Happy New Year!

This morning we overslept like usual. Josh took the kids to gan and headed to Ulpan. Francie and I went on a little walking tour of Hashmonaim which included a stop at my parents house(see the latest pictures). Then we took the car and I took him on a tour of Modiin. After that we headed to Kiryat Sefer where we did a little shopping. After we got home he picked up his book and fell asleep on the couch. Danya had a playdate this afternoon and the 2 girls and Jordy played nicely for the most part. We broke the fast with a huge dinner of leftovers since I over cooked for Shabbat. Then the kids had baths and went to bed and we adults stayed up talking over tea at the dining room table for a while. As I was heading upstairs I noticed that Danyas blanket fell off her and as I put it on her she opened her eyes and asked me why her bed is so big. I told her it was always this big and she said ok and fell back asleep. Then as I got in the room I looked at the clock which said 12:02 which mean 2 things, first it is the New Year and second I am probably going to oversleep again tomorrow which is a bad sign for the new year! Happy New Year everyone!!!

Triple Word Score

We had Chani and Moshe Turk and their 4 kids along with Uncle Lenny, who came in from Chicago, for Shabbat. Friday night was a lot of fun. The kids played really nicely for the most part and had fun. They ended up going to bed late. Once they were in bed Lenny turned in and Moshe and Chani pulled out the scrabble. We were all exhausted however we played Scrabble until almost 1am. Turns out Josh is a professional Scrabble player and creamed all of us...me the most, I gave up counting points when I realized everyone had almost double my score. Moshe also broke into the chulent at around 1. We were all exhausted and looking forward to sleep. Jordy came unto our room around 3 crying hysterical and he was really breathing loudly. We gave him his inhaler and tried to calm him down but he was pretty loud. We were debating what to do with him and we decided that since we had a doctor in the house we should ask him to take a listen. So while we felt really bad doing so, we woke Lenny who reassured us that his lungs were clear. We had Jordy go back to sleep in our room so we could listen to him and we went back to sleep around 4. I kept having coughing fits which added to the fun. We woke up a few times hearing kids throughout the morning and finally got up at a quarter to 8. Danya, Goldie and Daniel went with Josh, Moshe and Lenny to shul. Chani and I cleaned a little and went to shul. We got there after it ended but had a good time outside chatting with a big Chicago crowd. The Neumans who had Jon's sister Malkah and her family, Lori, the Kaplanskys, the Turks, Tami....and possibly a few others. We brought Daniella Kaplansky along and went home for lunch. First we made kiddush since Chani couldn't wait to have the Sheridan's milchig liquor that she noticed after we were fleshig Friday night. After lunch Lenny took a nap while the rest of us headed to the Gerson's so that we could all see everyone. We stayed until Shabbat was over. We came home and made havdallah. The Turks headed out and then Josh drove Lenny to Tel Aviv and I tackled the sheets, towels and dishes. Francie Schneider arrived while Josh was still out to replace the Turks in the guest bedroom. We had a good time catching up with him and hearing all the Skokie news. After some more cleaning and chatting we realized that we are suffering major sleep deprivation and now we are going to sleep!

Where in the world???

This morning I woke up early by a coughing fit so I tried to get things done early. Luckily I finished cooking last night and all I had left to do was clean for Shabbat. After I got up Jordy wanted breakfast. He sat down and I was going to sit across the table from him but he really wanted me to sit next to him. I pointed out that my box of Kleenex was across from him and he reached across and moved the box and said "I moved it for you, now you can sit next to me". So chivalrous! I actually got Danya and Jordy to gan early today! I couldn't believe it!! Then I went to the bakery to get bourekas and rugalach. I noticed that our new neighbors lift was in front of their house so I dropped in to see if they needed anything. Then I came home and the cleaning began. Lenny is in town and he is staying in Danya's room so that was my first stop. It took a LONG time to clean her room as she is a pack rat and saves every little scrap of paper that she writes on. As I was finishing up in her room Lenny called that he had just entered the Yishuv and needed directions to the house. He came in and had a bite to eat and then collapsed to bed as he was exhausted(good thing I had just finished changing the sheets). Then a guy came to fix the heat. Turns out nothing was wrong with it...it just wont work when it gets that cold. All we can do is wait it out or buy a newer heated that works when it was cold. I asked the guy if he realised how dumb that was and he did give a little laugh. At least I didn't have to pay him. Then I cleaned the kitchen and mopped the floors and did some laundry. Josh picked the kids up and we are trying to get ready for Shabbat. As I was typing Danya wanted to call Bubs and Pops. I told her it was too early and they were sleeping. Then she asked about Saba and Savta along with the Balsams and I told her that they too were sleeping. Then she said OK, can I call Lanie and Uncle Ari? I told her that they were also asleep. She looked at me for a minute and then said "When did they move to America?". I told her that they always lived in America. She said that no, they lived in New York. I explained that New York is in America. She was still convinced I don't know my geography and explained to me that no, we had to fly to New York and therefore it wasn't in America. I then explained that America is big and that New York, Silver Spring and Florida are all in America. She was not convinced and she said "Nu Uh, you are wrong". At which point I decided to drop down to her maturity level and responded with a "Yes it is, go ask Daddy". She didn't ask him but I don't really think she was convinced. Anyhow, I gotta go make the chulent as we are having a full house for Shabbat. Along with Lenny we are having Chani and Moshe Turk and family. Have a good Shabbat!

