Blame it on: Cousins, Ice Cream, and Sunshine!

July 08, 2011 / Menucha Belkin

Hello, friends. I think it's been about a week since I've last made your acquaintance. And so I play the blame game, namely: cousins, ice cream, sunshine.

Freida and I touched down in Chicago O'hare last Sunday afternoon, and have been relishing in summertime ever since. Our flight was seamless (in partial thanks to a simple, yet just-tricky-enough activity I brought along for the ride), and we headed straight from the airport into full-on Independence Day backyard-barbecue-land at my aunts house (thank you Finkels!!). That evening, after baths and bedtimes, we sat outside in our jammies on my parent's porch watching the Skokie firework display. It was perfect.

Since then, it's been a week of trying to get on Central Standard Time, amidst frolicking in the sunshine, post-pool ice creams, and trips to the Lake Michigan shoreline. Freida has been immensely enjoying the extra attention, and she's been palling with her cousins non-stop!!

It's so amazing to be all together, and I'm so grateful that my folks have the space to put us all up with out families, and provide us with this prime vacation spot each summer! It's simply divine.

Anyways, I'll definitely still be around... part of my relaxation is web browsing, which in turn translates to blogging and posting - it just may not turn out as often as usual. But I'll try and keep you all posted on our summer whereabouts, adventures, and discoveries! :)

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categories / City Find, Uncategorized

Growth.

June 25, 2011 / Menucha Belkin

Hello again, dear lady friends. Just wanted to offer my deepest apologies at the insane lack of posting going on around here. As I've mentioned previously, we've been steeped in talk about some new and exciting developments on the work-front: my husband (so excited for you, love!!) has been given the opportunity to take on a 3 month construction project in the city of Dubai! It's the kind of prospect that comes around once in a lifetime, and G-d willing this will prove to be a giant turning point in his career. As you can imagine, there was lots and lots of talk around the whole deal; arrangements and terms that worked for the both of us (mostly lots of my terms - all about keeping the Mama happy!!), time frames for traveling, and planning a summer schedule that would work out best for all of us. With everything now (generally) settled, and the man of the house flying out on Monday morning, I've been taking advantage of our last summer week together in LA and we've been spending late nights out together on the town this past week - leaving me less than ample time for blogging and posting. :)

Frieda and I will be jetting out next week for some old-school family time at my parent's home in Skokie, and we'll be joining my sister and her kids there as well. At the end of the month the Mr. will be meeting up with us there for a week's visit (already looking forward!!). At which point, Freida and I will either join him in returning to Dubai for the remaining 6 weeks, or head with my sister to her home in Arizona. (I guess it all depends on how things there are going for him, and on how much anxiety I will have at the prospect of landing in the UAE.)

Meanwhile, Freida has been developing quite the green thumb! Amidst talking about all this growth in business, Freida and I have been discovering lots of green and lots of growth. Aside from all the in-garden exploration, I took her along to explore our local nursery (I was in desperate need of a purifying house plant, and a colorful kitchen plant). She had a great time discussing the different species with me, amiably questioning the Botanists, and was overjoyed to discover the vegetable and herb section!

Sometimes the best way to learn is via a tiny, local field trip. :)

Here's to growth - in whatever form it takes in life. Business, personal, or biological... growth is integral to life and must remain constant!

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categories / Activities, Health, Kids, Uncategorized

Memorial Monday

May 31, 2011 / Menucha Belkin

Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your extended Memorial Day weekend! Good luck cleaning up the grill, and getting back into the swing of things starting out the week a day late...

We spent Shabbos up in the mountains at Running Springs with many other fabulous young couples on the Young Chevra Shabbaton, and had the most incredibly outgoing, uplifting, and fantastic time!! The weekend was so inspiring that I'm now compelled to write about it... so you will be hearing more about the amazing weekend getaway soon enough! :)

Anyways, for some reason Memorial Day always makes me feel like it's finally Summer, and with yesterday's weather I was really getting excited! My sister drove up from Arizona with her family, and met up with us at our Long Beach community BBQ at the Hebrew Academy campus. Freida was so over-excited by their impending visit (and intensely overwhelmed from the whole weekend away), that it was the first time in her little life that I let her fully skip her nap! And surprisingly, she didn't seem to mind that much... Granted there was enough excitement (swimming, boon bounce, cousins etc.), but it was good to know that if I ever need to do that again, I can. I always thought she'd be so out-of-whack by 2pm that it wouldn't even be worth the effort of taking her out in the first place, but she was really great and well-behaved...!

And of course she didn't forget her best-buddy cousin Shlomo!! :)

While she fell asleep on the car ride home at 3pm, and I couldn't put her down until a while after her usual bedtime last night, it was still well worth a day out with family!! Maybe our Sunday visits to the beach this Summer won't look that bleak after all.... Always worth a try!

P.S. I am getting a serious kick out of the fact that Freida is wearing the same bikini for the 3rd summer of her life!! I know Freida is tiny, but am I alone in feeling like swimsuits just never fit any smaller??