Move That Bus!

The G family now belongs to the exclusive club of people who have watch two Extreme Makeover Home Edition homes being built!!!

The first time was two years ago, when they remade the home of our very deserving neighbors, the Vardons. That was literally down the street from us, and the boys were big into Bob the Builder those days, so they wanted to ride their bikes there to watch the progress every day.

Today, we traveled to Armada, MI (about 50 minutes away) to watch the rebuilding of the Gilliam family home. The original house was so toxic with mold that not only did they have to tear it down, but I was told they built the new house on the other side of the property. The old house was torn down yesterday. We got there at about 3:00pm today and the new (very large) house was already standing, and workers were inside already. How is it that if I want a decent sized addition, it will take at least a year and a half from the original blueprints, but these guys can get all of this done in 1 day???

I didn't tell the boys where we were going, only gave them clues (It's something you haven't seen in 2 years, and most people never see it once, and you might be EXTREMEly T(Y)ired after this trip). They were jumping out of their pants trying to get it out of me. The truth was revealed once we reached the area and everyone was walking around in Extreme Makeover t-shirts. B was excited, Y not so much (he would have rather watched Spongebob or something).

They had us park at a local school, and provided school busses to shuttle the spectators to the site. M especially enjoyed the ride, and sang "The Wheels on the Bus," with a giant smile on her face the whole time. 5/3 bank was a sponsor or something, and was giving out free Good Humor ice cream and bottled water. The building site was buzzing and cool, as usual. I think in the end even Y had a good time (the free spongebob ice cream probably sealed that one.)

Jenn

Laguna Beach

We don't have cable, but there's been enough hype about Laguna Beach, for me to, 1) have heard about, and 2) be inspired to rent the first season tonight.

All I can say is, I am probably 15 years too old to be watching this. I am also probably 15 years old to be eating this piece of shnitzel at 11:30pm. Yet oddly, I am enjoying them both. Go figure.

Jenn

He's back!

So after a day of waiting and being given an ETA 1/2 hour later, then another 1/2 hour later, B is home!!! He was totally cool about being hugged and kissed and all of that.

He's in typical post camp mode. He's hoarse, talking 100 miles an hour about every person, place and thing, he encountered, and singing all of the camp songs. He even stayed up late to alleviate the TV withdrawal that he claims to have suffered (although they watched like a dozen movies on the flat screen TV in the director's house.) He discovered Friendly's ice cream (unfortunately we don't have that in MI), learned a lot about the Amish, went camping, took hikes, played sports, learned, and made a lot of friends. All-in-all it was a really positive experience, and he wants to go back next year!

Jenn

The Yid Lid

I have a friend whose son recently turned three. She promptly plopped a kippah on his head, but he's still at the age where it only stays on for a few minutes. She expressed some concern to me over the weekend. She really isn't sure that she wants to have his Judaism so prominently displayed in the current world climate.

I think every Jewish mother with a son grapples with this at some time. (The girls dress is not as blatant and they can blend in pretty well.) We notice when someone reacts to our sons' dress. We all contemplate whether to tell our sons to wear a baseball hat in certain places and situations. Here in Michigan we have the Michigan M-litia, and the largest concentration of Arabs in the country, so my friend's concern is probably justified.

However, I had an experience in Chicago which changed my whole way of thinking about this. Y and I were crossing a busy intersection, when one of the pedestrians coming toward us stopped. He looked at Y's head, and said "is that thing on your head a Yarmulke?" He then went on to give Y a whole pep talk, telling him how cool he is to wear it and how amazing he is for being so proud of his Judaism. I mean - WOW! This busy, successful looking man in a very nice suit, stopped to say that to Y! He had the biggest smile on his face.

This is a lesson that will stay with Y for the rest of his life. My $7500 a year payment to the school yields a lot of reward, but this invaluable, major life lesson was given to him for free in the middle of Michigan Ave. For the rest of his life, Y will know that there are people who, even though they don't look or dress like him, are admiring his Jewish pride. Whenever there is a doubt about whether or not to wear a kippah or a baseball hat, or his tzitzit out or in, he will have this memory to guide him.

The irony is that it was a REALLY hot day in Chicago, and I brought along a baseball cap (because of the weather). Only a few minutes earlier I was contemplating putting the hat on him, but I decided to wait until we got to our next stop, and I could more easily dig through our bag. That's Hashgacha pratis (divine intervention) for you.

Jenn

Shopping on-line

After 1 hour and 20 minutes of searching for "school uniforms," reading the product and size discriptions, finding out that I apparently do have an on-line account with the gap, waiting for them to e-mail me the password, waiting for the free shipping promo code to load, getting stuck in some kind of server jam, and then finializing my purchase, I have successfully purchased 4 school uniforms for the boys. It would have been quicker to just get everyone dressed and go to the store!

On another topic -- B comes home today!!! I am so excited. I am certain that he is going to freak out when I hug and kiss him striaght off the bus, but tough nuggies! I paid a ton for him to have this experience, he's gong to have to endure some public affection (AKA humiliation to an 8 year old)! I am so evil!

Jenn