It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like.....

Friday morning(Thursday night) we changed our clocks. Who thought the Friday before Pesach was a good time to lose an hour of sleep??? I'd like to have a word with them. Anyhow, we got up at around 8am and got Moshe ready to go as he had slept over and was being picked up. Jordy spent the day in his pajamas playing nicely most the day. Danya went from Meira's to camp and returned home around 1. I spent the entire day in the kitchen. It was scrub the stove, oven and countertops day. With a little side dish of clean the fridge. We do not have a self cleaning oven so it was real work to clean it. Luckily Yocheved told me about this amazing oven cleaner which degreases that made the job much easier, but my arms were still hurting later. It was pouring outside and Danya walked home in the rain. Poor kid was soaking wet. Robert also got soaked in the rain. I finished in the kitchen about an hour and a half before Shabbat. Friday night dinner was quiet and simple. We were all tired as it was later and everyone went to sleep.
Shabbat morning it was raining again. After shul we had kiddush and ate lunch pretty early. I went to take a nap early and Josh let me nap for about 4 hours! Isn't he great? Then after I woke up the Brodsky's came by for Settlers and sugar. I was getting Nadav into bed as Shabbat ended. As soon as we made Havdallah I changed, got my grocery list and headed out. Rami Levy was scheduled to open at 8:30pm and I figured I would get there at 8:10 and be one of the first ones there and just read until they opened the doors. Well I was wrong! The whole first lot and half of the second lot were full. I went to the entrance and saw they were letting people in. I quickly grabbed all the stuff I needed on my ridiculously organized shopping list/excel spreadsheet and got in line. I made it round trip in an hour! That had got to be a record! I would have kicked butt on Supermarket Sweep! I returned home to kasher the stove, oven and counter tops. I unpacked the dishes and pots and pans and washed most of them. Then I finished as much of the fridge as humanly possible and covered the stove and oven racks in foil....bringing us to 2:45am. Then I went to sleep.
Woke up at 8am to Nadav crying. Decided to just get up and get to work. After a slow start-can you blame me?-I got baking. I made: chocolate chip cookies, brownies, fudge cookies, strawberry lemon freeze, cranberry crunch, broccoli kugel, chocolate covered matzah and gefilta fish. Plus I played with Nadav and gave Danya and Jordy some attention-although it was minimal. At one point Josh had taken Danya to get falafel and Jordy wasn't interested in going. Robert then was going to go to the local caterer who opens erev pesach and sells burgers, hot dogs etc. and Jordy went with him. Also in the morning Roberts commander came by. It seemed as if he was doing a check to make sure Robert was taken care of and that he was welcome in our home. In the evening Josh took Danya and Jordy to the parent child learning/pizza party. They came home still hungry so Josh grilled some hot dogs and everyone kind of ate whatever was left. After Josh returned from shul we did Bedikat Chametz. I decided to get some fresh air and take a walk and then returned to clean up the kitchen and write this blog so I wont be a week behind by the time I get to it again.
Coming tomorrow.....visitors from the States...yippee!!!!

Running Around

Today was "get ready for Shabbat so that tomorrow I don't have to" day with a little of Pesach prep. Some of our Shabbat food is coming out of the freezer where it has been residing anywhere from a week to a month. The rest I began cooking this morning. While it was cooking I cleaned and foiled the freezer. I brought a bag of Chametz to a friend who is going away and therefore had room in her freezer. As soon as I got home I had an email that said that the gefilta fish I ordered had arrived so I went right back out to pick up my fish. Then I got a call that the butcher delivered my order to someones house as nobody answered my door so I went right back out again to get that. It was a little annoying that I had to keep leaving and coming back but at least I got to check all those things off. I also had to go out and pay for Jordy's one day at Pesach camp and tovel my new garlic press. A lot of running around. Danya ended up going to the Balsam's for a sleepover there and Moshe came for a sleepover here(sorry Lisa, I think I got the better end of that deal). The boys were quiet playing upstairs and then they came down for dinner-mac and cheese. After dinner they watched a movie and went right to sleep. Nadav went to sleep earlier so I headed back to the kitchen to wash dishes and begin cleaning the counter tops and back splash. Tomorrow is the big day in the kitchen-cleaning my non-self cleaning oven, stove top and the counter tops. Happy cleaning!

