Bilingual Boy

UGH! When will this kid get better? Before I fell asleep last night Nadav woke up. Again he was up on and off throughout the night. He finally fell back asleep in my bed at 5:30. At 7 I got up with Danya and Jordy and took them to school. A few minutes after I got home Nadav woke up. Josh took Nadav to gan, I consumed large quantities of coffee and then I went with Laura to the hat store in Petach Tikvah. I came home and fought the urge to sleep. I cooked a bunch and then picked Nadav up from gan. He was a mess and it took me 13 minutes to get him to sit still and buckle him into his car seat. I drove around with him for a while and he fell asleep. I read in the car while he slept for a short while. He woke up coughing and then spent the next hour crying and crabbing. Josh and I spent the rest of the afternoon counting down until bedtime. Danya ate dinner at a friends house. I gave the boys Wacky Mac and then Josh got Nadav to bed. I sort of cleaned the kitchen and then after getting Jordy to bed took a short walk with Danya to the new pizza store that is giving away free freezes(similar to Slurpees). We returned home and I was all ready to go to sleep but guess who woke up??? He spent around an hour crying and complaining that his mouth was "itchy". Actually he said "my peh itchy". Have I told you that Nadav speaks a LOT of Hebrew? It's pretty entertaining. Anyhow, he finally fell asleep in my bed where he is currently out cold. Tomorrow we are heading to the doctor to check out the itchy peh. Good thing the doctor is bilingual.

A Big Boy Bed

I forgot to mention that on Thursday morning Nadav woke up VERY early. On Friday he did so again. He has been climbing out of his crib lately and just shows up in our room asking to go downstairs to watch a show, eat breakfast or play. At 5am. I introduced him to Blue's Clue's lately-which he calls "couscous". Of course this was a problem the previous day when he asked for "couscous" and I gave him a bowl of couscous and he wanted Blue's Clue's-but I digress. Friday morning everyone headed out to school, gan, football and I cooked and did Friday laundry. In the afternoon Josh gave Jordy a haircut. On Friday night Jordy went to shul to meet a friend. Danya and Nadav were fighting(I know-really) so Nadav and I went to shul to pick up Josh and Jordy. Jordy's friend also came over for dinner so we headed home for dinner. After dinner the friend left and the Brodsky's and Danny Block came over-Laura was sleeping. Danny left before the Settler's game.
Shabbat morning Nadav woke up at 4:30am. That's right. It was still dark. It was cold as the heat wasn't on downstairs yet. And he was WIDE awake. So we played magnatiles, we read books, we ate breakfast, we drank coffee(ok, me, not him), we played catch, we played Ima sleep on the couch. I was so happy to see Jordy at 7am. Finally someone to play with Nadav. At 7:30 Claudia knocked on our door-she needed Nadav to play with the buttons on her thermostat. At 9:15 Nadav and I walked Danya and Jordy to the kids minyan at Glenwood. It took us almost an hour to walk the 10 minute walk home as Nadav needed to stop MANY times along the way. We went to shul for the end and then returned home for Kiddush. After kiddush Josh took the kids to the park and I was asleep in about a minute. While I was asleep Danya went to the Balsam's for lunch and Josh returned with the boys and let me keep on sleeping while they had lunch. I woke up a little later and Nadav never napped. Josh headed to bed so Nadav and I played soccer outside with Jordy and Moshe. After Shabbat David and Emily came over for our monthly Settlers and Pink Drinks evening featuring meat sandwiches and sushi. After they left we walked over to the Block's for an evening around the fire pit. 10 minutes after we returned Nadav woke up. He was then up on and off all night. By the morning he had a fever of 104. He would only sleep in my bed holding onto my arm. Josh got Danya and Jordy to school while Nadav and I dozed on and off all morning. In the afternoon Josh and I assembled Nadav's toddler bed. We figured he was climbing out of the crib all the time he may as well sleep in a bed. He was not very excited but then again he had 104. Sunday evening I went to the gym and Josh got Nadav to bed. Apparently he went to sleep in his bed with no problems. Of course he woke up at around 10pm and was up on and off all night and spent most the time in my bed holding onto my arm.
Monday morning Jordy woke me up at 7:30. I quickly got up and got Danya and Jordy to school and headed to zumba. When I returned Nadav woke up and we spent a lot of time watching Blue's Clue's. A lot. Monday night Nadav went to sleep nicely however he woke up and Josh decided that he would make him stay in his bed so about every 15 minutes Josh would send him back to his bed. He finally let him into our room at 6 where Nadav went back to sleep in my bed. Tuesday morning after very little sleep Nadav was wide awake and fever free so off to gan he went. I slept a little more and then went to Rami Levy. I came back and picked Nadav up from gan. They said he was fine but a little tired. He wanted to go to sleep in my bed but he wasn't really going to sleep. So I took him for a ride in the car and within 5 minutes he was out cold. I sat in the car and read until it was time to drop Jordy off at soccer. Then I read some more. Then I drove Jordy home from soccer. Nadav woke up on the way home however after being in the house for a few minutes Nadav fell asleep in my arms. Danya returned home from softball and we all ate dinner. Josh got Nadav into bed again and I went to the gym. When I came back I checked in on Nadav and found him like this:

This morning Nadav woke up at 5am which I think is progress. He went back to sleep in my bed and slept there until 8:15. I took Danya and Jordy to school at 7:50 and then returned to get Nadav dressed and to school. Everyone was around in the afternoon plus Moshe S. Tonight during dinner I introduced Danya and Jordy to Oprah's Favorite Things episode(s). Funny. Nadav went to sleep at 7. Danya and I played Ticket To Ride and then I headed to zumba.

Another Uneventful Week

Friday was a fast day- both in terms of the length of the day and the food eaten. I had done most the cooking the day before so that made the day a little easier. On Friday night the Brodsky's came over after dinner for a game of Settlers.
Shabbat morning we went to a Bar Mitzvah at Rimon. I convinced Danya and Jordy to go to shul as well. The new plan is if you attend shul you get to participate in the special kiddush-a treat I buy for Shabbat morning. So after shul we ate ice cream nuggets. Yum. We then ate lunch and I took a nap. Saturday night was spent cleaning up from Shabbat.
Sunday was a regular old day-I can't remember the details but I am guessing I went to the gym, the kids had playdates/homework etc. Danny came over in the evening and babysat for the kids while Josh and I headed to the Klein Bar Mitzvah party. Nadav was already in bed so Danny had just Danya and Jordy. We had a wonderful time at the party and Danny survived babysitting.
Monday morning Josh had to go to the dentist at the mall to get his stitches out so I joined him and walked around as there was a giant sale. I walked away with my 17 shekel iced coffee. Josh left with 2 of his 4 stitches. There was so much swelling that he has to go back in a few days. We headed home and had a typical afternoon and evening.
Tuesday and Wednesday must have been uneventful as I can hardly remember anything from them. The one thing I do remember is that Vered asked me to lead Zumba class as her back was out. I was VERY nervous and was happy when it was only the regulars at the class and she stood in front walking us through the routine.
Thursday was not so eventful either. After dinner on Thursday night I needed a few things from the store so I took Danya and we went to Rami Levy. I think I have never been there on a Thursday night and man was it crazy. Luckily we only needed a few things but it still took forever. I did learn that Thursday night is sample night at RL. Danya was excited to sample the tuna, cheese and chocolate.

