Sunday, March 24, 2013

Family Seder

 This year, my sister Holly decided it would be a fun idea to have a family Seder. Yes, I realize we're L.D.S. and not Jewish, but we figured that since we have quite a bit of Jewish ancestry, and we enjoy learning more about other faiths, and the entire thing is really a great way to tell the Exodus story, that we would just go ahead.
 Everyones hard work paid off, and we had a great time. We sang an opening song, then my Mom lit the candles and said the opening prayer. My Dad told the story of Moses, Pharaoh and the Hebrew slaves, and my sister Holly explained when to taste everything on the plates in front of us and when to drink from the little cups too.The kids did pretty good sitting through everything (only about 30 minutes), and it was fun hearing my Dad tell the story of Moses. For the meal afterwards we tried to stay as closely as possible to the Kosher requirements, which my sister made sure to give a list of the do's and don'ts to us beforehand to make it simpler.
 My assignment was Matzo Ball soup, which i had never made before, nor eaten. Being totally unsure of where to start I of course googles it and read through numerous recipes online and watched several Matzo Ball how-to videos and realized it wasn't as hard as I thought. After quite a bit of reading I ended up combining several recipes into the one I used and it turned out delicious. I was surprised at how simple it really was to make. I am a total fan of Matzo Ball soup now, and frankly, I think I will be making that instead of Chicken Noodle from now on. It was so good, and so easy!
 I was amazed at how many people we seated at our house today, there were well over 40 of us! and yet we were able to seat everyone in my kitchen and dining room. Small miracles:) It helped that Craig and I now own two full size dining tables and 26 chairs just by ourselves, so my sister only had to bring two folding tables and chairs to round us out. Perks of a huge family? Yes, definitely.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Our Sweet Jemima

 After much research and discussion, we decided to buy another dog. I found a local trainer that ran a specialized program that trained puppies for 8-9 weeks where each puppy is potty trained and obedience trained and are prepared to come into your home and become a well mannered and loving member of your family. So I contacted the trainer and explained what I was looking for and she said she had just the dog for us. A Weimaraner named Sandy that was incredibly mellow and laid back, and just loved her people.
 I went out to meet her, and she was a doll! I knew she would be perfect. So we got everything ready, did all of the paperwork, and a week later we brought her home on March 1st. 
We re-named her Jemima, and she settled right in with us as if she knew she was ours. All of the kids were instantly in love and Jensen especially, calling at every minute for her "Mima", calling for her as she went to bed each night, and first thing as she woke up in the morning, always looking for her "Mima". Jensen adored her, and Jemima was so sweet and patient with her.
 But as happy as we were to bring our sweet puppy Jemima home on Friday, sadly we had to take her back only 3 days later Monday afternoon. We are heartbroken. It turns out I'm allergic to her, and my arms, from my fingers all the way up the back of my elbows broke out in itchy red bumps, basically everywhere her fur touched my skin. The reason I didn't know about this before is that our little Lucy (a 12 lb. Boston Terrier) had terrible skin issues and to snuggle her required wrapping her in a blanket to make sure we didn't aggravate her itching further so I had limited to zero fur-to-skin contact in the last few years. I also grew up with a Sheltie which is an incredibly fluffy little dog, so it seems my allergy has only recently developed.
 Sp right now we are just focusing on helping Jemima's trainer find her another home, which I know won't take long since she is simply the most incredible dog and the sweetest little love I have ever met. I am so annoyed with my stupid extra sensitive skin! I have had several suggestions about getting a poodle or poodle mix since they are considered hypoallergenic and a great dog for some allergy sufferers, but before I dive into another new dog and getting my kids attached again, I will test my skin against Grammy Lesa's Poodle/Schnauzer mix Tramp O'Malley and see if I have any reaction to him first. Then we will decide what we want to do from there. But for now, we are missing our Mima. She was simply perfect, and we were heartbroken.to see her go.