A Freilechen Purim to All!

Introducing!

Havdala Candle


Grape Juice Bottle



Besamim Sachet


The happy Havdala ensemble (or Havdala game, as per Gedalya.)


And yes, Mel got in on the action.
The boys wanted him to be included in the theme, so I did a general light/dark thing for him (he's black and white... get it?) And this photo has some cool lighting and shadows (non edited!) so I'll put his picture into the shalach manos of the people who would appreciate the humor. Haha.


Have a fantastic day, everyone!

Costume Misadventures

So, I finally finished making the costumes.
Gedalya's was easy. All it required was some fabric paint and imagination. Not much heavy duty work.
Adel's costume was harder, but I started and finished it in one day. I sewed it from scratch, but it was easy and fun to do.
Zusha's costume... I was hesitating to start it. I mean, how do I make a havdala candle costume? I made him the fire crown I posted earlier. I cut out a tunic for him from beige fleece. My plan was to look at a candle and sketch the braided pattern onto the tunic, and then go over it with puff paint.

I have a flaw. I am a perfectionist. I sketched the braid pattern- it looked a bit lopsided, but nice. The unevenness would not be seen while wearing. I started tracing the lines with the paint. And then I noticed it. A mistake. I made one section of the candle different- not following the braid.I tried to scrape off the paint and wipe off the markings with rubbing alcohol. Nope. Not working.

I declared a costume emergency and brought it to the washing machine. Never mind that it was full of dirty clothes to wash in the morning. I dumped them out and started the load with just the costume.

Now let me explain our situation: We do not do laundry after 9:30 - 10:00 PM because it is bothersome to our neighbors downstairs. The time was 1 AM. And I was doing laundry.
The washing machine is above a bedroom... of a 90 year old woman.
I said it was an emergency.

The beige tunic was washed. All the paint came off, but the marker sketch lines stayed.
I didn't want to repaint it. I thought I'd cut it into three strips and make a braid. Uhhh... didn't work. It came out looking like a rat's tail.
in desperation, I took a sheer beige curtain that we have, attached some ribbons to make it into a cape and called it a night. I was so tired, disappointed, out of ideas.... and the cat kept attacking the ribbon and curtain, sinking his claws into me at each attack, since I was holding the curtain.

The next morning... I tired the cape on Zusha. It looked awful. I was so disappointed.
This is when I had an adrenaline rush. I took the butchered fleece from the original costume, cut sections and assembled what a finished braid should look like.
Then I sewed them.
By hand.
Tragedy averted.

Now there is another problem... since the shalach manos food are connected to the costumes, I wanted to attach little pictures of the kids in costume to the corresponding food to tie it all together. I photographed, edited, added words... but my printing plans fell through. Hillel was going to print them at work but he didn't go for most of the week last week.
I tried to print them in the library, but after all my time and efforts (on erev shabbos, no less!) the pictures printed one tiny one in the corner of the page instead of many small ones on an entire page. Ugh. There is one more option- someone might be able to print for us tonight, but I hate the last minute uncertainty. Hopefully it will work out.

A Freilechen Purim, people!

Peace. Love. Happiness.

We were at The Children's Place.
The kids were running around, as usual. Gedalya wandered over to the pajamas and picked up this piece:

"Look! Look! Buy it!" Gedalya exclaimed. "For whom?" I questioned.
"For Adel."
"Gedalya, these are size 10. They are a little too big for Adel," I replied. Gedalya was not deterred.
"So, when she gets big."
"She won't get that big in a looong, long time. She can probably wear these when she is eight or nine."
"So we'll keep it till then," was Gedalya's response. I tried to dissuade him, "Gedalya dear, we don't have enough place to keep clothes for so many years. When Adel will be nine, we will buy her something else, okay?"
There was nothing special about these pajamas that made Gedalya choose them. It was just an impulse he had to get something nice for his sister.
I made it clear to him that we cannot buy these pajamas. (I could have found a smaller size, but I didn't especially like them, and they were full price.)

So what did this sweet little boy do?
"I'm going to hide them," he announced. And ignoring the fact that there were a dozen or more identical pajamas hanging on the racks before him, Little Gedalya pushed aside a handful of pajamas and hid this special choice right near the wall.

"When Adel will be nine, we will come back and buy these."

This delicious boy

is

εïзPeace♥Love☼Happiness☺

Having a Ball in the Snow

The snow is almost all gone already, but it was fun while it lasted.

One of Your Own!

If you'd like to get a Baltic amber necklace for yourself or for your little girl, you are in luck! Because I have one for one of you!

