Famille Du Pentium

We’re doing the usual this New Years Eve: imported meats and cheese snacks all evening, then watching the fireworks on T.V. at midnight. Probably a few games and activities mixed in for good measure. I hope to take some pics or maybe even short videos, and I’ll post them here.

Sigh.  The last “night” of Hanukkah.  I am always a bit bittersweet about the last night – the nine candles (per Menorah – 27 total) blazing, always lights up the room and seems to make it a bit warmer.  But then it’s over.  Bear in mind, our holidays run from sundown to sundown, so Hanukkah officially ends tomorrow at sundown.  But tonight is the last night of lights, of singing, and of course presents.

I had a little fun with the camera tonight.  A few poignant pictures here: The Lights Blazing, then The Last Flame.  As usual, you can see us enjoying the last night of Hanukkah, and a movie below.  Enjoy.

Twas just sort of a ho-hum, hum-drum evening at the Humphries-Dolnick household. I quizzed the kids about the real meaning of Hanukkah, and they did surprisingly well. Then we lit candles, and presents were distributed. Aaron got Marla a game for her DS, and the kids opened toys and games.

Today, I caught a quick clip of the kids singing a Hanukkah song, Haneirot Halalu.  Below is the video.  There’s also pictures. Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight, we ponder the real reason for Hanukkah – The Maccabees retaking the The Temple, the oil miracle, etc.

Then, we had LATKES!

Why do we eat latkes?  Because they’re cooked in oil, and Hanukkah is partly about one day worth of oil lasting eight nights.  The oil was needed for eight nights in order to purify the temple.  This is also why we eat donuts.

Enjoy the pics.

A laid back easy holiday today.  We were lazy.  We laid around the house until around 4:00 PM, then decided to go out to eat (Red Lobster has Surf & Turf on sale this week!) Of course, Aaron and I had to shovel snow first.  Oh yeah, and we opened Nana’s presents, so take a look at tonight’s festivities.

Up tomorrow: we might go to a (public) Hanukkah Party at a local mall, or we might not.  We might go sledding instead.   Or, we might be lazy :).

Good Shabbos and Happy Hanukkah!  Yes, yes I’m posting a blog entry on Shabbos, but it was a very nice one indeed.  Aaron made Shabbos dinner, we ate the fruit medley pie that baked all last night, and the kids opened toys.  Sorry, Mom – we had to shuffle a bit to keep certain presents in order – yours will be opened tomorrow.  Meanwhile, enjoy us as we enjoy Hanukkah!

Ahhh.  Just a bit calmer this evening!

During our recent trip to the UK, both Marla and I got hooked on afternoon tea.   Marla’s still drinking tea made “the right way” (no tea bags, through a strainer).  So she was delighted she opened the GE Electric Kettle that I bought her.

The kids had fun, they’re busy putting together their Legos now.  Soon it’ll be bedtime, back to school tomorrow!  Next up, tomorrow we open Nana’s presents.

What a hectic first night. Marla and I had a meeting from 4 to 5 PM, so we figured… no problem! We’ll pick up the kids at 3, get them home, make sure they do their homework while I gather up the paperwork we needed, and then we’d be off to the meeting. Afterward, we planned to come home, fix dinner, light candles, and open presents. Ah, the great plans we had.

Instead, Ethan forgot his math book, so we had to rush him back to school before it closed to get it, then rush to the appointment to make it on time. Then the appointment went 40 minutes late, so no time to cook – had to pick up McDonalds. What a great meal for the first night of Hanukkah!

I realize that’s small fish in a big pond as far as problems go, but just a glimpse into our everyday lives.

Anyway, candle lighting was great and I’ve posted some menorah and kid pics to enjoy.