Look who's arrived!

Baruch finally made his appearance into this world on June 16th. He was 7lbs 12oz 19 inches long with lots of black hair. So much in fact that he was sent home from the hospital with a comb.



Since his arrival, I am back in the life of the hour and a half "time bomb". Started supper? Oops, baby needs to eat...sorry kids hope you like slightly burnt curry...
Hadassah and Isaac have taken it upon themselves to make "Rocky" live up to his nickname and make him the toughest kid in the neighborhood. Yesterday, I found him halfway across the dining room licking the wood floor after I distinctly remember putting him "safely" on a blanket in the living room. Now, I know I have exceptional children, but I am pretty sure my 3 week old can't crawl yet. Hadassah cheerfully informed me that Rocky wanted to go for a ride so they "helped" him into the dining room. (translation: he was dragged there).


I am sorry to all the followers of this blog who are looking for my writer husband's input. I know, I know, he's much more articulate and funny than I am but I promised all our friends in Albuquerque that I would blog when the baby was born since that is a much too boring of a subject for him to blog about. But stay posted, he may someday soon deign to fill your day with delight once again.

Updated Green Chili List

Here is a list of everything I have eaten with green chili. Although most of these foods can be found on menus throughout the Southwest, I had to make the Hamantaschen myself.

Bagel
Beans
Beef Jerky
Beer
Breakfast Burrito
Burrito
Calzone
Caramel Popcorn
Cheddar Cheese
Cheese-steak Sandwich
Chicken Sandwich
Cheeseburger
Chili
Chili-dog
Chili-Fries
Chocolate Bar
Ciabatta Bread
Colby Jack Cheese
Crepe
Curry
Eggs Benedict
Enchilada
Fajita
Fondue
French Bread
French Fries
Frijoles
Frito Pie
Fudge
Grilled Cheese
Ground beef
Guacamole
Gravy
Hamburger
Hard candy
Hollandaise Sauce
Hotdog
Huevos Rancheros
Hamantaschen
Indian Taco
Jelly
Lamb Taco
Muffin
Nachos
Navajo Taco
Okra
Omelet
Papitas
Peanut Brittle
Pistachios
Pistachio Cranberry Chocolate
Pizza
Pork
Queso Sauce
Red Chili
Refried beans
Ribs
Roast Beef Sandwich
Salsa
Samosas
Salad
Sashimi
Sausage
Sauce
Seasoning
Shepherd’s pie
Shredded Beef
Shredded Pork
Shrimp
Sopapilla
Spicy Italian Sandwich
Spinach and bacon dip
Stroganoff
Subway Albuquerque Turkey Sandwich
Sushi
Stew
Tacos (corn and flour tortillas)
Tamale
Tempura
Tortilla Soup

I'll give you a hint -its not a road runner or cactus

You have to zoom in really tight on these two photos. I have never seen anything like this in the wild before.

Best Parents Ever

Cleaning the Digital Camera

At the request of several readers the next two blogs will consist primarily of "more pictures of the kids." Many of these photos were taken nearly a year ago, but since our children don't grow we run no risk of our pictures ever being outdated. Since none of the pictures are marked I will give you my best guess as to what has been photographed.

I took this picture of Priscilla and the kids just before leaving for Albuquerque. Even though she was just a few months pregnant you can already see a little bit of a "baby bump" beginning to show.









Isn't it ironic that I go to work and school in order to get the experience and education to resolve the psychological confusion that my children undergo when I am at work and school?

The three most majestic locales in America: Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon and the south-side Jersey Shore.

It Isn’t All Green Chili and Cacti

I love New Mexico. If I had any money or marketable skills I’d even consider trading in my fifty-dollar-a-year “squatter’s” tax and apple orchard for a fixed-rate mortgage and green-chili plantation. However, in order to be fair to those who are planning on visiting us in the next few months (we are currently booked March 1-6, 12-16, 23-26; and April 1-5) I’m listing a few things that are not ideal about life in the Land of Enchantment.

Albuquerque drivers -I have taken taxis in Jerusalem, fought Chicago rush hour, commuted to work in Philly and driven through Europe for 18 days with a missionary who did not remember or care which side of the rode he needed to be on and still I think the worst drivers I’ve ever seen are New Mexicans. New Mexicans are wonderful people unless you are trying to merge or, God forbid, drive the speed limit in the right hand lane. This weekend we hit a patch of snow coming back from Colorado (eight inches, all melted by noon the next day -God bless the South West) and everyone drove like they had an open canister of plutonium in the back seat. Pick-up trucks with their blinkers on going 7 mph, spanning two-lanes of highway in an inch and a half of fallen snow. The last time I passed that many people in one trip I got pulled over for interrupting a funeral procession.

The water -You ever see those “Save the Children” commercials where kids are drinking water from stagnant pools beside bathing cattle. I think of those children every time I’m forced to drink from the tap. As much as I hate the waste, we’ve been stuck buying bottled water.

Bible Study -I like our new Albuquerque church friends, but I miss having some kind of Bible Study. This past weekend in a Sunday School class in Colorado I found myself listening to other people talk, just because I missed hearing an interesting opinion. We are hoping to get a study going with a couple families in the area next month.

That is about the only downside of NM. And now, on a positive note, my updated Green Chili Count:

Bagel, Beer, Breakfast Burrito, Burrito, Calzone, Cheeseburger, Chili-dog, Curry, Enchilada, Fajita, Hamburger, Jelly, Jerky, Hotdog, Muffin, Nachos, Pizza, Salsa, Samosa, Sushi, Stew, Tacos (corn and flour). We’ve also eaten our way through three different jars.

A Triestman Collaborative Film Project

After the rave reviews that Hadassah got for her photography I decided to let the kids do some artistic exploration. Here are two homemade cartoons that the kids and I put together. The first was co-written by Bobby and myself (Hadassah had some creative input, but I couldn't draw a unicorn.) The second film is based on a true story. I haven't uploaded the audio yet, but I think you get the point.

Back to Early Retirment and Semi-regular Blogging

Greetings from Albuquerque, New Mexico -home of the Isotopes, the world’s largest rattlesnake collection, the national hot-air balloon festival and the green chili donut. We arrived about a week ago and I have already eaten green chili in my bagel, my beer, my pizza, my curry, my hamburger, my hotdog, my breakfast burrito and straight out of the jar. My stomach has felt like a roll of Mentos in a bottle of Pespi ever since we crossed the Colorado border.

We had a very exciting drive down which Hadassah has kindly documented with her Fisher Price camera:

Here we are crossing through the Colorado Rockies. Words cannot describe the majesty of the snow-capped mountains glistening with the radiance of the rising sun -you need a picture like this to really do it justice.





Here we driving through Wyoming at two in the morning. Note our terror as the gas-gauge light goes on.



Here is Hadassah documenting her documentary by way of a mirror.


This is a shoe.




We will be here for the next 12 weeks and are taking reservations for house guests. We are currently booked March 22-25. Space is limited so reserve your spot today!