More blessings from heaven, let the FUN begin!

So we are prepping for another big storm, and this time the city wants to make sure that everyone is prepared and they do not have a repeat of what happened last week with thousands of people stuck at the airport. Or those idiots who did not have enough food and water in their homes (we have TONS of food, we could survive for months if we have running water, well except for diapers and milk that is!) So they are telling people to stock up on food and water for at least 3 days, anyone planning on flying in or out of DIA is told to take the earliest flight possible, and hope for the best.

The snow has just begun to fall, and is expected to drop at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour! We have a doctors appointment to go to in an hour, so I hope it holds off a bit more, as Baby B developed a nasty case of Croup in the wee hours this morning. Aba has borrowed the neighbors SUV again, since he is home for lunch and is required to return to work, and take the kids to the movies (Charlotte's web, they cancelled it last week due to the storm, and ironically choose today of all days to reschedule!)

And sadly it looks like I will not get to see my best friend since 7th grade, who was scheduled to fly in tomorrow. I haven't seen her in years, but I would rather she be safe in Oregon, than stuck at DIA. And cancel your New Years Eve plans, because no one is going anywhere this weekend.

Oh, and FYI, every store in the state of Colorado is officially out of snowplow, snowplows, snow shovels, metal shovels, plastic shovels, and chains.

So Bring on the snow!

Well it is snowing AGAIN

So I guess now is as good as a time as any to update MommyMommyland! Aba was able to borrow an SUV from one of our neighbors to get to work on Friday and was able to retrieve our camera, so I have some videos of our snowpack to share ( see below) as well as a video of the 8th night of Chanukah.

But before I show you, let me explain all the work and effort that went into finding a particular gift for J I saw this gift on a TV commercial and thought J would love that! and I saw it in many stores, but wanted to ask other parents if their children liked it before I went and got it (it was kinda pricey) so I asked in my online group (hi PAFO! - waving and smiling) and it seemed all who had gotten it had loved it, so with the go ahead from Aba I set out to buy it. I went to 6 stores and lo and behold they were all sold out of it, then I called another 10 who were also sold out! and then finally found it at one online store - the rest were also sold out! but one was all I really needed, so we ordered, it and Waited for it arrive which finally happened on the 5th day of chanukah - thank goodness, and he went nuts! It was definitely worth all of that effort, I mean true he was happy with his pillow, and playing with his new hot wheel nonstop (running it all over the walls and such) but really the last present is supposed to be the best right? well I think it certainly was!

So now I sit here with the Bronco's game on, typing away while Aba and N are headed over to CB and Potts to watch the Chargers (they are not playing on regular TV today) I will share with you 3 videos and a few choice pictures from the chanukah blizzard of 2006 and a few chanukah pics you have yet to see.

well the photo chronology of Chanukah has reached an abrupt end.

As most of you have noticed, I was doing a daily photo update of chanukah and our chanukah activities. Well, unfortunately it has reached an early end. Let me tell you about what has led up to this forced, decision.

On the fifth night of Chanukah I took pictures as usual, ready to upload, clean, and format. Well, Aba decided to take the camera to work with him, unbenounced to me. The day goes by and I think nothing of it, and actually I was quite wrapped up in watching the storm that was rapidly turning into a blizzard; worrying about how Aba is going to possibly get home, how I am going to get The Dog to ever go out to pee, and the like. Well at about 3 o'clock Aba calls and says he is stuck, at work, 5 miles a way; after several calls back and forth I find a neighbor willing to try and go get him, but by this point he had managed to get free and was hurriedly heading home, sliding and skidding the whole way, his speed being determined by the amount of snow and ice in the way, not bothering to stop at any of the red lights or stop signs for fear he would not be able to get going again. The ice and snow on the road determined which streets he was driving down, as his control was very limited, to say the least, and he was just praying to get safely home at this point. On wildcat he slid around 2 large city buses that were stuck parallel to each other, two blocks from our home 4 count them f-o-u-r SUV's were stuck some trying to turn left, some trying to turn right, yet he choose to gun his car , red lining it in fact ( remember Aba drives a Lexus sedan) and passed them all bobbing and weaving and sliding through, to finally get stuck at the end of the cul-de-sac while several neighbors stood outside cheering him on.

