similar position with a book on my lap. I have now finished three of my "math"* books in under a month -- a fourth is waiting for me to resume reading. All of these books have been works in progress for a year or more. Next on deck "Breaking the Spell, Religion as Natural Phenomenon" by Daniel C. Dennett. I'm on page 30 of 339.

Actually, I was productive. Did the laundry, paid the bills, took Squidette to Old Navy and purchased her first pairs of "adult" sized jeans. She is now a size zero. Ack! Researched bike trainers and MP3 players. Perused watches for Little Squid (yes, we feed his obsessions).

Indeed, despite serious itching, I did not pick up my knitting needles so far today. I may give them a try once my nails are dry but won't force it. My finger is definitely getting better. I must have jammed it or pulled it or something. Whatever.

For those of you who cared about our Bat Mitzvah saga, it is essentially concluded. Mike traded a few emails with the Senior Rabbi, who asked for the band schedule and, comparing it to the master b'nai mitzvah schedule, determined that there are 6 shabbot that work for us. He also promised to look into the lack of clarity of the regulation. Problem solved. Yes, I know that I way over reacted. Thanks for bearing with me. Oh, and another mom confirmed our interpretation of the rule. She also did not realize that only specific services counted. So, it wasn't just us.

*"Math book" is a euphemism for any non-fiction that requires serious thought while reading. Therefore, when "Math Books" is yelled in our home, it is a call for the kids to take out their supplemental math books (subject, mathematics) and the parents to take out something thought provoking.

Winter?

The view from my window this morning ...
And of my stash on the balcony ...
Yes, my stash now has a light coating of snow!

Meanwhile, inside the apartment ...
we are now the owners of a front, back and partial sleeve for Little Squid's sweater.

Unfortunately, that is probably where it will stand for the next day or two. I did something to my left index finger last night (no idea what) and it is now a little stiff and painful. It was a lot more so last night so I am sure that this too shall pass but I suspect I will be catching up on my reading today instead of my knitting and spinning. I think I gave it a good bang at one point, yesterday -- that or all the knitting it took to get to this point on the sleeve, twice. Yup. After doing all the calculations (since Ann Budd is great for gauges involving whole stitches but requires some work if you have, oh say 4.5 stitches per inch) I gleefully cast on for the sleeve and was practically up to the elbow when I compared the number of stitches to what I was supposed to have ... and realized that I cast on 32 instead of 36 stitches. Oops!

Such is life. No big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Super Mommy Explained and Some Knitting

All semester, Squidette has been struggling with managing to get her Bat Mitzvah folder into the car for her Wednesday night class. For a while we tried just leaving it in the car and that worked until last week when she met with the Assistant Rabbi. After the meeting, she put it in her back pack and forgot to leave it in the car. Fast forward a week (no class the night before Thanksgiving) and she can't find the folder. Again.

I looked around the living room but I was pretty convinced that it was in the car. After suggesting that Squidette go down to the parking lot to look, I went back to unwinding and let the subject drop. In the morning we tore the car apart, to no avail. So, quietly dripping tears, Squidette got out of the car and went to school. I dropped off Little Squid and set out to my own school.

Actually, I had a meeting to go to at the New York Academy of Medicine over on Fifth Avenue. My intention was to park the car in front of my school and then walk to my meeting which was about a mile or so away. Strangely, however, all the spots in front of the school were taken and I really didn't want to park in back and risk getting into a conversation that would make me late. So, I drove to the meeting, figuring that I'd find a lot nearby. Yeah, right. No such thing in that neighborhood.

Finally, after circling the super block that is Mount Sinai Medical Center, I pulled into their garage and hot footed it a few blocks north for my meeting.

Fast forward through an uneventful meeting. Now, I have my car nearby and am feeling guilty about the missing folder. I should have searched her room the night before says my heart and my brain chirps in "um ... you could go home and look for it." And I did. And I found it. In under 5 minutes. And, because I am a serious geek, I shouted "I AM SUPER MOMMY!" over and over to the empty apartment. Then I called Mike and left a voice mail to that effect. Then I shouted it some more. Then Maria came in and I figured I should stop being such a dork.

Then I called work and determined that they really did not need me for the last two hours of the day. So I sat on the floor by our All-in-one printer and copied the contents of the folder. Page by page.

And then I got back in the car (now clad in jeans instead of my work slacks) and head uptown to this place:
Yup, the new one, just blocks from my next stop -- Knitty City. between the two, my wallet was just a tad lighter.

Then I set out for my usual Wednesday rendezvous with my daughter. And made her VERY happy.

While waiting for her to finish her class, I finished this hat for Papa Squid.
Won't lose him anytime soon.

