The day Samantha met Santa

While we were in Orlando, mom and Jim took us to their favorite orange groove stand.  OMG!  These oranges are something else!!  So yummy!  This orange grove stand has an amazing business with not just produce, but a variety of other items too (special wines, honey, gift sets, etc).  In addition, there is a big farm where you can walk among chickens, roosters, cows, and pigs.  What a cool place to visit.

On the day we arrived there was a special VIP.  Santa Claus!  He was employed by the orange groove stand to greet the kids and do his Santa thing.  We just happened to arrive when there was no one around Santa.  Samantha made a beeline for him and started up a conversation:

Sam:  Are you a real Santa?

Santa:  I could be.

Sam:  If you are real, what are your reindeer's names?

Santa:  Blitzen, Rudolph, etc,...until he names them all.

Sam:  Where do you live?

Santa:  The North Pole

Sam:  Where is Mrs. Claus?

Santa:  Back at home getting the elves ready for Christmas

Sam: Is your beard real?

Santa: Try pulling on it.

Sam does.  It's a real beard!

This interrogation went on for 20 minutes!  Sam did not stop firing questions at Santa to see if he was real or not.  It was hilarious!  After she was convinced that this was the real deal, she sat on his lap and Santa asked his magical question:

Santa:  What would you like for Christmas?

Sam:  Not sure how to answer this one, Sam looked at me.  I told Santa we actually don't celebrate Christmas; we are Jewish and therefore, celebrate Hanukkah. 

Santa:  Great!  What would you like for Hanukkah?

We had the best conversation with Santa.  Turns out he is a super nice guy and has a dream to work for Macy's in NYC.  He wants to be the Santa in the parade and at the store.  He has four children, a new granddaughter and we learned all about them.  I think we must've chatted with this Santa for about an hour before a child approached him and wanted a turn.  

What a fun, spontaneous visit to the orange grove stand.  It was awesome!  And I love how social Sam became striking up a conversation with Santa Claus.  While she believes the Santa she met at the orange grove stand is real, she is still skeptical the Santa's at every mall she sees them in isn't.  :)

Sam thinking hard questions to ask Santa to see if he is real or not.

Sitting on Santa's lap after Sam's interrogation is over.

Thanksgiving wrap up.

It's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things.  Most days I feel too exhausted to want to write.  However, I love looking back and reading how I felt, what the kids were up to and what our family was doing.  This can only happen if I actually write it.  :)   I plan to do a better job of getting back into the routine of writing with the frequency I used to.

I have the best family.  Hands down, that's all there is to it.  I am so thankful for so many things; my life is truly blessed.  I don't have the newest car (it's become a family joke how many miles are on it) or the biggest house (by far I live in the smallest in my family), but I am rich with love.  So much love.  It's the best when we get together.  You'd be hard pressed to find a family that enjoys being with each other more than mine.  It's non-stop reminiscing, making new memories and laughing non-stop. 

I know my family will not be around forever.  I can cry buckets just at the thought of losing one of them.  It's important to me to go down to Orlando as much as possible.  There is nothing like family.

This past Thanksgiving I took the kids for a week. Jeff hadn't built up enough vacation time at his new job and stayed home while we flew down.  My niece turned a year old on November 13th.  Lori & Ben had her first birthday party while we were in town. 

It was a jam packed visit.  Not only were we around to attend Rachel's first birthday party, but we also witnessed her taking her very first steps.  How exciting! 

While traveling, my bucket of what I was grateful for overflowed.  Here is a just small sampling - some are very trivial, some not so much.  But all touched me in some fashion.  In no particular order -

* The airlines lifting the "no electronics" rule on take-off and landing.  Wow, I can't even begin to tell you what a difference this makes when flying with the kids.  I don't think they even realized we had taken off or landed.  It was a breeze.  I am not sure I could do a cross country flight with them right now, but I'm getting much closer.

*Ian being a wonderful big brother and letting Sam have the window seat on our flights. 

*My dad/stepmother and mom/stepfather not only getting along, but truly caring for each other.  It makes coming together for the holidays a breeze.  There is never a discussion of which house my sister and I will spend the big day at; it's just a question of who is hosting. 

*Having 3 different residences (my mom, my dad, my sister) all fight for us wanting to spend the night at their house.  We were there 6 nights and I split it up equally-- 2 nights at each place.  It gives me a gushy feeling to have so many want us to invade and make a lot of noise in otherwise quiet, peaceful homes.

*When we realized it wouldn't be possible for Jeff to go with us, it wasn't a question that me and the kids would travel without him.  To have the ability to purchase plane tickets (when we would have otherwise been driving with Jeff) is something I don't take for granted.  Having Jeff's parents take us to the airport and pick us up when we got back was a few more drops in my bucket of gratefulness.

*The woman who sat in front of Sam on the return flight. I am thankful for her gracious and understanding nature.  In an uncharacteristic move on Sam's part, she intentionally kicked the seat in front of her, repeatedly.  Ugh.  It took about 25 minutes before I could get Sam to finally stop.  She is known for a lot of inexcusable behavior, but she has never kicked the seat in front of her.  I guess there is a first time for everything.  The woman who sat in the seat in front of Sam was very sweet and should've been highly annoyed every time she involuntarily lurched forward again and again.  Miraculously she wasn't.  Believe me, Sam got punished for this, especially when she refused to apologize to the lady.



I love these people.

My gorgeous niece turning 1!

