Haykin Family Cider

Because we didn't have enough going on in our lives...If you don't know us or haven't spent much time with us recently you may not know that Dan (my loving and wonderful and slightly obsessive husband) has become more than slightly obsessed with making his own hard apple cider.Yes, I assist... I did a lot of cutting, grinding and pressing before the baby came. I do less now... more wrangling the nugget while he works but I do press and remove stickers on occasion but my role has matured to consulting on yeasts, taste testing and helping to refine carbonation and flavor.We started this adventure October 31, 2013... and this year it has really paid off. Not only is he making incredibly tasty cider for me to drink to my heart's content... he has won some awards this year. Like big awards.First up was the Washington State Mead and Cider Cup. He won first and second place in the Standard Cider/Perry category -

C1: Standard Cider & Perry

1st Place: Daniel Haykin with Leftovers – New World Cider2nd Place: Daniel Haykin with Dandee Red/Kinderkrisp Blend Cider – New World Cider

AND he won Best Cider in the competition and was just shy of Overall Best of Show!

BEST CIDER: Daniel Haykin with Dandee Red/Kinderkrisp Blend Cider – New World Cider

Then he entered his 'holy grail' of cider competitions - what they call GLINTCAP - Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition. This has both a commercial and non-commercial division. He was in the competition with major producers (think Angry Orchard and Woodchuck along with local guys Glider Cider and Stem Ciders among others). Granted, they were not in the same division but you get that this is a big competition. The non-commercial division awarded 14 Gold, 47 Silver, 83 Bronze. Daniel won, in the New World Cider - Modern area, one Gold, four Silvers, and one Bronze! Everything he entered in the competition medaled!!

New World Cider — Modern

GOLDDaniel Haykin – Redfree/Dandy Red/Ginger Gold/Akane/Kinderkrisp

SILVERDaniel Haykin – Jonathan/Ruby Jon/Gala/Golden SupremeDaniel Haykin – LeftoversDaniel Haykin – Macintosh/Diva/Red DeliciousDaniel Haykin – Sweet Red Delicious/Opal/Jonagold

BRONZEDaniel Haykin – Cripps Pink/Red Delicious/Pink Lady/Gala

That's a pretty big deal for us, especially for our first round of competitions. We are still waiting to hear about the third competition. I will add to this post when we do.I made a little website for our 'cidery' (aka our basement). Maybe one day it will be something more. Check it out here - Haykin Family CideryOh and at our new house, we have planted apple trees... and they are beginning to bud. If any of you thought this was a passing hobby... think again! :)

That Mommy Feeling

I happened to me the other day. I didn't believe it would... or maybe I just wasn't sure that it would... but oh boy did it happen to me.My labor was... not traumatic but challenging. I've felt like "I could do that better" and thought about our next child and my next pregnancy with an eye towards "it will be better." But it was all very theoretical. I'm not pregnant (parents, you hear that? I'm not pregnant!) but we've talked about another child and I've thought about how the situation will play out. And by situation I mean labor and recovery...So what happened to turn theory into reality? I got to hold a three week old baby on Friday. We brought our friends dinner for Shabbat and while my cruising, pull up on anything in sight, nearly 20 pound 11 month old almost toddler attempted to destroy their very not baby proofed home, I snuggled a tiny 8 pound baby girl who slept and snuggled me the entire time. And I talked to her mom about her labor. It wasn't that bad. It hurt and was long but it wasn't that bad...And it happened.Boom.My ovaries exploded into my brain and an actual, real conversation about number two began when we got into the car.My labor was hard. We had nearly every complication (it seemed) in the book. We had a lot of medical interventions and looking back, while they all seemed like the best decision possible then... I would change some of my choices given the opportunity to make them again. Not only that but I know what to expect now. Having given birth once, it's no longer a complete surprise as to how it works and what it feels like (well, I say that now... don't hold me to that...), and so I think that will help with some of the anticipation and maybe help with my patience.So the memory of the pain has truly melted away a short 11 months after having my little man and I would totally do it again. Isn't that the joke? If we didn't forget the pain we would never end up having more than one child?And can we just talk about how my kid is going to be one very shortly?! I'm not sure if I am ready for that... but that's for another post.Tell me, did it happen for you? Did you forget the pain of labor? Or did you remember and anticipate the pain for you next labor?

