**UPDATED** Because 7 is my lucky number (or else I'm an idiot!)

As seen at AdProb, and Chickory-ville, I've decided to "pay it forward."

The first 7, (yes, that's seven) people to comment on this post will receive a gift in the mail - from me! The only glitch? YOU have to do the same (I think the current number is 5 people, but 7's been a "berry-berry-good-ta-me.")

So post away. And if I don't have your address? I'll e-mail you for it, so be sure I can track your e-mail when you post.

Cheers!

**OK - just a reminder, that if you anonymously (ie: no linkable blog link) signed up - and um, yes, Chris, that means YOU!) ;) this also means that I do not have your e-mail address, and if I do not have your e-mail address, I cannot write to you to ask you for your snail-mail address. And if I don't have your snail mail address? I can't send you stuffs!**

a Halloween Preview

This post is for Cat.

Today is Cat's favorite Holiday, and Malka sends her love to you, out in the hinterlands....

Here we see Malka in her Purim outfit, which will also serve a purpose when we go to the Natural History Museum today, for their annual Halloween Party.

When co-sleeping isn't...

Narda and I have always held onto the fantasy of a lazy Sunday morning, newspapers strewn about the bed, and a peaceful cherub sleeping in betwixt our pillows, cute as all get out.

Fast forward to last night.

Heard over the monitor: "SCREAM, CRY, SCREAM! EEEEEEEMAH! PACI! LOVEY! SCREAM! SCREAM! EEEEEEMAH!"

I roll over, thinking it's oh, 5:30 or so, and realize it's only 1:30. Ugh. I roll over, hoping that she'll work it out. After a few minutes, it totally escalates, and Narda sees me getting out of bed, and says - "good luck."

I go into Malka's room, and she IMMEDIATELY stops crying. She looks up at me and says: "Hi!" With a giggle and a grin. I pick her up, whisper sweet nothings, change her diaper, go to put her back in her crib, and she does the cling to Eemah, crib is made of fire cry. So I do what any normal mother would do at 1:40am. I bring her, her pillow, her paci, her lovey, her Elmo and her blanket to OUR bed, and sadly, escort Cougar out of our bed. (He'd bite Malka if she got too "friendly," he's a little old man and doesn't "do" toddlers.)

Malka, of course, is just THRILLED at this turn of events, and decides that play time? is NOW. Narda and I said "lie down, Malka" about oh, 150 times. Finally, I just roll over and try to sleep. With Malka's head on my neck. She wakes up about a half hour later, miraculously PERPENDICULAR to both of us - head on my chest, feet kicking Narda. We re-smoosh her into position, and try the sleeping thing again. She keeps sitting up and trying to get Quincy's attention. (I have to separate Quincy and Cougar at night if Cougar isn't sleeping between our heads, as Quincy will terrorize him...) "Kincee? "Kincee?" "Kincee!"

At long last, Malka falls asleep, and by now, it's about 2:45am. Oh my goodness is that kid cute when she sleeps! So we all drift off to peaceful slumber, when all of a sudden - BEEP BEEP BEEP. Damn alarm clock. 5:57am.

Malka bounds up, ready to start her day, as her mommies painfully shuffle about our morning, vowing never to "co-sleep" again...

Until next time, that is. Because did I mention the cute? Yeah, she's pretty cute when she sleeps. (if she ever gets there).

With Abandon

Sometimes, I REALLY get bitten by my internal organizer. It's when my old stage manger self comes in and says - Hey lady! You have too much going on - simplify!

So you know what I just did? I just deleted my ENTIRE Deleted messages box in Outlook - 2 years worth of messages that I had ALREADY DELETED, but were hanging onto - "just in case." Um, hello, self? I ALREADY deleted them!

So I just hit "select all" and the little red "X."

It feels SO liberating!

Now if only I could get a handle on my filing...

Tzedakah

Tzedakah in Judaism is best done anonymously.

Right now, many of us have a friend who is in need of some tzedakah. She has been spending the past few years of her adult life selflessly and lovingly taking care of her grandmother, while supporting many of us on our journeys towards parenthood. She has been wanting nothing more than to simply join our ranks, but due to her current full time job, she doesn't really have an income. So she was selected to be an egg donor (because she's that awesome) in an egg-sharing program. All was going well, we even got to see her yesterday, and she was mid-stims, producing a nice number of eggs to share.

Somehow, during a routine blood-draw, the lab messed up and decided to declare that she was Hepatitis-C Positive. The clinic called, and sadly, had to cancel the cycle for her and the donor. She can continue IVF, but her hopes of donating her eggs to share the financial burden of IVF are smashed to bits. Even though the test was a false positive.

I've never done this before, but we love and adore this woman. She has given SO much of herself, and asks for SO little in return. Please please please, go to her blog and click on the donate button, and consider donating a few dollars towards her IVF fund. I can think of NO ONE that deserves this more.

