Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Princess has Spoken...........
on Friday we were getting ready for Shabbos and I made the statement that M is a girl in relation to why we want her to bathe on her own now instead of in the tub with the boys. Her response, "I'm not a girl, I'm a princess!" Well that solves that question! I think the fact that boys play knights and call her their princess might be going to her head! Watch out world because the Princess has spoken!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mama said there'd be days like this.............
But I don't think they had cell phones when that song was written. What started out be a productive day, ended on a sour note when our one and only cell phone was picked clean off of me this afternoon in Jerusalem. Now I know it is easy to say, I must have left it somewhere or dropped it. I did have the twins with me, but I figured out right away and even if I had, most people are honest and would respond the first 3 times we tried to call it and return it. I borrowed a phone and called within 15-20min. of the time I last USED it until the time I lost it. It will now cost us $100 to replace it as it was a rental phone+$19 to have it delivered to us. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR............ Why are people so mean some days! I feel like a heal as it is D's phone that I use on the rare occassion I am on the go. So all his numbers are gone and until it is replaced I can't reach him when he is on the go. D is taking it well since he is not the one who lost it, but I feel horrible and would be feel better if he were angry, then I could go on the defensive, but I would still feel like I deserve it.
The positive things that happened today however are, we got some paper work turned in that could mean more money for us, yeah! I got new frames which I have not had in about 8 years! And I ran into 2 people I have not seen in ages, although unfortunately after I lost the phone so I was not very sociable and they were catching busses. I guess I have to remember to look on the bright side of things. It could have been worse and been my whole purse. And we did avoid a major car accident today as M some how got out into a very busy street and was not injured. Thank G-d there was road construction so even though she was half way out she had not made it into traffic. So I will have to see the cell phone as an inconvenience and count my blessings that I still have my daughter and that we all made it home OK. And despite the financial loss our day was Ok and that our blessings out weigh our challenges.
The positive things that happened today however are, we got some paper work turned in that could mean more money for us, yeah! I got new frames which I have not had in about 8 years! And I ran into 2 people I have not seen in ages, although unfortunately after I lost the phone so I was not very sociable and they were catching busses. I guess I have to remember to look on the bright side of things. It could have been worse and been my whole purse. And we did avoid a major car accident today as M some how got out into a very busy street and was not injured. Thank G-d there was road construction so even though she was half way out she had not made it into traffic. So I will have to see the cell phone as an inconvenience and count my blessings that I still have my daughter and that we all made it home OK. And despite the financial loss our day was Ok and that our blessings out weigh our challenges.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Gift of Giving
It is now Thursday and I am 2 weeks behind in my Tuesday's Tip, so I am going incorporate it into my blog about our recent activities.
On Monday night started the holiday Purim which I mentioned in my last blog. It is the story of Queen Esther. The Megillah goes like this. An evil king named Asheverous ruled Persia and lived in the capital city of Shushan. He has a party in his 3rd year of rule and gets drunk. When his wife refuses to come to him during the party his henchmen suggest she be hanged for disobeying the king. After the party, the king has no wife and is bummed, thats OK say his men, "you can get a new one!" Enter Queen Esther the Jew, the woman he picked to be his new wife. Her Uncle Mordechai hangs out at the palace gates, figures out a plot to kill the king and saves the day. But meanwhile the king's most trusted advisor has it in for Mordechai and decides to kill him and the rest of the Jewish people. But after 3 days of fasting and a plea from the queen, a miracle occurrs and the king overturns the evil decree, the Jews fight back and the evil advisor and his sons are hanged on the gallows as punishment. It is from then on decreed that Jews should eat and drink to celebrate, provide gifts to the poor so that they to
may celebrate and hear the story of the Megillah every year.
On Purim we are obligated to 3 things, 1)So we make food baskets, which I actually did do, although we skipped dessert, but added a pickle to go with the kugel and everyone got wine. 2) Gifts to the poor which is monetary, so that even those who have no money can run out and buy food for a meal or give baskets to others. And 3)Hear the Megillah.
We did have our friends for our meal in the end, she is still quite pregnant and we went into Jerusalem today. A good time was had by all both days.
So where does my tip come in? My tip is, it is the simple things in life that count. As part of our food baskets to two friends we got them new KoomKooms. These are the same idea as hot water pots, but more durable and bigger. This is one of those things that EVERYONE has. Some people may not have a microwave, but this is something we all have. Since I am a tea addict I would lay down and give it all up if mine died. They are not expensive, they can be found for as cheap as $8 and as pricey as $25. I have no idea what the difference is. But as we all know sometimes spending that little extra money on ourselves can be hard. So when I discovered that our local store had the koomkooms on sale for $8, I knew we had to include it. Both friends were so pleased that it really made me happy. But the second person we did it for I also got 2 glasses to go with as she did not have any. Just tiney tea cups. And the look on her face was priceless. The whole thing cost us so very little, but to her it was priceless. I admit, I would not spend the money on my self. I always feel like it should go to groceries or bills, or saving it, but to buy it for someone else and have them see it as if it were a $200.00 gift was just heart warming. And in that moment I really treasured the words it is better to give than to receive.
