House Stuff

After the kids went to school I washed some dishes and did some laundry(Storfy, you better be reading this, that addition was for you!). Then I went with Yocheved to Yerushalim to go to the shuk. Getting there was fine but driving through the city was a bit slow. Once we figured out where to park we headed in. First we went to Marzipan Bakery. For those of you who aren't familiar, Marzipan bakery makes the best rugallach in the world. Everyone who has tasted them agrees and anyone reading this who has ever tried them is probably drooling reading this. Yocheved had never tried one and wasn't going to buy any. I gave her one out of the box I bought and I believe her comment was "Oh My G-D, how come I never knew about this?!?!?" and then she proceeded to buy a kilo of them(2.2 lbs). Once we had the rugallach we headed in and had a good time exploring. We found a nice stall that had air condition and we spent more time than necessary there as it was really hot out today. Once we got out the other end we walked down the parallel outdoor row and found a store that had women's clothing and everything was 29 shekel(aprox. $6.50). The one thing was they didn't let you try on. So we spent a good half hour pushing and shoving with the rest of them and holding things up to see if they looked like they may fit. Yocheved bought a skirt. I was going to buy a twin set but while the guy wasn't looking I tried on the top shirt and it didn't fit properly, so I saved my $6. Unfortunately we needed to head back already so we stopped for something to drink and we bought a couple candy bars to try out for the ride back. We made our way out of Yerushalim and I was proud to be able to direct Yocheved back to the Begin and the 443 without the help of the atlas! We tried a very weird candy bar on the ride home. It was a chocolate bar and it had those pop rock candies inside the bar, so after you chewed it your mouth was popping....A weird combination for a candy bar if you ask me! Josh and I picked up Danya and Tamar after school and brought them to the new house. They played in the yard and Danya showed Tamar around while we looked around. We had an air conditioning repair guy there along with the painter who was starting later that day. The Kleins were most of the way out of the house at that point...A few odds and ends left. We went home where Danya and Tamar played nicely until I took them back to Tamars house for English class. I picked up Jordy and then got Danya and we all went home where we stayed until about 6pm. Then we went back to the house to check on the AC guy and the painters...All were still working hard. Then we went to Modiin to meet our lawyer to sign yet another document. We were going to go to Bagel Bar to get sandwiches for dinner to bring home but they were closing up their sandwich section as we got there so the kids were thrilled when we told them we would go to Burger King for takeout. We got home, ate and the kids went to bed pretty well. I made a few phone calls and am heading to bed myself.
I forgot to take pictures today, the only thing I took a picture of was the standpipe in my laundry room, so if you want to see that just send me an e-mail and I will forward it to you :)

Uh Oh!!!!!

This morning Josh and I had a house task to take care of. In the corner of our attic there were a couple of tiny spots of mold. We tried hiring a handyman to remove it however they all told us it wasn't necessary for them to come and told us what to do to get rid of it. So after I dropped Josh at the house to meet with the air conditioning guy, I headed to Home Center to buy the 2 chemicals to remove the mold. First cleaned it off with water. Then we needed to treat it with the first chemical. Then we were supposed to allow it to dry completely before beginning with the second chemical, which is mixed into paint primer. We were in a hurry to get this done today as we wanted it taken care of before they paint the house tomorrow. So we decided that we would come back later in the evening to do the second part after the walls dry. We didn't want the paint to get packed up with the Klein's stuff so we put it in the car. Later I picked the kids up. Then we went on a playdate to another new olim family, the Sterns. They have a little boy Jordy's age, but for some reason this boy is obsessed with Danya. So I went to their house with the kids and chatted with the mother while the kids played for an hour. Then I dropped Danya at art class and brought Jordy home. When I was driving to pick Danya up after art I went over a speed bump and heard a thud, followed by the distinct smell of paint...uhoh!!!! Sure enough the can tipped over and the paint primer spilled all over the floor of our rental car!!! When I got home I cleaned it out best I could considering I was trying to remove a can of paint from the carpet of my rental car!!! When Danya and Jordy saw me outside they decided it was time to give our car a carwash(they were right....With all the sand and construction all the cars here are filthy). So I cleaned the sponge and bucket and let them was the car. I was surprised that the car was even dirtier when they were done than it was when they started! We went on a ride to the makolet to buy a couple things and then came home for showers, dinner and bedtime. I went to my step aerobics class tonight and now off to bed!

One Week

Today Josh and I headed to a shopping center in Modiin to find him an office chair at Office Depot. Of course they told us that that branch doesn't sell chairs so we would have to try elsewhere. We looked around the shopping center and the discussed going to one of the restaurants but decided to go home. As we were pulling out Josh stopped at one of the restaurants and decided we should eat there. So we parked again and went in. The restaurant was called Hummusim(plural for chickpeas). I figured it was a falafel restaurant but I was mistaken. Basically everything on the menu is a bowl of hummus with a topping. So for example I got hummus with mushrooms, so I got a big bowl filled with hummus, mushrooms, tehina, lemon juice and I am not sure what else. They provide a basket of pita and olives and pickles and you are just supposed to eat the hummus. You can order falafel balls and fries to eat with it(which we did). But basically you are eating a bowl of hummus. I tried to be a good sport about this but I couldn't eat a whole bowl of hummus! The Israeli's around us were eating it like it was soup! I ate about a quarter bowl of it and was getting nauseas so I stopped. I think of hummus as more of a topping than a main course. Needless to say, it will be a long time before I ever go there again. On the flipside, Josh loved this place and it became clear to me that he was born to be an Israeli. We picked up the kids and Tamar who came over for a playdate. She stayed most of the day. Then the kids had dinner and went to bed.
On another topic, I just wanted to say that we are moving next week!!! The Kleins are moving out of our house on Thursday and it is being painted on Friday and Sunday. On Tuesday our container comes and unloads and we finally get to sleep in our new home(sans chickens...I hope!). Just wanted to share my excitement!

