Feeling Defeated Until My Pants Start To Fall Down

I haven't lost as much as I had hoped and I've been feeling pretty let down about the whole thing lately. I was considering canceling my Weight Watchers online subscription and throwing in the weight loss towel.

Then I got dressed yesterday. The awesome super cute Target capris I got on sale were very loose--too loose to wear. So I put on a pair of jeans--real jeans, not the elastic waisted maternity ones. They were too big. *Gasp* Today, I put on the pair of jeans I wore to my oldest daughters' birthday party. Back then, I had to use my "sucker-inner" shapewear just to get them closed and even then, I had to hold my breath and lie down. Today, they closed without a problem and I was even able to get them down without unzipping or even unbuttoning them. *Double gasp*

I'm still heavier than I'd like, but this is the first time I'm actually seeing a difference in my body. I think this is the perfect motivation to keep going.

This week, I was down another pound. I'm just over 2 lbs away from having lost 10% of my starting body weight.

Pesach (Passover) starts soon. That's going to make doing WW kind of tricky (I can't find any Kosher for Passover WW foods) on one hand (counting points), but I usually lose a few pounds during Pesach just because my carbs are so limited.

I know it's going to be a stretch, but my goal is going to be 140 or less (I'm 143.6) by the time Pesach ends. Let's see how close I can get.

Like leprechauns, only with kippot.

Proud to be an Irish Jew (Hello, Jim!)
Originally uploaded by Daniel Greene

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everyone. Yes, we are Irish. Yes, we're Jewish. Yeah, we're a pretty rare breed, but we are not, however, alone.

Apparently, there are enough of us to warrant not only t-shirts, but even jewelery.

So, I wish a Happy St. Patrick's Day both to my fellow rare Jews of Irish decent as well as to those Irish not of the tribe. To those of you who aren't Irish, I wish a happy Wednesday.

In case you're wondering, my father's maternal grandmother was Irish. My husband, too, is Irish somewhere way down on his father's side, but we're not sure where.

It's the Most Wonderful Time Of the Year.

Valentine's Day is almost over. Do you know what that means? It's almost time for my favorite holiday of the year.

Happy half-price chocolate day, everyone.

Run, don't walk, to the nearest store to take part in this most wonderful of days. For those of us trying to lose weight, maybe we'll skip the chocolate this year. Then again, maybe we'll buy a giant box for a friend who is NOT trying to lose weight and who we know will be willing to share a piece or two.

Tomorrow also begins the wonderfully festive Stock Up For the Daughters' Birthday season. I love to grab the Valentine's Day leftovers to use as decorations and goody bag filler for the upcoming birthdays. I also love grabbing discounted Valentine's Day decor for the twins' bedroom. I saw some uber cute things this year that I'm hoping to be able to grab tomorrow.

I am seriously excited about this. I can't wait to head out tomorrow to see what treasures we'll find. I'll be sure to report back tomorrow. You be sure to pretend that you care. If you don't, well, I'll just talk to myself. That's nothing new.

My wish for the New Year

There are many things I hope 2010 brings those I love. I figured I'd take the opportunity to share them with you all.

In 2010, I hope...

• The stupid people stay far away from you.

• That if a few of those stupid people wander into your path (or if they live in your house, so you have no other choice), I hope you have a really big stick, a great aim and a complete lack of remorse.

• Should you be unable to beat the stupid people senseless, I hope you have the perfect comeback for their stupidity and that, after you slap them with that witty retort, they either change their ways and stop being stupid or they read this and FOLLOW THE FREAKING RULES.

• That your children are absolute angels

• And that if that last one doesn't happen and you're in public, I hope there's enough room to distance yourself from them so that no one realizes they're yours.

• If they disregard that angel part and you're not in public, I hope you have a padded sound-proof room to shove them into until they CALM THE FUCK DOWN.

• You have TWO padded sound-proof rooms so that you have the option of locking yourself in one if need be.