So my tip is this: If you know that someone needs a pick me up, but you feel you don't have much, look around because one small item made or bought may make all the difference to someone else. Ideas when you are broke, but you want to cheer up a friend, 1) See if there is an album or song they want, most places only charge $1 if you want to be PC about the whole thing. 2) Make or buy a treat like cookies or a cake. People love treats when they can't afford to buy them. 3)Invite them over for a meal, they may have less to eat at home than you do!
4) If it is a tired mom, offer to give her a break and take the kid(s) for an hour or two OR go with her to run errands and help with kid(s). I have discovered that helping my friends with new babies while D watches ours is actually fun for me. Because hey, new babies don't talk back and when they cry, well, hey she's not mine so that is OK! 5)Send someone a card even if they only live around the corner. people love getting snail mail! Or even an e-mail telling them why they are so great will do.
In these times of financial struggle for us all I have found that people hate asking for help and are embarrassed to do so, but they need to feel they are not a failure and that they are still worthwhile person. Doing simple things for someone else can really boost their self esteem. Remember what comes around goes around!
On Monday night started the holiday Purim which I mentioned in my last blog. It is the story of Queen Esther. The Megillah goes like this. An evil king named Asheverous ruled Persia and lived in the capital city of Shushan. He has a party in his 3rd year of rule and gets drunk. When his wife refuses to come to him during the party his henchmen suggest she be hanged for disobeying the king. After the party, the king has no wife and is bummed, thats OK say his men, "you can get a new one!" Enter Queen Esther the Jew, the woman he picked to be his new wife. Her Uncle Mordechai hangs out at the palace gates, figures out a plot to kill the king and saves the day. But meanwhile the king's most trusted advisor has it in for Mordechai and decides to kill him and the rest of the Jewish people. But after 3 days of fasting and a plea from the queen, a miracle occurrs and the king overturns the evil decree, the Jews fight back and the evil advisor and his sons are hanged on the gallows as punishment. It is from then on decreed that Jews should eat and drink to celebrate, provide gifts to the poor so that they to
may celebrate and hear the story of the Megillah every year.
On Purim we are obligated to 3 things, 1)So we make food baskets, which I actually did do, although we skipped dessert, but added a pickle to go with the kugel and everyone got wine. 2) Gifts to the poor which is monetary, so that even those who have no money can run out and buy food for a meal or give baskets to others. And 3)Hear the Megillah.
We did have our friends for our meal in the end, she is still quite pregnant and we went into Jerusalem today. A good time was had by all both days.
So where does my tip come in? My tip is, it is the simple things in life that count. As part of our food baskets to two friends we got them new KoomKooms. These are the same idea as hot water pots, but more durable and bigger. This is one of those things that EVERYONE has. Some people may not have a microwave, but this is something we all have. Since I am a tea addict I would lay down and give it all up if mine died. They are not expensive, they can be found for as cheap as $8 and as pricey as $25. I have no idea what the difference is. But as we all know sometimes spending that little extra money on ourselves can be hard. So when I discovered that our local store had the koomkooms on sale for $8, I knew we had to include it. Both friends were so pleased that it really made me happy. But the second person we did it for I also got 2 glasses to go with as she did not have any. Just tiney tea cups. And the look on her face was priceless. The whole thing cost us so very little, but to her it was priceless. I admit, I would not spend the money on my self. I always feel like it should go to groceries or bills, or saving it, but to buy it for someone else and have them see it as if it were a $200.00 gift was just heart warming. And in that moment I really treasured the words it is better to give than to receive.
So my tip is this: If you know that someone needs a pick me up, but you feel you don't have much, look around because one small item made or bought may make all the difference to someone else. Ideas when you are broke, but you want to cheer up a friend, 1) See if there is an album or song they want, most places only charge $1 if you want to be PC about the whole thing. 2) Make or buy a treat like cookies or a cake. People love treats when they can't afford to buy them. 3)Invite them over for a meal, they may have less to eat at home than you do!
4) If it is a tired mom, offer to give her a break and take the kid(s) for an hour or two OR go with her to run errands and help with kid(s). I have discovered that helping my friends with new babies while D watches ours is actually fun for me. Because hey, new babies don't talk back and when they cry, well, hey she's not mine so that is OK! 5)Send someone a card even if they only live around the corner. people love getting snail mail! Or even an e-mail telling them why they are so great will do.
