Camp days

Camp is off to a roaring success.  My group of guys is fantastic and the summer will be awesome.  They are really adorable little guys and have kept us laughing day in and day out (and there have only been 2 days so far)!

We've enjoyed lots of time in the pool, music, playground fun, nature, delicious lunches, and sports. The rest of the week has a jammed packed schedule too - and the last two nights I have been vegged out on the couch by 8:30 and sound asleep a little after 10!

They also say the cutest things!

I asked M.B to swim to me yesterday and he replied: "I'd be delighted to!"

My back was a bit red (an inability to tan - I blame genetics) and J.G asked me: "Tamar, why is your back red like a tomato?"

A.M was telling me all about the Titanic and how it sank and they didn't have enough lifeboats and how icebergs need to be avoided - so adorable coming from an almost 5 year old!

There is a set of twins in my group, they aren't identical but look similar, especially when wearing identical bathing suits - M.B was sitting between them during lunch and he was clearing confused and probably thought he was seeing double.  He'd look at M.H then over at W.H and then back to M.H and was clearly confused but couldn't figure out why!

So far so good - 2011 summer at Beth El Day Camp is going great and I can't wait for the next 33 days!

And for now - time to crash: come 8:40 tomorrow am there will be 12 5X spidermen ready for a fun day at camp!

Summer Weekend

This was a pure and simple (although not too simple) summer weekend.

We made it a long weekend and kicked off Friday with a jaunt into the city to see an exhibit at HUC called a "Stitch in Time" - it was really interesting and there were some thought provoking pieces.  We then wandered around the city some doing some window shopping.  We had really hoped to find Thiru the Dosa Man but he wasn't at his usual spot that day so instead we walked up Lexington Ave to Curry in a Hurry and had some knock out doasa's there, so win-win.

Saturday am we were sloths and hung out at home since we opted to forgo synagogue this week.  We did a bunch of gardening which was really nice, just like the "old days" - mom and I - out there weeding and preparing the garden for new plants.  After two hours of weeding (best aerobic exercise) I hit up our pool for some laps and relaxation.  We stayed in Saturday night too and watched some movies and relaxed.

Today we were up and at them.  I was going to bike the Bronx River Parkway.  I was actually a bit nervous.  Last year when I did bicycle Sunday I ended up with several stitches in my elbow. But I was determined to get back on the Parkway. So I set out for that - and was quite successful - I had a great ride and made amazing time and didn't earn a trip to Urgent Care! Although did Avi point out:

Anyway, we then turned our attentions to the garden, we headed to Home Depot and bought a ton of plants to add to our little corner of the world and of course, no Sunday is complete with out a trip to Costco!

A friend came over for dinner tonight and I am now getting myself ready for the first day of camp tomorrow.  My clipboard is all set, my bag is packed, my sneakers ready, and the sun tan lotion primed. Hopefully it will be an amazing summer once again, and for now - time for sleep, because come 8:40 tomorrow am I will have 12 five year old boys raring and ready for camp!

Defeating a demon

It's no secret that in my past I have battled with a personal demon.

Hypochondria.

I kept this demon a secret. Only my immediate family knew my struggle with thinking every ache or sneeze was a serous life threatening condition.

But, no longer. I have defeated this demon. Last June was the last time I let my mind turn a simple ache into a tumor or a sneeze into a serious infection.

One year. One year of not having constant worry in the back of my mind. One year of living life and not fearing a disease that may end it.

I don't even know when this began. When I began to imagine I had every disease under the sun each time I sneezed or had an ache somewhere.

I really lived in fear. I used to inspect my skin for bruises, I used to walk a straight line when I had headaches, I used to say the alphabet backwards, I used to feel for swollen glands.

I waisted so much time fearing the worse, that I actually missed precious time of living. I should be so proud of myself for beating this demon, but part of me is mad at myself for allowing the fear to live with in me for so long.

But, then I look back on this year. Sure, I had a few colds, but no fear. I had some bumps and bruises, but no fear.  I had some headaches and sinus pains, but no fear.

Hypochondria, fear, you have been defeated and I do not miss you at all.

