Enjoying the Summer...

We are definitely trying to enjoy the summer around here. Even though I got a little bit excited Sunday morning at the back-to-school ads in the newspaper, it's still summertime and we're definitely embracing it. (Of course, my mom mentioning the upcoming High Holy Days didn't make me feel any better...but let's just keep thinking of summer, shall we?)

So, here are some of the summertime fun pictures I took this week!





See some more wonderful summertime pictures over at Tracy's...

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Go check out Haveil Havalim this week.

Some Updates from Camp

So here we are in good old Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, working and enjoying the life at Jewish summer camp.

While I'm working on being one of the rabbis for the 140 campers in my unit, I'm also shepherding my family through the camp experience as well! Because, of course, we bring up the whole family. My husband is having a great time enjoying the company of the other faculty and the kids are enjoying the outdoor time and the freedom to run around all day long.

So...without further ado, a few of the pictures from our first week at OSRUI...

Sam on Shabbat, looking adorable...
David rockin' out at the all-camp Fourth of July Talent Show
Yael taking out her cute little hairbow on Shabbat...
David enjoying the waterfront activities...

See more Best Shots over at Melody's place...

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A few bloggy notes:
Haveil Havalim is up over here.
AND Juggling Frogs is back! I'm so excited.

Watching...

Sam and David were absolutely fascinated by the man who installed our patio door on Sunday morning. They just wanted to sit and watch everything that he did. My six-year-old had a lot of questions.

Yael, however, couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. She kept trying to engage them in something else, but they wanted to stay by the door.

Either way, the new door was the highlight of our weekend. It was properly restful, a nice Shabbat followed by the Rabbi's secret summer treat: no Sunday School.

Ahhh....summer.

See what other exciting things caught people's eyes this weekend.

Beautiful Wedding

As I wrote last Thursday, I was off to my cousin's wedding in Cleveland. It was a beautiful simcha (celebration). My favorite part (aside from the getting-married-thing) was all of my cousins' children...they are gorgeous and were dressed so adorably! I couldn't stop taking pictures. Full disclosure: My dad and I were sharing his new cool camera, so about half the pictures were taken by me and half by him. I'm quite sure that one or two of these below are from his batch!

Getting ready before the wedding, my dad helping David tie his tie. (Only my parents and I went, and I brought my oldest. It was too much for my little ones!)
Some of the little girls (nieces of the bride, my cousins' kids) in their beautiful dresses, taking pictures before the wedding. You could see how much they love their aunt, and the glow in their eyes as they envisioned themselves as a bride someday. They also loved their beautiful twirly dresses! (There are even more gorgeous shots, but I left out all the faces of the kids for obvious reasons.)

The bride with our grandmother.

Before the wedding ceremony, there is a period called "Kabbalat Panim" -- literally "welcoming faces," when the bride sits on a throne-like chair surrounded by her mother, mother-in-law, grandmothers, and sisters, and she is greeted and kissed by all the women present. (During this time, the men are involved in what's known as the Groom's Tisch, or Table, where the groom is teased by his friends as he tries to give a scholarly lecture. At the Tisch, the Ketubah, the Marriage Contract, is also signed.) There's more about how a Jewish wedding works in this post by me and at MyJewishLearning.com. These are some of the little girls sitting at their aunt's feet during this time.

My son, David, with my grandmother, during Kabbalat Panim. Doesn't he look handsome in his suit!?

During the ceremony, the bride and groom under the chuppah.

It is a mitzvah, a commandment, to dance with bride and groom. In Orthodox custom, men and women dance separately, and each woman there vies for her chance to dance with the celebrating bride. The dancing goes on and on, and the bride is often exhausted! When she can't dance any more, they seat her on a chair in the midst of all the dancers and her friends and relatives entertain her and dance for her. This is the bride dancing with her newest sister-in-law, my cousin's wife, who was married just in April before Passover.

A funny tradition as part of the mitzvah of "entertaining the bride and groom", within my cousins' circle at least, there is always this hilarious moment of the jump-rope! I don't know of any particular significance, but I always laugh to see these elaborately dressed brides and sisters jumping rope! This is the bride and one of her older sisters. They did a great job, I think they jumped 2 or three times before hitting the rope!

My favorite shot of the trip, though, is this one that my dad took in Corky and Lenny's Deli before the wedding, of David and me. Those of you who know me IRL or have seen my pictures know that I have curly hair...but my friend Andi straightened it for me just for the wedding! (I'm now hooked, btw, I am on a hunt to buy myself a hair straightener.)