1,2,3 Baseball

This morning everyone was up nice and early. Not sure why. Josh and Danya left for shul and camp together and it was just me and the boys. Nadav was extra crabby and clingy. He played outside some of the morning and he and Jordy played together a bit. While Nadav was napping I started making dinner, which was homemade pizza. I decided that since I had a few open pizza sauce in the fridge and some flour left that it was a good idea. I also did some laundry while Nadav was napping. After he woke up he played a little with Danya and Jordy. His new favorite game, along with football, is baseball-pronounced "bayball". Uncle Danny left a t-ball set for Jordy and since we opened it Nadav wants to play bayball all the time. Here is a video of him playing. He likes to count before he swings however he only really says two-not sure if you can hear him.



Danya went to her dance class and then came home and played with Nadav while I got dinner ready. Jordy didn't understand why I was making pizza if we could just buy pizza from a "real place". I told him it may be yummy. He said that "real pizza IS yummy". Then he looked at it and said it looked gross although he admitted it smelled good. He ate a whole piece and said it was good so that was good enough for me. Danya and Josh also liked it. Nadav enjoyed it and he was covered in sauce and cheese at the end of the meal.

On the Pesach front I did some more today. I did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned all 4 bathrooms(OK, not technically pesach but had to get done before then) and polished the silver. Tomorrow is a busy day so we will see how it goes. Good night!

Timber

This morning Danya headed out to her pre-pesach camp. Jordy still didn't want to go to his and he was happy to stay home again. We spent the morning doing pesach cleaning while Jordy played with Nadav a bit. In case you were wondering what we have done to date for Pesach here's the rundown: cleaned the car, vacuumed the couches and rugs, changed over 3 drawers and stocked them with food, cleaned the outside of the cabinets, cleaned all the shelves in the kitchen, cleaned the laundry room, cleaned/dusted the wall unit, and cleaned out our room. I am sure I am missing stuff but that is the summary. If you haven't begun your cleaning this list may make you mad however if your list is longer than mine please don't rub it in. After Nadav went down for his nap Joel came over to help Josh cut down the last 3 dead trees.

The first one went smoothly:

However the second one wanted to land in my living room. It came quite close but luckily no damage was done. The afternoon was quiet. Jordy went to his last swimming lesson. Danya came home from camp and helped clean the kitchen and played with Nadav a bit. Dinner was fish sticks and pasta(aka. whatever is left in the house). After Nadav went to sleep we did another movie night. The kids watched Planet 51 while Josh worked and I ran out to pick up my Shmura Matzah order in Modiin.

More Settlers and More Pesach Prep

Friday was uneventful. Cooking and cleaning. The usual. The kids were happy to return home from school and be on Pesach/spring break. I took Danya to go get a haircut. She got it cut really short(sorry, no pictures yet) and it is really cute. She was also really excited as there was a free manicure included with her haircut. An hour and a half later we returned home and did more getting ready for Shabbat. On Shabbat we had a nice quiet family dinner. After we finished eating Josh walked Danya over to a friends house where she was sleeping over. I attempted getting Jordy to bed. While I was tucking Jordy in the Brodsky's arrived for what has become our regular Shabbat Settlers game. Jordy joined us and stayed up late. Josh returned and the games began.
Shabbat morning Jordy slept late and did not want to go to kids Minyan. Instead he davened at home for a Crunch bar. Eventually I got Nadav and myself dressed and we made it to shul as it was ending. I decided to take a short nap. Josh decided I get to take a long nap and didn't wake me. Thanks! Danya incidentally was supposed to return home for lunch however she went to the Balsam's. Later in the afternoon the Brodsky's returned and we played yet again until Shabbat ended. Then Danya called to ask if she could have a sleepover at the Balsam's. We figured why not, it is vacation. So I brought her clothes and lunch for her Pesach camp. When I returned Joel and Jordan came back for one last game.
Sunday morning Josh dropped Jordy off at his pre-Pesach camp. Later in the morning I decided to give up my denial and headed to Rami Levy for the next stage in Pesach shopping. So that brings me to 2/3 of the way there on the food front. I came home and decided to tackle some of the cleaning beginning with the shelves in the laundry room and the drawers. Danya and Jordy returned from their camps. Danya loved hers and Jordy wasn't thrilled. Danya then went to a birthday party. Josh and I prepared dinner. We had a few trees that needed cutting down and Joel had helped Josh with the project so as a thank you we made a barbecue/bonfire for dinner. Unfortunately Claudia couldn't make it but the rest of us had a good time. Jordan and Nadav bonded while I went to pick up Danya from her party. After Danya and I returned we broke out the marshmallows. All the kids, big and little, enjoyed them.


