Eden Eliora and Emet Rafael: 2018

I super love how you can backdate posts so we can totally pretend that we didn't skip THREE MONTHS of posting anything in our kids' lives!! Scroll back if you want to check them out, I've been filling out 2018 and made about 6 new photo posts.

This has been a big time of decision and transition for us - just a few examples:

Both kids switched schools to schools closer to home. Like, very close - we went from a 30-50 minute drive one way to a 3 minute drive one way. 2 different schools, but still. And Emet's is within walking distance. I don't think they like their schools as much as they liked Ahava, but they seem to have a good time ... we like supporting the public schools, too, and having them educated in a more diverse environment that reflects our neighborhood.
Eden is in public school and rides the school bus! School day 7:30-2:30! Seems like a lot for pre-k, but I mean, I was only a couple months older than her when I started kindergarten and rode the school bus to full day kindergarten.
Emet goes to school with cousin Sylvia! They actually don't see each other much there but they're going to do "sibling" pictures together on picture day next week.
Eden started a capoeira class. She's gotten a little bored of it but I think it's very good for her to learn to control her body. She's also still doing OT, and seems to have improved some of the more concerning behaviors, though she still MUST be moving at all times and today in particular was doing a lot of wiggling and jumping near the road...
I'm allegedly transitioning out of Octave, even though it's been very difficult for me to actually break away. It's been a part of my life here basically since day 1 of me being in Atlanta. I don't know how to be in Atlanta and not be in Octave. I just had a gig with them and I either arranged or co-arranged or edited like, literally ALL the arrangements. Out of my 11 years in the group I was director for over half that time.
To keep group vocal music in my life, I joined the CBH choir, which is very different and very exciting. I love it in a much different way... the problem is just that with Octave I got to create and lead more - which is frankly exactly why I left (because I needed something where I could just show up!) I'm trying to figure out how I can balance this desire to sing "my own part" and to arrange choral music with a group where I'm a mere participant. (duh, maybe I'll just help push our CD over the finish line!)
We were on a reality show! It hasn't aired yet and we can't post anything else about it yet! But that was very exciting.
I don't have a car, because I'm basically uninsurable. (Hyperbole, but ... it really wasn't worth trying to insure two cars.) So, I borrow my sister's car when necessary and the rest of the time I RIDE THE MARTA BUS! It's awesome!
I'm traveling more for work, and more for client work such as investigations / trainings - in fact I'm going to China next week - first "client"-type trip to Asia! Exciting but also scary to be away from the family that long. Thank G-d Bubbe is coming.

2018 has been a wild ride ... We didn't even do a New Years' card! This is the closest anyone will probably get to one... perhaps I'll add some kind of a graphic to this post later. I am hopeful that things will finally calm down a tiny bit for us so that we can catalog our lives more. It's so important to keep these memories. The other day I watched Eden go down a giant slide at the playground that she used to be afraid of... and she ran out and said "I did it!" reminding me of the time she did that on a teeny slide when she was 1 year old... the time really does go by insanely fast.

A very belated Shana Tova to all.