It's Cold!!!!

Thursday morning we woke up and noticed it was a little cold in our room. I had said the night before that it had felt like cold air was coming out of our heater but Josh didn't really believe me as I am always complaining I am cold. So we decided that we needed to call the heat guy. Josh called him and wait until you hear his answer! He said that there is a part in the heater that when it gets to be below a certain temperature, doesn't work. I was like hold on....so if it is so cold that you need heat the heat wont work because it is too cold??? I thought that was impossible but my neighbors heat also went out and her guy(different guy) told her the same thing! Apparently there is a part you can replace so that this doesn't happen and the guy said he will call back. In the meantime I was starting cooking for Shabbat and realized I was out of eggs. I was going to go to the makolet but then remembered that I had bought some rugallach for our new neighbors who made Aliyah yesterday and hadn't yet arrived when I went there yesterday. Since they live across the street from the makolet I figured I would stop there first. I spent a while(maybe an hour-hour and a half) visiting with Sharon Silton. Her husband had gone to release their lift so she was home and 2 of her 3 kids were still asleep, so we had a really nice time chatting. Then I went to the makolet and continued cooking. I then realized that I had no sesame oil. I called Lori who told me that I could find that at the regular grocery store(as opposed to the store that imports specialty items from the states). She also told me that the family(being Nana, Myrna, Jodi, Amy and Tami) had arrived safe this morning and wanted to know when I was coming by. I then went over and said hello, picked up Jodi and Amy and took them on an adventure to the scary grocery store. They were a little overwhelmed there(as was I) but were happy to buy all the Israeli candy and gum along with a bag of Doritos. Then we stopped to get iced coffee as the 2 of them were falling asleep. I brought them to my house for the tour and we sat down at the dining room table to chat while Josh was eating his lunch and I noticed that they were both slowly slouching so that their heads were almost on the table....so jet lagged! I brought them to gan pickup so that they could see Tamar and Danya(Jordy went to daycare). The kids were happy to see everyone. Danya spent the afternoon with Tamar(and Amy helped her with her English homework). I continued the cooking until I picked Jordy up at 4 and then he came with to get Danya. We all came home and spent the rest of the evening at home. Since I actually finished my cooking last night I took a little time to fold some laundry and organize some of the clothing that had been disorganized in Danya's room since we moved. What I really was doing was keeping busy so I didn't have to go into my Arctic bedroom(the guy never got that part). I finally checked the temp which was 14 celsius(which according to my handy dandy chart is 57.2 fahrenheit). Josh and I decided that we should sleep in the guest bedroom. FYI- When I woke up this morning I check the temp in our bedroom again and it had dropped to 11 Celsius(51.8 fahrenheit). Brrr.

It's Raining It's....

...thunder storming. Jordy came and woke me up at 2:30 in the morning wanting to know what I did with his Kleenex box. I gave him a Kleenex from the box near my bed and then walked him back to his bed where his Kleenex box was sitting right next to his bed where it always is. I went back to bed but we were woken up by a screaming Jordy who was terrified of the loud thunder. Funny part was I was so tired I didn't even realize it was thundering out. But Jordy did and he was afraid. We finally got him to go to bed and about a half hour later he was by my bed asking me to help him put his sleeper back on since he had gone to the bathroom. When Danya came in to ask if she could play on the computer in the morning Josh and I both told her yes...as long as she let us go back to sleep. Of course we both then overslept and had to rush to get the kids out the door. I went to Modiin to get my prescriptions filled(in addition to the ones for me we all need the Hepatitis A vaccine) and I had to get that along with Jordy's asthma medicine. Then I went to the grocery store and headed home. It was cold and rainy again and all I wanted to do was put on pajamas and curl up under the blankets...but instead I unloaded the groceries and picked the kids up. After Danya left for art I took Jordy and we went to one more store since the first one didn't have the gefilte fish I needed for Shabbat. After we got back I picked Danya up from art and she was all excited because the didn't do art at art, they baked at art. When we got home we had a video chat that wasn't really a chat with Bubs and Pops. Their microphone didn't work, so we had them on the telephone at the same time. Danya and Jordy got a huge kick out of it though so that was fun. The kids ate, had baths and went to bed without too much of a fight. I went to aerobics and NOW I get to put on pajamas and curl up under the blankets!

