Today was a pretty typical day. Carpools, grocery shopping etc. Jordy had a play date with one of the Israeli boys in his class today. I found it funny that while the boy was here Jordy was only able to talk to me in Hebrew. Otherwise not much happened.
Here is a video from a few weeks back when Jordy had a party at his school. I wasn't there but Josh had told me it was hard to take pictures and videos because they had the parents sitting behind the kids. This was one of the better videos. I also found it really funny since while dancing Jordy falls down and the teacher has to help him up! Enjoy!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
No More Excuses
After yesterdays posts Josh e-mailed me with the location of the cord so I could upload pictures. Here's what I have.....
These are from Friday when we went swimming with Saba at his hotel.
These are from Purim. Danya was dressed as Dora The Explorer who is dressed up as a fairy(no, we didn't make that up, it was an actual costume they sold at the store). Jordy was the green Power Ranger. We were too cheap to buy the whole outfit so we made him wear a green t-shirt and pants(he wouldn't put them on for the picture) and we bought the mask which came with a sword(he couldn't find it for the picture-he wasn't so happy to be taking the picture but did enjoy dressing up). He did realize that Danya had a whole costume and he only had a mask and at a certain point he asked us when he was getting his costume. I kind of felt bad but didn't want to spend $30 to buy the whole costume. He got over it.
Today the kids were pretty self entertained. Danya went to a friends house after school and Jordy had a bunch of friends over. My Dad came over around 5:30 and we all went there for some dinner for the kids. After dinner we came home and the kids had a quick bath. Jordy went to bed and Danya finished her homework with the babysitter while I headed to the Glenwood shul for their (sort of)annual "Welcome New People" dinner. They had one right after we arrived last summer. I guess they didn't have it this past summer because the holidays were earlier so they had it tonight. It was hysterical! I felt bad that Josh missed it but I was told he can watch the video when he returns.
These are from Friday when we went swimming with Saba at his hotel.
These are from Purim. Danya was dressed as Dora The Explorer who is dressed up as a fairy(no, we didn't make that up, it was an actual costume they sold at the store). Jordy was the green Power Ranger. We were too cheap to buy the whole outfit so we made him wear a green t-shirt and pants(he wouldn't put them on for the picture) and we bought the mask which came with a sword(he couldn't find it for the picture-he wasn't so happy to be taking the picture but did enjoy dressing up). He did realize that Danya had a whole costume and he only had a mask and at a certain point he asked us when he was getting his costume. I kind of felt bad but didn't want to spend $30 to buy the whole costume. He got over it.
Today the kids were pretty self entertained. Danya went to a friends house after school and Jordy had a bunch of friends over. My Dad came over around 5:30 and we all went there for some dinner for the kids. After dinner we came home and the kids had a quick bath. Jordy went to bed and Danya finished her homework with the babysitter while I headed to the Glenwood shul for their (sort of)annual "Welcome New People" dinner. They had one right after we arrived last summer. I guess they didn't have it this past summer because the holidays were earlier so they had it tonight. It was hysterical! I felt bad that Josh missed it but I was told he can watch the video when he returns.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Friends for Fishy
Wednesday morning we woke up very early(especially for us) as Josh was heading out to Chicago. The first alarm went off at 5:30(we are BIG fans of the snooze button). Josh's cab came at 6:30 and then I was all awake and couldn't go back to sleep. I actually got the kids up and moving so fast that I was able to walk them both to school(Danya needs to be at school at 8 and we usually have to drive her and she is usually a few minutes late). Jordy was at school by 7:40 and Danya was there before the first bell which rings at 8. WOW! I already felt accomplished! Then I headed to Modiin for a few errands. I also stopped in Shilat at the pet store. I decided that since the fish was still alive a week later it should have a real bowl(and maybe some real food?). Of course the pet store was having a sale. If you bought a bowl(which included the rocks and the plastic tree) you got 2 free goldfish. I figured if I took the free fish then there was more of a chance that next week we would still have one live fish so I took them. After returning home I organized the living room boxes(yes, we moved a year and a half ago and we still have boxes in our living room with books and seforaim). The boxes are open and we keep taking books out and putting them back and it is a huge mess. Whenever we think we are going to get bookshelves we have a surprise cost(ie. broken water heater, broken air conditioner, alarm instalation etc) and we keep pushing off getting them. I moved some of the books tot he attic bookshelves and some to a closet upstairs and now it isn't a mess at all. I picked up the kids after the school and their activities. They ate dinner, had baths and went to bed. I sighed with relief that I survived day one of being on my own!
Thursday morning we didn't wake up so early but we still got to school on time. I decided that since I was so productive the day before that I could be lazy in the morning. I washed some dishes, ate some breakfast and then watched some TV. Before I knew it Danya was home. Meira came over for a play date and the girls played nicely. I went to pick Jordy up from school but a half hour later Lisa picked him up to play with Moshe. At dinner time I took the girls and we went to Lisa's for take out with Saba. Everyone enjoyed their dinner but we had to leave a little early since I was heading out to he Neuman Bar Mitzvah. The Bar Mitzvah was a lot of fun. I don't know why but it didn't occur to me that a bunch of Chicagoans, who live outside the Yishuv, would be there. So that was a nice surprise. Plus Emily was my date for the evening. David and Yocheved are cousins but David was sick, so just Emily came. The Shlock Rock concert was very entertaining and reminded me of the late 80's! After the Bar Mitzvah Lori and I had to do our coffee delivery to the soldiers. Of course we drove to the first checkpoint and realized that we didn't have the milk, so we had to go back and get it. It was actually a quick evening at the checkpoints which was good because my babysitter needed to get home.
Friday morning was a little rough since we changed the clocks over night and we lost an hour. In the states the time change wasn't so bad but here, since the kids go to school on Friday, we still have to wake up early and get out the door with one less hour of sleep. The kids were troopers about it and went to school without too much complaint. I made a few things for Shabbat to bring to lunch. Then I went to pick Jordy up an hour early from school. We picked up Danya and headed to Yerushaliam to the hotel my Dad was staying at. Luckily the hotel has an indoor pool so we were going to go take advantage of it. First we had some lunch in the lobby and then headed to the pool. It was really nice and there were very few people there. Danya and Meira showed off their new swimming talents since they have been taking swimming lessons. Jordy had me drag him around the pool for the whole time which he really enjoyed. When we arrived home the kids went straight to the bath tub. I got them ready for Shabbat and got myself ready. We went to the Eckman's house for dinner. They also had Akiva Silton and his 3 kids since his wife is away. There were a lot of kids and they were all tired and crabby and it was a very noisy dinner! We had a nice time but the kids were ready to crash. We got home after 9 and the kids were out cold in minutes.
