Mother's Day 2020

Well, this Mother's Day was obviously a bit different than previous years. What wasn't different was how special I was made to feel by my family. Dan and the kids did a great job working with what we've got to give me a relaxing day filled with love.

Breakfast

As is our tradition, Dan made me a delicious smoked salmon benedict topped with salmon roe. I had a nice cup of tea to go with it.

Gifts

Dan got me some nice smelling candles and bubble bath--just what I wanted. The kids each made me very sweet cards. Zahara spent all week picking flowers and arranging them into a picture frame. We had a little photo shoot the other day where she took a picture of her blowing a kiss. Then we printed the photo and she taped it into her frame. So sweet and creative.

She also wrote me a couple of other very sweet notes that told me she respects me and that I help her. Asher didn't totally get the concept, but he is such a love bug all the time that I have no doubts as to his feelings.

"Dear mom, we appreciate you. We respect you. You help us and we love you. Thank you. Love, Zahara."

"Thank you. You're welcome. I hope I like it. I wish I could have another one. I wish I could have a bear colored in a circle. I wish it could be real. I hope you might like it."

Outing
We've started a new tradition of exploring towns around us. It's been so nice to get out of the house and see new sights, even if it's all a bit strange. We've found towns where we can get carry-out food and walk around a main street or downtown. This week we went to Ellicott City, MD. It's pretty close to our house, but we've never managed to visit.

The town has had several years of extreme hardship, with two devastating floods in 2016 and 2018. The town has managed to rebuild a good portion of the downtown, and recently had some help from Gordon Ramsey! Sadly, we didn't get too many pictures, but it was a really nice day out!

See some of our previous Mother's Day celebrations here:
2018
2016
2014, 2014

Winter Break: 2019

I can't say enough good things about my in-laws. Mom, dad, and Bradi, you're great too and I'll get to my brag post about you guys next, but for now...shout out to Rose, Yakov, and Amy! These superheroes hosted Asher over winter break, and Zahara was with my family, so Dan and I could actually have a proper vacation! So fun!  

After dropping Z off at the airport in the morning (more on that soon), the rest of the family flew to Florida. It was Chanukah, so we were able to have a lovely celebration with our extended family, Dan's aunt, uncle and cousin. We are always grateful to spend time with that fun-loving family.

Dan and I wanted to make the most of our vacation and give my in-laws the most one-on-one time with Asher, so we decided to stay in a hotel in South Beach starting the day after we arrived. We got the world's best send off via my in-laws' new boat! We all took a ride down the Intracoastal Canal from Fort Lauderdale to Miami. The boat (yacht, really) is insanely gorgeous and the weather was perfect. This was my first time on the boat, but I'm hoping for many more rides in the future.

Captain Yakov dropped us off pier-side in Miami and we took an Uber to our hotel. We spent the next five (!!) nights eating, drinking, laying by the pool or beach, working out, and eating more. It was heavenly! It wasn't the nicest weather so we didn't get a ton of beach time, but it was the perfect walking around weather. I can't complain at all.

We had some really great meals, most notably Jose Andres' The Bazaar, and Scarpetta. It was our first time at Bazaar, although we've been to several of Jose Andres' restaurants in DC. Though we hadn't been to Scarpetta in the famous Fontainebleau, we had been to the restaurant in Las Vegas. It's where we had my all-time favorite spaghetti dish! The dish I still dream about. I would normally NEVER pay nearly $30 for a bowl of spaghetti, but after seeing it on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Dan and I had to give it a try. Thank goodness the pasta was the same in Miami as it was in Vegas. Definitely lived up to expectations.

One night we even got to see Jim Gaffigan perform at the Adrienne Arsht Center. He was fantastic, as expected. I love his take on parenthood, and his general self-deprecating humor. His opening act was a real treat. I wish I could find his name. I'll keep looking and update here if I find it.

But, all good things must come to and end, and it was time for us to go back to reality. Luckily we had one more great night with the family where we celebrated the final night of Chanukah. Everyone had a great time, and my in-laws really tired Asher out. Wins all around!

Annual Holiday Party 2019

Winter was a whirlwind! Only a few days after I got back from my short trip to England we hosted our annual holiday party. This has become such a fun tradition that I look forward to each year. 

We try to make this as easy as possible, but you know Dan and me. We sometimes go over the top with food and decorations. Still, we limit the food to mostly Trader Joe's goodies and use decorations we keep from year-to-year. I think they skew a little Christmas-y, but, they sure are pretty.

Not pictured, the rest of the house full of food and drinks!

The best part of the evening, other than the company of course, is the white elephant exchange. A white elephant, also called a Yankee swap, is where everyone brings a gift and you pull numbers to determine in which order you select a gift. Gifts can be stolen and re-stolen, leading to a fun, but controlled chaos. 

We ask our guests to bring a silly gift under $15. Dan is one of the best gift-bringers, and each year he outdoes himself. I still wear the personalized socks he had made with his face on them--hilarious to open when no one was expecting it. 