*My friends Amanda and Molly.  I've known Amanda since I was 6 and Molly since I was 12.  To show up at random times in Orlando and have a date instantly get put on the calendar for us to get together warms my heart.  Our kids are only weeks apart in age.  How awesome it is to have a playdate for my kids whenever we need it.  And a girls night out for me is always a must; I don't lack childcare to help take care of the kids.

Our girls at 6 months old and again at 6.5 years old.  Love.
 

It wasn't all sunshine and roses.  Southwest Airlines did lose the kids' luggage on the way there.  Fortunately, It was found the next day.  But for about 12 hours, it was a pain to think we'd need to quickly buy clothes, shoes, toiletries for the kids for the week.  On Tuesday, it rained ALL DAY LONG.  Like hurricane type rain.  That kept us mostly indoors hanging out at my mom's house.  It actually turned into a nice day being with my mom and Jim.  Mom and Sam made cookies together.  And, lastly Sam had a few major temper tantrums that I am still recovering from.  She has been pushing my buttons big-time.  Most days I feel majorly beaten-up by the time nightfall comes.

I can't complain.  I am truly blessed and I know it. 

Christmas 2013

My Toppall team and I aren't normally around the family for Christmas.  Given that we are Jewish, not being near family for this holiday is ok.  More than ok.  However this year was different.  We were staying with my mom and stepfather from Tuesday, Dec. 24th to Friday, Dec. 27th.   Given that Jim is not Jewish, him and my mom do a little Christmas celebration each year.


First it gets funny...

Watching my mom and Jim exchange presents was hilarious.  The presents my mom received from Jim had already been picked out by her but wrapped by Jim.  Each time she opened a gift she gave quite a performance acting surprised. At first I was blown away by how perfect Jim's gifts were for my mom, but then I remembered she actually picked them out herself.  My mom had a variety of presents for Jim (all a surprise) but forgot what was in each box.   It was very funny watching them open the gifts.

Sam wanted to know how Santa delivered the gifts since Mom and Jim don't have a fireplace.  Ian said he came through the air vent.  Sam didn't question that as an answer, despite the air vent being very small in size.

We had a big dinner and Lori, Ben and Rachel came over to join us.  The majority of the day was spent in the kitchen cooking. It was a lot of work, but very fun and so delicious!  I made two desserts; an Apple Cheesecake Streusel Bar and a Turtle Bar. 


Then it gets ugly...

After dinner my mom wanted to take us to Celebration for their holiday celebration.  At 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm they have it snow for 10 minutes on the hour.  And this year they offered outdoor "ice skating" until 10:00pm.  Celebration is approx. a 15 to 20 minute from my mom's house.  We followed Jim who took us a back way to get there.  Only this way wasn't faster, it took us an hour of sitting in traffic to finally get there.  At this point, Jeff is starting to lose his good mood.  Sam fell asleep in the car and it is guaranteed now that she won't go back to sleep easily when we get back to my mom's house.   We weren't getting anywhere quick and it was only getting later and later.

It took us another 20 minutes or so to find a parking spot.  We finally ended up in a condo parking lot with big signs announcing it would TOW if your car was found in this lot.  Both Jim and Jeff begrudgingly agreed to park there.  My mom and I (obviously genetics were in play here) didn't see anything wrong with these golden spots that were extremely close to all the action.  Ian kept saying he didn't feel safe (?!?!). Jeff wanted to stay by the car and keep an eye on it.  Jim at one point felt like he should go back to the parking lot and check on the car.  Basically the girls ruled and we all proceeded ahead with our plans to watch it snow and ice skate. 

Have I mentioned that Jeff is not a fan of big crowds or lots of noise?  Both of which were in full swing as the holiday music is piping through the speakers and everyone in Orlando seemed to have the same idea as us on where to go on Christmas evening. 

The snow is really just bubbles made to look like snow.  It's a novelty and everyone in the town square gets all excited to see it.  Everyone that is but Jeff.  He wasn't amused and was ready to get back in the car and make our way home to put the kids down to bed. 

After the snow fall, it is time to go ice skating.  Mind you it is not real ice, but a special kind of plastic that you can skate on.  Normally I am all about ice skating, but due to a blister on my foot, getting ice skates on my feet wasn't my idea of fun.  Jeff hates ice skating but felt like he had to do it to help the kids.  He is now comparing this whole evening to being on a beach.  With all 3 on the ice Jeff is holding on to Sam's walker more to balance himself than actually needing to help Sam skate.  He keeps glaring at me and I am pretty sure he mouthed the word "hate" when I our eyes met. 

The skate session is for 30 minutes but the kids and Jeff last about 15.  They've had enough and want to their skates off NOW!

As we make our way back to the car we stop at the Market Cafe for Ian to use the bathroom.  Mom looks at her watch and sees it is going to snow again in 10 minutes.  G-d I love her and her inability to know when to give up, but my mom proposes waiting for the snow to fall again.  It was a pretty unanimous "no" and we go to the car.


Now it gets pathetic...