This morning we all got dressed and headed out to Glenwood shul for the other half of the Neuman Bar Mitzvah. Jordy attended the little kids minyan/group. He was happy since Ariella was there and they gave out apple juice. Danya found friends and was happy to play. I actually made it into shul and davened! After Shul we went to the Rotters house for lunch. Josh is going to be really sad when he reads that Devorah made a whole salad course that had 3 kinds of eggplant. There was so much food and it was all so good! Danya announced that their house was the "funnest house" she had ever been to and wanted to know if she could move in. We ended up staying most of the day. At different points in the day both Lisa and Nafi stopped in there. Lisa and I walked back together after 6. We saw Devorah and David Katz walking. They were here on a Shabbaton for Moshava and had been looking for us. We talked for a few minutes but had to head on because Danya was falling asleep. As soon as we got home Danya got into pajamas and Jordy ate dinner. Danya went to say hi to our 3 fish and came down crying that 2 of them had died. She was really sad. Jordy announced, very entertained, that when fishes die they have their eyes open(he wasn't really traumatized). As soon as we made Havdalah Danya asked me to get rid of the 2 fish. I told her that they get flushed down the toilet. I couldn't tell if she was ok with this of not. She got a little sniffly when I put them in the toilet but when I asked who gets to flush them both kids jumped up saying "Me"! I told them they could do t together and as they did Jordy said "bye dead fish"! It was pretty funny! Jordy then went to bed. Danya did her homework and ate some dinner and dove into bed!
I am a little disappointed because I planned on spending the evening uploading pictures(I know, how lame)but I can't find the cord to connect the camera to the computer, so you will have to keep waiting, sorry!
Thursday morning we didn't wake up so early but we still got to school on time. I decided that since I was so productive the day before that I could be lazy in the morning. I washed some dishes, ate some breakfast and then watched some TV. Before I knew it Danya was home. Meira came over for a play date and the girls played nicely. I went to pick Jordy up from school but a half hour later Lisa picked him up to play with Moshe. At dinner time I took the girls and we went to Lisa's for take out with Saba. Everyone enjoyed their dinner but we had to leave a little early since I was heading out to he Neuman Bar Mitzvah. The Bar Mitzvah was a lot of fun. I don't know why but it didn't occur to me that a bunch of Chicagoans, who live outside the Yishuv, would be there. So that was a nice surprise. Plus Emily was my date for the evening. David and Yocheved are cousins but David was sick, so just Emily came. The Shlock Rock concert was very entertaining and reminded me of the late 80's! After the Bar Mitzvah Lori and I had to do our coffee delivery to the soldiers. Of course we drove to the first checkpoint and realized that we didn't have the milk, so we had to go back and get it. It was actually a quick evening at the checkpoints which was good because my babysitter needed to get home.
Friday morning was a little rough since we changed the clocks over night and we lost an hour. In the states the time change wasn't so bad but here, since the kids go to school on Friday, we still have to wake up early and get out the door with one less hour of sleep. The kids were troopers about it and went to school without too much complaint. I made a few things for Shabbat to bring to lunch. Then I went to pick Jordy up an hour early from school. We picked up Danya and headed to Yerushaliam to the hotel my Dad was staying at. Luckily the hotel has an indoor pool so we were going to go take advantage of it. First we had some lunch in the lobby and then headed to the pool. It was really nice and there were very few people there. Danya and Meira showed off their new swimming talents since they have been taking swimming lessons. Jordy had me drag him around the pool for the whole time which he really enjoyed. When we arrived home the kids went straight to the bath tub. I got them ready for Shabbat and got myself ready. We went to the Eckman's house for dinner. They also had Akiva Silton and his 3 kids since his wife is away. There were a lot of kids and they were all tired and crabby and it was a very noisy dinner! We had a nice time but the kids were ready to crash. We got home after 9 and the kids were out cold in minutes.
This morning we all got dressed and headed out to Glenwood shul for the other half of the Neuman Bar Mitzvah. Jordy attended the little kids minyan/group. He was happy since Ariella was there and they gave out apple juice. Danya found friends and was happy to play. I actually made it into shul and davened! After Shul we went to the Rotters house for lunch. Josh is going to be really sad when he reads that Devorah made a whole salad course that had 3 kinds of eggplant. There was so much food and it was all so good! Danya announced that their house was the "funnest house" she had ever been to and wanted to know if she could move in. We ended up staying most of the day. At different points in the day both Lisa and Nafi stopped in there. Lisa and I walked back together after 6. We saw Devorah and David Katz walking. They were here on a Shabbaton for Moshava and had been looking for us. We talked for a few minutes but had to head on because Danya was falling asleep. As soon as we got home Danya got into pajamas and Jordy ate dinner. Danya went to say hi to our 3 fish and came down crying that 2 of them had died. She was really sad. Jordy announced, very entertained, that when fishes die they have their eyes open(he wasn't really traumatized). As soon as we made Havdalah Danya asked me to get rid of the 2 fish. I told her that they get flushed down the toilet. I couldn't tell if she was ok with this of not. She got a little sniffly when I put them in the toilet but when I asked who gets to flush them both kids jumped up saying "Me"! I told them they could do t together and as they did Jordy said "bye dead fish"! It was pretty funny! Jordy then went to bed. Danya did her homework and ate some dinner and dove into bed!
I am a little disappointed because I planned on spending the evening uploading pictures(I know, how lame)but I can't find the cord to connect the camera to the computer, so you will have to keep waiting, sorry!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Post Purim Roundup
Did you know that Purim is a week long in this country??? It is as long as Pesach!
On Wednesday Josh and I picked up more Shalach Manot items(since Danya and Meira had packed half of the Shalach Manot on Tuesday and we were out of candy and cookies). When Jordy came home from school he was so happy to have his turn to pack Shalach Manot. I set up a little assembly line for him on the kitchen table and he got to work.
