Hanukiah

My St. Vinnies is amazing as you all know. Sometimes we find the neatest things there. And then there are other times that we find things and they just have to come home with us and we don't really know why.
One of these things is the worlds craziest, mostly ugliest hanukiah. There is a reason this is at a thrift shop. My kido's call them goat men and one is so disturbed, she won't look at it. Unfortunately, I've become attached and the longer it is in my house, the more I kinda like it. It is definitely something to talk about.
You see, one of these days, I'm actually start an eBay shop and sell all these hanukiah that I have found over the years at re-sale stores. Here in the PNW, people don't know what they have and sell them for super cheap and I figure I can make some money. Someday. That was my plan for this thing. But now I'm not so sure. So here it is. The goatman, cowboy, so ugly it's cute sorta, hanukiah.
Did I forget to add rabbi? Yeah, goatman, cowboy so ugly it's cute sorta, tallit wearing rabbi hanukiah. See their little boots?
And their little booties hanging off the wall?
What can I say, I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep them. But none of the children want them when they move out. They have already made that very clear ^.^

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Holidays

Holiday season in upon us and man am I struggling. This is usually my favorite time of year. Everyone is happy, there are presents and decorations, good food and baking, a break from formal school classes, all good things. This season is a little different for me.
This season I lost my dearest Grandma. I was able to go California and be with her in her last days. I took the whole family with me and they were able to spend time with the cousins and play tourist a bit while I was in the hospital with Grandma. I am so very grateful I had that time with her.
This season we also lost Mrs. D. She is one of the ladies in the Widows Club that we have been watching over for the last ten years. She was a great grandma to my kids. In fact, the two great ladies died the same night. It was an emotional time to be sure.
Throw in a trip to Portland for a conference and a our first speech competition and all that entails, along with the regular schedule stuff and things just aren't that cheery around here. Let alone clean. The clutter is under control in the rooms people see but I just need to do a good deep clean and purge to make it right. (The only time I want to deep clean is when I'm sad or mad or my mom is coming ^.^)
We took the kid's school work with us everywhere, but there was just too much living to do and not one book got cracked. There was still learning going on, more of the unschooling variety than what we usually do. So now the kids are all out of the swing of things and getting them to do anything schoolish is like trying to herd turtles, nothing is moving. So now I have mom guilt cuz they are behind where I would like them to be. I know since we are homeschoolers, that doesn't really matter, but it sorta does in my head. I am therefor having a hard time justifying a break.
And on top of that, I'm bored with my Chanukah decorations but am unwilling to spend money right now on new stuff. I need to save up for two big trips for speech. And a Thule container for the top of the truck for all the trips we need to be making. And a Bat Mitzvah.
Oh yeah, the Bat Mitzvah! It's coming along, but I do need to get going on invitations. And stuff for the ice cream social we are having after. And helping her make her dress. And finishing the few things left on her list. And the list of who is getting invitations. Oh yeah, that.
So yeah, not so much cheer for me this year. Thankfully the kidos aren't having the same challenge. A friend once told me that when we get into these periods of change and stress, it is only for a season. I try to keep that in my head. I wish is wasn't the same season as the holiday season. But oh well. We will make it through, and just swirl in the whirlwind that is our lives right now.

Busy, busy busy

A whole month and no post! How does that happen? Well, lets see, started school and all the extra curricular that goes with, hauled oldest back and forth to work at the fair, high holy days, sickness, business, garden. Yup, a little busy. That and I am in a creative funk. Not that I don't have a lot of plans, just no time to put things together.
Homeschooling one less this year hasn't actually decreased my work load as much as I thought it would. The load is actually a little harder because I have so many doing harder work. I have three doing speech club and that is really taking up time. But it has been very rewarding. My kids are learning so much about research and outlines right now. Better than any curriculum I've tried, that's for sure.
High holy days are keeping us pretty busy. Lots of baking and cooking. This has checked a bunch of things off of the Bat Mitzvah list. The younger girls made hangings to put in the schul sukkah. Sarah's is done in needlework, completing the sampler on the list too. I made white skirts out of an old sheet and an old tablecloth for Yom Kippur . Those are pretty cute. Our home sukkah suffered a lot of damage during the last year. We had a slight bug infestation. So no visitors this year. Already, I'm making plans for next year. Hope they somewhat match my sweethearts .
The garden was a bust for the most part again this year. I did find a really good deal on some organic compost and dirt. Hopefully this will make a difference next year. Some sun would help too. We are going to cover the beds and try some winter crops. Hopefully we can get a little something.
So don't be surprised if another month goes by with no post. Nothing is really decreasing in the next few months. We are already planning for our Channuka (Hanukah, Hannuckah...whatever) talent show and contests. The sewing pile is high. My kids start competition for speech in December. So yeah, busy.

She Made a Decision.

I wondered if she was really ready. My son, I knew was, my daughter not so much. Then it happened.

