The End of the Matzah

Friday was spent cooking and getting ready for Shabbat. Danya spent most of the day at the Kaplanskys with Daniella while Jordy and Aviah were content playing in the attic. Friday night was pretty low key. Towards the end of dinner Atara and Scotty Schayer, who were staying across the street from us for Pesach, stopped by.
On Shabbat we had a crowd. We had the Neuman family, 3 boys who were on some program and needed lunch and the son of a neighbor whose family was away but since he is in the army he has to come home early and was by himself. Including Aviah we were 16. We had a nice time and everyone stayed until a little after 3. The kids were playing nicely with Aviahs supervision so I took a nice nap for a few hours. Not long after I got up it was time for havdallah. The kids had a quick bath and headed to bed. Atara and Scotty returned to eat our leftovers since they were keeping another day of Pesach. Then we headed to bed looking forward to the last day of vacation!

Chol Hamoid Day 4

Today we decided to go to the beach since it was so hot. We originally thought we would go to Raanana for lunch at a restaurant and then go to the beach near there. On our way out the door Lori called saying that they were going to a different beach if we wanted to join them. So we decided to go to lunch in Modiin and then head to the beach. While we were at lunch Emily called to see where we were(since when we were going to go to Raanana we called to see if they could join us). They canceled their plans to go to Haifa since it was so hot and decided to meet us at the beach. So the Kirschenbaums, Gersons, Aviah, cousins of Seths and we all were at the beach together. Since the beach wasn't officially open yet it was pretty dirty but the water was nice and everyone had fun playing in the water and playing Frisbee. We headed home and had a major sand removal. Then we ate more hot dogs and mashed potatoes for dinner. Later in the evening Aviah joined Lori and I on our coffee to soldiers visit. Lori's neighbors who had visitors also joined us and there were about 8 kids very eager to feed the soldiers. Unfortunately for them, things were kind of quiet at the checkpoint and we only got to feed a few, but everyone had fun anyways.

Chol Hamoid Days 2 and 3

Yesterday we had a slow start. After a wonderful lunch of Matzah pizza, we headed to Yerushaliam to a place called Ein Yael. It is a historical site(what isn't in Israel?) that has all sorts of kids activities. The kids did a weaving project(OK, I did Jordy's for him), a painting thing, pottery making, clay molding etc. etc. Danya and Jordy's favorite part was the part at the end where they used dirt and water to make a mortar and bricks(get the pesach connection?) and they got to mash the mortar together with their feet.



We came home and ate hot dogs and mashed potatoes(not sure why I feel the need to share the details of our meals now that it is Pesach, but I do). Aviah came to stay with us after dinner. The kids got to say hi to her before they went to bed.
This morning we were supposed to go to the Dead Sea area but plans fell through. Since it was so hot today, 98 degrees, we decided to stay inside. After deli matzah sandwiches we headed to a nearby ceramics painting place. Danya had been begging us to take her there since it opened in the fall. Danya was really happy to paint her puppy shaped box and Jordy painted a penguin pencil holder. We came home for a short while. Then I took Danya and Jordy to see Horton Hears A Who at the theater in Modiin. This was Jordy's first movie and I was a little worried about him sitting through it. He was a little bothered by how loud it was. After a half hour he wanted to leave. I had to spend most the movie to keep him interested. Luckily there is a break in the middle of the movie so we were able to stretch our legs. The kids enjoyed the movie overall. On the way home we picked up some ice cream which the kids ate in the car. While Jordy was eating he announced that "his head is going to throw up soon". I asked him to clarify since usually it is the mouth that throws up and not the entire head and he said that his mouth wasn't going to throw up but his head was going to. He, nor his head, never threw up. We came home and ate matzagna(thanks for the recipe Bubs!) for dinner.

