Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in aunt_becca's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
7:05 pm	shabbat yumminess YUMMY!!!!!! I just made the most delicious one-pot meal. Spaghetti and meatball soup. Good lord, it's phenomenal. The only thing that would make it better would be cheese, but alas, it's highly fleishig. I figure if I'm going to do fleish, I may as well have fun! Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
1:52 am	Therapists say attacks on them rare - The Boston Globe Posted using ShareThis (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
7:54 pm	YOGI Yogi Berra!!! How awesome would it be if he made some opening remarks after throwing out the first pitch? I love that guy. Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
7:45 pm	nice! StarWars music being played as the Phillies and Yankees are being introduced. The Imperial March ofr the Phillies! Too funny!!!!! Current Mood: amused (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
7:28 pm	obligatory sports post GO YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!! my parents are going to Game 1 tomorrow night :) (Comment on this)
Monday, October 26th, 2009
3:05 pm	kid activities we went to Great brook Farm yesterday. it's in Carlisle, and well worth the trip- it's a working dairy farm as well as a State park. And, they have fresh, homemade ice cream. I didn;t get any, but ma, it looked amazing. Ben ran around in a huge open field, got to walk trails with us, we made new friends with other kids, we all got to play with dozens of dogs (it wasa  gorgeous day to take a walk and explore with your dogs)and the best part was the animals. The kid LOVES looking at and touching animals. Now, I know of plenty of places around here we can go for nature walks, but animal viewing is another issue. Do any of you out there know of farms or other venues where you can go and look at animals? I heard Gore Place, but thought that was a mansion as well as sprawling grounds to explore. Again, which is fine, but you should have seen him when we were petting sheep. It was too freaking cute. Current Mood: curious (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
2:47 pm	and on another note...... our neighbors probably think we're crazy.  You can hear everything that goes on in our living room, out in the hallway.  Yesterday's string of random phrases include : -faces aren't for grabbing -stop sticking your fingers up Mommy's nose -I need your tushie for a minute -you don't want to go into the bathroom with me, RIGHT?! -take your hads out of Mommy's shirt -OMG! There's a moose on my head! Help me take it off!!!! -elephants aren't for chewing -you are one smelly stink-monkey!! good thing they know we have a child. Current Mood: happy (4 Comments |Comment on this)
2:41 pm	awwww.... I awoke this morning to the sound of giggles. Lots and lots of giggles. From Ben and Richie.  It was Richie's turn to feed Ben.  (Ben had to be awaked by Richie because apparently he needs more than 12 hours of sleep, but I digress).  I found Richie in the living room, feeding Ben yogurt, singing the most ridiculous song with words that really made no sense whatsoever.  Ben was giggling, clapping along, and shreiking/singing inbetween spoonfuls of breakfast.  I'm not sure which of them started the silliness, they both seem to encourage each other. It was just too damn cute. Current Mood: amused (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, October 19th, 2009
3:32 pm	past few daze since the toe-breaking incident, I have managed to have my back go into spasms as a result of walking funny. Nice. Try chasing after a high energy toddler when you're walking like you have a load in your pants. Good times. So, I got a prescription for flexeril, and that, in conjunction with high alternating doses of tylenol and motrin, my back seems to be at aroung 90%. It hurts when I first wake up because I've been still for 8 hours. I looked int he mirror the other night and my pupils were completely dilated from the meds. I looked like I had been smoking up.  Better living through chemistry, I guess. On the upside, I have a shiny new icon!! I have found something that combines my LOVE of both Star Wars and the Princess bride :) Current Mood: calm (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
8:05 pm	how to break your toe in 4 easy steps 1- strap baby in high chair, begin to feed said baby 2- go to kitchen to get more food for baby, who can eat his body weight in just about everything every 2-3 hours. 3- run back to dining room/living room due to shrieks by baby, who can't wait 30 secomds for more food. On the way back to the living room, get foot caught on the bottom piece of the baby gate. Leave foot stuck under gate while you continue to propel forward. 4- try not to scream, curse, and yell bloody murder as the mind-numbing pain sets in. I went to the doctor, and while I was there, got a prescription for flexeril. My back is all in knots because I'm walking funny due to this damn toe.  At least I'm nicely drugged. On the upside, my toe is feling a little better. It's a lovely shade of eggplant purple. I have to tape it every day, ice it at night.  When Ben's older, he will be blamed told of how Mommy broke her toe. Current Mood: groggy (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, October 12th, 2009
7:23 pm	motherf@ck%r I broke my toe. It hurts like hell!!!! FUCK!!!   Current Mood: cranky (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