Anything goes

My "free" time, aka no academics and not workin time, is pretty much non-existent this summer. I was in class until a week or so ago and then I dove right into prepping for camp and now am in the throws of final preparations for another awesome summer of fun in the sun. I'm trying to soak in the lazy days of summer before the craziness commences. 

Not too much time this year to stop and smell the roses, or allium for that matter. But that is totally okay. I've been welcomed to the real world and really have no problem with it. I guess, as long I have time to stop and take in the color and light in my life, anything can go!

Words with Friends

I should have learned my lesson from what happened when Avi convinced me to download Angry Birds.  I began ever so slightly obsessed with flinging little birds at green pigs and vowed to not download another addicting game.  

Never say never, right? A few weeks ago my friend Robyn began telling me how fun Words with Friends is. I had seen facebook statuses (statusi?) about people playing games and vowed (big mistake) to not get hooked on this game. 

Well, Robyn convinced me to download it, and I won't say it was a mistake. I am actually really enjoying playing and as of last night I have 8 games with 3 people open right now. 

What I find really exciting is that when I play on my phone there is less pressure.  When I would play in person with my brother-in-law, scrabble player extraordinaire, I was insanely intimidated. But via phone? No pressure, I take my time and am actually getting pretty good at this game!   

 129 points for quiz? Yes please! This move's score brought to you by a triple word tile and a triple letter tile. Super sweet, none the less!

 Ben, is infamous for being able to use all  of his tiles and get the amazing 50 point bonus, but I was never able to put together words with all my tiles, until I discovered reindeer in my tiles. Not only did I get a 50 point bonus I had the word on the double word tile and a triple letter tile.  Icing on the reindeer? This came was against Ben!

 The cherry on the icing on the reindeer? Beating Ben for the first time EVER in a game of scrabble.  Vengeance is a dish best served via iphone app!

So, never say never, but I can totally justify this as educational and good my vocabulary? Right? Great? Now excuse me, it's my turn!

Man's Boy's Best Friend

Happy father's day Ben! It has been so amazing and fun to watch Ben father Noam. Ben has been the brother I never had for the past 9 years and now watching him as a father has been really awesome. From day one he has been in love with Noam and it is so special. Noam is so lucky to have Ben as his daddy, they are clearly the best of friends already and I cannot wait to watch that relationship grow and develop as Noam grows up. 

Happy father's day, Ben! You are a fantastic dad and Noam is so lucky to have you as his daddy! 

4 down 1 to go!!!

I know I am the queen of self-doubt, but after my 4th MTEL last month I really was unsure of how I had  done.  I knew I studied as hard as I could and I thought I did ok, but was it 240 points worth of ok?

Today was the day the results were released and I was so anxious I woke up at 6:30 and cleaned my bathroom. Then this afternoon the email came in, my heart was in my chest and I saw those four magic words: "met the qualifying score" - yes - I passed!! 

I was shaking, honestly I could not believe my eyes. I was really prepared to accept having to take it again. But I don't! I am 4/5th of the way through. Now just the math MTEL, student teaching, and one more year of school are between me and being a fully licensed teacher!

It was Colonel Mustard in the Library

I remember getting my first library card.  I walked up the stairs to the main desk of the Linwood library and I "signed" my name on the red card and it was mine.  I mainly took the same picture books out again and again and than as I got older I loved borrowing the next "Babysitting Club, Little Sister" books. 

And then, I became a book store "snob" - big bad and now defunct Borders came to our little corner of the world and I loved exploring the shelves, buying books, expanding my collection of prose. My mom kept telling me that there was no need to buy every book, sure Harry Potter and other favorite authors' works were okay snatch up, but for every little book - she preferred to use the library for those sort of books.

In college there was no public library near me, in DC of all places too! So I continued to buy books.  And then I moved to Brookline, ah Brookline.  I live between the two wonderful Brookline libraries and since I am on a grad-student budget, but still love to read books the library it was!

 Why didn't I start doing this earlier too? Just in May I read 6 novels, and took out some children's books for class! I've taken to browsing books at the local bookshop, taking pictures of books I want to read with my iphone's camera, and then taking them out of the library. Illegal, I hope not, genius, I think so.

