Three wonderful unplugged days

Rosh Hashana 5772 (the Jewish New Year) was a real gift. Three days of family time, heart felt prayers, good food, and space from the outside world was wonderful. The kids really pitched in. dd1 took on sweeping the floor, dd2 clearing the table and dd3 setting the table. Over three days they had plenty of chances to help and they all really rose to the occasion.

We also had a lot of fun being together. Whether we were praying, reading, or playing just being in the same space with no outside pressure was a pleasure. We played a lot of Mancala, which is a logic board/strategy game. It is nice to see how may kids minds work and their personality through play. It is also nice to know that I can't count on winning any more, even if I am trying my hardest. My six year old doesn't even count spaces anymore when she plays and rarely misses a good move. All of my girls are strong players which makes it fun for me to play with them.

It is hard to get back into day to day life. Packing lunches, getting uniforms in order and backpacks ready is hard after three spiritually and emotionally fulfilling days. Going straight from one to the next is a bit of a shock to the system.

As I put away the leftovers I am also making lunches. Laundry from the last three days has to be washed and prioritized with what we need for tomorrow. Which comes first, chocolate covered little boy's white dress shirts that we don't want stains setting on or tights for the girls to wear tomorrow?

Tights, and the week to come, obviously come first, but once they are hung up, the white shirts will go in and we will work on incorporating the last several days of serenity and love into the rest of our week and year to come.

Balancing act

I was feeling better, a lot better, the beginning of this week. I was starting to think I was getting back to me, so I tried living like I used to. I was cleaning, cooking, shopping, dealing with my son's teeth, and wondering if I still needed to accept help getting ready for Rosh Hashana.

I managed to pretend that all was well for a couple days. I made bread, challah, bagels, made up a great new honey yeast cake, baked honey cookies and was getting into the Rosh Hashana cooking spirit. For three days I was working at 75% of my old level and 1000% of where I have been lately. It felt great.

Then the crash came. I am numb. I am tingly. My levels are low, though not low enough to need IV calcium the drop is big. I am numb enough to remind me that, no, I am not super woman any more and if I continue that way I will keep dropping and feel worse.

Pacing myself is still need. It was great to know that when I am healthy again I am still in there. I still have the drive and desire and IY"H when the pain and numbness are gone I think I will be able to pick up and live fully again. For now I am pacing myself in order to stay healthy and keep my physical discomfort to a tolerable level.

I am so glad that my freezer is full though!! B"H for that no so small miracle. Two batches of challah and cakes and cookies are sitting there, ready to remind me that there are good days and to remind my kids that Mommy cares, Mommy tries, and hopefully that Mommy makes good food!

Odd but true

I need you update you all on my MIL.

After all this time, and a city of top doctors, they are still unsure of her diagnosis. They have sent slides and pathology all over Boston and to other major medical centers and hers don't match anything they have seen in the past.

They did not start chemo, since they are not sure at this point what is it they are dealing with.

They did find her immunoglobulin levels low and have started her on IVIG. They are going to do IVIG and follow her for the next six months, while they scratch their heads, write this up and continue looking for opinions and information.

For now, this is great news!!

It is just odd that in todays science and in a top rate medical mecca they could call her to come back, thousands of miles, cut her time short with her family, pay almost a thousand dollars to change her ticket, and then decide that they have no clue what is going on after all.

We look forward to seeing her for my BIL's wedding. At this point it seems she should IY"H be able to come back for it, which is huge!! Being undiagnosed (because they all agree something is wrong) is odd and a bit scary, but hopefully the IVIG will knock what ever this is out and she will healthy and well soon.

It is obvious that everyone's prayers and the good deeds they took on on her behalf are paying off. They are obviously still needed though.

Just posting quickly to say

I love my bread machine!

We had awesome toasted cheese sandwiches today and I have a loaf of heavenly smelling honey oatmeal bread waiting to be eaten next. In the bread machine is whole wheat honey bread, though it doesn't look as pretty as the others, we shall see what it tastes like.

I used the machine to knead the Monkey Bread dough (thanks for posting the link to the explanation Mikimi). It is incredibly easy to clean.

I foresee a lot of yummy bread and experimentation with different bread recipes in my future.

Good new/bad news

The good news is better than the bad news though!