Tzom Gedaliah

Rosh Hashana was nice here. We went to shul, ate, went to shul, ate, went to shul, ate etc. We had a lot of good food and met some more nice people. The kids were semi-well behaved. Today they were tired and crabby in the morning. They went to school and then I went with Lori, Yocheved and 3 of Yocheved's boys to the Kotel. Lori came up with the idea to daven there since today is a fast day and we thought it was a good idea. We pretty much spent the entire morning there between getting out of the house, driving, parking, walking etc. It was after 1:30 by the time we got back. Then I went with Yocheved to a grocery store. She hadn't been there before and wasn't 100% sure where it was and I needed to go so we went together. Then I came home, picked Jordy up from daycare and Danya from Lori's where she was playing with Tamar. The kids had dinner and went to bed about the same time the fast ended here. Now we are nice and full from a good dinner(cheese ravioli in tomato sauce...yummy) and ready for bed.

Shana Tovah!

Wishing you and your family a Shana Tovah U'Mitkuka!

A Stupid English Class

This morning Josh and I went to Kiryat Sefer in the late morning. We checked out the other shopping center there that we hadn't been to. While there we found the falafel place that is owned by the guys house we are renting. Josh got a MASSIVE baguette with falafel and I got a tuna sandwich(I know, lame, but I wasn't in the mood for falafel). Josh was overwhelmed by the fact that this sandwich that was seriously larger than life only cost 12 shekel! I went to pick Danya up(since Jordy had daycare) but she went home with Tamar and Rachael, so I headed home empty handed. Since I was off the hook until 4 I decided to take a nap. I went to get Jordy and then later I went to the Gersons to pick Danya up from her English Chug(class). That is when the afternoon fell apart. The teacher was storming out after I got there saying "I can't do this! Those 3 children are disrespectful". She then left(10 minutes early from a 30 minute class). Apparently they called the class stupid and I am not sure what else. While we know the kids were wrong and we reprimanded them(Danya got her scooter and leapster taken away until she can behave for 10 days) we also felt that she is a demanding teacher and thought she handled it all wrong. Hopefully the place that does this will provide a new teacher. After that we came home, Danya crying. Once she calmed down we ate dinner. I can't figure out how she did it with no front teeth, but Danya cleaned off a whole ear of corn! After the kids went to bed Josh figured out how to stream TV over the Internet!!! I had been trying to watch Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip for a couple days but since we don't live in the US it wouldn't allow us to watch it. I was really disappointed as I loved The West Wing and was sure that Aaron Sorkin had another good show on the way. Plus I really like all the actors. So I was really happy to watch it!!! It was a great show and I highly recommend it! Then we watched another show that FOX had on their website...after a month without TV I was willing to watch about anything(I am seriously addicted to TV). Now I am heading to bed!

the shuk

This morning Josh and I decided to explore Shilat(a little city between here and Modiin). We had been to a few places there however we hadn't really taken the time to really see what was there. So after dropping the kids off we went there. First we found the vegetable shuk(outdoor market). Then we wandered around through the stores. We found a store that sells kids clothes from the US. I bought Danya a Gap shirt for $6. They had a lot of stuff there and I was happy to have found it. We also found a few restaurants that look good, a bakery that looks great and another falafel stand(that Josh said is good as he couldn't resist a taste test). We were going to go to the grocery store there to pick up bread but it looked like it was more of a zoo than usual so we headed back to Hashmoanim to the makolet. While there we opened up a tab so that now we don't need to bring money there. I made a few phone calls about the house(ie. insurance, handyman) and then went to pick up the kids. Lori had taken Danya with her so I brought Jordy home. After their arts and crafts activity was over, I picked up Danya and Tamar and brought them home. Danya and Tamar played while I took Jordy to fax a few sheets for insurance and appliance installation. We came home, had dinner and now both kids are crying because they don't want to go to bed...I am crying because I do want to go to bed!!! I am leaving soon for aerobics.

The Golden Arches

This morning after the usual morning rush Josh and I headed to Ramla to Misrad Hapanim(the ministry of interior). We had 2 things we had to do there, first we needed to change our address on our Teduat Zehut(ID cards). If you recall we tried doing this a few weeks back in Modiin and after waiting a LONG time were told we couldn't do it in that office. Also, since we are new olim we are entitled to a discount on the purchase tax of our house, so we needed the paperwork to get that taken care of. Luckily I brought a crossword puzzle book this time so we were busy during the wait. Once we were called all went smoothly. Then we strolled through the shopping center that the office is in. We then walked around Ramla and found an outdoor shuk(market) and walked through there. After that we went back to the shopping center for lunch since one of the few Kosher McDonald's in the country is in Ramla. We had a good lunch there! Then we headed back to pick up carpool. Danya went to the Neuman's to play with Rachael and Jordy and I headed out to Modiin after dropping Josh off for work. In Modiin we picked up my watch that was sized. Then we came back. I went to the Teva Naot sale later and bought nothing. I met Yocheved there and headed back to her house for a while. Then we took the girls to the park where we were joined by one of her sons, Amnon. They looked so cute that I had to take a picture! We headed home and Danya joined Jordy for dinner. They went to bed and I went to another sale at someones house. After that I came home and went running again. This time was a little better than last. I guess I am getting used to the hills!
*The other picture is Danya and Tamar yesterday before gymnastics...I forgot I took that one!
**Pictures aren't posting now, I will add them later...sorry!