Blah

Yesterday I woke up feeling miserable. I wasn't feeling great on Sunday night so I kind of saw it coming, but I woke up with the full blown sinus infection/cold. My head was so congested I could barley lift if and the headache was no better. I went back to sleep and let Josh handle the morning routine. Luckily, this Monday was a good one to be sick on since both kids were out of the house until 4. So I pretty much spent the day resting. One funny story from Danya on Monday night: She came to my room at bedtime to tell me she couldn't find her notebook. She said "I saw it on the kitchen table while I was eating but then it wandered away". She said this with such sincerity that I couldn't help but crack up! I asked her if she thought it grew legs and walked away and she seemed to think that was just as funny...we had a good laugh. This morning I was able to get out of bed but I called the doctors office and figured I may as well get this taken care of sooner than later. The doctor gave me a few prescriptions and I came back and took a nap. I woke up to the sound of rain pounding on the marpecet. It was pouring out. I was not looking forward to picking up the kids since it was one of those blah days where you just want to stay in the comfort of your own home in your pajamas. When they got home I made them hot cocoa and turned on the movie Cars which they just got for Chanukah(thanks Kellmans and Balsams!). They watched that and had dinner. Then Danya and Meira talked on the phone for like 45 minutes while playing computer game simutanously. They also had a funny conversation that sounded like this on my side "Meira, isn't it funny to talk about our brothers? Sometimes when Jordy makes he doesn't want to wash his hands....ewww." Then the kids went to bed. When Josh returned from his Karate class tonight he did so with a puffy, bloody lip. He says it looks worse than it is(and it looks gross) but it stopped bleeding and he has some ice on it to keep it from puffing up more. And here I thought since he isn't playing hockey on a regular basis we might be done with sport related injuries(and sport related stitches) but I guess I was wrong.

Bye Bye Saba

This morning we got the kids up and out of the house on time! They were actually in Gan around 8:30 which is pretty good for us. While Josh was at ulpan and my Dad went to a meeting, I went to Modiin to pick up some Hebrew books for Lisa's kids. I walked around the mall there a little and peeked in some stores. Then I came back and ate some lunch. The Kleiman's came by to pick up my Dad for lunch and I headed to pick up the kids at gan. Danya ended up going to Daniella's for a playdate so Jordy and I headed home where we played the Letter Factory Game a few times. Then Jordy played on the computer. When my dad returned he took Jordy to the park(they came back a few times for bathroom and band-aid breaks). After I picked Danya up at Kaplansky's we headed to Burger King(since it seems to be the only restaurant my kids eat at) for dinner. The kids both ate their whole meal and behaved really well. We came home and the kids went to bed. My dad packed up and headed out and I am so tired I think I may actually go to sleep before midnight!

Rescue Pack

On Friday I spent most of the day in the kitchen while Danya had a playdate with Rachael and Jordy tagged along. For Shabbat we had Rafi Rubin, Ari Struliwitz(yeah, I definitely spelled that wrong) and Jason Ashman. The kids immediately took a liking to them and I think they were entertained by Danya and Jordy. After dinner a bunch of other guys including Jack Gottesman, Yoni Kushner, Yoel Dvorin, Eytan Kaplansky and Jeremy Geller, came over for a tish. We had a good time listening to their camp stories and hearing about what has changed since we have been there. They all stayed until around midnight. Shabbat morning we all slept nice and late. Danya and Jordy woke up at about a quarter to 9! It was pouring out so the kids and I stayed home. Once everyone was home we had lunch and the boys went to the Kaplanskys and some of us napped(myself included). After Shabbat the boys returned and as they had been on Friday, they were entertained by my kids dancing to the music on the Rescue Pack Diego toy my Dad brought Jordy for Chanukah. They spent a while dancing with the kids(yep...that is them dancing in the video...Ari, Rafi and Jason-plus the video was taken after about 10 minutes of dancing).

After they left we continued the clean up and got the kids to bed for their first day back at school!

I also included a picture of our table(which is kind of hard to see in the pictures) and the laundry room with shelves!