Thursday the kids got home from school early due to the fast. Jordy was eager to deliver Shalach Manot and didn't understand why he couldn't do it on Thursday. Thursday night we went to the shul across the street to hear Megilah. The kids were excited to get all dressed up. After a quick bite to eat we headed to the glenwood shul for the purim carnival. The kids had a great time playing games and eating candy. Meira won a goldfish for us(because her mean parents wouldn't let her have one!). We ate pizza and had a good time.
Friday morning I got to the 7:30 megillah reading which went a little slower than I had anticipated. When I got home I started preparing for our last minute seudah when the doorbell rang. I assumed that it was someone delivering Shalach Manot. I was right, my Dad came with Shalach Manot. I had told him we would have seduah at 10 and if his flight arrived and he felt up to it he should come. I figured he would call and let us know but he decided to surprise us. The Balsams and the Mintz families joined us for a lox and bagel seudah. After Seudah we went to deliver the few shalach manot that we hadn't given out to people who stopped at our house(did that make sense?). Once most of the Purim stuff was done I began cooking for Shabbat. Nocky and Ruanne stopped by to drop off shalach manot from them and Bubs and Pops. The kids were very excited to get socks in their shalach manot(luckily there was also candy or I don't think they would have found it so funny!). After dinner on Friday night we went over to the Eckman's house for dessert. We had a good time and ended up staying a lot longer than we had anticipated.
Shabbat morning some of us slept late while others got up earlier. Luckily the kids played really nicely most the morning and left me alone to sleep. After lunch Rachel Eckman came to play with Danya. They didn't want to play with Jordy so the girls headed back to Rachel's house. Jordy was sad so I suggested we go over to see Ezra Silton since I wanted to say hi to his parents. Josh joined us after his nap and we stayed there for a while. We waled through the park on the way home and found the Eckman's and Danya. We pretty much stayed there until Shabbat ended. After dinner and a bath Jordy went to bed and Danya headed to Meira's house for a sleepover. Josh and I then headed out to a purim shpiel at one of the shuls. The shul is an Israeli shul and the shpiel was done in Hebrew(obviously) and we didn't understand all of it but what we did understand was pretty funny and the dinner was good. We left before it was over because it was 12:30 and we were tired!
Sunday the kids had no school(hooray Shushan Purim). Danya went from the Balsam's house to the Neuman's house for a play date with Rachael. After that she returned to the Balsam house and stayed there until dinner. For dinner we went with Lisa and kids and my Dad to a cafe nearby.
On Monday the kids headed back to school. It was nice to have a normal day again! Nothing overly exciting happened but the routine was nice.
On Tuesday Josh and I ran a few errands in Kiryat Sefer. We purchased some stuff for Pesach as this will be the first year we will make Pesach and we have no pots, pans and utensils. After I drove Danya and her friends to swimming I stopped in Shilat to pick up a few things. Then I picked up the kids and headed home.
I am going to post this now and add the pictures later because otherwise it will take too long and will never go up. I will attempt to add the pictures Saturday night...sorry!
On Wednesday Josh and I picked up more Shalach Manot items(since Danya and Meira had packed half of the Shalach Manot on Tuesday and we were out of candy and cookies). When Jordy came home from school he was so happy to have his turn to pack Shalach Manot. I set up a little assembly line for him on the kitchen table and he got to work.
Thursday the kids got home from school early due to the fast. Jordy was eager to deliver Shalach Manot and didn't understand why he couldn't do it on Thursday. Thursday night we went to the shul across the street to hear Megilah. The kids were excited to get all dressed up. After a quick bite to eat we headed to the glenwood shul for the purim carnival. The kids had a great time playing games and eating candy. Meira won a goldfish for us(because her mean parents wouldn't let her have one!). We ate pizza and had a good time.
Friday morning I got to the 7:30 megillah reading which went a little slower than I had anticipated. When I got home I started preparing for our last minute seudah when the doorbell rang. I assumed that it was someone delivering Shalach Manot. I was right, my Dad came with Shalach Manot. I had told him we would have seduah at 10 and if his flight arrived and he felt up to it he should come. I figured he would call and let us know but he decided to surprise us. The Balsams and the Mintz families joined us for a lox and bagel seudah. After Seudah we went to deliver the few shalach manot that we hadn't given out to people who stopped at our house(did that make sense?). Once most of the Purim stuff was done I began cooking for Shabbat. Nocky and Ruanne stopped by to drop off shalach manot from them and Bubs and Pops. The kids were very excited to get socks in their shalach manot(luckily there was also candy or I don't think they would have found it so funny!). After dinner on Friday night we went over to the Eckman's house for dessert. We had a good time and ended up staying a lot longer than we had anticipated.
Shabbat morning some of us slept late while others got up earlier. Luckily the kids played really nicely most the morning and left me alone to sleep. After lunch Rachel Eckman came to play with Danya. They didn't want to play with Jordy so the girls headed back to Rachel's house. Jordy was sad so I suggested we go over to see Ezra Silton since I wanted to say hi to his parents. Josh joined us after his nap and we stayed there for a while. We waled through the park on the way home and found the Eckman's and Danya. We pretty much stayed there until Shabbat ended. After dinner and a bath Jordy went to bed and Danya headed to Meira's house for a sleepover. Josh and I then headed out to a purim shpiel at one of the shuls. The shul is an Israeli shul and the shpiel was done in Hebrew(obviously) and we didn't understand all of it but what we did understand was pretty funny and the dinner was good. We left before it was over because it was 12:30 and we were tired!
Sunday the kids had no school(hooray Shushan Purim). Danya went from the Balsam's house to the Neuman's house for a play date with Rachael. After that she returned to the Balsam house and stayed there until dinner. For dinner we went with Lisa and kids and my Dad to a cafe nearby.
On Monday the kids headed back to school. It was nice to have a normal day again! Nothing overly exciting happened but the routine was nice.
On Tuesday Josh and I ran a few errands in Kiryat Sefer. We purchased some stuff for Pesach as this will be the first year we will make Pesach and we have no pots, pans and utensils. After I drove Danya and her friends to swimming I stopped in Shilat to pick up a few things. Then I picked up the kids and headed home.