I got the details of this story as he was defrosting in a steamy hot shower, that is when I began to hunt for the camera and was informed that it was at work, 5 miles away through a raging blizzard. So picture if you will a white Lexus covered in three feet of snow at the end of our cul-de-sac (CLICK) picture if you will Aba shoveling out the driveway and a path from the car to the house with 2 helpful neighbors (CLICK) picture if you will our menorah lighting ceremonies (CLICK.,CLICK,CLICKITY-CLICK,CLICK,CLICK) and picture if you will the present opening events in which JoJo went absolutely nuts over his gift.

I have never seen a child so exited over something so simple. Are you curious to what he received? Okay, I will tell you, he received a big boy pillow, a full sized pillow in a green toddler bed. it is a super fluffy down pillow that is essentially the same size he is (he could use it for a bed if he wanted to, and in fact when I checked on him last night, he was sleeping exclusively on his new pillow).

Oh, and just in case you haven't seen the news or read the paper since yesterday morning, Denver is in a state of emergency, they have called the national guard in to retrieve people stuck in their cars, (a friend of mines husband is actually stuck in a hotel 5 miles from his house because he could not get home) and the storm does not show signs of stopping any time soon.

So there will be no more photos, just imaginary photo click's trying to hold onto the memories, as no one is leaving to go retrieve the camera and Chanukah will be long over before Aba gets to work again on Monday as the metropolis in which we live is essentially shut down through Friday (at the very least) and everyone knows that schools are not open on the weekend. So enjoy yourselves as we will be having a movie marathon and staying inside where it is nice an warm and cozy. First up on our marathon Pirates of the caribbean 2 (one of Aba's chanukah presents).

On the 4th night if Chanukah

We attended Chanukah on Ice! The ice menorah,
Aba and I behind the Menorah,
The kids, who can not skate to save their lives,
and...
guess who got to bring the Ice Menorah home!

It is now sitting on on front porch, and will be till it melts away.

On the 3rd night of Chanukah

We celebrated with donuts.
"This donut is almost as big as my head!"Silly Aba! You can't put it back after you take a bite!
"Yum, mine is almost done."
" Ooh, pretty sprinkles AND Chocolate!"

On the 2nd night if Chanukah

We went to the community menorah lighting, where we froze for a while, then had a nice gathering with other neighborhood Jews. Tonite was the night if books for the children.
J received a Dr. Seuss board book.

Dr. Seuss's ABC An Amazing Alphabet Book!

B received a Dinosaur table manners book.

How So Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?

N received an American history book.

1776 YANKEE DOODLE AMERICA

The first night of Chanukah

The first night is a night of warm toes and sweet drinks
Socks for Aba Thick socks for J
Two types of socks for B
Short socks for N

and a sugar jar for Mommy (sorry no picture).

how to fold a shirt in Japan

I Sooo want to learn to do this!!!

An Italian evening

We had a wonderful Italian evening tonite thanks to Sunset magazine!

I tried the Italian stew they had listed this month.

Chicken Stew with Olives and Lemon
From Sunset Magazine

Boned, skinned chicken thighs are just as convenient as breasts, and they have an added advantage: Their succulent texture and robust flavor stand up well to braising. Add the flavors of Italian salsa verde--bright parsley, tart lemon, piquant capers, and green olives--for a fresh, fast twist on cold-weather cooking. Prep and Cook Time: about 45 minutes. Notes: To save prep time, cube the potatoes or mince the garlic and capers while the chicken browns. Then, while the stew simmers, you can chop the parsley and juice the lemon.

1 pound boned, skinned chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons each salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon capers, drained and minced
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 3/4-in. cubes
1 package (8 oz.) thawed frozen artichoke hearts, quartered if large
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 cup pitted medium green olives
Lemon wedges

1. Cut each chicken thigh into 2 or 3 chunks. In a resealable plastic bag, combine flour, salt, and pepper. Add chicken, seal, and shake to coat.

2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken (discard excess flour) in a single layer and cook, turning once, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic, capers, and lemon zest and stir just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and simmer, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add broth, potatoes, and chicken and return to a simmer. Lower heat slightly to maintain simmer, cover, and cook 10 minutes.