Of Babies and Husbands

I have a husband and I have a scootchy, army crawling almost toddler. They both get into plenty of messes. Between my husband's garden and CrossFit workout clothing, he makes plenty of laundry. I'm always looking for ways to get the stink out... I gave up on stains on those a while ago. But now, with an scootchy baby and a house full of hardwood, I have a new challenge... getting nugget's clothing looking like new.I'm a big fan of Purex but truth be told, lately, I'm a big fan of anything I have a coupon for... which has not been Purex, of late. However, the folks at Purex recently sent me their newest stain fighting laundry detergent - Purex^® plus Clorox 2 - to try.And wow, it's like they just knew what was coming... shortly after I received the box, my son got a nasty virus... let's just say it was coming out both ends and I was doing A LOT of laundry. When he has had tough stains in the past, I have had to wash his onesies twice sometimes or at least stain treat them before... not with Purex^® plus Clorox 2! WOW! They came right out and it was safe for colors. I was thankful because all nugs wanted to do when he was sick was snuggle and I'd rather snuggle that baby boy than do laundry any day. I've checked it out in the store and it's a pretty smart value. Price is good and the quality is excellent.

What is the worst stain you have had to deal with? What's your secret laundry weapon?

  And for being an awesome, hardworking laundry do'er... Purex^® sent along a coupon for a free bottle for me to share!

One lucky person will receive a coupon for a free bottle of New Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent!

Just enter the giveaway form below. Entries will be verified. Open to US residents only. Must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Purex plus Clorox 2 - available in Original Fresh or Sunny LinenYou can find Purex on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

 

Enter by May 22, 2016

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Purex brand provided me with a sample of Purex plus Clorox 2 detergent in exchange for a product review. However, all the opinions expressed here are mine.

My Baby Is On The Verge Of Being A Toddler

How did this happen? I'm not entirely sure how to handle this transition...It feels like yesterday he was this tiny 5lb 15oz nugget.We struggled to nurse and sleep and well... function during the day. I struggled to recover and feel some sort of normal in my body. All four of us (mom, papa, nugget, and Soba) were trying to find our place and job in the family and some kind of routine for us. And here we are today. With a babbler, a cruiser, an "I will get into anything you don't want me to get into"er. Happy 11 months, munch. Momma and Papa and Soba love you!

An Ode To Parsley

I know, I know... don't yell at me! I haven't been writing in forever. I promise that you are back on my to do list, bloggie! Life has been a bit busy with my adorable little guy and moving and etc etc...To tide you over until I am back, here's a little piece I wrote for Mazeltot.org -

As a child, Passover was always a big affair. Growing up as the granddaughter, niece, and daughter of rabbis, we always hosted large Seders. Generally, the first night was the Seder at shul with the congregation and the second night was what we called “family Seder.”Don’t let the term “family Seder” deceive you… they were generally composed of more than just our family. We invited people who had nowhere else to go along with many non-Jews wanting to experience a Jewish festival meal.

My father established a number of traditions for our family Seder, all of which are still in practice today. First, is always his ‘order.’ He teaches us to remember the order of the Seder with this mnemonic – Kooky Mr. M&M may come schlepping after silly boys holding noses (KUoKY MR. M&M May Kome Schlepping after Tzilly Boys Holding Noses – Kadesh, Urchatz, Karpas, Yachatz, Maggid, Rachtzah, Motzie, Matzah, Maror, Korech, Shulchan Orech, Tzafun, Beirach, Hallel, Nirtzah) and you have the order of the Seder.

