Book of the Week: The Mitten

So, I'm not complaining. But the weather here has been driving me crazy! A few weeks ago I got an email from Freida's school asking the parents to please send in winter coats, scarves, gloves, and hats! Meanwhile, last Sunday we were swimming all afternoon in our friends pool (thanks Lay!). The weather weirdness has me constantly checking to make sure I bring all of the above with me before leaving the house (with the kids in short-sleeve tees and flouncy little skirts!), and has left our skin (and electric bill!) in limbo as we go from heat to air nonstop. Anyways! As I said, I'm not complaining :)

Rummaging through previous year's winter stowaways has been fun and nostalgic (remembering our freezing cold trip to Chicago!), and Freida was so excited to pull out her little mittens! Mostly because of her infatuation with the book The Mitten. And I have to admit, the story is wonderfully enchanting and endearing...

The Mitten is a Ukranian folktale about a boy who drops his mitten in the snow and one by one animals snuggle inside the mitten for warmth, and Jan Brett draws upon the young readers to be imaginative and inquisitive with her animal descriptions and specifications. Freida loves asking "I wonder why they made room for the owl? Ohh because of his sharp nails!" etc. I love reading books that involve the readers, and Freida loves when I initiate a conversation based on the story - this book is the perfect aid to that.

Plus, famous books like this one always seem to have heaps of learning activities connected to them. Check out these ideas for doing a proper unit on winter and "the mitten".

Winter.

Welcome to winter dear readers! Hope you're all snuggly and warm this first winters weekend night - wrapped in a throw on the sofa, enwrapped in an old black and white film, perhaps? :)

Over here we rang in the season with some cousins visiting for dinner (thanks for coming Tzip!!), and all the kids whipping up a few batches of hot cocoa - whipped cream, marshmallows - the works! Freida was completely over the moon about the general invention of hot cocoa, and was pretty munch bouncing and bounding off the walls with excitement while Hudi swiped and popped mini mallows like a pro.

I always wonder if everyone gets all "nest-y" as the winter season sets in...? I always find myself cleaning, sorting, sprucing, cooking etc. this time of year. It's as if I have some intrinsic anthropological clock inside of me telling me it's time to hibernate and bolster my nest for the cold. I always buy a warmly-fragrant plant or two (this year I picked up a lush lavender bush for my entryway), invest in a new wooly throw (I'm coveting this one), and re-stock my coffee&tea station (we've been sipping lots of "get" teas). It's as if I walked out of a chapter in The Birth House! Please tell me some of you ladies relate??

In any case, in an attempt to inhibit my winter weirdness, I started pinning on my "winter" themed Pinterest board. Check it out for some winter-y inspiration!

Dads Are the Original Hipsters

Posting a bit about my dad yesterday reminded me about this hilarious tumblr I stumbled upon a while ago; Dads Are the Original Hipsters will seriously make you laugh out loud. It features random photos of retro dads looking hip with the funniest tag lines! I was laughing so hard, I decided to dig up some pre-digital dirt on my own padre and found these wickedly hip photographs to prove that dads really are the original hipsters (listen up brothers!). Here's two awesome photos of my dad and an example of what they would do with these shots: "Your dad wore tucked-in plaid flannel way before you did. He held his Warby Parkers because even though he didn't really need them, he knew of their powers. Especially when staging his own portrait. In washed-out Levi's. On a boat. In the woods. Before you did."

"Your dad was a photographer before you were and he's got the lens collection to prove it. He moved to NYC before you too. He'd walk the city shooting street art, with perfect exposure. He was the original instagram and he's got the grungy textured photos that confirm it."

So! Was your dad hip?? Because mine sure kicked some hipster a$$!

P.S. This would make an adorable Chanukah gift for dad!

5 Years of Love

Today marks 5 years since this post-wedding party stolen elevator kiss (that some mach-fast invisible photographer managed to snap!). :)

Sometimes it feels like we've been married forever, as if I can't remember life without him. And other times I feel like we just met, as if it were mere weeks ago that we moved our status from "friends" to "relationship"... Marriage seems to be magical like that: you live together, eat together, sleep together, birth children together, cry, laugh, and grow together, and you wake up one morning feeling like blood relatives. And then you don't. You feel vulnerable and organic again, suddenly; it's as if you just met, falling in love again. I love the ins-and-outs, the ups-and-downs - of course I'd pick the ups over the downs! - but it's the journey together that really enables us to evolve as a couple, to fuse together as a family.

You know how there's different elements for different anniversaries (silver, gold etc.)? Well, 5 years is wood, my favorite element by far. Earthy, raw, rustic, and natural - wood makes me thing of growth, and the 5 year mark is really still about building on the foundation of love and respect. I'm so blessed to have found such a special man to build with, and I feel so lucky that we respect each other enough to build on the young love and enhance the way we work and live together, and most of all; the way we love.

On the practical side of things, whenever I think about new love (especially with my brother Yossi engaged and all!!), I know that while marriage may be magical, it also takes a tremendous amount of effort and understanding in order to keep it functioning as magically as it should. And on that front, here are the 3 books that I'd suggest every girl/bride/woman read: Men are from Mars, Kosher Sex, and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. And while those books may not be filled with mind-blowing novelties, having them in my repertoire of tools when caught under marital duress has proven priceless!

Also! A while ago I read a Huffington Post article that resonated so well with me! Here are 15 of the best marriage tips ever, enjoy! :)

Easy Fasting + Weekend Round-up!!

Mourning the destruction of the Temple, and in essence, of an era, always lands me in some fantastical daydream of what the world would be like... I start off reading Eicha and wind up imagining our life, modern age as it is, in Jerusalem with the Temple! Do you ever think about that? iPhones, facebook, instagram and sacrificial offerings?

Anyways, while I try to make it all jive in my head, and keep my energy up through this long and grueling fast... here's some things I thought you might enjoy checking out:

- My mom bought me this print a few years ago, and it's display on a shelf of siddurim in my living room continues to inspire me and force me to remember the Temple each and every day.

- Also, this photograph gives me chills.

- Looking forward to haircuts + music? The mashup! :)

- Missing your weekday meat? Here's the most summery steak recipe ever!

- I'm 4 lbs. from my "lose 10lbs." goal (yay!!) - here's what helps me.

- Here's what doesn't help me :)

- Get through the heaps of laundry tomorrow while dreaming of this dreamy laundry room...!

- Cola Bombs will get the kids outside + kill some time this afternoon.

- I'm currently in middle of this book, and it's been a great read and an intense eye-opener.

- Get through the last 2 hours after the kids are in bed with this.

Wishing you all an easy fast!! Hope the kids behave and the milk supply doesn't run too low (I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I am)!!