A New Car

This morning we actually woke up on time(ish), no thanks to my new alarm clock. First of all(to vent about the dumb clock) the numbers are hard to read, they all always look like 8's. Second of all it keeps time as army time, so last night I went to bed at 0:32...way too annoying! Anyhow, back to this morning, we got up and I got the kids ready and Josh took them to school on his way to shul. When he returned we headed back to Avis to buy a car. We had agreed on a 2005 Ford Focus yesterday. So the guy got the 2 they had in stock delivered to his offices. We gave them both a test drive and the silver one drove a little better than the white one(the white one made a weird noise). Which works out well because I like the silver color better than the white. So we got all our paperwork taken care of. They have to clean the car and fix a few minor thing(ie. replace the radio, polish and wax the exterior) and we need to do a few things(ie. get their money and get insurance) and we should have the car next week probably(it was a little iffy since the chaggim are upon us). That done Josh came home and I took the car to Modiin. I bought Danya the supplies she needed for Jolly Phonics(her English class), bought some milk and dropped off my watch to have it sized. After I returned I picked Danya up at school and brought her and Tamar to gymnastics. I spent 20 minutes at Lori's and then picked them up, leaving Danya at the Gerson's. A while later I went to pick Jordy up from Tzaharon(daycare) and to drop off Danya's supplies at the Gerson's since that is where the English class is taking place. Then I went over to the house to decide on colors to paint. When I got there my phone rang, it was Josh saying that Cheryl Klein had to run out and she'd call me when she got back, so I didn't do that after all. Then I picked up Danya and brought her home. Of course a few minutes after I got Danya home Cheryl called that I could come over. Cheryl was going to help me as she is an artist(a very good one I might add). I choose a ivory/whiteish color for the whole house and I was going to paint the bedrooms different colors however the tile on the floor is a Tera cotta color and the colors I was interested in wouldn't match(ie. the green Danya wanted her bedroom). So for now we are sticking with the basic. Then I came home and made spinach ravioli(don't be so impressed, it came in a bag in the refrigerator section). Danya had a tantrum that this spinach ravioli looks different than Slice of Life's spinach ravioli and wouldn't eat it...how pleasant! We got the kids in bed and I headed out to toning.

Jack-o-lantern

After last nights fiasco with the power being out and the chickens making a lot of noise we overslept(again!). It has occurred to me that we need to purchase an alarm clock! I rushed the kids out the door to school. I got them settled in and headed home. I did a little reading(I highly recommend the book The Virgin Blue by Tracey Chevalier) and checked the e-mail. We thought we may need to visit the car dealership this morning but once Josh talked to the guy we realized that he needed to check his inventory. So we decided to head out to Beirot Yitzchack where we were told about a great store along the lines of Sam's Club. We got there and had fun exploring. We bought a blech, an alarm clock, a few timers, peanut butter, paper cups, Strawberry Banana drink and a few other odds and ends. They really had a lot there and we were glad we found this store. After shopping we went to Burger Ranch across the street for lunch. Then we picked the kids up from school. Danya came running out all excited showing off her big jack-o-lantern smile! She lost ANOTHER tooth!!! (here i had just posted the picture of her with the one tooth missing and now I had to take another!). She was all excited that she would have more $ from the tooth fairy! I took Jordy later in the afternoon to a daycare at a woman's house. She does afternoon daycare for Gan aged kids. We are going to send him there 2 days a week so he will have something fun to do in the afternoon while Danya is going to gymnastics, art, ballet and English class(since he is too young for the activities). This woman will pick him up after school twice a week and provide him with a hot lunch, activities etc. Today, when I took him there to get acquainted(so it wouldn't be a complete strange picking him up after school tomorrow), they were making Rosh Hashanah pictures, baking cookies among other activities. Jordy really seemed to like it so hopefully he will do well tomorrow! After that we just hung out. After dinner I put the kids to bed and they were too busy laughing to fall asleep. Danya made Jordy laugh so hard that he threw up on his pillow. This wouldn't be so bad except all I have is one pillow and pillowcase per person(until the lift gets unloaded) so I gave Jordy mine and am waiting for my pillowcase to dry! After that I told Danya that if she made Jordy laugh anymore that I would tell the tooth fairy not to come. She wanted to know how I would do that and I told her I would e-mail her! That got Dana quiet! Night!!!

