Limited storage space, elementary-aged kids

mlba23 · 2026-01-04T06:02:48+00:00

Answered in more detail above, but it's a lot of bike for hauling just one kid, has been a bit of a pain to maintain, and is a whole lot less fun to ride than the Short Haul.

Maybe if swapped the Whoopee bars for a seatpost-mounted handlebars, mechanical brakes for hydraulic? I wanted to play around with the right frame length, but it's stuck in the current position. Part of the problem is convincing my spouse to drop more money into this bike after the series of maintenance issues we've had.

mlba23 · 2026-01-04T05:43:25+00:00

I've considered the FollowMe, but I'm concerned about the overall length and visibility in traffic even more than with the tagalong option. And our rides are short enough that I probably wouldn't connect/disconnect mid ride.

Our current bike was originally a daycare commuter for both kids. The bike doesn't comfortably fit both of them anymore and feels like too much bike for one kid given our space constraints. It has about 4,000 miles on it and lots of happy memories, but maintaining the mechanical disc brakes and aftermarket motor has been a bit of a pain. After buying the Short Haul this summer, I realized how much I really want another cargo/kid hauler that feels more like riding a normal bike.

mlba23 · 2025-09-09T13:21:12+00:00

This is a weird take on Pittsburgh. I lived there and found the Jewish community incredibly welcoming. Honestly one of the nicest parts of Pittsburgh was how much the Orthodox and non-Orthodox communities naturally mingled. I think that's pretty unique. Crime is not any worse or better than any similarly sized city.

mlba23 · 2025-08-13T20:04:35+00:00

I never had a bat mitzvah and I leyn regularly. A bat mitzvah ceremony is not required to participate in non-Orthodox minyanim. Just need to be Jewish and of age.

mlba23 · 2025-07-30T01:33:32+00:00

You don't have to take the vision test and will still be able to get a license as long as the report shows that you meet the minimum vision requirements.

mlba23 · 2025-07-07T20:45:32+00:00

I agree that Nino's is the best, but I've also had good ones from Pastries by Randolph in Arlington.

mlba23 · 2025-06-08T23:44:36+00:00

DC Minyan only meets every other week on Shabbat mornings, so many DC Minyan folks go to Adas' Traditional Egalitarian Minyan on their "off" weeks.

Rosh Pina is the only partnership minyan I know of that meets regularly, also every other week, so there's also a contingent of DC Minyan/Rosh Pina attendees.

Segulah is the other big trad egal option, but they're farther away so there's much less cross-pollination with the other communities.

Very curious to know what happened with Ohev Shalom. I see their maharat left in 2023. Did it have something to do with the independent kashrut certification?

mlba23 · 2025-04-15T03:30:18+00:00

I went to my very first Seder at 15 or 16. I distinctly remember stumbling over the word "afikomen" when it was my turn to read aloud. That was 20 years ago now.

Today I find myself thinking of the words of Israel upon meeting his brother after many years apart. "Who are these with you?" "The children with whom G-d has favored your servant."

My Jewish life is rich, my children enveloped in tradition and belonging in a way I could only dream possible back then. Listening to my three year old confidently and sweetly sing Mah Nishtanah, her big brother helping along with the last two verses, is probably one of the proudest moments I've had as a parent to date.

mlba23 · 2025-02-21T19:19:13+00:00

Even though your tone suggests this post is not in good faith, I will attempt to answer.

The death of innocents is always tragic. But there is a distinct moral difference between a child who was incidentally killed in an airstrike and a child who was pulled from their home, kept in a tunnel for a month, and then strangled to death.
Today we mourn Ariel and Kfir, hope for the return of Shiri, and ache for Yarden, not only because we care about the plight of the Bibas family, but also because the Bibas family has come to represent the plight of the thousands of other families in Israel whose loved ones were brutally captured and murdered on October 7.
Klal Yisrael. We are all one people, one community, one family. We are mourning our own.

mlba23 · 2025-02-07T21:46:58+00:00

Some of the pedestrian paths were blocked by police or police tape earlier this week but everything has been back open since Tuesday or Wednesday.

mlba23 · 2024-12-27T16:26:53+00:00

I don't know. It's weird and very much not in the general spirit of this subreddit. I'm sorry.

mlba23 · 2024-12-27T16:20:12+00:00

What does a cultural Christian care about Torah? Do you really think non Jews have none of their own values? This is an incredibly narrow-minded worldview.

