Look ma, no nummies!

Well, nay-sayers, prepare to be proven wrong. All of you snarky mamas who glared at me nursing my 3 1/2-year-old on the NYC subway, prepare to be amazed. And to all of my family and friends who wanted to chastise me about nursing a walking, talking, thinking, laughing little man named Fred, thanks for holding your tongues.

Because we did it. Fred isn’t going to nurse on his way down the wedding aisle or at his high school graduation. I didn’t need to break him of a “habit” and teach him “who’s in charge.” I didn’t need to set boundaries you thought I should have set when I didn’t want to set them.

Because we did it: Fred weaned.

Fred weaned this past Thanksgiving, exactly a year from his night-weaning Thanksgiving of 2011, which I initiated reluctantly–and as gently as I could, and days before I released the public statement that I was getting divorced.  Read more →

This week’s most popular posts from Raising Kvell, in case you missed them.

- How Facebook Helped Me Cope With My “Mommy Fail.” After a scary accident and an injured daughter, Ronnie turned to Facebook with a confession, and her friends added their own confessions, too.

- The Anniversary of My Miscarriage. One mom reflects on the January she lost a pregnancy, 16 years ago, and how it comes back to sadden her every year.

- Feeding My Daughter Bathtub Peanut Butter. Alexis’s daughter needs to gain weight, so she’s had to come up with some creative ways to get her daughter to eat–including snacking while bathing.

- How to Teach Your Kids Hebrew. If you really want to raise bilingual children, you have to be seriously dedicated. This mom shares her strategy.

Leaving the Svedka party.

1. I got tendinitis due to my continuing recovery from my accident and doing “too much” too soon.

2. I was “grounded” by prematurely grey hand therapist from driving my new Audi for now, since it’s a stick shift. I listen to him. I’m a compliant patient.

3. I am back to typing one-handed. Fancy Assistant Brandon may be used for me to dictate posts to for the next few weeks.

4. Back to full compression glove to manage the swelling.

5. Saw “Life of Pi.” Loved it, but highly recommend reading it, as well as Yann Martel’s other amazing novel about animals, Jews, and the profundity of existence, Beatrice and Virgil*.

6. Made my first “celebrity appearance” last night at a “Throwback Thursday” 90s pre-Valentine’s bash at a very popular LA bar, sponsored by SVEDKA Vodka (yum). It was actually pretty fun, and I got to hang out and pose for pictures with Joey Lawrence!

Whoa!

7. We told our sons what “divorce” means and it was actually a very gentle and loving and non-traumatic conversation. Phew.

Shabbat Shalom!

*If you buy anything on Amazon by using these links, a portion of the profits will go to support Mayim’s writing on Kveller.

One of the poses during which my hand is in total pain.

Well, folks: I did it. I survived Awards Month 2013. It started with the People’s Choice Awards, then the Golden Globes, and the SAG Awards were last night.

As you’ve come to expect from me, here’s the honest-to-goodness truth about what it was like from Mayim’s perspective.

1. Preparing. Stylist Ali was certain this dress she chose for me months ago would be amaaaazing; I was skeptical: too bright, too blue, too tight. But I trusted her, mostly because I am so stressed with the divorce and everything relating to that that I can’t really fight anyone on anything fashion-related right now. And she knew that. And she used it to her advantage! My favorite beloved hair/make-up artist was available for last night and that always makes me feel trusting, because she’s so cool and relaxed and super honest and low-stress. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get me ready and I was ready to walk out the door by 3 p.m. Read more →

This week’s most popular posts from Raising Kvell, in case you missed them.

- Avoiding Mirrors and Hating My Post-Baby Body. Jordana is sick of looking down and hating what she sees, so she’s back at the gym.

- On Tu Bishvat and Grieving for My Dad. On this holiday we focus on all the treasures the earth holds, and Adina can’t help buy think about one particular treasure now in the earth: her father.