More Cousins

On Friday, after dropping the kids off, I stopped at the bakery to get challot and rugalach. After that Josh and I headed to Shilat where we heard was a fantastic take out place. We heard right! This store was awesome! It was kind of cafeteria style where you take as many containers as you want and fill them up. There were at least 20 different kinds of chicken, tons of salads, side dishes, appetizers, fish, meat and the list goes on! We ended up getting small amounts of 10 things(do you think that would be enough to serve a family of 4 when the 2 kids don't eat?!?!). In all we spent less than $20! After Shilat we headed home and got ready for shabbos. At around noon I got a call from Danya's teacher. She said that while Danya and Jordy(whose classroom is next door) were playing in the playground Jordy took Danya's shoes and threw them on the roof of the school and she can't get them. Can my husband come at 12:30 to help her get them! I was a bit on the embarrassed side! At 12:30 Josh went to retrieve the shoes and pick up the kids. He returned successful. Later Josh went to go play basketball with some guys here and I took Danya and Jordy to the Gerson home to see cousin Max. After a visit there we came home for showers and shabbos. Friday night there was a carlbach minyan which we went to. We ended up following the kids towards the Gersons and hung out with them a while until we headed back. By the time we got home Jordy was asking to go to sleep. So after grape juice we put him to bed. Danya was awake and very well behaved the rest of the meal. Saturday morning Josh took Danya with him to shul and Jordy and I followed about an hour and a half later. We were going to a different shul as they were having a welcome the new people kiddush and had set us up with a family of the shul for lunch. We had a great time at the Gelband's. The kids were happy playing and we had a nice time with the adults. They had their duplex neighbors, the Schusters over as well. After lunch we headed to go see cousin Max again. The kids played happily and eventually went to the park while some of the grownups snoozed on the couch. Then Josh watched the kids and I headed home to read for a while. They returned after Shabbos and went to bed. Josh made it to shichot. In the middle of the night I woke up because it was so hot. Josh was up and I asked him to turn the air on. He said that there was a power outage in the whole neighborhood. We listened to the chickens while we waited for the sound of the air conditioner...we can't wait to move!!!!!

Internet Outage

After dropping the kids off at school we headed to Budget rental car to look at their sales. They showed us 2 cars(1 was kind of junky and they other didn't ride so well...plus the color was a orangeish gold and was so UGLY). We decided that we are going to get the 2005 Ford Focus from Avis(which I would like to point out costs more than the amount we got for the 2 cars we sold before we left Chicago). Then we headed to Kfar Ruth, a little neighborhood nearby that we haven't been to yet. There is a restaurant there that has come recommended. We spent a while comparing the English and Hebrew menus. The English menu was old and they had a lot more on the Hebrew menu. We had a nice lunch and then headed back to get the kids. After I picked them up we stopped at the park with Lori and then went to her house for a while. Then we got the mail and headed home. Not long after Danya got invited to the Kaplansky's for a playdate. After I dropped her off I took Jordy to the park. Josh met us there after work and then I went with Lori on a ride to the butcher. We got the kids into bed a little late and then Josh went to "return" to work and found that our Internet was down. He spent a while on the phone with them while I went out for a jog. I would like to comment that running here is a lot harder than in Chicago. Have I mentioned how many hills there are here??? Kind of made me miss the flat land of Chicago! It was also a different experience to be able to go out running at 10:30pm without a running partner(Luanne, if you are reading this do NOT tell my Bubby this!!!). There are people out at all hours here plus there is security and you truly feel safe. I saw a few other people running, bicycling and walking. When I got home Josh was still annoyed as the internet was still down. Which is why this is being posted on Friday morning rather than Thursday night! Sorry!!

We Try Harder

This morning after getting the kids off to school Josh and I drove to Lod to check out the sales office at Avis. Jon and Yocheved Neuman just bought a car from them and the Geldmans bought their car from them and have been happy. So we looked at the options. We had decided that for the time being we will get a smaller used car(a 4 door sedan). This way we don't use our Aliyah rights(a discount on car tax from 127% to 78%). The right is available for the purchase of a NEW car within 3 years of making Aliyah. So this way a few years from now we can buy a nicer car and use the right still. The best option there was a 2005 Ford Focus with about 50,000 km. So I took one for a test drive. There were a few other options but safety and price considered this was the best option. While we were there Jon and Yocheved came to pick up their car. We went with Jon to take a look at the station wagon they bought and Jon realized that the 2 additional seats that were supposed to be in the back weren't there. So we waited with them while they got it all straightened up in case they would need a ride back. They finally got their seats and followed us back toward Modiin. We came back to Hashmonaim and picked the kids up at school. They played all afternoon. When Josh was done with work we decided to go out to dinner. We tried out a little cafe in Modiin. It was then that we decided that we will only go out to eat when our kids are in school. They were going a little nutty and were very picky about what was on the menu. We stopped at the grocery store to buy some bread and then headed home. I left for step aerobics while Josh was reading Danya a Dora the Explorer story in Hebrew.