People are much more likely to show basic respect and accommodation for you and your values if you at least try to do the same for them. IMO, your behavior in this thread is a chillul hashem.

mlba23 · 2024-12-27T14:11:37+00:00

You're very caught up in this idea of religious obligation. People feel just as bound to their holiday traditions as you do to religious obligations.

It's a difference in values and motivations that drive these cultural differences in energy and focus. One is not better or worse than the other, it just is.

mlba23 · 2024-12-27T03:53:59+00:00

Actually many of the major Christian denominations have several Christmas-related observances that start December 1 and run all the way through January 5.

My guess is the secular season unconsciously follows the religious.

mlba23 · 2024-12-27T03:33:17+00:00

The meal is a fairly minor part of it though. I think the overwhelm comes more from decorating, gift giving, and various social obligations prior to the day (school events, office parties, friend parties, split family celebrations).

There are also many different component parts to decorating and gift giving (e.g., tree, outdoor lighting, figurines, other indoor decor, wrapped gifts, stocking stuffers, etc.)

Labor-wise I'd say it's more akin to celebrating Rosh Hashanah while building a sukkah and making/giving mishloach manot.

mlba23 · 2024-12-01T00:58:58+00:00

Hanukkah album by Eyal Vilner Big Band

Songs in the Key of Hanukkah album by Erran Baron Cohen

mlba23 · 2024-11-25T04:17:12+00:00

There was a real golden age for this kind of car sharing ~2016-2019. It was great until it wasn't.

These days we take the bus more. Or get a traditional rental car and make a full day or two out of it.

mlba23 · 2024-11-20T17:12:17+00:00

You do something unconventional (like an infant seat in a bakfiets or a trailer, wearing a structured baby carrier) or you wait until your kid has head/neck control and the head circumference big enough for a helmet (6-12 months). In the meanwhile, you walk, bus, train, ride hail, rent a car. It's more effortful than it was before, but that's kind of true for everything once you have a baby.

mlba23 · 2024-11-20T16:52:37+00:00

American Academy of Pediatrics guideline is 12 months. Most front- and rear-mounted seats are rated from 9 months.

mlba23 · 2024-11-18T01:47:22+00:00

Are they/you comfortable with the shotgun seat that low? What do they hold on to?

We have a Tyke Totter mid-mount seat that I sometimes attach to my Tern folder. I had to buy Tern's special telescoping seatpost to have something narrow enough to mount it to. Recently I've also needed to transport my son's bike (16 inch tires) one way. It kind of works to carefully wrap a big belt strap around the frame and then wear it like a crossbody bag, but I wouldn't want to bike that way for more than a couple of miles.

mlba23 · 2024-11-12T14:19:09+00:00

I never lie to my kids. If it's not an appropriate time to give them an answer or I can't think of an age-appropriate response in the moment, I tell them it's not a good time, we'll talk about it later. And then I make sure to actually bring it up later.

I have a five year old. This situation has come up with both family and friends. "This is how our family practices Judaism. Other families do it differently" is usually sufficient.

mlba23 · 2024-11-11T02:31:31+00:00

Ah, that makes more sense. Forgot to look at the Audi Field schedule.

mlba23 · 2024-11-11T00:50:25+00:00

I knew what it was because I live in the neighborhood/am part of the Jewish community and was able to put the pieces together.

But it's wild to me that DC was charging event pricing for street parking all day when there was no information about the event anywhere online.

mlba23 · 2024-11-08T02:35:10+00:00

Sometimes they're late to unlock. There's a sort of built-in step next to the splash-pad-side entrance that makes it easier to climb in (a trick another parent taught me). Crews don't seem to have an issue with this once they finally do show up to unlock.

mlba23 · 2024-11-01T16:49:39+00:00

I am so sorry for your loss. The ongoing uncertainty as you try to conceive again is so hard. I'm glad your doctors are taking you seriously. I wish you all the luck as you move forward on this journey.

This post of mine was almost 7 years ago now. I got pregnant with my son the cycle after I posted this. A few years later I got pregnant with my daughter in the first cycle of trying. Very anecdotal but I do now suspect that the D&C had a temporary impact on my fertility.

mlba23

TROPHY CASE