2 days no waiting

OK...it is late but I realize that I didn't write yesterday or today so I am going to do a brief summary. On Wednesday we tried t get out of the house as soon as possible and headed to the Zoo. It was a lot of fun and while we were there we got to partake in their Chanukah activity which was decorating and baking animal shaped cookies. We saw a lot of animals and the kids were so brave to pet the animals at the petting zoo. After we got home I went to the store and the kids played while my Dad went to an appointment. After he got home we all lit the candles and the kids got yet another present. This morning we had high hopes to go horseback riding but it was complicated to find a place plus the kids are a little young so we skipped it. In the meantime the handyman showed up to hang the shelves in the laundry room which was a very exciting moment in my life. When he left my Dad and I took the kids to Modiin to change money and then he had some Israel Bonds to cash. The people at the bank had never seen an Israel Bond and it took about an hour and a half to do it. The kids were well behaved since they got a Chanukah present for coming to the bank...the bank gave them dreidles filled with candy and snacks plus a soufganiyah(which Pops will tell you is Jordy's favorite!). So they were busy with than and the promise of ice cream when it was over. Then we headed home where my shabbat cooking continued. I had to run out to another store for the few things the first store didn't have and when I returned the guys were at our house delivering our dining room set(which was also a highlight of my day). It was so nice to have a real dining room set again!!! We lit candles, got gifts....thanks to the Balsam's and the Kellman's for the movie and the toy tool set! Danya had a friend over to eat dinner with us and watch Cars. The kids headed to bed and I continued the cooking....we are having a few Chicago boys for Shabbat along with a tish after dinner so there is lots of food to be cooked! Here are the pictures from yesterday, stay tuned for pictures of the new and improved laundry room and the dining room set!

Sleepover Gone Bad

Today was play date day at our house. First, as Saba was leaving for Jerusalem, he dropped Danya at the Gerson's to play with Tamar. Then Lori brought the girls to me since she was going to the store. Then Daniella Kaplansky came to join in the fun(and she brought pizza for lunch). Then Jordy had a play date with a friend of his from gan. The funniest part was Jordy's friend, Amitai, is a Hebrew speaker(or as Danya and her friends say...a Hebrew) and watching and listening to them communicate was very entertaining. Jordy kept repeating the same 4 words-1)Kain(yes), 2)Lo-(no), 3)Zeh(this) and 4)Bo(come here). The even more interesting part was that Amitai seemed to know what Jordy was talking about and the two of them seemed to really have fun. The play dates lasted until after candle lighting. Then we got a phone call inviting Danya to sleep over at a friend. She was so excited and ate her dinner nicely so she could go. I took her there while Josh got Jordy to bed. When Saba returned at around 8:30 Josh and I went to Modiin to a simchat Bat for Jason and Mira Aaronson's daughter. After we left there we stopped at Chanie and Moshe Turks house to drop off a package Gail sent them back in November(Sorry Gail!!!) and take a tour of their beautiful, new house. We got home about 11 and then the phone rang. Yup...It was Danya's sleepover....time to pick her up. Apparently they didn't even put them to bed until after 10 and then Danya was in the same bed as the girl and the friend kept talking while Danya was trying to go to sleep and then Danya just lost it. So Danya is home now, very happy to be in her own bed with nobody in her room!

PRESENTS!!!!

On Monday Josh took Danya and Tamar for a belated birthday celebration at Burger King. After they returned Jordy and I went to the store. The kids pretty much spent most of the day playing happily. After we lit candles the kids kept a lookout for Saba to arrive. Jordy was excited when he spotted his car coming. The kids ran outside to greet him and help him with his bag. He found the first set of Chanukah gifts which were from Bubs and Pops and the kids went crazy! They were so excited that they kept screeching and cheering. I tried to video tape it but the camera wasn't working properly. The kids took part of their gifts with and we headed to Nocky and Ruanne's for dinner. We had a great time at their house. Of course the food was fantastic and Danya was so excited that Ruanne made latkes! The kids watched a movie, colored and played a game with Ruanne while we were sitting and talking. As we were walking out the door Ruanne and Nocky realized they had Chanukah gifts for the kids that had been sitting by the door. When they gave them to the kids Danya said "I thought those were for us. I was looking at those all night!". By the time we got home Jordy was out cold and Danya was tired so we got the kids in bed and then I helped my Dad(aka. Santa Clause) sort through all the stuff in his luggage. Then we all went to sleep VERY late!

Chanukah Samaech!