We tell Jim we are not going to follow him home.  We will go our own way and put the address in the GPS.  We just know that getting on the highway will be faster than Jim's back roads.  As we make our way to I-4, the GPS has us go towards a toll road.  Jeff asks if we will actually be going on a toll road.  I say, "No, it's just the direction we are headed.  We won't come to the toll."   Well, I was wrong.  Big-time!  Before we knew it, we were at the toll booth and needed a $1.00 to go through.   I knew I didn't have any money on me and Jeff said he didn't either.  We pull over to the side of the road, right in front of the toll booth and work on counting all the change I could find at the bottom of my purse.  We make it to .89 cents.  Yep, that's the best we can do.  I am laughing at the predicament we are in.  Of course, Jeff is getting even more pissed and his mood has gone from bad to worse.   I think at this point he was wishing he was on a beach.   It is truly sad that between the both of us we don't even have a dollar on us.  As we are scrounging for any change we can find, Sam says "You should've gone to the bank earlier today."  Um, yeah!  That's for sure.

There is no option to turn-around  We have to go through the toll booth. We tell the toll booth collector we only have .89 cents.  Does he take credit cards?  He says no.  After a long moment of silence I ask what do we do then?  He gave us a card and said we had 10 days to mail in the toll.  We thanked him and continued on our way.  I did offer the .89 cents we came up with as a down payment, but he wasn't interested.


Then it got funny again...

We were certain that with our change counting delay there was no possible way we'd get home before Mom and Jim.  Surprisingly enough, we did.  At this point we are all giggling again and very surprised to have a good 5 minutes before they walked in the house. 

This will surely be a Christmas to remember.  :)

'Tis the season to party

Jeff's company holiday party was a week ago.  It was at Art and Soul in the Capital Hill area of Washington D.C.   Art and Soul is owned by the guy who used to be Oprah's chef.  So I guess in some weird way I am now a few degrees from being friends with Oprah.  Not like BFFs or anything, but should the opportunity to have a conversation with Oprah arise,  I can now tell her I went a party at this guy's restaurant.  Sounds very important of me, doesn't it?  :)

It's been 20 years since I've graduated college.  That's a lot of showing up at company holiday parties under my belt.  I can honestly say this one for Jeff's company this past week was one of the best ones I've ever been to.  If I was in charge of throwing a company party, this is exactly what I would've done.  From start to finish it was amazing.  It didn't matter I didn't know anyone beyond a brief introduction to a few of his team members maybe a few months ago or another holiday party.  And it didn't matter that Jeff knew a very small percentage of those attending the party.  We had a GREAT time!

There was a big outside patio area with heat lamps and an awesome fire pit.  Plenty of seating and tables were scattered about.  Next to the fire pit was a bartender making spiked Hot Chocolates from the Hot Chocolate Bar.  Can you say "YUM-O!"?  Because I can...twice!  My first combination was A Milk Hot Chocolate with Baileys.  The second one I had was a Dark Hot Chocolate (made with cayenne, cinnamon, and vanilla) flavored with Amaretto, whip cream and chocolate shavings.  Now, we're talking!
  
Inside the restaurant's main room was a DJ playing dance music that got you moving.  A lot of the company's employees are on the young side and it was fun watching them get a little crazy.  There is nothing that makes you feel older than seeing several twenty-year-olds jumping around in 5 inch heels. 

Another room had a casino with a black jack, roulette and craps table.  Upon entering the party, we were each given $25,000 in funny money to play with.  Too bad it wasn't real, because in under 10 minutes, I took the $25,00 and turned it into $80,000.  Gosh I love to gamble!

The food was incredibly tasty. I love risotto and there were 3 different kinds.  There was also a bunch of other foods offered as well, but honestly the risotto had me at hello.  I will have to ask Oprah (you know the next time we hang out) if she likes the risotto too.  :)

There were two bars on the inside of the restaurant. We were given raffle tickets as soon as we entered and could pick various items to win.  The choices were an iPad, Zoo Lights Ticket Package, and a gift card to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  Obviously Jeff and I didn't win or else I would've been leading with this bit of news from the beginning.

Who doesn't love getting their picture taken? There was also a photo booth.  It was a higher tech version than the ones you've seen before at parties.  You had the option to instantly view your photos, pick a filter (b/w, color, sepia, etc), and add effects.  You could email it, post on Facebook, print it out or a combination of any of the above.  As Jeff and I were approaching the photo booth, I asked this couple if they were in line to get their picture taken and they said yes.  I wanted Jeff and I to go next and walked right up to the couple and stood directly behind them - in between the man and the woman.  The woman then turned towards me and asked if I'd get out of their picture.  WHAT!?!?!  I had no idea that where they were standing was where you got the picture taken.  Oh my!  I giggled an apology and quickly moved to the side.  The couple gets their picture taken and moves towards the screen to finalize it when they decide they want a retake.  I didn't know that they weren't happy with their picture (it looked great to me!) and I had already moved front and center to the spot they had been standing in when posing for the camera.  Now the lady needs to ask me again to get out of her picture retake.  Oops!  I joked, "What, you don't want me in this shot either?"  Oh my!  What a fool I felt like. 

Jeff and I chose to get this in black and white.  Love this picture.

I am usually ready to leave any social event of any kind within 45 minutes of arriving.  It doesn't matter how much fun it looks like I am having,  I am ready to go and move on to the next thing.  This party had my attention and kept me entertained and engaged for three hours.  Hard to believe, but it did!  Jeff and I had a fabulous time.  I can honestly say I look forward to his next company holiday party.

Hanukkah - that's a wrap!

The 8th and final night of Hanukkah.  All candles lit.
We have a gazillion Menorahs.  Each year the kids pick the ones they want to use.
The Menorah on the left is all shoes, given to Sam by Grandma & Grandpa Toppall.
The Menorah on the right is a plane, given to Ian by Mom-mom and Pop-pop Jim Velicoff.