A Few Boring Days

Tuesday morning everyone headed out to school and I went to the gym. Josh was in some pain but surviving. I spoke to Lisa who shared the good news that Merav was better and heading home. In the afternoon I picked up Nadav and then we picked up Yakir at his gan who then came home with us to play with Jordy. Yakir then left and Jordy went to soccer. I picked Jordy up from soccer and Danya went to her softball coaches house to watch a movie about softball(the field was flooded from the rain yesterday) most the afternoon. Everyone ate dinner and went to sleep.
I feel like Wednesday was a busy day however I can't remember it all. I think I went to the grocery store in the morning. In the afternoon Jordy returned with Moshe S. Danya went to play with Tamar and then returned with Yakir who really wanted to come back to play with some trains. Nadav was happy that he was back and he joined the boys playing trains in the attic. Wednesday night my zumba class was canceled which worked out fine since I had a book swap in Modiin. After I got back Lori and I went to go bring coffee and cookies to the soldiers.
Thursday morning I went to the gym and then returned to spend most the day cooking. Again I can't remember the details of the afternoon but I am sure they included my chasing Nadav around the house and counting down the minutes until bedtime.

The Crazy Day

Monday morning I got the kids to school and then went to Zumba. Shortly after returning Josh and I headed into the pouring rain to Jerusalem. Josh had an 11am appointment to get his tooth pulled at Hadassah Ein Kerem. We pulled into the hospital complex at 10:50am and I dropped Josh off at the mall entrance and then went to hunt for free parking. By the time I found parking, walked through the rain, walked through the mall(and got coffee), located the dental building and found Josh within the building it was after 11:30. They had me sitting in the room where he was having his tooth pulled. I tried to ignore the tooth pulling and read my book. While I was there Lisa called to say that Merav had a bad asthma attack and her doctor was sending her to the hospital. Luckily my Dad was on his way into Hashmonaim to spend the afternoon/evening with everyone. So apparently he would be on call for all the kids when school was over. All went well with Josh's tooth and they loaded him up with pain killers and he felt fine. I hiked the 30 minutes through the rain to the car and picked Josh up at the entrance. We headed back and I dropped Josh at home and then went to Lisa's to meet my Dad who had prepared lunch for the kids. Once all the kids came back and ate we all headed to my house. Of course Josh's pain killer was wearing off and now he was feeling the pain. We made dinner and all the kids ate hot dogs and veggies.

At around 6:45 my Dad said goodbye and headed out to his hotel. We thanked him for everything-especially the crazy day. Nafi called that Lisa would be staying with Merav overnight at the hospital for observation and that he was coming back soon for the kids. So I left a very painful Josh at home with 6 kids(one was sleeping and 3 were leaving soon) to go to parent teacher conferences. There was good news and bad news for both kids but overall they all had nice things to say. When I returned all was quiet and Josh was in pain.

The Dentist Appointment That Wasn't

Sunday morning Nadav woke up pretty early and we turned the TV on and tried to ignore him however he didn't like that plan so I tried to keep him busy and quiet until Josh, Danya and Jordy got up. I spent the time packing and Nadav spent the time unpacking. Nadav and I went to take some luggage to the car while everyone was waking up. In the lobby we got to see my father and say goodbye to the Glicks. Not long after everyone was up and ready to go so we headed to the main event-hotel breakfast! At first it was a little crazy as Nadav wouldn't sit still or eat much but once the kids finished they took Nadav to the room to play and Josh and I enjoyed a nice breakfast with a lot of coffee-cappuccinos- and the paper. When we were highly caffeinated we headed out. It was freezing cold outside and rainy however we took the kids out of school and we were determined to do something fun in Jerusalem. We finally decided to go to givat hatachmoshet or ammunition hill. We spent most of the time in the museum as it was very cold. Nadav, who doesn't remember cold, was not happy to be freezing.

We stayed for a little while and Danya and Jordy seemed to enjoy learning about the battle. We then headed home as Josh was scheduled to have his cracked, infected, partially impacted wisdom tooth pulled. About 10 minutes after we got home Josh went to Modiin. He called about 15 mintues later saying that he was done- there was no tooth pulled. Apparently the doctor knew he wouldn't be pulling the tooth today but just didn't tell Josh that. The tooth was close to a nerve and it needs to be pulled by an oral surgeon in a hospital. So back to the drawing board. We unpacked, watched the rain and hung out at home. Josh got in touch with the oral surgeons and one was able to schedule him for February(Are you kidding???) and the other had an opening for tomorrow-so tomorrow it is. We had dinner and everyone went to bed.

The Food Fest Continues

Shabbat morning Nadav woke up bright and early.  Once Josh went down for davening the kids and I headed to breakfast.  After getting plate after plate after plate of food for the kids Lisa and I finally sat down and drank 3 pots of coffee.  Shul ended and we ate more breakfast(and more coffee).  We ate a lot of food and decided we needed a walk before lunch.  We spent some time getting everyone together and all bundled up as it was cold outside.  We spent a while crossing the street as there were many lights and a lot of traffic.  After crossing the 2 streets and walking 5 steps down the block it started raining and we headed back.  We walked around the hotel a while and then returned to the room so the kids could play.  After much fighting we all headed down for lunch.  Everyone happily ate a ton and then we sat around and enjoyed more coffee until it was almost time for mincha.  Before we knew it Shabbat was over.  We headed to Saba's room where he distributed belated Chanukah gifts-a Wii game for Danya and Jordy

and magnatiles for Nadav.

  Thanks Saba and Savta!!!  All the kids thanked Saba for their presents:

We then took the kids to Mamila to get dinner. They enjoyed spaghetti and pizza and then we returned to the hotel. Danya and Jordy were happy to watch TV and take baths. Nadav didn't want to sleep so I pushed him in the stroller in the hallway and he spent the whole walk singing sivivon over and over and over again. He eventually fell asleep and the kids were bathed and in pajamas. We left Danya in charge with a cell phone and went to the lounge downstairs for dinner as we were still fleshig when we took the kids out. I think Danya and Jordy went to bed at around 11.