Friday morning both Danya and Jordy went to gan! Josh and I went to Kiryat Sefer to get some Chanukah candles for the kids and glasses and wicks for our oil chanukiyah. We came home and I finished cooking and then we went to the bakery to get challot and some sufgianyot(mmmm...filled with caramel and chocolate). I piked the kids up from gan and we headed home. Josh and Danya finished making some Chanukah decorations and hung them in the windows. Then we lit candles. Both kids made their own Chanukiyah's in gan so they lit theirs. Josh(and I) lit our oil Chanukiyah which was a little cooler this year because the oil in it was from the olives picked from our very own olive trees! A while back an Arab worker wanted to know if he could take the olives from our trees and we told him he was welcome to all the olives he would like as long as he brought us back an bottle of oil. He took about a jillion olives(literally....a jillion) and the next day returned with a RC bottle filled with olive oil. Can't say we had that last year in Chicago....just one of the cool things about living in Israel. And to go off on even more of a tangent...we live in Hashmonaim, near Modiin, Macabim, Mattiyahu and lapid(means torch in Hebrew...I learned that in ulpan this week). We live where the macabees lived and where the story of Chanukha took place...kind of cool right? OK...so back to the story....then Josh went to Shul. We had a nice quiet dinner and all went to sleep at a reasonable time. Saturday morning we all went to the big shul as we were going to a Chanukah luncheon that they had there. It was really nice and we had a good time. Danya and Jordy both had friends there so they were happy to play. After Shabbat Josh and I went to a Chanukat HaBayit(housewarming) at Shiffy and David Waxman's. We had a good time and stayed for a few hours. Sunday after about 2 hours of the kids fighting and having tantrums we headed to Neot Kedumim which is a nature preserve(sort of) and they have different activities for kids. The kids made little bottles with colored salt that they crushed up themselves, they tie dyed bandannas, they got to press olives and see an old olive press. We also went on a train ride which was nice even though the tour was in Hebrew. We came home, the kids played and we had a video chat with Lanie, Ari and Maayan and then everyone had dinner and off to bed! We would like to wish everyone a Chanukah Samaech!!!!

Misibat Chanukah Take 2

This morning after I got up I got a call from our neighbor who has a kid in Jordy's gan and daycare. She wanted to know if I wanted Jordy to go to daycare until 1:30 or until 4 today(usual time is 4). I was a bit confused and asked her why Jordy would only go until 1:30 since gan is only over at 1:20? She explained that gan was ending at 11am this morning so that the teachers can prepare for the Chanukah party that is taking place this evening. Luckily she called me because I had no clue! I was aware that there was a misibat chanukah tonight, just didn't know about the early dismissal. Then I took Jordy to gan and went to ulpan. Danya stayed home since she wasn't feeling well still. I survived the whole morning of ulpan and was happy that I don't have class next week for Chanukah! After ulpan I went straight to Modiin to go to the bank and the grocery store. Of course while at the bank Josh called to say that the handyman I have been waiting to hear from showed up and Josh didn't know where to tell him to hang everything, so I did my best to describe where they go. When I got home he was finishing with the pictures(which he did a good job of) and he did a few other odds and ends such as measuring for shelves in the laundry room. He was looking at the electricity for our dining room fixture which we should get in a few weeks and he was trying to see if he could set it on two switches to control the 2 sets of lights. Well while he was looking at it and trying to figure it out the contractor who will be installing our floor in the attic in a few weeks came over. He was supposed to go out of town but he missed his flight so he came to finish preparing the floor. He was working with the handyman and Josh was leaning over their shoulders. I really wanted to take a picture of the 3 men trying to fix the light(insert joke here) but didn't think they would appreciate it. I picked Jordy up from his extended day at daycare and we headed home. At 5:30 Jordy and I went to his gan for their Misibat Chanukah(which Jordy kept pronouncing sisibat chanukah). When we got there Jordy was very apprehensive but he sat nice and quiet. We did notice right away that he was one of the only kids not in a white shirt(apparently that was on the same note that early dismissal was on). Then they started singing and Jordy just kept sitting and staring. All the kids were singing and he just kept sitting there. He had no clue what was going on. He did join in for one or two songs and actually joined for a dance but for the majority of the show he sat and didn't join in(some of the time he was even crying and holding on to me). It was at the end when Morah Yael pointed out the giant sivivon(dreidal) that needed to be sung to in order to open to reveal the treat inside that Jordy joined in very enthusiastically. He ate his sufginayah(jelly donut), got his bag of candy and was happy. When I was there the doctor called to tell me that they got the results of my blood work and turns out that I have a bacterial infection and need medication....so 3 weeks later I am finally being treated....hopefully there is an end in sight!!! I went to pick up the medicine and came home and helped get the kids to bed. Enjoy all the photos and videos. Note the picture of Jordy with his girlfriend Ariella(he's putting the moves on her!) and the one of Jordy multitasking....picking his nose while doing a gan performance...we are so proud!!!