In order to enter the raffle, visit Inspired by Finn and find any necklace that you'd like from the adult or children section. Then come back here and post a link to the necklace you chose in the comments.
The item for the giveaway will be a necklace up to $20.

If you don't win, or you see a necklace that's over $20 that you love, or you want to get matching necklaces for yourself and your daughter like Adel and I (used to) have... or if you like something else, stay tuned! I will have something for everyone who leaves a comment.

If you are planning on ordering, wait till I announce the winner and the little something I have for all those who commented.

Let the commenting begin!
I will announce the winner after Purim... maybe next Monday.

On the Occasion of Adel's First Molar...

On the occasion of Adel's eighth tooth (her first molar!),
her fourth tooth that came in uneventfully, (as opposed to eventfully), I dedicate this post to a magic little trinket called-
Baltic Amber.

A little about Baltic Amber:

Baltic amber is not a stone, but a fossilized tree resin.

Historically, Baltic Amber has been used in Europe as a natural and traditional remedy and curative for many ailments for centuries. Long ago it was considered one of the leading ‘medicines’ of its time. Baltic Amber is the most esteemed amber in the world, and the healing qualities of Baltic Amber make it unlike any other type of amber found in the world.

When Baltic amber is worn on the skin, the skin’s warmth releases trace amounts of healing oils from the amber. These oils contain succinic acid and are absorbed into the skin.

Baltic Amber has some of the highest concentrations of Succinic Acid found in nature, and this is what makes it so special. Succinic Acid is a natural component of plant and animal tissues, and it's presence in the human body is beneficial in many ways.

How can Baltic amber help us?

• Pain Relief -

Baltic amber contains analgesic properties and helps take the edge off of many types of discomfort associated with dental issues, headaches, joint pain, etc.

• Strengthens the body's immune system -

In many different and subtle ways, succinic acid helps boost the body's own natural healing ability and immune system.

• Restoring Energy –

The human body naturally produces succinic acid. The salt of succinic acid (succinate) is one of the most active substances in the processes of cellular respiration and intercellular energy creation. Succinic acid restores oxygen and energy supply to depleted cells and helps the body return to a normal, functioning state.

Succinate is a raw material and a catalyst in the Krebs Cycle which is one of our main sources of energy. During the Krebs Cycle carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are metabolized for energy.

• Maintaining Wellness -

When the human body reacts to stress, the body’s cells begin to use oxygen more quickly. Oxygen plays a central role in the intercellular creation of energy, and a lack of oxygen can result in feeling lethargic.

Oxygen is alkaline-forming in the blood and maintaining a slightly alkaline blood ph helps keep us healthy. Whenever the body functions in a state of low oxygen, it is much more susceptible to illness.

• To help break a cycle of (chronic) inflammation -

Where chronic inflammation is present, disease lurks.

When the body’s cells are chronically inflamed the human body’s immune system response is to increase production of free radicals. Chronic overproduction of free radicals results in inflammatory-related disease. Chronic inflammation is a common denominator of many seemingly unrelated diseases.

While wearing a piece or two of Baltic amber jewelry may not cure all that may ail you, it has been a proven benefit to many!

Click on the photo below to visit the store.


Adel has been wearing this necklace for a while now- since before her first birthday. I had totally forgotten that she is "supposed to" have an easier time with teething. I just noticed her tooth when it came in and was taken by surprise... one little toothie after another. I never had a sign that they were on the way.
Now, I can't say for certain that it was the Baltic amber that was responsible for this very useful break, but I am not discounting the possibility.

I was hesitating to buy... who knows whether it works or not? But I figured that I can't go wrong with an adorable necklace for my girlie no matter what. And... I got a matching one for myself. (It broke after about 1/2 year... the boys loved fingering it, playing with the clasp... I will be getting a new one, though. I love the way it rested right on the neckline of my shells.) I am not a girlie girl at all, and don't have much patience for jewelry, but I liked this piece. And I liked matching Adi!

(Just to keep my records straight- Adel's sixth tooth came in about three month ago. It's the third one on the left, on top. The third one on the left on bottom is visible through the gum for so long now! I though it would be next, but whoop, a molar popped out first!)

Crawling Chronicles

Alternately titled:
Adel is 16 Moths Old!

Well, Adel's 16th month was quite an eventful one! She is really crawling more and more each day. It's just adorable to see. She has even crawled to me once when she wanted me to take her. Once she got upset at the physical therapist because she allowed her to plop down from a standing position. Adel wanted me to take her but didn't think to crawl to me. The therapist encouraged and aided her... she crawled, and I took her. Once she made that connection, a whole world opened for her! She promptly crawled away from the speech therapist who came next. Haha.


