A Toast To 2012: The Year That Won't Suck

In thinking about our last post of the year, we struggled a lot with how to characterize 2011.

On the one hand, we could simply title this post: "Good riddance crappy 2011, hello 2012!" The end of the year is a time to take stock as all the "Best albums/fashion/dirty politicians/etc. of 2011" lists in the media remind us, and the only thing we're taking stock of this year is that if we ever have to go through another year like this past one we'll never make it.

New York has a population of over 9 million yet the city can sometimes be one of the loneliest places in the world. It's not a city with a built-in community. You have to find your own community, your own niche, and in a city with so many things going on that is easier said than done. And, if like most New Yorkers, you work 50+ hours a week, you barely have enough energy to go on seamless web and order your dinner, much less try and go out and talk to your neighbor. It's a sad cliche in life that you learn who your real friends are (or aren't) during tough times, and this year sadly re-proved that to be true. So as we take stock of things we cannot elaborate on: the disappointments, multiple near-nervous breakdowns, and lost friendships, we pause to observe that living in a city of 9 million strangers doesn't necessarily help with that. When you struggle you struggle alone.

But nothing is entirely black and white so to say last year was "crap" and leave it at that would leave many other things unacknowledged. This was also the year of our first writing successes. The year mini learned how to ride a bike and tie her shoes. And while we had our backs turned it was also the year mini evolved from an innocent young person to a toothless and beautiful young girl, fully immersed in the journey that is middle childhood.

And the loneliness? Turns out that despite living amongst so many strangers, sometimes New York can also feel like a small town. The school mini attends? A brand new community for both her and her mother. The neighbor who was a stranger? A fellow alum from University. The lady at the haircut place who needed a door opened? A friend whose children went to school with your friend's child. The lady on the bus? A friend's mother. The runner you walked by on the street? Your child's piano teacher. The creepy stranger at the coffee shop? A friend of a friend from abroad. And so it continues...

So while we are tempted to talk about all the things we hated about 2011, the light at the end of the tunnel is but 12 hours away.

How will we begin 2012? Reminding ourselves that "hey, you still have your health" as we relish in the soreness that comes from celebrating our muscles in exercise class this week. Enjoying the peaceful feeling that accompanies watching a child sleep. Sipping champagne, surrounded by friends, hopefully dancing our @ss off. Feeling gratitude for both old friends that have been a part of our lives and new friends that have come into it. And excited about the adventure and possibilities that lie ahead in 2012.

A Little Boxing Day Advice

With Christmas on a Sunday this year, the whole country has Monday off as a national holiday.  Which means one thing: more people shopping day-after-Christmas sales than ever.

So in the spirit of consumerism, let us give you a little Christmas shopping advice from this New York Jew. 

Just because it's on sale, doesn't mean you should buy it.

Seems simple, yet so many people ignore this advice.  "But Poker Chick", you might say.  "40% off! When do you ever get zebra-print earmuffs this cheap.  And sheets!  Egyptian cotton sheets at 60% off! So what if they don't match anything in my bedroom, it's the bargain of 2011!  And --- oh my goodness, it's the brown and crisp! I've seen this on TV! Just think about all the money I will save not ordering in."

We know, we know.  This advice is a total buzzkill and seems especially odd coming from a woman who told you about all the wonders of Sephora.  But that's when you're looking for something specific.  It's the impulse purchase, rationalized by the word "sale" that we are convinced has something to do with the financial crisis our country is in.  See, retailers are counting on this "60% off saves me money!" mindset.   We've fallen trap to this ourselves.  And it's great when you were going to buy that anyway.  But if it wasn't on your list, just remember, you can be smarter. 

The real math is this: 40% off $100 is still $60 more than zero.

Instead of shopping, might we suggest you maybe use that day to get a jump on your New Years' Resolutions, such as catching up on your correspondence.  You can use the first note to send yours truly a thank you for saving your wallet.

Happy Boxing Day, peeps.

Happy Chanukah. Did you just make that gelt from scratch?

One could call it dedication.  Wanting our daughter to have a bag of foil-wrapped chocolates like her friends in school tomorrow, we made some. 

However, one could also call it desperation.  Despite knowing that Chanukah was coming for weeks, and that her school would give out gelt, we did not order the safe chocolate in time to arrive for the party.  Of course, the party is a day earlier than we thought, but that's even worse. We write about allergies and planning for school celebrations all the time; we talk the talk but can't walk the walk?

So when school called asking what she would eat, we panicked.  Suddenly it dawned on us that why not make our own coins! How hard can it be? One quick trip to a store and $6 later we had molds and wrappers in hand.  A minor domestic miracle!

Dedication? Desperation? How 'bout just plain old procrastination. 

Happy Chanukah all!

Top 5 Superpowers You Didn't Know You Had

Did you know it's Superhero week?

We didn't.  In fact, it's not.  This monumentous made-up week would have come and gone unnoticed if not for the dear Nancy Davis Kho who wrote a fabulous blog entry about her superpower of timepacking.

