October, 2010 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives October 2010

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Tuesday Tales – Books of the Hebrew School Kind

Posted on October 26, 2010 1:19 pm by TheAngelForever

My memories of Hebrew School as a child are cloudy at best since I try to forget it. I will be the first to admit that I did not like going. When I was a child, I went Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday. Now, Hebrew School typically begins in kindergarten once a week for children. Then, when they are in second grade, it goes to twice a week. We have been very lucky. NHL loved Hebrew School the last two years as a kindergartener and first grader. This year, the addition of Wednesday had been a big change. Still, he looks forward to going and learning. Just the other day, he mentioned out of the blue that he wanted to be a Mench. I nearly choked on my dinner. This was not a word I expected to come from my seven-year old son.

So, why am I bringing this up for Tuesday Tales?

Good question. I guess this has to do with how far books for Hebrew School have come. The new books are more realistic, interweave Judaic customs and views of every day life. The books are child friendly, packed with great information, and do not intimidate children while learning about our religion and how to read/write/speak Hebrew.

Check out NHL’s books that are being used. I have to admit, I am jealous and would love to get my hands on a few of them to really read.

Now, I can completely understand where the Mench term was coming from. I was also excited to see the amazing collection of Jewish Holiday/Heritage books that NHL’s teacher has. Many of the books we have and others I have never seen. I am sure he will be especially intrigued by The Cat in the Hat and a few other familiar books all written in Hebrew.

To all of the text-book companies out there, thank you! As a teacher and parent, I applaud you for stepping up to the plate. By making books to use in the classroom that are more engaging, you are not only helping teacher, but also reaching more students.

So what have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Tuesday Tales and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Categories:
books looking back milestone nhl photos school Tuesday Tales

Another febrile seizure anniversary coming

Posted on October 25, 2010 12:11 pm by TheAngelForever

The other day, it hit me. It has been almost a year since JSL’s last febrile seizure on October 29, 2009. I should be optimistic about this milestone, but we have been there and done that before. JSL’s febrile seizure nearly twelve months ago was his fourth. I had three as a child, TechyDad at least two, and NHL only one, so we know all too much about them. Still, I look at my bubbly child and wonder, will there be another?

Will we need to go on another ambulance ride to figure out why he has a raging fever and seized? I do not obsess over this, yet it is on my mind a lot right now. It is hard not to when you have seen your child stop breathing four times in less than three years’ time.

The first febrile seizure was when JSL was nine months old in February 2008. That was quite possibly the darkest night of my life. The night that my baby’s lifeless gray body had to have breaths of life blown into him by my mother.

A four day hospital stay resulted. I wrote about it at the time, and, then a year later, in my post called Memories of THAT night in February. At the time, I celebrated the fact that JSL had gone a year since his one and only febrile seizure. Typically, that is a huge accomplished and means that a child is less likely to have another. Something I have learned, JSL is not a typical little guy. Less than two months later, I would be writing about JSL having his second and third febrile seisures in less than 30 hours.

Seven months later, while home alone with the boys my worst nightmare happened. While recovering from H1N1, NHL had to help me let paramedics into our house. While changing his diaper, just moments after running around and playing with his brother, JSL had his fourth febrile seizure. To this day we are still not sure what caused that one.

Now, I just hope and pray that we can continue to add additional time onto our watch since JSL’s last febrile seizure. I promise not to jump each time the phone rings and it is nursery school, but I think you can probably understand why the underlying fear will remain for years to come.

Now, I am off to give my little guy a great big hug.

Categories:
jsl looking back milestone photos sick kid vent

Lazy kind of weekend

Posted on October 24, 2010 8:26 pm by TheAngelForever

Sometimes, it is just nice to have a lazy weekend. No real need to go to a location, just sit at home and do things with your family. That was this weekend. I should feel energized, but I think it has allowed my mind to race a little too much about the events for this week.

Yesterday, TechyDad, NHL, JSL and I all stayed in our pajamas. Why yes, it was a glorious day of just doing things around the house and not getting dressed. We started the morning off with some warm, delicious biscuits for breakfast. After that, TechyDad had a bit of the cleaning bug. He organized the kitchen (had to be done for apple baking), cleaned the bathroom, and then helped me to move the couch to get some monster dust bunnies that had escaped.

After lunch, the boys played a new game that TechyDad received to review. There was a lot of laughing, giggling, and strategy going on. While they did that, I opted to get a head start on sorting, cutting, and bagging Box Tops for Education. As the coordinator in NHL’s school, the November 1st deadline is coming quickly. This is what sat in front of me.

A bit daunting at first. The nice part, I was able to listen to a lot of The Help on my MP3 player while I did this project.

So how many Box Tops do you think are here?

In the end, there were 620 in that pile alone. It all adds up and will go to good use at school. So, if you have any extra Box Tops for Education and do not have a school to donate them to, just let me know.

The boys also watched Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, then we had dinner and the kids went to sleep.

Today, NHL went to Hebrew School. TechyDad went with JSL to the grocery store to get some items for the week. Then he came home and put up a crock pot of applesauce. After lunch, I was upset about frogging a knitting project and did not feel too well. I took a nap while TechyDad made some apple muffins.

Sometimes, you just need a slow weekend at home to catch up on family time.

So what did you do this weekend before Halloween?

Categories:
baking photos school TechyDad weekend yummy

Winner of CardsDirect Giveaway

Posted on October 23, 2010 7:16 pm by TheAngelForever

A big thank you to everyone that entered the CardsDirect Giveaway. The winner has been selected and notified by e-mail.

I would also like to thank Global Influence and CardsDirect for the giveaway. More giveaways will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

Categories:
giveaway

Mobile Cupcakes by Fluffalicious

Posted on October 22, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Imagine being able to order gourmet cupcakes and have them delivered to your house, or picking them up at a mobile cupcake truck. Dream no more, this is the reality for the Capital District of New York.

When I first saw the Fluffalicious truck driving around the region, I was curious. Curiosity led me to Facebook where I found more information. They have a website coming soon Fluffalicious.com, but it is still being constructed. On Monday, I read that the truck was going to be stationed near a store that I had to go to. This was perfect timing. TechyDad was home sick that day, and I thought cupcakes would help to perk him up.

When I arrived at the Fluffalicious truck, I was second in line. There were plenty of cupcakes left and a lot of flavors to pick from. It was a bit hard to narrow it down to six, but I managed. Here are the cupcakes that I bought for our family:

The first night, we selected three cupcakes and cut them into four pieces to share. See, we were not piggies and wanted to have something to look forward to the next night. I plan on further reviewing our cupcake experience, but wanted to quickly note –> THEY WERE DELICIOUS!

The cupcakes were fresh, moist, and full of the flavors you would expect from their titles. We took a lot of photos of the inside of the cupcakes, because they really do tell a story. They did not disappoint and my two big kids (that including TechyDad) keep asking to try more.

So my question for you this week is inspired by Flaffalicious:

Do you have a mobile cupcake truck by you? If you could create your own cupcake flavor masterpiece, what would it be?

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.