The Glow

While browsing the www for some chic, new maternity threads (it's time), I happened upon a simplistic photo-themed website called The Glow. While there is nothing particularly extraordinary about this collection of images, to me there is something so intrinsically magically maternal within these shots; everyday motherhood, and the shine that comes with it.

I doubt I'm the only one who feels this way, but somehow I find that our circle of religious mothers seem to perpetually focus on the rigorous aspects of motherhood; from negative body changes, to no-sleep cycles, to loss of social life, to malnutrition due to lack of time etc. Generally speaking, there is plenty of kvetching going on. And while the complaints may all be more than validated, without focusing on the wonder as well - it simply takes away from the essential beauty that comes within the gift of mothering a child.

I know I may very well be one of those people who live in a dream world, and have a la-dee-da attitude about life, but it works for me. Finding the good and beauty and the whit and the whimsy makes me feel good. It makes me function well. And, as a bonus, it makes me happy. It may not always be the easiest thing for me to do, especially when I'm looking at a just-been-cleaned room strewn with toys, or a sensory exploration gone awry all over the subjects clothing and hair, or an early-morning wake up call after a rather sleepless night... but there is always something within all of that that can bring about a smile.

There's always some glory within the mess to wonder about. There is always a cheeky 2 year old smile, a witty and genius kid-sized response to the wrongdoing, a set of pudgy little hands reaching up for an embrace... it's all there within the day-to-day rigor of parenting in general, and mothering in particular.

I may need a grande latte to get to that vantage point, but when I'm there - everything is better. And more beautiful. And when we're looking at beauty, we radiate beauty. If we choose to look at the agony, that's what we'll look like. Our bodies may be warping, but if we choose to keep our self-image intact throughout the many changes, we will in fact be more beautiful than ever before.

I know I'm ranting. More to myself than to you all, but this little collection of glamorous photography has inspired my morning! :)

So weather you are packing up perpetual lunches for your 5 children, whipping up a gourmet breakfast for your one and only, or rubbing your first growing belly, try to find that glow! And capture it.

Well I'm off to the park for the next few hours with my baby girl and my baby bump! Wishing you all a glamorous day in the motherhood! :)

On the Move + Weekend Round-up!

So much commotion has been going down in the cozy little home of ours! We are so excited to announce that, thank God, we signed off on a duplex lease last week and are mid-move to the glorious city of Los Angeles!!  While we have been looking to move for about a year now, we did not expect it to happen this fast (but some incredibly undeniable offers have been thrown our way and so we jumped at opportunity!), and we're still sort of in shock-drop-and roll mode; packing up boxes, picking paint colors, but not quite grasping the entirety of the transition just yet... But, with the hecticness of the holidays behind us now, and on the recovery from our annual post-Tishrei sick week, reality should be hitting home any time now. :)

About those opportunities; Manasseh has been offered a really fulfilling job that is right up his favorite alley - revamping the youth program for our new Shul and community, Shaarei Tefilah. We are supremely excited to be joining such a young, growing, and thriving community, and can't wait to get started. The first plan of action will be renovating the youth rooms (Freidafroo style!), and the before and after photos should prove to make some really fun blog posts in the next few weeks - look forward!

Also (yes there's even more!), I'm so totally stoked to be announcing that I will, God Willing, be starting a Mommy & Me class!! As a collaboration between Congregation Shaarei Tefilah and a wonderfully kind group of women behind the organization Yad Le'Ima, I was offered the job and can not be more excited to get it off the ground!!! If you live in the greater Los Angeles area, have a child under 2 years old, and are looking for an insanely awesome way to spend a weekday morning (a creative round of exploration and bonding for the tots, a lovely morning of coffee, socializing, and parent-networking for the moms!), stay on the lookout for the exact dates and times and how to get yourself and your brood signed up to the classes! I will keep you posted, but if you know you are interested right off the bat, please email me (freidafroo@gmail.com) so that I know if I am looking at some crazy number of mamas! :)

At the moment, I am pondering how will get through our last Shabbos in Long Beach, being that Freida has diligently dumped all her toys into some empty moving boxes and her room is practically reeking: vacancy. On the upside, she's been sleeping in our bed, which has proved to be super cozily delicious!  Thankfully, our move in date is Tuesday, November 1st (!!), so it won't be long now. Can't wait to give you a peek at the new place, and share the transition and home improvements with you all...!

