Penguins

Well, now we're back to real life until Shavuot. And this year, we Israelis will be celebrating a 2-day chag(-ish) just like you chutznikim, as Shavuot falls out on a Friday. The exception, of course, is that we will be able to eat chametz on the second day. Ok, fine, you can eat chametz too. I just needed to sound smug about the whole 1 day yontov thing.

The children have recently become obsessed with the penguin movie "Happy Feet," a movie which Daddy brought back from that long ago and far away place, America. Some observations:

1. I have never seen the movie myself. This actually works to my advantage, because Ariella cannot draw me into endless, long-winded and circular discussions about the whys and hows of the movie. Haha! "I don't know Ariella, I haven't seen it," is an oft-heard statement around our house. Fret not, we still have endless, long-winded and circular discussions about "Cars," "Ratatouille," "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters, Inc." And, of course, "Toy Story," although sadly, "Toy Story 2, " my personal favorite, has actually cracked from overuse and no longer works. (To answer your question, yes, we are a living homage to all things Pixar.) But Ariella does manage to ask me many, many questions regarding the minutiae of penguin life. Can they fly? Why are they black and white? Why do they walk like that? How many babies do they have? Can the daddy have the babies? Why do they lay eggs? How does the baby know when it's time to come out?
While I do appreciate her keen sense of curiousity, I look forward to the time when we can delve into the true classics together: The Princess Bride, Harry Potter, and Lost.

2. I know you've probably forgotten by this point, but this is supposed to be a list of observations, so here is another one, from Yaakov: "Penguins are scary because penguins are NOT scary." Discuss.

3. Donny: There is a lot of singing for a movie about dancing.

Ok, that's really it for today. You want more?

Well, I'm making spaghetti for dinner... I'm sad that there are only two more Losts... We started a new toilet training initiative on Shabbat - instead of bribing Yaakov with candies, we all get candies when we use the toilet, the idea being that Yaakov will want in on the candy fun when he sees everyone else chowing down... Ariella went to the bathroom an unprecedented nine times yesterday... We are eagerly anticipating the imminent arrival of our new niece/nephew/cousin/cousinette, via Aunt Leezy, and then the arrival of Bubby and Zaidy, via El Al... We are also eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new Baby Balsam, via Lisa... Now I'm talking to Rachel on the phone... Little boys, white shirts, and tomatoes don't mix... Or they do, but it's then difficult to unmix them... Now I'm off the phone, Donny is home, and it's time to eat that spaghetti. Goodnight!