Toothless

This morning Josh drove the kids to school and when he returned I insisted we go somewhere....anywhere...I am going stir crazy! We aren't in our house yet so I don't have the unpacking/shopping to do yet. We don't have a TV here so I don't have that distraction. I can only spend so many hours a day online. Plus I have read 4 books since we arrived. So we drove to Home Center(Israels answer to Home Depot). We looked around and Josh looked for a desk chair. We bought nothing and headed home. While in the store Josh got a call from the Klein's that they hired a mover and they are moving out on Thursday September 28th. Their painter will begin the 28th and finish Friday the 29th. Sunday is Erev Yom Kippur so we can't move until Tuesday October 3rd(Danya's birthday). It is a bit later than I had hoped for and very close to October 5th, which is the day my parents arrive for Sukkot, but better than nothing. The good part is we know early enough in advance that we already scheduled the lift to arrive that day and I will call the appliance installation company and have them come the following day. Hopefully we will be all set up for Sukkot. After we got home I read a bit and then took a nap(yes, the chickens are still alive and crowing, although I am thinking about utilizing them for Kaporos for Yom Kippur!). I woke up in time to pick the kids up from school. Danya was very excited to show me that her top tooth had finally fallen out(this is her 3rd). Then we went home and the kids played a while. Then I took them to their after school activity about animals. It was OK but I was nearby and Jordy fell and was crying for a while and the teacher just ignored him(I am going to complain about that one!). I think although it is listed for his age, that they don't really cater to 3 year olds. I am probably going to pull him out. After that Danya asked if we could invite Daniella over, so I called Michelle and she brought her over. The kids played and ate dinner. Then I took Danya and Daniella to the makolet and the dropped Daniella off at home. Danya and Jordy had a shower and went to bed. Josh went to sign us up for shul membership and to get us seats for the chaggim. We were happy to hear that shul membership is 750 NIS($170). Then Lori and I went to 2 hat/clothing sales in the neighborhood. I forgot to tell a funny story the other day...Danya called Adina Drapkin and while talking to Adina she was telling her what we have in Israel. She said "They have a lot of pretty and handsome scooters here". I thought that was hysterical and wanted to pass it on!

Where on earth is the Doctors office???

This morning Jordy woke up at about 6 because he was coughing so much. I gave him his asthma inhaler but he continued his constant cough(usually a warning sign that we need to visit the doctor) so I decided to keep him out of school until we got to the doctor. Since our doctor was out this morning I had to take him to a different office. The doctor had no clue what his address was or how to give directions to the office in English, so I took his Hebrew directions and gave it a try. I drove around a 3 block radius for about 30 minutes, asking directions and getting sent in a million different directions until I finally called back and got an English speaking secretary who said I was right there. I must have drove past it a dozen times, there was no sign and since the doctor didn't have the address there was no chance I would have found it on my own! After we got there the doctor checked him out. He said he sounded OK but to keep him on the inhaler for a few days and he prescribed a liquid medication. He had the medicine in the office so I just paid my 11 shekel($2.50) and we were on our way. After dropping Jordy at school I headed to Modiin to the banks. I haven't been to either in a while, so I went to both. The first one they didn't speak any English and I had to explain to them that they had our mailing address wrong and they needed to correct it. They finally understood and we got it taken care of. Then to the 2nd bank to let them know the same(for some reason they are mailing our mail to our street address rather than our P.O. Box address)and to order checks. I also stopped and bought a watch since my $12.00 Target watch broke. Then I headed home and enjoyed the quiet(Josh went with Nocky to look for a car...I was supposed to go with but when Jordy needed to see the doctor plans changed). I went to pick the kids up at school and then decided to let Danya try out gymnastics. After gymnastics was over Tamar came over and stayed until 6:30. At about the same time Jordy went to bed(I realised that he had a low fever, so he is now taking about a dozen medicines). Danya, Josh and I ate dinner and not long later Danya went to bed...I think she keeps getting woken up by Jordy's coughing and is not getting a good nights sleep. I went to my toning class and now to bed!

Shabbat Plus

On Friday, after dropping the kids at Gan, I went to the bakery to pick up some breakfast :) Then I went home and woke Josh up. Then we went on a walk to the makolet since there was a guy selling Kippot there and I had noticed some nice ones when I went to the bakery but I didn't know what Josh wanted. After we picked up a kippah for Josh and 2 for Jordy we walked back. Then we packed up, picked the kids us and headed to Yerushalim to meet my Dad at the Dan Panorama. First things first we headed to the pool. The kids had a good time! Then we went on a walk, finding a store with ice cream bars and chocolate milk(it's fun when Saba is in town!). Then we headed back to the hotel for a bath! Friday night dinner at the hotel was buffet, which we weren't expecting, but it was good. The kids wee thrilled by the fact that they could just keep taking and taking-and they had hot dogs! After about 800 trips to the buffet we were stuffed and tired! Saturday morning, after davening and breakfast my Dad and Josh took the kids to the pack, letting me nap. Then we headed to the next buffet! When we walked into the lunch room we saw a couple there that I insisted the night before went to camp with us somewhere along the way. As soon as they saw us they asked us if we were from Chicago. I was happy to see that I wasn't crazy! It was Gilad and Rachaeli(can't remember their last name). We caught up with them for a little and made plans to go to the Great Synagogue with them for Mincha. After another fun buffet lunch we decided we would check out a room that the hotel referred to as "Daniland". We weren't sure what to expect but it was a room full of toys and games for the kids. Since they were under 6 we had to stay and supervise, but Josh, my Dad and I played a few games of Rummikub while we watched them. By the time the room closed at 6 we needed to get ready to head to Mincha. We went to the Great Synagogue and then back to the hotel for Maariv. After Shabbos we got the kids to bed and Josh and I waited around for a while for the Geldman's to show up but after a while we decided to go out for dinner. We went to the lounge at the Inbal(formerly the Larome). When we returned we were surprised to see the Geldman's were gone but my Dad said we just missed them. This morning Josh slept a little later while my Dad and I took the kids to breakfast. They liked the omelettes and the chocolate milk. They were also excited that they could eat chocolate pudding for breakfast. Then we went upstairs to get Josh. My dad said goodbye until later since he was going to run a few errands. We took Josh down and Danya and Jordy joined him in a second breakfast. By the time we gathered our stuff and checked out my Dad returned! We then headed home where Danya and Jordy were happily reunited with the scooters! They played for a while as I did laundry and unpacked. Soon after Saba showed up. After he got here Ruanne and Nocky Kleinman came for a visit and while they visited Danya and Jordy had a video chat with Meira and Moshe(and Michal-sort of). Of course they fought the whole time but they were still happy to see the Balsam kids on the computer. After the Kleinman's let we headed out to dinner with Saba. We had a huge dinner(and took a ton of leftovers home). Then we showed Saba the ice cream place that makes yummy home made ice cream. After we got home Saba said goodbye and headed out. Then the kids put up a fight about going to bed. Eventually they did though!