Hanukkah came so early this year.  It was hard to achieve a high level of anticipation and excitement waiting for the holiday to arrive.  And with all the hoopla of Thanksgiving being the 2nd night of Hanukkah, before you knew it, our 8 nights were over and done with.  It came and went in our Toppall house with a small roar.  By the time Christmas hits, Hanukkah will be a distant memory.

Unfortunately my plan to do a small family getaway (at some point during the coming months) instead of getting the kids presents for each of the 8 nights did not happen.  I had a dream of going to New York City for 2 nights during the Teacher work days at the end of January.  I absolutely love NYC and am very eager to show the kids what a magical place New York can be.  I put more value in the family doing some kind of experience/trip together than getting them things they will lose interest in after a few weeks.  And I hate the idea of getting them something just because you have to get them something.  I much rather bring home surprises throughout the year when I see something they would love to have.  However, when I priced out going to NYC, it was more money than Jeff and I felt comfortable spending. 

With no trip in lieu of gifts happening, I had to hit the stores and come up with some things for the kids to open.  I carefully selected a few presents for each of the kids and made a very concentrated effort to not go overboard.  Between the grandparents (3 sets!), Aunts/Uncles (another 3 sets!), and the gifts Jeff and I came up with the kids made out pretty well.

The night before Hanukkah began Jeff whispered to me, "Let's be the 'fun parents' and let the kids open a gift now."  He was having a hard time seeing the pile of wrapped gifts and not letting the kids start opening them.  Mind you, the kids were fine with it.  Jeff, however, can't keep anything under wraps.  I said "Sure."  The kids each opened a gift and was very happy.  Jeff was ready to let them open all of the presents right then and there, but I had to put an end to the madness.  We needed to leave something for the holiday. 

The kids loved everything they got.  My dad, stepmother and sister Meghan gave Ian money.  He really wanted to get some collectible baseball cards and used the money to pick them out. Ian was so giddy seeing all the great players' cards he was able to purchase.  The manager of the store was extremely impressed with Ian's knowledge of baseball (both current and very old school teams) and offered him a job when he turns 16.  He said he's never seen a kid of Ian's age have this much knowledge.  That alone made Ian's day.  He tells everyone he sees now that he has a job waiting for him. 

Ian with 2 of the many baseball cards he was able to get.
Please don't look at the hair, we he is still growing it out. :)

And just like that, Hanukkah is in the rearview mirror and we are driving towards New Year's.

A new kind of ornament.

The preschool I work at is doing a holiday lunch with the staff in a few weeks.  I am excited to be a part of this great group of women and look forward to joining in the festivities.  During the lunch we are going to do an ornament exchange.  Even though I don't celebrate Christmas, I thought it would be fun to participate in the ornament exchange. 

Just one hitch.  I had never bought an ornament before.  I wasn't sure where you even get one that would be a little special, not too costly and something unique that my fellow Preschool co-worker would want to hang on her tree. 

The other day after an impromptu lunch with a few of the women I work with, I made an announcement I was about to go ornament shopping and asked if Target would be a good place.  Instantly I was given the inside scoop that even though Target is wonderful for many, many things, ornament shopping it is not ideal.  Given we were just doors away from "The Picket Fence" (a cute gift shop), it was recommended I head down there.  Tami said she was going to Giant and would walk part of the way with me.  Upon entering shop, I started walking around and noticed many, many different kinds of ornaments.  They weren't located all in one spot.  The ornaments were scattered about the store in different displays.  I liked so many of them.  What would make a good selection for the gift exchange?  Should it be ornate?  Silly?  Classic?  A cool shape?  How could I chose?  I was feeling overwhelmed and decided to call Tami on her cell phone and catch her before she left the shopping center.  Tami (who is quite wonderful by the way) said she would be right over.

I took Tami through the store and showed her some of my favorites ones I had seen.  When we got to this one basket, I picked up a colorful beaded design and told her this was a strong contender in my decision.  It looked like a very pretty wreath. 

Tami leaned in close to me and whispered, "That is a napkin ring."
WHAT?!?!? 
"No way," I replied to Tami. 
Tami then said, "Really.  How in the world would you be able to hang that from the tree?" 
"Easy", I said. "It has a big whole in the middle.  It just slides right on a branch."  

Um, no.  It was indeed a napkin ring.  Oops!

Obviously I am an amateur when it comes to celebrating Christmas and decorating a tree.  Now if there was a shoe exchange, that would be a different story! 

Just for the record, the ornament I did end up selecting is so awesome that Tami is hoping she gets it in the exchange. Clearly it was worth it for her to come back and rescue me or else she could've potentially been the one to end up with a napkin ring.  And not a whole set either, just one. 

This is a yummy reality

On Monday, October 14th (Columbus day), the kids had off from school and I had the day off from the preschool job and The Crazy Man.  I had scheduled my semi-annual trip to the dentist for a routine cleaning that morning knowing that I could make this appointment and not have to change my schedule on anyone to get there.  I had never taken the kids with me before, but I figured with 2 iPads and only needing a simple cleaning, it wouldn't be bad. 

My dentist's office is on Wisconsin Ave, NW in Washington, DC.  It is the least convenient place it could be in relation to where I live.  In fact, it takes 40 minutes to get there, 40 minutes to get back home and the appointment itself is always less than 30 minutes.  Not the best use of time when every minute counts.  But I love my dentist and have been going there for 19 years.  When I find a medical professional that does a great job and manages her/his time correctly to keep my waiting to a minimum I refuse to make a switch.