Saba's in Town

Friday morning Josh took Danya and Nadav to school.  It was an exciting day for Nadav as he was Abba Shel Shabbat.  He often talks about the Ema shel Shabbat as he puts something on his head and pretends to light candles.  So he was excited to be Abba shel shabbat at gan and wear a kippah and make kiddush.  He was also excited to bring a treat with him to gan.  Josh then headed to football and I spent the morning folding laundry and packing.  After the kids returned and we all finished packing up we headed to Yerushaliam.  Nadav was really tired but of course wouldn't go to sleep.  Jordy had requested a song from Josh's MP3 and all the kids happily sang.  It's hard to see Danya as she was in the back but here is the video.  It's a little long but cute.  I thought it was funny that Nadav was singing and dancing to the music.    Of course Nadav fell asleep about 2 minutes after this video and about 2 minutes before we arrived at the David Citadel.  I took Danya and Jordy in and we met Saba in the lobby and got checked in.  After Nadav woke up he and Josh joined us in our rooms and we all got ready for Shabbat.  Before dinner we all hung out in our room.  We all(Us, The Balsam's and Saba) had dinner with the Glick's on Friday night.  We had a really nice time and we stuffed ourselves silly.  Danya and Jordy were up late and finally went to sleep after 10.  Nadav was a mess and wouldn't go to sleep so I put him in the stroller and walked him up and down the hallway until close to 11 when he finally fell asleep.  

The End Of Chanukah Vacation

Thursday morning I went to the doctor after dropping Nadav at Gan.  I had a broken toe which was still hurting and I figured I should get it checked out.  Apparently it will take some time to heal but all is fine.  We decided we would go out to breakfast after I returned and Josh returned from shul.  By the time we all got our act together it was closer to lunch.  Nobody could agree on where to go but we finally settled on Holy Bagel.  By the time we got home it was almost time to pick up Nadav.  Danya hung out in the afternoon and she played with Nadav a bit.  Jordy went to a friends house and then came home for dinner.  Danya was really upset as Jordy was going to sleep over at Moshe S.'s house as he and Jordy had tried to have a sleepover for the past week and it just didn't work.  Danya wasn't so happy about the fact that Jordy was getting a sleepover and she wasn't but she got over it.  Danya got to bed at a decent hour as tomorrow school returns!  Hooray!

Chanukah: Ther Eighth Candle

On Wednesday morning I brought Nadav to gan and then came home to begin the latke making. I was making 3 varieties- sweet potato baked, sweet potato fried and regular potato- so it took the whole morning and most of the afternoon. I did some other cleaning and getting ready. At 4 Danya, Nadav and I headed out to run a few errands and pick up Jordy from a play date. We returned to light the last night of candles and then have a family Chanukah party. It was great seeing all the Aronson's, Thea and Nina and of course Nadav's favorite- Uncle Danny. All the kids had fun playing with their cousins that they don't get to see too often.

Towards the end of the evening Josh had to leave to go to his dentist appointment- our regular dentist, who is closed for Chanukah, was seeing emergent patients tonight- so Josh went to see him. He confirmed that Josh did need his cracked wisdom tooth pulled but he also noticed that the crack was infected and he put him on an antibiotic and gave him a pain killer.

Chanukah: The Seventh Candle

Tuesday morning I went to the grocery store after taking Nadav to gan. The genius bagger put 3 boxes of cereal in one of my shopping bags and then 8 bottles of pop in the other bag.

This is why we don't have baggers in Israel. Once I got home Josh and I tried to come up with something fun to do once Nadav was at gan however Danya and Jordy really wanted to got Cutie in the mall. So Josh stayed home, I dropped them at Cutie and strolled through the mall for a while and enjoyed my iced coffee from Aroma-yum. I picked them up for lunch time and we went to McDonald's followed by a sufganyah for Jordy and some candy for Danya-nothing like a ton of garbage on Chanukah. We came back and to pick up Nadav at 1:20. Danya questioned why we pick up Nadav at 1:20 rather than the later pick up at 4:30. I explained that it costs money and I am home in the afternoon he doesn't need to be there all day. I asked them if they would rather Nadav be at gan until 4:30 and Jordy said he wished Nadav stayed at gan until 5:30. In the afternoon Jordy had a few friends over to play. Danya requested to make some cookies. When Bubs and Pops visited on Sukkot Bubs brought a cookie mix with animal shaped cookie cutters. Danya was really excited to make the cookies however I was a little weary as I knew this box was from the yeshiva shelach manot from about 9 years ago. I warned Danya that they may not taste good but she was insistent. So Danya and I made the dough, rolled out the dough,

cut the cookies, re-rolled the dough, cut more cookies, re-rolled the dough and cut more cookies. Then we baked the cookies

and I thought it smelled like playdough. That can't be a good sign. Danya was so excited to taste and then decorate the beautiful cookies. And then she spit it out.

And then we tossed the rest of the cookies(no pun intended) out. (This is Danya pretending to throw up in the box)

At least it kept us entertained for a while. After lighting candles and distributing bags of candy

we headed to Nocky and Ruanne's for dinner with Danny in tow. We had a delicious dinner and a great time. We got home very late and everyone went straight to bed.

Chanukah: The Sixth Candle and RAIN!

This morning I woke up at around 6 to the heavenly sound of rain! Hooray-rain!! Our prayers have been answered. It was so nice laying in my cozy bed listening to the rain. Unfortunately I had to get out of bed but Nadav was excited about the geshem too. I brought him to gan and then headed to my zumba class. When I came home Jordy had already been picked up to go with a friend to the Tnuva dairy factory. I quickly showered and got dressed. Danya and I headed out to pick up 3 of her classmates and go to pay a shiva call to her friend Shira whose father was killed in the bus during the fire on Thursday. The mother had requested that the girls come in small groups and that they stay a few hours with a parent in order to keep Shira entertained. So we came armed with an art set, cards, Jungle Speed and Chanukah worksheets. For 2 hours the girls all happily played together and Shira seemed happy to have her friends and the distraction. So sad to watch. Often a family member would peek their head into her room and smile to see her happily playing-mission accomplished. Hopefully we will go back again before the end of the Shiva. By the time we dropped everyone off at home it was 12:30 and sure enough within minutes of walking in the door Danya announced her boredom. She ate lunch and I picked up Nadav. Jordy went to his friends house after the tour so Danya went to play with Tamar. Nadav and I spent the afternoon together. Jordy and Danya returned in time to light Chanukah candles and get tonight's presents from Lisa and Nafi. Mr. Potato Head for Nadav and puzzles for Danya and Jordy but Jordy has already requested an exchange as he informed me he doesn't like puzzles(that is my fault as the shopper). Everyone ate dinner and then Danya headed to Daniella's for a movie night. Jordy was working on a Chanukah workbook that his teacher gave him and he and Josh were discussing someone in the Chanukah story(I wasn't really paying attention so I don't know who they were talking about) and then Jordy asked if that person was still alive. Josh said that no, they died a long time ago. Jordy asked how they died and Josh told him they died of old age. Jordy thought about this for a minute and wanted to know how that happens and asked if when a person gets to old age "do they shoot them with fire". Luckily I was standing behind the refrigerator door and Jordy didn't seem me cracking up. Josh kept a straight face and explained that no, when someone gets old they don't just shoot them with fire. After that Jordy and I played Five Crowns and then Jordy went to bed. Danya returned around 10pm and now I get to return to my cozy bed and hope it rains some more.