A hole in the ground

This morning Josh dropped the kids off at school on his way to minyan. When he left I got to work at cleaning the floors. When you clean the floors with a squeegee and a rag it takes a while. But I am getting a hang of it. After that my Dad, who was in town on business but stayed a few extra days, was supposed to come over. He called a little after 10 to say he was lost and driving near Yavneh/Ashdod. Lucky for him we were just there on Tuesday and through many phone calls were able to direct him here. So he showed up at 11:30. After he stretched his legs and unloaded his gifts we went over to say hi to Lori and he wanted to see her new house. After that I took him for a tour of the neighborhood. Then he came with me to pick up the kids who weren't expecting him until later in the day, so they were happy to see him picking them up. Then we took Danya and Jordy for a small stop before going home. We stopped to take a look at a giant hole in the ground. Saba then explained to them that this was no ordinary hole in the ground, but the basement to the house he and my mother are building here. Yup, you read right, my parents are building a house here so that when they come and visit they will have a place to call home. The kids thought this was great news and wanted to know if it will have the same swing set that their house is Skokie has. Then we stopped at home for a little bit for lunch and then headed to Modiin. My dad wanted to look at appliances so we did that. Then we went to Shilat to a kitchen store. After the kitchen store we stopped at the toy store. I thought we would be in there forever but as soon as we walked in Danya hopped onto a scooter and announced that this is what she wanted. We asked the guy how much it was and it turns out that it was cheaper than the ones in America. So we left with a pink flowery scooter and a blue spiderman scooter! The kids were thrilled. After we got back home my Dad went to go meet with the project manager for the house while the kids played on their scooters. After he got back we went back to Modiin for dinner. We all ate well but were exhausted, it has been a long day. I hope my dad doesn't fall asleep on his way to Yerushalayim! I am going to sleep!

A Weasel

Today I drove the kids to school after dropping Josh off at Minyan. I was surprised by the fact that Danya wouldn't let me leave her. She was very sadly crying when I finally left school. I felt so bad leaving her so sad. By the time I left Josh was done at Minyan so I picked him up and brought him home. Josh decided not to join me on my trip to Modiin today. I first went to a shopping center to get Lisa a few bandannas, as per her request(and I bought one for myself as well). Then I went to MEGA the big fancy grocery store that is on the outskirts of Modiin. I was in search of mini water bottles to send with Danya and Jordy's aruchat esser(morning snack, literally "10 O'clock meal"). They are only allowed to bring a sandwich and a fruit or vegetable for this snack and if we want we can send water. I did find the water along with a bunch of other stuff. The other stuff included a bag of Doritos. Josh and I have been trying all the flavors in search of the best one. We'll let you know, the Thai flavored ones today were actually good! Then I was going to stop at the bank to make a deposit but I realized that the groceries wouldn't survive the heat so I skipped it. Yeah! A bank free day!!! After returning the groceries I picked up Danya, Jordy and Tamar Gerson and walked Danya and Tamar to Lori's house where they were going to watch Tamar's new Angelina Ballerina movie. Then Jordy and I headed home where he somehow got both Josh and me to give him chocolate pudding. When I went to pick Danya up from the Gerson's at 4:30 Danya was crying that Tamar was going to Kayla Fishman's birthday party and she wasn't invited. Lori suggested that she call Cheryl and see if Danya could come since it probably didn't occur to them that we were in the country. I felt bad but Lori insisted that Cheryl would feel bad knowing Danya wanted to come. So Lori called her and Cheryl apologized for not inviting her and insisted she come. So that is how Danya weaseled and invitation to Kayla's party. Jordy was very sad he wasn't going with but he was easily distracted by pinball on the computer. An hour and a half later I was already heading to Modiin to pick up Danya, Tamar and Rachael Neuman. We got home, got the kids in bed and I headed out to try out one more aerobics class before making a decision on which classed I want to sign up for.

