tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17773726494790020372024-03-05T14:40:13.116-05:00SuperRaizyJust a typical Jewish mom... with a superhero complex.SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.comBlogger359125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-86277095600273567822010-08-05T10:30:00.001-04:002010-08-05T10:37:34.863-04:00It's Time For Me To Fly Away<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFDnXr-eTe1_gkVznvKoLZjc36NYw_7CzauNo0XTUD7TdLf24fhmPgyuq6CwmeYf8lsVI9hnsOhACdGrpI78iiXAJAlOQzH62hHxfy0B5jFr6W0KXzK-W29ytEgeSC_Q4BtLAsM95QoYV/s1600/Superwoman.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 204px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 110px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501931452510161298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYFDnXr-eTe1_gkVznvKoLZjc36NYw_7CzauNo0XTUD7TdLf24fhmPgyuq6CwmeYf8lsVI9hnsOhACdGrpI78iiXAJAlOQzH62hHxfy0B5jFr6W0KXzK-W29ytEgeSC_Q4BtLAsM95QoYV/s200/Superwoman.jpg" /></a> Oh boy, this is much harder than I thought it would be.<br /><br />I haven't posted here in a long time and that is because I have been trying to figure out how to say goodbye.<br />It's been two and a half years since I started SuperRaizy and being part of this little corner of the blogging world has been a really wonderful experience for me. I started blogging because I was feeling sad and lonely and overwhelmed by my responsibilities at work and at home, and the emotional outlet that being part of this community has provided for me has been invaluable. I have learned so much from reading about your challenges and successes, and being exposed to a whole new range of opinions has opened my eyes on a lot of issues. I am a smarter and more tolerant person now because of our discussions.<br /><br />But most of all, the friendships that I have formed with some of you has been the most amazing part of all. Making friends with people from around the world whom you have never actually met?! Who woulda thunk it? Definitely not me. But strangely enough, there are now men and women in Israel, in France, in Canada, and yes, <em>even in New Jersey</em> that I now consider to be my friends despite the fact that they don't even know my real name. And because I don't want to just walk away, I will be friending some of you on Facebook so we can continue to keep in touch (and hey, if you want to "ignore" me, I'll understand. I'm not looking to invade anyone's personal space).<br /><br />Now that my children are older <em>(Flash will be starting college in a year!)</em> I have started thinking about my own personal and professional goals. For the first time since my divorce 10 years ago, I am looking forward to the future instead of just feeling stuck in the day-to-day challenges of the present.<br /><br /><br /><p>I will still be checking in from time to time to see what y'all are up to. And I might post an update or two at some point if anything exciting happens. But for now, I bid you guys adieu and I remain yours truly,</p><p>SuperRaizy<br /></p>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-87901481193879435532010-04-06T21:53:00.001-04:002010-04-06T21:56:06.181-04:00I'm Not Afraid Of You!<embed height="354" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:mvideo:cmt.com:40319" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="dist=http%3A%2F%2Fwebmail%2Eaol%2Ecom%2F31226%2D111%2Faol%2D1%2Fen%2Dus%2FSuite%2Easpx&orig="></embed><noembed></noembed> <div><a href="http://www.cmt.com/video/" target="_blank">Tom Mabe: Eavesdropping</a></div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-520751953441368482010-04-04T02:50:00.000-04:002010-04-04T02:51:52.271-04:00Haveil Havalim: The Lots And Lotsa Matzah EditionBrush the crumbs off your beard and brace your aching tummy- it's time for Haveil Havalim again!!!<br /><em>Started by <a href="http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.com/">Soccer Dad </a>and administered by <a href="http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/">Jack</a>, HH is a weekly roundup of the best posts of the Jewish Blogosphere.</em><br />Probably due to the holiday, I received very few submissions this week for HH, so I conducted my own Bedikat Hablogs and selected some additional posts that I thought you might enjoy.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">So How's Your Pesach Going?</span></strong><br /><a href="http://illcallbaila.blogspot.com/2010/03/vacation-musings.html">Baila</a> is enjoying her vacation.<br />G6 is battling the matzah crumbs at <a href="http://guesswhoscoming2dinner.blogspot.com/2010/04/lesser-known-universal-pesach-moments.html">Guess Who's Coming To Dinner</a>.<br />All of Elliot Jaffe's children managed to stay awake throughout the seder at <a href="http://weekendhospitality.blogspot.com/2010/04/mid-pesach-weekend-and-recap.html">Weekend Hospitality.<br /></a>Seraphic Secret shows us what happens when <a href="http://www.seraphicpress.com/archives/2010/03/friday_fotos_ka.php">Karen Koshers Keilim</a>.<br />Frum Satire presents <a href="http://www.frumsatire.net/2010/03/29/rules-for-new-yorkers-visiting-miami-for-pesach/">Rules for NYers Visiting Miami for Pesach</a>, <a href="http://www.frumsatire.net/2010/04/03/passover-price-gouging/">Passover Price Gouging</a>, and <a href="http://www.frumsatire.net/2010/04/02/my-first-days-of-pesach-were-awesome/#more-4726">My First days of Pesach Were Awesome.</a><br /><a href="http://hadassahsabo.wordpress.com/2010/04/03/touching-moment/#comments">Hadassah's</a> son held her hand and melted her heart.<br />RivkA tells us about her family's vacation in Eilat over at <a href="http://coffeeandchemo.blogspot.com/2010/03/eilat-day-three-coral-beach-long-drive.html">Coffee and Chemo</a>.<br />Batya at <a href="http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2010/04/shiloh-our-heritage.html">Shiloh Musings </a>attended the Passover Festival at Tel Shiloh (with pictures!)<br /><a href="http://rechovot.blogspot.com/2010/04/did-you-see-my-central-park.html">The Rebbetzin's Husband </a>visited Central Park.<br />Shosh won <a href="http://daybygloriousday.blogspot.com/2010/03/prestigious-award.html">A Prestigious Award</a> right before Pesach at Day By Glorious Day.<br />The Subjugated Wife directs her outrage at certain smug patronizing men in <a href="http://subjugatedwife.blogspot.com/2010/04/my-annual-passover-rant.html">My Annual Passover Rant</a> (you tell 'em!)<br />And <a href="http://ourshiputzim.blogspot.com/2010/04/time-to-uncover-matzahs.html">Our Shiputzim </a>discusses the annual problem of conflicting haggadahs.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Pesach- It's What's For Dinner</span></strong><br />Esser Agaroth offers us a <a href="http://esseragaroth.blogspot.com/2010/04/qitniyoth-wrap-up-5770-kitniyot.html">Qitniyoth Wrap-Up</a>.<br />According to <a href="http://lifeinisrael.blogspot.com/2010/04/they-love-matza.html">Rafi G</a>., Israeli Arabs love to eat matzah with chocolate sauce.<br />The beautiful women of the J-Blogosphere present some delicious kosher-for-pesach recipes: <a href="http://www.leoraw.com/blog/2010/04/bitter-to-sweet-radish-salad/">radish salad </a>from Leora, <a href="http://ilanadavita.wordpress.com/2009/03/05/eggplant-caponata/">eggplant caponata</a> from Ilana Davita, <a href="http://www.israelikitchen.com/whats-cooking-for-shabbos-and-yom-tov/passover-cooking-swiss-chard-rollups/">swiss chard rollups </a>from Israeli Kitchen, <a href="http://www.baronesstapuzina.com/2010/03/31/mina-de-maza/">mina de maza</a> from Baronness Tapuzina, and chocolate biscotti, matzoh balls in Persian fruit soup, cranberry charoset, and mushroom croquettes all from <a href="http://food.lizsteinberg.com/">Cafe Liz</a>.<br />A Blob Of Something Different reminds us that Pesach is really all about freedom in <a href="http://ablobofsomethingdifferent.blogspot.com/2010/03/tasting-redemption.html">Let's Free Ourselves</a>.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Nu, So What's Been Happening In Israel?</span></strong><br />A televised debate between Hamas and Fatah leads The Israel Situation to discuss their tendency to <a href="http://www.israelsituation.com/2010/03/blame-it-on-the-occupation/">Blame It On The Occupation</a>. Eric also notes a bit of irony in <a href="http://www.israelsituation.com/2010/03/the-white-house-seder/">The White House Seder</a>.<br />It's a Passover miracle! <em>(heavy sarcasm) </em>A Palestinian teenager that was reportedly killed by the IDF is alive and well and back home with his family in Gaza. See <a href="http://muqata.blogspot.com/2010/04/amazing-palestinian-ressurection-killed.html">The Muqata </a>for all of the ridiculous details.<br />Soccer Dad discusses <a href="http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.com/archives/2010/04/01/the_twisted_logic_of_the_peace_process.html">The Twisted Logic Of The Peace Process</a>.<br />Oleh Girl discloses that <a href="http://olehgirl.com/?p=2984">Amnesty International Partners Up With Terrorists And Jihad</a>.<br />On a more personal note, A Soldier's Mother shows us how much the Israeli Army cares for its soldiers <em><strong>and</strong></em> for their families in <a href="http://israelisoldiersmother.blogspot.com/2010/03/are-you-chaims-mother.html">Are You Chaim's Mother?</a><br />and <a href="http://www.treppenwitz.com/2010/03/i-dont-know-whats-worse.html">Treppenwitz</a> shares the appalling story of his lost cell phone.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Other Good Stuff (or: it's getting late and I'm tired so I need to finish this up)</span></strong><br /><a href="http://materialmaidel.blogspot.com/2010/04/torah-vs-us-weekly.html">Material Maidel</a> asks a question that made me laugh out loud.<br /><a href="http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/2010/03/old-friends-opportunities-and-sands-of.html">Jack</a> reminisces about hanging out with the friends of his youth.<br />Wolfish Musings discusses <a href="http://wolfishmusings.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-end-some-torahscience-disputes.html">How To End Some Torah/Science Disputes </a>and shows us a beautiful shot of <a href="http://wolfishmusings.blogspot.com/2010/04/photo-sunset-over-hudson.html">the Hudson River at sunset</a>.<br />And for the mathematically challenged among us, <a href="http://imabima.blogspot.com/2010/03/were-counting-what.html">Ima On And Off The Bima </a>provides an "omer counter" to help us get through the next seven weeks.<br /><br /><strong>That's all, folks. Submit your fave article or blog post to next week's edition of HH </strong><a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_43.html"><strong>by using the carnival submission form</strong></a><strong>. To volunteer to host a future edition of HH, </strong><a href="http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/"><strong>contact Jack</strong></a>. <strong><br /></strong><strong><br /></strong>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-1120423676463591462010-03-31T11:25:00.000-04:002010-04-01T00:56:05.173-04:00Hosting HH This Week<a href="http://www.secretwomenssociety.com/woman%20on%20computer.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 190px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 145px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.secretwomenssociety.com/woman%20on%20computer.jpg" /></a>Just got back from a lovely (but rainy) Yom Tov by my sister's house in Long Island. It was nice to spend time with her and, like always, our kids thoroughly enjoyed being together. Supermangirl did a great job of keeping up with us at the seder (a first for her) and she got to engage in a 2 day Monopoly marathon with her cousin, who informed me that there is a version of Monopoly which features solid gold playing pieces, diamond encrusted dice and real cash and which costs "$27 billion dollars". I don't know what he's talking about but he's pretty cute, so whatever.<br /><br />Anyway, I'll be hosting Haveil Havalim this Sunday, so be sure to send your posts in ASAP. You can <a href="http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_43.html">submit posts here</a>. If you'd like to host a future edition of HH, please <a href="http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/">let Jack know</a>.SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-44468060687208928742010-03-29T11:13:00.002-04:002010-03-29T11:53:53.726-04:00Playing Ghost<a href="http://www.drybonesproject.com/blog/bedika.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 164px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.drybonesproject.com/blog/bedika.jpg" /></a>Yesterday, my mother boarded an El Al flight to join my brother and his family in Israel for the holiday. She was so relieved not to have to do any Pesach cleaning or cooking of her own. When I was little, preparing for Pesach was a major headache for my Mom. With 5 kids, a full time job, and barely enough money to cover the added costs, she had to work long into the night to get everything ready on time. To add insult to injury, my father <em>a"h</em>, who tended to get very jittery and irritable before holidays, would rush around the kitchen trying to help, which ticked her off even further. We children knew to stay out of the kitchen before the inevitable meltdown occurred. One year, this took the form of my mother throwing a wet sponge at my father's head; another time, she threatened to drown him in the chicken soup if he didn't get out of her way. My father, who loved my mother more than anything in the world, always looked shocked and hurt and would protest feebly that he was just trying to help. We would shake our heads sadly and gently lead my dad out of the kitchen, marveling that after all these years he still hadn't learned his lesson.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Eventually my Mom would declare the kitchen "finished" and we would all assemble in the living room to prepare for Bedikat Chametz <em>(searching for chametz)</em> just before midnight. By this point, my mother was so exhausted and so eager to get the kids to bed that she would urge my father to "stop with the narishkeit already and just go play ghost". As my father wandered around the dark house clutching a lit candle and looking for the 10 pieces of bread that we had hid moments earlier, my mother would mutter darkly under her breath. The moment the ceremony was over, we were rushed off to bed. </div><br /><div>My siblings and I never viewed these proceedings as being unpleasant or traumatic. We thought the whole process was funny, and sometimes we would lay bets as to how long it would take before my mother started threatening my father with a dishwater bath. Now as adults, all 5 of us still refer to Bedikat Chametz as "playing ghost". I thought of my parents last night as I watched Flash lead his sisters around the house looking for the 10 pieces of bread. As they came downstairs, Supermangirl excitedly announced "Ma, we did really great this year! We found eleven pieces of bread!" Flash shook his head in exasperation (apparently the girls had hidden 11 pieces instead of the required 10) but all I thought was "a new generation, but still the same old chaos". </div><br /><div>I hope you all enjoyed playing ghost in your houses, and that you and your families are able to leave the chaos of preparation behind and enjoy a peaceful and stress-free holiday.</div><br /><div>Chag Sameach!!!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-22592699593873330082010-03-23T07:15:00.002-04:002010-03-23T08:02:07.555-04:00No Longer A Virgin<a href="http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/images/2008/07/09/kiss_3.gif"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 173px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 126px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/images/2008/07/09/kiss_3.gif" /></a>About two weeks ago, I finally took the plunge.<br /><div>After sitting on the sidelines watching my friends, my nieces, and my teenage son doing it, I decided that it looked like fun and that I wanted to join in. </div><div>So I did it.</div><div>I joined Facebook. I am no longer a Facebook virgin! <em>(Wait a second... what did you people think I meant?)</em></div><div>Anyway, this Facebook thing is fun. Admittedly, it's an even bigger time suck than blogging is, but I've managed to reconnect with people I thought I would never speak to again. So far, I've "friended" 14 old classmates, two cousins that I never actually see, an old boyfriend, and my best friend from Israel who I lost touch with 10 years ago. </div><div>It seems that many people spend a lot of their Facebook time running some kind of weird farm and hunting down Mafia rivals. I'm not interested in that at all. I just want to hear how my friends are doing. </div><div>So if I've appeared to be a bit absent from the blogosphere, it's because a new love has been taking up my free time. But I would never turn my back on you guys <em>(awww shucks). </em>I'll be back real soon, because I've answered Jack's call to arms and will be hosting the Chol Hamoed Pesach edition of Haveil Havalim. First one to correctly guess what I'll be naming that edition of HH gets a big ol' kiss from SuperRaizy. </div><div>Y'all come back then, you hear? </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-42084043444513237732010-03-11T20:41:00.004-05:002010-03-11T20:46:37.418-05:00Any Computer Experts Out There?<a href="http://computer-help-services.home.comcast.net/~computer-help-services/miscpics/computer_trouble.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 148px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 147px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://computer-help-services.home.comcast.net/~computer-help-services/miscpics/computer_trouble.jpg" /></a><br /><div>HELP!<br />I upgraded to Explorer 8, and now my e-mail contact list has been wiped out. I had dozens of e-mail addresses of friends and family and colleagues- now I have none. Is there any way to restore my contacts so that I can send e-mails again?</div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-65373809808580797192010-03-08T19:24:00.002-05:002010-03-08T19:37:26.683-05:00Helping Slow ReadersNew blogger Rachel Ann has some good advice for parents who want to help their children become skillful readers. <a href="http://whoisrachelann.blogspot.com/2010/02/one-moms-advice-on-learning-to-read.html">Check out her post at Me Ani.</a>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-57257763201919013532010-03-05T08:08:00.002-05:002010-03-05T08:33:54.175-05:00Don't Try This At Home, LadiesSometimes, you just really want to kill your husband. Believe me, I know the feeling. But this woman went a little too far:<br /><br /><em>A Long Island mother of four has been arrested after offering to pay a hitman $20,000 to kill her husband. </em><em>On February 19, Susan Williams approached a confidential source and informed him that she wanted to have her husband, Peter Williams, murdered and that she wanted the source to arrange it, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.<br />Instead of finding a hitman, the source contacted the DA’s Office.<br />On February 23, while under audio surveillance, the source called Williams to tell her that he could arrange a meeting with a hitman. The meeting took place five days later with an undercover Nassau County detective posing as the hitman.<br />During the meeting, Williams said that she and her husband were in the middle of divorce proceedings and that she wanted him dead.<br />Williams was told by the undercover detective that it would cost her $20,000 to have her husband killed. At a March 3 meeting between the two where she was given numerous opportunities to back out, Williams handed the undercover detective a photo of her husband, his home and work address, license plate number, and a provided a $500 down payment.</em><br /><em>(Source: <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35718097">MSNBC.com</a>)</em><br /><em></em><br />Jeezarooni. This woman has 4 kids, and now she's facing a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison. As horrible as she thought her husband and her marriage were, her future is looking a lot more horrible. Did she honestly think she would get away with this? This strikes me as being some pretty bad decision making on her part.<br />When I was waiting for my get, a certain ultra-frumie cousin of mine generously offered me $100,000 cash to "get rid of the problem". Super-naive me asked "What do you mean?" He answered "Use the cash to buy him off or to knock him off. Your choice." While I was tempted, I declined my cousin's lovely offer and stayed on the right side of the law. I'm glad I did. I wouldn't want to be sharing a prison cell for 25 years with Susan Williams.SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-42946578963580762462010-02-28T09:45:00.003-05:002010-02-28T09:49:42.838-05:00<a href="http://www.nyu.edu/bronfman/new/images/HappyPurim2010.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 363px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 303px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.nyu.edu/bronfman/new/images/HappyPurim2010.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;">FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT CASA SUPERRAIZY</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;"></span> </div><div> </div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-26507576648443902442010-02-25T20:41:00.002-05:002010-02-25T20:52:26.078-05:00Please Daven For Our FriendWe just got some terrible news. A man we know, a truly modest man who gives very generously to tzedakah and who treats all those around him with courtesy and respect, has suffered a massive stroke and is currently in very critical condition at a local hospital. His wife and children and his parents, as well as his community, are very worried.<br />My children and I were lucky enough to be hosted by him and his wife for two Shabbat weekends, and no one has ever treated us with more warmth and kindness than they have.<br />At this point, the only thing that we can do for him is get as many people as possible to pray for his recovery. Please take a moment to join your prayers with ours, and if you can add his name to your shul's or yeshiva's Tehillim list, we would be grateful.<br /><strong>Please pray for the health of Nissan Nutta ben Chava.</strong>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-25974608370237438522010-02-24T19:10:00.000-05:002010-02-24T19:08:55.307-05:00Protecting Our Kids<div align="left"><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/WN/delaware-pediatrician-earl-bradley-indicted-103-counts-sexual/story?id=9921990&page=2">A pediatrician in Delaware has been accused </a>of sexually molesting 103 children over a 12 year period. Dr. Earl Bradley was indicted Monday on 471 counts of rape and sexual assault of a minor. Some of the victims were just a few months old. Police found more than 13 hours of video tape that showed multiple incidents of child sexual abuse, including one assault on a 2 year old that was described by an investigating officer as "one of the most violent and brutal attacks on a child of any age" that he had ever seen. Some of the tapes show Bradley "muzzling" screaming children who tried to escape. </div><br />Apparently, Bradley would take children downstairs to a basement playroom and would attack them there while their parents and other patients waited in nearby rooms. When one mother was asked why she allowed her daughter to be alone with Bradley, she replied that she trusted Bradley because he was a doctor.<br /><br />I thought that was very odd. Pediatricians normally never ask to be alone with their patients. It is understood that a parent or caregiver will accompany the child into the exam room. A pediatrician who asks parents to wait outside while he examines their child is very unusual, and the request should raise a red flag that something is not right here. (The exception to this rule is when adolescents visit the pediatrician. The doctor might offer to counsel a teenager about birth control, venereal diseases, or substance abuse, and most kids would be more comfortable discussing these issues without a parent present. But this is entirely at the discretion of the patient and his parent. No doctor should ever ban a parent from the room. I always stay in the exam room with my girls at the doctor or dentist office. I stopped acompanying Flash about two years ago, as per his very reasonable request. No teenage boy wants his Mommy in the room when the doctor is examining him. Besides, Flash has an offbeat sense of humor and thinks it's funny when our pediatrician- who is not Jewish and has a largely non-Jewish clientele- lectures him about using condoms and not dropping out of high school. "You gotta stay outside Ma, or the paranoid doctor won't talk to me about the good stuff." Far be it from me to cramp his style.)<br /><br />I think it should be obvious to everyone at this point that we have to be extremely careful whom we allow to be alone with our small children. Sometimes even the most trustworthy people can't be trusted.SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-72214376937396535082010-02-21T09:34:00.006-05:002010-02-21T19:43:38.629-05:00Disrupting The Dance<em><strong>Update: My mom called to say that the show was beautiful and that she really enjoyed it. She said that there were only a few "pathetic-looking" protestors there and she was shocked to discover that some of them were Jewish. She also said that there were a lot of police officers around "just in case". </strong></em><br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewIGQeJIj8s1Kkl3T2ivLQ775SQwJeMba0MXCRNjg__H5sHwKip7Nd5PdXGYX5TPFXiQXKihE1klEwSySDertSmtMG-10GR2NdM7FO3ltKIaqu7zMXRJ96WnvHZO2FQjtbIeSR1FOZZ7m/s1600-h/DonQuixote-flashs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440715882368055090" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 164px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewIGQeJIj8s1Kkl3T2ivLQ775SQwJeMba0MXCRNjg__H5sHwKip7Nd5PdXGYX5TPFXiQXKihE1klEwSySDertSmtMG-10GR2NdM7FO3ltKIaqu7zMXRJ96WnvHZO2FQjtbIeSR1FOZZ7m/s200/DonQuixote-flashs.jpg" border="0" /></a>Back in October, while talking to my mom, I saw that she was feeling kind of down and stressed out. I wanted to do something to cheer her up but wasn't sure how. When I found out that the Israel Ballet was coming to the States to perform for the first time in 25 years, I thought "jackpot!" My mother LOVES ballet. She studied ballet as a child <em>(come to think of it, I've never really told you much about my mother's childhood... I really should, it's fascinating) </em>but she hasn't had many opportunities to attend ballet shows. Then I found out that the Israel Ballet would be performing Don Quixote (one of my mom's all-time favorite stories) right here at the performing arts center at Brooklyn College. Yeah, baby. I was SO getting those tickets.<br /><div></div><br /><div>And so I did. I bought two tickets, for my mom and her husband, and gave them to her as a Chanukah present. She was really happy, and has been looking forward to seeing the show, which is scheduled for this afternoon. </div><br /><div>But as we all know, man makes plans and pro-Palestinian protesters ruin them. <a href="http://muqata.blogspot.com/2010/02/nif-sponsored-organization-disrupts.html">Jameel has posted that the Israel Ballet's performance in Vermont this past Friday was interrupted by protesters from Adalah-NY: The Coalition For Justice in the Middle East, and that they are planning to disrupt today's performance at Brooklyn College as well.</a> Apparently, they feel that accusing Americans who wish to watch a ballet of "supporting Israel's apartheid policy" and "covering up war crimes" is a perfectly reasonable and justifiable action to take. I called my mother to warn her that her long-anticipated pleasant afternoon at the theater was going to be marred by a bunch of deluded, self-hating anti-semitic lunatics who think that turning their backs on their own people and advocating for Israel's enemies constitutes "justice". She was not pleased <em>(but like any good New Yorker, began to worry that the protest would make it even harder to find a parking spot).</em> I then called the security office at Brooklyn College, who assured me that they knew about the protest and would have security there. </div><br /><div>I appreciate the heads up from Jameel, and I really hope that those goons let my mom and the other patrons enjoy the show in peace. </div><br /><div></div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-6483273798978655022010-02-17T18:42:00.002-05:002010-02-17T19:47:58.095-05:00Maybe They Are Listening After AllLast night, while eating dinner, Wonderwoman began to tease Supermangirl about a phone call that she had just received from a boy in her class.<br />Wonderwoman: So, do you like Avi?<strong>*</strong><br />Supermangirl: He's OK.<br />W: Is he like, your boyfriend or something?<br />S (annoyed): No!<br />W: Well, maybe he could be your boyfriend. Is he handsome?<br />S: I don't know. What difference does it make?<br />W: Because you want a boyfriend who's good looking.<br />S: Yeah, well, that's not the only important thing. He also has to be smart and nice and treat you with respect.<br />W (chastened): That's true.<br /><br />Is it possible? Could it be that all of my lectures are not totally in vain?<br /><br /><em><strong>*</strong>Name has been changed to protect the innocent</em><br /><em></em>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-29197215538250167042010-02-14T20:13:00.002-05:002010-02-14T20:16:39.475-05:00What The Hell Is Chuck Wagon Bagoo?<a href="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/pT/school-lunch-unhealthy-fd-m.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 218px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 193px" alt="" src="http://www.thedailygreen.com/cm/thedailygreen/images/pT/school-lunch-unhealthy-fd-m.jpg" border="0" /></a> When Flash was in elementary school, among the soggy wads of crumpled papers that I would fish out from the bottom of his hellaciously messy backpack, I would find the monthly school lunch menu. This was a colored sheet of paper that would list the components of the government subsidized hot lunch that was prepared in the school's kitchen by the sweaty, chain smoking female cook. Each day's meal included a protein, a carb, a fruit and a vegetable, as required by the federal regulations that govern the school lunch program. Among the fried chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and canned fruit selections was an item that appeared on the menu at least once a month: Chuck Wagon Bagoo. Not knowing what on earth this could possibly be, I asked Flash. "Oh, puke!" he said in typical 4th grader lingo. "That stuff is the grossest! It makes me want to hurl!" I didn't doubt that this was true, but I still wanted to know what it was. After pressing Flash for more details, he finally described it as "slimy noodles with chunks of horsemeat in gray goopy glopp". Based on this somewhat vivid description, I figured out that Chuck Wagon Bagoo was noodles with meat sauce. I understood the "Chuck" (ground beef) and assumed that "Wagon" just sorta came along to form "chuck wagon". But I never did understand the "Bagoo". All I knew was that my otherwise well-fed son was being given food that made him "want to hurl" on a daily basis.<br /><br /><div><div>And it wasn't just Flash's school, of course. Wonderwoman has been taking lunch from home for years because she refuses to eat the food provided in the cockroach infested school lunchroom. I'm sure that children in many other local yeshivas are also eating poor quality food prepared in unsanitary school kitchens. What's surprising is how infrequently we hear yeshiva parents complaining about the lousy food that their children are receiving. </div><div></div><div>In contrast, the quality of the meals served in public schools has been under scrutiny for quite some time. School districts across the country have been making serious efforts to provide fresher and more nutritious meals to students, in the hopes of warding off malnutrition and obesity and increasing the energy and focus of the children. In many cities, high fat and high sodium foods have been replaced by leaner cuts of meat, lowfat dairy products, and fresh fruits and vegetables (instead of canned). But there's still a lot of work to be done. One Illinois public school teacher, who is afraid to divulge her name lest she be fired, has decided to eat the school lunch every day for a year and to blog about it at <a href="http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/">Fed Up: School Lunch Project</a>. Each day, she lists the components of the "hot lunch" that is served to the students, posts a picture of it, and discusses the taste and temperature of the food and whether or not she found it satisfying. I have to commend her for staying as upbeat as she does, because those pictures look so unappetizing to me, and she frequently notes that the meat is lukewarm, the fruit is still frozen, and the portions are inadequate. I also have to commend her for having the fortitude to eat that stuff at all. As any teacher can tell you, we adults who work in the schools feed these lunches to your children, but we never ever eat it ourselves. That alone ought to tell you something. </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-84238567530835581692010-02-08T06:52:00.003-05:002010-02-08T07:05:26.874-05:00Camp Scholarship Available For Midwest GirlsA small girls camp located in Pennsylvania has received a grant from a donor who would like to help children from Jewish communities in the Mid-West attend orthodox summer camp. This scholarship is available to children from Jewish communities of fewer than 3000 people in the following states: <em>Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. </em><br />I can personally vouch for the professionalism and warmth with which this camp is run. If anyone is interested in this scholarship opportunity, please e-mail me for more information.SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-24164906493629205252010-01-31T16:01:00.006-05:002010-01-31T16:29:37.859-05:00So How Did The Pie Turn Out?Thank you to all those who left a comment on my previous post. We went through with the original plan. I bought a frozen pie crust, baked it in the oven for 20 minutes, and had the girls spoon a 6-pack of chocolate pudding into it. They then spooned some Cool Whip on top of it (kudos to the commenters who reminded me to add a whipped topping, I had forgotten about that part) and then chilled it in the frig for an hour. This how it came out:<br /><br /><p></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-O4oYyF5-gSgyibdAYvYYQVQ6fp4x3mnkAeju5QzaWuOgswRViTzihBLFUM0EEe2r3h1zTFdgAbHqKQ4TTWlSCsNsNZrktQGrr8u-VEkRP_1abcI4SJk_RM-kyM17i1ldUMXt1HyBisSr/s1600-h/jan+30+2010+039.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433015897407744546" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-O4oYyF5-gSgyibdAYvYYQVQ6fp4x3mnkAeju5QzaWuOgswRViTzihBLFUM0EEe2r3h1zTFdgAbHqKQ4TTWlSCsNsNZrktQGrr8u-VEkRP_1abcI4SJk_RM-kyM17i1ldUMXt1HyBisSr/s320/jan+30+2010+039.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Ok, so they added way too much Cool Whip. It was a gloppy mess, difficult to cut and messy to serve. But they loved it. The three of them sat at the table, spooning this garbage into their mouths and moaning with pleasure. I was too turned off to even taste it. Happy kids. Mission accomplished.<br /><br /><em>I don't know what the deal is with the weird date stamp on the photo. I guess we have to reset that on the digital camera. </em>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-10417595913398048142010-01-28T19:54:00.003-05:002010-01-28T19:57:49.791-05:00A Question About PieMy kids want me to bake them a chocolate cream pie. I absolutely hate to bake and have never made a pie in my life. If I bought a prepared pie crust from the supermarket and spooned some Swiss Miss chocolate pudding into it, would it taste the same?SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-65239491847402717052010-01-27T19:16:00.003-05:002010-01-27T19:35:45.967-05:00The Apple iPadSteve Jobs unveiled the new Apple iPad touch screen tablet computer today. There was so much media hype leading up to the great reveal that I was sure that the thing would break new ground in personal computing. Based on what I've read so far, that doesn't seem to be the case. The tablet looks like a giant iPhone and functions in a similar way. The price ranges from $499-$829, depending on capability. You can read reviews of the iPad <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35085524/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/apple-ipad-first-hands-on/?icid=mainmaindl1link3http%3A%2F%2Fwww.engadget.com%2F2010%2F01%2F27%2Fapple-ipad-first-hands-on%2F">here</a>. The graphics and the touchscreen capabilities are just gorgeous:<br /><br /><object id="viddler_51b063e8" height="288" width="437" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11562"><param name="_cy" value="7620"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/51b063e8/"><param name="Src" value="http://www.viddler.com/player/51b063e8/"><param name="WMode" value="Window"><param name="Play" value="-1"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value=""><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value=""><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.viddler.com/player/51b063e8/" width="437" height="288" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" name="viddler_51b063e8"></embed></object><br /><br />What do you think? Is this something that you would spend hundreds of dollars on?SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-78750078598968099492010-01-26T20:20:00.000-05:002010-01-26T20:19:56.579-05:00Your Balance Is...Last month, on Chanukah, I caved. Months and months of kvetching and pleading from Flash and Wonderwoman led me to finally agree to add texting to their cellphones. I had resisted up until that point (despite the fact that <em><strong>all their friends have it</strong></em> and <em><strong>this is so unfair</strong></em> and <em><strong>OMG, Ma, it's not like it's still 1923 like when you were a kid</strong></em>) because I felt that they had enough high-tech distractions available to them already. Of course I was right, but like the good indulgent soft American parent that I am, I finally gave in and called our cellphone provider to add a text messaging bundle to our family plan (I was surprised at how inexpensive it is). The kids agreed to the rules that I laid out <em>(no texting at the table, during homework, or after bedtime, and if I EVER hear that you were texting during class may God have mercy on your souls)</em> and have, to their credit, stuck to the rules without a problem.<br /><br />Then last week, I got the cellphone bill. I opened the envelope and was shocked to see that my balance was <strong>$1715.63!!! </strong>My mouth dropped open, I let out an expletive, and I grabbed the phone to call the customer service number. The representative who answered the phone made the following genius statement:<br />"Good evening, this is Maryanne, thank you for calling T-Mobile. I see that your balance last month was $84.72 and your current balance is $1715.63. Now what can I help you with?"<br />Take one freakin' guess, Maryanne.<br /><br />Anyway, after nearly twenty minutes, I managed to convince the cheerful but dim-witted Maryanne that I did indeed add texting to my plan before allowing my children to send over 3000 text messages and that I did not, after 8 years of being a good customer, suddenly decide to go crazy and run up these insane overage charges. She agreed that the omission of my order from their computer system was their fault and not mine, and adjusted the balance and fixed the mistake. We eventually parted on good terms.<br />But the next morning, I couldn't resist. Knowing that most of the text messages were Wonderwoman's (she's got very little impulse control), I quietly laid the phone bill before her at the breakfast table, pointed to the $1715.63 figure and whispered ominously "What did you do?!" She gasped and spilled her milk all over her shirt. It meant more laundry for me, I suppose, but it was worth it to avenge the months of pleading that she and her brother had subjected me to.SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-83888303937129719432010-01-19T22:20:00.000-05:002010-01-19T22:19:13.369-05:00How Sweet Is This?!<em>source: <a href="http://www.parentdish.com/2010/01/15/dad-creates-edible-superhero-lunches/">Parentdish</a></em><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Frlku4brFy4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Frlku4brFy4&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-68592669543033970622010-01-18T16:35:00.004-05:002010-01-18T20:27:51.496-05:00Shoppin' Large<a href="http://www.losanjealous.com/img/06/a/costco.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 193px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px" alt="" src="http://www.losanjealous.com/img/06/a/costco.jpg" border="0" /></a>So I just got back from my first ever trip to Costco. My mother has been bugging me for a long time that I spend way too much money buying meat, paper goods, and cleaning products at the local kosher grocery store. She's completely right. My grocery bills are insane (see previous kvetching <a href="http://superraizy.blogspot.com/2008/10/paying-like-prince-eating-like-pauper.html">here</a>) but because I don't have a car, I need to shop locally. So today, in honor of Martin Luther King Day (both my mom and I have the day off on legal holidays), we hit up the <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/costco-wholesale-318-brooklyn">Brooklyn Costco</a>. <em>(For all you foreigners out there, Costco is a chain of warehouses that sells everything in bulk from food and paper goods to clothing and electronics. You buy a yearly membership for around $50, and then you can shop as much as you want. Prices are noticeably lower than retail.)</em><br /><div>The place is as big as an airport hangar, and it is crammed full of enormous boxes. You hoist these huge boxes into a shopping cart that is the size of a small sofa. The problem is that you can't just buy one or two of an item- everything has to be bought in bulk. I tried to sneak one loaf of bread onto the checkout counter, but the lady promptly took it away and scolded me for breaking up a 6-pack of bread. We spent about 90 minutes there, and walked out with $400 worth of stuff (my very generous mother paid- thanks Mom!)</div><br /><div>So right now my living room is littered with 30 rolls of toilet paper, two dozen boxes of tissues, a 350-count bag of paper cups, and shampoo bottles that are too large for me to lift. I have to find space in my freezer for 6 pounds of chicken legs, lots of turkey and some meatballs in sauce (the Brooklyn Costsco has glatt kosher meat). My little house has NO storage space at all (our basement is rented out, there are very few closets, etc.) so I have no idea where I'm going to put all this stuff. Right now Wonderwoman is seated on the toilet paper package, and Flash has been absentmindedly weight-lifting the laundry detergent. If any of you need some extra tissues or soap, feel free to drop by. We've got plenty. </div><div></div><br /><div></div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-71813386387088820452010-01-14T22:47:00.005-05:002010-01-16T19:25:48.718-05:00Adding An Extra PrayerAs details of the horrific aftermath of Tuesday's earthquake filter out of Port-au-Prince, I am reminded how very, very lucky I am to be safe in my own home with my children around me. I always pray after lighting Shabbat candles, but this time, I will add a special prayer for those poor people who are still trapped in the rubble and are probably wondering "meayin yavo ezri" (from where will my salvation come?).<br /><br /><object id="ep" height="374" width="416" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"><param name="_cx" value="11007"><param name="_cy" value="9895"><param name="FlashVars" value=""><param name="Movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=world/2010/01/14/watson.haiti.trapped.girl.cnn"><param name="Src" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=world/2010/01/14/watson.haiti.trapped.girl.cnn"><param name="WMode" value="Transparent"><param name="Play" value="0"><param name="Loop" value="-1"><param name="Quality" value="High"><param name="SAlign" value="LT"><param name="Menu" value="-1"><param name="Base" value=""><param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="Scale" value="NoScale"><param name="DeviceFont" value="0"><param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"><param name="BGColor" value="000000"><param name="SWRemote" value=""><param name="MovieData" value=""><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"><param name="Profile" value="0"><param name="ProfileAddress" value=""><param name="ProfilePort" value="0"><param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"><param name="AllowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=world/2010/01/14/watson.haiti.trapped.girl.cnn" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="416" wmode="transparent" height="374"></embed></object><br /><br /><em>The girl was freed from the rubble shortly after this video aired and was transferred to a hospital for treatment.</em><br /><strong><em>Further update: CNN is reporting that the girl subsequently died of her wounds on Friday.</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-81974887743162830502010-01-13T20:42:00.002-05:002010-01-13T20:51:06.926-05:00Yiddish With Dick and Jane<em>Only this could get me out of my I'msocoldandgrumpyandmyteenagekidsaregettingonmynervesandwhyohwhydoIalwayshavesomuchlaundry?non-bloggingslump:<br /></em><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NlO5vUS5KnU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NlO5vUS5KnU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><em></em>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1777372649479002037.post-87261024604427660492009-12-18T07:57:00.002-05:002009-12-18T08:32:36.728-05:00Attention Parents: Your Kid Is Freezing<a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/6631011/2/istockphoto_6631011-freezing-boy.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 159px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 206px" alt="" src="http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/6631011/2/istockphoto_6631011-freezing-boy.jpg" border="0" /></a>In the afternoons, I work with a special-ed child who attends one of the local MO yeshivot. The children are taken outside for recess every day, despite the temperature, unless it is raining or snowing. I think it's a little bit crazy to send kids out to play for 45 minutes in 30 degree (farenheit) weather, but that's what the school does. Many of the girls come to school wearing flippy little skirts, thin tights or lacy socks, ballet flats, thin cotton shirts without a sweater on top, etc. Their outfits were obviously chosen to be "cute" (and they are) but they do not protect the girls from the freezing temperatures. Many of the kids (boys and girls) do not have hats or gloves. Some of the jackets have broken zippers, so even though we try to zip everyone up before going outside, some of the children run around the playground with their jackets open and half falling off of them. By the time we bring them back in, their skin is frozen and their noses are running.<br /><div>This morning Supermangirl complained that her class was taken on a short trip yesterday and that she was cold on the bus because she didn't have her hat with her. I felt really bad about that. She wears warm boots and a sweatshirt and a thick coat and gloves every day, but she was still cold. (This morning I made sure that she had her hat with her.)</div><br /><div>So parents: please make sure that your child is dressed warmly enough for whatever the day may bring. </div><br /><div>(And please, stick a tissue or two in his pocket before he leaves the house. We teachers are really tired of seeing your kids wipe their noses on their sleeves.)</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>SuperRaizyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06742653185025562286noreply@blogger.com6