 Not to mention the Brookline library's main branch is amazing.  The main part of the building dates back to 1910.  They've added onto it in really great ways, but I just love the main reading room. The wood pannled walls, chandeliers, and the main lobby has marble columns. It's just a wonderful place to go and browse the stacks of books.

I am so happy I have gotten over my need to only buy books, I love my local library and love thinking of books that I can read next without having to think about my wallet. And now days away from heading south for the summer, I've returned all my borrowed books and I while there is a great library system in White Plains, I will miss my library and can't wait to get back in August and hit the stacks again!

Not to mention they have great flowers outside! 

Modern Family

There are some serious perks to living in 2011. Like Angry Birds, wait no not Angry Birds, although come to think of it...wait, scratch that. 

Anywho, last night I was skyping with Noam and mom. The little guy was showing off his seconds away from crawling skills and looking insanely adorable as usual. After a bit Avi cam home and began to take pictures of mom and Noam. Feeling left out, I piped up, "hey, what about me." The result? A definition of a true modern family - a family portrait with people in two different states on two separate sides of the country! 

 Clearly Noam is trying to figure out why Auntie Mar is posing for a picture in a shiny screen.

Although, come to think of it, my mime stuck in a box act may have weirded him out a bit...

 I love my family, even with a computer screen thrown in we are all incapable of looking at the camera at the same time.

And because we weren't modern enough, let's throw in a poodle!

No lobsters were harmed in the making of this trip.

Since I have the car up here in Boston right now, I was itching to drive up to uncharted territory, Maine. Melissa and Catharine were totally down for a day trip to the Pine Tree State (okay that nickname so doesn't work in that sentence...). And of course our intended day trip to Maine, where we would be able to relax on a beach, had the kibosh put on it since it was 55 and rainy, but we still headed north!

First stop - York Beach, ME. We had lunch at an awesome lobster house (although no lobsters were harmed in the making of this trip). We had a stunning view of the jetty and ocean. And I read up on how to eat a lobster since the placemat had lobster eating directions: you learn something new everyday! 

After lunch we headed over to the overlook to gaze out at the lighthouse and ocean. It was windy and misty, but something about visiting Maine seems to require wind, grey skies, and mist!

 We all decided that this was our dream house, look at that view, heck look at that porch!

This lighthouse was built in 1879 and was so picturesque. I think it would have been so fun to grow up the daughter of the keeper of a lighthouse. 

 We climbed out onto the jette for a better view. Some nice guy took our pictures, once we found a spot where the wind blew our hair out of our faces! I had to break out the jeans (on June 12th!) but hung onto the notion it is nearly summer by wearing flip-flops!

I then braved the insane rock cliff to climb out onto the other jette to get some more pictures. I went pretty far out and watched the waves get stronger as the winds picked up.  Another brave soul took my picture and you can really see how strong the wind was and how far I was from the pathway and the cars.

 Catharine and Melissa hung out on higher ground during my excursion on the jette!

 Then went and got some really good ice cream, I got some epic peanut putter and m&m ice cream, we hung out in the car since the mist was picking up. We then drove into the little town and walked around. There is this cute amusement park and zoo and we wandered around there for a bit as the mist began to become a bit more like rain.

On our way back south we decided that merely driving through New Hampshire (all 14 miles of it) didn't count as having visited the state so we pulled off I-95 and explored Portsmouth for a little bit, it was really charming and quite literally a port.

So two states in one day! Hooray, I've been to Maine!

Not a failure, just more informed.

I just wrapped up my last class of Summer A and now am officially on summer vacation (once I mail in my last [finished] assignments).

The last class I had this session was Behavior and Classroom Management. I was super excited for this class and knew I would learn so much that I would be able to use in the classroom.

And the class really was informative, I learned so much.  I also realized so much. I kept having flashbacks to camp last summer.  I had a wonderful bunk, but a few of my campers had some behavior issues and at times I was at my whits end managing their behavior.

I had so many "aha" moments during this class. Realizing how I should have handled situations or how I could have worked through a hard situation.

Then at times I felt down on myself. I felt bad about how I had handled situations, I felt guilty for yelling when I should have been directive and calm.

But then I realized, I did the best I could, heck I did a pretty darn good job with the knowledge I had in my pocket and the support I had from the director. And my campers had a great summer, no one got hurt, no one got lost, and the memories from that summer are forever etched in my mind.

