Kindness and Syndication

So, I took a little break and googled my name today, and surprise, surprise, my last post on the Chicago Mom's Blog was picked for syndication! ( My very first post was, as well, and I realized today that I probably should have printed each instance out because they aren't all available online anymore.) I'm not exactly sure what it means to be 'syndicated' other than a chosen few periodicals online are reprinting my post, along with my personal blog site. So perhaps it will bring people to my site, where they will either stay and peruse, or leave and go back home. It's flattering, too, both to be chosen, and to see my name 'in lights' for half a second. Other than that, I'm not sure what else to expect out of it.

So what does kindness have to do with this? It was the inspiration for my post. Relying on the Kindness of Friends talks about my utter need and enormous appreciation for my friends and neighbors. So if you are one of my friends and neighbors, I hope you know I couldn't live this life without you!

Meet my 3 Year Old

This is Nourit. She's 3 today. I'm so thankful that 3 years ago, we went to the hospital and met her face to face. Since then she's grown into such a funny, smart, sweet and interesting little girl. She's definitely a normal child. She refuses to give goodbye kisses, pushes her little sister out of the way, and sometimes pushes the limit. At the same time, she has an amazing capacity to surprise me with her tenderness and sensitive heart. 3 years have gone by in a flash. I can almost glimpse the little girl she will be in another 3 years.


Today, I took Nourit to the ice-skating rink for the first time. I put her new double blade skates on and out we went to the rink. The weather was perfect. Not too cold. I was so proud of her. From the moment we stepped on the rink, she had no hesitation. She would fall, but would laugh and get right back up. I skated behind her for the first little while, holding both of her hands in mine, and keeping her steady with my body. But then she broke away, preferring to hold onto the side and skate more independently. She expected to go fast, "like rabbits" she said earlier in the day. At the rink, she kept observing how fast everyone was skating. I told her she had to go slowly before she could go fast. I think she accepted that because she didn't seem to get frustrated. After awhile, we went home.
This morning, Nourit helped Mike bake her 3rd birthday cake. It was the cake she requested, chocolate with raspberry. As always, Mike did an amazing job, spending an entire day on his creation. Because we've been so reticent to plan anything this break, we hadn't invited anyone for a party. Nourit was expecting alot of kids to be here on her birthday, I guess because that's been her experience of birthdays thus far. Not wanting to disappoint, (and not wanting to eat the cake all by ourselves!) we invited our neighbors who were still in town (Emma and her mom, Scarlett and her parents and Nana, Kyla and the gang), and her good little friends that we hadn't seen in awhile (Claire and Jacob, and my dear friend, Viola). We had quite a houseful at 4:30 pm! Lots of little ones, lots of chocolate cake, and lots of joy in Nourit's eyes.

And for all our family members who called to wish Nourit a Happy Birthday? Although she put her hands over her ears and wouldn't talk to you on the real phone, I did overhear her calling each of you and talking to you on her new play cell phone. She said she loves you.

Cookie Party, or "We're gonna need alot more stepstools!"

It took me a year to do, but I finally ordered some fall cookie cutters, found a sugar cookie recipe, and baked, baked, baked! I also made icing for the first time, scouring the city for powdered egg whites so as not to accidentally kill our children by using raw egg whites, and experimenting with natural food coloring. That's when things got a little tricky. See, I was imagining neon orange and astroturf green. I kept adding more and more of the (um, really expensive) natural die to get the deep, rich color I wanted. Instead, I got pastel icing that tasted like, well, the spice aisle in an Indian grocer. This morning, with emergency directions from my husband, I added this and that, and came up with something edible. I actually ended up liking the muted colors after all.

To make it more festive, we invited over our neighbors (and friends!) and had a cookie making and icing party. Abigail (3) and her mom, Kyla (almost 3) and her mom (and Baby Cole), and Scarlett (1.5) and her mom came over to help Nourit, Avi and I ice about a million cookies. (Danielle came over later, too, since she's got my vote for favorite non-blood related Auntie.)

Before our first guests arrived, (while we were busy getting the dishes clean from the night before!) Nourit started lining up stepstools in front of the chopping block where we usually roll out the dough. "We're gonna need alot of stepstools," she said, as she brought in all that she could round up, including the potty seat/step. We gently explained that that one stayed in the bathroom exclusively, then proceeded to clean the floor and her hands after we sent it back to the other side of the apartment.

Abigail and Anna

Amber and Kyla

MacKenzie and Scarlett

Busy creating masterpieces!

And here they are, the masterpieces.

Links to recipes used in this production of "Cookie Party":
Sugar Cookies
Orange Cardamom Cookies
Decorating Icing