The Sick House

Danya was still sick today and stayed home again. Early in the day(around 8:30am) the guy came to install our keypad lock on our front door. Since our door is made out of metal this took a long time. He worked until around 10 and then returned around 2 to complete his work. The second part of the work was very loud(as my Auntie Ruth can attest to). Danya did take a nap but woke while he was finishing up. As he was walking out the guy who installed our ice maker walked in. The water filter had sprung a very sizeable leak which he fixed free of charge in about 10 minutes. The kids pretty much played nicely and behaved the remainder of the day. After dinner Jordy and Danya were watching Monsters Inc. in Danya's bed(which probably wasn't a good idea for Jordy who I am sure will now be sick this weekend). Jordy was too tied though and fell asleep cuddled next to Danya...it was pretty cute(but I didn't want to wake him so I didn't take a picture...sorry!). Hopefully Danya will be better today(did I mention I ditched Ulpan since Danya was sick?).

But I want to go to Tamar's Party

We were woken up at 4am by Danya's crying. She didn't feel good but there was nothing in particular wrong with her. She went back to bed and so did we. In the morning she was hot and tired so we let her stay home. Problem was she didn't want to stay home. She wanted to go to school because if she went to school then she could go to Tamar's birthday party today. She fell asleep on the couch once she admitted that she really didn't feel good. She pretty much spent the day in bed taking tylenol whenever the fever went up. I did a ton of laundry and cleaning up around the house. We did discuss the birthday party and the fact that she really wanted to go about 12,000 times and I feel really bad that she missed it....each time she brought it up she got all teary. Not much else to report today...Danya rested and Jordy went to gan and daycare. Oh...Jordy said something funny today....I was asking him if he liked the Trix cereal I bought and he said "No Mommy, not Trix,trrrricks(with the Israeli accent)." It was cute!

GO DIEGO GO!!!

Monday morning I was feeling a little better. I think the fever broke and while my stomach wasn't 100% I was definitely improving. Josh went to Ulpan for the first time in the past few weeks and I headed out to run some errands in the morning. Th in the afternoon I took Danya and Tamar to gymnastics. They had been complaining that they didn't like it but yesterday when I picked them up Danya said it was fun(Tamar said she didn't participate because she drinks a lot of milk and doesn't need to exercise which I thought to be hysterical!). Then the girls came home to play before English. I brought them to Lori's for their English class and Lori and I chatted until it was over. Then I took Danya and w picked up Jordy from daycare. He was very excited to show us the sivivon he made. Then I mistakenly took the kids to a kids english book sale that was taking place on the Yishuv. They told me that they wanted a coloring book. I ended up getting them 2 things each but that is the last time I take them because holy cow was it expensive!!! We came home and they played and ate dinner. After they had a bath we turned on Nick Jr. over the Internet which we hadn't really done before. They were so excited to see Dora the Explorer! We told them after the Dora show(which of course happened to be a Christmas show) that it would be bed time. As soon as the Dora show ended they saw that Go Diego Go was on next and they were so excited and Jordy kept yelling "Go Diego Go is next!!! Go Diego Go is next!!!" so of course we gave in and let them watch.

Misibat Chanukah and Choleh Chadash

Friday morning Josh and I went to Danya's Misibat Chanukah at her school. The kids did a performance that was really cute.



Then they broke up into 4 stations and the kids along with their parents help made 4 art projects:a Chanukyah, a Shamash(a decorated candle), a gel candle and a pottery oil holder(I am sure there is a more technical name for this I just can't remember it right now). During the presentation I was really not feeling well and during the first project I left Josh to do the rest of the projects and I came home. Turns out I had 102 fever. Problem was we were having Rabbi Cardash staying by us for Shabbat and we were having guests for lunch. I rested for a little while and let the Tylenol kick in and then I went downstairs to finish the cooking. Josh did a lot of the Shabbat preparations since I could hardly move. I made it through dinner and headed to bed. Saturday morning Danya and Jordy really behaved and I was able to get the table set and get the food ready in slow motion. We had a really nice meal with Rabbi Cardash and Eli and Ilana Katz and their kids. Danya hit it off with their daughter Nitzana right away since they had the same dress. After lunch I headed back to bed where I stayed until this morning...actually this afternoon. This morning the installer came to level the floor in the attic to get it ready for the parquet(pergo) installation next week. This afternoon I headed to the doctor who explained to me the rules of Choleh Hadash(a new immigrant is referred to an Oleh Chadash and there is a little pun that people say a Choleh...someone who is sick). She said that the first 6 months you can assume you will be sick a lot since there are all sorts of new bacterias and viruses etc. that you have never been exposed to before. She did think that it was weird that I had a similar virus twice in a row with a little break but she really thinks it is just a virus. I headed home and back to bed(I have been getting a lot of reading in!). The kids were off the walls tonight but we finally got them to bed and I am going right back to bed myself!