Chanukah: The Fifth Candle

This morning we hung out at home for a while being lazy. After Nadav ate 3 eggs(for his second breakfast) we got our act together and headed out to Rishon to a park where there was open roller hockey for kids. Danya and Jordy happily participated. Jordy wasn't as steady on the roller blades as Danya was however they both did well and had fun. As an added bonus Uncle Danny was there and Nadav was really happy to hang out with him. Here are a couple videos from the day and a few pictures:

We then returned home and Jordy had his friend Amitai over until candle lighting. We lit candles and then the kids were disappointed that tonight their present was pizza and a treat for dinner. An hour later Josh took the kids to pick up the pizza and get freezes.

Once Nadav was in bed Jordy, Danya and I watched Despicable Me. We all enjoyed the movie and headed to bed.

Chanukah: Candles 3 and 4

Friday morning everyone slept late-ish. Nadav woke me up at 7:30. Jordy woke up minutes later. At 8 I brought Nadav to gan. Shortly after returning home I grilled the chicken and then I took Danya and Jordy on a walk to the bakery and makolet. I told Danya and Jordy they could each get a sufganiah and they were excited. We stopped to get a chocolate milk at the makolet too. Unfortunately while we were out I got a phone call that the father of one of the girls in Danya's class was killed in the fire in the carmel forest. He was there helping to evacuate the prison and was on the bus that caught fire. There was going to be an emergency meeting at the school for the girls in the class to discuss what happened and what to do to help their friend. We returned home and Josh took Jordy to play football with friends while Danya and I went to school. The meeting was about an hour or so. By the time we came home it was almost time to pick up Nadav. We all went to get him and then went to Modiin for a Friday falafel lunch. We also went to a toy store where the kids got their next chanukah gift-money from Bubs and Pops to buy something special-thanks Bubs and Pops! We came home and then rushed to get ready for Shabbat. We, along with Robert, headed to the Brodsky's for dinner. We had a wonderful time and a lot of good food and drink.
This morning I convinced the kids to go to shul-although a little late in the game. I told them if they went to shul they would have a treat for kiddush. When I dropped off food for Shabbat at the Mandel's they gave me some leftover cupcakes from their simchat bat. So everyone went to shul and then returned for kiddush. After kiddush and some games we ate lunch. Then it was time for nap time. So Nadav and I napped. Josh read and played with Jordy and Danya headed to Bnei Akiva. After Shabbat we lit candles and the kids got presents: playmobile for Danya and Jordy and a puzzle for Nadav-thanks Lanie and Ari!

After some dinner the kids had friends over for sleepovers. Danya had her friend Mimi and Jordy had Moshe N. They all watched the movie Monsters Inc. with popcorn(which I made for the first time on the stove-why have I never done that before? So easy and it didn't burn!). All the kids went to bed(kind of) and I finished reading a really good book and now to sleep.

Chanukah: The Second Candle

Thursday morning, aka. Chanukah day 1, was the last day of school during Chanukah. Since Nadav was up nice and early I made my challah dough before 7am. Then everyone headed out to school happily. Apparently I broke my toe on Wednesday when I bumped it into the couch so I decided that I shouldn't go to the gym. I went to Rami Levy to get a few more items that I needed for cooking and then returned home. I spent the whole morning in the kitchen doing all the cooking. I picked up Nadav and we headed home. Nadav napped again which resulted in an ultra crabby child after nap time. Jordy came home with Moshe B. in tow. Danya went to her art class and then came home. We lit candles and the kids sang some Chaunkah songs:

(Note the screaming Nadav in the background).


Then then got Chanukah gelt and they were really excited.

We then all headed out to the Nathan's annual Chanukah party. The kids all had fun with their friends. Most entertaining was Nadav who had 3 girls from his gan to play with-1 of whom seems to be his girlfriend. She was really cute and when he got bumped on his head she was patting his head and then gave him a little kiss on his arm. Josh left after an hour as he needed to return to work and I stayed a while longer with the kids. Eventually we headed home and that is when the kids decided to stop behaving. Jordy cried that he wanted pizza the whole walk home(we live about 5 minutes away but it felt like hours). I can't remember what Danya was mad about but she was mad. I was happy to return home and send everyone to bed.

Chanukah: The First Candle

Nadav woke up in an even crabbier mood than yesterday- man this kid is grumpy! Josh got the kids out and I finished reading my book which was REALLY good! Josh headed out to his dentist appointment and I went out to pick up Nadav at gan. I walked him around for a while as it is December 1st and about 90 degrees outside. When we got home Danya had already returned from school and Josh was back from the dentist. Josh had read somewhere that a way to help kids take naps is for them to see everyone going to sleep, so we all "took naps". Surprisingly this worked! Ahh-I got to spend the time cleaning up and setting up Chanukah. Not sure if the nap was worth it as Sir Crab-a-lot was even more crabby when he woke up. He was happily distracted with the candle lighting. Here is Danya lighting her candles:


And here is Jordy inventing his own bracha:


And Nadav helping light his chanukiah:

Tonight the kids got Chanukah gifts from David and Jodi. They were really excited to get pillow pets-thanks David and Jodi! Here is the unwrapping:

Everyone ate dinner and then watched a Sesame Street Chanukah special on PBS. Everyone was playing and happy and eventually went to sleep. Nadav woke up as I was walking out the door to my zumba class. He was apparently awake most of the time I was gone. I guess he napped to long.

Pain in the Tooth

Before I begin with today I need to tell you a few more things about yesterday. Yesterday Danya went on a tiyul and prior to said tiyul she asked me if I would come with as a chaperon. I had said I could and I called the teacher who told me that they were all set and didn't need any more chaperons. Danya was disappointed that I couldn't come on the trip. I told her that I will let the teacher know that next trip I want in. Anyhow, yesterday while Danya was on her trip I got a message from Jordy's teacher saying that they needed parents to come with for his trip which was scheduled for today. Being the nice parent I am I volunteered Josh. OK, it was really Josh that was nice as I kind of thought about going but when I mentioned it to him he said he would go. So I told his teacher yesterday that Josh would join them. Fast forward to last night at around midnight or 1am-Josh had a serious tooth ache. I think in all the time I have known Josh I have seen him take medicine a grand total of 6 times-maybe. When he came looking for the tylenol for this severe pain I knew it was bad. He was contemplating going to terem for pain killer he was in such pain. Eventually he fell asleep. This morning I assumed I would go on the field trip with Jordy's class as Josh would need to go to an emergency dentist appointment. I got up with the kids and got everyone out the door. Danya was VERY angry that I would be chaperoning Jordy's class and she let it be known. I explained to Jordy that he should tell his teacher that I would be coming because Josh had a filling that may have fallen out and he needed to go to the dentist-to which Jordy asked if the tooth fairy brought Josh money. I explained that the tooth fairy doesn't visit grown ups AND that I doubted that the tooth fairy paid for fillings-only teeth. After getting everyone to school I came home to find Josh completely fine. I attempted to make him an appointment at the dentist but our regular dentist is not working over Chanukah(I tried to explain that it isn't chanukah yet but got nowhere with that one). Josh decided that since he was feeling fine and he had no appointment that he would go on the tiyul. So I dropped him off for the tiyul and headed to the grocery store(no worries-he has an appointment for tomorrow at another dentist). Then I came home and baked mint brownies and cleaned up a little. Next I was off to mosaics. I didn't take a picture but it is done. We had to re-glue the frame as the silicone we used last week didn't hold properly(which included a little trip to the art supply store for the glue). Hopefully it will be up this week-hopefully. I picked Nadav up and then we picked up Josh as he returned from the tiyul to the old city.