See many other great shots (and probably shorter posts!) at Best Shot Monday...

My Husband is Wonderful

Sunday evening he joined me to see Sex and the City.

(Which, by the way, rocked.)

Here is proof:



If you haven't seen it yet...GO!

I must admit, I ♥ Charlotte. Yes, I know, she's perky and maybe "too perfect" -- but I loved her optimism, her love of her life, her sweet care of her friend...I loved her mama-bear reaction to Big...I cried tears of rage with her.

And, of course, I ♥ my husband for going with me...he was definitely a minority at the movie but he enjoyed it just as much as I did. (He watched the show with me too, so it wasn't such a stretch...and then again, I went to Iron Man with him and enjoyed that! I guess we're just a movie-match-made-in-heaven...)

Go see what other people did and took pictures of this week.

Camera-Lust, My Deer...

So my dad got a new camera.

I actually have a little taste now of how it must feel to use some of the really cool cameras that so many of you have. It's not an SLR but it is really really cool.

I got to play with it this weekend while we were there. Here are some of my favorite pics that I took using his really great new camera:




We spent a lot of nice time outside on Sunday, in my parents' backyard. Even though they live near a busy street and in a relatively noisy suburban area, there is a large deer population. Someone noticed a really cute little fawn curled up and resting in the "forest" area of the yard, which has been cut back recently. We all walked over to see him (her?) and quietly observe our own little Bambi.

When I brought Sam (age 2) over to see it, the conversation went like this:
Me: Sam, look at the deer.
Sam: Is not a deer, mom. Is a cow.
Me: No, honey, it's a deer.
Sam: No. Cow.
Me: Say "deer"
Sam: "Deer." But is a cow.
...walking away...
Me: I have to go get the camera, this is a blog!
Sam: No, Mommy, is a cow!

(My "Best Shot" for the week...)

See more Best Shots here.

Starting them young...BSM

My daughter does seem to have a bit of an obsession with my Starbucks cups. She always wants them! One day last week we were playing outside and, sadly, I ran out out coffee. Yael, on the other hand, was not sad at all...because she had a new and wonderful plaything: Mom's cup.








I have often wondered about the effects of marketing on our kids. My husband remarked the other day that our now 6-year-old believed that Target and Toys R Us were "toy museums" where he could look but not take things home...until he was about 4 years old (unfortunately, he now knows exactly how shopping works!). My 2-year-old, on the other hand, already understands completely that Target is a magical place from which toys often come. I'm sure in some ways this is due to having an older sibling who is making him wise to the ways of the world!
Would she care if it weren't a Starbucks cup? What if it were a cup from the gas station, or from some fast-food joint? I haven't explored this with her, and I'm not sure I'm ready for the experiment! All I know is this...if I have it, she wants it.

(I could post another series of all of my kids holding my cell phone. I'm sure all of you could do the same.)

Maybe it's less about marketing and more about "being like the big people." Which is something that I know I need to remember all the time. Not only are my children little sponges, they are also little mirrors. Sometimes it's cute. But sometimes... darn it if I don't always like what I see! I know that if I start with myself, I will improve them too.

For the moment, I guess it's not so bad if she's interested in drinking coffee.

Right?

See more pictures and musings here.

How to be a 2-year-old (BSM)

To be a proper 2-year-old, you must have an opinion about everything.

Most especially, about the clothing you wear and the accessories that you add into your outfit.


(oh, and everything is "mine"...)

The joys of parenting:-)

See more great shots here!

P.S. Haveil Havalim #165 is up here (this is the Jewish and Israeli blog carnival) and, as usual, it's great! Next week, I'm the host so stay tuned!

The Love of Zeyde....

My dad (who wrote that great Omer counter over there, by the way, isn't it cool?) is known in our home as Zeyde, the Yiddish word for Grandfather. (It's pronounced in a few ways, zay-dah or zay-dee, we use the latter.)

He likes to come and visit us on Tuesdays, my day off, and hang out with me and with his grandkids. Often, it's just Yael and I to entertain him...and he doesn't seem to mind this special time with his youngest grandchild!

Here he is hanging with my girl last Tuesday...(he also brings me Starbucks, isn't that nice of him?)

Hmmm....can I get this on my hand?
Ta-da! I can!

See what other pictures people think are great this week.


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Spring Came and Went?

What happened? We were so excited to end Passover on a spring-like note. Friday was a gloriously warm day, so wonderful that we spent a bit of time at the Botanic Gardens.

Good thing we did because then it all seemed to go downhill!

