Shana Tovah!!!

Yesterday was a very quiet day. I did some more baking as we are invited out for all 4 meals and I offered to bring dessert to all 4. I had done some baking last week and had been putting it in the freezer, somehow the cookies and chocolate graham crackers were disappearing. So I made another batch of cookies and then decided to take a quick nap. Josh went to pick Jordy up from Gan but returned empty handed as Jordy went to Covi's house to play. Danya then called to say she was at a friends house. Ah, a quiet afternoon. I made another batch of cookies followed by 2 batches of the graham crackers. Then I made gefilta fish(to bring) and then I cooked the fish head. Yes, you read that right! I was asked to bring a fish head to dinner on Monday night, so I had to cook it. I ignored the fact that it was staring at me and put it in the oven. Josh headed out to play baseball and I picked up the kids from their respective play dates. After they got home I made them dinner and Jordy was practically begging to go to sleep by his bed time. Danya wanted to stay up late and look at pictures of when she was a baby. She headed to bed a little late, but that was OK because there was no school today.
At around 5am(I may be off a little as I am just guessing) Jordy came to our room. He usually comes in and says he is going to the attic to play a game or watch TV and we usually try to get him to go back to bed. So when he showed up we told him to go back too bed. Then he said his tummy hurt and that he just went to the bathroom. I asked him if he wanted to come lay down with us. He said yes and slept a little bit. Then he sat up and put his hand over his mouth which is Jordy's sign that throw up is coming and you better move fast. Josh grabbed him and ran into the bathroom and luckily all the vomit ended up in the toilet-hooray! Poor Jordy! After the vomit he returned to our bed to sleep for another 1/2 hour to an hour(I am guessing again) and then woke up to say he needed to make badly. Once he went to the bathroom he was feeling fine and went to play in the attic. Josh and I fell back asleep until almost 8. Josh got up to go to shul and Danya got up around then and joined Jordy in the attic. Josh decided that he was going to go to Yerushaliam to the kotel(we all went last year) but I thought it wouldn't be a good idea for Jordy and since Danya had plans to go with a friend to the pool, he was on his own. Danya went with her friend and Jordy and I hung out at home. Around 1 Josh called that the car seemed to be having problems on the way into Yerushaliam so I am not sure what the story is going to be for his return trip....you will have to stay tuned...
I wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Shana Tovah U'Mitukah from our family to yours!

Singing In The Rain

On Friday morning Danny walked Danya to school and Josh took Jordy to gan and I stayed in bed! I didn't really sleep as the phone was ringing every 5 minutes and I have a sleeping disorder that only allows me to be tired enough to sleep at the most inopportune times, but it was nice being lazy. Josh and Danny went to play football in Modiin when I got a phone call saying that the alarm on my parents house was going off. I got dressed to walk over there and attempt to disarm it but before I left I thought I would call back and make sure it was still going off. I was told it is no longer making noise, so instead I headed downstairs to cook and clean and go to the bakery. Josh and Danny returned and Josh picked Jordy up from gan and took him to the first meeting of the T-ball chug. Josh took the camera with but took no pictures, sorry! Danny packed his stuff up and headed out to him new place in Tel Aviv. Jordy invited a friend over after the T-Ball and they played until about an hour befoe Shabbat when Josh picked up Danya from her friends and made sure my parents house was secure and reset the alarm. Friday night after Josh came home from shul we had a nice dinner. The kids were mostly well behaved. After they went to bed Josh fell asleep on the couch and I was surprised to hear a strange sound. After a minute it occured to me that it was raining! It hadn't rained here in a LONG time! It only rained for a few minutes then but then rained on and off all night(Bubs and Pops-pack your umbrella's this time!).
Shabbat morning Danya and Jordy wanted to put on their rain boots and play outside. I didn't think this was a great idea but Josh said yes, so out they went to play in the rain/mud. They came in at lunch time and changed out of their wet clothes. We ate lunch and then Danya went to find some friends to play with. Jordy and I played I Spy for a long time while Josh dozed. Then Josh and Jordy played while I slept. Josh took Jordy to the park, where he located Danya. They all returned after Shabbat was over and the kids took showers and headed to bed. After I finished cleaning up from Shabbat Sharon and Akiva came over for a while and we caught up with them a little. We had plans on to go out however they forgot that they had a Bar Mitzvah party to go to so we told them to just come over when they were done.

