Kiki is a Cool Chic

I don't want to play. I just want to bang on the drum all day. ~Todd Rundgren

We've been a bit post happy the past few days, but I had to put up this video of Kiki.

She has summarily denied all my pleas for a turn at the drums and demoted me to the microphone (on our Rock Band video game of course).

So, I sang, she played the drums, and since she is only three, we kept getting kicked out of the band for not finishing the songs (definitely had nothing to do with me being tone deaf).

Every time I tried to help her out by hitting a few notes on the drums with my hand, she smacked me with the drumsticks and told me she can "do it her own self"! My thumb is still throbbing days later :-D!!

Here's the video best with volume on...



Kiki knows what she wants, and she loves music. Heaven help us ;-D.

P.S. I swear we feed her ;-D

The Promised Cake

If the people have no bread, let them eat cake. ~Marie Antoinette

So I promised you all cake in the last post and here it is. Kiki and I spent hours creating this masterpiece (well, about 30 minutes) and it was absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself. It's a two layer chocolate cake with vanilla icing inside and out. I know, you're all salivating just thinking about it. So here's a picture, including all the birthday candles:


And yes, it was made from scratch, not a box. So that's another pat on the back.

Once again, Happy Birthday Cynthia !!!

And just because she loves Eddie Izzard so much I have to include a short "Cake or Death" video. Now this might be a little NSFW (Not Safe For Work) or NSFK (Not Safe For Kids), so think before you click. For those of you who don't know who Eddie Izzard is, you are really missing out on one of the funniest comedians around. Enjoy:

Happy Birthday Cynthia !!!

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. ~ Abraham Lincoln

My sweetheart is celebrating her birthday today and while she might not be too enthusiastic about aging, she has nothing to worry about. She still looks (and sometimes acts) like a teenager. I keep telling her to relax because she hasn't even reached the third-of-her-life mark yet. What is it with women and their age, anyway?

I love you sweetie. Happy Birthday!!!

So today Kiki and I embarked on the long road to birthday fun times. We had a bit of a hectic morning but we are catching up now. First thing's first, Cynthia's inner rockstar decided to come out, so we got Rock Band yesterday. For those of you who don't know, here's a little video of my little drummer girl:



Kiki tried as the drums as well and has true potential. She loves it and loves playing the guitar and singing. The Dekel Family Rock Band is going to rock your world at one point in the future. Mark my words.

I got Cynthia a combined Birthday+Anniversary present (that she more than hinted at but I had made and delivered). The 'Kiki' charm is for the birthday and our names are for our 4 year anniversary coming up in just four days! Neither of us can believe it's been that long and on the other hand that it's gone by so quickly. Where does the time go?



OK, that's it for now, but we're not done. Kiki and I are baking a birthday cake from scratch, so you'll just have to swing by again later to see how it came out.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!

Weekend Away

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. ~Martin Buber

I wish I knew a stronger phrase than "Thank You" to express our gratitude to Meemaw for all that she does!

She gave Amir and I a weekend at Chateau Elan for our birthdays and watched Kiki for 3 whole days for us. We stayed in one of the Spa rooms where we had a beautiful view of the lake. It was so relaxing!

It was such a great weekend beginning with a romantic dinner on Friday, and Spa, Golf, and a movie Saturday. (We saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. High Art? No. Funny? Very. )

Today we drove out to Union Pointe where we had decided to spend the day riding four wheelers.

The drive was sunny and beautiful, but the closer we got to the "plantation", the darker the sky got.

Just as our navigation system stopped us in the middle of nowhere, the skies opened, along with plenty of lightening.

We decided not to brave the elements, but you can see from the pictures, not everyone was so chicken! We're going back- there's even a Hilton on the grounds ;-D.

Meemaw and Kiki had a fun weekend themselves with ballet, a birthday party, and a Tea Party to top it all off!

How fun does that look and when did these babies become such big girls???

Thank you AGAIN!!!

Another One Bites the Dust

A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, and always with the same person.~ Mignon McLaughlin

Amir and I had the pleasure of attending a wedding shower for our dear friend Tiffany and her husband to be, Daniel, this weekend.

It was a fabulous party for two people very much in love, and beautifully suited for one another!