I am going to post this now and add the pictures later because otherwise it will take too long and will never go up. I will attempt to add the pictures Saturday night...sorry!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Pre-Purim Pandemonium
On Sunday, after her school and after school activities I took Danya to her final appointment with a social worker. She has been seeing her for a few months and either the passage of time or all the money we spent on the social worker has helped because Danya has been sleeping the whole night through in her room by herself. Danya was a little sad becuase she was doing "play therapy" with her and Danya really enjoyed doing art projects and playing with the doll house there.
After that I dropped Danya at the Gersons so Danya could go with Seth and Lori to watch Tamar's siddur party. Lori reported that at one point during the very LONG show everyone was singing Hamalech Hagoel(Danya's favorite) and when everyone stopped singing Danya went for another chorus and was singing really loud. Lori said it was really cute and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
On Monday afternoon after Danya went to her english class I took her to Modiin to get her haircut. I was really proud that I was able to make the appointment myself(I usually need Josh's help with these things). As we were walking into the building I looked at my watch and realized that it was almost 4 and for some reson I made the appointment for 3. SHOOT! We continued in hoping they either wouldn't notice or that they would be able to fit us in but we were disapointed because the guy cutting hair was leaving after his 3:30 appointmnet. We made an appointment for Tuesday and headed out. Next stop was the toy store to find Danya a costume. Luckily we found Danya a "Dora dressed up as a fairy" costume right away and Danya loved it. We also stopped at a candy store to pick up some stuff for the Mishloach Manot. When we got back Danya went right to her exercise class and I came home to get Jordy dinner.
Danny came over at some point last night after I went to bed and stayed the night and headed out to the airport. I never even saw him but Danya saw him before he left(she woke up at 5:30am for some reason). Danya got dressed in her costume since her school was having a costume parade around part of this yishuv today. (I am noticing a lot of stuff about Danya this time and not too much Jordy info). When her school ended(early today for some reason) I picked her up and we headed back to Modiin to get her haircut. We were on time this time and Danya was excited. They washed her hair before they cut it and Danya thought that was the funniest thing in the world! She had never had it done before and she kept talking to the guy about how the sink was a bathtub for her hair. She then sat nicely while they cut off about 5 to 6 inches of hair. Her hair was tangly and she didn't let me brush it so she choose the alternative, to chop it all off. It looks really cute(pictures to come). After the haircut I brought her back home to go to swimming. After swimming we picked up Jordy and Meira also came over. The girls packed the Mishloach Manot and Jory played with the next door neighbor Amichai until dinner time.
After that I dropped Danya at the Gersons so Danya could go with Seth and Lori to watch Tamar's siddur party. Lori reported that at one point during the very LONG show everyone was singing Hamalech Hagoel(Danya's favorite) and when everyone stopped singing Danya went for another chorus and was singing really loud. Lori said it was really cute and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
On Monday afternoon after Danya went to her english class I took her to Modiin to get her haircut. I was really proud that I was able to make the appointment myself(I usually need Josh's help with these things). As we were walking into the building I looked at my watch and realized that it was almost 4 and for some reson I made the appointment for 3. SHOOT! We continued in hoping they either wouldn't notice or that they would be able to fit us in but we were disapointed because the guy cutting hair was leaving after his 3:30 appointmnet. We made an appointment for Tuesday and headed out. Next stop was the toy store to find Danya a costume. Luckily we found Danya a "Dora dressed up as a fairy" costume right away and Danya loved it. We also stopped at a candy store to pick up some stuff for the Mishloach Manot. When we got back Danya went right to her exercise class and I came home to get Jordy dinner.
Danny came over at some point last night after I went to bed and stayed the night and headed out to the airport. I never even saw him but Danya saw him before he left(she woke up at 5:30am for some reason). Danya got dressed in her costume since her school was having a costume parade around part of this yishuv today. (I am noticing a lot of stuff about Danya this time and not too much Jordy info). When her school ended(early today for some reason) I picked her up and we headed back to Modiin to get her haircut. We were on time this time and Danya was excited. They washed her hair before they cut it and Danya thought that was the funniest thing in the world! She had never had it done before and she kept talking to the guy about how the sink was a bathtub for her hair. She then sat nicely while they cut off about 5 to 6 inches of hair. Her hair was tangly and she didn't let me brush it so she choose the alternative, to chop it all off. It looks really cute(pictures to come). After the haircut I brought her back home to go to swimming. After swimming we picked up Jordy and Meira also came over. The girls packed the Mishloach Manot and Jory played with the next door neighbor Amichai until dinner time.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Complaints
Boy oh boy! I think there needs to be a link on the blog for complaints! I have been getting some interesting e-mails about my lack of blogging lately. I will agree that I haven't been so great about it lately, but hate e-mail! Seriously people! I particularly enjoy the ones from people who don't blog themselves or those who blog but their blogs aren't as current as mine! That said, I am quite honored that you enjoy the blog so much that you feel a loss when it isn't updated.
There are usually 3 reasons I am not updating the blog. Te first is because there is just too much going on and I am too busy(not the case this time). Secondly, not that much exciting is happening and I don't want to bore you with stories about my trip to the grocery store(partially to blame in this case) and the third reason is I am lazy(this is to blame here).
I did notice that after I posted the States update that I failed to continue the story from before I left about Jordy and his hot lunch. To refresh your memories, Jordy's school had extended their school day and was providing hot lunch for the kids. The first few days Jordy would say he didn't like hot lunch ad then he would go on to say how much he enjoyed the food. I finally solved this mystery the day before I went to Chicago. I asked him why he tells me he doesn't like hot lunch if he likes the food. He said I don't give him "hot" schnitzel but I give him "warm" schnitzel. He prefers the food to be warm and not hot! We then discussed this with the teacher who said that the food wasn't HOT. I think it was all in his head since it is called Hot lunch he is worried he may burn his mouth. Either way, the mystery is solved and he till enjoys the food they serve.
This past week has been one where the reality of the time of year has hit. Purim is next week and Pesach is around the corner(for those of you in denial I am sorry to break the news). A lot of time has been dedicated to making plans. Jordy and I went to get him a Purim costume one afternoon and Danya and I will hopefully go in the next few days. I also took Jordy to buy new gym shoes because his had a hole in them. Luckily the shoe store was having a buy one get one free sale on gym shoes so we also got Danya a pair which she was really excited about.