Nap time revisited

See-this is why I really need to blog every day...otherwise I have a hard time remembering what I did!
On Wednesday I went with Yocheved and Laura to petach tikvah to go shopping. We went to the hat store and then to Aleph which is no longer Aleph, but Yesh. After the shopping we stopped for a slice of pizza. It was so nice to catch up with them and spend a relaxing morning. While I was out Josh went bike riding with Joel Brodsky on Kvish 6 and they were out for a long time. When I got back I got Jordy from Gan along with Ariella who was coming for a play date. A little later Danya came home with Elisheva. All the kids played nicely together. After Ariella left Lisa brought Moshe to play with Jordy. Also, Laura came over to help me decide what colors to paint the downstairs with. We need to paint before we get the wall unit but I was having a hard time trying to figure out what colors to use. I highly recommend Laura-she came in and in 5 minutes had it all figured out! I was impressed! After all the kids friends went home I gave the kids dinner. The kids went to bed and I headed to sleep.
On Thursday morning I had to go to the doctors office for a blood test(this is an interesting one-everyone gets one at 38 weeks and then takes the results to the hospital so that you can get an epidural!). I was in and out pretty quickly and after returning home decided it was time for a nap since I hadn't had one since last Thursday. I slept all morning! I woke up not long before I picked Jordy up. Danya returned a little later and did her homework. I then had to go back out for my long visit to the doctors office. I dropped Danny off in Modiin so he could go to the bank. I got yelled at for being 5 minutes late to the doctors office and I was very Israeli and yelled back that I am usually early or on time and have to wait an hour. I had the monitor, the ultrasound and the doctors visit(yes, the doctor has confirmed that I am still pregnant). The good news was the doctor said I don't need to do the monitor and ultrasound again unless I get past my due date(I told him it was very likely that I would be back after 40 weeks). I was happy that I don't need to hang out at the doctors office all the time! After I got home we decided that we would order take out for dinner but Josh and Danny wanted Chinese and the kids wanted pizza, so we ordered both. It worked out well though since we would have leftover pizza for school lunches tomorrow. We all ate, the kids went to bed after talking to Bubs and wishing her a happy belated birthday.

Welcome Back Uncle Danny

I was going to skip blogging tonight, as I am really tired and lazy, but I find when I skip it I am more likely to fall way behind, so I decided to fight the exhaustion for you, my loyal readers. You're welcome!
Today was a busy day. Once I got the kids out the door I got dressed and ready to go. As soon as Josh returned from shul I went to a friends shiva house for my "shift" of making sure she was eating and answering the phones etc. I was there for 2 hours and was grateful that there were a few other people around as I am really bad at shiva houses. I guess nobody likes going to them, but some people do better at being there and knowing what to say and I am not one of those people. After I left there I headed to the doctors office for my nurses appointment. The nurse yelled at me saying I should have just had them take my blood pressure and the other various things they do when I was there yesterday rather than come back for another appointment. She told me she wasn't making me a next appointment, and I should just ask them when I am there next week. So hopefully next week I will have one less stop there! I then stopped at Holy Bagels to get some bagels as we haven't had any in a while. Then I stopped in Shilat at the paper good store to stock up on some paper goods for Succkot. I came home and did a little cleaning and then went to pick up Jordy from Gan. He played for an hour while I did a little baking for Rosh Hashanah and then I brought him to his swimming lesson. I stopped at the makolet(it is becoming a daily stop) to pick up more baking supplies and then came home and finished the cleaning I started earlier. I went to pick Danya up at school and then we got Jordy from swimming. When we got home Danya started her homework but got distracted by Uncle Danny's arrival. The kids were really happy to see him but quickly switched from "Hi Uncle Danny" to "Did you bring us presents?". I was slightly disappointed by the lack of Goober but I am still letting Danny stay here. Shortly after that Danya's friends Talia and Rinat(who are twin sisters) arrived for a play date. The 3 girls played happily while Jordy drove Danny crazy asking for more presents and if he would play baseball with him. Poor Danny was so tired from the trip but he did go out with Jordy for a few minutes to play. Josh returned home with Benjy Merzel, whom he spent most of the day with in Yerushaliam. He happened to have bought bagels in Yerushaliam which is funny since we don't buy them often and we both happened to buy some today, and a black and white cookie for me from Brooklyn Bakery...yummm. After Danya's friends left the kids ate dinner while Josh and Danny when out in search of Shwarma. After dinner the kids showered(Danya reported to us that her Morah told the class that they are supposed to shower everyday. Danya usually showers every other day unless she is gross. We told Danya to go ask her teacher to discuss the water shortage in Israel and ask her teacher if she intends to pay our water bills!). After shower time Jordy went to bed and Danya "helped" Danny go through all his stuff. I then went out with Lori to a Yarid(not sure the translation-sale? Fair? Botique? Anyone? Bueller?-it was a gathering of vendors and had food and drinks for sale to benefit a charity). It was actually a beautiful night(it took place outdoors) and I pretty much window(or table?) shopped. I came home and now I am ready for bed!