Tiff is an original member of the GCGs- a very exclusive club of 5 we created in college (ha ha). Sadly, Dana and Danielle couldn't be with us, but Angela (or Pryb as we like to call her), Tiff, and myself took a picture in honor of the group. Did you every think someone might know too much about you ;-D? The stories we could tell.

I'm looking forward to the bachelorette weekend coming up, and we can't wait for the June beach wedding!

Celebrating Kendall

I keep my friends as misers do their treasure, because, of all the things granted us by wisdom, none is greater or better than friendship. ~Pietro Aretino

No, it's not Shiloh Jolie-Pitt in these pictures, it's Kendall, the daughter of my friend Shannon! It took me some time to get these pictures posted because I really couldn't find the right words.

Shannon and I have been best friends since we met in 6th grade at Jade S.'s birthday party (inside joke ;-D), and she is truly the only person I know (besides my mom) that has been with me through every stage in my life (since the 6th grade of course).

Though we become nearly consumed with the roles of wife and mother, our pasts are so much a part of our present. It's comforting to have a friend who understands who I was "before" (and visa versa). See the pics for some before (around 10th grade) and after (two weeks ago) pics :-D.

Shan has a wonderful family, and we were so happy to share Kendall's first birthday with them.

Just wish we got to see each other more!

While Abba is Away, the Girls Will Play

What the daughter does, the mother did. ~Jewish Proverb

Sadly, Kiki came down with a case of pink eye (sorry playgroup), and instead of music class, we trekked to the Doctor this morning. Kiki was not at all happy about it, but Crystal was nice enough to give us a lolly-pop that kept her occupied during the visit.

We ended up having a really fun day of shopping, lunch, more shopping, and dinner with Meemaw!

Kiki joyfully tried on no less than 10 pairs of shoes (telling me all the while how funny the salesperson Theresa was), and then begged me to go clothes shopping after. I guess the apple really doesn't fall too far from the tree :-D.

I must apologize to Amir in advance. See the picture for an explanation ;-).

Adult Culture

If it’s too loud, you’re too old. ~Ted Nugent

It wasn't too loud! We went out last night to celebrate Crystal's birthday and ended up at the Dark Horse Tavern singing karaoke with a live band. We had so much fun!!! Not as much fun as the amorous couple that spent the evening next to us, but a good time none the less.

You'll see from the pictures everyone took a turn on stage (except me since I value my friendships and didn't want to damage anyone's eardrums). Scroll down for a video of Crystal's performance. The girl can sing!

Granted there were a few let's call them interesting performances (the Beat It rendition comes to mind), but the band was amazing and mostly it was rock n roll.

At midnight, the time we promised Rhiannon we'd be home to relieve her of babysitting duty, Crystal was texting her (how modern of us) and asking for permission for us to stay out.

Rhiannon told us as late as we want, so we closed down the bar (where the wine selections were white or red), and left hoarse and deaf. It was about 1 pm today when my hearing came back.

Turns out Rhiannon had a musical night herself and spent 3 hours playing Guitar Hero :-D.

Here's Jeff singing Come On Feel the Noise.

And, Amir singing White Wedding.

We showed Kiki the videos from last night, and you'll see her version of Hit Me With Your Best Shot below.

The best for last!!!

Thanks for a great night James'!

Kid Culture

There are many things in life that will catch your eye. But only a few will catch your heart. -Ben Crenshaw

Kiki had a big weekend. Meemaw took her to a children's performance by the Atlanta Opera yesterday, and today we went to see Cinderella Della Circus at the Center for Puppetry Arts.

Kiki slept through the Opera yesterday, and Meemaw and Amir slept through the puppet show today (snoring and all -the Rosa Mexicana margaritas probably helped), but the crafts were a big hit both days :-D.

We asked Kiki today what an Opera is, and she told us "It's Guess What I am Singing" :-D. How true.

The "why" stage is upon us. I didn't know it came so soon. "Why was the man crying at the opera?" "Why did Cinderella need a bath?" "Why aren't you happy at me?"

Think carefully before answering, right?

Flight Taken!

