#17 and I should start learning from my kids

A few days ago I noticed #17 on its way out (R upper molar). I squealed with delight and Eh immediately demanded SiM show off his new tooth, assisting him in opening his mouth...Oh, to be young again.

Today, after dinner, hubby was using a toothpick. Eh requested to have one. SiM said he wants one, too.

Hubby: It's only for adults who have teeth. Kids can get hurt using toothpicks.
SiM: I have teeth [priceless display of his bite].
Eh: No, you don't have a lot of teeth, I do [grimacy smile]!
I: SiM has a lot of teeth already [one must defend a kid who has 17th tooth on its way] but toothpicks are not for kids. Let's have a dessert...

Before dinner, the kids were playing in front of the house when SiM noticed one of the staring kids and followed the kid up her stairs. He followed it with a short conversation with the kid and her mom. All this followed by me having an actual conversation with the mom ( who incidentally asked me if SiM can talk - good thing he didn't realize that he wasn't understood). Then, Eh joined the excitement and conversed with the mom, too. Maybe soon, the kids would converse with us, too.

Lesson: Don't be too proud to learn from your kids? and remember that Gd helps those who help themselves?

Welcome to our block

For a while now I've been tempted to write a 'welcome to our block' series. Yet, I must contain myself as one of my neighbors occasionally reads this stuff. And since this post is quite benign, I decided to go for it.

B'H I live on this block for close to 2.5 years. There is a family man who lives a couple of houses down from me whose voice I haven't heard in all this time. He first left an impression on me when a couple of years ago, my car got stuck on the ice and this gentleman walked right by, got into his car, and happily drove off.

Well today I was coming home from a store, happily chatting with my kids while pushing their double stroller. I was about to cross the street when this gentleman pulled his car up right in front of us. I tried to move forward. He did the same. I politely stopped, waiving for him to go ahead. He stopped also, for some unknown reason parking at a hydrant quite a distance from his house). Since he didn't shut off the ignition, I felt compelled to tell him "we are crossing the street," in case he chose to start driving as soon as I stepped down on the street.

The man shocked me when he answered "good luck". I told him that we'll do our best and giggled at our first conversation. Only when I was walking up my stairs did I notice his wife pulling out of their driveway. The gentleman, it seems, politely gave her room to maneuver her vehicle.

This incident may be enlightening regarding his kids' affinity to stare. Though, as always, it may just be my overactive imagination at work.

A new tooth

During dinner, Eh whispered a secret to me. At first, I admit I didn't understand much, so I just "oh, yeah"d her. She knew that her secret deserved a better response than that. So she repeated her secret a bit louder. And to my amazement and slight anxiety I've learned that Eh is going to get a new tooth first because her top tooth is shaking. I checked it but didn't feel much. Hubby, on the other hand, confirmed that Eh's secret is a reality.

Apparently, that exciting for Eh event happened while she was on her outing with her favorite aunt.

My emotions re: this development are still mixed.

No more naps

It's been a week since my big kid stopped napping in the middle of the day. It took some adjustment on my part (esp when it came to shabbat nap) but all in all, I'm enjoying our new schedule. I'm free to do as I please by around 8pm (unless of course SiM refuses to cooperate).

What do I do with all the time that I now have?

I am my neighbor

I have a neighbor who, when parked on the street, likes to repark his car closer and closer to her house. I used to think it a bit peculiar yet somewhat admirable -most people are too lazy for that kind of exercise.

Yesterday, I parked my car across the street from my house. About an hour later, when I came to unload the trunk, I noticed the same parking spot available on my side of the street. I ran like a woman who woke up a few minutes after the alternate-size-parking-street-cleaning-hours went into effect to repark my car. Once I unloaded the trunk and started walking to my house did I realize that I've joined my neighbor's exercise group.

Why I like working in health care

Today during rounds one of the big cheeses with a nursing degree made two comments. I thought these comments were remarkable enough to relay them to the rest of the department and to post on this blog.
1-"This man keeps having problems with his eye. He should see an ENT- an eye specialist."
2-"We have a policy for visitors and staff with flu-like symptoms. Plus, I read that they have an antibiotic for it already."
'It's a virus,' commented self and another nurse.
"Yes, so they have the antibiotic for it."

Hope so do you enjoy these comments as much as my colleagues and I did. And maybe you can even appreciate why I love working in health care. (Imagine if the health care was socialized? The fun would never end!)