I'm going to attempt a special Sunday edition for the next few weeks. I have noticed that a lot of bloggers do "Wordless Wednesdays" or "Thanksgiving Thursdays." I have decided on "Sunday Kvells & Kvetches." This way I can reflect back on the good and the not-so-good of each week. I suspect that some Sundays there may be more kvetching than kvelling, but we shall see. Let's give this little experiment a go.
Kvell: It was a beautiful weekend and for the most part my boys were reasonably well behaved. In fact they got on quite nicely with each other. Saturday the boys and I hit the ever famous Fairyland while daddy shopped for mini-vans. For those of you who do not live in the bay area, let me fill you in on Fairyland. It's a scruffy, old-fashioned kiddie "amusement park" created sometime in the fifties and never renovated. It follows a fairytale/nursery rhyme theme, Alice & Wonderland, Little Miss Muffet, The Three Pigs, etc. It is incredibly low budget and low tech. There are only a small handful of "rides" and many worn out play structures. However, it would be hard to call it anything less than charming. The kids love it. Evan and Zachary had a grand old time and Zachary was the ever helpful big brother, taking Evan on the slides and rides he was too scared to do solo. I was so proud of him.
Kvetch: I am an enormous whale of a person. I am certain that the pregnancy whining has grown quite old and may frustrate readers who feel I should just be thankful, so apologies in advance. I can hardly bend over. I am feeling nauseated at the moment. My clothes don't fit. I consume about 20 Tums on a daily basis. The baby is kicking so hard it hurts. I feel massively unattractive. Boo. Boo. Boo.
Kvell: While touring the hospital last week I visited the gift shop. I purchased each of the boys an"I'm a big brother!" button. My husband was skeptical, he didn't think that the present would go over well. Boy was he wrong! As soon as I presented Zachary with his button he yelled "Just what I have been wanting!" He has worn the button every single day since, and in the evening he keeps it "safe" on his bedside table. How cute is that? 
Kvetch: I am a very, very bad Jew. I was already aware of this, however since having children I have made an effort to expose my kids to the culture. We have had Hanukkah parties, attended Purim celebrations and Rosh Hoshana services. Now Passover is here, one of my favorite Jewish holidays. We aren't doing a thing. Nada. Not even a family Seder. I had originally planned on inviting another family and hosting a kid friendly Seder, but bailed because I simply didn't have the energy to get it together. Passover is a big deal. It's cooking and cleaning and in our case planning an actual ritual from scratch. My husband is not Jewish and has never lead a Seder before, and I am also fairly clueless. So we are sadly letting the holiday pass with little acknowledgment. I feel a little guilty and a bit disappointed.
I'll leave it at that. A nice neutral balance of the ups and downs. Let's see what the next week brings....
I know I'm some kind of a Jewish fanatic, BUT, here's the deal: there are certain parts of Passover that kids love and that you could incorporate with little work. I know it's hard to get a whole seder together, but I bet they'd love to search for the Afikomen or have the cup of wine disappear while they weren't looking (even at a regular meal) and with a chair for Elijah at the table. And you could read them one of the wonderful Passover kids books out there.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe next year (in Jerusalem, to use a phrase from the seder!)
What a great idea! Too often, we tend to let the good moments slip away forgotten as we're too busy whining about the not-so-good ones. So good for you, that you're able to see both sides.
ReplyDeleteWith my third child I was convinced I would die from heartburn. It was that bad. So I feek for you and hope you find some comfort soon!
ReplyDeleteLove it Rachel!
ReplyDelete