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live. ~ Dorothy Thompson

I took my first flying lesson this morning- it really was amazing. Admittedly, I was afraid driving to the airport, getting in the airplane, taking off, during flight, and, of course landing :-D, but still went through with it!

It didn't help that the instructor didn't know how to start the plane and had to get out the instructions. In his defense, the plane was only two weeks old- I was laughing very hard on the inside. We had quite a bit of turbulence, which nearly made me jump in the pilots lap (don't worry Amir he's a Grandpa), but really it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

I actually did the take-off myself and flew us around downtown and Stone Mountain. The pictures speak for themselves.

Can't wait until my next lesson!!!

Celebration

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man. ~ Heraclitus

Although as we age, we tend to acknowledge birthdays less and less, we did celebrate Amir's big day by riding around in Kiki's birthday present. The tires are still inflated ;-D.

Then it was off to dinner for some Mediterranean to make Amir feel at home. Highly recommend Zaya in Inman Park. The hostess is also called Kiki!

Amir had a great day, if not too eventful, and was blessed to speak with many of his family and friends. Kiki and I are so lucky to have such a wonderful person in our lives. Happy Birthday again!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMIR!!!!!!!!!!!

Whatever with the past has gone, the best is always yet to come. - Lucy Larcom

Today is Amir's birthday, and Kiki recorded a few videos in honor of her Abba :-D!

Happy Birthday:

And, Yom Huledet Sameach:

Here's a picture of Amir playing with his new toy first thing this morning (and all night last night- thanks Elko ;-D).

Happy Birthday sweetie! We love you!

Thank Heavens Meemaw was Babysitting

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. ~Plato

Here are a couple of videos of Kiki the other night after Meemaw took her out to dinner and gave her a Muss and Turner's cookie.

Ok, so Meemaw says she only gave her half a cookie, but those of us who have seen a Muss and Turner's cookie know they are the size of my head. I was going to say the size of my something else, but this is a family site :-D.

I'm just glad Amir and I got to go out, and Meemaw got to TRY and put her to bed- it took a few hours!

To silence the music to hear the videos click on the list of songs once, and then hit the pause button.

Never seen her so "energetic":


And, singing Happy Birthday to Dari in Hebrew. It's a little early for Dari's bday, but I had to post the video.

Taking Flight

"What is your heaviest burden?" asked the child. "To have nothing to carry," answered the old man." ~Source Unknown

My good friend, Susana, started an email chain between the neighborhood girls of "old" pictures of ourselves. This prompted me to have my mother bring over my childhood photos among which I found my paternal great-grandmother's eulogy. The speaker discusses at great length how many in their twilight years spend their time just waiting. My great-grandmother was not one of them. She was a photographer, a lawyer, a mother, grandmother, and civil servant. Her life was full despite near complete blindness and many health issues.

I believe that parents, of young children especially, also may fall into the waiting trap. In my own life, transitioning from a career woman to a stay at home mom, though immensely important and satisfying, was difficult. I have found it hard to balance keeping my life full and interesting while still focusing on the far more important needs and development of my daughter.

We have playgroups, play dates, lunch dates, music class, and school and, of course, some work with real estate. All of these keep us busy, entertained, but...

SO, to add some excitement, I have decided to take up flying!!! After coming down with a bad case of fear of flying a few years ago, the passion I have for traveling took a backseat. For my family's sake, and for my own, I want to overcome it, and also to get a few rushes of adrenaline. My first lesson is next Friday (also my beautiful sister in law's birthday).

In the spirit of Susana's picture sharing and learning to fly, here's a picture of Amir during his time in the Israeli Army's Flight Academy.

Girls and their clothes

The difference between style and fashion is quality. ~ Giorgio Armani

Kiki is quite the fashionista. She has been putting her clothes on by herself for a very long time and always wants to make sure everything matches and looks good. She can even sense that there are some new clothes in a shopping bag before being told about them. So when she saw a bag from GAP the other day she immediately had to try everything on. At the same time. Here are the results:

That's leggings and pants, a dress, a top, a tanktop and a t-shirt. She wore this outfit all day until it was time to take a bath and then we had a little battle about taking off the new clothes. Then after the bath she insisted on sleeping in her new clothes.

Here she is striking a pose and making a funny face for the camera:

Girls and their clothes...