Some Home Improvements

Sunday morning Josh and I took a trip to Modiin to Home Center to buy a few things so Alan could finish up the closet. We had a few other things we needed to get there so it took a little bit of time. Then we stopped at Ace since we needed to get one more thing. When we got home he was all ready to begin the painting phase. I then walked to Jordy's gan to pick him up but he and Yehousha made plans for a play date at Yehoshua's house, so I came home by myself. Right after I got in the house my phone rang and it was Danya calling to say that she was on her way with a friend(no she doesn't have a phone, her friends mom does). So Danya and Elisheva came home and had lunch, did homework and played for a little bit. Jordy returned and at around 4pm we decided on the spur of the moment to go to an exhibit that we had seen advertised. The exhibit was for items that were made in Israel, specifically army related. We drove to Rishon Letzion. The problem was Jordy fell asleep on the way there and when we arrived he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or should I say car seat? He was crabby and whiny from the moment we got out. Danya was very interested in Josh telling her what every thing was. So we walked around, Josh read the description and then told us what each thing was(ie. tanks, missiles, helicopters etc.). I spent most of the time trying to get Jordy interested and telling him how much longer until we get ice cream. We finally got ice cream and then headed to the play area for the kids which they enjoyed. We were going to go home but decided to buy something for dinner first since it was late. En route to the hot dog vendor we passed a stand selling light up toys(aka. chochkies) and that is when Jordy went from bad to worse. He wouldn't stop crying and screaming that he wanted one(in his defense it was after his bed time at this point). Josh and Danya got hot dogs and then we headed to the car, practically dragging crying Jordy. Luckily he calmed down on the way home and everyone went to sleep nicely.



In the mean time, while we were away, Alan finished the closet! Hooray!
This morning Josh went to help someone make a Shiva Minyan, but he wasn't going to be back in time to drive the kids to school, so I had to make sure we were all up, dressed, and out the door with enough time for Danya to walk to school. On the way to Jordy's gan Jordy thanked me for taking him to the fun place and then continued to talk about all the things he saw there and what his favorite things were! Guess it wasn't a total loss! Josh returned a short while after I did and then we began loading up the closet. We unloaded all the large items that were shoved into random corners of the house. After that Josh dropped me off at my doctors office in Modiin for one of my million appointments(yes, all is well-no worries). While I was at the doctor Josh went back to Home Center because yesterday he had bought a contraption to hang out flat screen TV on the wall in our bed room, but he didn't realize at the time that there was an adapter kit we needed for our specific TV. So he bought that and then came back to pick me up. When we got home Josh continued on his quest to hang our TV on the wall. It was a good idea but the TV is very large and heavy and since the spot we wanted to hang it was VERY close to the ceiling, it made it difficult to actually get it attached. I picked up Jordy from Gan and then he watched as Josh and I spent a large amount of time getting the TV where it needed to be(good thing I was off bed rest because this was quite the workout). Luckily all worked out in the end and we now have a TV on the wall above our marpecet door! Cool, no? Of course now we need a shelf to put the cable box onto....but 1 thing at a time! I brought Jordy to and from his karate class. Then Danya and Elisheva house hopped between our house and their playing and doing homework. I made a semi-new recipe for dinner that everyone liked(this doesn't happen often) and Danya was really funny commenting on how this is such a good recipe and where did I get it from and is it new?

The Return Of Pictures

Well I finally got the camera connected to the computer and uploaded the 114 pictures from the summer! There were about 30 video clips so you will have to wait a few more days before I go through and upload them but this should tide you over. They begin with Jordy's end of the year school party and go through the summer. I am not sure what they all are but I thought since you haven't seen any pictures in a while I would share some with you....Enjoy!