Mike decided to break out the Futurama Socks yesterday, in honor of the series release on DVD.
After riding to work in them, he has decided that Zoidberg belongs on the left otherwise his tentacles risk getting caught in the bike chain.
Yes, he really did ride to work like that. Just wait until he breaks out the Kang and Kodos socks!

SUPER MOMMY!!!

Faster then a cross town bus.

More powerful then a nasty rumor.

Able to find lost objects in five minutes flat!

LOOK! Down in the kitchen. (No, wait! Mommy would never be found in the kitchen.)

It's a spinner, it's a knitter, it's SUPER MOMMY!!!

Yes, it's Super Mommy. Strange visitor from another planet who came to earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of normal mommies.

Super Mommy, who can find your folder, wash your gym shorts and knit a hat;

And who, disguised as Mama Squid,

Mild mannered Assistant Principal for a Major Metropolitan High School,

Fights a never ending battle for Truth, Justice and Warm Feet.

***

Go ahead, ASK!

Ode to My Aunt

Blackberries

My trips to my Aunt's house were like blackberries

With their sweetness and tartness

I loved seeing my family

My aunt, uncle and cousin

Sweet, like the blackberries across the road

And even in the winter,

The sweetness of the blackberries remains



I love you Aunt Marni! Happy birthday and may you have many more!

-Squidette

Ode to My Elder Sister

When we were kids

And birthday's came.

I often thought,

It's all the same.

For many years

Our cakes were one.

And yet it was,

Still such fun.

Now at times,

We're apart.

And our husbands work

To do their part.

.... Umm ... at this point I realized that 1. my brain is fried, 2. I am not very good at writing poetry, and 3., that an excellent poet is attempting to go to sleep in a nearby bedroom.

Yo, Squidette! Help me out!

Yum!

I have to admit it. I love my family.


(Cross stitch present courtesy of Little Squid who diligently worked on it throughout our delightful dinner together, tonight. What a wonderful dining companion my son is.)

Birthdays!

Presents In
(Pretty tea canisters from my big sister, CD from Mike and poem from Squidette)

Presents Out(Envelope containing b'day and chanuckah presents to big sis and nephew, box containing, very belated, b'day and, early, chanuckah, presents to youngest niece.)

Tomorrow, an ode to my big sis.

I Have Decreed ...

because I am a beneficent mother, and because there are battles not worth fighting, that I will no longer make socks for my daughter. Instead, I will make for me and share freely.

Hey, her feet are only going to keep growing for a few more years and mine have stopped. Why make more socks for her to grow out of when I can make them all in my size and we can both wear them? Then, by the time she goes off to college, I will have enough, in the proper size, to send her off with.

What say you?

Free Range Socks

Apparently we are now in that stage where Mama's clothing is up for grabs. Just look at the socks below -- then look at the person wearing them. Take a good look, I'll wait.
Looked hard enough yet? Notice something about the person wearing them? Yeah, it's not me. And those are my socks! Apparently they were in her sock drawer. Hmm ... I think she's plotting with Maria ... and maybe the turtles.

Knitting Up A Storm!

Yes, there has been knitting here at Chez Squid but first, an aside to Cygknit.

*I was not taken aback or at all offended, by your comment. It actually helped me to see things in a more balanced light. I have, however, lost your email address due to the great "contact purge" that I performed in the wake of my accidental spamming. If you can email me off-blog, I'd love to reply properly.*

And now, some finished knitting!A hat, scarf and mitt set to match my new grey wool coat.

Socks for Papa Squid. Homespun Blue Faced Leiscester purchased last year at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival. Yes, over a year in the making. They are a little bit big to allow for some felting on his feet.

And, some projects in progress:Teacher scarf. Recipient as yet undetermined. Either Little Squid's classroom teacher, our violin teacher or a colleague of mine.

Hat for Papa Squid as one of his was lost during the great buggie instigated clean-up and the other felted during the same process.

Little Squid's sweater. Which I keep swearing I will finish the front of already. Yes, the yarn for Papa's hat is left over from the center of Little's star.

Also in progress are socks for Mom but I was too lazy to take a picture and she knows what they look like. I promise to photograph them once they are done.

Clarification

Because I know that I did not share certain things in an earlier post, I feel I must clarify why I am upset.

I understand the requirements and why they exist. My issues are 1. that this particular twist to the attendance requirement was not explained either verbally or in writing. 2. That the number of services that fill the requirement is very limited since they are not every weekend and run only from September to mid-May and tend to not be on long weekends or secular holidays. That, in itself, has to be a concession to some issue that arose in earlier years. If we had known about the twist, we would have knocked two of the five out earlier in the year. But, instead, we gave in to our inner-sloths and stayed home one of the two Saturdays because I was sick and we thought we had time.