9:10 am	random snippets -I discovered a playground outside Watertown Square, along the Charles River. I've driven past it like 1000 times, but never stopped to check it out. Ben and I went on the way home from work. Despite it ebing built for much bigger kids than Ben, he loved it.  He also loved chasing the big boys and watching them be mischeivous.  I met some nice moms as well. One of them was talking about her kids, and how they're pretty close in age. She went on to say that she's from a family of 6, and her husband 7, so the idea of kids close in age wasn't a big deal to her. One of the other moms asked if they were religious, and she stated that her family is not really religious, they just wanted a lot of kids. "I can see having 5 or 6, but 7 seems like a lot to me." Um..okay. 6 seems like a lot to me, I don't see how 7 is much different, but different strokes I guess.  it's funny how I know (and am related to) people where 7 is average amount of children. and isn't all that uncommon, and for some people, 5 kids is seen as an obscenity. - talking to a mom the other day on my way to shul, asking her about 2 of the local Jewish daycare facilities.  She was stating that at one, "there can be a problem because some of the kids aren't halachically Jewish."  She was shocked when I told her that that's not an issue for me, that Ben is in a non-Jewish daycare with non-Jewish teachers and students who love him and are helping him flourish.  Honestly, if we can't afford the Jewish ones when Ben's a little older, I'd be fine keeping him in his current daycare. I'd just have to figure out how to explain Christmas.  Plus, I have non-Jewish family, Rich's two closest freinds entire world are frum Catholics, and a lot of my close friends aren't Jewish. I don't have an issue with Ben being exposed to non-Jews.  I can understand why some parents do. - there are days where all I want to do is hit the "reset" button. - yontif was quite enjoyable.  Ben stayed up to 9:30 the first night, and despite my fears, the world did not in fact come to an end.  He has never been late with bedtime, ever. Mostly because he gets tired around 7, and an overtired Ben is a cranky Ben.  But he loved the lights and the company at lucretia_borgiaand sethg_prime's sukkah.  He tried to pull down a string (sorry Gordons!) but was unsuccessful in his attempt. Yes, I have control issues. Plus, I worry that he'll start to cry and become inconsolable at someone else's house, which causes me a fair amount of anxiety. I'm working on this in therapy.  Anyway, second night he conked out at casa autotruezone We had a wonderful time having grownup conversation and being around such lovely company.  Lunch meals were at the Rabbi's home and the Salzberg's, both being quite enjoyable and a heck of a lot of fun.  Ben was fascinated by hoshanas, kept laughing, pointing, and clapping as the men made their circuits.  Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays, and I hope to one day have a home where we can have a sukkah of our own. The idea of inviting guests into my own sukkah is so appealing. -there's some brewing Glatt family drama, of which I am sworn to secrecy at this time. I shall post more once I am allowed to discuss it further. Ah, families. Current Mood: pensive (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 25th, 2009
5:15 pm	cue Topol.... Ben was promoted to the toddler room today!  They say it's more stimulating for him, and when I took a sneak peek, he was keeping up with the bigger kids just *fine*!!! Excuse me while I have my "Sunrise, Sunset" moment...... Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
8:34 am	yontif, in a nutshell yes, it's late, but that's okay, right? Anyway, Rosh hashana was a mixed bag of emotions (but what else is new?).  Friday night, we had Elana and Shmuel over for dinner, with their sweet twins, Chana and Dovid, who are 6 months old. They are just gorgeous. I kinda wanted to keep one, but somehow, I didn't think they'd appreciate me absconding with one of their children.  Even though Ben is only 7 months older than the twins, I hardly remember when he was that small and squishy :)  We had a lovely time, and are so happy to have made some new friends. Plus, it's more babies to add to Ben's gang!  We ate a ton of food, and I am happy to say that grandma's stuffed cabbage recipe turned out great, evidenced by Richie eating his own, my leftovers from my plate (I was too full from soup and kreplach to finish), and wanting to have a snack of them before bed.     Shabbat morning, day 1 of yontif, was hard for me.  Ben was still a bit cranky from his ear infection, therefore decided to be a cling-meister.   I have all the compassion and empathy in the world for him, but I was still frustrated that I couldn't even use the bathroom in our condo without him shreiking like a banchee.  We got to shul, and i got to daven for only a few minutes. I just felt awful that he was so kvetchy, so I left with Carol to go back to her house and get some emergency motrin (our motrin is dye-free, and i didn;t realize the bottle was empty prio to yontif. eek!).  On the way, we had a meaningful and somewhat philosophical discussion about parenting, which helped put some of my frustrations into perspective. It was just what I needed. Ben fell asleep on the walk, so I went to the park by my house, sat on a bench, and davened for about 25 minutes. Somehow being outside, standing behind my sleeping baby, and davening put me in a better emotional place. I also started crying.  We have been givent he biggest bracha in the entire world.  It's been a hell of a year for the Snyder family, and I started to thank Hashem for Ben. That's when the tears started. I'm a mess sometimes, what can I say?  We got to lunch at the Millers, and Ben freaked when I put him in the high chair. He wanted to walk!!!!  So he chilled out when I fed him-and that boy can eat.  Seriously!- and then he decided that he wanted to walk around wearing nothing but a diaper.  He was starting to feel better evidenced by his non-stop flirting, giggling, and playing.  That night, gnomiand mabfan graced us with their presence, along with Yael and Elisheva.  One of those twins almost stayed with us as well. Holy cuteness, Batman!!  