In these times of financial struggle for us all I have found that people hate asking for help and are embarrassed to do so, but they need to feel they are not a failure and that they are still worthwhile person. Doing simple things for someone else can really boost their self esteem. Remember what comes around goes around!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Slug Days......
Not really slugs, but that is how I feel about my blog currently. But the truth is I know a lot of my friends and family use it to keep up with our busy or not so busy life. So here is a bit of what's doing.
We finally got winter this weekend. We usually get a whole lot of rain for Nov., Dec.,Jan., Feb. and a little in March. This year I can count on one hand the number of days it has rained. So this weekend it really rained and it seems to have kept going, including hail. S is loving this he has just learned the Hebrew for hail and just learned about the 10 plagues in Egypt which includes hail. He is most excited now everytime we have hail which is a lot lately.
The kids have all grown again....Y looks the same size but is like picking up a lead brick, I am sure S will be as tall as me by the time he gets into 2nd grade. He starts 1st this year. He is pretty much up to my sternum....M is growing nicely and has the height and weight of her mommy right now. They are all sick again however, and i am not enjoying this......We just went through colds about 2 weeks ago and my guess is the hot cold hot cold weather we are having this month is what is doing it. Or it is food allergy which they also seem to have although for the life of us we dont know what it is. We have narrowed it down to certain brands of bread and certain brands of snacks. Oh boy! I am basically ready to nix anything store bought and bag going out for pizza. I am not convinced that restaraunt pizza is not a culprit in this......The only difficulty in this is all the stuff they get from school. Everytime there is a party of some sort for a birthday or holiday out come the snacks.......In fact i got quite a shock last week. We were asked to send him to school with COLA! Not just a drink, but COLA! I actually called one of the parents to check this out and sure enough, that is the requested drink. She also had issue with this, but has decided she can live once a month. In Judaism the new month on the Hebrew calendar is a big deal. It is traditional to have a special dinner or treat and treat as a holiday on a smaller scale so they have a party in school. The menu is this, sandwhiches whith chocolate spread, cola apparantly and some sort of chips. OH Boy! Fortunately, my kid is convinced he doesn't like cola. Gotta love brain washing...... :)But he loves the sandwhiches. And oddly enough, no rash either....so we figure it is a different brand of bread then we buy. So we have figured we can live once a month with a sugar high kid...He does walk a mile and a half home, so that usually wears off the the hyper.
The one thing about kids with food allergies is that I am becoming a wizard in the kitchen despite that fact that my sister thinks it is "3rd world." True I don't have a kitchen aide mixer or a bread machine but I have opted not to spend the money on those things. i do miss my bread machine from the states, but we make do. and i think in truth, the kitchen aide can take more time to clean up than is worth the "ease." A spoon is much quicker to clean and is easier to lick when its all done! I make 90% of my bread from scratch, my tomato sauce I do use a store bought paste as a base, but i am careful to make sure there are little to no additives and i just found one that claims to be straight tomato with nothing else and i will probably switch to that. I want to start making my own crackers, my M-I-L just sent me an easy recipe. And of course we do a lot of popcorn and oatmeal and the peaunt butter is all natural as well. I am also hoping to start doing only homemade applesauce, but the kids keep eating the apples before I can get them into sauce......The great thing about all this is that, we save money and I am enjoying improving my cooking skills. I don't always enjoy the time and energy it takes to cook but I do like knowing how to cook.
Next week is Purim which is the story of Queen Esther. Traditionally kids and sometimes adults dress up and here the story of Purim. It starts like everything else at night and adults here the Whole Meggilah. The Meggilah is the story of Esther. Then it is heard again the following morning. After that the tradition is to have a festive meal and deliver baskets of goodies and food to friends and neighbors to ensure that everyone has a festive meal, even those who cannot afford. We will be giving baskets to all our neighbors, 7 and then the following day we will be going into Jerusalem and will have about 8 there. Jerusalem celebrates a day later since it used to be a walled city like Shushan was back in the day of the story. We bought a few pre-made ones through the women's group for friends in Beitar. However, we will still have 15 baskets to make so a lot of work this week. We are going to do mini challahs (tradditional egg bread), mini kugel(which a noodle pie/cake essentially) and some type of dessert and/or a mini bottle of wine. Suffice to say there will be a whole lot of cooking going on this week. Purim starts a week from tomorrow night! They sell them for about $1.50 a piece around this time. We will also be having friends for our meal if all goes well. She is do anytime so they could be in the hospital in stead......The boys are going as soldiers and M will go as a bee. This will be of course if everyones attitude suits on the day of the event. It is a very festive holiday and whole lot of fun. I would like to say we will have pictures to post however, our camera died so we will be buying a disposable and sending hard copies to family only. I will try to post a follow up next week as to how it all went. After that i will be posting about our frantic race to get our house clean for Passover!