Saturday and Sunday were cold and blustery...we still managed to get outside a bit, but nothing like the glory of Friday.

Here are some of my favorites, I couldn't pick!

Yael with Auntie Liz
The Girl, discovering the bushes at the Gardens...this was before she tried to eat them, of course.

Sam loves water, and here he is heading off to his favorite fountains. Even after a winter away, he still remembers what he likes!
For a kid who loves water, the Chicago Botanic Gardens are a great place to be!
Look, Mom, more water!

It's very hard to keep him out of the water and still take pictures. After this shot, he basically tried to dive right in! But I love the splash effect here.

I tried to take some pictures of him visiting with the ducks, but I was so afraid that he would go for a swim in the lake that I had to keep one hand holding tightly to the back of his shirt as he reached for a gorgeous pair of mallard ducks that were swimming right by us. He did enjoy meeting those ducks! I think sometimes he wishes he were a duck...he does like water.

What did you do to celebrate the end of Passover over this weekend?
See more great pictures here...

We came from Egypt, what did you do this weekend?

Who are you? I am Israel.
Where are you coming from? I am coming from Mitzrayim, from Egypt.
Where are you going? I am going to Yerushalayim, to Jerusalem.

We went out of Egypt and into Jerusalem as we celebrated the beginning of Pesach. Those of you who follow my blog regularly know that I've been getting ready for weeks! The time has come, and all the hard work and preparation paid off. Our Seders were wonderful.

Our Seder table...


My dad was so proud of my award-winning post that he printed it out for the whole family!

We wear masks to illustrate the 10 Plagues. They were a big hit with Sam & Yael...


David was such a hit! He sat right next to my dad, who ran the Seder, and he recited the Four Questions...plus he sang a whole bunch of cute songs including a great version of Who Knows One that made the whole family roll with laughter. Such kvelling, such naches!

For the Second Seder, it was just our immediate family and we sang songs and did a really brief service. It wore everyone out!

Enjoy your matzah!

See what other people took pictures of this weekend...

To Cut or Not To Cut...

Jewish tradition says that children (okay, boys, but I tend to be more inclusive) should not have a haircut until the age of 3. This has two major rationales: in Leviticus, it is stated that one is not allowed to eat the fruit that grows on a tree for its first three years. This principle is applied, then, to the cutting of a child's hair. The other is that with the long hair that grows on these little boys (yes, I'm back to just boys), they become indistinguishable from girls, and don't tempt the "Evil Eye" or the Angel of Death to take them...of course, assuming that boys are more valuable than girls. Another explanation, newer to me, is that this indistinguishable nature of boys and girls during this period makes them "genderless" and therefore boys are under the "protection" of their female mother. After their haircut, the boys enter into the "realm of men" and are no longer part of the women's world. (Read more here, at Wikipedia)

All a very interesting sociological explanation...right? But in practice, it's not something that I've ever done. My oldest child, a boy, had his first haircut at about 7 months old. His beautiful curls were definitely getting in his way and when the daycare started putting little bows in his hair, I knew it was time. My second, I held off until about a year, but he too was bothered by hair in his eyes.

Then came the Girl.

No one will bother me about her hair, I thought to myself.

But remarkably, they did! "It's in her eyes!" "How can she see?" and..."couldn't she choke on that cute little hairclip in her hair if she pulled it out?"

The boys desperately needed haircuts this weekend...so we snuck them in Friday afternoon before naptime...and while we were there, I took a deep breath and said, "okay, the bangs!" But I insisted that it wasn't the "First Haircut." (which saved me a lot of money, incidentally, they only charged us 5 bucks!) I didn't even bring the camera because I was not sure I was going to go through with it.

So here she is...with little bangs, perhaps a bit shorter than I would have liked but they'll grow...thank God. (and it's my Best Shot Monday, of course)


So what do you think? Does this count as a haircut or not...and why do I care?!:-)

Creative Living...

(In case you're a regular reader (hi dad)...and have wondered where I've gotten to this week...here it is!)

Each year I am blessed to spend a long weekend with an amazing group of ladies at the Devorah Jewish Quilting Kallah* at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute.

We spend a whole weekend celebrating our creativity and our ability to be artists, in whatever capacity that is for each of us. Everyone brings their sewing machines, piles of fabric, thread, needles, beads, ribbons, rotary cutters, lamps...you name it. I definitely pack more for the quilting studio than I do to wear!