And this summer, I am more informed, more knowledgeable, and I know we will have an even better summer!

Is tofu a divine invention?

Little

It is truly amazing to watch a new life grow from the day they are born. It is nothing short of miraculous how someone so tiny grows into a "real" person. Not only growing in size and skills but also a emergence of personality, having watched Noam over the past 7 months has been amazing. He is becoming a person before our very eyes. 

It is amazing to think that just 6 months ago he was this little peanut. Born 3 weeks before Thanksgiving he was so tiny he fit in the roasting pan that days later helped prepare our huge feast. The 0-3 month pajamas were massive on him, the sleeves rolled several times and the pj legs flopping about.

And now he is a over halfway to his first birthday, days away from crawling, and no longer toothless.  Time does fly, but I will remember his littlest days forever.

Haymarket

I finally made it down to Haymarket! It's only open on Fridays and Saturdays and most Fridays I have just been too busy with work for classes or there was mounds of snow on the ground.  I had heard they had amazing produce and even more amazing prices on this produce. Since the weather finally got warm I took the opportunity to pick up some veggies for a stir-fry I was planning on making for dinner. It was a warm day but the breeze off the harbor was really refreshing and the atmosphere was something else!

 Some people were there to do their regular produce shopping, others were on lunch breaks from work, and then there were tourists checking out the historic market.

 There were tons of fruits and veggies. And many of these fruits and veggies were just beginning to come into season.  Two stall owners were shouting that they had cherries. One would shout "cherries, sweet bing cherries," and not two seconds later the other guy would shout even louder, "sweeter bing cherries, much sweeter cherries!"

The prices were really amazing. I got an onion, a huge onion, for 25 cents, a gorgeous zucchini also for 25 cents, and in total I think I spent 15 dollars on a huge canvas bag full of veggies and some fruits. Yum!

 I had so much fun down there. Something about buying your veggies and fruits right from the person who grew them that makes you appreciate them so much more. You are literally doing business with the person who grew your dinner. There is something to that for sure.

 It's also pretty amazing to buy produce on the cobblestone streets of historic Boston.  This market has been in operation since the early 1830s, steps from Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, half a block from the freedom trail.

The sights at the market were amazing and my dinner turned out pretty darn good too!

From a distance.

Sometimes you need to take a step back to really appreciate something.  So often I look at things up close, but last Monday night at the Red Sox game, what I saw from the stands was so powerful and meaningful.  In honor of Memorial Day the Sox honored all the employees of the team who are veterans and then a massive American flag dropped form the Green Monster for the national anthem. 

 It was like stepping back to see the brave men who fought for our country in past wars, wars before I was even born. And to see our country's flag, so big and awe inspiring from a distance reminded me of all that I have to be thankful for. It also reminded me that every now and then we should take a step back and look at everything we have to be thankful for!

Lucky number 7

Happy 7 month day Noam!! I cannot believe it's been one whole month since I was with this little ball of adorable-ness. But now he is enjoying quality time with his Savti!

 He is so close to crawling, he just needs to learn how to put it drive and not reverse.

 And his gummy grin is no more, the little man has two tooth! His first tooth was discovered when Noam decided to chomp on Avi's finger! And second pearly white was discovered when Noam decided to nibble on Savti!

Time flies, it's such a blast to watch Noam grow and change. Here's to many more awesome months Noam! Love you something crazy!

Lord of the Rings meets Beyonce.

Simple Pleasures

I haven't really missed South Jersey that much since we moved 4 years ago. But this weekend, the "unofficial" start to summer I was really missing the beaches of my childhood town. Something about the muggy and hot air this Memorial Day weekend made me long for the days at the beach. At one point I could almost smell the salt air and hear the crash of the waves. 

Last Memorial Day weekend we went back to South Jersey for the first time since we had left. It was like old times, tons of people in town to kick off beach season, and sand between our toes.  Growing up, you were a local (not a shoobie!) if you never, never wore shoes during the summer. Not just barefoot on the beach, but walking to the beach, walking to your friend's house, I basically only wore shoes during the summer as a kid in stores and places where it was mandatory!

Nothing more simple that sand between your toes and the waves crashing behind you, welcome summer!