4. Add artichokes to pot and stir. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, lemon juice to taste, and olives. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, with lemon wedges on the side.

Pared with a loaf of Hot toasty Italian bread (from King Soopers) with a dish of balsamic and olive oil to dip it in. And the Wine hand selected by the Somier at the liquor store picked out for us (I used it in the recipe as well - a 2005 Beringer Pinot Grigio).

Some Opera playing softly in the background and the evening was complete, now to get the little ones off to bed.

Winter Dance Recital

Today was Bs' Winter dance recital.

Here is the Ballet portion of Bs' Dance recital from this morning. She is the middle one (2nd from the left)who cracks up the audience with her smart mouth.



Please either turn your computer sideways or your head, as I am an idiot and forgot one can not edit videos the same as your would pictures.

I could REALLY use your help!

As most of you know, our computer crashed a few months ago, and the "computer god" was able to salvage most of the information off of our computer. Unfortunately he was unable to save it all, and was not able to find 2006 in our photos. Now, I know this is my fault for naming them something screwy like "eBay stuff" or "craigslist sale" or something, honestly I have no idea what I named them, but that is really despite the point, as is that I didn't print any of them out or put them on a back up disk (I was working on it when the computer crashed, but for some reason felt compelled to "clean" and name all the photos first, which didn't quite happen) so anyhow I have no pictures or videos left except the ones that made it onto my MySpace which is very few.

I was also a big enough imbecile to throw away all the disks of photos people, kind people had sent me after I uploaded the pictures to the computer (do you see a pattern here? Yep it is me having complete faith that nothing would happen to the computer, the old computer that I had repaired many times!). And I had great plans for these photos! I was going to make a movie out of them to send as Grandparent gifts, which I am now unable to do, and instead I am here to plead with you.

(Down on bended knee):Please, please, please send me any pictures you have of our little family and the kids! They will have no memories at all if someone doesn't have it in the kindness of there hearts to send me copies of photos! Not of their birthdays; not of the month they spent in California this summer; not of B's mutton button debut; or N's 2nd place ride!

Okay, well I am now off to scour the Internet: photobucket, craigslist, a variety of blogs and myspace accounts in search of lost photos, and putting a wish out on all the stars in the sky that I will receive disks of photos in the mail, and the the "computer god" will somehow find the photos and send them on to me as well.

Here's to hoping......

Sundays...

As time goes by and we get older and have families of our own, some basic things remain the same. Or rather they repeat themselves in the future generations, and one of these things are Sundays.

I remember growing up Sundays were a day of homemade buttermilk pancakes, served with log cabin syrup and butter; the day with the big paper and the Sunday comics which my father and I would fight over; a day of football on the TV, and naps with the dogs. A day of fun and relaxing about the house. Of course sometimes Sundays included gardening, planting flowers, weeding, adding fish to the pond, and deadheading the roses. But Sundays, were a day of family togetherness. And I never realized how important this was to me.

Until today, as I sat at the kitchen table with the big paper, reading the comics, and N asked to have them, and then B chimed in for them as well, it took me back in time to a similar place over 20 years and 1000 miles away, and realized that Sundays remain the same.

We still have homemade buttermilk pancakes with log cabin syrup and real butter, although now I am the one making them rather than my father, we still have the big paper, although it is my children and I fighting over the comics (even though they can't read them yet) and Aba has the ads, we still have football on the TV, but now it is the Chargers or Broncos game on instead of the Trojans (USC) or the Wildcats ( Kansas); and we still have lazy naps with the dog.

As times change so do we all, eventually we all grow up and start families of our own, but that doesn't mean we have to leave behind our childhood entirely, if we watch carefully we can see some of our favorite memories, morph into what will hopefully be some of children's favorite memories. and the cycle can repeat itself forever, well at least as long as their is log cabin syrup.

Crappy cookies.