Originally, this was not an onerous requirement as we rarely go out of town and had no standing commitments on Saturdays. Our kids do not participate in sports, so there is never any conflict like that. The music opportunity was unexpected, and the additional qualification for the special program with-in it was even more unexpected. All of a sudden, the service requirement was difficult, but not too tricky since we do not go away for vacations or long weekends. Then we found out that these same weekends are usually without the specific type of service that we need to attend. Now we are looking at having to pull her out of up to 3 rehearsals in a program with 18 remaining sessions. She's willing to miss one or, maybe, two. So again, we are talking about some sort of work around for maybe two of the five. She will go to the two immediately preceding her own which makes sense as the format will be fresh in her memory after a summer of nothing.

My other issue is that we cannot get a hold of the b'nai mitzvah schedule so that we can figure out which rehearsals she will miss. Right now, all of this is happening in my head so anything is possible. Next week should see some resolution. Hey, we are willing to do lots of other stuff. She will do the "high honors" program because, frankly, it is far too easy not to do. She's already fulfilled something like 8 of the 15 requirements and has blown away the community service requirement, for both regular requirements and high honors, with her participation in the monthly knitting program.

I do not disagree with the policy, I just wish it had been made clearer when we had our orientation in September. Had we known then, we would have acted appropriately at the time and would not, now, be in this pickle.

Finished!

With the holiday shopping. Without spending a dime this weekend. Woo Hoo!

During the last two years I've gone a bit overboard with picking up little gifties here and there for the assorted cousins, friend-kids and office staff that need gifting. So much overboard that I had lots of extras that got lost in the depths of my closet.

During the great clean-up and throw out that accompanied our little buggy debacle, I consolidated all of the gifts and today hauled them all out. With the aid of some post-it notes and the ever helpful Squidette, we figured out what could go to who and have declared ourselves DONE! A few of the gifts were picked up this year, but most were purchased at least a year ago. I even wrapped all (save one) of the chanuckah gifts. The Christmas ones will have to wait until I have appropriate paper.

Now to just find boxes to pack up the mailables ....

Not Religious

Despite the plethora of Hebrew names in this house, we are not religious. We call ourselves Jews and pay some homage to the major Holy days, including Shabbat, but we are not religious. This presents a problem as one of us prepares for a Bat Mitzvah.

One of the requirements for "qualification" for her Bat Mitzvah is that she attend 5 Shabbot morning services. That is exactly what the handbook says and what was said in our "orientation to b'nai mitzvot." Since Squidette qualified for the Borough-wide band, which meets every Saturday from 8:30 until 1:00, we figured that we would do the required services on 3-day weekends and during the school breaks when band does not meet. Or, worst case, every Saturday in June, after band is over and the kids have done their thing in Carnegie Hall. Oh, did I mention that she will be playing with the New York Pops and will be performing in Carnegie Hall? Yes, this is a big deal.

On Monday, we met with the assistant Rabbi who is in charge of seeing the kids through this process. When she asked if we had started the 5 Shabbot requirement, we explained our issues and our solution to them. At which point we were told "oh, there are not b'nai mitzvot on 3-day weekends, it has to be a Bar/bat mitzvah service. Maybe we can count one non-mitzvah service." I've been obsessing on this all weekend long. We were going to go to services this morning. We are not going to do so now.

I am willing to pull Squidette from band for one Saturday (Mike is not even willing to do that.) I am so upset that I cannot even write a coherent letter to the Senior Rabbi (who is the final word on this). Frankly, there are two B'nai Mitzvot in the month before her's (and before Borough-wide starts up in the fall), so we are only talking about 3 which all, according to the Assistant Rabbi, have to be done before Memorial Day weekend because there are no B'nai mitzvot over the summer (which is why Squidette's is in September.)

Borough-wide is a limited run. It, too, runs only until Memorial Day weekend, with the big Carnegie performance right after that. It is, in our opinion, more important. It is not something that she can do in the future. This year and next year are it.

Is it about the religion or about learning the routine of the b'nai mitzvah service? If it is about the religion, then the smaller, non-b'nai mitzvah services should be even more important. They are, theoretically, more intimate and include actual Torah study. They sound like the kind of service that I might actually enjoy.

And, what is the actual consequence of not fulfilling this requirement? Are they going to deny her this opportunity if she is otherwise fully prepared? After 8 years of Hebrew School and the insane schedule we are following this year to provide our kids with this training so that they can make an informed decision later in life?

