The Angel Forever

Shana Tova 5773

Posted on September 16, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tonight, at sundown, Rosh Hashanah will begin. It is during this time that we reflect on the year gone by.

This is a tough one for me. It has been a whirlwind of a year. Though there have been some not so wonderful moments, even those have been valuable and will help my family in the long run. My motto of just keep swimming, especially during those Eeyore moments, seems even more fitting right now.

My inner Eeyore has been questioning items, things related to my faith. A lot of these feeling go back to the days when I was a child in Hebrew School. I keep reminding myself that no matter how I express myself within a synagogue or outside, NOBODY can take away my Jewish identity. Even with these thoughts in my mind, I take pride in being a Jewish American. I love teaching our boys about the holidays, going into their schools to share with their peers, and writing about books that help us to celebrate. I guess that is the beauty of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it makes you stop to think, rewind, and wonder.

Then, beautiful things like the video from Fountainheads in Israel make me smile. They remind me of the beauty, wonder, and pride associated with Judaism. Here is the video that they made last year for Rosh Hashanah called Dip Your Apple – it truly is a catchy tune with beautiful images.

To all those that celebrate Rosh Hashanah – I wish you and your family a Happy, Healthy, and Sweet New Year.

Categories:
holidays looking back me moments vent

Rosh Hashanah Art and The Kissing Hand

Posted on September 15, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear JSL,

The Kissing Hand project still seems to be working. After your first full week of kindergarten, things seem to be getting better. You still do not want to let go of my hand in the morning. By Friday, you were no longer crying when I left. Now, I just have to hope that will continue after four days off for Rosh Hashanah.

Last Sunday, you had your first official day of Hebrew School. It was a bitter sweet moment for me. You and I always had fun on Sunday mornings when NHL went off. Now it is your turn to join this tradition and learn about our Jewish faith, along with Hebrew.

When it was time to go to class on Sunday, you did not want to let me go. You did not really know anyone in your class. You were in a new location and the teacher was not who we had thought it would be. Still, I reminded you about The Kissing Hand. Then when I saw the aid in the hall later on, I told her to remind you that we had “powered up” when I left and it would help you out. Much to my surprise, this showed up on your Rosh Hashanah project.

You did all of the fantastic apple prints, but you asked someone to help you make a kissing hand. In addition to this, they helped to draw little JSL. It was the sweetest thing to see, it make me smile. I truly hope that this will be the start of many amazing and wonderful years ahead of you in school and learning about our faith.

Love,

Categories:
arts and crafts books Dear Kid Saturday holidays jsl milestone photos school

Monopoly Dreaming

Posted on September 14, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Monopoly sure has changed since we were children. The classic board game now comes in a wide variety of themes. I remember celebrating when they released a Disney edition right around the time TechyDad and I got married (we have it stored away). Then, they released the game for sporting teams, cities, states, and locations all over the world. Monopoly has been computerized, made into a Nintendo game, and has a junior version for children. Then, there are newer ones that have been released.

NHL is interested Monopoly again – only the not specifically for kids edition. He had played the junior version, but recently was given the Monopoly Here & Now game. It was really interesting to check it out. The familiar old top hat is gone and now you can select more modern items like a laptop computer or a cell phone. These are a few of them below.

NHL had fun setting things up. I loved looking around the board at the new properties that you can buy. Rather than Reading Railroad, now you can purchase airports like LAX. Of course, I had a favorite that was not even the infamous dark blue “Boardwalk” location, check it out:

A girl can dream right? Seriously, can you imagine buying Walt Disney World for 2.4 million dollars? If you are wondering, the Boardwalk position is held by Times Square in New York City. Oh and yes, the dollar values are a lot different. Check out the money:

This was probably the only part that kept messing me up. I was so used to $500 being my maximum value, not $5,000,000! So the recent Monopoly fun got me thinking for this weeks question:

If you could make up a property to place on your dream Monopoly board, what would it be and why? Oh and for giggles, what figure would you love to be you when you play the game?

P.S. Please be sure to enter my current giveaway for books 1-7 of the Bindi Wildlife Adventures.

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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.

Aloha #220

Categories:
Aloha Friday Disney fun looking back nhl photos

Making Sure to Take Deep Breaths

Posted on September 13, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As I type this post, I need to remind myself to take deep breaths. Things will be ok. The storm will end and there has to be some sort of rainbow coming. Of course, at the same time, my inner Eeyore does not believe it. I want to sit here and scream. Wednesday has not been a good day. I sent the little kid off to kindergarten in tears again. Once home, I did some work and then called to get blood test results from the ENT for him. Those were a-ok, but the radiologist does not agree with the doctor on his assessment of the x-ray.

I held it together as I waited to hear back about scheduling a follow-up appointment with the ENT. Knowing that surgery for my son may be needed. Then, JSL’s teacher wanted to talk to me. Apparently, they wanted to do further speech testing. JSL had just “graduated” from speech therapy in June after two intensive and amazing years. My sweet little guy is so nervous with all of the changes that he isn’t confident in his speech. All of the hard work has him talking slow and fragmented, which messes up the articulation. Of course, being stuffed up and having a hard time breathing will also make you do those things.

Then, it was a mad dash to get NHL and shuttle him to Hebrew School. Traffic was horrible, but we just got there before class started. Then things happened that blew my mind. I do not have words for what I witnessed. Thank goodness I went with NHL to the classroom and he did not go alone. We left and now wait to see what will happen. Memories of my Hebrew School experiences came flashing back. I will NOT allow this to happen to my child.

There is more that I want to write about, but that will come later. So much to share that may help others, but first I need to make sure we are set with the news and developments that happened over the last few months. For now, I will remind myself that I am blessed with my family, support system, and must just keep swimming.

How do you remind yourself to keep going and look for the rainbow?

It's Me

Categories:
allergies decisions doctor family looking back me moments photos school vent

Disney Style Magical Memories

Posted on September 12, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It really is hard to figure out how to share magical memories from a Walt Disney World vacation. Each one is special in it’s own way. I have memories of going as a child with my parents, on my honeymoon with TechyDad, and now with my boys. Still, one of the most amazing things to experience was our first ever family trip. This was even more special because Nana and Papa were along to see the wonder on the faces of the boys. This week, the Disney Wordless Wednesday theme is “Magical Moments” and I am sharing some from that first trip with the kids in May 2009.