Day 1 of Chol Hamoied

Today was a very HOT day. Apparently it is going to be hotter tomorrow and Wednesday. Yowch! We went to a "happening"(that is what they call activities that are temporary which usually involve jumping castles, some sort of petting zoo and a LOT of people. This particular one was sponsored by the region we live in and was in one of the neighboring Yishuvim. We figured it would be a good idea since it was nearby and only for today. We got there around 11am and got in pretty quickly. The kids weren't interested in the jumping castles(apparently when you live here long enough they are no longer appealing since they have them EVERYWHERE!). We headed to the petting zoo where we saw some huge snakes and lizards. The kids got to hold and pet some rabbits(insert your own Pat The Bunny joke here). Then we headed to the craft corner to make kites. This took some time and the kids really seemed to enjoy this. We went past the show with the drummers since the kids weren't interested. The kids did enjoy climbing on a ropes course.
We were heading to find the next activity when we saw some friends from Hashmonaim picnicking on the grass so we decided to join them and take a lunch break. After we ate we found a giant slide with chairs and a covering so we stayed there for a while marveling at the picnic lunches the Israelis brought. While I packed a backpack with Matzah, egg salad, tuna salad, marshmallows, brownies, cookies, paper plates and water bottles(which I thought was a pretty nice lunch) they had coolers with salads, bottles of sauces, sliced vegetables, pans of food, dishes(not paper plates), glasses, 1 liter bottles, and salt shakers(!). I was a bit embarrassed by my lame tuna salad! After that we were a bit on the hot side so we decided it was a good time to search out someone selling Popsicles. Jordy saw Ariella and wanted to play with her for a little so Josh took Jordy to find the Makolet. After about 2 minutes Ariella headed in another direction with her parents and since the place they had been playing was in direct sun Jordy and I were melting. We sat down to wait and the whole time all Jordy could say was that he was melting. I pointed out that his face was all sweaty and he told me that it was because he was melting(duh). When Josh returned with the Popsicles that were partial ice cream, we ate them quickly before they melted too. We were going to head back home at this point as we were really hot and tired but then we heard that we missed 2 activities. One was the omega. We had to walk about a million stairs to get to the omega. About halfway through Danya announced that she is being like Bubs and not liking walking the stairs. Then we saw someone walking back from the omega who said that there was an hour wait and they thought that Danya and Jordy were too small for it. So...we headed back up the million stairs. We then went to wait for the bus that was shuttling people to the place where there were pony rides. Danya and Jordy were so excited to be sitting in the first seat of the bus.
So much so that I was convinced that it was going to have been the highlight of their day! The best part for me was that the bus was air conditioned so we got to cool off before heading to the pony rides.

After the very lame pony rides(which the kids enjoyed) we headed back on the cool bus and to our car. When we got home the kids relaxed in front of the TV. I then made Salami and eggs for dinner which neither Danya or Jordy would eat. After dinner the kids had a bath and headed to bed looking forward to day 2 of Chol Hamoied.

Mmmm....Matzah

Friday was spent putting the finishing touches on Pesach. I did some more cooking and baking. I cleaned more and counted down until I could sit down and be done! Friday night we ate our challah(ok...pita) and fish outside since it was so nice and we wanted to keep the chametz outside. As we were sitting at the table Jordy said "Danya, it is like Makat Choshech now". Good observation. As soon as the kids got to bed we collapsed.
Saturday morning Josh went to shul very early and we ate our pita and fish outside again early. Then we took a little nap while the kids happily played and we ate more lunch later. We tried a few times to get the kids to nap before the seder but knew it wouldn't work. Danya and Jordy ended up going to the park to play until it got dark and then headed to the Gersons to meet us. After I lit candles and Josh returned we headed to Seth and Lori's for seder. Jordy was exhausted before it started. Danya was tired too but not so bad. As soon as we finally sat down Seth asked Danya a question about the seder and when she answered the question correctly Seth tossed her a candy. Jordy saw this and started tearing up and pouting(remember that it was about an hour and a half after his bedtime). I quickly informed Seth that if he didn't ask Jordy a question we were going to have a long painful night. Jordy got a question right and was happy to get a candy too. Jordy stayed up long enough to sing Mah Nishtanah. Then he laid down on the couch. Yakir was still awake and he thought it was a game that Jordy was laying down and he kept putting his train on Jordys pillow and Jordy kept throwing the train on the floor. I finally sat with him and Jordy said he diidn't want to go to sleep because "That boy will bother me". I told him that I will protect him and he went to bed. He slept all through the seder. Danya was awake for the whole thing and was always excited to answer questions and read from the Hagadah. She did a great job(especially considering there was no nap). We all made fun of Lori when she ate egg soup and Seth when he would allow the line "Oy Yeh Nana's Gay" into Yakum Bembi. Overall it was a great seder and we got the afikomen eaten about 3 minutes before the latest. Jordy woke up as we were singing Chad Gadyah which worked out well because he had to walk home. We headed out at 2am(!!!) and as soon as they hit the pillows the kids were out cold.
Sunday morning the kids woke up way to early considering they went to bed at 2am! After Josh returned from shul we went on a walk around the yishuv. Then we ate lunch. Jordy was all excited to see Matzah since he completely missed it at dinner. Danya and Jordy were a bit on the exhausted side and I talked both of them into taking naps, which I am pretty sure hasn't happened in about 3 years. We all napped until around 5:30. Then we took a walk to the Rothners house. On the way the kids were sharing a bag of potato chips. Danya and Jordy were really excited that there were 2 prizes in the bag. Danya said "I am so happy, I have been waiting my whole life to get this prize". I asked her what it was and she responded "I have no idea but Daniella got one the other day". When we got to the Rothners they were just sitting down to dinner and they invited us to join them. The kids were happy since they had all sorts of pudding. We stayed until Chag ended and headed home. After their naps, neither kid wanted to go to sleep so we let them stay up a little later watching TV. Danya fell asleep pretty quickly but Jordy was up for another hour or so after he got in bed. Guess that backfired.

