I’m the worst

At keeping this updated 😁 my apologies! Hope you guys are all doing great!

It’s that time of year again where I start to feel a little like an outcast, like I’m sure many other Jews feel at this time. Marnie got asked the other day if she was ready for Christmas and being good for Santa. I don’t usually say anything because I don’t want them to think I’m rude or don’t appreciate their gesture. Also because my kids do a pretty good job of saying it themselves. At first Marnie nodded but then she inched up close to me and said “we don’t celebrate Christmas, right mom? We have Hannukah!” I told her she was correct and gave her a little high five. She responded with “I love Hanukkah!” All just loud enough for the cashier to hear 😊 

I’m sure there will be many more instances of that to come, I was just hoping it would wait until at least after thanksgiving. 

I hope I don’t sound like a scrouge, but it just gets old. Being basically the only Jew I know* gets hard around holidays because except for my husband and kids, I don’t have anyone else celebrating or giving me Jewish well wishes. Even before I converted I always made a point to make my holiday greetings generic to cover all bases, and I really appreciate when others do to. However, if you wish me a Merry Chirstmas, I will graciously accept that too. 

* I can now officially say I have made some strides in the Jewish friends department! I am friends with my Rabbi and his amazing wife and I even color her hair 💁🏽 I think my favorite part is that I get to schedule time to hang with a hommie Jew every few weeks! 

I was also asked to take part in Temple’s Leadership committee. We have had a few meetings and LOOOOOVE being a part of it. I hope I get many more opportunities like this. Any excuse to go to temple is the best, I always feel so great there. I’ve also gotten to be more social with a lot of other Temple members which is amazing! 

On another note, I am feeling super guilty about having to skip on my dues basically this whole year almost so far 😥 we don’t have any room in the budget for anything and it’s making me feel so guilty. I hope whoever is in charge of the dues doesn’t think I’m a deadbeat congregant. I plan on paying what I owe when I can. It just won’t be for a while 😣 I hope they understand. That’s one difference between a church and synagogue that’s hard for me. I do understand why they do it this way and why they need it like that, but for a young family (and I’m sure many other members) it can be really difficult and becomes a source of anxiety.

And if you actually made it this far, thanks for reading all that! 😜 let me know how things are going for you in the comments!!

Advertisement

Oops

Thought it would be a good idea to sub coconut oil in place of regular oil when making my challah. I was wrong. Flattest challah ever and the dough was super sticky. (it did still taste fine, but I miss my visually appealing challah)



I’ve also made the mistake of making it with whole wheat flour before too. It turned out ok, but the taste… Way to healthy for enjoying during Shabbat. 😜 I’ve been trying to eat very clean and healthy lately and thought I’d give it a try, but since shabbat only comes once a week, why not live a little and have some white flour?! 😉

Purim Sameach!



Superhero Ozzie

Princess Marnie & Thad the clown

The red velvet hamentaschen I ended up making! Soooooo good! You can find the recipe Here. In the morning we will be delivering our mishloach manot (purim gift baskets) filled with the s’more & red velvet hamentashen, oranges, apples, and bananas. Purim Sameach!

S’more Hamentashen

My first time making hamentashen was a success I’d say! These s’more hamentashen (I got the recipe here ) are delicious! I also had plans to make red velvet and Speculoos hamentashen too, but I don’t know if I see that happening 😁 Marnie plans on being a princess for Purim, and thad will be a clown. I think I’ll tie a cape to baby Ozzie’s Ergo carrier when I wear him to the Temple carnival. Purim Sameach!

How we celebrated Tu B’Shevat

We started some bean and zucchini plants and colored some “mitzvah trees” which I found here

The Jewish new year of trees, may be a minor holiday that not all Jews observe, but I have to say it’s one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. So many fun ways to celebrate!

Happy Hanukkah!

:/

I wish I was able to get on here more, but the kids keep me super busy, I was really hoping this could be a more helpful guide to people thinking of converting or those going through it since there wasn’t much when I started. Maybe one day I’ll get there! If you stumble across this blog at some point and have questions, don’t hesitate to ask! I also recommend following the Coffee Shop Rabbi, she’s super great and you’ll learn a lot!

The husband has guaranteed he will get off in time to make it to Shabbat at least once a month, so I’m very excited about that. Hanukkah gifts are already wrapped and ready to go for the most part. I figure I’d better get that done because I’ll be busy with Ozzie recovering from his surgery next month 😦 I am starting to become a hot mess about it, and I feel bad because it’s making things that should be fun, like thanksgiving, really sad for me. I just hope ok doing a good job at not letting that show. Please keep my little guy in your prayers! It would be much appreciated.

G’mar Chatima Tova

wishing you all a happy, healthy, and peaceful year!

Getting ready for the new year

Lots of Rosh Hashanah crafting going on today! 🙂 I’m especially excited for services this year because an hour before the adult service is one especially for the 5 and under set. The kids will love it!

Also my littlest human, Ozzie, will have to go under anesthesia for a CT scan to look at a lung issue tomorrow. Any prayers or positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Ozzie is here! He arrived Friday the 13th. We are all doing well, 2 toddlers and a baby are quite the adjustment. He had his bris 8 days following his birth. It was a bit traumatic for me to be honest, I cried… A lot. I think it was mostly the hormones and medications making it so hard than the actual bris. Temple also plants a tree in Israel for every baby, I thought that was pretty awesome. I think I’ll get Thad and Marnie a tree on the 1 year anniversary of their conversion.

A few weeks ago I officially joined Temple. They sent this lovely welcome basket

It’s been almost a month since I have been to Shabbat at temple and I’m really missing it. Unfortunately they don’t usually do childcare during summer services since it’s a slower time at temple, and toddlers sitting through a service is a no go, so I most likely won’t be able to go for a while 😦 updates will probably be sparse here too, I’m hoping to be outside with the kiddos a ton this summer. That is if it ever stops raining here.