• Someone finds the secret for yummy calorie-free (kosher) alcohol and chocolate.

• Someone perfects that whole, "Beam me up, Scotty" machine.

• You laugh at an endless supply of truly funny lolcats.

• That your kids continue to supply you with an array of funny phrases.

• That when your kids say those funny things, they do so quietly and FAR away from church/shul.

• That the vast majority of your days are wonderful and you have one bad (but not awful) day a month so that you can always truly appreciate those great days.

• Those around you always let you know how awesome you are.

• That you continue to rock on with your bad-ass self.

It's been called a, "Handful," but never an, "Honor."

I have four children. That's what we always wanted. During my last pregnancy, people apologized to me for the fact that I was having yet another one. Everyone wanted to tell me how rough it would be. People just love to ask, Have you figured out what causes that?" The most common phrase people use when they see us all out is, "You sure have your hands full!" They've been saying this ever since my twins were born and they were my first (and second) children. I usually bite my tongue because you never know what other people are going through, but I always think, "Better full than empty."

We don't consider our family to be all that large, but others seem to be absolutely shocked that we have oh so very many (insert eye roll) children.

So, on Simchat Torah, when we were HONORED for bringing the most children rather than ostracized for it, I felt wonderful.

I love Simchat Torah--love it. It's one of my very favorite holidays. This year, was probably the best yet. My oldest daughters did Israeli dancing with the adults and they sang with their Hebrew school (and did so wonderfully. My oldest daughter really surprised me with her poise and her knowledge). TheBaby fell asleep in my arms after nursing. She slept through all the singing and dancing, but I danced around with her in my arms anyway. TheBoy grabbed flags and ran and danced around with the others. My husband slunk back and tried to hide because he's not a big dancer and doesn't much like the spotlight (yes, it's true what they say about opposites attracting).

Before all the singing and dancing, though, the rabbi announced that the family with the most children in attendance would be called up to open the ark. That was us. So we all went up to do that. It was so nice to honored rather than pitied.

Think alcohol causes strange dreams?Try the matzah-induced dreams

I had a dream that my family was at Ian Ziering's house. He made dinner for us. It was some sort of soup with pasta in it. At one point, I looked over and my daughter hadn't finished hers. I asked her, "Aren't you going to finish your pasta?"

Suddenly, I was horrified to realize that it was Passover and we had just violated the dietary rules...at Ian Ziering's house...by eating some sort of pasta soup...prepared and served by Ian Zeiring.

I was absolutely panicked. It was one of those dreams where it takes you a few moments to realize it was a dream and then when you do, you are SO thankful to know it didn't really happen.

Some people dream about falling. Some people go home and dream of spiders. Some people dream of losing their teeth. Me? I dream of violating halacha with Steve Sanders. What the heck is the deeper meaning hidden in that?

To that, all I have to say is, "Dude, WTF?"

Another side effect of the bad economy

You all know my mom lost her job. It's only now that we're realizing one of the negative side effects.

Every year, one of the companies she dealt with would send her a package of kosher for Passover candy. She would send that on to us.

This year, no job means no K for P chocolate.

Pardon me while I pout like a 3-year-old.

Ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mannnnnnnnnnnnnnn!

When the cleaning gets tough,the tough eat snacky foods

Dear internets,
Thus far, my Pesach cleaning has consisted of repeatedly telling dh we need to start cleaning for Passover and eating all the snacks under the guise of ridding the house of chametz.

For this, I'm very very sorry (about not doing enough cleaning, not about the junk food).

Sincerely,
one bad (but not hungry) Jew

The few. The proud. The Jewish. The chocolate.

My kids don't eat chocolate. For the longest time, they never even tasted chocolate. The girls are wonderful about it. The staff at Sunday school likes to give out chocolate for snacks or rewards, but the big kids always tell their teachers they can't have chocolate and they help find a healthier alternative. I've been so proud of how they handle it.