Jordy went straight to the Gerson's and soccer where he got his soccer uniform.

Danya returned from school and then went to softball. Nadav whined and cried all afternoon-so just a regular day. Everyone ate dinner and eventually went to sleep. Then I headed out to the Mandel's (with the mint brownies) for a simchat bat for their new daughter.

Ready Or Not

Today Nadav woke up a little more grumpy than usual and spent a good half hour crabbing and crying after I got him from his crib. The kid seriously wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. After getting everyone out and going to Zumba, Josh and I headed to kiryat sefer to buy Chanukah candles and other assorted goodies. After lunch I picked up Mr. Grumpy and again we attempted to get him to nap and again we were unsuccessful. Danya returned from school saying that she really enjoyed her field trip to the deaf museum-actually she signed about it. I think this may have been the first time she liked a field trip. Success. She also spent a good part of the afternoon playing with Mr. Grumpy so I could read wash the dishes. Here is Nadav counting to 13 apparently playing hide and seek.

Jordy went to Moshe's after school and then straight to his erev kitah. He had fun making a Chanukiah and eating sufganiot. Yum. Everyone ate some sort of dinner and eventually headed to bed.

Belated Thanksgiving

Friday morning was spent cooking and cleaning. I picked Nadav up at noon and we returned home. Nadav was a mess but as usual, he wouldn't nap. Danya and Meira came home after school but an hour later they headed back to the Balsam's house. Jordy hung out at home. I dropped off some food at the Blocks for Shabbat. Eventually we were all ready for Shabbat. Friday night Nadav was going nutty and Danya and Jordy were trying to play a game and he kept messing it up so I took him on a walk to the Silton's and he and Yolie played while Sharon and I chatted. Danya showed up soon after to tell me that Jordy got hurt so I needed to return home. Nadav and I followed her home and when we got there Jordy was fine and Danya was sulking that she got dressed and ran to get me and then Jordy was fine. Josh and Robert returned from shul minutes later. Soon after we sat down to eat our belated Thanksgiving dinner. We had split pea soup, turkey roast, stuffing, cranberry crunch, sweet potato bake and garlic green beans. We had brownies and marzipan rugelach for dessert(sorry-no pie). Josh and I both fell asleep on the couch however I woke up long enough to get Jordy and Danya into bed.
Shabbat morning Nadav and I went to shul for a short while. After lunch a strange thing happened. Josh put Nadav in his crib and after crying for a minute he went to sleep. Danya went to the Balsam's and then Bnei Akiva and Moshe came here to play with Jordy. After Shabbat and getting things in order Danya and I took a walk around the yishuv.
This morning was the usual routine-out the door, gym, home. I then went to run a few errands in shilat and then came home. After eating lunch I walked to Nadav's gan to pick him up. On the way home we picked up Jordy and all went home together. Josh's attempt at getting Nadav to nap again failed. Jordy studied for a Torah test while Danya went to a friends house. Jordy had a friend over and then the 2 of them went to chug torani. Danya and her friend went to an erev kitah where they made chanukah menorahs. Jordy returned and he and Nadav ate hot dogs for dinner per Jordy's request. Everyone went to sleep without incident and I spent the evening catching up on Glee and reading(aka. ignoring the dishes).

Cook The Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I was a little sad to not be celebrating it this year for the first time however we will be having a belated Thanksgiving over Shabbat so stay tuned....
Today Nadav was having his Chanukah party at gan and therefore gan would be over early so that the gannot could prepare for the celebration. Since I had to pick Nadav up at noon and then spend the evening at gan I spent all morning in major cook for shabbat mode. Just before noon Josh dropped me off near gan and he headed to Yerushaliam while I took the stroller to pick up Nadav. My plan was that I would walk him around after gan until he fell asleep. Not sure why I even try anymore-he clearly isn't interested in napping anymore. I am clearly living in denial. We walked around in the heat for 45 minutes until we came home wide awake. Jordy and then Danya returned from school. Jordy had a friend come over for a while. Then Nadav and I headed out to the misibah or as Nadav called it the "sisibah". When we got there they tried to get Nadav to wear a dreidel costume but he was not interested. He also wouldn't sit without the gannenet holding him.

He pretty much sat in her lap and observed the whole thing. I have some videos but his isn't really doing anything in them(except for 1 where they gave all the kids pompoms and Nadav spent the song ripping out the nylon strings of the pompoms). Nadav was excited when they handed out a little package with candy, chips and a wafer.

He didn't want the sufganiah(but Danya and Jordy split it when we got home). We then collected his menorah and headed home. Overall a waste of time. When I returned home Danya and Jordy were watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade on the slingbox. After Josh got Nadav into bed I headed out to pick up Laura, whose son was having surgery in Tel Aviv. The surgery went fine and she needed a ride home. After returning home I got the turkey into the oven-for tomorrow night dinner- and ate my dinner. Now the house smells like Thanksgiving but we have to wait until Shabbat to eat it all.

Pictures

Before I begin with today here are the pictures that wouldn't upload the other day:
My mosaic from Tuesday:

Here is Josh doing helping Jordy with his Noah's ark project:

And here is the final project-not bad for last minute:

This morning Nadav woke up crabby which is always fun. He kept asking for different foods for breakfast and when he got them he would cry and throw them across the floor-which made for a very messy floor. Eventually everyone got up and got their acts together. Josh took them to school while I happily stayed home and enjoyed a nice, quiet morning at home. At noon I picked Jordy up from school and I took him to the dermatologist to check out the wart on his foot and for an ichthyosis check up. We were in and out of the doctors in about 10 minutes. So we stopped upstairs and Jordy got a half falafel(I love that his drink cost more than the falafel) and we stopped at the toy store where Jordy used some of his own money to buy more supergoal cards. We then stopped at the butcher to pick up my meat order. Then we headed back and picked up Nadav and his friend Keren who needed a ride. We dropped Jordy off as he was heading to English. We dropped Keren off and headed home. Danya came home soon after and did her homework. Jordy and Moshe S. came home after English and everyone played nicely all afternoon. Nadav and I stopped at the makolet to buy potatoes so I could make the stew that Danya has been requesting for months. It still isn't cold outside but it is the last week in November. (although I did turn the heat on last night for the first time however my room is always 20 degrees colder than outside in the winter). While I was making dinner Nadav came into the kitchen carrying an old sweater of Danya's and a pillow from the living room couch and he laid down on the little rug by the sink announcing "sleepy" (luckily Josh had mopped the floor this morning after the breakfast throwing fiasco).

