Old Videos

A while back I tried posting some videos and they wouldn't work. They finally worked...so here is Danya's swim show:




Jordy's swim show(sorry it is shaky-I was holding Michali in one hand while trying to record with the other):

A Milestone

On Tuesday morning I went to book club where we discussed People Of The Book by Geraldine Brooks. If you are looking for something to read this is a great historical fiction. Nadav and I hung out and ran a few carpools. We got a babysitter for Danya and Jordy so Josh and I(and Nadav) could join David and Sarah Rothner, who are in town for a visit, and Bracha and Neil Rothner for dinner in Modiin. We had a really lovely evening with them and got back in time to get Nadav into bed.
Today Josh was in Jerusalem in the morning. In the morning Nadav and I went for a walk in the crazy heat. He didn't seem to mind as much as I did. It was so hot that nobody else was outside. I was waiting to see the tumbleweed roll by. Jordy went to Amitai's after school and Danya went with Daniella to collect wood for a lag baomer bonfire-don't ask. I made another batch of baby food today, sweet potatoes this time, and made some cookies since Lori and I were scheduled to deliver coffee and cookies to the soldiers. Jordy had a major meltdown in the evening which was fun. After we ate dinner, turkey stew and whole wheat couscous, Jordy took a shower and went to bed. The rest of us were in the attic and since Nadav was laying on the rug doing his "flying" bit I had Danya get the camera so I could record it since Pops requested a video. Well guess what happened while I was videoing? Yup...he crawled for the first time! So yes, we got it on video.....(he does do the flying at the beginning).

I think the funniest part is how he looks so surprised by the cheering. The kids went to sleep and I was geting ready to go deliver the coffee and cookies and Lori called to say I was off the hook as Seth wanted to go with her. So I wrapped the cookies for them to take and now I am going to try to get a decent night sleep. Try.

Baby food

On Friday the kids returned to school....HOORAY! Danya went to a friends after school and Jordy was home. I gave the kids dinner before Shabbat and they had grape juice and challah and went to bed.
Shabbat morning I got all of us out of the house and to shul. Danya and Jordy weren't too happy to be going to shul but once they got there they were happy. Jordy got invited to the triplets house for lunch and Danya invited their sister to ours. After lunch Danya and her friend went to find another friend and Nadav and I cuddled up for a nice, long nap(yes, that was sarcasm as Nadav rarely naps more then 30 minutes). When I woke up Jordy was at our house with the 3 boys. At 6 we walked them all home and not much later Danya returned.
Sunday morning I took Nadav to the grocery store. I thought it would be crowded but it wasn't bad. The problem was that since everyone else in the country went shopping on Thursday and Friday they didn't have everything I needed. Oh well. When I came home I cooked and pureed some vegetables so Nadav could start eating food. Apparently either they don't make or nobody carries regular baby food. They have some combination foods for older kids but for babies all I have found is prunes and broccoli! So apparently I now make my own baby food. Danya and Jordy came home to clean the attic. Jordy was not interested even though Josh kept telling him that he was going to throw out whatever wasn't cleaned. Jordy went to English class and I took Danya to get her glasses adjusted as they fall off her face when she leans forward. Jordy was given a reprieve and was told he could still clean up but he still wasn't interested. Nor was he interested in behaving. We had a loud dinner. Nadav ate his green beans and loved them. Jordy finally decided to behave at bedtime. I got all 3 to bed and then enjoyed a cup of tea.
This morning Josh was going with Yehudah Rothner to Haifa so I was in charge of getting the kids to school. They don't like when I take them because I don't drive them, I walk them. We got Jordy to gan and then Danya and I continued to her school. Nadav fell asleep in his stroller but of course woke soon after. We ran a few errands and he fell back asleep for a short while. Josh returned and I picked up Jordy. Jordy went to Karate and Danya went to ceramics. When Jordy and I were walking home we had a bizarre conversation about his birthday and the "zebra" cake he wanted. Eventually I realized he was referring to the custard filled cake from the bakery, but it took a lot of back and forth before I understood what he was talking about. Nadav has been pretty entertaining lately. He plays with his toys, squirms around the floor and he "talks". He also started reaching for me when Josh is holding him near me. Today I was holding him and he saw a toy he likes on the rug and he started reaching for it so I put him down and he happily chewed on it for a little while. He also does what we call flying. This is when he is laying on his tummy and he will suddenly put his arms and legs up so that all his weight is on his belly. He will flap his arms and legs for a few seconds before returning his hands to the ground to hold his weight up. Jordy finds this funny(as Nadav usually yells or babbles while he does this) and he often imitates it which is even funnier.

