I'm not a Tom Cruise fan. Nothing against him - well, actually, maybe I have a few things against him. I don't like the way he seems to think that Scientology is the absolute answer for him and should therefore be the answer for everyone, and I really have a problem with his dismissal of the necessity for treatment of post-partum depression. And the jumping on the couch business? Let's not go there.

But that being said, there is an article in which he is featured in this month's Good Housekeeping. At some point he is talking about his kids from his previous marriage in relation to his new baby with Katie Holmes. Here's the excerpt:

Cruise... more

While we are on the topic of discussing women's roles in Judaism and in general, I wanted to share this resource with you. With Mother's Day coming up (a holiday I still believe was invented by card companies. But whatever....) we should look to celebrate women's achievements. Every week, I get an email from The Jewish Women's Archive, a Jewish but non-denominational organization. They send out one of those snapshots of 'this week in history' type thing if you know what I'm talking about. It gives me lots of those little tidbits of possibly useful pieces of information to carry around with me. You can sign up for weekly... more

Pronunciation: 'fe-m&-"ni-z&m Function: noun 1 : the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes 2 : organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests - fem·i·nist /-nist/ noun or adjective - fem·i·nis·tic /"fe-m&-'nis-tik/ adjective

Thank you, Mr. Webster.

Heidi raised the age old question... more

As adoptive families, we do a lot of talking about connections - often abstract connections - to people and places we do not see every day, or even ever at all. Internationally adopted children will feel some sort of connection to the country they were born in, even if they have no memory of being there. I think most of our children will wonder about their birth families, even if they have never met or ever will meet. There is some connection there to people and places though the connection itself is something you can't quite explain or put your finger on. Something that is... more

Well, we had quite a weekend here. My friend and her soon to be fiance were staying at our house - him in the living room and she took over Anna's room. Anna (our newly potty-trained daughter!!! Hoooray!!!) slept with me Friday night. Friday night in our house is Shabbat - you know - the day of rest? My husband snored and was oblivious to most of the events that led me to create the following list of rules for our bedroom.

NEW RULES FOR OUR BEDROOM

1. This is my bed. You are not entitled to push me off of my bed. Yes, you do have enough room. Yes you do.

2. I am very happy that you woke me up to go to the bathroom at... more

I posted yesterday about certain unwelcome comments from members of my community on when we are planning to further expand our family, given the fact that it's so easy for us to just adopt. I don't think that it's ever a fair, polite or appropriate to ask of anyone - adoptive or biological families - when they are planning to add another baby to the family.

That being said, I think its a fair question that couples amongst themselves should talk about. It's a subject that we have been discussing on and off over the past few months. A few months after Anna came to us, we had a foster baby placed with... more

So, today is the fifth day of Passover.* Anna spent much of the day asking if we could go to the bagel store. You never realize how much something is a part of your life until you take it away for a little while – even something as insignificant as bread. Then later, when I said to her, “Do you know where we are going for dinner?” Her eyes lit up and she said, “Chinese food?” I had to tell her that no, we were going to Grandma’s house instead. All the kosher restaurants are closed for the week of Passover.

I am so very excited about spring. It’s actually... more

What does it mean to be a survivor? I suppose in the petty sense of the term, I am a survivor, having made it through three days straight at my mother-in-law's house. But, as I said, that's petty, and I would never truly use the word 'survivor' in that context the same way I would never use the phrase "I'm starving" when all I am is just really, really hungry.

What is a survivor?

I grew up in a home where my mother wouldn't make me finish the food that was on my plate. It seems like an insignificant thing, really. But I would go to friends' houses where their parents would say things like, "Finish your food! Don't you know there are children... more

When I'm not reciting poetry in an attempt to get Anna to sleep, I'll often sing her a lullaby. I don't know too many, and much of what my mother used as bedtime songs were actually melodic folk-songs from a time gone by. One lullaby I remember is the "Russian Lullaby", which Anna requests as "wush-a-lullaby." According to Google, the words are by Irving Berlin and are a bit different from the lyrics I know, but I wanted to share with you how Anna's bedtime version of this song usually goes.

Every night you'll hear it's croon"

"That's a funny word, Mommy." Anna giggles

... more

So here's the next piece in the current debate over whether involvement in religion makes a person healthier or more likely to do better when ill. This article comes from the Jerusalem Post, citing the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. It seems, according to this, that attending religious services once a week may actually add up to three years to one's life span.

Dr. Daniel Hall, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the author of the study published in the March-April issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, compared... more