Saturday, April 28, 2007

Do you read Blogs?

What a dumb question, if you're reading this one you are reading a blog! But I mean, do you read lots of blogs, do you have any familiarity with the blogosphere? You may have come to my blog from an email I sent you or in some other way without getting to me via the blog-world...so it's a valid question.

Why do I love reading blogs? (a list. I'm into them lately.)
1. I feel a little bit of guilty pleasure in peeking into other people's lives.
2. I love to see what other ideas are out there.
3. I enjoy finding connections and clicking on links to read more.
4. I am jealous of those who have the wonderful capacity to write and record their lives.
5. It's fun!

What kinds of blogs do I read? (another list.)
1. Food blogs. Love them. Must have pictures and/or recipes.
2. Mom blogs. (also parenting blogs) So cool to read other moms' perspectives on the world.
3. Shopping blogs. Don't know why but I get a kick out of these.
4. Israel blogs. (although I read way more of these while the war with Lebanon was going on.)
5. Rabbi blogs. (but most rabbis are terrible bloggers so there's not so much to read.)
6. Book/Reading blogs.
7. Miscellaneous blogs that people link to.

(I don't usually read political blogs or business blogs or celebrity blogs or animal blogs or sports blogs or travel blogs or...well, you know there are millions of kinds. Look at The Blogger Choice Awards for a list of great blogs by category.

Five of my Favorite Blogs (ah, yet another list)

1. Vegan Lunch Box. This is actually the blog that got me hooked on blogs. It was a little more interesting all last year when she blogged EVERY day the lunch that she made for her son. Wow. And it was always a creative interesting lunch. Plus she did it every day! Now it's about once a week, but still worth reading.
2. This Normal Life. A great Israel blog. There are others I used to read during the Lebanon War but many of them are not as regular about blogging any more. There are still great ones out there but I like this one because he's really pretty regular about posting. I consider that to be an important criteria for a "good blog."
3. Crunchy Domestic Goddess. Although I dont't know this woman at all, I grew attached to her blog while we were both pregnant at the same time, and I somewhat eagerly waited for her baby to come...and then I stuck around reading the story of her homebirth and her life with two kids. A little peek into a total stranger's life that I find interesting!
4. Mighty Goods, a shopping blog. although I don't usually buy things (actually, have never bought!) that are listed here, I find it interesting to see "what's out there."
5. Vegan Eats and Treats. Yes, I know I'm not a vegan, but they make great blogs. And the food always looks so good!

(I'm still working on a blogroll. Only so much time in each day. Then there will be more. I read more than five blogs.)

Hope you find fun in the blogosphere!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Sam needs to be like big brother



I am a first-born child, and my brother is 8 years younger than I am. That said, I am not familiar with the overwhelming desire that my middle child feels to be like his big brother. But I am loving it, at this moment. I'm sure that I will find reasons to hate it, like when big brother does something I don't like and little brother follows suit. But for now, I am loving it.

A few of Sam's favorite "big brother" things to do:

  • wear his crocs, just like David's! (omg, the cutest little things in the world are his crocs)
  • sit in the floor-rocker-chair with a video game controller in his hand. But no video game on, he's cool with Baby Dolittle, his current favorite video.
  • snag the nintendo ds whenever it's in his reach and sit on the floor, back against the couch, looking intently at it, trying to figure out why and how to make it work.
  • making great big funny noises at the baby just like David does at him
  • making great big funny noises back at David whenever possible.
  • entering David's room just to be there!
  • standing on the stool to brush teeth or do some other bathroom sink activity

Too cute for words. I hope he continues to love his big brother and that his big brother continues to share wonderful behaviors with him!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Lists...

Top Ten Reasons I LOVE maternity leave:
10. No need to hire a babysitter, I'm just home.
9. Free weekends and evenings.
8. Family outings.
7. Eating at home - breakfast, lunch and dinner.
6. Bedtimes.
5. Daytime Television (Oprah, anyone?)
4. Time to hang with friends.
3. Eating at home.
2. Sweats and crocs every day!
1. My baby, of course!

Top Ten Reasons I HATE maternity leave:
10. No sleep.
9. No sleep.
8. No sleep.
7. No sleep.
6. No sleep.
5. 3am television stinks.
4. Um...people think it's a vacation.
3. Eating at home...eating all the time!
2. Nothing fits. Oy.
1. Sleep? What's sleep?