For Friday night dinner we went to the Block family across the street. There was so much food and we had a great time. We did get home a little late and the kids were out cold in minutes.
Today Danya went to Meira's for lunch and Josh, Jordy and I ate chulent(and enjoyed it). Later in the afternoon Jordy and I went to the park to join Danya, Meira and Moshe. We stayed until Shabbat was almost over and it was getting cold. We came home and the kids ate dinner and both went right to bed as they were still exhausted from last night.
There are usually 3 reasons I am not updating the blog. Te first is because there is just too much going on and I am too busy(not the case this time). Secondly, not that much exciting is happening and I don't want to bore you with stories about my trip to the grocery store(partially to blame in this case) and the third reason is I am lazy(this is to blame here).
I did notice that after I posted the States update that I failed to continue the story from before I left about Jordy and his hot lunch. To refresh your memories, Jordy's school had extended their school day and was providing hot lunch for the kids. The first few days Jordy would say he didn't like hot lunch ad then he would go on to say how much he enjoyed the food. I finally solved this mystery the day before I went to Chicago. I asked him why he tells me he doesn't like hot lunch if he likes the food. He said I don't give him "hot" schnitzel but I give him "warm" schnitzel. He prefers the food to be warm and not hot! We then discussed this with the teacher who said that the food wasn't HOT. I think it was all in his head since it is called Hot lunch he is worried he may burn his mouth. Either way, the mystery is solved and he till enjoys the food they serve.
This past week has been one where the reality of the time of year has hit. Purim is next week and Pesach is around the corner(for those of you in denial I am sorry to break the news). A lot of time has been dedicated to making plans. Jordy and I went to get him a Purim costume one afternoon and Danya and I will hopefully go in the next few days. I also took Jordy to buy new gym shoes because his had a hole in them. Luckily the shoe store was having a buy one get one free sale on gym shoes so we also got Danya a pair which she was really excited about.
For Friday night dinner we went to the Block family across the street. There was so much food and we had a great time. We did get home a little late and the kids were out cold in minutes.
Today Danya went to Meira's for lunch and Josh, Jordy and I ate chulent(and enjoyed it). Later in the afternoon Jordy and I went to the park to join Danya, Meira and Moshe. We stayed until Shabbat was almost over and it was getting cold. We came home and the kids ate dinner and both went right to bed as they were still exhausted from last night.
Monday, March 03, 2008
My Longest Post Ever!
******Before you read be prepared.....it is long******
I have gotten a few complaints about the lack of updates so I would like to explain(read:make excuses). For those of you who don't know, I have just returned to Israel after a 12 day trip to Chicago. I tried updating the blog from my parents house but their computer is a little antiquated and I feared installing the updates as I know if I change anything on their computer I would feel their wrath!
The purpose of my trip was to attend the Ida Crown Jewish Academy dinner(I know, who travels across the world to attend a fund raising dinner, right?) where my parents were being honored. I also took advantage of the visit and found plenty of time to visit with family and friends, shop and eat at ALL the restaurants.
Lisa and her daughter Michali also went and I am happy to report that ElAl gave us an extra seat so Michali wouldn't have to sit on Lisa's lap for 12 hours. When we checked in in Israel we were told our luggage was checked through to our final destination and that we had our boarding passes for our connecting flight and it would be smooth sailing. Well they obviously lied to us! When we arrived in Toronto not only did we have to go through Canadian customs and schlep our bags there then we had to go through American customs and schlep our bags through there. We were suddenly grateful for the 4 hour layover since 3 hours was eaten up in that process. We finally made it through security only to find that the ONLY good coffee shop was on the other side of security(has anyone noticed how many Starbucks are in OHare? About every 10 steps you get to another one). When we finally sat down and looked at our tickets the first thing I noticed was I was seated in 1A. I doubted that I got bumped up to first class and since I had no intentions of flying the plane I went to to the desk to inquire. I was told that I was on an American Eagle flight(read:itsy bitsy plane). The woman told me we were scheduled to leave on time and then moved my seat back 3 rows so I wouldn't be sitting in the pilots lap. I walked Lisa and Michali to their gate(they went to NY for a few days) and when I returned to my gate I saw there were about 30 people lined up at the podium to my flight. I was a little worried that they flight got canceled and after asking everyone there found out it was delayed an hour and all those people needed to be scheduled on new connecting flights. I made it to Chicago and was happy to see a Starbucks at the baggage carousel(see!).
My Mom picked me up at the airport and we headed straight to visit my Bubby. All in all she is doing well and on the road to recovery. She talked more than I did and I was fading. After Bubby my Mom and I made a few more stops and headed home. After chatting a while my mom suggested we got to Slice of Life for dinner since it was 5pm and if I kept going I wouldn't be so jet lagged. So off we went. I am pretty sure I was the worst smelling person in the place but it was nice to have my old favorite pocket tuna(hold the sprouts, cheddar on the fries). After we got home I took a shower and then crashed at 8:45.
The next morning, Monday, I woke up at around 5:45 and attempted to blog since I had nothing else to do. This is when I noticed the computer issue. I hung around until 8 when I called Gila to see if she wanted to head out to breakfast early since I was wide awake. We went to bagel country and then decided to stop at Old Navy. They were having a big sale so I did a little shopping. After Gila brought me back I stopped at the dry cleaners and Starbucks before my Mom came home. After we ate lunch we headed back to Bubbys. Bubby and I chatted for about an hour while my Mom had a meeting with the administration. After that my mom and I hit Sam's Club and Macy's. For dinner I went to DaNali's with Marissa and Becca and Becca's cute little baby boy whose name is slipping my mind as I type this at 3am.
Tuesday morning I slept a little later, like 6:30. Rebecca and I went to Target and a few other stores before she had to pick up Naftali. Then we stopped at Great Chicago Pizza(who even knew they had pizza???). Then I went to the airport to pick up Lisa, Michali, Lanie and Maayan. It was so cute having the 2 little girls together. It was the first time I really ever saw them together and it was fun! I then took them all to visit Bubby but she was a little tired, as were the travelers. After we got home we had a quasi birthday party for Lanie and then I headed out to girls night out at Hy Life. It was so great seeing all my friends and catching up. It was like I never left!