Anyone know why sometimes blogger rotates pictures??

We had dinner and then eventually got the boys into bed before heading out to zumba.

Strike

This morning was the usual-rush everyone out the door and head to the gym.  After the gym I went to Rami Levy as I do each Tuesday morning.  I was a little worried as there is a farmers strike going on and I figured t hat either a) there would be no produce or b) the store would be crowded with people hoarding all the fruits, veggies, milk, eggs etc.  I was pleasntly surprised to find that neither was true.  Who knows what will be later in the week but that's not my problem.  I headed home and then straight to mosaics.  We are so close to being finished.  We put sides on the whole thing to essentially frame the whole thing and to protect it from the rain(which we will hopefully have soon!).  Again, I tried adding pictures but it isn't working.  I guess we have to wait until next week when we hang it. 
I then took the stroller and headed to pick up Nadav at gan.  Today's plan was that I would take him in the stroller and by the time we get home he would fall asleep.  Fail.  Nadav spent the afternoon playing his favorite game-drive me crazy.  He tossed a bunch of stuff in the toilet, climbed onto the table and stepped on the laptop and then wouldn't eat dinner.  Josh put him into bed a little earlier than usual but he was happy to go. 

Who Built The Ark?

This morning we all slept nice and late again! Jordy woke me at 7:13 looking for breakfast. Nadav woke up 10 minutes before we needed to leave. Everyone got to where they needed to be and I headed to zumba. The rest of the morning was at home until it was time to get Nadav. He was tired and crabby but wouldn't sleep. I took him on a walk for a half hour and no sleep. He pretty much spend the afternoon wanting to be held and causing trouble. Typical. Jordy was home with Moshe and Danya was home doing a lot of homework. The kids had pasta and meatballs for dinner which Danya ate, Jordy only ate the pasta and Nadav threw all on the floor. After dinner Jordy and I worked on his school project to make Noah's ark. We knew about this project for 2 weeks but of course didn't actually discuss it until dinner tonight and of course it is due tomorrow. I came up with the idea to make it out of old cereal boxes. Jordy and I headed to the attic where he watched me assemble the ark. Then Josh helped decorate it. So basically Josh and I did the project and Jordy watched(I was going to post pictures of the project however blogger isn't allowing photos now so I'll try again tomorrow).   Danya helped too as she did some of the decorations. After we finished the project Danya and I went on a walk around the Yishuv while Josh got Jordy into bed.

Don't Forget Your Helmet

This morning we all got out of bed a little late except for Jordy. That is right-Nadav slept until 7:10am! Wow! We rushed out the door and then I dropped everyone at school before going to the gym. I ran 10K on the treadmill and then quickly came home and showered and headed out to book club. It was a shame that more people didn't read the book and attend because the book was really good. We ended up talking and I didn't realize how late it was. Before I knew it I had to pick up Nadav and take him to the doctors office to get his ears rechecked. All is well and he is nice and healed. We were told he(and Jordy) needed the flu vaccine as they both have asthma. Of course they weren't giving them at the time so we need to come back. We came home and not long after Danya and then Jordy returned home. At 4 Jordy, Nadav and I headed to Modiin. First I stopped at the money changer and then we went back to the doctors. We stopped at the pharmacy to buy the flu mist which Jordy was going to get. Then we waited our turn and went in to the nurse. She said that Jordy would need the shot, not the mist as he has asthma. We spent some time working it out but she decided that since he didn't have severe asthma he could have it-phew! Nadav got his shot and we were on our way. On the way back home Jordy noticed a man on a motorcycle zoom past us between lanes. He commented that it was weird that the man was going fast. I told him that it looks fun but it isn't so safe to be on a motorcycle because they aren't in a lane and if G-d forbid they get in an accident there is no seat belt or walls of the car to protect them. Then I said there is nothing really protecting them. I then was going to correct myself and then Jordy said "there is one thing protecting them". I said "you are right, do you know what is protecting them" and he responded "yes, Hashem". To which I responded "(long pause) Yes, I guess there are 2 things protecting them-Hashem and a helmet". We came back to the Yishuv and we stopped so Jordy could buy some more Super Goal cards however he was really sad to learn that they were out of the cards. Heart broken. No worries, they will have more tomorrow. We came home and everyone had dinner. We got the kids to bed and Josh headed out to a surprise birthday party for Seth.

Tillie The Tooth

Friday morning was very exciting for Jordy. The tooth that had been dangling by a thread in his mouth for 2 1/2 weeks had finally fell out!

Since his first 2 teeth had been pulled this was the first one that fell out "naturally"-aka. while eating Cheerios. I did a few things to get ready for Shabbat and then Josh and I went out to breakfast with Sharon and Akiva. We never go out on Friday morning and it was so relaxing. A nice change of pace. Jordy went to a birthday party at a friends after school. I took Nadav on a half hour walk in his stroller so he would nap. Of course as I was walking up to our house a neighbor starting practicing the trumpet-luckily it didn't wake Nadav. We then got ready for Shabbat and loaded up the car. We headed to Chani and Moshe Turks in Modiin. The kids were happy to see each other and were off playing immediately. We ate way to much and stayed up way to late on Friday night. Moshe kept threatening to play Scrabble however he kept falling asleep. Shabbat morning Nadav woke up at 6 and I tried to keep him from waking everyone else but sooner or later all the kids trickled out of bed. At one point I asked Danya and Jordy to keep their eye on Nadav so I could go back into bed. I was in bed no more than 5 minutes and I heard Nadav crying and nobody was going to take care of him. So I got up and sent Danya and Jordy to see what happened. Of course he was fine and then Ilan offered to play with Nadav. I heard Danya turn to Jordy and say "It's nice to have a break". Nadav was getting a little nutty in the house all morning so Chani and I took him on a walk to shul but we ended up meeting Josh and Moshe on their way home. We came home and ate lunch-again too much-and saw some neighbors, visited some parks, took some walks and played some Scrabble and before we knew it Shabbat was over. Thanks Turk family for a fun Shabbat!! We packed up and headed home where Nadav inhaled a ton of food for dinner. Danya studied for a Navi test with Josh while Jordy watched Tom and Jerry until bed time. Jordy was really excited to go to sleep and can't wait for the tooth fairy to arrive.

Budding Artist

This morning Jordy got up early and after getting dressed quickly he headed up to play Wii. Danya was slow in getting dressed. So it was just me and Nadav hanging in the kitchen. I was very proud that he only spit half his amoxicillin on me today. Good progress. Everyone was ready to head out and nobody wanted breakfast. After dropping everyone off I headed to the gym and then home. I spent the morning ignoring the dishes, laundry and cooking so I could finish ready The Girl Who Played With Fire which was an amazing book! I decided that I had to wash all the dishes and fold the laundry before moving on to The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I picked Nadav up from gan and then he, Josh and I headed to the back year to take care of the olives. Remember the olives? We picked them at the end of sukkot and since then they have been soaking.