As the kids have got older, we relented and agreed they could have chocolate for two occasions, Chanukah (because the gelt was overwhelming. There was no way to avoid it) and then we added Purim (because, well, I really like Purim).

Well, now we're about to add one more holiday to the mix. Next week, there's a chocolate seder at shul. Last year, we just skipped Sunday school that day. This year, though, the whole family is invited to stay. Family events are near and dear to my heart. So we'll all be going and yes, the children will get to consume chocolate.

And so, our children are thrilled to be Jewish because if not, they'd never get chocolate. :-)

Random bits of Jewish poetry for a Sunday evening.

I finished reading Marge Piercy's _The Art of Blessing the Day_ a while ago, but never got around to mentioning it on here. Sorry about that. I liked the early poems in the book well enough, but they didn't quite speak to me. Towards the end, though, her poems turn towards observance in general. I found much more that really spoke to me in those poems.

Here are some of the portions that struck me,


From Zeroah: Lamb Shank
"...And we fled, under the sign
of the slaughtered lamb to live
and die for each other. We are
meat that thinks and sings."

From At the New Moon: Rosh Hodesh,
"....from this bone we fashion a bird, extinct
and never yet born, evolving feathers
from our hair, blood from our salt, strength
from our backs, vision from our brains.

Fly out over the city, dove of the light,
owl of the moon, for we are weaving your wings
from our longings, diaphanous and bony...."

I particularly like that one with my recent bird obsession.

This is my very favorite. I think it sums up not only my beliefs, but Judaism quite well.

From Nishmat,
"...We stand in the midst of the burning world
primed to burn with compassionate love and justice,
to turn inward and find holy fire at the core,
to turn outward and see the world that is all
of one flesh with us, see under the trash, through
the smog, the furry be in the apple blossom,
the trout leaping, the candles our ancestors lit for us..."

I get by with a little help from my friends.

Purim is quickly approaching. This year, it has really taken me by surprise. I have no idea what the kids can dress up as for Purim and I'm desperately in need of costume ideas. I love making costumes, but with the baby on the way, I don't know if I can do much right now.

So I'm particularly thrilled to see this post from A Mother In Israel.

If you have any costume ideas at all (even if you don't, but you need some), head over there and either share the love or be inspired by the comments. And look around whlie you're there because she has some fabulous information on her blog on a wide range of things.

It may be late, but it's still funny.

see more pwn and owned pictures

Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more

I could do without the last line, but I like Alfred Tennyson's take on the new year.

This time last year, I wanted desperately to cling to 2007. That was the last year my cousin lived to see. I felt as though when we left 2007, we were leaving him behind. We were moving away from everything he ever knew. It just felt wrong.

This year, I feel differently and it's a welcome change. I'm full of hope for the coming year. It will bring a baby and a move closer to family. There are so many wonderful changes in store for us and for our country. Dh has no impending deployments in our future. I'm far more optimistic this year. This bubbly happy feeling is nice. I could get used to this.

Anyone care to join me in a rousing round of Happy Happy Joy Joy? Happy New Year, everyone. Hope yours is a great 2009.

Gift-giving in its most adorable form

Congratulate me. I'm going to be a grandmother. Pitty me, my grandchild is being carried by my 3-year-old son and will be named Elephant Stripey Hotdog.

Oh the gift-giving joy!

Today, we continued in our tradition and picked gifts at the Dollar Tree for dh and TheBoy. This year, TheBoy made his debut with our gift-giving group and tagged along. As usual, the gifts (and the reasoning behind them) were adorable.

Girl1 got her father an air freshener. Because things should always smell nice. It's shaped like a heart because she loves him and that way, when he sees it, he will remember she loves him.

Girl2 got him pens. That's perhaps, the most useful gift of all. He uses them all the time. Her thought was that when he uses them, he will think of her.