I hadn't fully realized just how great it was that I made my appointment on a federal holiday.  The kids and I sailed into town, found a parking spot and didn't have to pay!  Then, we met Jeff for lunch at his office in Arlington.  Found a spot on the street right near his office and didn't have to pay!  Wait, it gets better!  On the way to the dentist office, I always make a turn on 33rd Street, NW (in Georgetown) and pass right by DC Cupcakes.  You know the cupcake shop run by the two sisters that was made into a reality tv show on TLC called Georgetown Cupcakes?  Every single time I drive by there (minimum 2 roundtrips each year), the line is out the door and up the block with people waiting to get in.  It's been like this for years. Given the huge number of cupcake shops in the metro area, it's pretty crazy how popular this one is.  I guess having a tv show will do that for the business.  I had never been there, but have always been intrigued.

I was explaining this to the kids as we did the first drive-by on the way to my dentist.  Ian asked if we could go there and get some cupcakes.  I said, let's see how easy we can find parking after my appointment.  We left the dentist in record time.  The dentist loved getting to meet the kids and even commented I am doing a better job flossing.  Ha!  Once I had the corner of M Street and 33rd Street, NW in my view,  I did two loops around the block and couldn't find a parking spot.  Ian said it was ok and we could just go to Cold Stone across the street from our house for ice cream when we got home.  (That wasn't really the point).  We gave up on our mission and met Jeff for lunch.

While eating lunch, Ian said he'd be willing to walk up to 2 minutes from wherever we had to park to get to the cupcake shop.  Jeff and I figured this gave me like a 4 or 5 block radius in finding a parking spot.  Since Jeff's office is only a 3 minute drive to get back to Georgetown, I was willing to give it another shot.

We lucked out big-time!  We found a parking spot right away directly across the street from the cupcake place.  And, because it was a federal holiday, we didn't have to pay for parking in that spot either.  Sweet!

The line was only about 15 deep when arrived.  Soon after, I'd say there was easily about 50 people behind us.  Nuts, right?  While we were waiting to get in, Ian asked the lady guarding the door how many cupcakes they make each day.  She said between 5,000 and 10,000 a day.  Yowzer!  Apparently they start at 4:00am each morning.  The line moved pretty fast and before you knew it, we were in.  We got a half dozen cupcakes to go and ate 3 there, and brought 3 home.  We did do a drive-by of Jeff's office on the way home and gave him a cupcake to eat. 

Checking out the menu on what is offered for a Monday.

Standing in line, waiting to get in.

We made it inside! 

Yummy!  They even have a gluten-free cupcake each day.

Eating cupcakes = happy children.

It was a neat experience.  After going to my dentist appointment, meeting Jeff for lunch, getting to experience DC Cupcakes, we get home about 5 hours later.  15 minutes after walking in, Ian looks at me and says, "This has been a boring day."  WHAT!?!?!?!  I thought it was one of our more fun days. 

My Gluten-Free Hero!

I am one of those rare birds who LOVES Passover foods.  Other than twizzlers, the biggest disappoint to me in having to go gluten-free was never getting to eat a Matzo Ball again.  Oy, the travesty!

Enter Stage Right:  My fabulous mother-in-law who has single-handedly brought back my long lost love and many other amazing gluten-free foods.   Jeff's mom lives in Pikesville (outside of Baltimore) and not too far from Seven Mile Market.  It is a one-stop shop for all your Kosher needs and a wonderland of Gluten-Free Passover foods.  They have EVERYTHING...panko crumbs, matzo meal, enough desserts to put you in a diabetic coma, noodles, matzo ball mix, and so much more!  All gluten-free!!   My mother-in-law called me frequently from the middle of the store, saying she felt like a kid in a candy store telling me all gluten-free offerings.  How wonderful of her to think of me, shop and stock-up on my behalf.

I am no longer in a matzo ball depraved world.  I actually don't even need the rest of the meal.  Just give me a big bowl of matzo ball soup and I am loving life.  Yum-O!  And let me tell you, these matzo balls are SCRUMPTIOUS!!

Passover may have come and gone, but I am one lucky duck who gets to enjoy these treats for the better part of a year.  It's good to be connected. 

ICE!

The first of many lines.

A Living Social deal came across my inbox in November.  The offer was for tickets for ICE! at the Gaylord in National Harbor.  I forwarded the email special to Jeff and asked if he thought this would be good for us to do on Christmas day.  He agreed and I bought the tickets.  Our entry was for 1:00pm on December 25, 2012.

B I G  M I S T A K E !!!!!!

I am pretty sure this was the first time in our 8 years as a family that we were all on the same page.  Saying we were miserable is an understatement.

We arrived and parked at the garage nearest the ICE! exhibit.  As soon as we walked out of the garage we quickly spotted this HUGE line of people waiting to get in.  We didn't realize it, but ICE! on Christmas day didn't open until 1:00pm.  We also didn't realize it would be this popular.  Surely families would be at home enjoying their new toys and spending time together, and not taking up space at ICE!, right?  Nope!  That was not the case.

We get our place in line (at 12:45pm) and we are still in good spirits.  We make small talk with the people behind us.  Before we know it, the line starts moving.  It isn't until we turn the corner that we notice there are two lines going inside.  Chatter among the people in line begins on what each line means.  Some people say the lines are equal and other people are saying that one line is for the 1:00pm group and the other line is for the 1:30pm group.

