This week- I did something tremendous.  Something that affected the lives of not just my children, but every single Kindergartner at my daughter's school.  Possibly the 1st and 2nd graders too.. I asked my school to move her music concert because of Shavuot's 2nd day of Observance. On the one hand, I'm so thrilled I could jump over the moon.  On the other hand, I'm sort of in awe over my ability to have influence. When we chose our little Linnie's school I knew we were making a great choice.  It's the only public IB program in the county- and it's also a K-8 school which ..read more

I'm occasionally asked if I would like to review a book- and usually, I say no.  There aren't very many Jewish publishers, so most of the books I'm asked to review are generic books.  But when this one came across my email inbox, I couldn't pass it up.... Did you know your favorite late night act also wrote children's books?  Wonderful children's books at that!  He has two kiddos himself, and while his first book focused on the Dad's (Your Baby's First Word Will Be DADA) he's turned his focus to the Moms. What follows is truly a magical book for any mom.  It's just ..read more

Do you and your family already receive PJ Library books? I sure hope you do!  This amazing program brings Jewish stories right to your door for free.  It starts when your kids are 6months old and continues until they turn 8.  Then PJ Our Way starts and kids can choose the books they want until they are no longer a Jewish child- aka age 13. We've been devoted fans of this project for years.  First while we lived in the South Bay, and again when we moved here to Orange County.  The PJ Library program is run through the Jewish Federation and Family Services in Irvine ..read more

 by  TheeErin Have you celebrated Rosh Chodesh before?  It's honestly not something that has really been part of my custom or tradition either.  Rosh Chodesh means the new month.  It's the time of month, every month, when we change from one month to the next.  Since we are on a lunar calendar, it's the celebration of the new moon.  So we celebrate the time when there isn't any moon at all. Rosh Chodesh has traditionally been a celebration for women.  A chance to give ourselves to reflect, and refrain from doing work.  Rashi specifies that we sh ..read more

While we are counting the Omer (how's that going?  It's only day 12 tonight, still lots of time to join in!) I thought I would share a wonderful resource that I happened upon. Each day as parents we find our way through a million different moments.  Wake-up, breakfast, story, shoes, dishes, birds in the kitchen (No? Only me?), and the list goes on.  While we do our best to engage thoughtfully and fully in each moment there is only so much time in the day.  And only so much focus. There are thousands of parenting books.  Thousands of philosophies.  Millions of bl ..read more

How's your Omer counting going?  Have you been counting?  Do you know what the Omer are? It comes from Leviticus 23:15 commanding us to count the days between Passover and Shavuot (aka the giving of the Torah on Mt.Sinai).  We count the days from when we gained freedom from Egypt until we received the Torah from G-d.  There are several traditions we look at as we count the Omer.  My favorite is to look at the Omer as a period of personal growth.  I know, as a mom this can seem a bit crazy.  I've just turned my house upside down, cleaned my cabinets to wit ..read more

One of our Passover traditions has been Matza Lasagna at the house of a very good friend- The Buckley's.  This year we aren't able to see them.  Lynnie has been sick with a cold, and our friends have a new baby who is just a few weeks old.  Those two definitely don't mix. So, what's the next best thing to lasagna- Pizza of course!  A new family tradition. The best part about these pizzas- super easy to accommodate picky eaters with individual pizzas.  Toppings are totally up to you, but cheese and tomato sauce are must do's.  The Trader Joes Pizza sauce is goo ..read more

Every year we plan to set out a nice and beautiful table.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  I'm pleased to think that this year we set a lovely table. I used my Cricut machine to create beautiful placecards, with Jewish Star cutouts on the sides. We had 25 people at the seder, and this table was only set for about half of them.  Husband was able to find the beautiful branches and set them on the table- I love it when we work together to create something beautiful. It's simple to mix and match dinner wear.  We had our spring Passover plates, as well as the pl ..read more

I realize that Purim is only a little over 10 days away.  Under two weeks.  The title of my post must seem a bit impossible to you.  Purim is so so so close and you think I still have time to MAKE a costume.  Yes, yes I do. Perhaps you go to a more conservative or orthodox synangogue.  Perhaps your daughter goes to a Jewish preschool that prefers their Purim to be purimy...not halloweeney.  Maybe you want your daughter to be Queen Esther, not dressed like Queen Elsa.  If that's true, then here is the answer for you- the Peasant Dress.  Easy to make, mi ..read more

I'm sure you've all heard the story of Kesha by now.  If you haven't here's the long and short of it via Skimm: WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOUR FRIEND FORGETS HER WALLET AT HOME… Will $250,000 get you through? Earlier this week, Taylor Swift wrote "$250,000" in the blank space on a check to Kesha to help the singer get through some tough times. Back in 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against her former producer Dr. Luke for allegedly drugging, raping, and verbally abusing her for years. Dr. Luke has denied the charges, and his lawyers sayKesha made up the claims to get out of ..read more