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I was thinking of how to fully explain the event here on my blog. Why quilting? Why Jewish quilting? Most people expressed it this way: we have quilting friends, we have Jewish friends, but there aren't so many avenues to put them both together. This is an awesome opportunity for women to gather from all over and share both their faith and their art. And that is marvelous. The atmosphere is thick with creative juices and we manage to eat some pretty good ice cream too! We study, we sew, we sew, we pray, we talk and laugh and cry (and unfortunately, sew our fingers into the machines occasionally and end up at the ER!) and eat (and eat and eat), we walk and we talk and we sing and sometimes even dance. It's quite a remarkable group and a remarkable weekend.

So...here are some of my best shots from this weekend...

from our creativity exercise...collages...


piecing it all together...


my workspace...


our "studio"

For more best shots, go here...
What did you do this weekend?

*Kallah means gathering. Devorah, the character in the Bible also known as Deborah, means "bee", which is a very nice pun on the Quilting Bee....

More Israel Pictures...

Yes, I went back to Israel. It was fun to go back again so quickly after the first trip. I didn't take nearly as many photos because I was very busy leading this group of families! So...here are some of the best shots from my trip (although I didn't get permission for the people so a lot of the pics couldn't be put up here)...

This one that I love...it's even the background on my phone now:-) and I posted it the other day...

This is the wall of the Temple Mount, taken looking straight up. The wall is so high, the stones so large...it just boggles my mind how it was made.

Purim celebrations in the Old City of Jerusalem. This is part of the Cardo, an ancient corridor through the Old City. These ancient stones were really brought alive by all the kids running and screaming and playing....the loud music playing, the food, the games, all of it...having shaving cream fights...it was so fascinating to see this area which is usually empty save tourists filled with the residents of the Old City!

And here are some more ancient stones, the Kotel or Western Wall, juxtaposed against other Purim costumes.

Read more about my trip here and here and here and here.

See more pictures here!

Purim Fun...

Ah...the holiday of Purim. Beloved of children, for its silliness and costuming. Beloved of adults for the right to be completely silly on this one day. One year, for Purim, I was "thing 1" to the other rabbi's "thing 2" and I did somersaults down the center aisle of our sanctuary. This year, not quite as exciting...we were construction workers in honor of the construction work being done on our building.

David strongly wanted to be Harry Potter. I'll post more about his costume on Wednesday, but suffice to say that I'm willing to go all-out for this awesome holiday...and so Harry Potter it was!

(Traditionally, Purim costumes are characters from the story - Queen Esther, Mordechai, King Achashverosh...even the evil Haman. I don't place restrictions on the costume choices, because he does love the dress-up...)

My Sammy was a little busy bee. There's a great midrash about King Solomon and the Bee so I figured it was a good Jewish costume. Plus, the only kosher food to come from a non-kosher animal is honey...which comes from a bee, and that strange contradiction is perfect (in my opinion) for the topsy-turvy nature of Purim!

(This one is my "Best Shot" -- isn't he a cutie!?)

They had such a good time celebrating this holiday (which actually doesn't happen until the end of the week...but it's all-Purim, all the time here this week!) is just the most wonderful thing for me. I want my kids to have warm and powerful Jewish memories and associations...and it's my job to create them!

See what other people took pictures of this week...
and see what FrumeSarah has to say -- join our Purim Party!

Toothless Wonders!

It's hard to believe that my baby my oldest child who was just born who is already 6 years old, who entered kindergarten this year...is now one tooth short.

Yep, that's right. A lost tooth is just the beginning.

Next it's a driver's license.

Okay, maybe not.


But it does mean the Tooth Fairy and who knows what's next!?

{{{Deep breaths}}}

Each moment brings its own blessings. A little sad, perhaps, that he isn't the little boy that he was. But joyous in knowing that he is on the miraculous journey of life into becoming the menschy, kind, wonderful person that I already see growing before my eyes.

Shehecheyanu, v'kiyimanu, v'higiyanu lazman hazeh...thank You, God, for bringing us to this toothy milestone.

May his mouth be filled with song and his lips speak words of wisdom...

See more Best Shots here...

Beautiful Baby...Turned ONE!?!

My beautiful baby girl turned one while I was in Israel. (Yes, I'm over the guilt thing...)

One year ago...I was waiting eagerly for my water to break...that is what happened with each of my first two pregnancies, and I went to bed every night expecting it. But not so with my girl. She really wanted to stick around inside. The doctor and I had other ideas and we induced labor on February 16, disturbing her cozy little nest.

And it only took her about 3 months to forgive me.