This is where the confusion and chaos begin.  Once we make it inside, we are given wrong information by the attendants.  We wait in the line for those who have tickets and slowly make our way to the top of the line.  Only to find out we needed to stand in the much, much longer line to get to the box office to turn in our printouts and get different tickets.

At this point, there is wall to wall people in every which direction and no one in my family (me included!) is happy about standing in another line again (this one 4 times as long!).  By the time we make our way to the box office window, we've stripped the kids of a few of their layers so they wouldn't overheat.  We are dressed and ready for 9 degree weather!  However, where we are standing, plus the sheer number of people around us is making us quite warm. We are now getting grumpier and grumpier.   The box office lady tells us that our tickets she is handing us will be for the 3:00pm entrance.  I am not sure who yelled first, me or Jeff.  3:00pm was not going to fly!  It was now 1:49pm and we had been in multiple lines for an hour only to find out we weren't officially getting in until 3:00pm.   Not to mention the tickets I purchased were for 1:00pm.

After a heated discussion, the lady stationed next to the one helping us, said to give us the 3:00pm and to just go in now.  I said, as long as that works, we are fine with it.

At this point, we have to get back at the end of the line (the one we originally stood in) to hand in the tickets.  Jeff gets right behind this woman who keeps telling him she has a family of 10 coming in front of him.   Ugh.   Jeff is not getting it and the woman keeps saying it two more times.  Jeff is still standing there and not making way for this woman's 9 other family members.

I've had it and we are all frustrated.  I tell Jeff, Ian and Sam to follow me and I get out of the area we are standing in and walk to the front of the line.  I proceed to tell the woman collecting tickets, "I don't care who you have to talk to, but we demand to be let in right now.  We've already stood in this line once and we are not standing in it again."  Without hesitation, the woman lets us in.

Momentarily we get excited about being in.  We start to re-layer the kids (hats, gloves, sweaters, jackets) and make our way through another set of roped mazes.  We find ourselves in a holding room with at least a hundred other people, if not more.  This time we are made to listen to an employee tell jokes and introduce a film on how ICE! is made.  No one in my Toppall family is amused.  We keep all our layers on so we are ready to go the minute they let us in.

Finally, the film has come to an end and we are let inside the exhibit.  Not so fast, we now have to stand in another line of roped mazes to get to the parka area.  Even though we've come plenty prepared for the 9 degree temps, you have to take a coat with you.  This line moves at an excruciatingly slow pace.  Again, we delayer the kids so they don't overheat.

It has been over 1.5 hours of lines for something we thought we'd be able to walk right in on.   Ian is wearing a shirt, a wool sweater, his winter jacket, and the heavy-duty parka they hand you.  Sam refuses to put on their heavy-duty parka and we carry it for her.  As we are entering through the main exhibit doors (FINALLY!!!!), Ian is in tears crying and Sam is all shades of upset at still being there.   We find out Ian is crying because he is so hot.  I quickly take off his parka and hold on to it.  Both kids are miserable and frankly, so are Jeff and I after everything we'd been through to get to this point.  We.  Are.  Done.   We could've been walking into a room filled with unlimited, free candy all you could eat and I don't think this would've been worth the wait.

We all come to the same conclusion.  Let's get out of here.  We power walk through the ICE! exhibit to get to the exit.  Waiting in lines to get in = over 1.5 hours.  Walking through it as fast as we can to get out = less than 5 minutes.

Through some of those 5 minutes, Jeff is trying to point out to the kids some of the cool displays as we are flying by them.  No one cared.  No one wanted to stop for a closer look.  I have to say, I felt the same way as the kids.   The lack of signage, lack of organization on where to go, the wrong instructions on which line to get into, the overcrowding all for the same timed entry was hard to overcome. 

Once we finally made it back outside, Sam let out a big scream, "I DIDN'T LIKE THIS IDEA AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   We all laughed and I told Sam, get it out.  Scream all you want.  Scream for all 4 of us. 

Sam upset with our ICE! experience. She is screaming and throwing Pinky around in protest.

Ian doing his best to give me his "upset" look for the camera. And, no, he is not cold. He is finally cooling down.

 I am not sure if we had walked right in, didn't encounter any lines, and it wasn't crowded if this would have made our experience better, but we will never find out.

We promised the kids we would never do that again.  Never.  Ever.

The Orange Juice Story

We've gotten into a great pattern.  Jeff drops Ian off at religious school and then brings Sam with him to Wegman's to do our grocery shopping for the coming week. I write the list of everything we need and hope for the best.  Two areas Jeff needs "gentle" reminders in is looking at expiration dates and only getting the quantity we need, not stocking us up like we are getting snowed in for a month.   I've learned by trial and error to grin and bear it with whatever he comes home with.  Once I asked for a plain rotisserie chicken.  Jeff managed to find a KOSHER BARBECUE flavored rotisserie chicken.  Yeah, that wasn't really going to work in my soup.  No worries, Jeff offered to eat it all himself.  In the same grocery shop, the milk he brought back expired BEFORE the milk we were currently finishing in the fridge.  Again, no worries, because Jeff offered to start drinking all the milk as fast as he could.  And in this same bag of groceries, was not one (as requested), but three containers of Danimals - which Sam decided on whim she no longer wants to drink.  Again, not a problem, because Jeff offered to drink them all too.  Jeff was very busy that week.