Not So Late

I was so proud of myself this morning. We were up and dressed and had eaten breakfast by 8am which meant that I might get the kids to school by 8:30(on time) and get to ulpan around the same time. Of course for whatever reason that didn't happen. I have yet to arrive at Ulpan on time(although I think today, at 8:45 was the earliest I made it yet). I think today was the first day I actually enjoyed ulpan and started to get some of what the teacher is saying about piel. Until today it kind of when in one ear and out the other but today some of it started to click. After ulpan i headed home to get a cake in the oven before I picked up Danya. I went to get Danya and left my cell phone home. When I got to school Lori was there asking if Danya can come over. Of course the one time I leave my cell phone home:) So I headed home and did a bunch more cooking. On my way to pick up Jordy Yocheved called me and that is when the case of the missing meat order began. Each week Lori places an order with a butcher in Modiin and has it delivered. It started as a fluke but it seems to work so we just kept doing it. This week Lori is going to be away for Shabbat but said she would still place the order. Since Lori wasn't going to be home when they delivered it Yocheved said she would be home and have the delivery at her house. Well apparently the butcher came earlier than he said and Yocheved wasn't home. So the butcher went to his next stop, also in our neighborhood. Since this person only had so much room in her fridge he left Yocheveds order there but not mine. So Yocheved wanted to know if anybody called to say my order was delivered to their house. Of course no one had so we had to track down my chicken. In the end the butcher decided to just take it back and redeliver it later since he didn't have anyone to give mine to. The chicken and soup are cooked now, so you can rest easy but for a few moments there was a little excitement about finding the soup meat. Tonight I went with a few of the woman from the neighborhood to a Chanukah Boutique in Modiin. It was nice but didn't have too much I was interested in. It was just nice to get out and socialize with some girls although it was no "Girls Night Out". After I got home, while the soup was simmering, Jordy started crying. When we were finally able to understand what he was saying over his sobs we realized he said that I wasn't coming to pick him up from school. Apparently he had a dream that I ditched him. I told him it was just a dream and he is home and I did pick him up. He still wouldn't calm down and he was scowling at me. I asked him if he was mad at me and he said "Yes, I am angry, I am very angry Mommy". Although I don't think I should be held responsible for my actions in his dreams I felt bad even though I had to suppress a laugh at his statement of anger. He finally relaxed and went back to bed...which is where I am headed. Oh....here are the most recent pictures of my parents house....they are really making progress aren't they?

Can I Play Computer Now?

We have a rule in our house that before the kids can play computer they need to eat breakfast and get dressed. This rule was put into force after we realized that our kids have no desire to get dressed in the morning(can't say we blame them). So this morning after Jordy finished his breakfast he asked if he could play computer and I told him he would need to get dressed. A couple minutes later he returned to my room wearing his fleece pajama shirt and a pair of green shorts and said "I am dressed, can I play computer now?". I had to explain to him that this wasn't really a good school outfit, but I was proud of the effort he made. After I brought the kids to school I went to ulpan(actually I went home first because I realized I forgot my notebook and folder). I then spent the next 4 1/2 hours trying to pay attention but also writing my grocery list. I went home to find that the parquet/pergo we ordered for our attic floor had arrived. Since the installer has to prep the floor first it looks like the 70 meters of flooring are going to hang out in my living room for a while. Do you like the new floor?

Then I picked up Danya and Daniella Kaplansky. The girls played until it was time for art. Then I dropped them off at art and headed to the grocery store. After the store I picked up Jordy from his playdate and Michelle dropped off Danya and Daniella who stayed a little longer. I made 2 kugels and got the kids to bed and headed to aerobics.

Funny Kids

This morning after dropping off the kids Josh and I were going to make one last stop before making a decision on the floor. We saw an ad last night for a new center in Modiin that houses(no pun intended) businesses that do home repairs. Part of the ad was for a place that sells Parquet(which by the way is Pergo in America). We figured we should check out their prices before buying at Home Center. Turns out his prices were about the same but on the higher end flooring. Plus he had more of a color selection and we were able to get the olive colored that I had wanted. We ordered the supplies and the guy told us we can pick it up tomorrow(although he laughed when we told him we drive a Ford Focus since 70 meters of flooring plus the insulation and wall paneling will definitely not fit in the tiny Ford Focus). We then stopped for a falafel before heading home. I picked up Danya at school and she had a MAJOR melt down. I mean major...she totally lost it, screaming and yelling and crying, so I didn't let her have a playdate which only made her more upset. On the way home she told me she was never talking to me again but then continued to yell at me that she was going to tell Daddy that I wouldn't let her have a playdate. When we got home she told Josh what had happened and when I went to say something she yelled at me to be quiet and I quote here "Stop talking Mommy, I am going to tape your mouth shut. I am going to get some glue so you can't talk anymore". Luckily she had her back turned to both me and Josh and had her face covered so she couldn't see how hard we were laughing. She eventually cooled down and apologized but is no playing computer this afternoon! Another funny story, when I went to pick Jordy up from Tzaharon(daycare) while I was talking to the woman who runs it, Jordy was sitting in the car. He reached into the cup holder where we keep spare change and he wanted to give his friends a shekel(which is about 21 cents). I told him he could and then he took another coin, a 5 shekel piece, and held it for himself. He then asked me to put it away while he drank out of his water bottle. When we got home he asked for his shekel back. I gave him a 1 shekel piece, thinking he wouldn't notice. He looked at it and said "No Mommy, I had a different one....mine said number 5 on it, not number 1". Smart kid! I am very proud of myself as I decided it is time to unwrap and hang the pictures up. They are all piled on the table and we called the handyman who will come later this week and hang them. By unwrapping them I have emptied another 2 boxes! We are really getting there. I think once the floor is done in the attic we will feel a lot more settled. In other exciting news they finished our street! It only took 4 and a half weeks!!! There are still a few odds and ends left but overall they are done and we can drive to and from our house which makes life so much easier.