- The Surprising Best Part of My Father-Son Weekend. The quality time one dad plans at Disneyworld turns out to be not as wonderful as the unplanned quality time he and his son get.

- The Western Wall is for Me Too. There’s something uniquely painful about feeling disenfranchised at the holiest place in the Jewish world.

Allison Josephs, the woman behind Jewinthecity.com.

I’ve written about Jewinthecity.com here before. Allison Josephs, the woman behind Jewinthecity, is a one-woman dynamo machine of kiruv (outreach), making videos and speaking all over the country about her journey to Orthodoxy and how her life has been enriched and blessed from the changes she has made.

I know Allison because when she was working at Partners in Torah after I had my first son, she was “matched” to me as my study partner, and it was from our relationship that I made some significant and really rewarding changes in my life towards a better understanding of traditional Judaism. Allison has been my sort of Jewish go-to for everything from how to handle my grandmother’s funeral to my sons’ bris to the changing expectations on me as I have become more prominent on the red carpet. Read more →

My car accident was five months and a week ago. My hand is still swollen, stiff, achy, and angry. I have about 86% strength in my right (dominant) hand. I still go to hand therapy three times a week.

I finally started driving again over Thanksgiving. I have some pretty strong Post Traumatic Stress Disorder stuff going on, which I don’t say lightly. As a neuroscientist and someone who experienced a significantly traumatic event in this accident, I fully believe in the clinical aspects of PTSD and although I don’t intend to share with you the particulars of my symptoms, let’s just say that even sitting in a car was a huge step for me during Thanksgiving. And PTSD is a real and intense disorder. Seek help if you are experiencing PTSD symptoms, which you can read about here. Read more →

This week’s most popular posts from Raising Kvell, in case you missed them.

- Let’s Get Real About Jewish LGBT Families. There’s a new Jewish kids book about an LGBT family, and Avital is psyched for this wonderful development, but disappointed in some initial negative reactions.

- The Real Blessing of a Skinned Knee (and Bruised Forehead). In Israel, Sarah is learning to do it all on her own, except when her kids are screaming and she needs a little help.

- Three Secrets to a Long-Lasting Marriage That the Advice Books Don’t Tell You. Never compromise, be selfish, and have sex (even when you don’t want to).

- In Praise of the Mommy Retreat. Sometimes Mommy just needs a day or two off to recharge.

Oh, Golden Globes. So much potential, so many famous people, so much intensity.

I have never been to the Golden Globes before. After “Beaches” came out, I went for part of it, but this is the first time I attended as an actor nominated with a cast, etc. It was intense… in good ways, and also challenging ways. Let me walk you through it.

1. Getting ready. Getting ready featured yet another set of new hair and make-up people. We gave them a full two hours and they were very sweet and finished in about 90 minutes, leaving time for me to scarf down some vegan mac ‘n’ cheese, call my mom and dad, and let stylist Ali stare me up and down and say “Oh my goodness” many times (her incantation as she prepared me for the Emmys was, adorably, “Holy Bajoley” as you may recall). Read more →

This week’s most popular posts from Raising Kvell, in case you missed them.

- Ban the Bar Mitzvah: A Rabbinical Student Rethinks the Time Honored Ceremony. Patrick is a rabbinical student who thinks that bar/bat mitzvahs no longer “work,” and he offers a new idea of his own.

- Mixed Marriages-Vegetarian and Carnivore Edition. What happens when a vegetarian with vegan aspirations marries a meat-eater? How will you raise the kids?

- A Soviet Immigrant Mom’s Take on the Russian Adoption Ban. Alina immigrated from Russia when she was a child, so she has a special perspective on the recent adoption ban, which she calls “indefensible.”

- I Had to Stop Breast Feeding and I’m Relieved. When Jordana got a sinus infection she had to take an antiobiotic that required her to stop nursing, and though she felt some guilt, it was also a big weight off her shoulders (or her chest, actually).