(you can kind of see Danya's haircut in this one)
Today Jordy would not go to his pre-Pesach camp. He said he didn't like it. We figured why push it. We told him if he stayed home he had to help clean for Pesach and play with Nadav. He was game. This morning was spent cleaning and organizing. My big job for the day was to remove everything from the wall unit and clean it. With the little monster on my heels it literally took me all day. Danya returned from her camp and she went bike riding with her friends. We all had dinner eventually and then had a family movie night after Nadav went to sleep. The kids really liked G-Force but were half asleep when it ended.

Hootball Game

This morning Nadav and I walked Jordy to school. Danya left 10 minutes earlier than us as Jordy wasn't ready and she gets in trouble if she is late whereas he does not. After Nadav and I returned we had breakfast and hung out for a while. Then Nadav was pretty crabby and needed to nap as he has been waking up in the night lately, which is lots of fun for everyone. I left him with Josh to watch a football game(Nadav LOVES football and runs to Josh's computer yelling "hootball game" until Josh plays an old Bears game that he has on his computer. Nadav also has a great touchdown dance) and then nap. I went to the dry cleaners where it took forever as there was a new guy working there and he had to keep asking his boss what to do. Once I got that done I went to the paper good store to buy a few things for Pesach. I came home and began cooking for Shabbat(both this week and next weeks food to go in the freezer). Nadav woke up and Danya and Jordy returned from school. We all hung out at home the rest of the afternoon aside from me taking Nadav on a walk to the Makolet for salt. Everyone ate dinner-mac and cheese- and eventually headed to bed.

Spring Cleaning

Well I hate to say it but Pesach is coming. Don't get me wrong, I love Pesach. What a great feeling when you sit down at Seder and your house is clean from top to bottom! The hard part is getting there. I figured since there was no denying that it was coming so I may as well go with it. So this morning, after walking Danya and Jordy to school, I cleaned my room from top to bottom. It took quite some time and I filled a whole garbage bag, but it is now a chametz free zone. This afternoon the kids were home. Jordy had a friend Moshe H.(there are 4 Moshe's in his class and he is friends with all of them. In case you were wondering there is only one Jordy in his class) over for a play date. For the most part the boys played together nicely. I took Danya to and from her dance class and then made dinner. The kids enjoyed their hot dogs, hamburgers and noodles. I did warn them that dinners may get a little boring as I am serving what is in the freezer. After dinner and playing the kids went to sleep and Josh headed out to a softball game. I am now getting to work. Good night!