So while my mom was here visiting this past weekend, she and N decided to make some cookies together, and asked for the peanut butter chocolate chip recipe, which I handed over. So it came as a great surprise to N when the cookies didn't look or taste quite the same, and confused my mom greatly when he stated " I like Mommy's cookies better." How could that be when they are the same cookies? She decided to check out the recipe again and discovered it was not the same cookie at all, but rather a cookie missing a ton of flour! My recipe called for 1 3/4 cups flour, and she had only added 3/4 cup flour.

The next day Aba went hunting with a buddy of his and I packed some of these "crappy cookies" for them. And it turns out some people actually like the "crappy cookies" better! I got a phone call asking how I managed to make the cookies crispy yet chewy at the same time! On the message hunting buddy's wife is laughing in the background. Apparently he had bought the premade -just-bake- nestle cookies at the store, and was very disappointed in the outcome. SO for any of you that want to make some "crappy cookies" of your own, follow my recipe, but omit 1 cup of flour and enjoy!

Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

¾ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup butter flavored Crisco
1 ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 TBSP milk
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 egg
1 ¾ cup flour
¾ TSP salt
¾ TSP baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips


cream together peanut butter, Crisco, and brown sugar.
add in the milk and vanilla to creamed mixture.
add in the egg, baking soda, and salt.
slowly stir in flour ( sifted)
stir in chocolate chips by hand.
preheat oven to 375 degrees.
cook for 7-8 minutes till just set, and beginning to brown.


Adapted from Crisco’s Peanut butter cookies recipe

A thank you letter...

This came home on Tuesday.

Woo hoo! Look who's two!

Today J turned two! Mommy and Aba gave him his first car,

Baby B gave him 3 wooden trucks (or UCKS! as J calls them),

B gave him some Duplos that make a Helicopter,
N gave him his very own lightsaber, and it is red, J's favorite color,

Everyone sang Happy Birthday and then J blew out his candles, Yeah!

What a Yummy cake! Mommy made it, Chocolate with buttercream icing.

Kids favorites

N
color: neon hunting safety orange.
activity: gymnastics, real gymnastics with the trampoline, pummel horse, and uneven bars,
character: Superman ( also spiderman, batman, Hercules, the American Dragon, pretty much any action hero)

B
color:pink ( yes still)
activity: dancing, coloring (especially with color wonder markers)
character: princesses, strawberry shortcake, care bears.

J:
color: red
activity: duplos, playing with cars, and hitting things.
Character: ???

Baby B:
who knows??? but her umbilical cord stump fell off today.

Pictures FINALLY!

Baby BBorn October 30, 2006
at 11:06 pm20 1/2 inches long

8 lbs. 12 oz.

A belated Halloween

Can you guess what story we are from??? A pirate, who is afraid of an alligator ...

A pixie covered with magical dust... A boy who doesn't want to grow up...

So have you figured it out yet???That's right! We are Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinkerbell. Here we are with our Auntie LaLa ( we wanted her to be an alligator, but she wanted to be a witch).


We tried to get Aba to be an alligator too, but he wouldn't either. Where is Mommy you ask? She was in the Hospital with Baby B, as she was born less than 24 hours ago!

Jaundice tales

So most babies get jaundice, especially babies born at high altitudes, babies that are breastfed, and babies with a different R factor than their mothers. So, it is no surprise that Baby B developed it, since she has all 3 of these going for her. Her bilirubin was 7.8 on Wednesday, but had skyrocketed to 18 by Friday, so she got to use a biliblanket over the weekend, and boy did she not like it, either did the rest of us for that matter ( nothing like putting a 4 foot tether on a newborn). But thankfully, by Sunday it had come down to 14, and the biliblanket is being returned tomorrow.

Baby B is here!

Baby B was born on October 30th at 11:06pm. Both Hubby and Doctor were relieved she made her debut BEFORE Halloween, apparently we were on a schedule?? Neither one of them wanted her born on Halloween, I on the other hand thought it might have been kinda cool, but in retrospect am glad she came sooner, rather than later.

She is a sleepy little bean, who has inherited her Aba's eyes, and her Bampa's nose (sorry, Bampa but I am secretly hoping that it gets a bit smaller!), has the tiniest little mouth and a pointy chin. She shares B's baby cheeks and her skin is the smoothest thing you have ever felt. After her bath she was returned to me with a little bow in her hair, it was the cutest thing ,till it promptly fell off as I was contemplating out loud to Hubby how they got it to stick, I speculated it must have been with spit (which Hubby thought was extremely funny). Oh, well.