These are from Jordy's end of the year party from Gan:







Here are some of the pictures of the kids at the zoo. There are about 50 other pictures from the zoo of various animals but I figured you are probably more interested in photos of the kids. Plus we have been to the zoo many times so you have probably seen them(and if not then it is time for you to take a little trip to your local zoo):







Here is a sign that Danya made and hung on her door. I am not sure what led to her making it(although I am guessing it has something to do with her "annoying brother"):



And here is that annoying brother:





And lastly-here is a little visitor I almost stepped on in our house. Yes, that is a scorpion, but I am reassured that the black ones aren't poisonous. Luckily Josh was home and escorted him off the premises:

The Nephew and The Closet

On Wednesday we were supposed to have Alan come and build our closet but he cut his hand the night before and he couldn't start. He did drop off some materials and said he would come on Thursday. After the kids were done at school Jordy came home with his friend Ayellet and Danya returned with Meira. The kids all played nicely. I picked up Lisa and Michali and took them to Shilat to pick up their car from the mechanic. Michali was very excited to be in my car and to show me her car seat "Arica, this is my car seat!". When all the kids had gone home Danya decided she needed to flip out over the fact that we didn't have any hamburgers so she walked to the makolet and bought herself a noodle soup.
On Thursday morning, not long after Josh took the kids to school Alan showed up and got started on the closet. I had an appointment at the doctors for monitoring(yes, all is well) and then I went to the grocery store. When I returned it was almost time to get Jordy. He usually walks part of the way home from school and we meet him and cross him across the main street and home. Yesterday he told me he can't walk home by himself anymore because when he was walking home yesterday there were 2 bumble bees. I felt so bad for him and the fact that he was scared that I decided I will pick him up(at least until bee season is over!). When he got home he was excited to help me bake cookies. He really wanted to break the eggs, so I gave him a bowl to break the eggs into and the first egg completely missed the bowl and hit the counter, the floor and Jordy's feet. Oh well! We then made a billion cookies. After the cookies Jordy wanted to go to the makolet to pick out a treat that I promised him for helping clean the attic without complaining. He picked out a huge thing of gum so I told him he can get it but it is to share with Danya and Daddy. When we got home Danya came back with Daniella. They worked on Danya's homework and then it was already time to take them to swimming lessons. After I got home Jordy wanted to invited his friend Yehousha over, so he came over for a while and I went back to get the girls from swimming. By this time I was exhausted, so I decided it was nap time for an hour. Josh handled dinner and I got up and hour later and then Josh and I headed out to the Goldrich Bat Mitzvah. Josh left around 9:30 since he needed to get back and to work but I stayed a while catching up with some people. I didn't get home until after 11.
We would also like to officially welcome our new nephew and cousin Ori Yakir-we were sorry we couldn't be at his bris today but are looking forward to meeting him soon-



Here are some pictures of the attic:
Before-



Framing-



Dry Wall-




It should be finished early next week so stay tuned!

Cleaning the Attic

This morning I had a doctors appointment. It was the first time in 2 weeks, which was really nice since prior to the 2 week break I was there at least once, usually twice a week. The good news is the baby is almost 6 pounds now(or 2.5 kilo for those of you on this side of the pond). The bad news is that as my due date approaches I now have to go to the doctor more often. Many pregnant woman look forward to this increase in doctors visits however as someone who has seen more than her share of the doctors office staff, I was not thrilled to hear this. I had to schedule 9(no, that wasn't a typo) appointments before I left which include ultrasounds once a week, meeting with the doctor and fetal monitor. The nurse didn't want to schedule appointments into October since she said I could have the baby by then. I told her that I am pretty sure I am going to go past my due date and if not then I will cancel them. When I got home I decided to skip the attic cleaning that I had planned and decided to nap. I told Josh to wake me around 1 so I could get Jordy but Josh picked Jordy up and let me sleep until 2 which I was very grateful for! Josh then dropped Jordy off at his swimming class while I woke up. Later I picked Danya up from school and then we picked Jordy up from swimming. The swimming teacher said he swam the width of the pool without help! This was only his second lesson-I was impressed. When we got home Danya showed us the magic trick she learned today with Jordy as her assistant. Then Danya did a ton of homework while Jordy and I tackled the attic. We are having a closet built in the attic tomorrow so we needed to clean out the toy side. This is no small task as Danya and Jordy have a lot of toys and a TON of junk! It doesn't help that we never really unpacked the attic or had a place to put everything for the past 2 years(hence the building of the closet). Jordy and I worked up there for about 2 hours until he announced that "I can't bend over to pick things up anymore". I thought this was funny because that was exactly why I needed his help! So we took a break. The kids ate their dinner and Jordy went to bed and then Danya, Josh and I hit the attic again. Danya enjoyed helping and she loves organizing and throwing out the garbage. We made some more headway but after a while we just had to push what was left to the side and we will have to tackle it when the closet is done.

