Major events

Being a busy mom balancing your work, home and children including homework, after school activities, friendships and meals (why do they need to eat so often?) means that life is full. Very full.
It's hard to be considerate of others, to remember to call friends in their birthdays or to commemorate important events in their lives. Friendships are not the same once you have kids. There is a lot less time to together. One friend may have kids, the other may be unmarried, one may be working full time, another may be a stay at home mom.
It can become difficult to relate, to keep track and to stay in touch.
Friends need to be there for each other anyway. Call when a major event occurs... good or bad. I really try to at least text to follow up after a big job change, a death in the family or a new baby. Acknowledgment and thoughtfulness around major events replace the day to day interactions I once had with my friends.
It's not personal, it's just practical. That's why it's so important to follow up with friends, celebrate big milestones and talk about the little things when you get the chance.
Sending good vibes to all my friends (and family) who may fall into this category.

Each One is Precious

It has been well over a year since I posted on this blog. I believe everyone should own his or her own domain name so I've kept the blog live but have not been writing.
I am now on maternity leave after giving birth to my 5th child, Nava. She is delicious and yummy and well behaved. I find the greatest challenge to be balancing dinner, homework, bedtime and maintaining my patience with the older kids after caring for the baby all day. Of course being sleep deprived does not help one bit. We are adjusting and it helps that the other kids are older and can help. They hold her when I need them to (bathroom breaks, bedtime for the little ones, etc.) and bring me supplies like diapers, wipes and clothes. The big kids love to hold Nava and are very responsible.
I have had a hard time adjusting to getting out of the house: packing up the baby, timing our outing with feedings, buckling her into the car seat and using the stroller again. I feel like every trip is an effort where it was previously effortless. We took our first "class trip," which means a family outing, to the library on Friday. We laughed that now we are the crazy family with five children, the couple you see struggling to balance the needs of all the kids. Trying to give each one the attention he or she needs...
I hope we can balance it all! Each one is precious!
Remind me that next time I am in the middle of homework.

Jewish Women Speak

I have never done anything quite like this, but I've joined group of Orthodox Jewish women who write about relevant topics or questions presented to the group and share via their blogs.
I will eventually host one of these here for my readers (it's a round robin type initiative), but in the meantime, if you're interested in my opinions, which I dole out often, head over to Rebecca Klempner's blog.
The topic at hand is how much we, as Jewish women, engage in pop culture.

Orthodox Women Talk: Roundtable about media consumption: READ ALL THE RESPONSES INCLUDING MINE BY CLICKING HERE.

Let me know what you think!