Toys R Us in Ashdod

This morning we had to get up early and get the kids to Gan early so we could go to Ashdod. We woke up around 7:15(not as early as we wanted to) and quickly got the kids dressed and were ready to go but then we couldn't find our atlas with directions to the place. Josh took the kids to gan while I looked everywhere...have I mentioned that our rental isn't all that big? After Josh returned he finally found it behind a dresser. We were a little later than planned but off to Ashdod. You may be wondering why we went to Ashdod. It is the port city and we needed to go to the port. Our lift should be arriving any day now and we needed to fill out customs forms and give the shipped our passports and our Teudat Oleh so that they could accept the container on our behalf. We actually made it there pretty quickly and were in and out before 9:45. When we realized that we had all this time on our hands we decided that we would make a few stops in Ashdod. Right across the street from our shipper is a big Toys R Us. We stopped in there to check it out. Prices weren't horrible and they had a pretty decent selection. We spent a few shekel on sand toys. Then we stopped at the Orange store(Orange is our cell phone company) to pick up those free cases I have been telling you about. Guess what? They didn't have any. The woman checked the inventory for Jerusalem and guess what? They don't have any either! Ugh! Then we decided to head to Modiin for our daily trip to the bank. After the bank we went to Shilat to check out some stores and search for the falafel stand that Cheryl Klein told us is the best in the country. We found a cool store in Shilat that sells a ton of American foods. We only bought Wacky Mac but they really had a lot....LaChoy, Hunts, A&W, Gushers, Keibler....a fantastic store that I am sure I will be visiting a lot. Then we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few more boxes of cereal and juice. Then we went in hunt of the falafel. We were told by the woman at a coffee stand how to get there and she couldn't stop raving about how good they are. Once we found it we agreed. This place is called Falafel Yarok(green) because their trademark is this amazing green sauce that goes on the falafel. Now we felt like Israeli's! By the time we were done it was time to get Josh home to work and I needed to pick up the kids. They came home and played a while. When they go t bored I took them on a walk to the park(which is about a 5-7 minute walk). About 3 minutes after we got to the park Jordy announced that he needed to make, so we headed back! The kids were happy to eat their favorite Wacky Mac for dinner. After dinner their new babysitter, Maayan, came over. When I told Danya she was having a babysitter she asked me if the babysitter spoke English. I told her that yes, she spoke English. Danya gave a very exaggerated sigh of relief, even putting her hand to her forehead saying, "Phew, if she only spoke Hebrew I wouldn't know what she was saying!" I thought that was funny. Tonight we went to the Glenwood Meet the New People Dinner. Glenwood is the American shul here in Hashmonaim and they have a dinner every year in September welcoming all the new families who moved over the year and the summer. The whole community is invited and everyone(except the new people) bring a dish. They do a lot of funny jokes and have a whole video presentation where all the families are introduced. Since David Kaplansky is one of the 2 people who does the presentation he had Josh in a video which they recorded on Friday as well as participate in a skit where a new person asks a question. It was a really nice dinner and a lot of fun. Plus we got to meet a lot of people we hadn't met before. We left there a little too late for Josh's work, but we had a great time.

Tattoo Mania

This morning we did a little better on the getting out of bed and out the door. I dropped Josh off for the 8am minyan and then brought the kids to school. While they both put up minor protest they both let me leave without a fuss. I picked Josh up(OK, I read in the car while waiting for Josh first) and we headed to Modiin. The goal today was to accomplish all the things we couldn't yesterday. First we were stopping at the Modiin Center since there is a restaurant there called Bagel Bar and Danya has been begging me to send her a bagel and cream cheese sandwich for lunch. Turns out Bagel Bar doesn't sell bagels. We then stopped at Angels Bakery/Cafe for some borekas for breakfast/lunch. Mmmmm. Then we went back to the Kupat Cholim and got our ID cards. Then we waited in line at the bank so we could buy stamps. Then we went to our all time favorite place...THE BANK!!! Turns out that if you try to deposit over a certain shekel amount they charge you a service fee. So we asked if we can split it up and deposit the maximum each day and there will be no charge...So guess what....we get to go back every day this week!!! I have to say I feel like Maya at the bank is my friend. After the bank we picked Jordy up at school(tomorrow he goes the full day until 1:20). He played in the house he rest of the afternoon. Josh went to pick Danya up but came home without her as she was invited out on a playdate. I was very proud of her as she branched out and this was a new friend. She stayed out until Jordy and I picked her up at 4:30. Then we went to the Makolet to buy a few bags of milk, some pop and of course our new favorite, chips. The Doritos and Cheetos here now come with temporary tattoos in them and suddenly Danya and Jordy LOVE chips! Of course once they open the bag the chips are all forgotten. They each have a few tattoos on their arms...like all the other Israeli kids. When we got home we spent a while hooking up the web cam and talking/seeing David and his kids along with Bubs and Pops who were there visiting. The kids got a kick out of that! Then they ate dinner and headed to bed. I went to try out another exercise class tonight, Atzuv-toning. It was really good and once I try one more class I will be read to decided which ones to sign up for.

Hooray for School!