Babysitting

Today was a busy day(or at least it felt like it to me!). After Josh left for shul and to drop the kids at school I decided to take a nap since I am not sleeping so well at night(yeah....maybe I shouldn't have opened with "today was a busy day" and then discuss my nap!). Jordy was really hoping that his friend Amitai would come over after school. I had mentioned so to his mother last night at the parents meeting and she said she would let me know. Well she called to say he didn't want to come over. I was a little worried about how upset Jordy was going to be so I picked him up from school all geared up to distract him from the fact that Amitai wasn't coming. As soon as I got him I told him we had 3 things we had to do this afternoon. First, we had to go to the makolet to get him a treat since he was the Chazzan at gan(and because I needed to pick up 2 things). Then Michali was coming over and we had to babysit her. Then we were going to clean up his room. He was actually more excited to babysit Michali than he was to get his treat(but he still wanted it). So we got him some gum at the makolet and then came home. He wasn't hungry, so he went up to play in the attic until Michali came. When Michali arrived she was so excited! She came running in yelling "Arica, I am going to sleep at your house"! I quickly corrected her to let her know that she was just visiting! Then she and I headed to Jordy's room to start cleaning and she was a big helper! She liked picking things up off the floor and announcing what they were and who they belonged to(ooh-Jordy's shirt, Danya's Bag etc.). She didn't want to clean too much though and requested we go to the attic and watch Barney. Jordy convinced her that they should watch Thomas instead and the 2 of them watched for a little while. Then Michali announced that she had a cocky in her diaper-which is when I realized that Michali still wears diapers and I would need to change it. When we got downstairs and investigated further it turns out she was lying! Lisa later told me that she often says she made a cocky just because Lisa doesn't like when she says it. Either way I was happy not to have to change her! Then Jordy came down asking for noodles at which point Michali said she also wanted noodles. She was very impressed by that fact that there was a picture of a teddy bear on the bottom of the bowl which reminded me of when we were kids and my grandmother would give us mac and cheese in bowls and we would have a contest to see who could find the flowers on the bottom first. After noodles Jordy wanted to read his I Spy book while Michali played with the musical siddur. Then we went back upstairs to clean Jordy's room some more. Both kids helped for a little bit. Then we returned to the attic to watch Barney this time. I then needed to take Jordy to karate but didn't have a car seat for Michali so she stayed home with Josh even though she kept saying she wanted to come with us. When I got back we watched more Barney and then Lisa came to pick Michali up. Michali wouldn't leave without the Popsicle she had been asking for earlier-which I told her she could take home with her-sorry Lisa! I then went to get Jordy from karate. When we got home he requested a bath in my big bathtub. So he swam around in there for a while. Then Danya came home, she had been at a ceramics chug which started not long after school ended. They watched Power Rangers and then ate dinner and headed to bed. The good news is Jordy's room is mostly done-just a few toys to be relocated to the attic and his nightstand drawers need to be cleaned out.

A New Cousin!!!