Wednesday morning we all packed into the van, Lisa, Lanie, my Mom and the girls(and me, the family school bus driver) and headed to Gurnee Mills outlet mall where we maxed out my parents credit card and shopped til we dropped(literally, I couldn't bear to go into another store I was so tired). We came back and got dinner from Slice of Life and just relaxed. Thursday morning I can't remember what we did although I am sure it involved shopping and a visit to Bubby where Maayan and Lanie demonstrated Yoga. In the afternoon we ran a few errands. Lisa and I headed to the needle point shop The Hookers Nook in Highland Park to pick up the Tefilin bag my Dad requested to match his Talis bag. When we got back I turend right back around and went with Gila and Rebecca to Ken's Dinner for my Burger Buddy(yum) and then we went to the Lincolnshire Marriot to see Les Miserables. Gila and I thought it was very well done. Rebecca couldn't keep her eyes open and I kept elbowing her to wake up. When I got home Ari and my Dad had both arrived from their respective travels and we had a pretty full house.
Friday morning I went to Jewell to pick up Chinese for Shabbat and a few other things. I also stopped at the new deli to pick up more food(we decided nobody wanted to cook for Shabbat). My Mom took us all to Bagel Country for lunch where we ran into my Father-in-law(my in-laws had been in Boston until the previous night). After lunch Lisa and I decided to go get manicures. After that we took the few minutes we had left and ran to Old Orchard until my Mom needed her car back. Friday night was nice and casual. I was too tired for Scrabble(sorry Ari) and crashed at around 10.
Shabbat morning I went with my mom to shul and arrived earlier that I have in years! It was nice to see some familiar faces. The afternoon was mostly spent sleeping and reading. Saturday night I went over to Rebecca and Jeremy's new house. Rebecca and I were lazy and just sat on the couch and chatted until Jeremy returned with Neil and Tovi Kirschner who had just come in town. We ate pizza and stayed until Rebecca started falling asleep.
On Sunday I went with Missy, Dina and Gabe for breakfast at DaNali's. I was amazed at how big the kids had gotten and how well behaved they were. Such cuties! It was great catching up with Missy who never has a free minute. I went with her for a ride downtown and returned home around noon. I then turned right back around and went to the JCC to attend Zev and Becky Goldberg's son's first birthday. I hadn't talked to them in over a year so it was nice catching up and seeing their kids. I had to leave there early to go home and get ready for the dinner. We had to be there when it started because they wanted to take a picture with us, so we got there an hour early, took one picture and then waited. We browsed the silent auction(Ari and Lisa bid on a few things) and saw some old friends and teachers. The dinner itself was very nice. It was very fast paced so we didn't have too much time between speeches and presentations to talk to people but it was over by 9. Lanie and my parents all spoke very nicely. When we were getting ready to leave Ari went to check the auctions and came back asking for my credit card since he won two things and hadn't brought any money! He won 2 GIANT baskets of kids "items" which were tossed into huge garbage bags. So we had to leave they Hyatt carrying garbage bags. When we got home and looked at the loot we realized we had 2 big bags of crap that nobody needed. We kept trying convince the other one they needed it("Hey Ari, haven't you always wanted a Neon Buzz Lightyear wall clock?"). Saba and Savta now have a few more items in their toy closet and we all have a few things we really don't need.
Monday was spent running a lot of last minute errands. We did hear a report that there was going to be a snow storm but we were busy and tried to ignore it. In the afternoon the snow started and wasn't slowing down. Around 5:00pm we heard that all flight out of Ohare for the night were canceled but figured that by the next morning we'd be ok(we were scheduled to leave Ohare at 7:30). At 6:00 I gave up on packing because I was too tired and lazy and was going out to dinner with my in-laws and Matthew and Marissa. Lisa checked on the flight which was still scheduled to go on time. I had a bad feeling we were going to get to the airport at 6am and then get canceled. We had a really nice dinner at Hy Life. It was nice catching up with everyone since nobody else writes blogs and I don't get to hear about their daily lives. At the end of dinner my mom called my father-in-laws cell phone to say our flight got canceled and that Lisa was working on getting us rescheduled. When I got home Lisa was just rebooking us. The problem was that since we were flying on miles we couldn't just get on the next flight, it had to be the next flight with miles seats which wasn't for another day and a half. I stayed up until I could call Josh to share the news(which I am sure he was THRILLED about) and then went to sleep without packing my second bag!
Tuesday was spent being lazy. We really hung out at home and took forever to finish packing. Gila and Avi stopped over in the evening for a while. Michali immediately made friends with them, I guess she knew they liked little girls.
Wednsday morning we went to visit Bubby one more time. We watched The Price Is Right together(yes Lanie, we were thinking of you) until it was time for her to go to her therapy. After that we met Gila and Rebecca for a last breakfast out at DaNali's. After lunch we headed home and got ready to go. When we got to the airport the woman checking us in awas really nice about the few pounds of luggage that was over weight(which we were very happy about). She also said she blocked an extra seat next to us for Michali. We then wandered the airport for 2 hours looking for TCBY and enjoying a last Starbucks. When we got on the plane we saw we actually got 2 extra seats and were happy to spread out. I didn't sleep on the flight but enjoyed the TV and watched Michael Clayton and The Bee Movie. When we arrived in London we knew we only had about an hour and a half until our connection so we tried to move fast. We made it to the connection with minutes to spare. This flight was packed and we had 2 seats, Lisa and Michali in the window and me in the middle. I was next to a very large woman who was basically sitting on my lap, which wasn't so comfortable. I watched most of The Nannie Diaries and slept a little. When we arrived in Israel I was surprised to see our luggage had made our connection. Unfortunately for Lisa, Michali's stroller had not so we had to wait a little bit while Lisa filled in the paperwork. It actually worked out OK because if she had to push the stroller she wouldn't have been able to push one of the 2 carts we had with all our luggage. As soo as we walked out of customs we saw that Nafi had surprised them and came to pick us up. I was very relieved becuase I was not looking forward to shoving all our luggage into a tiny cab. When we pulled up to my house the kids came running out and Jordy started bawling. He jumped into the van and onto my lap and continued to cry for about 10 minutes! While I was away he was never interested in talking to me on the phone and accoring to Josh never really seemed upset that I was gone. It was kind of nice to see I was missed but I felt bad for him. We got all the luggage in the house and then opened up the bags so the kids could have some presents. I had no idea what I had bought anymore and was way to tired to try and control the mess. After the gift distribution I headed to bed(it was around 6pm).
