We just finished hearing the siren for Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. As I stood in my office, looking out at the many Israeli flags flapping in the wind, I thought to myself, I am the mother of five future Israeli soldiers. I’m not just the mother of five beautiful little boys. I’m the mother… Read More Mother of 5 Future Soldiers

http://www.jpost.com/Features/FrontLines/Article.aspx?id=173394 Yom Hazikaron (Israel Memorial Day)isn’t like Memorial Day in America. I can’t even say whether Memorial Day is in September or May in America – one of those holidays is Memorial Day and the other one is Labor Day, right? But what does Memorial Day mean to me in America? Certainly, I appreciate the… Read More Remembering Our Soldiers

We just heard the siren for Holocaust Remembrance Day, and I am, understandably, having a hard time going right back to work. So, I turned to my blog to see what I wrote last year. I really don’t have a better way to sum up my feelings – so I’m going to publish last year’s… Read More Yom Hashoah

I wrote here recently about how I’m trying to enjoy the brief moments with my kids in the morning on the way to school. Rather than trying to get them into the classrooms as fast as possible, and feeling stressed the whole time, I’m trying to enjoy their cute little hugs and walk them into… Read More Such a Cute Moment

It’s an interesting thing – this religious vacationing. Most people plan out their vacation time and go somewhere with their families when they take time off. Since we center our vacation time around holidays, and we want to spend those holidays with friends in our yishuv, we tend to spend most of our vacation time… Read More Another Great Stay-cation

We sent Matan off yesterday on his first overnight with B’nei Akiva. B’nei Akiva is one of the main youth group movements in Israel. They start in 4th grade and they get together every Tuesday afternoon and Shabbat afternoon for fun, games and more. Three times a year, they also have overnight trips. Many of… Read More A Bnei Akiva Overnight

I find the morning balancing act as a working mother very difficult. Yes, this is probably quite obvious. There are so many ways in which being a working mom is difficult. I think the morning pressure tops the list. A while ago, I was running around, as usual, trying to get my kids off to… Read More The Balancing Act

This morning, I was reflecting on how EXHAUSTING and STRESSFUL this Purim stuff is. Nope, I don’t think that’s what Hashem intended – but it is really stressful to make sure that everything goes right. And, as the parent, you want it all to be perfect for the kids. The day before Purim, the kids… Read More Purim – Fun CHAOS

I was thinking about my nose this morning. Last night, when I went to pick up the karate carpool, I brought the baby, Zeli, with me. When Matan got into the car, he said to me, “Mommy! I knew that Zeli was here before I saw him. Do you know how? I could smell him.”… Read More Let Your Nose Do the Work

Adar cracks me up. When the month of Adar begins, I always declare that the school year is over. And I’m not that far off. They begin the month of Adar in school by having the kids dress up over and over again in preparation for….dressing up for Purim. Well, doesn’t that make sense. Then,… Read More It’s Adar Alright…