It was so brilliantly funny, it inspired us to write our own.  In no particular order (ahem), here are the superpowers motherhood has granted us:

1. Mind reading: I have the uncanny power to know what you are thinking before you will say it. It’s true! You don’t even need to open your mouth, I will say it for you, even if it’s not what you wanted to say, trust me, it’s what you were thinking.   
2. No-soap sensor: You may have run the water, but if I hear the pitter patter of your little feet, my supermom no-soap sensor will tell me whether or not you used soap, so that I may direct you back to re"wash", even if I haven't seen or smelled your hands.  Talk about efficiency!
3. Super nighttime alertness: Not only has motherhood introduced me to the wonderful feeling of constant sleep deprivation, my superpowers ensure I wake at the drop of a pin, just in case there's trouble.  My super nighttime alertness makes sure I hear every pee break.  I'm there for the coughs, the fevers.  The drunk guy cursing on the street at 3am.  And for every razor falling in the shower due to a poorly-functioning suction cup, I'm there.  
4. Nag-o-meter:  Nagging is a superpower, right? It must be.  I could win a nagging contest with anyone.  If you need nagging, I'm your woman.   I can nag at mealtimes, bathtime, on the way to school.  I'm such a good nagger I don't even need a kid to nag! Just ask my colleagues!  
5. Transcendental memory: My memory is so good, I can remember every detail.  Every piece of broccoli you promised to eat and didn't.  Who broke the faucet.  And your name.  I remember names so well, I bypass a parent's name and go straight to the kid's.  Heck, I'll even call them by their own kid's name because I have remembered their names so well I don't even need to use it anymore.  That's how good my momnesia is.

Anyone else have awesome superpowers?  

What If We Break Our Own No-Nut Rule?

For years we've lived our lives avoiding eggs, sesame seeds, peanuts, and any and all forms of tree nuts.  No one said it was easy, but since we've been doing this before mini started solids (what we affectionately called the "not so fun yet thank goodness we can still eat frozen yogurt nursing diet") we're kind of used to the drill.  Years of blood tests, skin pricks and food challenges have confirmed that these allergies ain't going away anytime soon.

Mmmmm.......almonds.

Except that a recent food challenge revealed mini is not allergic to almonds!  Not sure if she outgrew them, or if she was never really allergic and we were avoiding it just to be safe, but our world just opened up.  That's right, you heard us, so many foods we could never have before!  The one tiny brand of almond butter that is not made in a plant with any other kinds of nuts!  The cheerios made with almond flour but no other contaminants! The almond hershey kisses!  The....well, actually, that's it.  Maybe "world" is a bit of an overstatement.  But it's still a big change.

Such a big change, we were told mini has to eat almonds at least a couple times a week now to ensure it's safe.  So honey nut cheerios for breakfast it is.  Fortunately for us, it also meets her stringent food criteria as it is non-nutritious and white or brown.

All of this is exciting, but not unexpected.  Her numbers for that nut were borderline for years.  It was time.

So why, you ask, is this even blog-worthy? 

We write because we are humbled.  We write because we did not expect the sudden fear of being a huge-ass hypocrite.  We write because now we have a taste of what it feels like to be on the other side.

Suddenly we were making apple and almond butter snacks like it was no tomorrow, throwing together almond butter sandwiches without thinking about it, and putting together bags of honey nut cheerios as a snack.  It suddenly dawned on us that....it would be so easy for us to forget. 

It would be so easy to throw on almond butter instead of soy nut butter one morning, not thinking, and throw that in the lunchbox.  Imagine, after years of advocating, what a field day people would have if we were the ones putting an almond-allergic child in danger?

Now have we made this mistake yet?  No.  But this actually keeps us up at night.  What if?  What if we're the ones making that awful mistake?  And if it's so easy for us, imagine how easy it would be for people who don't live with life-threatening allergies every day?

So we're cutting everyone some slack in this area.  It is hard to be perfect.  So we sympathize with those of you who have made and will make mistakes.  The ones who are mortified and apologetic when the teacher calls to ask them not to send peanut butter to school anymore.  The ones who stop eating their almonds and slip their bags back into their purses in shame when they see you and realize.  You peeps, when you make a mistake, you get a free pass from this allergy parent.  Honest mistakes happen.

So let's be clear.  It's not you that keeps us up at night.  It's the people that either do it on purpose, or don't care either way.  Because to lack compassion like that, to be that thoughtless, to think your kids' right to a peanut butter sandwich is as important as another child's right to attend school safely, that's not easy. 

So what's our message?  We're saying we acknowledge perfection is not possible.  That's why we carry epipens everywhere.

It's all about the attitude.  The attitude, more than anything is what determines our child's safety.  So if you understand, and you try, but you still forget...we will do our best to understand too.

And to those parents of children who are allergic to almonds? We promise we will do everything in our power not to accidentally send them to school or to the playground or anywhere where we know you might be.  We can't promise we'll never make a mistake, but we can promise to do our best and take painstaking care not to let that happen, because the thought of us making a mistake that could hurt someone terrifies us.  Because we've been there, too.