This is when the jetlag began. I slept all night Thursday and most the day Friday. I also slept Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Then I could no longer sleep at night. Lucky for me, Josh surprised me with a TV for our bedroom so at least while I am awake all night I can watch reruns of Jay Leno and The Amazing Race from the comfort of my own bed.
It is now Tuesday March 4th(Happy Birthday POPS!!!) and today was the first day I didn't sleep all day(did I mention how good Josh is at handling things???). I was so proud of myself and dragged myself into bed at 8:30pm. I then slept until around midnight and now it is about 3am and I am wide awake. We will see what tomorrow brings!!!
Wow, that took 2 nights of typing but I am happy to announce that I am all caught up to all those complainers out there(and you know who you are!). I would also like to give a shout out to the people I saw in Chicago who have confessed that they have been lurking/stalking. I won't mention you by name but you know who you are as well!
I have gotten a few complaints about the lack of updates so I would like to explain(read:make excuses). For those of you who don't know, I have just returned to Israel after a 12 day trip to Chicago. I tried updating the blog from my parents house but their computer is a little antiquated and I feared installing the updates as I know if I change anything on their computer I would feel their wrath!
The purpose of my trip was to attend the Ida Crown Jewish Academy dinner(I know, who travels across the world to attend a fund raising dinner, right?) where my parents were being honored. I also took advantage of the visit and found plenty of time to visit with family and friends, shop and eat at ALL the restaurants.
Lisa and her daughter Michali also went and I am happy to report that ElAl gave us an extra seat so Michali wouldn't have to sit on Lisa's lap for 12 hours. When we checked in in Israel we were told our luggage was checked through to our final destination and that we had our boarding passes for our connecting flight and it would be smooth sailing. Well they obviously lied to us! When we arrived in Toronto not only did we have to go through Canadian customs and schlep our bags there then we had to go through American customs and schlep our bags through there. We were suddenly grateful for the 4 hour layover since 3 hours was eaten up in that process. We finally made it through security only to find that the ONLY good coffee shop was on the other side of security(has anyone noticed how many Starbucks are in OHare? About every 10 steps you get to another one). When we finally sat down and looked at our tickets the first thing I noticed was I was seated in 1A. I doubted that I got bumped up to first class and since I had no intentions of flying the plane I went to to the desk to inquire. I was told that I was on an American Eagle flight(read:itsy bitsy plane). The woman told me we were scheduled to leave on time and then moved my seat back 3 rows so I wouldn't be sitting in the pilots lap. I walked Lisa and Michali to their gate(they went to NY for a few days) and when I returned to my gate I saw there were about 30 people lined up at the podium to my flight. I was a little worried that they flight got canceled and after asking everyone there found out it was delayed an hour and all those people needed to be scheduled on new connecting flights. I made it to Chicago and was happy to see a Starbucks at the baggage carousel(see!).
My Mom picked me up at the airport and we headed straight to visit my Bubby. All in all she is doing well and on the road to recovery. She talked more than I did and I was fading. After Bubby my Mom and I made a few more stops and headed home. After chatting a while my mom suggested we got to Slice of Life for dinner since it was 5pm and if I kept going I wouldn't be so jet lagged. So off we went. I am pretty sure I was the worst smelling person in the place but it was nice to have my old favorite pocket tuna(hold the sprouts, cheddar on the fries). After we got home I took a shower and then crashed at 8:45.
The next morning, Monday, I woke up at around 5:45 and attempted to blog since I had nothing else to do. This is when I noticed the computer issue. I hung around until 8 when I called Gila to see if she wanted to head out to breakfast early since I was wide awake. We went to bagel country and then decided to stop at Old Navy. They were having a big sale so I did a little shopping. After Gila brought me back I stopped at the dry cleaners and Starbucks before my Mom came home. After we ate lunch we headed back to Bubbys. Bubby and I chatted for about an hour while my Mom had a meeting with the administration. After that my mom and I hit Sam's Club and Macy's. For dinner I went to DaNali's with Marissa and Becca and Becca's cute little baby boy whose name is slipping my mind as I type this at 3am.
Tuesday morning I slept a little later, like 6:30. Rebecca and I went to Target and a few other stores before she had to pick up Naftali. Then we stopped at Great Chicago Pizza(who even knew they had pizza???). Then I went to the airport to pick up Lisa, Michali, Lanie and Maayan. It was so cute having the 2 little girls together. It was the first time I really ever saw them together and it was fun! I then took them all to visit Bubby but she was a little tired, as were the travelers. After we got home we had a quasi birthday party for Lanie and then I headed out to girls night out at Hy Life. It was so great seeing all my friends and catching up. It was like I never left!
Wednesday morning we all packed into the van, Lisa, Lanie, my Mom and the girls(and me, the family school bus driver) and headed to Gurnee Mills outlet mall where we maxed out my parents credit card and shopped til we dropped(literally, I couldn't bear to go into another store I was so tired). We came back and got dinner from Slice of Life and just relaxed. Thursday morning I can't remember what we did although I am sure it involved shopping and a visit to Bubby where Maayan and Lanie demonstrated Yoga. In the afternoon we ran a few errands. Lisa and I headed to the needle point shop The Hookers Nook in Highland Park to pick up the Tefilin bag my Dad requested to match his Talis bag. When we got back I turend right back around and went with Gila and Rebecca to Ken's Dinner for my Burger Buddy(yum) and then we went to the Lincolnshire Marriot to see Les Miserables. Gila and I thought it was very well done. Rebecca couldn't keep her eyes open and I kept elbowing her to wake up. When I got home Ari and my Dad had both arrived from their respective travels and we had a pretty full house.