My calcium is a bit high, but not dangerously so. I am thinking we should watch it and not change anything until we have to. Ultimately that is up to my doctors and not me though. We shall see!!

AC's dental appointment went well. IY"H we only have one more visit left, which we scheduled for next Monday. It will be so nice to have his mouth taken care of.

Today he got three fillings, a cleaning and a sealant. He also got a sticker and a toy duck.

It is wonderful that his school and dentist are right around the corner from each other. It was a quick stroll over to the dentist. Even with all of the dental work he needed, AC was only away from school for 45 mintues!

Other good news: my husband toiveled the pan from my bread machine and it is working right now! I opened the lid and checked the dough consistency after it kneaded it and it was nice! IY"H My kids are going to have wonderful sandwiches tomorrow.

Onto the frustrating/bad news, when toilveling the bread machine parts my husband dropped his cellphone into the water. It fell out of his pocket when he was leaning over. We bought our phones pretty recently and are still paying for them, so this is really upsetting. He didn't know to let it dry out well before turning it on, so he took it apart, dried it with a towel and tried turning it on.

It is now apart and drying in a bag of rice. There is always hope, but I am researching phones none the less. It is really hard not to have a way to be in touch with my husband. We went years without cellphones, but since he doesn't have a desk job with a phone available it is necessary at this point.

I think he is taking my phone tomorrow since I don't plan on going anywhere. If anyone needs to be in touch with me on my cell they may well reach my husband instead.

I need to get back into my Friday Kever Rochel trips. Now that the kids are back in school and I am feeling a bit better it should be possible. I am using a lot of my energy on one little boy's mouth until the holidays begin though!

Rosh Hashana is in less than a week. Not only have I not made challah for Rosh Hashana, I haven't made challah yet for this Shabbos. I still have dreams of bagel making as well. PDZ got me good American style cream cheese, so I need to make them before it goes bad. I little more energy has caused a lot more dreams. I have started a collection of recipes I want to make. I think I would be insane to make challah, monkey bread and bagels tomorrow, but it is fun to dream.

I am still exhausted, but not in pain or uncomfortable in my body right now. The pain and numbness are so draining that I didn't want to move or do anything. Now I want to and am using any energy I can find. I know that when they attempt to lower my calcium again I will be miserable. The drop is always bad. I want the freezer full and everything running smoothly in the house before that happens.

I love the smell of bread baking!

We had a busy day.

I planned on baking today. I have lots to do to get ready for the upcoming holidays, I was just too tired.

I did marinate and roast some tofu and make headway on my black eyed beans, but baking didn't happen.

A friend of mine came with her kids to play in our pool. That always helps break up the monotony and keep my children (and myself) happy!

Tomorrow AC has the next round of dental work, so I won't be home all morning. The baking really has to happen though. I need challah for Shabbos!

Our bread machine arrived today. Once DH toivels (ritual immerses) the pieces we will have a fun new toy. My oldest will have no excuse not to have sandwiches at school any more. She can't have store bought bread because of her allergies and has thing thing against frozen bread, so she only eats sandwiches when I make her fresh bread and I was not able to do that daily. Now she can make fresh when ever she wants and she can do it herself!

It seems that AC had a great day at school. He came home with treats and notes and obviously well cared for. Tomorrow I get to pick him up from school for his dentists appointment so I will meet his teacher and see the school in action! I am excited.

Packed, labeled, bagged, written

It is funny, as much work as it was to send off the girls, it is so much more work to send my son. He is only one person but he doesn't travel light. My poor husband got the task of translating the note I wrote (in English) into Hebrew for his teachers. They don't know him and they need to! Allergies need to be known upfront for certain. I packed his medications, spare tube, spare clothing, diapers, and food. It would be easier, and more fun, just to keep him home.

I think we are done.

I won't be done until he gets home from his first day of school smiling.

*****

We had a wonderful day today. AC and I played and read books this morning. He gave me his stuffed sheep to cuddle when I tried to convince him to spend a couple minutes resting this morning. He had fun roaring and "scaring" me. He helped me with laundry, I "tossed the wet laundry from the washer at him and he threw it into the drier. We had some rare time with just the two of us home and we had a lot of time just being together.

It was a great last day of vacation.