TheBoy got him one of those things that hooks on the end of the toothpaste and rolls up. That was my doing. Dh said just the other day that he wanted, so when I saw them, I opted to just pick the gift out for him. This is after a long list of items which TheBoy insisted would be perfect for Daddy. When I pointed out, "But Daddy doesn't need that or want that," TheBoy shot back with, "I do." So I let him pick the color of the toothpaste tchotchke. The options were blue, green or pink. TheBoy opted for pink. He said, "Daddy likes pink." I pointed out, "No he doesn't." To which TheBoy replied, "But I do."

The big kids also got a pack of planet wall stickers for their brother who repaid the favor by getting two packs of butterfly wall stickers for them.

Oh and when we hit the dollar aisle at Target yesterday, Girl1 found one remaining Hello Kitty multi-color pen. My kids LOVE those different color pens, but they go through them like crazy and they're not always available in the dollar sections. So Girl1 used her tooth fairy money (she lost tooth #8 last week) to buy it for her sister.

TheBoy got a Chanukah shirt for his stuffed Elephant. What did he opt to name this stuffed elephant? Why, of course the Chanukah Elephant is now named Pass Gas courtesy of the 3-year-old. Oy vey! TheBoy told Pass Gass, "Me is preg-ant. My baby kicking. Look." TheBoy then sucked his stomach in and puffed it out while he held his elephant's hand to his stomach. When I asked what the baby's name would be, TheBoy said, "Elephant Stripey Hotdog."

Kids (who are not mine) say...

A friend relayed this story and I had to share. He went to his daughters' classrooms yesterday to talk to the kids about Chanukah. Yes, when you're the lone Jew in any area, you tend to become the token Jew in the classroom. Luckily, this guy is great with kids--not the most observant Jew by any stretch of the imagination (his older daughter was the one who was baffled by kashering), but informed and wonderful with kids.

So he briefly explained the story of the Macabees and at the end, he asked his youngest daughter's first grade class if there were any questions.

One boy raised his hand and asked, "Did dinosaurs and cavemen live at the same time?"

The best question, though, was from the very first boy who raised his hand. He asked, "How expensive was your watch?"

After I cracked up, my friend then added, "Next time, I'm going to be a little more specific when I ask if anyone has any questions."

The true meaning of Chanukah: aka no gifts for you.

Dh and I have never been able to understand these kids. Our two eldest tend to destroy things left and right. Whereas dh and I still have toys from our childhood that fared quite well, our children tend to destroy things within months or even days. It's very frustrating and occasionally, infuriating.

Now, we are NOT the types of parents who throw toys at our kids left and right. We don't believe in buying love. Hell, we don't even believe in replacing broken toys. If you broke it, you need to learn to live with that disappointment. I don't want 14 year-olds down the road, who, never having dealt with disappointment, turn to drugs and alcohol to dull that strange new sensation. I'm not going to create disapointment, but when it comes, we weather it. If that means you tore the foot off your brand new Language Littles and you never see it again, well then, so be it.

Months ago, dh and I bought a cute hanging sorting case for the big kids. It was on clearance and was far too cute. Storage is a premium in their room, so it was necessary. We weren't able to put it up at the time, so we folded it up and stashed it way back under their bed. When we pulled it out this past weekend, we found the kids had destroyed it. butterflies had torn wings. Antenae were not only torn off, but then shoved through the wings of other butterflies leaving huge holes. I'm all for investigating how things work, but this was destructive for the sake of being destructive.

Later, we found that the girls had also rummaged under their bed (where they're not supposed to be), found a lamp that has been theirs since they were babies, tore it apart and ripped all the wires out of it. What wires are left have been stripped. Luckily, it wasn't plugged in at the time.

Yesterday was the final straw. In an effort to spruce up their rooms, I got some vinyl robot wall decals for TheBoy's room. They were very cute and he loved them. Yesterday, the girls told me this huge story about how one of the robots spoke English and how they were going to get married. They spent about an hour in there, all three of them, playing. It wasn't until much later that I realized that of the 8 robots, 6 were pulled off the wall and torn. They wouldn't go back up. They were completely useless.