So far behind

I am so far behind and have no recollection of what has happened in the past week. I know it involved a lot of cleaning, shopping, kashering and cooking. I have a newfound respect for my mother, mother-in-law and all the women out there who make Pesach so effortlessly. My whole body is aching from the scrubbing, schleeping and standing. Funny part is I am not even having a million people over, we are eating our one seder out and I am still exhausted! The good news is that I am pretty much done and I only have one more thing to cook tomorrow.
The kids are good. They were on vacation all week but we sent them to a pre-pesach camp. They really seemed to enjoy it and we were happy to have them out of the house. Jordy is really excited about Pesach and he is constantly singing MaNishtanah and Echat, Me Yodah(usually while in the bathtub!). I feel bad because I know that when he actually gets to the seder it is going to be so late and he is going to be too tired to do it(or asleep). Danya wasn't feeling good today and I am hoping that it is nothing going into Pesach. Heres to hoping!
Happy Pesach everyone and hopefully I will have more exciting news to report next week!

Josh Returns

On Monday I had good intentions of folding a few baskets of laundry but decided to take a nap instead. After my nap I went to parent teacher conferences at Danya's school. The teacher said that Danya is a really good student and that she is really doing really well. She said her Hebrew is great and she is really progressing. I was wondering what she thought of my Hebrew since she had to correct me a few times! Maybe Danya can tutor me? After the conference I went to Kiryat Sefer to buy Danya a Hagadah(pronounced the Israeli way Ha-Ga-Dah) for school. We never had seder at our house so aside from all the big artscroll books we don't have a little Hagadah. I picked up a few other things at a store there and headed home. I was on the phone with Lori while I was searching for anything to eat(not buying too much since Pesach is coming and the pickings are slim). Lori mentioned she was starving and wished she had a bagel. I remembered that I had leftover bagels from purim in my freezer but I was out of cream cheese. So I went to Lori's where we enjoyed chatting and eating our bagels and cream cheese. I saw Danya walking home from school so I took her home and she ate lunch and did her English homework. I dropped her at English and a half hour later picked up Jordy. Jordy's teacher said he told her he didn't feel well and he didn't eat any lunch. She said he seemed fine to her but he was complaining none the less. He was playing while I picked him up. As soon as I asked him if he wasn't feeling well he said his forehead hurt him. He also said he was tired and wanted to go home and take a nap. We picked Danya up from English and headed home. I gave Jordy some Tylenol and he laid down in my bed and watched some TV. Danya joined him and the 2 of them were ok for a while. I decided since we have almost no food and since we hadn't done so yet while Josh was away, that it was a good idea to order a pizza for dinner. The kids ate and took their baths. Then we hung the welcome home signs on the door for Josh. I then put Jordy to bed who made me promise that I would tell Daddy that he should leave his presents by his bed so he could see them when he wakes up. Then I let Danya stay up a little late but realized that it was getting late. So I told her she could stay awake but to lay in her bed and rest until Daddy got home. The second she heard the door she flew out of bed and raced down the stairs! The minute he came in the door she demanded presents so the bags got unpacked pretty quickly. Danya was really excited that Josh was back and her presents but I made her go to sleep because I knew she would be a mess in the morning.
This morning Josh got up really early, good ole jet lag! He went to shul and came back and got the kids up and out. Jordy was really excited when he woke up and saw the presents and then saw Josh. Danya was happy to make it on time to school again and I was thrilled not to have to do the morning routine! Hooray!!! Josh and I went to the grocery store to buy a few things we needed until Pesach and a bunch of Pesach stuff(you know, matzah). We also stopped at a paper goods store. When we came home I made lunch since Daniella, Meira and Danya were coming over on their way to swimming. I picked the girls up and got them out to swimming. Then I stopped at Lori's to pick up a potato since Jordy needs one for his Seder at school tomorrow and I forgot to buy one at the store. Then I picked the girls up from swimming and dropped them off(including Danya for a play date with Rachel). Then I picked Jordy and Moshe up from Shira. Moshe and Jordy played pretty nicely until almost 6 when Lisa picked him up(and brought Danya home for me). After Danya finished her homework, the kids wanted to try out their new roller blades(or as Jordy keeps referring to them as his Skates). Danya was a little better since she had done it before but Jordy had a rough time(videos to come). Then everyone came in for dinner. Jordy went to bed pretty soon after since he was a crabby mess. Danya was also a bit on the crabby side and went to bed soon after.

