We got our chance to hit the beach for the first time in 2012! The weather in St. Petersburg, Florida was a scorching 95 with high humidity. The kids loved it and technically this was Olivia’s first time at the ocean. She got her official taste of salt water, LOL and had fun building sandcastles. What a beautiful way to spend the day!
My obsession for the last 8+ years has been a little stationery company called Tiny Prints. They have everything from ‘Save the Date’ notices to personalized address labels. I’ve ordered Bar Mitzvah invites, Birth Announcements and recently, ‘Thank You’ note cards. They have the most beautiful designs and letter fonts and the best part, exceptional customer service. One year, I ordered Christmas gift tags, when they arrived it was printed with the wrong family name. I gave them a ring and Tiny Prints sent the correct order to me immediately. If you’re looking for the perfect birthday invitation, business card or gift tag visit www.tinyprints.com you won’t be able to resist!
Enjoy!
My sweet nephew Caden celebrated his first memorable Easter yesterday. He’s 2 1/2, so this is the first he’ll remember. Grandma and Grandpa decorated eggs with him and gifted him with a basket full of goodies to collect them in. That afternoon, he went on his official hunt in Grandma’s backyard.
Of course, being the curious boy that he is, he felt that these eggs that are similar in shape to bouncy balls would do the same…Bounce. So as he threw them across the yard, he was disappointed that they didn’t bounce back! LOL! My sister showed him that they don’t bounce but they do crack. When he noticed her peeling apart the shell, he announced that he wanted to see the ‘duck’ hatch from the egg! Oh the fun things that little kids say!! Once she showed him that no duck would come out but instead a cooked egg, he took a lick then decided that these were not as fun anymore! HA!
I wish our families could have been together to celebrate this holiday. We always talk about next year and hope that we do. But I’m happy just hearing of the memories my nephew is making and how much joy he brings my sister everyday!
Tonight begins the 7 day celebration of Passover. It’s a Jewish holiday commemorating G-d sparing the Jews when He killed the first-born of Egypt and liberating the Israelites from slavery. The Exodus from Egypt is remembered with The Feast of the Unleavened Bread. (you can read more about it here chabad.org )
My 3 sons will be celebrating with their Dad in CA, while my daughter and I will have our own observance here in Florida. Well, it will be mostly me, since she is only 4 and doesn’t fully understand why she can’t eat pancakes or bread. My husband and step-son are Christian and will observe Easter which falls during the same week this year. I prepare the house as best I can and will cook meals for them and a special one for me. It’s important to show your family (especially inter-faith) that what ever your religion is you can celebrate it without having to make them feel that they HAVE to do the same as you. I don’t expect my husband to eat matzoh for a whole week but if he wanted to I would share the box!!
Since our daughter is both Jewish and Christian, I teach her Judaism and my mother in law teaches her about Christianity. It may be a bit confusing at times, but I feel she’ll be more tolerant when she’s older and she’ll have an understanding of both. She can later decide which one suits her.( I wish I had a better understanding of other religions when I was younger. I felt very naive and close minded about the world.)
As you prepare for Passover or Easter this weekend, remember its all about family, traditions and most of all fun! Make joyous memories that your children will cherish. Whether it’s hiding the Afikomen or colored eggs in the yard, family love will make it a beautiful celebration!
Chag Sameach!!
My 11 year old son began his 6th season of Little League this month! Living in Florida & not being close to him in CA, has been real tough. This is my second year missing his games. Well,almost second, since I got the chance to fly home and watch my little man in action again. This year he is in the Majors and on the Giants team! He really loves the sport & I get emotional every time I watch him! It’s hard to control myself when the Umpire calls his strikes ( don’t all moms disagree with the Umpires?) or to not embarrass him with my over zealous cheers!! He’s a great pitcher & I love watching his concentration. He’s good at being a team player & always gives encouragement to his teammates. Before I had boys you couldn’t catch this girl at a baseball game, now I know the rules & can call it down the line!! My boys taught me well and I’m enjoying every minute of it!
Wow! Here I am, 13 years after my firstborn started preschool, looking to enroll my youngest child. I honestly thought I was done with the play doh sessions, finger paints and weekly PTA meetings but I am not. Honestly I’m actually looking forward to it. My daughter was born when I turned 39 and after the initial shock (I was planning on jump starting my career) I was excited to get a fourth chance at babyhood. Time and kids have a way of erasing your memory so those early days of toddlerhood for my sons seem to have vanished and I can only recollect a few “postcards” in my brain storage.
Fast forward 4 years and I’m on the hunt for the “perfect unstructured” preschool. Since moving across country, I didn’t have the luxury of placing her in the same preschool my boys attended. We had the best time at our little Jewish school. Some of their closest friends are the ones they made there. Here, in Florida, I would have to start from zero and begin as a first time mom. I’m asking any parent that I meet “what is a good preschool that you would recommend?” “where did your child go”? I do have my heart set on one place but to my heartbreak I found out they are booked (the good ones always are) but I can place her on their “wait list”. Well Lottery wins do happen? I can pray about it, right?
So my search continues and I’ll line up a few options. I have until August to get it in place. Now this old mom will be hustling at the school fundraisers, making treats for the Parent meetings and hosting a slew of playdate parties! Oh Yeah!!!!!
This is my last chance to cherish toddlerhood. Next year, she will be off to Kindergarten and like her brothers, off to college in no time at all.
Do you have any tips on finding the right preschool for your family? Let me know!! I’ll list it on a future blog!
Each year, on March 2, we celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday with the national Read Across America campaign! It’s a wonderful way to honor a great children’s author & introduce your young ones to reading.
I fell in love again with Dr. Seuss when my first child was born 16 years ago. His favorite book was The Foot Book and I must have
read it a million times. He memorized the words to each page and was able to read it to me by age 3. I was the proudest mother on the planet. Dr. Seuss’s books made it fun to read & create crafts with my kids. How many parents made “Green eggs and Ham” or used Goldfish crackers to count out “One Fish, Two Fish”?
Now my 3 boys are older and on to reading teen novels, comic books & literature. I thank Dr. Seuss for that!
My youngest child has just turned 4 and again I have the honor of reading to her all the favorite stories of her brothers and seeing which ones she’ll memorize by heart.
I must remember that even though I’ve read all the books and took the boys to many story times, this is her first experience. I want to make sure she enjoys the world of reading and all the adventures she’ll have in Seussville!!
So today we visited our local Target store and participated in their Birthday Celebration. It was wonderful watching her listen eagerly to the stories and meet other families who came to share their love of Dr. Seuss.
Thank you Target and all the other bookstores, libraries, coffee shops who held little events to bring our children together & keep the love of reading fun!
