3rd night of Hanukkah

We went to Maryland to spend some of Hanukkah with Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Brian, Joshua and Ethan. It was a great visit - we lit candles and had shabbat dinner together. Saturday night we even went to a Hanukkah party at the Shul where Uncle Brian had his Bar Mitzvah. We loved being together during Hanukkah for the second year in a row and think it might now be a family tradition - next year in New Haven with the new baby (girl) cousin!

Zoe got a load of new baby (doll) accessories which she was very excited about and loved! Zachary got a very cool lounger chair for his room and a telescope. Thanks Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Brian.

Ethan spent a lot of the weekend with his Uncle Glenn - great pals and so cute together.

A very belated Happy Birthday to Uncle Brian - who finally got his gift from us, a new Polo sweatshirt which he loved and wore to the Hanukkah party saturday night. We thought he looked pretty spiffy.

Zachary helped to set up the candles in the Hanukkiot, he also lead some of the blessings for shabbat and helped Joshua with his train set up. It was a great weekend, everyone had a blast!

2nd night of Hanukkah

Daddy was with us for the second night of Hanukkah and took the great shot of our display of hanukkiot. Both Zachary and Zoe had new ones they made this year.

Note Zachary's new Hannukiah - the one in the front of this picture - multiple colors and free form. He made it at school and he was very proud of it. He even tried to coordinate candle colors to the bases.

Daddy got his present - a new lens for the camera and it came with other photography accessories including a camera bag, tripod and more. He was very happy and the kids enjoyed helping him unwrap everything. Mama got a new calendar, and a new knife. The kids got movies and games for the big trip to Maryland for the next nights of Hanukkah ... stay tuned.

1st night of Hanukkah 2010

First night of Hanukkah 2010 ... Daddy had to work, but Mama and the kids had a great time decorating and setting up the Hanukkiot. We each lit candles and then the kids got gifts from Mahma Rita and Aunt Marcia - a suitcase and a Cinderella costume. There were also some treats from Mama. The kids enjoyed their gifts and the hanukkah gelt too. Stay tuned for the rest of Hanukkah.

"un" Thanksgiving pictures

As you may (or may not know) we celebrate thanksgiving in a very non traditional way, and in so doing , call it "un" thanksgiving. However, it is very important to note that we do not mean to be unthankful, in fact quite the opposite. We (as a family) donated a turkey (since we don't eat one) and we also bought bowls handmade by local potters to support the community soup kitchen in honor of Thanksgiving.

So for our "un" thanksgiving, we watch the parade and eat donuts, stay in PJs as long as possible and make homemade pasta to eat (Daddy and the kids do this while Mama makes side dishes and pasta sauce) and bake cheesecake (Daddy with help). It turns out to be a yummy DAIRY feast and fun to prepare with the most stressful moments being the removal of the cheesecake from the oven and whether the ravioli actually float.

This year the ravioli floated beautifully but the cheesecake sunk a bit - however it tasted delicious and both kids wanted seconds.




This was one of our favorite pictures of the day, because Zachary and Daddy look adorable and you can see all the lovely raviolis that we made.

Zoe made many beautiful things at school for Thanksgiving this year so we displayed them at her spot at the table.

Note the side dishes: roasted brussel sprouts (kids wouldn't try, Mama and Daddy loved them) and spaghetti squash baked with pesto and cheese.

Besides ravioli, we made flat noodles which hung from the chandelier both to dry and to add ambiance to our pasta themed dinner. We had a great day and a fabulous dinner as a family. Zachary said he was thankful for the food (as well as trees and air) and Zoe was thankful for dogs and babies.

Hope everyone else also had a wonderful holiday however you spent it.

Happy Hanukkah!

Our Hanukkah cards went out, so now we wanted to post the pictures Daddy took of the kids for the card. The kids were good sports (thankfully) and we were able to get some great pictures of them together and individually. These are the best ones, as you probably already know if our card has arrived.

Happy Hanukkah and stay tuned for pictures from our Thanksgiving celebration and then Hanukkah!