Nearing the End

Of course after his extreme pain on Thursday night, Jordy woke up feeling fine on Friday morning. I got the kids out to school and was hoping to come home and take a nap for an hour before getting ready for Shabbat. Then I remembered that I needed to be at Danya's school at 9am to learn Parsha with her(they have this every so many weeks and it is usually Josh's job). After leaving Danya's school I headed to Modiin to pick up Jordy's new prescriptions even thought I didn't think he would use them. Better safe than sorry. I also picked up a few thngs at the grocery store and headed home. Danya went to a friends house after school and I picked up Jordy when he was done. Danya came home a little later and the kids played together nicely the rest of the day. As I was about to light candles I noticed 2 huge red marks on Jordy. One on his arm and one on his stomach. I thought that maybe they were mosquito bites(although I had never seen any so big before) but then I was worried that maybe they were an allergic reaction to one of the 3 new medicines that he was on. So...I lit candles and we headed over to the Siltons again! Poor Akiva! He opened the door and right away said "what's wrong?". I first appologized a dozen times. He said it was ok and took a look. He said that Jordy is allergic to mosquito bites(of course he is!) and that he just needed some bendryl. Danya and Jordy were happily playing with the Silton kids so Sharon and I chatted while Akiva was at shul. I realized it was 7:30 and decided to take the kids home, give them a quick dinner and crawl into bed. When we got home Jordy was tired he went right to sleep. Danya ate a piece of shnitzel and a few peices of potato before she asked to go to sleep. I got into bed and read for a little while and went to sleep.
Saturday morning the kids woke up a little later than usual(Danya was up at 7:30 but went back to sleep for an hour). They then played nicely for most the morning. We headed to the Sterns house around 11:30 for lunch. Since Jennifer's husband was out of town she had a friend from Modiin whose husband was away and us. The kids all played very nicely and we ended up staying until after 5! Then I stopped at Lori and Seth's to say hello. The kids mooched some food for dinner and we headed home. As soon as Shabbat was over Jordy went to sleep. Danya finished her homework and went to bed. I celebrated surviving yet another day!
This morning I took Danya to school and then Jordy back to the doctor to get his asthma rechecked again-I guess it is called re-rechecked? He is still wheezing a little so he is still getting medicine. Dr. Silton did get a clear look in his ears and said there is no infection. Not sure what that was all about but whatever it was has passed. I brought Jordy to school and headed home to do some cleaning and laundry(fun!). I picked Jordy up and we came home for a few minutes then headed out to get Moshe and I dropped the boys at the Balsam house. I came home for a while and then pick up Jordy and Danya, who was at a friends. I made the kids pancakes for dinner and then they started fighting. After a while I distracted them by suggesting they make welcome home signs for daddy. They like the idea but needed to fight over the markers, what they were drawing and what they were writing. I was so happy when it was time to put Jordy into bed but he did not go willingly! By the time I got him into bed it was time to get Danya to bed. Josh isn't back yet, but knowing that I have almost made it through his trip makes me so relived. Hopefully there will be no snow storms in Chicago to delay him!