New Shoes, Strep Throat and Mad Libs

On Thursday morning I took Nadav to get some sandals. It has been so hot and the poor kids has to keep wearing socks and shoes rather than sandals like the rest of us. So off we went. I am not sure if it was because he was tired but he did not want to try on shoes. He fought me with each pair we tried and we tried them all. We finally settled on a gray pair that the sales lady told me fit him the best. We came home and Nadav went to sleep. I started cooking for Shabbat which was fun because we are in the "what can I make with the random food left in the fridge and freezer" mode.
Friday morning I finished cooking pretty early and we actually had the Friday cooking/cleaning under control. Danya went with a friend to a pool and Jordy played DS all afternoon. When Danya returned she said her throat hurt her. She didn't have a fever so I said lets wait and see. Just in case I scheduled an appointment for the doctor for Sunday morning....just in case. Once Shabbat started Danya had fever and we gave her Motrin. Robert was home for Shabbat and falling asleep at the table. We were about to go to bed when Jordan knocked on the door with his friends to play Settlers, which is becoming a regular Shabbat game. We went to sleep after midnight which I would regret any Shabbat but when Danya woke up hysterical at 3:30am I really regretted it. Her fever had spiked(I couldn't take it but my guess was 104). I gave her Motrin and cool compresses and it took an hour and a half for the fever to go down and for her to be semi-comfortable. I went back to bed at 5.
Shabbat morning we hung out at home. Jordy was really excited to play Doodle Dice, one of the games Bubs and Pops brought us. He was really mad when we realized that the cards were sealed. We decided we would play as soon as Shabbat was over and played the other game they brought several times. Danya napped a bit and when she was feeling a little better she played a little bit and read a bunch on the couch. Josh and Robert returned after shul with an invitation to stop at the Brodsky's for kiddush. Danya stayed on the couch and Jordy didn't want to get dressed so Josh, Nadav, Robert and I went. We enjoyed homemade hummus and tequila until I decided I needed to check on Danya. We came home and ate lunch. Jordan and friends returned for another few games of Settlers. After game one(which I won) I excused myself to take a nap. After Shabbat David and Emily came over for dinner and Settlers.
Sunday morning I dropped Jordy off at school and then Danya, Nadav and I headed to the doctors office. The doctor took one look into Danya's mouth and said that she was pretty sure it was strep. She did a regular culture(rather than doing the rapid and charging us 20 shekel) and gave us a prescription. We then took Nadav to get a blood test to check his iron levels and headed home. I then went to book club where we discussed The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee. I had to leave early to go to Tel Aviv to meet with my boss. I spent 45 minutes in the car and 20 minutes waiting for him to meet with me and then met with him for about 15 minutes and headed back for 45 minutes. I stopped at the grocery store and went home. Danya spent the day dozing and sleeping. Her fever went back up in the afternoon. Sunday I also noticed that Nadav's new shoes, which he hadn't really worn outside yet, seemed a little small. He wasn't so interested in them and tried to take them off each time I put them on him.
On Monday we had Danya stay home however she seemed all better. Josh, Danya, Nadav and I went back to the shoe store. We didn't have a receipt or the box from the shoes but they let us exchange the shoes for a pair that fit him better. I HIGHLY recommend you go to the shoe store in Country Center in Modiin if you live in the area. Can't beat their customer service! They told us if we weren't happy we could bring them back! We came back and I had a conference with Danya's teacher(her teacher had been in a car accident during conference time so it was a little belated) and then went home. Danya went to English in the afternoon and Jordy came home later. I dropped Jordy off at Moshe S. for a play date later. I had asked him what he wanted for dinner as I was on the way to the butcher. He said he wanted meatballs so I made pasta and meatballs. Of course Jordy didn't eat 1 meatball. So glad I made them for him. Danya and Josh enjoyed them and I think Nadav may have gotten a little taste before he threw them on the floor.
This morning I went with Lisa to the Cheper Kol in Yerushaliam to kick off Pesach season. I really am not ready to admit Pesach is coming and am not the type to panic about it or start more than a week in advance. That said it was good to go today as it wasn't really crowded and the lines weren't crazy. We bought everything we needed and headed home. I am proud to say that as of this point I am 10 shekel under last year. Nope, I don't have a crazy organized excel spreadsheet with each item I purchased over Pesach since I have been making Pesach for the past 3 years that includes the amounts spent at each store from each year. And I don't also have a list of all the menus I have made either. I guess this is why I don't panic because I am organized. Anyhow, this afternoon was the usual-kids at activities and home playing. I made pancakes for dinner which the kids were happy about. We did some Mad Libs. Jordy got his first Mad Libs from Bubs and Pops and he LOVES it. He thinks it is hysterical and he just figured out that you can use words such as fart, stupid and toilet. I should really video him reading or listening to the stories because he laughs so hard. Too cute! All the kids went to bed and I am all caught up so I am going to work.