Yes, that's right. 3 months of never-stopping crying, screaming, and not-putting-downness.

Wouldn't take a bottle. Breast only. Wouldn't take a pacifier. Spit up a LOT because she wanted to nurse all the time!

But finally, at 3 months, it all clicked. She forgave me for her induction into the world! She started to take a bottle (good thing, too, because that was the end of my maternity leave - I even considered extending it!), she took a pacifier and sometimes her fingers, and she learned to roll over (even though the doctor said it was a fluke). Basically, she turned into a wonderful baby! She started to nap, (she didn't sleep so well at night but I'll take the blame for that one, I kept going in so she wouldn't wake her brothers) and she started to smile and interact happily with the world!

Now at one, she's displaying a nice little personality and I can't wait to get to know her even better! This morning, she woke up at 6am and rather than cry she called out "Daaaadddeee!!!" which made us both giggle. Her inflection was perfect, a sing-song just like her big brothers.

She's a climber, and she loves music. She dances and giggles. She still loves to sit in the sling, although now she can pull my hair. She'll eat almost anything you put in front of her but never touches the french fries (seriously, maybe she's not my kid?). She pushes her brothers out of her way when she wants something and she wants to be just like them. She absolutely adores my blackberry and any other gadget...the tv remote, the video game controller, anything.

When I came home, I did this little photo session to capture a one-year-picture. (She was awfully neat with the cake shots so I wanted something else. I had this great dress...)


Happy belated birthday, Yael!
See what other reflections folks are turning up today...

Israel Pictures...Just a Few...

How to choose, how to choose! 967 pictures are still in my computer after an initial quick-delete...I'm sure there are a few more to be deleted but how do I choose!? Either way, here are a quick rundown of my favorites (with captions of course) with what I consider to be my "Best Shot" of the trip at the end...

I have been to Israel before and taken lots of pictures, but this was my first time with my own digital camera and my first time with a blog that must be filled with photos! Oh how I wish I could have accompanied all my daily updates with pictures...but alas, it was not to be. So anyway, I focused on taking as many cool pictures as I could...so here are some...

This is me and my brother. Why is this picture here? First off, I think I look good, which is frankly exciting to me! Second, I made a personal resolution to get myself into more of the pictures. Third, my brother complains that I don't blog about him enough. We got to see him in Israel! Hooray! Finally, this picture was taken by me, holding the camera out at arm's length. Not bad, eh? Oh, and the Israel connection -- we are standing in the excavation tunnels beneath the Western Wall in Jerusalem!
Four beautiful pictures of the Old City in Jerusalem, one of my favorite places in Israel.


This is my brother again...standing at the end of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum. The new museum is quite incredible, and perhaps one of the most amazing parts is the end, when you come out into this gorgeous healing view...
My mom, at the Ein Gedi Nature Preserve. Look at that blue sky!
Taken in the old part of Tsfat, an incredible city in the north. Notice that this young man is sitting with his laptop (and he was online too...wireless). An awesome reminder of the blend of modern and ancient in this land...
And this one...my favorite. It definitely falls into the category of "don't delete on the camera" because in my camera screen, I didn't get the rainbow. But when I looked in my computer screen there it was...wow. It is a rainbow over Jericho. We were leaving Jerusalem in terrible weather and as it started to clear - breathtaking! We stopped the bus and I never imagined the picture would come out!

See more Best Shots here...

creating memories

I love to look at the inspiring, creative and beautiful photography that I've found in the bloggyworld. Some of us are much more amateur (me!) but still want to document our family's life in beautiful pictures.

I know that I look for opportunities to take pictures for my albums and of course, for my blog.

But what if you're documenting life for mom or dad who are not there to see each day's activities? I'm thinking of our troops who are serving abroad, some for very long stretches of time without their families close by. One of my friends from high school, Kristie, has two small (beautiful) children and a husband serving overseas in Iraq. She handles each difficulty that life keeps throwing at her with a great deal of strength and humor and I'm amazed and impressed.

Kristie sent me an email this weekend offering a chance to help out our troops and I thought I'd pass it on here to all of you. She is trying to get together some small durable photo/scrapbook albums to send overseas, and she writes...

Operation Minutes from Home
For a donation of $10, (retail is over $20), you can purchase a photo album to be sent to the unit. I am working with the unit commander's wife to have an event at Ft Lewis, so the families here can fill the albums before we send them.

I needs 50 albums to hold the event (for all the families).

You can contact her directly if you're interested. Please let her know it came from me...

Here's my favorite shots from the snow day we had last week...