Tired, but in a good way...

This weekend, we got to host some beloved friends for some catching up, socializing, and good, old-fashioned hanging out. We also got to see some more friends this am, over brunch, and then we headed out to Brooklyn to see even a few more, and meet a few that we hadn't met before...

One of the sweeter moments of the weekend was when Malka and I came home today, and Malka said, with a sweet, questioning look as she gazed about the now empty apartment: "Na-ah-yee?" And I had to say, "Sorry, sweetheart, Natalie went home. We'll see her again soon, however." And Malka said: "Yeah."

All in the "family..."

Dumbledore is Gay, folks. Yea! One for our team!

remember that wedding I was in...

Pictures are finally up - go adore the beautiful Amy, and you might see me all gussied up, too!

Amy and Isaac Wedding Pictures

Props to Doda Marisa!

As many of you have read before, Malka is VERY PROUD to have a doda (Hebrew for Auntie) that is now in the history books for being the first openly gay student admitted to JTS's Cantorial school.

Well the fame continues! Here's a link to an article in CURVE magazine all about it!

The happiest of...

To my dear, dear, S - I wish you the sweetest of days, the best of what is to come, and to catch that elusive freaking brass ring.

To my dear, dear, Miao - I wish you nothing but sleep, serenity and love.

Happy Birthday to two of my favorite gals in NY/NJ. Who knew that when our paths crossed some 4 years ago, that I would still love and adore you, wishing you nothing but the best. I'm so glad we met all of those many moons ago, and I hope that we all get to watch our grandchildren together, too...

What happens in Germany stays in Germany?

Germany's Unicef created ads using black face on white children to share their "solidarity" with the entire nation of un-educated Africans.

Art Sweet is creating a flyer in the shape of a 20 dollar bill to give to all of the trick or treaters that they get stating why you should NOT support Unicef.

I will do the same.

Melt me!

So in this morning's rush to get out the door, Malka is in her stroller, mommy's putting on her shoes, I'm downing coffee, and going back to the bedroom to take a fast shower, and Malka says: "Byeeeee!" (as she does to anyone who is NEAR the door, or if SHE'S near the door...) so I say back from the hallway: "Bye, Malka, I love you!"

Beat Beat.

"Iyuvyou!" comes back to me from the stroller. For the FIRST time. Narda and I look at each other, and I smother Malka with kisses, and continue to say I love you, and gleefully hear her say it back. Mommy joins in on the fun, and I just melt into a pool of mush right there.

More from the Oy Baby folks!

So I'm sure you've heard me wax poetic about the joys of the OY Baby people. We LURVE us some OY Baby!

One of the cool things, is during the credits, they have pictures of Jewish babies from all over the country, and it's really neat to see Jewish faces of different shapes, colors and identities, all in toddler form.

So one day, we signed up for the "please inform us if you do anything more" link, and lo and behold we received an e-mail. It also was soliciting NEW pictures of babies and toddlers for the credits of the NEW DVD. So Narda and I talked it over and said - SURE! Malka's darn cute, and it would be great to have her picture in an OY Baby production. So we sent in a picture.

I just got an e-mail today that not only is the NEW DVD and CD about to be released (it's more generic, and geared towards kids all over the place), BUT.... Malka's picture is in the credits!

So Nu? What are you waiting for? GO BUY THE DVD! Here's a link to a sample, and you can click on the video. It's basically songs many of us remember from our youth, set to images and pictures and video of things that kids find cool today. So yeah, please support these folks - they are great. AND? I was in Jewish Youth groups in High School with the Schneiderman sisters, who are the vocals behind the videos.

It's a good thing.

Date Night!

So my dear dear friend Bobby is currently the Associate Company Manager on a new Broadway show. Tomorrow night is their invited dress rehearsal. And we are so grateful to have been invited! So we are having "tia Raquel," aka, "She who can get Malka from screaming to calm in UNDER 15 minutes" over to babysit. Which, by the by, is a record for a babysitter. Because the Malka? She's catching on. She has now figured out that if any of her favorite teachers from daycare come to the house? That Mommy and Eemah are leaving. And the world must come to a horrid, destructive, fiery end.

So we trust Raquel. She's wonderful with Malka. So fantastic, in fact, that we are going out. On a date. As in to a restaurant. Together. Alone. Squee.

***Update w/ NY Times Article***

img289.jpg
Originally uploaded by shellipsm

About 1.5 blocks from our house, an explosion happened. Malka and I napped through it, but Narda said she heard a "pop" sound, and what I heard were the countless fire engines. Malka and I went out to check out the scene, and she was more interested in the firemen and the fire trucks.
We walked around two of them, and she touched various parts of the truck, with a big grin.

For Narda, I caught this shot of the "law and order" types in suits.

I just pray that everyone's OK.

***NY Times Article HERE***