I realized I hadn't updated the blog in a while but I didn't realize exactly how long until just now...oops! Where to begin???
Well first off, to answer the question that has been burning in everyone's mind since the last post...yes, Danya likes her new shoes! Jordy was also excited to wake up in the morning and find a new pair for him as well. He also pointed out that his say America on them(they actually say USA on them but after the Olympics he thinks that is how you spell America).
The first few days following my release of bed rest were busy doing as many things as I could. Josh and I went to the new mall in Modiin for breakfast one morning and walked around there for a bit, we went to the health insurance office to hand over all the bills we kept getting(and they actually paid them after telling us we should stop at their office on our way to the ER in the future...huh?), we went to the grocery store which was really exciting for me since I hadn't been since before shavout, I went with Lisa one day to Yerushaliam to run a few errands, I enjoyed picking Jordy up from Gan and seeing people and I even was happy to clean all the bathrooms in the house!
Another exciting thing was that first Shabbat we got invited out for all 3 Shabbat meals! On Friday night we went to Ely and Ilana Katz who live up the block from us. We were happy to see Ozer and Jenny Katz there as well. The kids all had a great time playing and we didn't get home until around 11pm! Shabbat morning we walked to Dvora and David Rotters, which was much more of a walk but I am happy to report that I made it! We had a good time there as well and stayed until after 5 when we needed to head to Seudat Shlishit. Meal #3 was at Naomi and Benjy Eckman. The kids also had a great time playing with all the kids there, the Siltons were there as well, and we got home after Shabbat ended.
Last week I had a meeting at Danya's school on Sunday night. Of course the air wasn't working and it was about 120 degrees in the classroom. I thought it was just me but I saw a bunch of other parents fanning themselves with the handouts. I was hoping to go into labor just to have an excuse to walk out. Luckily the meeting was over in an hour without too many questions!
On Monday night Josh and I went to Hertzillah for dinner to a restaurant called New York New York for David Kirschenbaums birthday gathering(I feel silly calling it a birthday party since he is 31). It was so nice seeing David and Emily since I can't remember the last time we got together.
On Tuesday Jordy had his first day of swimming lessons, which he seemed to like, and Danya had her first long day at school(not sure if I have mentioned this but Danya's school added a program that incorporates extracurricular activities into the school curriculum. It is a mandatory program that we pay a minimal amount for and some days are longer than others.).
Can't remember anything in particular from Wednesday.
On Thursday Josh and I went to Yerushaliam. First we went to the Kotel but it took a long time to find parking. Josh was proud to eventually find a spot in the free lot, so it was all worthwhile. After the Kotel we headed to the shuk to buy a few things. I arranged for someone to pick Jordy up from Gan since we were going to be late and then Josh and I decided to stop for lunch while we were already there.
On Friday morning we woke up to an e-mail saying that Matthew and Marissa(but mostly Marissa) had a baby boy!!! Hooray!!! Mazel Tov to them!!! Jordy announced that he knew it was going to be a boy and Danya commented that she hopes he is not annoying(I think she assumes all little boys are annoying like her little brother). I dropped Josh off in Modiin to play football and then I went to the grocery store. Danya came home from school with a friend and Jordy went to Moshe's in the afternoon while I cooked(yes, it is like riding a bicycle). On Friday night our neighbors the Brodskys came over for dessert with their son and daughter-in-law and we sat around and chatted until very late.
Shabbat morning Danya and Jordy walked to Daniella's house to see if she wanted to join us for lunch but she had guests at her house so they returned without her. After lunch Josh and the kids played in the backyard for a little while. Then Jordy went to invite a friend over and a few of Danya's friends dropped by. We all went to the park in the late afternoon and returned home right before the end of Shabbat.
This morning the electrician finally came(it took a week of phone calls to get him here) at 7:30am(yes, that is very early for us!). He fixed all the lights that keep burning out quickly or that weren't working properly. After Josh returned from dropping the kids at school and minyan I went to a bris. After I returned Josh and I headed to meet with a carpenter who we hired to build a wall unit for our living room(FINALLY!!!). We have only been discussing this wall unit since the day we moved in and I am SO looking forward to getting rid of the boxes in the living room! Lets just hope that it comes out as nice as it sounds. Jordy came home with Ariella today while Danya went to Meira's to play. Tonight I went to the parents meeting at Jordy's gan. Like last year, the meeting began with a project that we had to make for our kids. Then the meeting part started. There are 36 kids in Jordys class(I know-crazy)! The meeting was very annoying as we had to fight over all the same things we fought over last year-birthday parties, water bottles, what to send for lunch and additional expenses. Not sure why every year we need to fight over the same things but apparently we do. I was at this meeting for almost 2 and a half hours!!!
For those of you who keep asking, pictures are coming again soon. Truthfully I am just too lazy now and I think the cord for the camera is downstairs.

FREEDOM!!!