This week the resident olive expert, Joel, told us it was time to move on to the next stage, which was is soaking the olives in salt water.

Then Nadav and I walked to Claudia's to bring her book back. Jordy was at a friends house all afternoon and Danya went to art and then came home. The kids ate Wacky Mac and cucumbers for dinner. They finished all the food and were still hungry so I told them they could have a ball yogurt.

Nadav of course wanted one as Danya and Jordy had them. He had never had yogurt with the candy in it and he was all excited about it. Then he wouldn't let me pour the candy into the yogurt but insisted on eating the candy straight without the spoon and then he ignored the yogurt. Lovely. Then he did what he does with all food when he is done with it-tossed it on the floor.

Lovelier. By the way, did you notice the red crayon on the kitchen table? Look closer:

It is also on the washing machine:

And I didn't document it but it is on the wall too. Nadav is on a roll. The good news is that Nadav didn't spit out any of his amoxicillin at bed time. After Nadav and Jordy went to bed Danya and I took a stroll around the yishuv before heading to bed/into The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest.

Amoxicillin On My Face

Nadav learned a new trick last night, I forgot to write about it mostly because I was trying to block it out of my memory, he realized that rather than drink his amoxicillin he realized he can spit it out in our faces. Yes, both Josh and I were coated in 7.5cc's of amoxicillin. I was hoping it was a 1 time trick however this morning as soon as I headed towards Nadav with the syringe of amoxocillin he started to smile which of course made me realize that his wasn't going to go well. Of course he spit the whole thing at me while laughing-that's not going to help his ear infections. Great. When I picked Nadav up after gan I decided I needed him to nap as he has been ultra crabby lately. So we drove around surrounding neighborhoods until he fell asleep. I then sat in the car with him for an hour while he slept and I read. Danya spent the afternoon at a friends and Jordy went from English, to his friends to a Chanukah activity. He returned at dinner time. We had chicken soup that Bubs left for us in the freezer-thanks Bubs! Josh wasn't feeling well and it helped. We also had hot dogs. Chicken soup and hot dogs-a wonderful combination. After dinner and homework the kids played and went to bed. I also forgot a funny Jordy story from last night. As I was putting him to bed I asked him what kind of sandwich he wanted in his lunch for the next day. He quickly responded that he wanted an ice cream sandwich. After bed time for Jordy it was off to zumba for me.

A Busy Day

This morning Nadav woke up at what is becoming his normal time-6am. I so miss the 7am wake ups! The worst part is that he wakes up grumpy and crabby-although so do I. He whines and cries for an hour. Really fun. I went to Rami Levy this morning and I think it was an absolute zoo. I usually go on Tuesdays and it is never this crazy. They were having a big sale and I think that has something to do with it. Why is it that when there is a big sale I spend more??? By the time I got home it was time to go to mosaics. Today was a very exciting day in mosaics as today was the day we grouted my finished work! Hooray! Here is the sign with the grout covering it:

And here it is all nice and grouted:

All that is left is finishing the edge and hanging it up!
I then picked up Nadav and a friend from gan. I have noticed recently that Nadav knows where he lives. When we are going home from gan and I turn another way, such as to make a stop somewhere or leave the yishuv, Nadav starts asking and whining for "home". So today when we turned to drop his friend off he started calling for home. I have also noticed that when we are outside the yishuv and we get to the entrance he knows we are going home. What a smart little man. We came home and then Nadav proceeded not to nap. Jordy and Danya were out in the afternoon-Jordy at soccer and Danya at softball. Danny came over in the late afternoon to watch Danya's softball practice and then we all went to dinner at the mall. Uncle Danny's treat! Nothing like going to the food court and everyone getting what they want-amongst us we had pizza, hamburger, hot dog, Chinese and hummus/pita. The kids were excited that Danny brought them presents.

After dinner we headed home and Nadav went right to sleep. Danya and Jordy did their homework and then Danya informed me that she had no clean school shirts left so I did laundry. Now everyone is tucked into bed.

Nothing Exciting

This morning Josh got up with Nadav at around 6:15ish. Eventually the rest of us got up and headed out. I went to my zumba class and then came home. I ran a few errands in kiryat sefer including picking up my dry cleaning that has been there a few days too many. In the afternoon I picked up Nadav and then he cried in his crib for quite some time until we gave up on the nap. Danya spent the afternoon studying for her test while Jordy was at the Balsam's. The kids had leftovers from Shabbat for dinner and then Danya headed out to Bnei Akiva. While there Danya lost another tooth(I may not have reported them but she has lost like 5 or 6 in the last month-the tooth fairy is going broke).

Not Winning Any Awards

This morning Nadav slept nice and late-until 6:10am. Once he and I went downstairs he was a crabby mess. He asked me for a banana and then after I handed him a half he smushed it in his hand and started crying because it was "broken". Eventually everyone else got up and dressed and we headed out. Nadav was not so happy to go to gan. Even though my instinct was to go home and go back to sleep I headed to the gym. The rest of the morning was spent cleaning up and reading this. I went to pick up Nadav from gan and he seemed really tired. They said he wasn't really himself today. When we got home Josh put him into his crib and Nadav fell asleep. I decided that I would make him a doctors appointment as he just hasn't been right since Thursday. Of course the office was closed(from 1-4pm) and according to the website there were no appointments available today. Jordy returned from school followed by Danya. Jordy anxiously awaited a play date with his friend who was coming at 4:15. Danya studied for a test and took a break to go to chug torani. Nadav woke up around 3 which seemed way too early and then continued to cry for the next hour. Finally at 4 I got through to the doctors office and got him an appointment for 5. The doctor took one look in his right ear and announced that he had his first ear infection and it was a bad one. Then she looked in his left ear and proclaimed his second ear infection which was worse than the first. Poor kid. Apparently I am not winning the mother of the year award as he has been out of sorts since Thursday and I sent him to gan today. Oops (Although in my defense I have taken my kids to the doctor many times where there was nothing wrong with them). The good news is that 15 minutes later we were in our car heading home with antibiotic. We came home and made dinner-eggs in the nest again. Jordy wasn't thrilled with this choice and after 1 piece Jordy wanted to make a peanut butter sandwich. He asked me to wash his plate and I told him he could do it himself. I had to talk him through it but he was happy to be doing it and he asked if I would let him wash dishes for money. The kid is obsessed with getting money to waste on his newest favorite thing which are Super Goal cards(I think that is what they are called). Super Goal are similar to baseball cards but for soccer. There is a game that all the kids play where the winner wins the others cards. Not sure how I feel about him playing this game all the time and wasting his money on these cards but then again I remember a time where I wanted to have a ton of Garbage Pail Kids Cards

(who remembers those???). After dinner Nadav headed to bed with his first round of antibiotic in him. Josh and Jordy began watching the Bears game and Danya finished studying. I am heading back to my book.