Dh and I feel awful. We put in all the time and effort to do things for the kids. We work with them. We make things for them. And yes, we do occasionally buy things for them. What do they do? They destroy it all.

Yesterday was the final straw. Dh and I have discussed it and we agreed that the kids will not be getting Chanukah gifts this year. I know the grandparents plan on sending clothes and I'm sure at least one toy. Those, they will get, but we can't do it ourselves. We can't waste the money buying something only to have it destroyed. I can't waste the effort making something only to have it cut apart. We just can't take it.

We already bought them tickets to a dinosaur show. They'll get those on Chanukah, but that's it.

We know that Chanukah's not Xmas. We never try to make it such. It's always a small event just within our family. While yes, there are some gifts, the focus has always been on the symbolism and meaning behind the eight days. Still, I actually like making things for them. I had a blast last year making their gifts. We only bought maybe one or two things and I handmade everything else. I didn't get many gifts myself, but damn it, I LOVED making things. Making things for the kids was more fun than receiving gifts. I think this year, I'll focus my gift making on my nieces and nephews. It's a shame, though, because I really do like making for my kids.

I just cannot understand what in the world must be going through their heads. I just don't get it.

I'm thankful for...

My kids are all happily playing together in the yard. It's a nice warmish day. Yummy food and the Macy's parade are just days away. Dh has TWO days off for Thanksgiving (the first time EVER). Obama won the election. Ann Coulter's jaw has been wired shut. Does it get any better than this?

One of the most useful toys ever

I first read about the Bilibo at a random parenting blog last year. I apologize for not posting a link (I do like to give credit where it's due), but honestly, I can't remember where I found it exactly.

I was then (as I am now) specifically requesting that the kids not be given plastic toys. That, however, was our one exception. We bought one for the kids last Chanukah and they haven't stopped playing with it.

I would describe it as a plastic turtle shell, but to my kids, it has been a skate park for dolls, a hill for cars, a spinning ride (a favorite), a chair, a stroller, a shopping cart, a stool, a rocking chair and a mask just to name a few.

When you first look at that thing, you wonder what in the world it is. A local museum has a few in their children's section. My kids' immediate reaction was the same, "Cool. They have bilibos." As they run towards them, throw themselves inside and begin spinning and/or rocking. I've watched other parents as they picked the unusual shapes up and looked them over, obviously confused. I heard one woman say, "Well, I guess it's supposed to be some sort of chair." Oh, lady, you have no idea.

Now, no one is paying me to post this. I don't have a sponsor or anything of that sort. I just figured that with all these mom blogs with their huge wish-lists, I should join in and share what works for us. The Bilibo was a huge hit last year. I'm considering getting at least one more for this Chanukah. Although, Amazon seems to have the best prices. Keep an eye out, but last year, we found the best deal there.

What about you? What have you bought or made your kids recently that they just loved? What about the heartbreak of watching them ignore what you thought was the perfect gifts? What did they just push aside? I'm trying to create a wishlist for the children and I'm very interested in what other parents have had success with (and what items they regret).

Forget the dutchie, pass the candle*

Oh, we must get in on this. Hmmm...

Hat tip to Jewschool.

*Title is a reference to this gem.

Veterans' Day yet again

As it always does, Veterans' Day has come and gone. This year, for the first time, I didn't write about it here. Even now, I have nothing much to say, but I feel as though I have to acknowledge it.

Here's last year's post, which really just linked you back to the post from the year before.

Somehow, dh's long deployments always revolved around Veterans Day in some way (he either left or returned just before it).

Just for the hell of it, I'll include some veteran-related rants from posts past:

Depressed (Phony Soldiers)

Roy Zimmerman says it quite well (Thanks for the Support).

Support Our Troops