Ear Pain

This morning I dropped Danya off at school and attempted to take Jordy to the doctors office to get his asthma rechecked and his ear looked at. Unfortunately, the doctor wasn't there and her other office hours weren't until 5pm(yes, I REALLY miss Dr. Goldberg!), so I dropped him at school. I came home and did a little cleaning of the kitchen and attempted beginning Pesach cleaning in the attic but changed my mind and went to sleep. I did a little in the attic after my nap but there is a lot more to go. After Danya came home she headed to a movie night at the moadon Noar(youth center?). I finally got Jordy to the doctor at about 6pm. She said his chest sounds better. When she looked in his ear she said that there was too much wax for her to see. She said the wax may be causing the pain and gave me a prescription for drops to clear out the wax. I took Jordy to Modiin to pick up his prescriptions and we stopped to get him a slice of pizza for dinner. We came back and picked up Danya. Both kids had baths and talked to Josh. Then the fun began! I put the drops in Jordy's ear since he said it was hurting. About a minute after I put the drops in he started screaming in pain that his left ear(the one he had been complaining about all along) really hurt a lot! His yelling continued for about 45 minutes along with crying. I tried calling the doctor but her office was closed. I was then left with 3 choices. 1) Take Jordy to Terem(the emergency medical center) 2) listen to him scream until tomorrow 3) Take advantage of my friend Akiva Silton, the pediatrician, yet again. I opted for #3 since I didn't think 1 or 2 were such great options. He was really nice about it and after many questions said he thought that Jordy had an outer ear infection. He said that he could write a prescription for both a antibiotic and for drops to ease the pain. In addition, he very kindly told me that he has the drops for the pain at his house and he would walk them over in a few minutes so I didn't have to run out tonight(since he knew Josh was away). It is nice to have friends in high places(although I really felt guilty calling him and I am pretty sure I apologized and thanked him about 12 thousand times) By the time he arrived Jordy had cried himself to sleep but Akiva said if he woke up in the middle of the night I could give them to him. Jordy is now sleeping in my bed and I am not enjoying the idea of moving him but he is really laying across the beds. Here's to hoping Jordy is feeling better tomorrow!

Sleep

Last night I was so tired and couldn't wait to get a good night sleep. I even went to bed before midnight! Jordy woke up at 3am to go to the bathroom but for some reason needed to do so in my bathroom and wake me up. Then he needed to be retucked into bed. He then told me his ear hurt(between his coughs). I gave him some tylenol and tucked him in. At 4 he came to ask me to tuck him in again nice and cozy because his blankets were all messy since he got up. I asked him why he got up. He said he decided he didn't need his burpy(aka. security blanket) and he got up to put it in the drawer. I then re-retucked him and sang him the lullaby he requested and crawled back to bed. Danya and I got up at 7 and I felt really bad but I made her walk to school so Jordy could sleep a little more. After she left I went back to sleep for a half hour until Jordy woke up. When he got up he said he felt all better so I took him to school. Then I went with a few people to a grocery store in Yerushaliam that has a lot of American products for Pesach and a lot of Kitnyot free ones. Things like oil, margarine, farlel and tomato sauce were amongst the gems they had. While the store was jam packed and very busy, it didn't take too long. I got back in time to pick up Danya and get her to English class. After English I picked up both kids. When I picked Jordy up I noticed he was coughing a lot and asked our friend who is a pediatrician if he could listen to him. He told me that Jordy is wheezing and needed medicine. FUN! We rushed home to get Danya to her tutor and then Jordy to his karate class. After karate I took both kids to a clothing sale at a neighbors house where we got Jordy 2 pairs of Shabbat pants and Danya several skirts. We came home and the kids ate dinner. Danya did her homework and Jordy went to bed. I was so relieved when Danya finally went to sleep. I am praying everyone sleeps through the night tonight!

A Brave Soldier

After getting the kids to school I ran some errands including picking up 2 more goldfish. I figure they are easier to care for than dogs. Danya went to play with Daniella after swimming and Jordy went to Moshe's after Shira's. When I finally picked them up Danya reported about her day. She had been very worried about the vaccine that was being given out at school today. See in Israel kids get vaccinations at a clinic up to a certain age and then the remainder are given at school. We had gotten a notice last week that they needed her medical records to determine if she needed the shot. The shot was for MMR(Measles, Mumps and Rubella). I sent the records and she didn't need the shot since she already had it in Chicago. Apparently the nurse explained to the class what the shot was for and Danya decided she wanted to get it because it sounded like it was important to protect her from getting sick. Apparently she was "all ready to be brave" but when it was her turn she was disappointed she didn't have to get it(which I found funny since all she has been talking about for a week was how worried she was about getting a shot). I explained to her a few times that it wasn't that she wasn't getting the shot but that she ALREADY got it. She still seemed a little disappointed. Bizarre! THe kids had dinner, baths and headed to bed.