Friday morning I went to Jewell to pick up Chinese for Shabbat and a few other things. I also stopped at the new deli to pick up more food(we decided nobody wanted to cook for Shabbat). My Mom took us all to Bagel Country for lunch where we ran into my Father-in-law(my in-laws had been in Boston until the previous night). After lunch Lisa and I decided to go get manicures. After that we took the few minutes we had left and ran to Old Orchard until my Mom needed her car back. Friday night was nice and casual. I was too tired for Scrabble(sorry Ari) and crashed at around 10.
Shabbat morning I went with my mom to shul and arrived earlier that I have in years! It was nice to see some familiar faces. The afternoon was mostly spent sleeping and reading. Saturday night I went over to Rebecca and Jeremy's new house. Rebecca and I were lazy and just sat on the couch and chatted until Jeremy returned with Neil and Tovi Kirschner who had just come in town. We ate pizza and stayed until Rebecca started falling asleep.
On Sunday I went with Missy, Dina and Gabe for breakfast at DaNali's. I was amazed at how big the kids had gotten and how well behaved they were. Such cuties! It was great catching up with Missy who never has a free minute. I went with her for a ride downtown and returned home around noon. I then turned right back around and went to the JCC to attend Zev and Becky Goldberg's son's first birthday. I hadn't talked to them in over a year so it was nice catching up and seeing their kids. I had to leave there early to go home and get ready for the dinner. We had to be there when it started because they wanted to take a picture with us, so we got there an hour early, took one picture and then waited. We browsed the silent auction(Ari and Lisa bid on a few things) and saw some old friends and teachers. The dinner itself was very nice. It was very fast paced so we didn't have too much time between speeches and presentations to talk to people but it was over by 9. Lanie and my parents all spoke very nicely. When we were getting ready to leave Ari went to check the auctions and came back asking for my credit card since he won two things and hadn't brought any money! He won 2 GIANT baskets of kids "items" which were tossed into huge garbage bags. So we had to leave they Hyatt carrying garbage bags. When we got home and looked at the loot we realized we had 2 big bags of crap that nobody needed. We kept trying convince the other one they needed it("Hey Ari, haven't you always wanted a Neon Buzz Lightyear wall clock?"). Saba and Savta now have a few more items in their toy closet and we all have a few things we really don't need.
Monday was spent running a lot of last minute errands. We did hear a report that there was going to be a snow storm but we were busy and tried to ignore it. In the afternoon the snow started and wasn't slowing down. Around 5:00pm we heard that all flight out of Ohare for the night were canceled but figured that by the next morning we'd be ok(we were scheduled to leave Ohare at 7:30). At 6:00 I gave up on packing because I was too tired and lazy and was going out to dinner with my in-laws and Matthew and Marissa. Lisa checked on the flight which was still scheduled to go on time. I had a bad feeling we were going to get to the airport at 6am and then get canceled. We had a really nice dinner at Hy Life. It was nice catching up with everyone since nobody else writes blogs and I don't get to hear about their daily lives. At the end of dinner my mom called my father-in-laws cell phone to say our flight got canceled and that Lisa was working on getting us rescheduled. When I got home Lisa was just rebooking us. The problem was that since we were flying on miles we couldn't just get on the next flight, it had to be the next flight with miles seats which wasn't for another day and a half. I stayed up until I could call Josh to share the news(which I am sure he was THRILLED about) and then went to sleep without packing my second bag!
Tuesday was spent being lazy. We really hung out at home and took forever to finish packing. Gila and Avi stopped over in the evening for a while. Michali immediately made friends with them, I guess she knew they liked little girls.
Wednsday morning we went to visit Bubby one more time. We watched The Price Is Right together(yes Lanie, we were thinking of you) until it was time for her to go to her therapy. After that we met Gila and Rebecca for a last breakfast out at DaNali's. After lunch we headed home and got ready to go. When we got to the airport the woman checking us in awas really nice about the few pounds of luggage that was over weight(which we were very happy about). She also said she blocked an extra seat next to us for Michali. We then wandered the airport for 2 hours looking for TCBY and enjoying a last Starbucks. When we got on the plane we saw we actually got 2 extra seats and were happy to spread out. I didn't sleep on the flight but enjoyed the TV and watched Michael Clayton and The Bee Movie. When we arrived in London we knew we only had about an hour and a half until our connection so we tried to move fast. We made it to the connection with minutes to spare. This flight was packed and we had 2 seats, Lisa and Michali in the window and me in the middle. I was next to a very large woman who was basically sitting on my lap, which wasn't so comfortable. I watched most of The Nannie Diaries and slept a little. When we arrived in Israel I was surprised to see our luggage had made our connection. Unfortunately for Lisa, Michali's stroller had not so we had to wait a little bit while Lisa filled in the paperwork. It actually worked out OK because if she had to push the stroller she wouldn't have been able to push one of the 2 carts we had with all our luggage. As soo as we walked out of customs we saw that Nafi had surprised them and came to pick us up. I was very relieved becuase I was not looking forward to shoving all our luggage into a tiny cab. When we pulled up to my house the kids came running out and Jordy started bawling. He jumped into the van and onto my lap and continued to cry for about 10 minutes! While I was away he was never interested in talking to me on the phone and accoring to Josh never really seemed upset that I was gone. It was kind of nice to see I was missed but I felt bad for him. We got all the luggage in the house and then opened up the bags so the kids could have some presents. I had no idea what I had bought anymore and was way to tired to try and control the mess. After the gift distribution I headed to bed(it was around 6pm).
This is when the jetlag began. I slept all night Thursday and most the day Friday. I also slept Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Then I could no longer sleep at night. Lucky for me, Josh surprised me with a TV for our bedroom so at least while I am awake all night I can watch reruns of Jay Leno and The Amazing Race from the comfort of my own bed.
It is now Tuesday March 4th(Happy Birthday POPS!!!) and today was the first day I didn't sleep all day(did I mention how good Josh is at handling things???). I was so proud of myself and dragged myself into bed at 8:30pm. I then slept until around midnight and now it is about 3am and I am wide awake. We will see what tomorrow brings!!!
Wow, that took 2 nights of typing but I am happy to announce that I am all caught up to all those complainers out there(and you know who you are!). I would also like to give a shout out to the people I saw in Chicago who have confessed that they have been lurking/stalking. I won't mention you by name but you know who you are as well!
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