Our Week In Photos

On Friday morning Jordy was complaining that his ear still hurt. I left a message at the doctors to get an appointment. In the meantime we loaded up snacks and food and headed to Park HaYarkon in Tel Aviv. When we arrived we ate a picnic lunch. Then we located a place to rent bikes and Danya and Jordy were happy to cruise around for a while while Josh looked into renting a boat. Josh paid for our boat and then we returned the bikes. When we returned to the boat dock there was a giant line but since Josh had purchased our tickets a little while ago we were the next ones. We got on the boat and drove around for a while. Danya and Jordy both took turns driving the boat.
Then we were driving near the side and then it sounded like we hit something or got stuck on something. Then the motor died. Josh eventually got it started up again and then pushed us off. The motor never really seemed to be working properly and when we returned to the dock the guy opened it up and showed us that we got a plastic bag stuck in the motor. Ah ha. The kids painted ceramics while I fed Nadav. (I specifically included some photos of Nadav smiling as my Mom noticed that he isn't usually smiling. The reason is because when I take out the camera he usually stops smiling to stare at the camera.)


Then they ran through a maze of bushes and we headed home. We never heard from the doctor so I gave Jordy some Motrin and hoped for the best. Friday night we ate dinner and crashed as we were all exhausted.
Shabbat morning we woke up and realized that we had a good night of sleep! Yeah Nadav! Even if it was a fluke I was happy to get some rest! The Kaplansky family came over for lunch and we had a nice time, the kids played and we ate a lot of Matzah.
Sunday Jordys ear was worse so I attempted to take him to Terem(the on call medical center) except they weren't open yet. So we decided we would spend the day out and go back at the end of the day. We took the kids to the Parrot Park near Raanana.


There was a TON of traffic and it took almost 2 hours to get there. We ate our picnic lunch in the car along the way. When we arrived it was jam packed as it was free(Bank Hapoalim sponsors a bunch of free activities over Pesach and this was one of them). The kids enjoyed feeding some large birds-peacocks, turkeys, ducks, chickens etc. It was really hot though and Nadav was hungry. Jordy was a bit crabby. We decided to leave after 2 hours. We had planned on going out to dinner in Hertzaliyah but it was too early so we headed to Park Raanana for a while in between. We walked around there and the kids went on a carousel. Then we drove to the restaurant in Hertzaliah. It took us a little while to find it but it was worth the drive. They had a computer on the table a bunch of games so Danya and Jordy sat down and happily played and ate their schnitzel and fries while Josh and I had an enjoyable dinner. We got back to Modiin close to 9pm but we took Jordy to Terem since he was still pretty miserable. We were in and out in a half hour. He has an outer ear infection. We were given a prescription and went to get it filled which meant that we didn't get home until around 10pm. Everyone went straight to bed.
Tuesday morning we hung out at home and were going to go to Laturn but decided to head to Jerusalem instead. We got to the Bloomfield Science Museum and there was a LONG line to get in(because it was also free). We were told that it was at least a 45 minute wait. We headed over to the Bible Land Museum instead(another freebie). Danya and Josh enjoyed it. Jordy wasn't impressed and wanted to eat marshmallows instead. Nadav just wanted to eat. After that we returned to the science museum. It was an hour before they closed and Josh took Danya and Jordy in while I sat outside and fed Nadav. They were happy to do the few things they wanted to do there and then an hour later we left. We stopped in Jerusalem to pick up a package that Michael Kellman brought for us and then headed home. We ate dinner and again collapsed. I tried to cook a little as we wanted to go out on Tuesday.
Tuesday morning we were going to go to Latrun but Danya had a lot of homework that she was supposed to be doing throughout the break but hadn't. So...we spent all morning at home so she could do her homework. I got all my cooking done and Danya was still working. When she was finally done it was too late to go anywhere so the kids ate their Matzah pizza and we went out to ice cream in Modiin.
Wednesday the Balsam family joined us for lunch and hung out until they had to warm up their dinner. After Chag ended the kids went to bed and I cleaned the kitchen and put away all the Pesach stuff.
Today, since the kids were off school again, we had to come up with something to do. Danya spent all morning doing homework again. Then we went to the Modiin mall to eat lunch in the food court. Then we headed out to a farm near Rechovot where we learned about Oranges. First we went to the orchard where we picked them.



Then we learned about how they are cleaned and sent to other countries. Then the kids got to clean, sticker and wrap them for export.
We had a tractor ride around the farm and then returned to learn about juicing oranges.
We got to juice them and then drink the juice. Yum! Then they had the kids participate in a skit about citrus. Jordy was the father and Danya was the sister in the skit. We also got to take some oranges home. We all had a great time and hope to return on Suckot when they do grapes. One of the funniest things was while picking the oranges Jordy yells out "I think I see a lemon"! After we returned home I took Jordy back to the doctor as his ear was still killing him. The infection is still bad so she gave us another medication and a referral to and ENT. We stopped at the makolet to pick up some bread for lunches tomorrow and headed home. The kids ate dinner and then we tucked all 3 in. Unfortunately Nadav was the only one who went right to sleep. I think tomorrow morning is going to be rough for Danya and Jordy.