It's still funny for us to find her in a different place than we left her. Just now, she crawled to a window in the boys' room and is playing with the curtains. When the boys saw this, they giggled in excitement.
She crawls into their room when I am putting them to sleep. One night she stayed there after I left and kept closing the door. The boys are scared to sleep with the door closed, so they would "scold" Adel and open the door. And she'd close it. Funny girlie. Over and over. We were all laughing by the time I took her away.

Together with the crawling came another fun milestone- pulling up to her knees.
She did it once before, and now she is doing it on a regular basis.

Two weeks ago at the library:
"Look at meeeeeeeee! Look at meeeeeeeeee!!"


Adel was even able to keep the kneeling position and interact with this little boy at the same time.

And then! She pushed the chair forward a few inches. And she walked. On her knees. Back up to the chair. And pushed it again. And walked up to it. About 6-7 times. Whoa. (I have a witness amongst my blog readers. )

Then she tried this at home. On an unstable ball, of all things!

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On the verbal front, Adel can pronounce the following consonants:
B D G H K M N P T V W
and vowel sounds:
ah, eh, ee, i, uh

That's a long way from the "m," "eh" and "ah" she was doing just four months ago. She just babbles along in her little baby language. She even said "Adi" once, much to the joy of the boys! (They had no clue it was accidental. )

She is just, just beginning to use methods of communication other than crying. She is starting to lift her arms when she wants to be picked up, and one time she even said, "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.....p" to accompany the uplifted arms! She also uses a whiny, beggy grunt when she wants something, which is a step up from crying.

And in this photo, Adel is singing "Twinkle." See her hands closed, making the opening-and-closing motions of the shining star?

Oh, but I didn't tell you about that yet. Wait for it, it's totally worth it!

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What's that? You want to see more of the cute bows you got a glimpse of in the first few photos? I aim to please.
The teeniest piggy-tails you've ever seen:




Till next time, everyone!

How We Got a Mel, Part 2 (For Real This Time ;) )

The short version:
We found him outside and took him home.
I hope that satisfies everyone's curiosity!

.

..

...

....

Okay, okay, I'll tell the long version for those that are interested.

One day we were walking home from picking Zusha up, and saw a black and white little kitty sitting on someone's doorstep. He wasn't running away when we approached him (my boys always like to come up close to animals) and he even let the boys pet him!
Then I noticed that he had a collar. Interesting.
At that point, a man was coming up to the house on which stoop the cat was on. He said, "Oh, not that cat again. He went into our house before!"
He was hesitating to go inside because he knew the cat would run in when he opened the door. I offered to hold the cat while he goes in.

I took a look at the collar to see if I can find some info, but it was a flea collar. I was holding him, trying to decide what to do. He was probably lost, so I decided to take him home and look for his owner.

I asked Gedalya to carry the kitten because I had to push the carriage. We got upstairs and Gedalya put him down. Zusha started screaming that the cat will get lost, fall down the stairs and other horrible things.
I told him not to worry. The cat was running around our apartment and jumped up on a chair. Again Zusha got scared that he will fall off and I better catch him right NOW!
(later I realized that his fears were based on his experience with our hamster, whom we cannot leave on a high surface or on the floor because he will fall off, run away, and get lost.

I saw my downstairs neighbor on my way out to bring out the garbage or something and she warned me to keep the door closed because there is a cat that keeps going into people's homes... he went into hers and a couple of the neighbors' already!
"Is he black and white?"
"Yes! Did you see him?"
"Yeah..."


Hillel came home that evening and the cat came up to the staircase to watch him come up. His reaction upon seeing the cat? He petted him. And continued up. That's what kind of family we have. And that's the scenario I tell over when people ask me, "And your husband lets?? He doesn't mind?"

Over the next few days I tried finding the owner online... Craigslist... I looked for "missing cat" posters outside. Nothing. In the meantime I needed cat supplies so I made an order from Petco. A bed, a litterbox, collar with our phone number, litter, food... all the good stuff.

We have a cat man on our block. He's some sort of hermit dude, and he feed stray cats in his driveway, and we thought he might know something about this cat.
Yeah, he's a hermit. He didn't answer the door, and we tried several times. We did notice other cats in the driveway that seem to be the same age as our cat, but we can't figure out the mystery of the collar. Did the hermit dude put it on? Why would he do it to him and not the other cats?

Well, there was nothing to do but keep him at this point. So that's our story!