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.