This year he had a custom pillow made with his sleeping face on it. It is equal parts horrifying and adorable. It made it's way to our friends' children's bed. Not sure if that's a good thing, or future cause for therapy. 

Other great gifts this year included the horse head mask (pictured on me, above), the full-sleeve super realistic fake tattoos, and a couple of chia pets. 

I'm so lucky to have an amazing group of friends to share these memories with. Until next year!

Family Trip to Virginia

As I mentioned in my post about Passover, my family and I rented a house in Virginia to extend our vacation. I found a great historical house in New Kent, Virginia, which is about 4 hours from my house. The town itself is tiny, but it's a great base location for visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Richmond, and Newport News.

New Kent
The Iden Plantation was amazing. The current owners are only the third owners since the 1800s! Before the two most recent owners, it had been in the same family since it was built in the 1830s. The house is huge and sat on a ton of gorgeous land. The kids loved running around and visiting the chickens and peacocks. We loved the fresh eggs!

I loved seeing the historic buildings, like the one-room schoolhouse and the frame where the old ice house sat. Did you know that back in the 1830s people would cut giant ice blocks from lakes during the winter, and then store them in giant pits in the ground for the rest of the year (or as long as they could before it melted)?

Yes, we are adorable in our matching pajamas

Old slave quarters

Williamsburg
We were really excited to go to Williamburg with the family, but unfortunately, it wasn't the best experience. I went as a kid and really loved it, but Dan and I went with our kids when Asher was a newborn and it was just OK. This time with the whole family, it was a disappointment. It was really hot out and there just wasn't that much to see unless you paid for the (expensive) tickets. Because the kids are only 5 and 2, I didn't think they would get enough out of the tickets to make it worthwhile. What I should have done though, is check the schedule for horse carriage rides. I assumed they went all the time, but after I very stupidly promised Zahara we could go on a ride, I was informed they were sold out for the day. Oops.

Z is a prisoner

I'm sure when they're a bit older (or if they were very into history at this age), it would be an awesome vacation. It just wasn't great this time. The lambs were cute at least! Oh, and tip for anyone with small kids, we brought our wagon and it was a life-saver! Highly recommend.

Newport News
We spent all day in a fantastic museum called the Virginia Living Museum, and could have spent even longer! This place was amazing! It is part zoo, part museum, part play space. Tons of hands-on experiences, including touching starfish and crabs, and playing in the very well-stocked play veterinary area. I especially loved seeing the otters playing. The dinosaur area was really neat too, and I wish we had more time. They had a sand pit where you could "excavate" fossils.

We had a nice picnic lunch in the woods. I really love Passover foods. Matzah sandwiches are so good! I know I'm in the minority here though :)

Richmond
We spent most of our time in Richmond at the Children's Museum, which was perfect for the kids. I love museums that are built like small cities. There is so much for them to do--and for me too! A little grocery store, a news station, a bank, a library--it was all so well done. Zahara reminded me so much of myself as a young girl when my friends Sarah, Jenny, and I would pretend to be news anchors again and again. We always told the same stories: girls in China were having their pigtails cut off. Why that story? No idea. We were weird!

While the kids played a little bit longer, my dad, sister, and mom and I went to check out Richmond's synagogue, Congregation Beth Ahabah, which was founded in 1789. We toured the small Jewish museum and got a personal tour of the sanctuary. The current building (from the 1900s) has an original Tiffany's stained glass window. It's gorgeous! It was really interesting to hear about how far back the Jewish community in the South goes.

Overall, it was an amazing time with the family. We had a blast, laughed a ton, and made great new memories. Can't wait to do it again soon!

Passover 2019

My favorite holiday has come and gone, and it was just as wonderful as I wanted it to be! As I've documented here many times, I absolutely adore Passover. Yes, it's kind of a hassle and is pretty expensive, but I love everything about it. I love that the holiday is about family, food, and tradition.

This year I was lucky enough to have my mom, dad, and sister come in town. They spent the first few days at our house, then we rented a house in Virginia for a little vacation. More about that later.

Me and Dad making horseradish

My dad and sister came in a day early to help me get the seders ready. I also started prepping a couple of weeks before the holiday to make it as stress-free as possible. It actually worked pretty well! I would definitely do that again. Dan and I made soup, chocolate mousse, an apple cake, and a couple of kugels in advance. Then we just had the main meats (turkey and brisket), matzah balls, and seder stuff to make on the days of. 

Turkey

When we bought this house, I dreamt  of hosting big Passover seders, and this was the first year we could host. Both seders were full of friends and were very kid-friendly, which helped make it a little less stressful. Having so many kids in the house was definitely different for my mom and dad though--ha!

(Zahara is pretending to be a slave)

What an awesome holiday! Next year in Jerusalem!

Read previous Passover posts:
2018: Passover 2018
2017: Life Updates
2016: Passover 2016
2015: Passover Recap
2014: Passover in Paris
2013: Passover Preparation; Passover Musings
2012: Happy Passover!; Road Trip