My little gymnast ..

Wow it’s already spring, and there’s been so much improvement in everything.  Zoe’s splits and back walkovers are so sharp after a whole winter of practice, and Ezra’s band is sounding so wise and weathered already .  And clearly the move into the season of more light and flowers is making it all seem like we are wrapping up the school year already (not so fast, still another quarter of grades to go.. but close?)  Here’s Zoe at her gymnastics competition this Saturday – she did great!

 

there she goes on the bars!

see her to the far right?

now she is a pretzel!

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Jazz Standard

Remember years ago, when we went here to see young musicians before (and my kids loved eating ribs?)

Well now Ezra is actually one of the performers!

Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra is an excellent program that Ezra loves and takes part in every Sunday.  The kids practice in the a.m., then a quick break before getting right back to the stage on Sundays 2-3pm.  It’s so fun watching this group of kids grow together and work together to make the music happen.  One ‘yelp’ reviewer said it best in his review of the Sunday performances:

“As the great jazz trumpet player, Albert Camus, said, “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.” Today I saw kids showing generosity toward the future by giving all to the present–on stage at the Jazz Standard. 

I attended a kids jam session at the Jazz Standard on a Sunday at 2 PM and I believe it’s a regular gig. The kids ranged from 10-15 year old. That’s significantly above the other jazz lovers I know who range from 100-150 years old.  And the kids were terrific. Yes, they were nervous, but in the best way possible, because they couldn’t hide their passion for the music. Here’s the best part…they organized themselves, offstage and onstage without adult supervision. Another impressive part was seeing how they learned to communicate with one another and coordinate the music so it didn’t run away from them. 

The food was pretty good too featuring bbq brisket, burgers, mac and cheese and other stuff kids like. Kudos to the Jazz Standard for supporting the kids by giving them a platform at one of the world’s great jazz clubs.”

You can see a clip here on Ezra’s open instagram feed (gotta love the 2 kids tag-teaming on the piano, the one performing is only 11 ys old!)

 

 

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A trip back to CMA

Remember the Children’s Museum of Art? Hard to believe I was just posting that ‘Zoe is finally big enough to enjoy this place’ and now .. I fear both my kids are starting to transition out of the big room full of flubber, crayons and tiny chairs. BUT they did still love painting and making clay-mation characters in the stop-action claymation room. And we loved the exhibit on book art!

kids making maps by tracing on a lightbox

always game to paint!

has his sensitive artist face going here..

so much book art!

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This winter’s favorite activity

We have cousins Stella and Allison to thank for turning our attention to My Froggy Stuff and their super fun youtube channel. The Froggy Stuff gals know how to occupy my kids’ cold winter days with DIY crafting for miniture rooms and spaces. I guess it all started when Zoe starting to request a ginormous Barbie Townhouse for the holidays … and all that pink plastic in our house kinda scared me. So I gave the kids an old Ikea credenza that we were not-quite-using anymore and .. voila! My kids wallpapered, created additional bunk beds and lofts and pasted in fake wood flooring and .. well they just keep going. Ezra is mastering his ‘contractor’ skills while Zoe enjoys creating a mini version of her ‘future gluten free cafe and art gallery’. I highly recommend upcycling an old bookcase over buying more pink plastic housing for dolls:

our version:

and some others that I’ve seen online! How clever are these?

and we are kinda obsessed with making donuts out of cheerios (gluten free, of course):

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Happy New Year!

This New Year’s Day Ezra and his friends (and his dad, behind the camera in this case) decided to do the Polar Plunge at Coney Island.  Despite the fact that it was a balmy 58 degrees in NYC area, the dip was still cold so I’m still so very impressed that they went through with it!  Hope your year is starting off with a splash:

 

before jumping in …

and after! brrrr

the gang gets ready

Zoe and I are happy to take in the sights instead

E and his friends since 6 months old… in it together!

and my iphone pix:

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Hanukkah!

Wow was I impressed when the kids got home from Sunday school with these awesome menorahs that they made by hand! Dovetailing and all! And of course we had to add a little Italian ‘mozzarella and tomatoes’ with delicious pressed olive oil to the mix, along with E&Z’s dad’s BEST and most crispy latkes.  This amazing recipe is from grandma – and they are a favorite even to our neighbors (who sniff them out while we are cooking). See below – our neighbor Eesha  – whose mom says she ‘didn’t even get her coat off before eating them’.        ; )

Director of Community Affairs at our synagogue ‘Souks’ lends Ezra a hand..

little Eesha means business with her latke eating skillz!

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A fashion-y birthday !

Zoe and I were on the same page with loving this birthday party idea!  Our neighbors had a sewing party, where all the gals brought their 18 inch dolls and made a dress for them!  Zoe got a little sewing machine for the holidays last year, so she was obviously thrilled to make some more clothes.  There was a runway (where the dolls rested) and a space for cake and pizza.  If they had this when I WAS a kid, I would’ve tried to live here:

http://thefashionclass.com/

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