Baby B is a wonderful addition to our family.

So will she be a Halloween baby?

So we are off to the hospital to have the baby, what is your bet, will she be here today or tomorrow?

sledding

sleds and snow

So we have had snow twice this year and Halloween is not even here yet ( our usual start of snow season). The first snow was rather uneventful, but the second one really dumped a lot! Everything was fine, until I came home to for everyone off for lunch, and I tried to park the car. Well so much snow had piled up, that I was unable to get the car in the garage, and unable to back out of the driveway. I proceeded to dig the van out and who should pull up but Aba, home for lunch , right behind me, and proceeded to get his car stuck in the snow as well! Well, it was now 10 minutes till B needed to be picked up and both of our cars were stuck and stuck good! So after 15 more minutes of shoveling, Aba pushing the car, and attempting to put on the chains he had sworn fit the Lexus (they were chains form our old Mercedes) that didn't fit, we finally got he car free and I got to take a controlled skid for 3 blocks to return to the main road!

But the day did improve later once Aba returned home for the day we went Sledding! the kids had great fun, making snow angels, throwing and eating snowballs, and sledding down the hills in tandem and on their own. Aba also had great fun sledding down the hills, to the point where he could have been considered "hogging" the sleds. I guess we will need to get a few more!

UGH!

Darn it! I had a great blog all written out and then blogger went off for "scheduled maintenance" and lost it! AAARGGGGHHHHH!

I will try to rewrite it again tomorrow, but it just won't be the same.

Oooh a new arrival!

She is here! No, not the baby we have all been awaiting, but our Auntie LaLa! Don't tell her this, but the kids are all going to jump on her bed in the morning to wake her up! They have been waiting for her to get here for days, asking me hourly when she sill be here. I am sure that we will have a lot of fun, and have lots to share in the days and weeks to come!

Times sure have changed

As I was driving home from taking N to Hebrew school, I spied a McDonald's, and it brought back to mind what my father and I did every week after services when I was young. We would go to McDonald's; along with half or more of the congregation. Now days it would be preposterous to even imagine eating fast food that often, much less eating french fries AND a milkshake!

I can just picture the look on everyone's faces if we were to continue this practice today. It is no longer acceptable to eat fast food, much less to feed it to our children, yet many memories that my generation and those older than ours reflect back upon involve fast food, rich treats, and eating dinner in front of the TV.

The sock monster and his cousins came for a visit.

Ever notice how when you have a pair of something, one just goes missing? Socks, gloves, shoes, matching tops and bottoms, and you don't really think much of it? It is kinda expected after all. I get a pile of socks with no mates, that I hopelessly hold onto, waiting for the missing pair to show up, till the pile gets so big it takes a whole grocery bag to throw them out, only to find the missing sock 2 weeks later ( after 6 months of searching??) well, that is too be expected, the sock monster seems to have fun playing this game with us.

And now that the cold has set in, the mitten monster has come out to play as well, finding only left hands or rights, and no way to make a pair is frustrating! It is also frustrating when a child starts out with a pair of gloves and returns inside, or home from school with only one. But this too is to be expected.

A new cousin has emerged however, one that no one would suspect. and this is the footy PJ monster. Really it is an unexpected one as there is not a pair to lose half of, rather, you lose the whole thing! With as many children and hand-me-downs as we have, we expect to buy for the largest sized child we have, for things that can be shared pretty much across gender and such like socks, some t shirts, and footie pj's. But alas the Footie PJ monster has stolen all of the footie pj sizes we could possibly use. we have no 5's, no 4's, one 3, and one 2! How can that be possible! We have always dressed our little ones in footies through out the winter months, even when we lived in CA!