This morning we overslept(me since I was awake at 3:30am listening to those *^%%#%^$&(* Chickens) and got up at 7:45ish. School opens at 7:30 and you are supposed to bring your child anytime between 7:30 and 8:30. Josh woke the kids and we got them dressed and out pretty quickly. Josh walked Jordy into his class and I took Danya to hers. Danya was VERY shy and was very sad to be in a class that is taught in Hebrew. While Tamar Gerson, Daniella Kaplansky and Rachael Neuman were all in her class she was not happy to be there. She was so sad quietly crying. I finally got her settled in with paper and crayons and then I told her I would be back. She seemed to be happily sitting with Tamar, who I have to add was so cute trying to help Danya showing her things and trying to cheer her up! Then I went to Jordy's class to get Josh. Josh and I said we were leaving and Jordy said OK. He got up and then we realized that he thought we were all leaving. When he realized we were leaving him there he wasn't so thrilled but his morah quickly asked him if he wanted to color with her and he happily went ahead. By the time we got out of there it was 9 and we had to be back at 10 to pick Jordy up(he gets out early the first 2 days). An hour later I went to pick Jordy up and he was so happy! He said he liked school. As we were walking out another boy was leaving and the 2 of them were playing together in the park that the boys mother asked if Jordy could come oer for a playdate. We accepted and I had 2 hours free! I went to Kiryat Sefer again to get the cell phone cases. This time the store was open but since it wasn't a full store he couldn't get the cases for me. I will have to try another store. I stopped at the grocery store, this time by myself. I got a little more of a chance to look around without anyone whining in my ear! After I brought the groceries home I went to pick Jordy up from his playdate. He had a great time and finally made a friend his age who is a boy!! We went home for a while and then we all picked Danya up. She was so happy and really loved school. I asked her what they did and she said she didn't know! As long as she's happy right? Then we drove to Modiin. We needed to stop at the Kupat Cholim(heath office) to pick up our cards, go to a money changed to cash a check, go to the bank and go to the post office to buy stamps. When we got there we realized that the post office and kupat cholim were closed for siesta and would reopen 3 hours later. Then we drove to the bank and were disappointed to see the bank is closed on Sundays. The money changer was open so at least we got one thing accomplished. Then we came home and I took an hour nap since there were no birds, jackhammers etc. The kids had dinner, showers and bed. Josh then headed to Torah Dojo which I think is similar to Tae-know-do or something. HE said it was good and he is planning to sign up. Then I went to a woman's house who was having a clothing sale for the holidays. The clothes were VERY Israeli looking but I did find a nice skirt that I bought. It needed to be altered a little bit but they will have it ready for me before Rosh Hashana.

Lunch at Home

Friday night Danya, Jordy and I met Josh at shul. We were invited out to Levi and Sandy Schultz(a Chicago family) however we hadn't met them yet and didn't know who they were. We decided to try to find them at shul and if not we would head to their house. There were a lot of people in shul including Mike and Devorah Nussbaum who were in town for a wedding and Sheva Brachot. We never found the Schultz's so we headed to their house. We had a great time there and Danya and Jordy had such fun playing with their younger kids. Shabbat morning the kids and I got to shul as it was ending at 10:45. We hung out there chatting for a little while and then headed towards a park. We ran into Michelle Kaplansky there and then my kids needed to use a bathroom so we stopped at their house for a little bit. Then we headed to our house where the Kleins had invited us for lunch. We had a great time although it was a little strange to be there and not live there yet. After lunch Cheryl walked us out and down the block pointing out all the houses and who lived where. She also took us through their new house(they will be a half block away). Then we headed to a park where we saw a bunch of people. The kids played there and then we headed to another park and then another. We finally headed home in hopes of getting the kids at a decent hour so they would be ready for their first day of school tomorrow!

I almost forgot

On Wednesday, when we went to visit our house, Danya and Jordy were excited to see that the people living there had a drum set. They let Danya and Jordy try it out....here are the pictures and a video....Enjoy!!!

Trom Chovah

This morning after Josh returned from the bakery with a sampling of their rugalach and borekas we headed out. We dropped Danya at the Gerson's to play at Tamar's and then Josh and I took Jordy to his Gan(nursery school). He will be in Trom Chovah(pre-kindergarten) this year. His Gan is a cute little building that has 2 classes(Danya will be in the attached building). He was hesitant to go into the building but he liked the park that surrounded it and the picture of Winnie the Pooh that was painted on the wall. I thought he would be much clingier but he sat pretty quickly and made his crown(which is covered in flower stickers and looks very girly). Then he ran from table to table playing with puzzles, building sets and playdough. He had a great time. For some reason they misspelled his name on the list and his name was written as it it were pronounced Joy-yeg. We corrected the Morah but she will have to correct his box and his and tag and his name on everything else all over the class. We had to fill out a form with information(which was fun to do) and one of the questions is can your child walk home from Gan by themselves. I am not sure why I was the only one disturbed by this question but it seemed as if I was. Who is letting a 3 year old walk home by themselves??? We choose no! After Gan we went to pick Danya up and headed to a shopping center in Modiin that we hadn't found yet. They had a really fun looking place that has moon walks and other types of this but we didn't have swimming suits. Danya of course had a tantrum when we told her we would have to come back on Monday(Sunday they are closed for a private party). Once she calmed down we headed to find lunch. She finally calmed down and requested Burger King. We agreed. Then we stopped at the grocery store next door for a couple things. Then we headed home. While in the car Danya and Jordy were playing with their balloons from Burger King and since Danya hit Jordy in the face with hers Jordy knocked it away from his face and accidentally popped it! Man was Danya angry! Josh and I couldn't help but laugh because her face was so surprised and angry that it was funny to watch(I know, we are horrible parents). So there was a lot of crying until we got home. After we got home Danya played on the computer while Jordy helped me take the clothes out of the dryer and watched me fold them. Now we are just hanging out until Shabbat. Have a good one!