Another New Cousin!!!

Before I catch you up on what is going on here I want to wish Mazel Tov to Lanie, Ari and Maayan on the birth of Eliora Chaya! We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet her! Here is a picture:

As I am typing this it is the first night of Chol Hamoid Pesach(aka. Second Seder for those of you in the states...hahaha). It has been a busy week and a half. The kids have had a week and a half off of school but there are small little pre-pesach camps that they went to that kept them entertained. Josh and I did a lot of cleaning and shopping while they were in camp and Nadav did a lot of crying and very little time sleeping. We got a new stove which was a little crazy. Once I picked it up I scheduled the guy to come install it. I was hoping to get it done a few days before Pesach so I wouldn't have to kasher it. Of course they had to come a week and a half before(don't worry, I still didn't use it and didn't have to kasher it this year). The guy came and first the plug was to big to fit through the hole in our counter top. So the guy had to switch the plug. Then as he placed it he realized that the location of the plug and gas connection was in a different place than the old one and by pulling it through the stove wouldn't sit properly. So we needed to get someone out to drill a new hole in our counter top. Luckily our friend Alan had time to do it. Once he did we realized that it sticks out of the counter top a drop but I don't care as I am just happy to have a stove with 4 burners that work well!
I changed over the kitchen on Monday night and began the cooking on Tuesday morning and haven't left the kitchen since Sunday.
On Wednesday morning Josh got up extra early to go to a special minyan where they were doing Birkat Hachamah(as special blessing when the sun is in the same location it was when the world was created which only happens every 28 years) at sunrise. He said it was really nice as there were about 1,500 people there and they had a nice breakfast after. Danya, Jordy and I said it at home ourselves a bit later. During the day Josh took Danya and Jordy on a picnic to a park in Modiin with Akiva Silton and his kids because "Sharon kicked him and the kids out". Nadav did take a hour nap during this time so I was able to make the few more things that needed cooking.
We went to Seth and Lori's for the seder. The kids were tired and Danya was crabby before we began. She brought her Haggadah with her to their house but she and Tamar had been playing and she couldn't locate it. She spent the first half hour of the seder crying in the corner that she needed HER haggadah. Josh finally convinced her, just in time for Mah Nishtanah, to join us. Once she did she had a great time. Jordy was so excited to be at the seder and held his Haggadah(which was one of the old blue Maxwell House Haggadah's) and was waiting patiently for Echad Me Yodah(who knows one?). He sang the Mah Nishtanah beautifully and answered a bunch of questions, which Seth rewarded with Taffy's. Finally he looked like he was going to fall asleep on the table so I asked him if he wanted to go to sleep. He wanted to eat some Matzah first so he did and then passed out on the couch. Danya lasted until the end of the meal and then passed out on the other couch. Nadav, on the other hand, would not sleep. I fed him a few times and I tried to get him to sleep. He napped for about a half hour and that was it. We got home at about 2:15am and Nadav ate again and we went to sleep. Of course Nadav woke up again at 6 and then at 8:45. We had the Davis family over for lunch and we hung out with them for a while. Then Danya and Jordy went to friends and Nadav took a nap-Josh and I quickly went to sleep anticipating that it wouldn't last long. Danya and Jordy returned home around 5:30pm, not long after Nadav woke up. After Yom tov ended Danya and Jordy headed to sleep although Jordy was complaining that his ear hurt. Nadav, as usual, wouldn't sleep. Luckily Lisa came over to borrow something and stayed to chat and hold Nadav while I cooked a bit.
A few funny stories from this week:
Jordy and I were having a conversation about his Pesach camp and he told me he liked that it was in English because he does not know so much Hebrew. I thought this was funny because he often doesn't know English words for things. I asked him what they talked about in English that he doesn't know about in Hebrew. He said they talked about the Avadim(slaves). I told him that Avadim was Hebrew and asked him if he know the English word for Avadim and he said no.
Along the same lines Jordy asked me to read him the joke on his Bazooka wrapper this morning. I had difficulty reading it partly because one of the words was a long English word that was transliterated into Hebrew. I was sounding it out and Jordy started laughing at me and told me I need to go to English(he figured since he learns to read in English class that I could learn to read Hebrew at English).
At lunch today Danya was playing with Nadav. Akiva Davis asked her if she loved her brother more than chocolate. Without missing a beat she responded "which brother?". That one had us all cracking up!

While cooking and trying to locate all my Pesach recipes from all my Chametz cookbooks the night before Pesach I decided I am going to compile a cookbook of all the recipes I make on Pesach. I will be happy to share it with you however the one requirement is that you have to send me at least one tried and true Pesach recipe(the more the merrier).
I hope everyone is having a great Pesach!!!