Five things to do while on maternity leave:
1. Feed the baby.
2. Change the baby.
3. Rock the baby.
4. Hold the baby.
5. Feed the baby.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Exhausted!

I just returned from one of my favorite weekends of the year, the Devorah Quilting Kallah at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute. It's so awesome to be there, to work with all the quilters...but exhausting! This year, I brought 2-month-old Yael and let me tell you -- that was hard! She was not happy with all the chaos in her life. And I'm worn out.

It's not easy to uproot yourself for a few days, for me it was a "retreat" but for her it was insanity. She adjusted just as it was time to go home!

Oy.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Our Thoughts are in Virginia....

A prayer, from ritualwell.org

Blessed are you, Source of Life,
Who helps us to bring Light
where there is darkness,
Healing where there is brokenness, and
Peace to all of the earth's inhabitants.

May it be so.

Happiest people

Today's Chicago Tribune carried the following story:

The old saw "money can't buy happiness" apparently holds true when it comes to
work.Highly-paid professionals like doctors and lawyers didn't make the cut when
researchers set out to find the most satisfied workers.Clergy ranked tops in
both job satisfaction and general happiness, according to the National Opinion
Research Center at the University of Chicago.


It's nice to know that clergy (like me) scored highest. I love my job, and even though I haven't slept through the night in 2 months, I really do love my life!

Monday, April 9, 2007

It's almost over!!!!


I love Passover. It is truly my favorite holiday. Since I was young, I loved the different food, the seders, the whole experience of it. I can actually think of the specific times in my life when I've "missed the mark" and ate chametz -- there aren't so many. I remember eating pancakes at a slumber party and a hamburger (why didn't I just skip the bun?) on a trip to California. But I also remember eating matzah-meal rolls at DisneyLand and carrying egg-salad sandwiches to school. I loved the sense of community as I ate almost every meal at Hillel during Pesach in college.


All that said, I am so glad it's almost over!


While the eating of matzah is meant to make us remember our freedom, I think there is nothing that reminds us of our freedom and our incredible opportunities than the taste of bread at the end of Pesach. Deprivation, no matter how short, and frankly, how un-depriving (I really do like the food during Passover!).... still proves how lucky we are to have what we have.


It has been tricky this year with David. He seems to be very particular about what he will and will not eat, so he's eaten a lot of cream cheese on matzah and not much else. Sam has handled it quite well, he pretty much eats what we put in front of him. So often people tell me that their kids just "won't" do it, or they "can't get them" to do it. For us, it's just part of life. We didn't have any bread so there wasn't any to eat! The cereal just wasn't there so we had to eat yogurt without cereal for breakfast. It worked. It is only 7 days. We all survived. I hope David will have great memories of each year, his mom's matzah brie and her other weird creations like Farfel & Cheese Casseroloe (I think it's great! Click here for the recipe. I add extra yogurt and extra cheese.)


Even so, it's almost over. Soon we'll put the Passover cookbooks, cd's, plagues, and haggadot into the Passover box (I need a new one, actually) and they'll go into the basement. The cereal will go back over the fridge and the leftover matzah will go to the food pantry (we always say we'll eat it but we don't). I love when it comes and I love when it leaves!


How do you observe Passover in your house?

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Tears from more than just the Maror

It was more than just the strength of the maror at the Seder table that brought tears to my eyes this year. For two nights, I watched my 5-year-old stand up and, quite gleefully, sing the Four Questions. He was remarkably "on" both nights, sharing other Passover songs and answering questions like a pro. More than once, I had to wipe away the tears of joy.

What an incredible feeling when you know that you are "doing something right." My husband uses the term "gets it" to refer to kids when they act like David did last night. He "gets it." He gets what we're trying to teach him, he understands, at least on some level, that this is important to us. And I really don't think he was just parroting what we've said, because he was asked questions that I don't remember ever talking about, such as the meaning of freedom (hello, he's 5!!?)...and he hit them all out of the park.

Hope your seders were as memorable as mine.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

A Zissen Pesach!


May your holiday be filled with wonderful light and love. May you find blessings and joy with each moment of this celebration.

Chag sameach!