So, Anna is sick today. She woke up in the middle of the night and spent most of the night vomiting. At one point she turned to me and asked "Mommy, why did I do that?" It's really hard to be little and trying to understand things around you or even the way your body works. I told her she was sick and that Mommy would stay with her. She slept the rest of the night in my bed, and we changed sheets several times during the night - I think at least five - but all she wanted was for me to stay with her.

I am her real mom. I may not have given birth to her. I may not have carried her inside me for nine months. I may not look like her. I may have no biological connection to her. I may have... more

One of my favorite times of the day is at the end of the day when I put Anna to bed. Sometimes she likes me to sing lullabies. I usually don't read to her because I'm exhausted from reading seventy five books during the day. But most of the time I recite poetry.

Growing up, I really didn't have a lot of close friends, and my house was pretty quiet. Shabbat afternoons I would generally curl up on the couch reading well loved poems over and over again. Now, I understand that all that time was well spent as I now can lie in Anna's darkened room and whisper poems to her - over and over... more

Wow. That's really all I have to say.

Okay I'll elaborate - I got eight - count them - eight (!!!) hours of uninterrupted sleep last night. That only happens when I'm away on business....Anna is three years old and still rarely sleeps through the night. RARELY. Next to never.

I love her dearly, but hey! Eight hours of sleep is pretty darn cool!

We have looked at basically every philosophy on children and sleep that there is out there. I think every parent has given me their two cents on what worked amazingly well for their kid, and always assures me that it will work for my child.

First of all, you have to know your kid. I firmly believe that a lot of these... more

I am still trying to figure out how to best convey the message that it is not okay to dump food on the floor if you are angry. Anna is three and is still very much working on the terrible twos. When she gets angry, she will throw something, push something (or someone) or bite an object that she is having trouble with (interestingly enough, she doesn't bite people. But if a toy is not responding the way she apparently thinks it ought to, she is known to actually bite the darn thing).

Today I served her some tuna fish in a bowl. I walked out of the room to check messages on my computer and came rushing back into the room when I heard the bowl, spoon and contents clatter... more

If I could be you and you could be me for just one hour If we could find a way to get inside each other's mind If you could see me through your eyes instead of your ego I believe you'd be surprised to see that you'd been blind.

Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes And before you abuse, criticize and accuse Walk a mile in my shoes.

-- Joe South

Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes.

-- Billy Connolly

So... more

Hey there. If anyone is making the hamantaschen from yesterday's recipe, I forgot to add that it really needs a bit more liquid - add a tablespoon or two extra orange juice.

Staying on the topic of choosing your words carefully, I wanted to talk about swearing and name calling. Modernity has brought about many great things and good changes to our society, but one thing that has truly deteriorated is respect. Respect for anyone - peers, parents, children, elders, teachers - you name it! The art and thought behind the words we use and choose has been all but lost, but the meaning has not. Just because it may be accepted, cool or normal to use derogatory slang or curse words doesn't... more

So I was at the doctors on Thursday for something stupid - my eye had been bothering me and my grandmother (see stereotype: Jewish grandmother) was bugging nagging relentlessly for me to get it checked out. Anyway, it was a new guy - a resident with a kippah on - obviously Jewish. We were chit-chatting about this and that - mostly annoying but loving Jewish grandmothers - when he asked how many children do I have. Now, I hate that question in general - "How many children do you have?" assumes, and declares that obviously we have children. Because clearly anyone who... more

My husband hates his cell phone. With a passion. I swear sometimes he loses it on purpose just to see how quickly I will come after him with a hatchet threats to replace it with four others and a tracking device. He was thoroughly against getting one and remains against having one. When I remind him several times, he will often even remember to turn his phone on, at which point I alert our local media that he has made such progress.

I, on the other hand, will actually drive back to my house if I've managed to leave home without my trusty cell phone. I carry it with me always, leave it on throughout my day, and most of the time hold it in my hand with my keys so... more

Every adoption is different. International, domestic, state, whatever - they are all different in many ways, but they all come with a mountain of paperwork that we all have fun with during our pre-parenting stage. I'm sure that each process has its own unique requirements, questions and demands of the social workers and other people that come to inspect your house, check your smoke detectors and ask for copies of your car registration (why don't all other parents have to go through this same stuff??!!?? but I digress...).

While we were filling out our fifty page application in four part harmony we got to a part that my husband... more