Parade and Siddur Party

Friday was a busy day. There were errands to be run, laundry to be done, food to be cooked and a parade to attend. Last weeks "Ad Lo Yodeah", which is the name of the Purim parade, was postponed until this Friday. The weather was beautiful/hot. At 10am Nadav and I headed to the top of the street so we wouldn't be late. We didn't want to miss the beginning as our shul aka. the across the street shul, was leading the parade. More particularly Josh was leading the parade. Lets back track a bit. Around Rosh Hashanah time Josh was called and asked if he would be a Gabbi at the shul. There wasn't a lot of responsibility as there was another Gabbi. So he took the job. About a week later he received a call that as the Gabbi he is required to attend a meeting about Purim. He returned informing me that there would be a parade(this is the first time there has been a parade since we have lived here)and each shul/school/organization would be responsible for a float and since he is the Gabbi.... Someone(not sure who) from our shuls committee came up with the idea of leading the parade with a horse and having someone dress up as Mordechai on the horse and someone dressed up as Haman leading the horse. To add to the fun(I am sure Josh is going to kill me when he reads this) last week, before the original parade was canceled, Josh came home from shul one night carrying a costume. I asked what it was for and he informed me that it was the costume for the horse and it was his job to take it to the stable and make sure it fit the horse! Did I mention what a good sport Josh is??? Anyhow, back to Friday-so apparently someone else was supposed to be Mordechai however when the parade got postponed that person couldn't do it so guess who had to fill his spot and ride around the Yishuv on a horse leading the parade????? Yes, you guessed it.....
And here is a video:

Once Nadav spotted Josh he wanted Josh to hold him and he was going crazy crying the whole time calling "Dada". We walked with the parade and once it was over Nadav was happy. Here is a picture of Danya and Meira who had dressed up as twins(all the kids were in the parade as well and dressed up).
We returned home and the Shabbat prep continued. Robert was home for Shabbat as well. Friday night we had a nice dinner and everyone was awake to late.
Shabbat morning we were all up and dressed fast. I was asked to supervise the kids minyan that Danya and Jordy attend. The kids enjoyed it and I spent the hour trying to keep Nadav quiet and chasing him in the hallway. We returned home and ate lunch. After lunch Joel, Jordan and Tari came over to play Settlers. We then went on a walk over to the Balsams to celebrate Michali's birthday. We came home and Shabbat was ending. After Shabbat Danya went to a birthday party for a friend.
Sunday morning after the kids headed to school I went with Yocheved to Yerusahliam. We did some clothing shopping and took a stroll through the shuk. We also stopped at the grocery store on our way back. Nothing major in the afternoon. Josh headed to a softball game in the evening.
Monday morning I had playgroup at my house....kind of. Only one person showed up and they left after 10 minutes as their baby was awake since 5am. So there went that plan. Monday afternoon was the usual running around/activities.
Tuesday morning I went to my mosaics. It may not look like a lot of progress however I had to glue down a lot of pieces that had been placed previously. In the afternoon, after Jordy returned from swimming, Jordy and I headed out to his Misibat Siddur. The 2 hour show was very cute.

Jordy was so excited to get his new Siddur.
We came home and everyone got to bed eventually. Then I went with Lori to bring coffee to the soldiers. It was particularly nice as this group of soldiers was leaving this post the next day and they were so appreciative and thankful for their nightly coffee and cookies. Makes it all worthwhile.
This morning I took Nadav to the pediatrician. He has been walking with his toes pointed in and it seems to be getting worse so we figured we should check it out. We got a referral to an orthopedist and we were on our way. We stopped at Rami Levy and then came home. In the afternoon Danya was home until dance class. Jordy had Moshe S. over. We had dinner-schwarma and pita- and then the kids and Josh ran around the living room laughing. I then went to the doctor as my knee has been bothering me. The good news is that it isn't my knee but the muscle/joint and I just need to take some anti-inflammatory and take it easy for a few weeks.