We finally got winter this weekend. We usually get a whole lot of rain for Nov., Dec.,Jan., Feb. and a little in March. This year I can count on one hand the number of days it has rained. So this weekend it really rained and it seems to have kept going, including hail. S is loving this he has just learned the Hebrew for hail and just learned about the 10 plagues in Egypt which includes hail. He is most excited now everytime we have hail which is a lot lately.
The kids have all grown again....Y looks the same size but is like picking up a lead brick, I am sure S will be as tall as me by the time he gets into 2nd grade. He starts 1st this year. He is pretty much up to my sternum....M is growing nicely and has the height and weight of her mommy right now. They are all sick again however, and i am not enjoying this......We just went through colds about 2 weeks ago and my guess is the hot cold hot cold weather we are having this month is what is doing it. Or it is food allergy which they also seem to have although for the life of us we dont know what it is. We have narrowed it down to certain brands of bread and certain brands of snacks. Oh boy! I am basically ready to nix anything store bought and bag going out for pizza. I am not convinced that restaraunt pizza is not a culprit in this......The only difficulty in this is all the stuff they get from school. Everytime there is a party of some sort for a birthday or holiday out come the snacks.......In fact i got quite a shock last week. We were asked to send him to school with COLA! Not just a drink, but COLA! I actually called one of the parents to check this out and sure enough, that is the requested drink. She also had issue with this, but has decided she can live once a month. In Judaism the new month on the Hebrew calendar is a big deal. It is traditional to have a special dinner or treat and treat as a holiday on a smaller scale so they have a party in school. The menu is this, sandwhiches whith chocolate spread, cola apparantly and some sort of chips. OH Boy! Fortunately, my kid is convinced he doesn't like cola. Gotta love brain washing...... :)But he loves the sandwhiches. And oddly enough, no rash either....so we figure it is a different brand of bread then we buy. So we have figured we can live once a month with a sugar high kid...He does walk a mile and a half home, so that usually wears off the the hyper.
The one thing about kids with food allergies is that I am becoming a wizard in the kitchen despite that fact that my sister thinks it is "3rd world." True I don't have a kitchen aide mixer or a bread machine but I have opted not to spend the money on those things. i do miss my bread machine from the states, but we make do. and i think in truth, the kitchen aide can take more time to clean up than is worth the "ease." A spoon is much quicker to clean and is easier to lick when its all done! I make 90% of my bread from scratch, my tomato sauce I do use a store bought paste as a base, but i am careful to make sure there are little to no additives and i just found one that claims to be straight tomato with nothing else and i will probably switch to that. I want to start making my own crackers, my M-I-L just sent me an easy recipe. And of course we do a lot of popcorn and oatmeal and the peaunt butter is all natural as well. I am also hoping to start doing only homemade applesauce, but the kids keep eating the apples before I can get them into sauce......The great thing about all this is that, we save money and I am enjoying improving my cooking skills. I don't always enjoy the time and energy it takes to cook but I do like knowing how to cook.
Next week is Purim which is the story of Queen Esther. Traditionally kids and sometimes adults dress up and here the story of Purim. It starts like everything else at night and adults here the Whole Meggilah. The Meggilah is the story of Esther. Then it is heard again the following morning. After that the tradition is to have a festive meal and deliver baskets of goodies and food to friends and neighbors to ensure that everyone has a festive meal, even those who cannot afford. We will be giving baskets to all our neighbors, 7 and then the following day we will be going into Jerusalem and will have about 8 there. Jerusalem celebrates a day later since it used to be a walled city like Shushan was back in the day of the story. We bought a few pre-made ones through the women's group for friends in Beitar. However, we will still have 15 baskets to make so a lot of work this week. We are going to do mini challahs (tradditional egg bread), mini kugel(which a noodle pie/cake essentially) and some type of dessert and/or a mini bottle of wine. Suffice to say there will be a whole lot of cooking going on this week. Purim starts a week from tomorrow night! They sell them for about $1.50 a piece around this time. We will also be having friends for our meal if all goes well. She is do anytime so they could be in the hospital in stead......The boys are going as soldiers and M will go as a bee. This will be of course if everyones attitude suits on the day of the event. It is a very festive holiday and whole lot of fun. I would like to say we will have pictures to post however, our camera died so we will be buying a disposable and sending hard copies to family only. I will try to post a follow up next week as to how it all went. After that i will be posting about our frantic race to get our house clean for Passover!
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