Anatomy of a Photo Shoot

I have created a monster.
It started off with buying a nicer camera so we could get good snapshots.
One year, a second lens, and a sad attempt at an in-home studio setup later,
and my husband is saying things like,
"I think it was a pretty good day,
even if we didn't get any great pictures."

Today I thought I'd try out a new backdrop
while getting a gorgeous shot of the boys together
with natural light that was mediocre at best.
Ha! (Here's what actually happened.)

Knock Me a Kiss

The scene:
A weekday morning, in the calm before the daily storm. A boy is sitting on the couch, cup of cheerios in one hand, milk in the other. His little body is bastioned with blankets, in which he takes particular comfort and delight -
(a trait inherited from his Ima.)



He looks up, expectantly, with lips puckered.

A parent's heart sings,



"He wants a kiss! From me!


After carrying him for nine months,
sitting up through sleepless nights,
enduring snotty noses and temper tantrums,
here at long last I gaze upon
his appreciation of my tenderness for him!
And his return of that love!

O, bliss!"

Bending down to return this sweet kiss,
the parent is suddenly confused.

The boy shakes his head, now puckering more emphatically.
The puckerer pauses to insist, "Fees!"

Ah.

Recognition.

He wants me to make a fish face.

Oh, well. That's pretty cute too.

Parsha for Parenting - Vayachel-Pekudei 5769

This week's Torah portion
contains more detail about the mishkan.
A midrash on this portion
reminds us that its language is close to that of the story of Creation
which means that the reason G-d wanted the Israelites to build a sanctuary
is to allow them to mimic Him
in creating things of beauty in the world.

Why are humans driven to create beauty
when G-d's world is already so beautiful?

It helps us to capture the fleeting feelings
of life's little gorgeous moments
in a way that resonates with us.
It helps us deal with the fact
that we can never live those moments again.
It gives us a personal, lasting connection
to that which we hold dear
and to the holiness inherent in it-
and to share it with others.

(So, is that a good enough reason for me to be so obsessed with my camera/this blog?)

(And now for a gratuitous shot of the boys cuddled up on the couch from some morning this week - creating beauty without even knowing it.)

Wranglers Winter 09 - A Tribute

Dear Wranglers -

Cori, who goes up and down the Hillel steps with endless patience;
David, who gives such great snuggles;
Allison, who knows the location of every star in the building;
Sarah, who loves every baby in the world to pieces;
Aryn, who hangs with us all night after hanging with other babies all day;
Samantha, who doesn't mind even spitup down her shirt;
Elle, who legendarily made both of us laugh in one night; and
Sarah, who knows that nekkie time equals happy time -
(and everyone else who has ever loved, cuddled, fed, kissed, or tickled us
while our Ima was teaching, hosting, or leading,)

Thank you

for teaching us,
each and every Shabbat,
(and sometimes during the week),
what being Jewish is all about-

taking care of each other
(even if it's been a long week
even if we're tired
and sometimes cry
and many times spit up on you)
and celebrating together
and watching each other grow
and making each other laugh.

Good luck on your finals,
have a great Spring Break.
We'll see you in April.

Love,
Ashi and Rami

Parshah for Parenting - Ki Tisa 5769

A few weeks ago, G-d commanded the Israelites to build a mishkan.
He was very specific in His instructions.
This week, we meet Betzalel.
G-d tells Moses that He has endowed Betzalel with
the wisdom, knowledge, and skill
necessary to create everything in the mishkan.

Thousands of years later, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen
teaches the Torah of the Creation of the World*
when one of the world's light-containing vessels broke,
the light was scattered,
and, suddenly, there was a lot of cleanup to do.

She says that

the whole human race is a response to this need.

Each person doing a little tikkun olam
in his own way.
We are exactly what's needed to heal the world.
G-d has endowed each of us
with the wisdom, knowledge, and skill,
to meet His world's needs.

(Looking at my boys' sweet faces
I wonder -
What amazing things
will these tiny people
one day accomplish?
I can't wait to find out.)

____
*You can hear Dr. Remen tell this story here.

Birds

On a balmy weekend morning
when Abba and Ima wanted
to lounge on the couch
drink some coffee
and eat some pancakes
(the first pancakes seen in these parts since the Bar ended)

Asher decided instead
that the thing to do was
to run outside
looking for birds.

(It helps if you flap your wings.)

(Don't forget your lunchbox.)

Parshah for Parenting - Tetzaveh 5769

This week's Torah portion is all about clothes -

a description,
in meticulous detail,
about what the high priests
have to wear to work.

We learn from this portion

that you are who you are

but your clothes help you

do what you do.

(They are an outer expression of one's inner self.)