Read more here - MazelTot.org

Please welcome David Moshe Haykin

It's true! He's here! David Moshe Haykin was born at 5:43am on 6/12/15. (I was always skeptical of how moms remembered the birth times of their babies... I am no longer. 5:43am will be burned into my mind forever now, in the best way possible.)I will write more about his birth and him but he had his bris today and I know people are anxious to know his name and the stories behind it. I will share pictures of him on this blog but they will be protected posts so contact us if you would like access to them. We will be sharing images with the general public in a VERY limited way for his safety and to protect the images from people who steal that sort of thing.So here we are - David Moshe Haykin. Here is why we named him as such:Moshe - After Talia's Paternal grandfather Maurice Davis:

We choose to name David Moshe after two very important people.His middle name, Moshe, is after my paternal grandfather, Maurice. Moshe was his Hebrew name. He was my best friend, pretty much since the day I was born. I was the very first grandchild on either side and my father tells me that I quite quickly had grandpa wrapped around my little finger. It was in him who confided all my secrets, he made up and played silly games with me... like when we would pretend our fingers were people and they would get lost in his copious chest hair. He would play rock, paper, scissors with me for hours on end and then tickle my back with a feather he pulled from his pillow while we watched M*A*S*H* and Murder, She Wrote together. As I grew older, I learned that he was more than just a hairy and fun playmate. He was a very well respected rabbi within the Reform Jewish movement. If you picture a classical Reform Rabbi, it would be a picture of him with his pulpit robes on, commanding the attention of hundreds, thousands on the High Holy Days.He was the kind of man who, when called, jumped on a plane to Selma, Alabama in March of 1965 to stand and march with Martin Luther King, Jr. and the kind of man who, with crippling blisters on his feet from marching for 12 hours in dress shoes, found a way to his father-in-law’s bedside in Cincinnati as soon as he found out that he was gravely ill. He was the kind of man who when he noticed young people from his congregation disappearing into the cults of the 1970’s he studied the commonalities of these kids and used the information to council parents and assist in the deprogramming of the children. In my memory he will always be a dichotomy. A respected and stately rabbinic presence who was mourned greatly when he passed away and a giant teddy bear who would throw me on his back and let me play horsey with him. I hope that by giving our David Moshe his name, our little boy will find the balance of responsibility and playfulness, be well spoken and kind, and stand for what he believes in.But, as my grandfather would say, My Dear Friends, this name is so much more than that. The letter M or Mem comes up over and over in my life. My other dear grandfather, Milton’s Hebrew name was Menachem Mendel – for David Moshe, I hope he has the gentleness of Poppa Milton. And the man who became my surrogate grandfather, and who married us, Reb Zalman’s Hebrew name was Meshullam Zalman. For David Moshe, I hope he has the wisdom and insight that Reb Zalman brought to each encounter.

David - After Daniel's paternal grandfather David Haykin:

We chose to name our son David after my grandfather, David Haykin.  I would like to wish my son a healthy dose of my grandfather’s best virtues: his mischievous and fun loving attitude towards life, and his bravery.When I was a little boy, my parents went to work and I spent all day with my grandparents.  My grandfather David would take me for long walks, we would whittle wood and get into adventures.  One of my most vivid memories from childhood was the time I watched Granpa David fall out of a tall tree.  We were on one of our walks and he said, ‘Daniel, look up there in the tree, there is a bird’s nest.  And inside that nest, Daniel, there’s an egg.’  I was intrigued.  ‘Grandpa, what color is the egg?’  He said, ‘let’s find out!’ and started climbing the tree.  He was probably 70 years old at the time.  When he reached the top of the tree, the mama bird spotted the interloper and flew back to defend her nest. She pecked my grandfather’s face and hands, he was startled and lost his grip.  I was only three years old and utterly astounded to watch an old man fall from a tree.  It seemed like he fell for a long time and when he hit the ground, I thought he was hurt.  But he stood up smiled and said, ‘Daniel, the egg is blue.’My memories of grandfather David were full of smiles, adventures and fun.Among his many virtues, was my grandfather’s bravery.   He was a paratrooper during WWII on the Soviet side.  Over the course of five years, he participated in countless jumps behind enemy lines.  He was the second highest recipient of medals for bravery in the entire Red Army.  It was because of his military past that we ended up in the United States.  My father originally wanted to resettle our family in Israel, but my grandfather refused.  He has seen too much war and he didn’t want that for his family.David was a teenager when he left his large, seven-person family to become a soldier.  When he came back from war, he learned that the Holocaust had claimed his entire family, leaving him only one brother. Had it been otherwise, the Haykin family would be overflowing with cousins, uncles and aunts.  But before this last week, I was the last male Haykin.  We name our son David praying that with God’s help and blessings this will be the beginning of the repopulation of the Haykin family.  So that when my son David is a grandfather himself, his extended family should seem to him just as God’s promise to Abraham - they should seem as numerous as the stars in the heavens.