On a side note, being that I've been so swamped, I've been feeling guilty and figured I'd at least leave you with a little weekend round-up to make up for lost posts. Here are some things I would have blogged about had I had the time:

- Crewcuts for Babies debuted this week - sheer deliciousness!

- Clever wall treatment for a shared bedroom.

- How to make your own pinatas!

- These office prints made me laugh out loud.

- Great gift for moms of boys!

- Handmade Charlotte at Anthropologie!!

- Black smoke is back!

- Hoooked Zpagetti looks awesome!

- Autumn soup at it's best!

Wishing you all the lovliest of weekends!! Enjoy the beautiful fall weather, and take advantage of all the pumpkin patches and fall festivals going on in your town! I'm very much looking forward to the peace of Shabbos, and relishing in the last weekend with our family here on this side of town.... here's to bittersweet beginnings!

Flower Press

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this lovely idea for a DIY flower press, and thought it was a fabulous way to take a bit of the summer buds with us deep into the fall!

While I wasn't exactly up for the entailed carpentry, I really wanted to press some last-of-summer flowers in order for them to be dried, pressed and ready to deck out a Sukkah! I simply resorted to the old-school method of pressing flowers: a heavy book. :)

Freida was happily interested in joining in the activity and exploring the cut flowers (we simply used our almost-wilted ones from the previous Shabbos). All you need to get pressing is a very heavy book or two, some sheets of tissue paper, and stemless flowers. Layer the tissue paper in between the flower layers and pages so as not to mar the book's print. Close the book when finished and set aside out of little hand's reach. Mark your calendar for 2 week's time (so you don't forget your drying florals!), ans stay tuned for some Sukkah-decor crafts involving already-pressed flowers!

This batch of daisies were surprisingly fragrant (I've noticed most florists seem to nuke the flowers natural scents. For allergie reasons, perhaps?), and so I gave Freida a hammer to muck around with and release the flowery fumes.

Let's just say she rather enjoyed this form of destructive play. :)

Happy pressing!

Retro Freeze

Can't hardly believe the heat today!! So much for happily heading into autumn...

After a cooler-than-usual Sunday at the beach, and a sudden torrential downpour Sunday evening, I seriously thought the summer heat waves have made their way out yonder. But standing over my kitchen elements today - with no window breeze whatsoever! - frying up Zucchini Fritters with Freida forced me into freezer fest oblivion. Gone were thoughts of garlic spiked sour cream dolloped onto a neat little stack of hot crispy fritters! I dived head first into the cooler treats below freezing; we're now moving on from paper popsicles to their actual frozen forms - retro stylin'.

Best ice pop molds ever.

Stay chilly, my friends.

Heart Felt + Aleph Beis

This jar of little felt hearts has been circulating all abouts the web this week, and I've simply fallen in fuzzy little love. One super-cool mom created these warm little lovies to slip into her children's pockets on their fist day of school - so they can literally feel a bit of love and comfort throughout their first day away. How sweet?? You can view her tutorial here. (Also, I think if these were cut out quite a bit larger, this would make a wonderful "plastic needle" project to do with little girls!)

Seeing these little guys brought back something I viewed some time ago on Etsy: A set of Little Felted Aleph-beis! I think this is such a fantastic, tangible, and tactile way to teach early literacy and hebrew familiarity to little children. Wishlisted! :)

(P.S. It's not even fall yet and I'm already on a wool and felt trip...!)