Guest Post: Introducing the Amazing Omer NOMers

I am so happy to have an actual guest post today from the mama, artist and blogger behind those beautiful Omer counters! Thanks to Tzipporah from the Midianite Manna blog for writing this piece and sharing her creative work.

A creative way to Count the Omer

Much like Tanya, I’m a big fan of homegrown, homemade, and creativity. When I combine these with new twists on Jewish traditions and my own parenting style, the results are sometimes pretty tasty. This year, our family will begin a new mitzvah – counting the Omer, the 7 weeks between Passover and the lesser-known holiday of Shavuot. (If you’re Jewish, you might be thinking, “right, the blintz day.”) And we’ll be doing it with chocolate.

I didn’t grow up Jewish, and as a December birthday girl I loved the cheap chocolate Advent calendars my mother bought for counting down to my birthday every year. I sort of felt sorry for kids with birthdays at other times of the year. Now that I’m Jewish, I don’t really miss Christmas, but every once in a while I do miss my birthday counters. So I was really excited when I saw Amy Meltzer’s idea for an edible Omer counter – not only was it authentically Jewish, it had TWICE as many treats! Oh yeah, and I should probably put some in for my son, too.

I used to be an avid fabric artist, but really hadn’t done anything of note for five years – having a kid can do that to your hobbies. Luckily my grandmother’s sewing machine was still working and after a few experiments, I was able to create a re-usable version of Amy’s Omer counters. The only problem was, I really liked it. So I made another one. And then another. Fabric designers are sneaky that way, making all those different colors and patterns so you just can’t stop at one.

So, in about a week and half, on the second night of Passover, we will begin counting the Omer together as a family for the first time – and I’m pretty sure it’s a tradition my son will insist on again next year.

I’ve put the extra Omer NOMers, as I call them, up for sale in my shop. As a thank you to Tanya for inviting me to post here, anyone who mentions when ordering that they found me through this blog will get a free bag of Kosher for Passover candy to fill in the first week! Now I’ve just got to find a hiding place for all the candy that my extremely resourceful five year old can’t find…

Summer Wish List

Amy from the great Jewish Parenting blog Homeshuling created a summer wish list and invited other Jewish mama bloggers to join her. I am happy to participate, so here is mine.  

 

Lake George

1) Spend plenty of time hanging out with my extended family by Lake George

 2) chase fire flies with the children and show them the night sky

3) swim a lot and generally perfect my beach momma routine (i.e. have the sunblock, sandals, towels, lunch & drinks ready and waiting)

 2) teach my 4 year old to swim..or at least get a lot more comfortable in the water

 3) teach my 18 month old some new important words like lake, sand and splash

 4) take some quiet family hikes

 5) have a regular tick check routine using my new flashlight and try not to obsess over ticks the rest of the time (like while chasing fire flies)

 6) keep blogging, finish my draft children’s book, write a little each week, nurture my new tiny writing group

 7) enjoy the farm and keep eating, cooking and freezing farm vegetables

 8)  copy Amy at Homeshuling and do a more regular Havdolah, including some under the summer stars. 

 9) reengage in helping to protect a mountain that I love near Lake George.

 10) make borscht out of the mountain of beets that are sitting in my kitchen right now

 11)  make at least one batch of naturally fermented pickles and vegetables

 12) keep decluttering and improving general household organization (why is the tape always missing when it is time to hang new art on the fridge?)

 13)  make it to number 18 on this list, since that was how Amy started it and I am all for lucky numbers (and get past nasty old number 13).

 14) help my friend market his awesome series of 30 Minute Shakespeare plays (they are great — any school group could perform them with minimal props and prep, have a great time and learn some Shakespeare.)

 15) sew a dress for myself with the help of a friend who plans to teach me to read a pattern (sort of like teaching someone to fish)

 16)  help get Israeli Harvest ready for the fall holidays.

  17) try to be a good daughter and support my parents however I am needed

 18)  stay present and calm as much as possible even when things don’t go as planned.

 That’s it. Thanks to Amy for my first meme invitation. I had to google meme to find out what it was and this is what I found.