We are raising our kids to be good people who do good things for others. Both kids helped me during this last Mitzvah Sunday and Squidette has now done 3 of them as well as helping with the additional meetings of the Sanctuary Stitchers that I led. Will she be denied an opportunity because she only gets to 3 of the mandated b'nai mitzvah services? Will her ushering during Rosh Hashana and attendance at Yom Kippor (which was on Shabbat this year) not count?

Well? What do you think?

(Mike will be writing a letter to the Senior Rabbi later tonight. As I said, I am too angry to do this.)

Squid on Wheels -- Thanksgiving Edition

Thanksgiving morning dawned clear and warm and Mama wanted to take advantage of the unusual weather with a bike ride. Sadly and gladly (at the same time) only one other Squid was willing to join her. So, off they went, Mommy and Monster, for a Thanksgiving ride.Our goal was 10 to 15 miles but, after just 2, Little Squid asked to abbreviate the ride and turn around at Stuyvesant H.S. Mama, looking to con the little one into a longer ride, suggested skirting Battery Park City on the waterside edge. Conning accomplished, the pair wend their way through Battery Park City, stopping to admire various sculpture and plantings, something they would not have done if accompanied by Papa and Squidette. At one point we even doubled back (gasp!) to check out an apple sculpture that Little Squid spied.
Interesting

I forget the name of this one, but it was way neat.

Irish Potato Famine Memorial, side view

Apple Sculpture

All in all, a lovely morning.

Teens Knitting: Preparing for the Holiday

Theoretically there should not be an edition of "Teens Knitting" this week since I plan on shoving all of the teens in the building, knitting or not, out the door at 3:00 tomorrow. I take my long weekends VERY seriously! Also, for some strange reason, teens in a mostly deserted building, the night before a long weekend, tend to get up to some really odd stuff. So, we shove them out and make sure they are GONE. O.k., we strongly encourage them to leave -- no physical force is employed. Promise.

Before we strongly encourage them to leave, however, they must fill up on yarn. And some of them, knowing that I am not always in my office, stocked up early. Every lunch period today saw a multiple young people digging through the newest arrivals from Elizabeth and Knits With Cats. Thank you so very much, ladies!

One young lady brought in her half finished scarf and moaned about not having enough yarn to finish it. While I was pretty sure that we no longer had any matching yarn, I helped her dig through the stash and, voila!, we found one more ball of the same colorway! I think that it was this deed which earned me my good parking karma for the afternoon. (I have a strong belief that good deeds towards young people earn me good parking spots. The deed has to happen in the same day as the spot is needed or it doesn't work. And no fair intentionally doing a "good deed" to earn the needed parking karma. It has to be unplanned. That said, 6 out of the last seven street parking spots that I have found have been at failed meters. Including today.)

The afghan "squares" are piling up and I may bring them home this weekend to wash and hide ends on. After a disaster with the synagogue project blanket -- where 1/4 of the squares turned out to be wool and felted when I washed the completed blanket -- I now wash first. Good thing, too, the last batch of synagogue squares had almost a blanket's worth of now felted squares. They will not go to waste, however, we will put together a felted-square blanket.

Finally, a picture of the package I received last week from Felecia (no blog that I can find) -- it was kind of freaky to find the needles poking up through the yarn as I emptied the envelope.

Gone Quiet

I know I have been quiet lately. Nothing is wrong things have just been so busy that when I get home at night, composing a blog post is beyond my mental capacity. I really need this four day weekend to decompress and sleep a little. Or a lot. Mike and I have promised each other to not set alarms this weekend. Other then Thanksgiving with my family, we have no plans. Maybe lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant or some long walks, but nothing specific.

Last night, Mike and I attended a concert at Carnegie Hall and noticed that the streets were surprisingly empty of people. We debated if it was a side effect of the stagehands strike or if it were just because it was Sunday night. Or maybe a combination of the two.

As we walked uptown, we saw a few picket lines and the question arose: "do you really need to walk a picket line if there are no scabs to cross it?" Mike marched with his mom on picket lines many years ago, the last time the NYC teachers struck. I guess the purpose of the lines is two-fold as the strikers get their message out to the public as well as stopping scabs. Outside the theater housing Chicago, we saw some of the musicians striking up a tune. Interesting. By the time we walked back home, the strikers were all gone and Times Square was eerily quiet.

True Conversation

I swear this was a real conversation:

Squidette: "So, we're going to Bubby and Zeida's for Thanksgiving?"

Me: "Yup. And your cousin S will be there and Uncle Josh and Aunt Jaye and ..."

Squidette, interrupting: "Louis!"

Little Squid: "Yea!!!"

Me: "Huh? remind me to bring allergy medicine"

Louis is my brother's cat. I never did finish listing all the aunts and uncles who will be there. The cat is all they care about now.