I am not complaining.  I'd rather Jeff go to the grocery store, take Sam with him and let me get things done at home.  I've learned to look at the groceries getting unpacked and put away in our kitchen with one eye closed.  They tend to look better that way.

With that said, I got blindsided last Sunday.  We'd be breaking the fast on Wednesday for Yom Kippur and I came up with a fun idea to do breakfast for dinner.  Pancakes, scrambled eggs, potatoes, fruit, and blueberry muffins.  We don't normally keep Orange Juice in the house, but I wanted to add an authentic breakfast drink for us to have.  I made out the grocery list and sent Jeff and the kids on their way.

Later that afternoon, I opened the fridge and saw this unfamiliar looking container staring back at me.  What the hell was that!?!?!  I reached in and grabbed it.  It was none other than fresh squeezed orange juice.   Where in the world did Jeff manage to find that!?!?  Upon closer inspection I see that this "Fresh Squeezed" orange juice was squeezed on Friday!  So Jeff managed to find two day old fresh squeezed OJ.  And the best part was, this OJ was set to expire the very NEXT DAY!  Not on Wednesday evening when we'd be drinking it.   The kicker on all this?   Jeff paid $6.00 for this container of goodness. 

OMG!  I had to do it. I had to go there.  It was really killing me.  I had to ask.

Me:  "Um, honey, I am asking this with love, not because I am criticizing." (I've learned my lesson to start any questioning with this.)

Jeff:   "What?"

Me:  "Where in the world did you find this orange juice?"

Jeff:  "It was next to the fruit.  And you had fruit on the list."

Me:  "I also had eggs on the list and Orange Juice (that doesn't expire for months and costs a fraction of this container) is next to them too."

Jeff:  "Oh well." 

Me:  "And you know this expires tomorrow, right?"

Jeff: "It will be fine."

Come Wednesday, as we are setting the table, Ian comes running in the kitchen and says, "Cool!  Orange juice.  Can I have some right now?"

Jeff pours him a glass and very quietly, Jeff and I watch Ian drink it.  Ian finishes his gulp and puts the glass back down.  We are both patiently waiting for a response from Ian.  Yes, that's right.  We made Ian the guinea pig to see if this orange juice was still any good.  How much do we suck as parents?!?!

Jeff:  "What did you think Ian?"

Ian:  "It's GREAT!!"

I have to admit, it was the best tasting orange juice I've ever had.  And I am sure its not because I hadn't eaten in 24 hours, but because Jeff managed to find the section of Wegmans that sells freshly squeezed orange and came home with it.

*Thank you to Jeff, who let me tell this story.  The gag order, unfortunately, is now officially back in effect. 

Settling in.

I feel like we've dived into the deep end with the new synagogue we recently joined.  My Toppall team certainly doesn't do anything in baby steps.  Sam is in the Pre-K class at the preschool, going 5 days a week.  And, Ian is in the religious school, going 2 times a week.  And I am showing up, on average, twice a day, 4 times on Tuesdays!  Yep, I'd say we are acclimated with the new place.

We've just completed the celebration of the Jewish High Holidays...Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.   Jeff and Ian went to services a few times over the Summer, but as a family, we hadn't attended until this past week.  Now that I have a basis of comparison between our last synagogue and our current one, I am more excited than ever that we made the switch.  It was the right thing to do.

While Jeff and I attended the adult service, Ian participated in the youth service for 2nd to 4th graders.  Sam was officially checked into the child care room, but even then, they escorted the youngsters to an age appropriate service for them to attend.  Both kids' services were 1.5 hours long.  And I couldn't be more pleased how well the kids did.  There was no arm twisting to get them to go.  They enjoyed it.

Sam is absolutely loving her preschool and speaks of staying there forever.  And Ian is enjoying the religious school, despite having to be there for close to 5 hours each week (unless you know, when a Jewish holiday isn't getting in the way of it being in session).

Ian loved getting to dress up for services and couldn't wait to put on his shirt and tie.  When he saw some of his friends wearing a full suit, he asked us if we could get him one.  No bribing needed to get this look.  :)

Seriously, could he be cuter!?!? 

Being a part of this new congregation brings tranquility with it.  There is a sense of inner peace for me. It was an easy transition.  I love that many of the Jewish families we are good friends with made the switch with us.  I look around the synagogue and feel joy that this is where Ian and Samantha will get Bas Mitzvahed.   And I am so happy that if a change was going to be made, it was done with our kids at such a young age. This is the experience I've wished for us.  


What a great way to bring in the Jewish New Year.

Passover Perfect

We are currently ending the holiday of Passover.  It has gone swimmingly well this year.  I reflect back to the wonderful Passover Seders with my family growing up and hope that similar fond memories will be created and live within my kids.

We were fortunate to be invited to a friend's Seder the first night and to go to my in-laws for a Seder the 2nd night.  Both were incredibly special in their own ways. 

I loved so many aspects of Passover this year and will do my best to capture a few of the highlights in a top 10 list.  (Jeff - I write this, paying homage to you and your infamous top 10 lists).

Top 10 Things I Loved About Passover This Year:
(in no particular order)

10.  Knowing my dad got out of the hospital just in the nick of time go to my sister's for Passover Seder at her house.  My dad was hospitalized due to a staph infection and it was not certain when he'd be able to get released.  Come to think of it, knowing him, he may have escaped and not actually got discharged.