Early Mornings

Nadav woke up at 4:00am Josh brought him to our room and we tried to get him to calm down and go back to sleep and all he wanted was mango. Josh brought him some mango and then Nadav wanted to go down to the kitchen. Apparently he was hungry. I took him downstairs where he inhaled yogurt, apples, and cucumbers while watching Barney. Once he was done eating and watching he seemed tired(and so was I) so I put him back in his crib at around 6 and after crying for a little bit he eventually fell back to sleep-and so did I. At 7:20 Danya came in to our room to wake us. Thankfully Josh got up and took Danya and Jordy to school and Nadav and I continued to sleep. I got up when Josh got home from shul and Nadav slept until 9:45. I think he had a fever(I never took his temperature but he was hot). He spent most of the day hanging on me and whining. I got most the cooking and laundry done before Josh, Danya and Jordy returned from football and school. Meira came home with Danya and they played all afternoon. We tried to get Nadav to sleep in the afternoon but after crying for 45 minute-Nadav, not me, we gave up. Eventually Shabbat began. Nadav and I went to shul to meet Josh when it was over. We had a nice quiet-ish dinner. Nadav was exhausted by bed time and he was reaching out for his crib when I brought him to his room. After dinner the Brodskys and Blocks came over for an oneg.
Shabbat morning Nadav woke up at 6:05am which compared to 4:00am isn't bad but still, 6:05am on Shabbat morning is not fun. I gave Nadav breakfast and then he needed me to entertain him as Elmo was not available. I tried to convince him that we should play the "lay on the couch with a blanket and pillow" game but after a minute and a half, during which I fell asleep, he wasn't interested. Instead we had to play the "throw crackers on the rug" game. Eventually everyone else woke up and Danya and Jordy decided that they would go to the kids minyan where they get a chocolate bar at the end. Nadav and I went to Rimon where Josh was laining as it was the anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah. We got there just as he was about to start and all in all we heard about 4 pusukim as we spent a lot of time downstairs playing and walking around the vicinity of the shul. The 4 lines we heard were good and everyone said Josh did a great job. Danya and Jordy showed up when they were done and we went to the kiddush club and headed home. We ate lunch and then I headed for a much needed nap. Josh put Nadav down and he napped for 2 1/2 hours, Josh napped for 2 hours, Danya napped for 2 hours(I think this was the first time she napped since she was a year and a half and wasn't sick) and Jordy went to a friends. Before we knew it Shabbat was over. The kids ate noodles for dinner and played in the attic until bed time.

Clean As A Whistle

I should have known last night when I was typing the blog and saying that I go to the gym every morning except Wednesday and Friday that I was jinxing things. Nadav woke up at 5:15ish and wouldn't go back to sleep. He and I cuddled on the attic couch while watching Elmo's World. Nadav loves to hold on to my arms and gets mad if I am holding him and don't have both arms wrapped around him for him to hold. He usually lets me know by grabbing my arm and whining but this morning he looked at me and said "arm". I thought that was funny. After Elmo we went downstairs for breakfast and I made the challah dough. Eventually Danya and Jordy woke up, ate breakfast and we got out the door to school. After dropping everyone off I came right back home with intentions of going back to sleep however I was not successful so I continued with laundry and cooking. When I picked up Nadav he was VERY sleepy and his nose was running. We also drove Pnina home and the whole ride each time Nadav would say something Pnina would laugh and then Nadav would laugh and then Nadav would say "Pnina funny" and then the cycle would begin again. Very cute. When we got home I put him in his crib and let him cry because he needed to sleep. I dropped Jordy off at a friend for a play date and Danya came home from school to continue her bedroom clean out which took all day. We picked up Jordy and then had dinner. Before going to bed Danya finally finished cleaning out her aron, dressers and night stand. We moved the tall dresser out and the new desk in.

And here's a picture of the aron all clean and organized. This picture is mostly for Bubs and Savta who are probably not going to believe it.

Also, I forgot a cute Nadav story from yesterday. Josh often keeps dried fruit in his office to snack on. Nadav often goes to say hi and eats some raisins or dried mango. Well yesterday when Josh was in shul Nadav turned to me and said "peas" and I repeated "please?" and he said "peas" and I said "please?" and then he said "come" and grabbed my hand. Then he dragged me until we arrived at Josh's office and he pointed to the bag with the mango and he said "piece"? I was impressed that he figured out how to communicate to me that he wanted a piece of mango. OK, I have been up since 5:15am and I am tired so I am signing off-good night!

Redecorating

Wednesday mornings are the only mornings where I don't go to the gym in the morning (OK, I don't go Friday either but I have to get up and get ready for Shabbat on Friday). Josh usually takes the kids to school/gan and I sometimes sleep through the morning routine or go right back to bed after they leave. I was so tired yesterday and was so looking forward to my Wednesday morning. Oh well. Josh got up with Nadav but Nadav kept coming to find me and demand "Ima, come" indicating he wanted me to go downstairs with him. I gave in eventually and went downstairs. After Josh returned from shul we went to Kiryat sefer to drop off at the dry cleaner and buy a few things at the hardware store. Then I headed to Modiin and stopped at Holy Bagel where I saw Danya's softball coach. The coach told me that Danya is one of the best players in her age group. That was nice to hear. Then I went to the butcher and returned home. After lunch I picked Nadav up and as I have been doing the past few weeks and drove around with him until he fell asleep. And as has been happening the past week once I went to transfer him to his crib, he woke up. Oh well. Danya, Jordy and Moshe S. came home and another friend of the boys showed up later and Danya attended chug torani. Just before dinner(shnitzel, couscous and purple cabbage salad) Josh saw an email that our neighbors were giving away a kids desk with hutch. He, Danya and Nadav ran over to look at it and 15 minutes later in walked Josh, Danya, Nadav and the desk. Everyone ate dinner and then the bedroom cleaning began. Danya needed to clear out a lot of garbage-she is a pack rat- and move her clothes so we can move her 2nd dresser out and the desk in. This is a big undertaking and Danya asked Jordy to help her in exchange for 10 shekel. Jordy, who always spends money the minute he gets it and always wants money to buy something, was more than happy to help. I have never seen him clean so much and so eagerly. I thought this whole set up was funny as when we were kids I would often convince Lanie that if she helped me clean my room I would then help her. 99% of the time she would help me and then I wouldn't help her(funny how she would still help the next time). Danya and Jordy were successful and the dressers are cleaned out(I know that Savta and Bubs will be happy to hear this as they often spend time with Danya trying to get her to clean her junk). We realized that now that the garbage is out we can fit both dressers worth of clothes into the closet. So now we are contemplating selling her bedroom set and making room for a trundle bed. Do you know anyone who wants to buy a used bedroom set??? I listened to Jordy read for a little bit and then tucked him in and headed out to Zumba.