I love those babies. It was a twinful set of meals at casa Snyder!!!!!!!    Day 2, things started out rough again. I was exhausted and getting frustarted again that Ben was being so clingy and shreiky.  We got to shul and I brought him up to babysitting. I decided that I was goingt o daven, come hell or high water.  He stayed in for shofar blowing. Ben LOVED it! he started giggling, pointing to the shofar, and singing along.  Right before tekiyah-gadolah, he let out his own long yell, which got some giggles from the older women.  We darted upstairs, where he happily went to the babysitter.  I went downstairs, opened the machzor, and what page did I open up to...?  Avinu malkeinu, have compassion for our infants and children. I started crying again. If that wasn't a signal for me to be more introspective, then I don't know what is.  I was able to daven for about an hour, and then went upstairs to get Ben.  Lunch was fun, and we got caught in the Brighton parade on the walk over. Next to the guns shooting off. LOUDLY.  Ben slept through it all.  I missed taschlich because not only did Ben need to nap, but I desperately needed some downtime. mr. No-Nap only slept for 25 minutes, but I let him fuss a little and entertain himself while I rested, because it was going to get ugly if i didn't.  We took another walk, I put him to bed, and yontif was over. I spoke to my parents later that night, who filled me in on the craziness that I missed in NY. that's a story for another day. All in all, RH was meaningful, emotional, and made me realize once again how many blessed we really are. Current Mood: thoughtful (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
8:02 pm	polypharmacy my allergies are awful. I can't breathe through my nose. So I took NyQuil and sudafed and will hopefully be feeling better soon. I feel groovy, drowsy and kinda buzzed. Current Mood: weird (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
10:02 pm	eek I saw a mouse tonight. I am so freaked ou and anxious. How do I get rid of it that won't be harmful to Ben. Borrowing a cat is out of the question and I'm scared to put down poison because of Ben. Current Mood: anxious (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
10:38 am	score!!! One of of the many nice things about this community is that people are always willing to help, especially when a baby is in the mix.  When I was pregnant, I was dressed like  lucretia_borgia and introverte,  thanks to their generous donation of maternity clothes.  I have since passed them on to some friends who were a few months behind me in pregnancy, and they in turn passed them along.  People are very generous with what they have. Then, prior to Ben being born, we got Jacob's crib lent to us by the Kamens family vilucretia_borgia andsethg_prime.  Amazing. Last night, I went over toautotruezone 's house to get some hand-me-downs. i was expecting maybe a bag of clothes. WRONG!  We got a box plus a huge bag of clothes for sizes 12-18 months, which is perfect!! And the clothes, besides being in fantastic condition, are absolutely adorable- there's shabbat clothes, clothes for every season, and even a tie. I can't wait to see Ben ina tie :)  He doesn't really have shabbat clothes, but I think as he gets a little older we can attempt to dress him a little nicer for shul. I am forever grateful for all of the kindness and generosity we've been shown. I hope to be able to reciprocate someday. Current Mood: grateful (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, September 11th, 2009
8:28 am	TV I can't watch any coverage of the Twin Towers falling down, the planes smashing into them, or the people on the streets running for their lives. Like most New Yorkers, I knew people. But in my case, I know survivors.  My dad knows a lot of those who died.  But besides that, I have major panic when I see the news coverage of that day.  I can remember as a kid, going into NYC and visiting my dad's office, which was a large skyscraper, and wondering what they would do if there was a fire. Or if the building fell down? But a building would *never* fall down, I told myself. Right.  maybe that's why I never, ever, ever want to live in a large 30 floor apartment building.   I don't think I could write anything which hasn't already been expressed.  Gd Bless America.  Bless and comfort those who lost loved ones 8 years ago today, at the hands of disgusting, vile, hateful "animals."  I feel fortunate to live in America, and have tried to not  take it for granted.  On 9/11 and the following weeks, people seemed a bit nicer to each other, and we got to see the true heroism in many of our fellow citizens.  I hope this trend will continue. I'm going to give tzedakkah tonight in the merit of those who perished. (Comment on this)
8:18 am	a year ago a year ago, we were watching the news when we felt Ben was burning up. We took his temperature, rushed to the ER, and he was admitted to Children's Hospital. At 2 weeks of age. He stayed in for 2 weeks, had a picc line inserted, a bunch of really invasive tests, and was diagnosed with VUR.  It was a hellish few days until we knew what was causing him to have such a high fever.  My mind went into some very dark and disturbing places for the first 2 days. Baruch Hashem, he is doing great!  He goes for a series of retests on 12/14, and we'll see how he's progressing. The doctors firmly believe that he will not need surgery to correct the urinary reflux, but rather he will outgrow this condition. Until then, he stays on antibiotics. I'll take that any day over major surgery. Current Mood: relieved (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
2:30 pm	sad My friend just had another miscarriage. She was due in March.  Her dad died 3 weeks ago,and she was able to share her news with him before he passed. My heart is breaking. Current Mood: sad (5 Comments |Comment on this)