First snow

You'll be relieved to know that we survived the holidays. This was no easy feat. The first weekend was chaotic and tense. This was followed by a week with my children, all three of them, all week. Don't misunderstand me, I love my children. I adore them with every fiber of my being. But they are exhausting in many different ways.

My oldest is mentally exhausting. He asks a thousand questions a day. They're usually good ones that I have to think about. Sometimes I will get the endless string of "why?", but often he will pry deeper and he will always discover the inherent contradictions, which usually get answered with,

That's a great question...for your father!

My middle daughter, the diva, is emotionally exhausting. She melts into the most deliriously dramatic crying fits you can imagine. She's the proverbial "Sarah Heartburn". Lately, she's taken to shrieking her anguish, a nice trick she's learned from her baby sister.

The baby is physically exhausting. She has two levels: full-speed or asleep. She is either dashing around the apartment, climbing me like monkeybars, or bouncing on me like a trampoline; or she's napping. Each day I get a two-hour reprieve. I used to be a competitive athlete training six days a week, five hours a day. That was nothing compared with this baby.

The first days of the week were tough. Following the first days of Sukkot, I was determined to get my house in order, my ship in shape. I cleaned rooms, bathrooms, washed and folded six loads of laundry, and took out the trash. Despite the frenzy, I managed to get the kids out of the apartment. I took them to a strange Chicago tradition: The Simchat Beit HaShoeva at the Chabad synagogogue. Imagine hundreds of orthodox Jews in black hats, robes, and long beards each surrounded by dozens of hyper kids in long lines to get on carnival rides run by scary, snaggly-toothed, nicotine-addicted carnies.

We didn't stay long. But I did make my children delicious lunches, which we enjoyed in in our green Sukkah. The weather was glorious - 70 degrees and sunny.

It didn't last. By the end of the week, a cold front blasted in. In Texas "cold front" means 70 degrees and sunny. In Chicago, it means snow. Suddenly, our boxy green Sukkah was, in my husband's words, a large kite.

And the Mommy was on a mission to keep her young safe and warm.

Out came the hats, gloves, mittens, parkas, and snow boots. It took me close to three hours to get the kids bundled up to go out and play. Of course, by the time I let them go downstairs, the snow had melted.

Baby in her winter jammies

Big Brother in his new adorable moose sweater that he is embarrased to wear in front of the other boys, much to his mother's dismay.

The Diva in her new turtleneck sweater that she wants to wear with everything, whether it matches or not!

Waiting to play in snow.

Two hours and twelve layers later.

Too manly for Moose.

There's a baby in here somewhere!

During the week we also managed a couple of nice outings to the museum of contemporary art with a friend and her two boys, and to the law school to have lunch with Daddy. Niether were particularly appropriate places to take children, but with a whole week off, any port in the storm would do.

The holidays are over, much to the children's chagrin and the parents' relief. My husband is back at the library meeting with his study group, and I am facing the task of putting my apartment back in order. The older kids will be back in school tomorrow, and I will breathe a deep sigh of relief.

Until the next time.