Boring Day and Some Wine

Nothing majorly exciting happened today. Are you still reading? Nadav woke up at 5am for some reason but after a bottle of milk he went back to bed. After the kids went to school Josh, Nadav and I went to run a few errands. We dropped some clothes at the dry cleaners then stopped at the hardware store(which isn't JUST a hardware store). Nadav found a ball and ran around the store throwing it and chasing it. We then stopped at a shoe store that only sold black shoes. We took a ride to Modiin to get some money changed and then came home to get Nadav in for a nap. Jordy and Moshe S. came home and played and ate cereal before heading out to English class. Danya and Meira came home from school and played until Meria headed to art. The kids had dinner-Mac and Cheese and then Josh got them into bed while I attended a wine tasting at a neighbors-yum.

Bye Bye Bubs and Pops

So last week....I can't remember what we did on Wednesday but I know it involved cooking for Shabbat.
Thursday morning I ran a bunch of errands in Modiin. In the afternoon the kids got out of school early for the fast day and Bubs and Pops took them on an outing to a grocery store and they each got a present. They then returned and with Bubs supervision they cleaned the attic. We all had a yummy dinner of lox and bagels. More cooking took place and then bed.
Friday was Shabbat prep. Robert joined us for Shabbat and despite my best efforts we had a TON of food! We all ate well, drank well and slept well.
Shabbat morning the Gerson family joined us (minus Dov plus Adam, a culinary student) for lunch. We had a nice time and the kids played together nicely all afternoon. After Shabbat everyone else went to hear Megillah while Nadav and I hung out at home eating dinner(Nadav) and washing dishes(Me). After everyone came home, made havdallah and ate dinner I headed out to the late Megillah reading. After I returned I then assembled our Shalach manot. We did a Settlers of Catan theme since it seems to be the theme of our life lately. Note the Megillah and Gregor on the cover.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the game-go learn! Seriously folks-there are 5 resources in the game which you collect to buy things. Those 5 components are brick, wood, wheat, sheep and ore. So we sent out pretzels to represent the wood, red brick gummies for the brick, chocolate rock candies for the ore, puffed wheat and sheep shaped cookies.
Sunday morning I woke up early for the 7am Megillah and everyone else went to the 8am. Everyone then enjoyed the Kleiman shalach manot of bagels, cream cheese, lox and tuna. Yummy. Then we waited for the rain to slow so we could deliver shalach manot. The remainder of the afternoon was spent delivering and reciveing shalach manot and eating tons of junk. Here are a few pictures of the kids dressed up:




We had our Seudah which involved even more food and drinks. So much food. The Aronsons and Kleimans stopped by for dessert. Here is a video of Nadav doing the new trick that Danya and Jordy taught him. When you say Haman to him he pounds on the table and when you say Esther he stops. Cute huh?
Monday, since it was Shushan Purim, the kids had off of school. It took us a while to figure out what to do. We decided to head out to Holon to see their Purim parade which was postponed from Friday, due to the rain. Only problem was it took us a while to get out of the house and then there was traffic. So we arrived right as the parade ended. We walked around the area and Pops bought a GIANT soccer ball for the kids-Nadav was so excited!!! Then we stopped at the mall in Holon to get lunch since everyone was hungry. The mall was pretty crowded but we found a table in the food court and everyone got lunch. We headed back and Danya studied for a test and the boys played.
It was nice to have to kids return to school on Tuesday. I went to work on my mosaic in the morning. It doesn't look like I made much progress since last week but this time I started gluing and fitting the background. Hopefully it will be ready after Pesach. The afternoon was the usual carpools and playdates(for the kids). In the evening Bubs and Pops babysat and Josh and I went out to dinner. We couldn't decide where to go so we went to the mall where Josh got Chinese and I got grilled chicken. We then walked around a bit before heading home.
This morning Josh and Nadav decided to join my in-laws on their trip to Yerushaliam. I used the time to do some shopping. The kids returned from school. Danya went with Bubs and Pops for one last trip to the grocery store. We had a yummy dinner from Burgers Bar and then a great dessert in a day early celebration for Pops birthday. Eventually the boys said their goodbyes and went to sleep. Danya stayed awake until Bubs and Pops left at 10pm to say goodbye. We had a great time and are sorry to see them go. We'd also like to say an extra thank you to our cleaning lady, handyman, dishwasher, landscaper, laundry lady, babysitters, chauffeur, personal shoppers and bartender. We really appreciate everything you have done for us. We hope you get some rest now that vacation is over!