Tantz tantz tantz

There are many times i sit here at my very outdated keyboard and i have nothing to write, nothing profound nothing to send out into the world.

My days are full of chubby baby feet and a 4 yr old learning to ride a two wheeler ( mind you it took him one day thanks to big brother), but this is not so profound not so meaningful, but then again in its own right it is.

Life is full of hurry hurry, full of quick quick. How often do i say the words " i'm sorry i didn't get back to you, my day was crazy". I dislike that person and i love the summer version of myself, everything is taken down notch, im good on that notch.

Why do we hurry in the winter and slow down in the summer? Who knows.
Life has resumed in full force here and i am milking every single second of it. We are back to morning dance routines and currently this is our favorite morning song.

I also have some other favorite things.....
A baby girl that is going to be two soon

Little boys who wear capes

Funny faces and glamorous plastic jewelery


Yard sale scores


( the trike not the baby, thank you)

Im gearing up for a New York trip this weekend and i cant wait, ill be dreaming visions of kosher Indian food in my head all week.

By the Sea crayons tutorial

There are diffrent things that trigger memories for people. The sight of something, the feel of something. For me its smell. I am very sensitive to smell and i am referred to as "rocket nose" in my house, and trust me it is not a blessing. But then again the simplest smell can bring back such fond memories for me. The smell of Tide tumbling around in the laundry on a warm summer night will always remind me of the Shemtovs and all the summer nights i spent in their home. The smell of a health food store brings me back to drinking smoothies at our local health food store with my mom.

The smell of crayons are a childhood favorite of mine, i am back at DeGrazia elementary coloring unicorns and rainbows ( a very popular coloring subject of the 80s). I decided to make crayons with my kids this summer afternoon. It was so much fun , and now i wonder will they smell crayons and think of art projects with mom, i hope so.

Here is a simple crayon making tutorial......
Supplies:
1. Crayons ( lol, yes to make crayons you use old crayons, there is no science here)
2. Plastic cups
3. Tin cans
4. Candy mold*

1.First peel all the paper off your crayons break them up and separate by color in plastic cups
2. Boil water in a large pan, poor the crayon pieces into cans and heat them up till the crayons are melted.

3. Poor the melted wax into candy mold. Be extra careful not to overflow so the crayon has a crisp edge. I learned this the hard way.

3. Wait until the wax is no longer jiggly then put in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

4. When completely cooled crayons will pop out easily.

Have Fun!!!
* candy molds can be bought at any craft store for about $1.99, they are usually clear plastic

Moon Kinder

Yesterday we were at the zoo and a mother was in the gift shop with two children one about 5 and the other about 3. Both children were having full on earth shattering meltdowns. Were they in tears because they had to leave the zoo and didn't want to say goodbye to all their new animal friends? No. Were they hurt? No. Did they not get the exact toy they wanted? Yes.

I know this because these small beings voiced their anger at the toy they did receive so loud and clear that anyone within a 100 miles of the scene knew this. I have to be honest in these situations i like to observe, i like to watch parents be good parents and work these situations out, and i especially love congratulating a parent when they have succeeded.

I think there are many such moments of high five success that go unnoticed, so i like to slap a high five to a stranger mom when one is due. This day i put my hand in my pocket. These children fought with a Veruca Salt style campaign and won unanimously. I watched this scene roll out i was thinking , "are you joking me" as each screaming child left with some sort of overpriced gift shop toy that will most likely be lost within hours of arriving home. I usually try not to judge, parenting is hard, trust me i know, but come on both of those kids did not deserve the golden egg but the rotten one, if i don't say so myself.

I realized that later that i shouldn't have judged when my Dovie harassed me for at least an hour about a stupid zoo fan he saw displayed outside the gift shop.The truth is parenting is a real seat of your pants kind of thing. Some days i think it would be so much fun to buy the stupid fan because the fun we will have makes the pennies worth spending. But more often i say no and i think that is why my kids do not flail and scream when the answer is no, they may badger me for a while, but Ive never had a Veruca Salt moment, B"H. People often ask me what is my trick how do you keep your kids from having daily meltdowns, and here is my secret.......

I truly enjoy my kids, i mean really enjoy them. I love spending time with them i love getting on the floor to have half hour long conversations with Rozie. I love listening to Dovie's hilarious stories and i genuinely enjoy spending time with my Mel.


Am i a perfect mom? No way.I have a lot of meltdowns myself and use a voice i am often not proud of, but i try to outweigh these moments with nature walks, aquarium trips, and going to 4 yr old baseball games that actually resemble chaos more than an organized sport.


I miss my kids when they go to sleep at night and often try to sneak into bed with them for some extra cuddle time. My kids feel this from me and they know i love them without limits but also know that when mom says no, i mean it. Right now my house is quiet everyone is asleep including my husband, lol.

I miss their little faces already. I want to bury my head in Rozie's hair that always smells like apple shampoo. I want to want to wake them and look for the moon and count the stars, but i know ill regret it in the morning. I love you my three little kinder from the moon and back a million billion times over!

Ocean love birds

There are just as many endings in our life as there are beginnings. I have a tenancy to like beginnings more, but then again sometimes an ending is a beginning.

Ok ok you get my point, blah blah blah an ending is a beginning, but im just getting all gushy on you guys because my oldest just finished his first year in Yeshiva and i am walking around with about a 1000lbs of nachas on my shoulders, and i'm happy to schlep them.

We drove to New Jersey to pick him up and bring my big guy home for the summer. What can i say an ending in a beginning.

I am so happy to see him starting a new life with his new group of friends and living independently without us, but then again i am so happy the school year is over and he is home again under my momma wings.

We packed him up and flew his home away from home nest, but couldn't leave without some beach time. His Yeshiva is right near the ocean and we found a tiny little beach town: Margate NJ ( if you ever cant find me check there).

They had a few tiny kosher restaurants on the water and a beach that could bring tears to even a true land lover. We ate greasy fries and pizza outside.We watched people go in and out of their Victorian beach homes,and ride around on beach cruisers.

I was in summer heaven: Blue Ocean, white beaches, and cute neighborhoods, that is it im sold where do i sign.

I think the one thing i love more than the summer is the ocean, and i had to pried off the beach with tears in my eyes to go home.

End of the year card tutorial, too cute!

The end is here. Tomorrow is the last day of Cheder( school) for my Dovie and honestly i am excited. I know I'm suppose to be sad and get all nostalgic, but my summer love eats up my nostalgia. Summer fun here we come!!! I wanted to give all of Dovie's friends a little token, so i decided to make theses cards. I have seen this pop up all over the blogosphere as Valentines but i thought they would be the cutest "Have a great summer, and don't forget to call me for play-dates" kind of card. They are super easy to make...

1. First take some extra cute pics of your kiddo and have them put there arm straight out. You will probably have a million goofy outtakes.

( i don't know why Dovie chose to wear his fake glasses , but sometimes you gotta roll with it)
2. Once you choose the best pic you can print them out as is,or spiffy them up in photoshop or a like program.
3. Cut two tiny holes or slits one above the hand and one right below and slip the lolly in, be careful not to tear the paper.

4. Put them in something cute to schlep them to school!

See easy as pie. I have a lot more to share but not the time, but how about a teaser....
This summer girl already got a taste of summer!