So last week I went off the target and bought 2 size 5's so my oldest can rotate them ( which means I must wash everyday- but that seems to happen anyways with a household our size, when the children soil their clothes several times a day still). and 2 size 4's as my little princess has surpassed her 3 year old status on the growth charts and is officially the size of a 4 year old, meaning new pants, new tights, new dresses ( unless we want her but exposed) and larger footie pj's, and of course she got girly colors so either our little bruiser will be sleeping in pink and red in a few years, or we will be replacing them for him as well. So after this outing I thought we were good to go, that is until Hubby noticed bruisers footies were a little tight ( and of course he ad the biggest supply with like 10 sets!) . Hmm, well time to check the hand me down boxes again, and what do I discover? Out of 2 HUGE Rubbermaid boxes of 24months / 2t clothes, their is 1 measly footed pj! AAARGHGH! It just makes me want to scream. So I guess tomorrow I will be off to target yet again for more footie pjs. I

I bet the footie pj monster is having a great big laugh and rolling on the floor at this one, and he will probably roll even harder when come next May he starts randomly giving them back!

N's PEP conference

So yesterday was a "free" day meaning no school for N as it was a conference day. However, this conference a PEP conference is much different from those we all remember. his was not a review of the child's work, but a conference in order to put a plan in place, a personal education plan, for the rest of the year. Basically what happens is the parent and teacher go over where the child is and what the child needs to focus on next, and then the teacher and child go over it as well.

So for our little kindergartner we went over story problems (what we remember as word problems), writing numbers properly starting at the top, lower case letters starting at the top, beginning reading, which consists of rhyming, word association (see a picture of a radio, and the word radio written out), sounding words out phonetically, and 15 core words that need to memorized. We also went over early writing, where the student learns to spell, and putting things away when they are done playing with them, as well as currency.

So out of all of this our little man needs to focus on learning currency ( the difference between a nickle, Pennie, quarter, etc. and how many pennies make a nickle, how many nickles make a quarter, etc), putting things away when done with them ( apparently this is something the WHOLE class has as a goal), and confidence when writing ( we seem to have a case of the 'I Cant's' on our hands) so for him anything he writes is good even if it is "gfhunx" and once his confidence is up, we will focus on getting the correct letter of each word right (ie: ball could be btld) and then on the whole word correctly).

So now that we have our home goals in-line with the school goals we can work together to help our student do the best he can do.

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

SO our newest Netflick has arrived and I am sure you can already guess what it is! That is right! Cinderella! Well, as I watched it last night with the kiddos and as Aba is watching it this morning with them (yes again) we both noticed something about one of the characters.

One character in particular seems to remind both of us of a dear family member. Can you guess who? I am sure you can with a few clues.
1. She likes to make up words, when she can't find just the one she is looking for.
2. She is always cheerful and has a smile on her face.
3. At times she can be a bit disorganized
4. She wears her hair short and light.
5. And every time you see her, you just want to pick her up and hug her.

Can you guess now? Yes you are right! The Fairy Godmother and Grandma with the fishes bear an uncanny resemblance to each other.

Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-booPut 'em together and what have you gotbibbidi-bobbidi-booSalagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-booIt'll do magic believe it or notbibbidi-bobbidi-booSalagadoola means mechicka boolerooBut the thingmabob that does the job isbibbidi-bobbidi-booSalagadoola menchicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-booPut 'em together and what have you gotbibbidi-bobbidi bibbidi-bobbidi bibbidi-bobbidi-boo

These made me laugh!

I don't know if the pregnancy hormones are getting to me or what, but I thought I would share in case anyone else needed a little pick me up.

http://youtube.com/v/dMH0bHeiRNg" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash">

Evolution of Dance

I belive i can fly

TORN

Soup in the Sukkah

Well, Aba twisted my arm last night and had me go to the Jewish Women's circle, well actually he didn't really twist my arm, instead he told the Rabbi's wife that I would LOVE to go, and would definitely be there, and then told me I was going. and do you know what? I actually had FUN!

I have no idea why I was resisting so hard. I was picturing a bunch of old women sitting around, speaking Hebrew and debating the scholars ( like the men do it Torah study), but it was nothing like that! 12 of us, mainly SAHM's or former SAHM's enjoyed 4 wonderful soups, one recipe that will definitely be added to my cookbook log, and talked about Sukkot a little bit, but also about cake decorating, and played Jewish scattagories. It was a lot of fun, so much fin it was 11 o'clock before we finally wrapped it up (sorry to all of our husbands who were at home watching the kids).

