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Monthly Archives: April 2015

Siblings

We have Mother’s Day, we have Father’s Day, we even have Grandparent’s Day. But what bout those pesky brothers and sisters?

Today is National Siblings Day. A relatively new holiday (and not officially recognized yet) it is merely a teenager, 14 years old. But for those of us who grew up tolerating annoying little sisters and brothers, or bossy big know-it-all sisters or even the over-protective brother, this is momentous. We finally get a day set aside to reminisce those wonderful memories of growing-up with other little people under the same roof.

I have three biological siblings and many more non-bio siblings that have joined the family over the years. Most of my memories are naturally of those whom shared the same roof as I, even if for short periods of time. I had the torturous experience of growing up with two full-time siblings until I was an advanced teenager…then came Mert. Periodically we had Billy & Mike for summer visits.

collage

Those mug-shots are from somewhere circa 1990-ish.

Most of my memories about growing up with my siblings involved some sort of fighting or disgruntlement. There were many grave injustices, which of course always happened to me... There were “clean up the room” fights, and “who does the dishes” fights, and “why did you cut my doll’s hair off” fights, and no one will ever forget the “why did you paint my Bon Jovi Scarf” epic fight. The “stay on your side of the bed” fight was a regular occurrence in our case, my sister and I always shared a room except for a few brief moments in history.

There were astonishing amounts of “why do I always have to do all the work” statements and plenty of rolling of glasses-clad eyes and sighs… oh the sighs.  But there were those tender moments…

*crickets*

Surely, there were tender moments?? Right??

Ah yes, but those came later. Much later. Grown adult moments. Holding each other’s newborn babies, or getting birth announcement phone calls. Being in the wedding party. A sweet hug after a long absence. Rejoicing in one another’s joys. A strong embrace in moments of grief. Sharing an inside joke, or a good laugh after a stinky fart…(outside mind you). And copious amounts of adult beverages.

The Fab Four

The Fab Four

Now look at us, all grown up!

They are mine. I am theirs. We cannot deny each other, we are stuck with one another for life. 😉 *evil laughter*

I love them & miss them all. Even my “new” siblings who joined in along the way: Missy & Matt & Kathleen & Sean & JOHN!!

Our Seder

…it was a bit unorthodox, but it works for us!
Since the kids are still quite young we had some fun making a Pesach tablecloth telling the story of the 10 plagues. We used some inspiration from Challah Crumbs coloring pages and fabric markers and got to work. I spaced ten circles around an oval, each representing one of the 10 plagues that hit Egypt-recorded in Scripture, encircling the Hebrew word for Pesach on our tablecloth. We don’t use the typical seder plate, so our table-cloth is sort-of our seder setting.

Thing 1 and I did most of the work. I sketched out the rough drawings and she got to work coloring in the motifs. Starting with #1, her specialty (Egyptology) and making her lettering look like it has little highlight bubbles… 🙂 She is proud of her little signature marks and she is quite creative (and knowledgeable about Egypt’s history).pesach2015

Thing 2 and Lil’ Bit preferred to play outside, they didn’t realize all of the fun we two were having… until they came in, and great wailing and gnashing of teeth came to pass when they discovered only two motifs remained! *gasp*

Once we finished our art work we heat set the cloth. We’ll add a few finishing touches with some white puffy paint so our table-cloth will be textured. Then some hemming of the two ends. Another project for another day is making some matching napkins and matzah covers.

pesach2015.2We enjoyed various modern Passover songs, including the best ever… Bohemian Rhapsody parody. You should watch it. Our meal was a seasoned, seared beef roast, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts & matzah w/karpas and charoset of course. And wine. White Merlot is yummy! And of course, it was enough!

Much to Thing 2’s dismay, Thing 1 discovered the afikomen and was awarded a cash prize. With a lesson about grace and mercy, Thing 2 and Lil’ Bit were rewarded with small gifts of their own. Teaching moments… once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler.

We have a few new recipes to try this year for our week of Unleavened Bread but are already looking forward to next year and our cool tablecloth. ❤

Passover

Wishing you love & light as we observe the memorial of the Exodus and the Passover; our festival of freedom from slavery & exile and returning to our homeland.

pesach

The case for Passover instead of Easter. 

It’s a New Day!

newday

2 Years

Today marks the second anniversary of Dad’s death. Two years.

It seems surreal.

Like it hasn’t been that long, and yet, like it’s been ages.

I’ve been out at the cabin the past two weekends which helps a lot. Finding comfort in and around his things. His world. This is one of the last photos I had of Dad before his accident, Kim sent it to me. Dad was waving, seems so appropriate now.

Photo credit: Kim Good

Photo credit: Kim Good

It’s time for a glass of rhubarb wine, and a toast to the man, to the legend! Love you Dad.

Author Unknown

Author Unknown

P.S. Last year I made a remembrance wreath and hung on Dad’s cabin door. The little notebook I put there has had several entries by the friends who have stopped by. Reading their words, knowing their love for Dad, is comforting. ❤

Lessons…

understand