The birth of Baby Haykin

Wow. What an intense thing, to have a baby. Doesn't that feel like an understatement? Not only the labor and trauma of birth but the first week of trying heal while trying to learn about this little creature you have created and brought into this world. It's been a whole week since I had my son (MY SON!!!) and every time I sit down to write this, he wants to be held or fed or changed or loved and I want to oblige! :) But here is the story of his birth:I went in to be checked at 38 weeks and I was already 80% effaced and 1cm dilated. The doctor was excited and anticipated I would have him within a week. I came back for a cervical check and she knew that I was in the early stages of labor. She was going to be out of town that weekend and with everything we had all been through together (she's been my doctor through the two losses and did both of my D&C surgeries), we all (Dan, the doctor, and I) really wanted her to deliver this baby. We had been on this journey for 15 months with her. We had a choice to make. We could see how it goes and likely deliver that weekend with a doctor we never met or let her induce me on Thursday morning and have her deliver him for sure. She felt that every sign pointed to an easy induction and healthy birth (based on objective measurements on universally recognized scales). We decided to strip my membranes in the office and if I didn't go into labor by Thursday morning at 6am, we would go in for the induction.My contractions increased but they were having trouble getting organized. I was really feeling labor but not consistently enough to call it active labor and go in. So Dan dropped Soba off at his parents' house on Wednesday evening and we went to the hospital Thursday (6/11) at 6am. They got us settled, checked me (3cm) and started me on pitocin at 8am. Until about 2pm I labored on but I wasn't progressing. At 3pm everything ratcheted up several notches. The contractions were excruciating and so I tried pain meds... they did nothing but make me emotional. Finally, I asked for the epidural. As the anesthesiologist came to give me the epidural, things went haywire. She barely got into the room when the baby's heart rate plummeted and so did my blood pressure. Immediately there was a team of people in the room. They rolled me to my side, gave me oxygen and a ton of fluids, and then gave me a shot to stop labor. I was having contractions right on top of each other with no break and a very high intensity. We got it under control but that was a scary moment and the moment that Dan and I, if asked, would have said maybe not having our doctor would have been better. Once it was all under control, I got the epidural and that made life a lot better. No amount of movement or breathing could have made those contractions better.Now we have to restart labor. I was 4cm and 90% effaced. It took hours to restart the labor and to get the contractions to where they were before (2-3 min apart). At 10pm ish, I felt my water break with a little pop. We had been dozing and called the nurse. She confirmed it was my water but there was meconium in it. That means that baby had his first bowel movement while inside, likely from the stress earlier. She told us what was going to happen during and after the delivery because of this and had me go back to sleep. She checked my cervix and I was 6cm at midnight. Around 2 or 3 in the morning, they came to check me and I was 10cm! That meant it was time (ish) to have a baby. We did some practice pushing and he was moving down fast so we stopped. The resident checked to see which way he was facing and he was in a poor position. Still head down but face up and his head wasn't tucked. She kept trying to turn him and he would keep turning back! That stinker! She finally started holding him in place between contractions but he would still turn around each time. My doctor came and we talked about it. She was concerned that the labor would take longer and with the meconium, that's not a great idea. Plus his heart rate would dip after every contraction and she was worried. She discussed forceps and a vacuum... that made me work harder. I couldn't feel my pushes (thanks epidural) but Dan looked and me, and I looked at him and ... frankly ... we treated it like a CrossFit workout. Three pushes and a rest, three pushes and a rest.Then during a routine check, they found my temp was above 101 degrees... a sign of a Chorioamnionitis infection - an infection of the amniotic fluid. They immediately gave me antibiotics and now we knew that when baby was born, he would have to have IV antibiotics too.Finally, at 5:43am he came out very quietly. He was suctioned to prevent issues with the meconium and then began singing! His cries sound like he is say "Laaaa Laaaa" like a little singer. He was perfect. I had a second degree, internal only, tear but I was quite swollen with necessitated a catheter for the next 24 hours. We got an hour of skin to skin but he was being very lazy (their term, not mine) and wouldn't eat. He was whisked away to the nursery for medicine and tests. He got his meds and showed low blood sugar so was given bottles of donor milk. After three feedings, his sugar was up, thank G-d. But he had his big old IV in for 36 hours, poor little mite. They struggled getting it in and it ended up in his elbow. It was awful to see. Within 36 hours, both of us were in great shape and all tubes were out.At the end of the day, 7 days later, he is back up to birth weight (5lb 15oz) and perfect but it was a bit of a road to get here. I am just glad we are all healthy and safe. :)