Yesterday, we were looking at the Torah schedule and realized that a mistake had been made. The portion that she has been working on for 7 months is only part of what she needs to do. There is an entire chapter in front and a few verses in back. T0 say she is devastated is an understatement. She cried, I cried, her siblings cried. We are all heartbroken for her. She has struggled with her Hebrew and has really had to work hard. It has only been in the last week that she had been able to read her piece without help. She was so happy. And now this.

So I told her not to worry about it and her dad and I would figure something out after he got home that night.

Later in the afternoon, she came and sat down next to me and put her head on my shoulder. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes full of tears and said that she was really disappointed and that even though it would be really hard she was going to do the whole thing. She said that part of growing up was doing the hard things even when they weren't planned for. She said that she was just going to persevere and get it done.

Wow.

She is learning. She is maturing. She is making choices that make me proud. She scares me a little too.

Now don't get me wrong, she still likes playing barbies with her sibs and won't eat eggs or tuna cuz they're gross, but she is figuring things out.

After she said the same thing to my sweetheart at dinner, he told her that he would stand behind her on her decision and we would support her any way we can.

Come January, we will decide what is going to happen. There may be some modifications to the way we did it with my son. Already, I have some ideas that may make this doable. It is tradition that we are working with here, nothing set in stone (^.^). We will make sure that this ceremony honors God and His Torah.

She is ready.

Waiting Rooms

How do they find me? I try so hard to be a nice person, but some people make it so difficult. There I am sitting in a waiting room some place. As we all sit there waiting for the doctor, nurse, dentist, lawyer, whatever, no one is talking. Everyone is sitting there not looking at each other. They are reading five year old magazines or watching CNN post the same story every fifteen minutes as breaking news. So I say something benign, like "how about that weather" and then it comes out. The person just has to tell me all about the details of their back surgery and how awful the food is and how much water they put on and how their neighbor who is a diabetic drinks twelve cokes a day. Or they witness to me about how God talks to them and sits on a throne just like the one in that movie.
All I wanted to do is have a polite little conversation to pass the time and I get the crazy person. How do I do it? Can't someone just be a nice person who has a fairly normal life. "The weather has been great. Have you done anything fun this summer? Did you like your trip to some nice vacation spot? It was perfect? What a blessing to spend time with your family!"
Now isn't that a nice conversation? But alas alack, I end up with the person who is lonely and just needs an ear to hear. So I say my favorite quote from Corrie ten Boom "Lord love them through me cause I can't." Then I smile and nod and oh and awe at the right time. And thank God when one of us gets called in.

Sarah's Bat Mitzvah

Our home is getting ready for another Bat Mitzvah (actually the first was a Bar, but you know what I mean). So we put together a list of things that I would like for my daughter to be able to do as she passes into the next phase of her life. We did the same for my son, choosing things more appropriate for him. Although there are things on each list that are similiar, there are also things that are specific for each child and their interests.

Sarah’s Bat Mitzvah List

Kitchen
· Make bread and Challa
· Know enough recipes for a month of meals
· How to read and follow recipes
· How to sharpen a knife
· How to make coffee and tea
· Can fruit and vegi’s with mom

Sewing
· Sew a garment for yourself
· Pick a pattern at a store
· Choose fabric
· Follow pattern directions
· Needlework Sampler
· Crochet

Misc.
· Basic first aide
· Babsitting class
· Fill out an envelope
· Write a thank you note
· Knot board
· Build a fire
· BBQ
· Check fluid levels on the car

Festivals
· Know the order and reason of Festivals
· Know how to make foods associated with each Festival
· Know how to do Passover clean
· Know how to sing the Blessings of each Festival

Torah
· Know your portion in Hebrew and English
· Know the books of the Torah
· Pick a verse in the New Testament that has meaning to you and memorize and explain its significance

It may seem like a lot, but we started working on this when she turned 12, so we have a bunch of it already done. Her biggest struggle has been the Hebrew but she gets better and stronger every day. She will have it down by February, no problem.

Birthday Parties

Birthday parties. Do you have them? Do you do the whole themed, crafty, matchy matchy thing? Since I've started blogging and blog hopping, I have to say that I do have a little mom guilt about birthday parties. Not that it lasts long really. I think we have had a total of 4 parties for the six kids we have. And none of them were much of a themed thing. I think I did a princess thing way back, but that was it. There would just be too many. If I did these elaborate parties for all of them, I would be so broke. Even if I thrifted and hand made all these neat little projects. Time is money too people!
So yeah, don't do the birthday party thing. But we do have a big tadoo Bar/Bat Mitzvah thing. That is my excuse, um I mean reason, we don't do parties. Yeah, that sounds good.
If I only had one or two kids, though, I'm sure I would totally be into giving a Star Wars, Dr. Who, Hello Kitty, Barbie, Circus themed party with hours and hours of work put into them that the twenty three year olds will never remember.

ps. We do have a special birthday week for each birthday child, so they don't miss out on anything but the party.