I've posted once about Ashi's fashion sense.
But I've never posted about his first true love:

hats.

Ashi is just not Ashi without a hat -
the scarlet-and-gray striped (thanks Melissa)
the penguin
or, the new favorite, the monkey (thanks Tricia*).
When he's wearing a hat, my Asher is the very essence of his name:

happy.

This Shabbat, on parshat Tetzaveh,
I bless my boys that they
will always find ways
to outwardly express
their inner selves.

_______
*Tricia custom-made this monkey hat just for us. You can visit her etsy store here and get one of your own!

Mishenichnas Adar/When Adar Begins

משנכנס אדר
מרבין בשמחה
When Adar* begins
everyone's joy increases.

(Talmud Bavli Ta'anit 29a)

(Apparently,
Asher didn't get
the memo.)

__________
*Adar is the month on the Jewish calendar containing Purim, a holiday that celebrates the events of the book of Esther and during which we wear costumes and do other joy-filled things.

Parshah for Parenting - Terumah 5769

(you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves him....And let them make Me a mishkan that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:2,8)

Gifts of gold, and silver, and brass,
of fine fabrics, spices, and oils,
of precious stones.

The Israelites built this structure not so G-d could dwell in it,
but so that He could dwell among them.
No Israelite could do it alone - everyone's effort brought His presence into the community.

In our house, we have a mishkan.
It's made up kisses from Ashi,
smiles and giggles from Rami,

a morning "Modeh Ani" with Abba,

and a bedtime "Shema" with Ima,

extra morning minutes spent cuddling on the couch,

extra love baked into the cookies,

one more book read together,
one more answer to Ashi's constant question, "What's that?"

an extra round of "Mishenichnas Ashi/Rami,"

an extra minute tacked onto bathtime.

All given with a willing heart. All bringing a little more holiness into the house.
G-d dwells among us,
even though the house isn't adorned with rich fabrics or fine stones.

(In fact, our house is pretty much a disaster.)

RamRam & NevNev

Dear Nevoh,

Thank you for inviting me to your naming ceremony.

It was my first big trip out of state,

but I only had eyes for you.

Please forgive me

for throwing up

on your sleep sack.

I hope you love me still.

Love,

Rami

Parshah for Parenting - Mishpatim 5769

"Mishpatim" means "laws."
After the spectacle of the
giving of the Ten Commandments
at Sinai
comes a
long
list of
laws.
Non-spectacular.
Won't stop you in your tracks.
But Torah all the same.
Amazing all the same.

The day to day moments with the boys
are, by and large,
non-spectacular.
But they're amazing all the same.
Breathtaking
(just in their own way)

A good laugh

is sunshine
in the house.

~William Makepeace Thackeray

Parsha* for Parenting - Yitro 5769

This week's Torah portion includes the commandment,

"Honor your father and your mother."

The Talmud** comments*** on this verse
that there are three partners in the creation of a child:

his father,
his mother,
and G-d.

It also comments that a child represents
his parents' invitation for G-d to dwell among them.

(Well, obviously.)

__
*"Parsha" refers to the section of Torah that is read every week.
** The Talmud is a record of rabbinic commentary, law, and stories from around the year 500.
***Kiddushin 30b

How to Trayf up a Kitchen

Attention Jewish Mothers of Toddlers:

Would you like to keep a meticulously (or even sorta) kosher kitchen?

Too bad!

It seems that the desire to trayf up* a kitchen comes naturally to my curious toddler.

(It's a good thing he's

so cute while doing it.)

_______

*Render non-kosher by bringing in pork, mixing meat and dairy dishes, or something similarly horrific to a working Ima trying to keep some sense of kashrut in her kitchen.

What Not to Wear - Toddler Edition

Asher, like many toddlers,

is beginning to develop his own distinctive style.

He'll scream at me until I dress him in, what seems to me,

the most ridiculous collection of pieces.

(If dressing like this is wrong,
he doesn't want to be right.)

Snow

The first fall of snow is a magical event.

You go to bed in one kind of a world

and wake up in another quite different,

and if this is not enchantment

then where is it to be found?

~J. B. Priestley

Amazing auntie

"Help one another"

is part of

the religion of sisterhood.

~Louisa May Alcott

(after all this, my dear sister says,
"Thanks for having me.")

Simple Gifts

Dear Asher,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift.
How did you know I really wanted
my best white pillowcase
to be confetti-colored?

It was ingenious of you to throw

those crayon pieces into the dryer

to achieve the perfect effect.

It just goes to show that even a little boy with no cash

can make something beautiful for his Ima

if he puts his mind to it.

I don't know how I ever muddled through with solid-colored sheets.
(i.e., before you came along.)

Thank you, my sweet boy.

Love,
Ima