My new "Kitchen Aid"

It's been harder to get things done with Nissim around- B"H he's gotten much more curious and he isn't happy to be left sitting in the stroller or high chair while Mommy is busy in the kitchen.  And while I've mastered the art of doing many things while holding a baby in one hand (I've had plenty of practice ), I found it impossible to to knead my Challah dough and hold him at the same time!  So today I plunked him down on the counter, and he was thrilled-- a real front row seat!  He sat, pearing into the pot to see what I was doing, and then began to reach for all the things on the counter- new territory to explore!

WHEW! I posted!

A shocking psak was issued this year by local Rabbanim, where it was decided that part of cleaning for Pesach requires one to empty out all the pictures on his digital camera, lest there is an item of chometz pictured in one of the images.  This psak pushed me to finally post to my blog, before all those pictures are erased for eternity.

Okay, just kidding- no such psak- even here in "extremely religious" E"Y.  But with ראש חודש ניסן looming ahead, I knew that I'd just have to put my nose to the grindstone and do some major blogging. 

Enjoy the many posts I've added today (listed in chronological order, oldest first):

* Brachos Party in AS's Gan
* Peekaboo!
* My Chassidishe Daughter
* Going for a "Spin"
* Happy (Early) Birthday to Bruria!
* My little drummer
* Purim!!!
* Ah, the simple life!

I hope that I won't be completely negligent over the next few weeks, as the Pesach rush takes over, but in case I am, at least I've left you with some good reading material meanwhile!

-Yunger Mama

Ah, the simple life!

In this fast-paced, high-tech world of blackberries and WII's (not quite sure what that is but it sounds cool!), we often forget to stop and look at all the "simple" things around us, which are equally, and sometimes even more, fascinating.  B"H, living in a small, isolated settlement, cut off from technological advances and entertainment venues, we get to appreciate more of the "little things" which many other people just overlook.

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One erev Shabbos, the kids were playing outside, and they spotted a chameleon.  They were busy for the longest time watching the chameleon, following it around, and watching it change colors.  They brought different colored leaves and bark and place them next to it, and had a blast watching as it changed colors- from black, to green, to a light yellow-green.  Fascinating!

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We went to the supermarket one afternoon, where my children were completely mesmerized watching the bread-slicing machine! 



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Who needs fast-action movies when you've got a thunderstorm outside your window?!

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When you don't know from amusement parks or Discovery Zone, even jumping over the lines between the tiles in the local mall become a major attraction!

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So I urge you all to stop, take a step back from all your digital devices, and take a minute to enjoy the beauty and excitement all around us! Please share your discoveries in the comments below!

Cute Quote: If you learn in Yeshiva all day...

...that means that you must be an expert storyteller!

(by bedtime)
Yunger kinder: Tatty, tell us a story!
Tatty: Oy, kinderlach, not tonight!  I can't think of any stories!
Yisrael:  But Tatty, you know so many stories!
Tatty:  I do?!
Yisrael:  Yes, Tatty!  You learn גמרא in Yeshiva and the גמרא has SO many stories, Tatty!  Tell us a story from גמרא שבת! 

I hate to break it to Yisrael learning isn't all fun and games (and stories!) - its actually hard work!

Purim!!!

Purim was, of course, a hustle and bustle and fun-filled day.  I gave up on trying to get a picture of all 5 kids at once, and instead opted for individual shots.  Yisrael was a כהן גדול - part of his costume was borrowed and part (the חושן, ציץ and מצנפת) we made ourselves.  Bruria was מלכת אסתר- and of course her favorite part of dressing up is that I let her have makeup!  AS and Naftali were clowns (just like they are the rest of the year) and Nissim was an adorable pudgy monkey (thanks for the costume, Bubbie!)

The biggest excitement this year was that for the first time, Tatty dressed up too!  He was quite a sight- and a scary one too!  Poor Naftali was petrified of Bentzi, even after we showed him it was just a costume!  Eventually he did calm down and even enjoyed trying on the mask!

Wishing you could have been here to share the fun!

משלוח מנות Mishap

Here's the TRUE poem I attached to my משלוח מנות - a chocolate trifle and a package of animal crackers.  I usually don't do a "theme" - and I had even bought the animal crackers before I thought of writing a poem- but it ended up fitting together perfectly...

Here’s the story of the chocolate cakes

That just weren’t meant to be-

Instead they turned into chocolate trifles-

As you can clearly see.

You know of course that my children,

Are an energetic, lively crew,

At times they act a little wild,

Resembling “animals” in the zoo!

So it happened one fateful afternoon,

I should have known not to be such a fool,

As to leave a huge batch of chocolate cakes,

Sitting on the counter to cool!

While Mommy’s back was turned,

With something else she was busy-

Those conniving Yunger children,

Ran to the kitchen in a tizzy!

They stuck their hands into those cakes,

Their faces with a mischievous gleam-

Gobbled it up as fast as they could,

Before Mommy began to scream!

As soon as Mommy noticed,

They quickly started to run-

But the chocolate cakes were broken-

The damage had already been done.

They say if life gives you lemons

You should use them to make lemonade-

So I followed that wise advice-

Enjoy the yummy trifle I’ve made!

פורים שמח!

 

(can you guess which "conniving Yunger children" were the culprits?!)

My little drummer

Azriel Shraga's גננת decided to suprise us- she sent them home with a rather simple getup on ראש חודש אדר (she usually goes ALL OUT for these things) and instead, she dressed them up by their Purim party, rather than having us send them dressed up. It was adorable when I came to pick him up, and there they were, all lined up- 29 adorable drummers in a marching band, all strumming away- she even taught them an adorable song to the tune of a march!