9.  Watching Ian and Sam partake in the Seders.  Both kids did an excellent job sitting through the service before we got to the food part.  I am very proud of them. 

8.  Since I am gluten-free, it's relatively easy to keep Passover.  I'm already not eating regular bread and pasta.  The supply of baked goodies that are gluten-free AND kosher for passover are through the roof!  It gets better and better each year.

7. Doing the 2nd night of Passover at my in-laws and spending the night. Since it was Saturday, we didn't have to rush home afterwards.  It was great getting to spend some extra time and not watch the clock on making it home in time to get the kids down.

6. Being with our friends on Friday night and watching the kids at the table.  It was truly wonderful to see how much these kids have grown and celebrate this important Jewish holiday together. Given that there are very few Jewish kids in Ian's class at school, I love that they have each other. 

5. Watching Ian be open enough to try gefilte fish for the first time and enjoying it.  He ate a whole serving of fish both nights. 

4. Listening to Ian read the Four Questions.  It was really wonderful to see how far his reading has come.  There is no way he was capable of doing this just one year ago.

3. One of the most entertaining Sedars I get to participate in has been adopted by Jeff's parents.  It is a very family-friendly version of the haggadah.  90% of the Seder is telling the story through song parodies.  We always have great fun year after year singing classic tunes of "Gilligan's Island", "I've been working on the railroad", the "Twelve days of Christmas", and more; all with the words changed to tie it in to the Passover Seder.

2. The availability of Gluten-free matzoh.  Yay to Whole Foods for carrying this item and having plenty in stock.

1. The most awesome scavenger hunt my friend created for the 8 kids to partake in to find the Afikomen.  Or, was it just a wild goose chase that led to anything but the Afikomen?  Each of the clues were tailored to the kids' personalities perfectly.  It was truly unique and the kids loved it.

Sam's Clue:  Sam, you remind of us all that princesses have to offer.  You are Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.  Go find clue #4.  (The clue was in the dress-up clothing box).

Ian's Clue: Ian, your wise and smart and would never need to use one of these to do any math problems because you are a math genius.  Go find clue #7.  (The clue was under a calculator).

Passover Perfect.  :)

'Tis the season to be good

My December New Year's Resolution experiment was to do a random act of kindness every day.  I am still in the midst of completing this challenge and officially have 1 more week to go, but I want to report on my progress. 

I discovered something unexpected in this month's challenge.  Looking to do good, make other people's lives a little easier and generally be helpful made me a much happier person.  It put me in a great mood all day long!  And, I was much less to anger, get frustrated or experience road rage.

There is this gas station that I love to go to.  Hands down, they have the best price; I'm talking like a good .16 cents less a gallon then gas stations that are even a 1/2 mile down the road.  However, this gas station is not my secret alone and everyone goes there to get gas.  No matter what time of the day, the pumps are packed and there is usually a line 3 or 4 cars deep waiting to get gas.  Unfortunately, there is no correct way the cars should be pointing.  You can approach the pump in either direction and the next thing you know, you've got cars coming at you from all over.  It is a nightmare.  This past month, I had stopped to fill up my car 3 times and was ready to do battle and secure my spot.  I was determined to not give in.  Then I remembered my challenge for the month, took a deep breath, and didn't go anywhere fast.  Knowing I wasn't going to get upset by the gas station scene somehow made it all the more bearable.  Then I threw in my 'holiday spirit' and actually allowed cars to get in front of me that were otherwise stuck.  This is pretty much unheard of for me.  :)

Other things I did that changed my mood around was helping "a little old lady" as she referred to herself, find a table cloth to match the place mats she picked out.  She wasn't sure what would go best with her Christmas plaid and the next thing you know, I am helping her shop.  I found one I thought would be perfect, pulled it out of the package, put it on the floor and took her place mats to sit on top.  We both agreed, it looked great.  Then I found  the size she needed and folded the table cloth back into the package and put the original back on the shelf.  Considering this was happening at the mall, the last Saturday before Christmas, it was pretty chaotic.  But after helping her, I then proceeded to let a different lady behind me in line at the register go before me because she only had one item and a toddler with her.  I know how that goes having to shop with your children, and I wanted her to have the opportunity to get out of the store as soon as possible.  My good mood was contagious and I had this need to change everyone's day for the better.

And the icing on the cake of doing random acts of kindness was getting matched with 2 families for the holidays.  One needed help with food, and the other needed help with gifts.  It was an amazing feeling going out and getting their needs taken care of.  My Toppall team and I have more than we'll ever need and to be able to help those less fortunate is really what this is all about.

There were so many other things I did throughout the month.  Whether or not they were even noticed or appreciated is inconsequential.  It made me feel better doing something good.  I'd get this little pep in my step, a smile on my face and my day was humming along. 

I am not sure if this is karma, but I found many instances of people doing acts of kindness back at me.  From the manager at Let's Dish who called to say she'll dish all my meals for me for free (after not having been there for an entire year!), to my friend Stefanie who took Ian for the morning while I had a doctors appointment.  Not only did she pick him up from my house, but also fed him lunch too, as I hadn't given that any thought to when it would occur before he had to go to kindergarten. Then there was my neighbor across the street who helped me unpack my car from my trip to Costco, Wegmans and the mall.   I felt like every day I was projecting this giving energy and it was coming right back at me like a boomerang. 

I feel like I am normally a kind person, but I definitely took it up a notch this past month.  It is the most wonderful time of the year!