This morning the kids were out of the house on time for the second day in a row! We will see how long this lasts for. I headed to my highly anticipated doctors appointment. I was a bit annoyed as I had 3 appointments booked(as usual-Ultrasound, Monitor and doctor) and all 3 were double booked so I was dreading waiting there. I push forward to the ultrasound but then I missed my opportunity to do the monitor so I went straight to the doctor and figured I would do the monitor after I saw the doctor. He happily told me I was free to do what I want. He suggested I get some sun. He said I didn't even need to come back for a few weeks! After 11 weeks and 5 days on bed rest, 19 nights of which were spent in the hospital(yes, I was counting), I was thrilled to get that news(although I think that Josh may have been happier than I was that he would no longer be required to wait on me hand and foot-which I have to say he did a wonderful job of taking over everything). Then the doctor told me I didn't need to do the monitor which was great news as well because I hate sitting there. So I headed home. When I called Lori to pass along the news she insisted we go out to lunch to celebrate, so she picked me up and we went out. I did a few things around the house and then went out to get my hair cut. Jordy had a friend over to play after school and Danya was at a friends most the afternoon. When Danya returned she informed us that she has gym class tomorrow but her gym shoes don't fit her. After the kids ate dinner I took Danya to the shoe store. The store was having a buy one get one free sale so we picked out a pair for Jordy and then spent what felt like a million years, but was more like an hour, picking a pair for Danya. In her defense she choose a pair that she wanted after looking for about 15 minutes but the one pair they had in her size had something sticking out from the sole and hurt her foot. So she then took a while picking out the "next best pair" but each time they didn't have the pair in her size so this whole process took a long time since we kept having to ask the guy to find the shoe. Since there was a sale and it was back to school season it was crowded and it took a bit of time getting a pair that fit her. We finally settled on a pair and headed home. Danya went to bed a little overtired and crying that she didn't like the pair we got and really liked the first pair(that hurt her foot). I told her that she can decide in the morning if she likes the ones we got and if not she won't wear then and we will exchange them for a different pair(I am REALLY hoping that she likes them in the morning because shoe shopping with Danya is NOT a fun outing). Now I need to rest!!!

Back to School

On Thursday Josh took the kids to Nocky and Ruanne's for a fun filled day of swimming, fruit picking, playing in the park and a BBQ. They came back very happy and exhausted! On Thursday night Danya went to sleepover at a friends house.
On Friday Josh took the kids to get their Friday Falafel and get food for Shabbat. Friday night we all had a nice dinner and the kids were pretty well behaved.
On Shabbat we all stayed home all afternoon. Danya insisted that she and Jordy took the nap we told them they needed to take but I am pretty sure they did not. We tried to get them to go to sleep at a decent hour as we went them to get back into the school sleep schedule.
On Sunday Josh took the kids to Modiin where they got the train to Tel Aviv. He took them to a mall that had some sort of amusement park and arcade(I am still not 100% sure what they did there) and they were gone most the day. When they returned we had a carpenter come out to give us a price on bookshelves for the living room(I know, I have been talking about getting bookshelves in the attic for 2 years now!). Then the kids went to bed in anticipation of their first day of school.
Today the kids got up and dressed pretty well. Danya was all ready and excited for her first day with her backpack that she has packed and unpacked about 700 times since the purchase of her school supplies. Jordy on the other hand was very upset that he didn't have a new bag(even though all that goes in his bag is a sandwich and a piece of fruit)and didn't want to go to school. For some reason he thinks the word chochkie(no idea how to spell that one) is the word for something you don't want. So he keeps saying "my bag is chochkie". Danya was getting anxious to leave as we got a note a few days ago saying that the gates to the school would be locked at 8:05am. I am guessing this is to encourage kids to arrive on time but this only worried Danya because she is often late(usually it isn't her fault). We finally convinced Mr. Stubborn that he needed to get out the door and apparently Danya made it to school on time. A good start! Danya has the same teacher and the same classroom as last year. She told me later that she felt like she was still in first grade since things weren't different. She also told me that Meira got a locker since she is in 3rd grade and Danya was a little jealous. I told her I am sure there are plenty things that will be different for 3rd grade but she would need to wait and see...lets hope I am right! Josh then brought Jordy to his gan which is also the same classroom as last year however he has a new teacher this year who he said is nice. He came home with a balloon and said it was fun but then wouldn't tell us what he did. After school Danya went to Meira's to play. Jordy came home and happily played for a while. Josh was going to take Jordy to karate at 4 and at 3:45 Jordy requested a peanut butter sandwich(which I offered him as he came home from school and he didn't want saying he didn't like peanut butter). I sat with him at the table and I ate some olives while he was eating his sandwich. I asked him if he wanted olives and he said "thank you for the offer but no". I thought that was polite! Josh brought him to and from karate which he really liked(he also said that he wants to go to karate everyday this year) and he returned with a friend. Danya came back for dinner and she and Jordy ate and shared a few stories about their first day of school. Both kids went to bed without too much a fight(perhaps they were tired from getting up early?).