#FirstWorldProblems...

Going back

In December, a couple with four children moved to Ariel from Australia. The children were 9, 7, 4, and 3 (or thereabouts) and they moved just a few houses down from us. The 4-year old was placed in my 4-year old's pre-school class and we all became very fast, very good friends. We would often see one another at drop-off and more often than not, we'd meet at pick-up and lately, since the weather got nicer, we'd hang out at the nearby playground to let the kids let off steam.

The two 4-year olds, the 3-year old and another 3-year old Anglo have become near inseparable.

Which is why, when they told us of their decision to return to Australia, I was heartbroken. And I know my 4-year old is going to miss his best mates terribly.

I came up with this idea for a going away present for them: a t-shirt with the Ariel logo on it (readily available since kids need it for assembly) and then I had the Anglo kids who were closest friends with the Australian kids put their hand prints on the t-shirt in paint. Then I wrote their names in permanent marker. The plan is, once they get settled back in Australia, they'll frame it and hang it.

To the Chelom Family,

while you were only here for a little while, your leaving puts a big hole in our lives and in our hearts.

We hope you'll return one day soon, and until then, we wish you the best in Mazal, Simcha, and Bri'ut.

(And you'd better get a Skype account!)

Chinuch vs. Shalom Bayit

This past Shabbat we had my daughter, son-in-law (SIL) and grandson over. When it came time to prepare the chanukoyot for lighting on Friday, my unmarried daughter and I saw that my SIL had prepared his incorrectly, so my daughter switched things around. When it came time to light, my SIL switched it back the way he had it and lit and then proceeded to tell up for the next 15 minutes that HIS way is correct, our's is wrong and that he had 4 different rabbis tell him his way is the way to do it.

Apparently he did the same thing last year when they spent Shabbat Chanukah with us and slept (and lit chanukiyah) by friends' of ours. And he did the same thing when he was over at my ex-husband's house.

My married daughter, I assume in an effort to keep the peace in her house, simply says that there are different ways to do it. And despite MULTIPLE people (and different people on different occasions) telling my SIL HE is doing it incorrectly, he insists he's doing it the right way and everyone else is wrong.

For the record, the proper way to set up and light a chanukiyah is facing you, start at the extreme right for day one. On day two, you prepare the two candles from extreme right to the left, but light from the left to the right. And you carry that pattern through the 8 days. My SIL does the exact opposite - starts preparing from the extreme left and goes to the right (I didn't see which direction he lights from).

So... where do I go from here? Their son is going to learn the right way and then get 'corrected' by his father... and we're talking fulfilling a Halachic obligation here. It's like putting Tefillin on wrong or hanging a mezzuzah wrong... if the execution isn't right, it's like you've never done it.

Our bomb shelter

Chewy granola bars

Here's a delicious somewhat healthy snack...

Chewy granola bars

1/2 cup butter or margarine (oil also works quite well)

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 T. honey

1/2 tsp PURE vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup oats

1 1/4 cup crisp rice cereal

1 cup chopped nuts*

1 cup chocolate chips or raisins*

In a mixing bowl, cream margarine and sugars.

Add honey, vanilla, and egg. Mix well.

Combine flour,cinnamon, baking powder and salt.

Gradually add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture.

Stir in oats, cereal, nuts, an chocolate chips. 

Press into a greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

Yield: 2 dozen bars

 * I use 2/3 cups chocolate chips, 2/3 cups chopped craisins and 2/3 cups almond slivers. Feel free to use whatever you want.

Family Sukkah Project, 2012

That smudge of green, third from the left is my grandson's 'hand print'.

Wonder what next year will bring?

Five Generations

We got back from our 3 week long US vacation. It was the first time my husband, older son and I were back State-side in 5 years. My younger son, obviously, had never been.

About 2 months before our trip, a cousin of mine sent me a link to a photo a professional portrait photographer had done of 4 generations of women (the youngest photo was of the three year old daughter). It was an amazing idea and I immediately set out to do the same for our FIVE generations.

I took the photos of my grandson, daughter, and myself here at home and then when I was in NY took the photos of my mother and grandmother. Then using Photoshop I layered the photos one into the other, did a bit of additional photo editing on the background and here is the final product: