Really unflattering picture, but look at my earrings....

I wanted to show everyone that I've been wearing the awesome jewelry from my grandmother.  She gave me the matroyshka doll earrings when I was a kid, and the pin a few years ago when I was last in Israel.  Both are actually from Russia, I can't remember if they were passed down from our family, or from family friends.  But either way, I've gotten such comments on them whenever I wear them, they're so much fun!

Why are Jews successful economically? Why do we sleep 8 hours a night? And how do you play "Adon Olam" to the "Cups song"? Ah, the questions of the age.

I followed an NPR link and it led me to a explanation of a premise that is now explained in a book, The Chosen Few: How Education Shaped Jewish History, 70-1492.  It looks fascinating.  The  article itself is well worth a read, explaining the authors' premise:

"Modern explanations of why the Jews became a population of craftsmen, traders, shopkeepers, bankers, scholars, and physicians have relied on supposed economic or legal restrictions. But these do not pass the test of the historical evidence...  

The key message of "The Chosen Few" is that the literacy of the Jewish people, coupled with a set of contract-enforcement institutions developed during the five centuries after the destruction of the Second Temple, gave the Jews a comparative advantage in occupations such as crafts, trade, and moneylending -- occupations that benefited from literacy, contract-enforcement mechanisms, and networking and provided high earnings."

Apparently the article got so much feedback that there was then a follow-up article, where the authors answered the most popular questions, critiques, and comments to their premise.  Again, completely intriguing.

As I read these articles at some ungodly hour when I couldn't sleep, I thought this piece was worthy of note.  It's from a site called "slumberwise.com," so I can't account for its accuracy, but if it's true, it makes me rethink our sleeping patterns entirely.  Entitled, "Your Ancestors Didn't Sleep Like You," it describes how people used to sleep in two segments over a 12-hour period of time, how this is more natural to our circadian rhythms, and that this way of sleeping went out of style at the advent of electric light.  Who knew?

And lastly, just for fun, you know the ubiquitous Anna Kendrick "Cups" song?  I saw a great version of it on my FB feed, where a vocal band did a cover to Adon Olam, a liturgical prayer that is often reworked into different tunes.  Click on this link to enjoy an entirely new contemporary version of Adon Olam!

Ari's other life at school

It's easy to know what Xander does in school every day, because he tells us about it.  Not so much with Ari; the two year-old communication isn't always the best, so we've asked his teachers to write down what he does in the day, so we can talk to him about it.  Most of the time the descriptions are rather short, but this day his teacher must have felt inspired.  I especially liked the last three.

This came in the school's weekly newsletter, and I wrote back to the teachers asking what it was from.  Ari an actor and Xander watching him from the left-hand side, and I heard nothing about it from my kids?  The answer: "This was a musical duo that [a student's mom] asked to come in as part of his birthday celebration.  Ari was chosen to go up and hold the elephant mask as part of the song/story that was being told. How cute is he??"

Yay for women's empowerment!

Has anyone heard of the DoubleClicks?  This video is called "Nothing to Prove," all about finding equality in geek-dom.

Bedtime stories are so funny!

Ari pointing out something important.

 Xander cracking up.

That Sammy the Spider... too hilarious.

Best. Smoothie. Ever.

I've been trying to make myself smoothies in the morning.

Today I took out the blender, plugged it in.  Added ice.  A banana.  Frozen strawberries.  Milk.  

And then I tried to add the yogurt.

I couldn't find the yogurt.

Turns out we were completely out of yogurt.

So what did I do?  What any pregnant woman would do.

I added vanilla ice cream instead.

Oh my god can I begin to tell you the awesomeness of this breakfast?!

Dessert in summertime

All-natural fruit popsicles... YUM!