I can't wait for next months meeting, I will definitely be a regular attender.

UPDATE: the soup recipe
Kosher and Parve
Creamy Potato Soup

4 large potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cups water
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup parsley, minced
2 TBSP. Kosher salt
1/2 TSP pepper

Put everything in a 4 quart pot, cook uncovered on moderate heat for 30 - 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth ( can also be done in a conventional blender.

** My bowl was topped with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and homemade croutons**

where fo the pregnant women go to walk the baby out?

Well apparently yesterday it was the corn maze! 8 acres of corn cut into a spiders web of a maze! We went with some friends who have kids similar in ages to ours and one who was in Hubbies class last year. It was tons of fun eating corn on the cob, kettle corn, and wandering aimlessly through first the kiddie maze and then the big maze. We wandered aimlessly through finding many emergency exits, but not the real one for quite a while, till we finally asked for help and found out we were next to the 7 and it was pretty much a strait shot out! The kids enjoyed it and all let out a shout of joy when we finally made it out. The other mom and I chatted through the course, the kids played hide and freak ( scare) the parents every 100 feet or so, we were letting them lead the way, and the dads drank "forbidden" beer ( no alcohol allowed on the grounds).

waiting...and waiting... and waiting

Some times I feel like this baby is never going to come! The waiting is killing me, as I am the most impatient person on the planet. 37 weeks today. yet only 1 cm dilated and nothing more than Braxton HIcks. I know, I know, the longer the baby stays inside the better, she can grow, mature, and be healthier when she finally emerges, but come on! Last week they said she was 7 lbs. how much more does she really need to grow? I am supposed to walk to help speed things along, but I am tired, and it hurts to walk, and it hurts to sit. Pretty much everything hurts and aches and my body is ready for her to come out now. Oh, well, maybe this is Hashem's way of teaching me patience.

A day of atonement

On today Yom Kippur I feel the need to ask for forgiveness.

I would like to ask my husband to forgive me for not understanding his desire to put religion above all else, even if that means we can not go apple picking, or to the fair. I would like him to know that I support him in all he does even if I do not see the reasons behind it. I would also like to ask him to forgive me for all the times I have nagged him, not taken care of my household duties, or slacked off in general when I could have done more for the family.

I would like to ask my children to forgive me when I tell them to hold on, or to wait a minute when I am doing something they feel is not as important as what they have to say. I would also like to ask them to forgive me for punishing them when they misbehave, when I am at the end of my rope and need 5 minutes to regroup, but take it out on them instead. And I apologize for yelling when I could walk away and calm down when they have made the mess of the century by sprinkling baby powder over the walls, or dumping out every toy in the house of the floor.

I would also like to apologize to anyone else I may have wronged, or made feel bad or inferior in any way.

I need to learn patience and tolerance of others feelings and mistakes. I also need to learn that the small things in life are what make us who we are, and I can choose how I react to them, if I will over react and lash out, or if I will stop and think first.

Gemar Chatima Tovah

Some background

My husband and I both grew up in California, but on different sides of the fence. We were married in 1999, and both knew we wanted to have lots of children, and that I would stay home to raise them in a way neither of us had been. We got pregnant soon after returning from our honeymoon and have been repeating a cycle of pregnancy, breastfeeding and immediate pregnancy again ever since. We will soon be blessed with our second girl, who will be our fourth child. We relocated our family to Colorado in 2004, and currently live in a wonderful neighborhood with our children and our beagle that my husband takes rabbit hunting.

I am a stay at home mom. My husband is a kindergarten teacher. Our oldest, N started kindergarten last month. Our daughter, B started Preschool last month as well, and our baby J is almost 2. We are anticipating the arrival of our newest family member a little girl sometime in the next few weeks.

Our house is always full of kids, laughter, toys, and adventures. Mix in lots of tradition and food, a dog that eats everything he possibly can and our house is what you get. I hope you will enjoy reading about our families misadventures and milestones.

Welcome!

Welcome to MommyMommyLand, where every sentence begins with the word "Mommy"; "Mommy, I need you!" "Mommy, J is stinky", "Mommy I'm hungry!" and my favorite "Mommy, I love you!".