Hanukkah service

We had a lovely time at synagogue last night, even if I DID end up with a $150 parking ticket for parking in front of a fire hydrant because there were no parking spaces outside of daycare even though I left in plenty of time but there was traffic and it was almost 6 and so...I ended up with a ticket.

But I digress.

Rachel looked adorable in her party outfit, the same one she wore at Thanksgiving. We sat next to a woman and her two kids, one of whom is 7 and one who is younger. The woman, Sarah, was very nice and I was sort of able to have a conversation with her while feeding Rachel sweet potatoes out of a jar (although she did very well on her own, eating half the jar herself)!

Rachel didn't even have a booster seat! She sat in a folding chair, drinking her water from a sippy cup and putting it carefully on the table in front of her. Drew handled most of dinner while I got latkes, beef and chicken; then I got another plate of food for him and fed Rachel while he ate. The Little Girl was really well-behaved.

The service was fantastic -- Cantor Ida Rae Cahana, the rabbi's wife who substituted for the usual cantor, walked down the center aisle of the darkened candle and singing a Hanukkah hymn. Rachel was fascinated by the proceedings and just stood and watched. Then she even sat in a cushioned pew for a while until she got restless and Drew walked her around. The rabbi told a great story about a man who conquered some Hanukkah goblins who had invaded a village and prevented the villagers from celebrating the holiday. Drew thought it was the most interesting Hanukkah story he had ever heard. It was written by a local author and we will try to get the book for next year, when Rachel will be old enough to understand.

While I was getting food for Drew, Sarah asked if she could give Drew some parenting advice. Sure, he said.

"Discipline your kids early," she said. "I didn't, and now it's really hard."

I also read in Parenting magazine that one of the secret of happy families is to express gratitude a lot. In our house, Drew and I tend to thank each other a lot for little things: Making the bed, doing the shopping, cleaning up Rachel's toys, putting her down for the night. We thank each other in front of her, and we thank her when she is helpful -- handing us the food she doesn't want to eat, wiggling out of her coat when we get home, handing us her shoes to put on her feet. We hope this sticks.

And when she does something we don't like, we're sure to tell her. She can tell by the tone of our voices when we're displeased and she screws up her face and cries - whereupon we repeat the lesson, then give her a quick cuddle to reassure her we still love her. Then it's on to being sunny again.