Full Term

Uh... can you believe it? I am considered full term. Meaning, if this guy decides to show up, barring any physical problems, he could come home with us and would be considered a totally normal, full term baby. WOW! That milestone is 37 weeks for those of you playing the home game. We hit 37 weeks last Thursday and are actually on our way to 38 now. I can't actually believe it. Both Dan and I have been in a crazy rush to finish things before this guy gets here. Dan is focused on his work, apple pressing, and setting up the garden. I have been focused on getting my work to a place that I feel comfortable taking maternity leave for 3 months, putting together baby furniture and accoutrements, and organizing our home for his arrival.At this point, pregnancy just keeps getting more and more uncomfortable. Some time last week, I tweaked something in my back and now laying on my side hurts a lot... well when I try to lay on my back, even propped up on pillows, I get tons of Braxton Hicks contractions. So... I am basically in a no-win, no-sleeping situation. That definitely makes me more ready for Baby Haykin to show up!But really, now at this point, the anticipation is getting intense... He could come any day, any time and we really can't wait to meet him. So I say, with slight "OMG IS THIS FOR REAL" trepidation - Baby Haykin, we are ready! Come out and play!

Maternity Pictures!

I am so excited. We got our maternity pictures from our very favorite photographers, Dox Photo. We hired them for our wedding because we LOVE their style and now we have done five (!!!) photoshoots with them. Our engagement, an impromptu photo shoot in our garden for the New York Times, our wedding, a family photoshoot when we got Soba, and now our maternity pictures. Every single time, they capture us and our family so perfectly. I can't recommend them highly enough.Here are our maternity pictures!

35/35

I can't believe it! We made it to 35 weeks! This kiddo is nearly fully cooked. There is this funny milestone at 35 weeks. You are 35 weeks pregnant and have 35 days until your due date, so you are 35/35! All of these silly things that I am just so thrilled to be reaching.So where are we in our preparations? Well, we were taking it slow until a friend in our Jewish Baby University class delivered 6 weeks early... she was due the day after us!!!!! That put us in fast forward. Dan has been cleaning up his projects and I have been washing and organizing baby things. The one outstanding issue is the car seat. We choose the UppaBaby system based on very positive reviews from experts and people we know. We received the whole stroller set as a (very generous) gift from the Haykins and the bassinet that comes with it will be Baby Haykin's bed until he can sleep through the night. Now we needed the "Mesa" car seat.My folks offered to purchase the car seat for us so my mom and I went to the store... only to find it gone. We went online... not one available! What is GOING ON!? Too much stress for me! It turns out that they discontinued the old one because they were launching a new one... except, the new version was delayed. Well... this guy is planning on showing up in June (G-d willing) and we can't wait for the new one to be released. So I went on an online hunt. I found literally ONE seat left in (what felt like) the world. So we bought it (wrong color but at this point, who cares). The next day we get a call from the place where we purchased it, Stroller Depot, to let us know they actually don't have one. AHHHH!!!! But the very nice guy on the phone said he had just taken one out of the box and would be happy to give it to us since we are all located in Colorado and he can't ship it.So we are headed down there this week to get ourselves an infant car seat! WHEW! I know it's not the end of the world but I was looking to steer clear of buying adapters and such.Now all we have to do it pack bags for the hospital, sterilize some bottles, and wait for little man to arrive!