Nagging the teens

I had a couple of long phone calls this morning, with two very good friends. Friends who have more experience than me in various areas of life.

Two things I gleaned (which is stuff I knew, but sometimes you need to have the message hammered home) – you have to pick your battles – with kids and spouses, and that nagging teens is not necessarily the way to go.

I had happened to mention that I still remind my teens to brush their teeth, or pick up their room, or take a shower if they smell, or even if they don’t. I was told that this kind of nagging can foster a deep sense of resentment. The teen has to learn to do all these things themselves. If he doesn’t brush his teeth who is it hurting? If he doesn’t shower, he is the one that smells – but then I can’t hug him if he is stinky…. 😦  . If you constantly remind him to do these things, you are hurting your relationship with him. Possibly. Part of me feels it is my job as Ima to remind them to take a shower and brush teeth and put their dirty clothes in the laundry.

I was curious – so I am asking my readers – do you nag your teens to take care of basic personal hygiene? Why or why not? At what age do you just hope that they have absorbed your message and leave them be? What do you wish you hadn’t been nagged about as a teenager? Do you ever know if your message has got through?

(PS Thanks ladies, you know who you are, for your insight and your bravery in talking straight to me and not soft soaping.)

Seinfeld and the Jews

This video was too funny not to share. This woman learned all about Judaism from Seinfeld.

Hat Tip @susqhb

Total Yummaliciousness!!

There is no other word to describe Duncan Hines new range of cake mixes. Seriously! We are huge cake aficionados in this house – these teenage boys sometimes seem as if they have hollow legs! I used to make their Devils Food chocolate cake all the time – and was lucky if it lasted 24 hours.

Recently at the Schmooze I picked up a couple of their new mixes – the new line of “Decadent” cake mixes. Well, their advertising is truthful. I whipped up the Triple Chocolate cake last week (Pareve) and was lucky to be able to snag a piece of its chocolatey goodness before the hordes descended and devoured every last morsel. Better than devils food chocolate cake. Like a million times better – and I hadn’t realized that there could be an improvement on that with a cake mix.

Last night I baked up the Apple Caramel Cake (Dairy). Oh Em Gee. The smell as it was baking left every mouth in this house watering. The KoD and I sampled it soon after it came out of the oven (kids were in bed….so sad too bad). And within a short while, oopsies, almost half the cake was gone. It was that good!

They are easy to make – two pouches, one for the cake mix, one for swirling in to the top of the cake. Add some eggs and oil and water, mix a bit, pop in the oven and within a half hour you are in heaven.

If Duncan Hines would deliver me a truckload of these Decadent Cake Mixes, I would bake one up every single day. I am sure it is easy to make cup cakes as well, which would be perfect for the kids’ lunchboxes. I have yet to try the decadent glazes that they have brought out…but to put more yumminess on top of delectable cake – how can you go wrong with that??!!

Sorry, I have to go and eat some more cake, before the kids get home from school.

Injunction against a seruv

Montreal – a religious woman is civilly divorced since 1997. She is still waiting for a Get, her Jewish divorce. Her ex is going to civil court to say that no Beit Din can force him to give his wife a Get – he just filed an injunction against the Beit Din.

Please click here to watch.

Hat Tip DBG.