Making Progress

After the kids went to Gan this morning Josh and I went to Home Center to compare their price of "Parquet" to the price the floor guy was offering. Not sure if they have Parquet in the states or what it is called but it is basically a wood looking floor. We were going to get tile in the attic but since our floor is almost level and would only need a little leveler to even out it come out to cost almost the same as tile(it is usually more to prep the floor). The benefit is it isn't as hard and more importantly it is much warmer. The floor guy had a nice sample that I liked in an olive color but Home Center was half the price even though the color is more of an oak. We are going to get that and the contractor will prep the floor this week and then hopefully lay it in 2 weeks(he is going out of town in between). Then we decided that since we have a dining room table we can take the plunge and start looking at lighting. We went to a great store in Kfar Ruth that basically they can do whatever you like. As soon as we walked in we saw one fixture we both liked. We looked at everything(and trust me...there was a TON to look at) but in the end we went back to the original one we liked. We worked with the designer to adjust a few things (to help bring the price down) and we ordered it. It should be ready in about a month. Another major task off the list. At this point I was going to go to Petich Tikvah to go to Aleph, the huge grocery store and then to a towel store that Nocky and Ruanne recommended but I didn't have enough time so instead I did a little cleaning around the house and reading. Then the kids came home and played computer, had baths and ate dinner. Here are pictures of the kids helping throw out the trash(with Josh's help). Notice Danya's scowl in the last photo...she was mad that Jordy was taking a picture of her and she wouldn't smile!

Upsherian Cam

On Sunday the kids went to Gan and Josh and I went back to bed. We were both still plagued by this flu and while I think we may have seen the last of it by now, yesterday was another story. After Gan was over the kids happily played and enjoyed the last day of running free on our street sans cars. At about 5:45pm we gathered around the computer with the web cam to watch Moshe's upsherian. In theory this was a great, fun idea. Unfortunately we had a few factors that came into play....first was the picture we were receiving wasn't good, so since the kids couldn't really see they lost interest really fast. While Josh and I were interested our doorbell rang as they were beginning and the guy was here to look at our attic floor. Then we watched some more(sort of) and then we got a phone call the Nocky and Ruanne were nearby and wanted to drop off some fresh picked oranges from their yard(did you notice that we are the lucky recipients of fresh picked citrus often? I am saving a lot on fruits at the grocery store these days!). So while we enjoyed sort of being there we have yet to see a clear picture of Moshe without all the curls. We had a nice time with Nocky and Ruanne even though Jordy was mad at Ruanne for playing Connect Four by the rules. After they left the kids ate a quick dinner and headed to bed.

The Kinneret

This past Shabbat we went to the Kinneret with Jordy to attend Yehuda Teren's Bar Mitzvah. Yehuda is Josh's 2nd cousin, son of Ronna and Moshe. The Bar Mitzvah took place at the Hotel Kiner on the Kinneret and was supposed to be without kids, but Jordy was too old to leave so we brought him with. We hung out with the Gersons, Jerry Yudkowsky and Ben Issacson and had a good time. I am a little annoyed because I took some great pictures on the ride up there but I went to get them just now and it seems there was a problem with the camera because the pictures aren't coming up. Overall we had a nice time although Josh and I were still plagued with a touch of the flu, causing Josh to miss lunch completely. Jordy was a whole other child without Danya around. He was cute, funny, well behaved and while everyone thought he was the angel child we knew better. We made it back around 9pm on Saturday night and picked up Danya who had a marvelous time at the Neumans(THANKS JON AND YOCHEVED!!!!) and stayed up until midnight on Friday night!