Mazel Tov!

Apparently I come out of blog hibernation (if only I had been hibernating in real life rather than working, chasing my kids, exercising, shopping, doing laundry.....) for good news(don't give up on me yet-I may actually update the past month or so....maybe).  I am happy to announce the birth of my newest niece!  Meytal Tova was born to Lisa and Nafi yesterday.  You may remember Lisa and Nafi from Lisa's blog which is more outdated than mine(sorry Lisa).  My guess is that with the birth of their 5th child Lisa won't be updating the blog anytime soon.  Mazel tov to Meira, Moshe, Michali and Merav on their newest sister with an M name.  I have yet to meet her however Danya got to go to the hospital and was in awe of how cute and tiny she is(just over 5 pounds).

Here is a photo of Meytal that Lisa shared with us.  What a beautiful little princess!  

Now that I am out of blogging hiatus perhaps I will move on to Chanukah.  Perhaps.  

Stay at Home Jordy

Sunday morning Jordy woke up and said his throat hurt in addition to his fever.  I figured since the throat hurt we may as well get it checked out.  Even though I was scheduled to head back to work on Sunday I worked from home.  The doctor said Jordy did not have strep and we should wait it out a few days.
Monday Jordy was still sick so he stayed home with Josh and I headed back in to work.  I got a ride home from work just in time for the huge rain storm which made me realize I need to buy a new umbrella.  We were amazed to see pictures of the flooded Modiin mall online.
Today Jordy was still sick so he stayed home yet again.  The rest of the day was typical.  Work, dinner, shopping at Rami Levy(where I picked up an umbrella) and bed.

Welcome Home

Friday morning Josh and Danya were scheduled to arrive at 5:15am.  They arrived at the house at 6:50am-at which point Nadav and I had been up for an hour and a half.  We happily welcomed them and their 3 bags through the door.  After the initial "dig through the bags" and smalls bits and pieces of the trip all the kids(that's right, Danya wanted to go to school for the first time in her life)went to school.  I ran to the bakery and came home to get ready for Shabbat while Josh slept.  I woke him at 11:30 so he could teach his hockey chug.  Danya went to the Balsam's to reunite with Meira and Lisa's lasagna.  Jordy headed to his baseball chug and I picked up Nadav.  Danya fell asleep after her shower and slept until we woke her for dinner.  Shabbat was here before we knew it.  We had a nice, quiet dinner during which we tried to keep Danya awake.  Josh told us all about the trip.  We had a birthday cake for Josh's (belated) birthday for dessert and the Brodsky's came over later for dessert and drinks.
Shabbat morning Nadav woke up around 5 which was painful.  We tried to get him to go back to sleep but he wasn't interested.  I went downstairs and was so happy when Jordy woke up and played nicely with him so I could doze a little more.  Sleeping beauty woke up around 10.  We had kiddush and the kids played outside with Josh.  We ate a late lunch and then were heading out to take a walk when Aviah showed up.  She joined us(except Jordy who was playing with a friend) for a walk.  We got home just before the end of Shabbat.  After Shabbat the kids ate dinner and played Wii.  Jordy and Nadav watched Tom and Jerry and both fell asleep.  Danya and I went out for a walk/run.  When we got home Jordy woke up and wasn't feeling well so I gave him some Tylenol and he headed back to bed as did Danya.

Accident Free: 1 day

This morning Nadav woke me up telling me he needed to make on the potty. He went and we got him dressed and Jordy up. Nadav told me he wanted to go into gan by himself so I walked to the door with him but he hesitated and I noticed that neither of his teachers were there and there was a substitute who we hadn't seen before. So I escorted him in and we waited until his regular teacher showed up. I went home and began working. I ran out to the dry cleaners later in the morning but spent the rest of the day home until Nadav was done with gan. I picked him up and was shocked that he was in the same shorts that I sent him in this morning(side note-he has been insisting that he wears the same pair of shorts that have a drawstring which he calls tzittzit everyday). I took him straight to the Balsam's house where he happily made on the upstairs potty-the one belonging to "michali, my best friend in the whole world". He then went again before we left-way to go (no pun intended) Nadav! When we got home he wanted to get into his pajamas. Jordy's friends headed home and I made mac and cheese for dinner. Nadav went to sleep pretty quickly. Meira came over to babysit while I went to zumba. When I came home Jordy was all studied for his test but he had some Torah homework to do. He eventually went to bed and I finished work and am heading to bed.

Urine and Yakir

Dvora, you better be reading this and appreciating the subject! Yesterdays subject was boring so I decided to perk things up a bit. This morning I was surprised to hear from Nadav that he needed to make a pishy on the potty. Since he was sick last week he has shown no interest in potty training. After making on the potty I put him in underwear without a fight. I got the boys to school and then returned home to do some work and then headed to Modiin for a work meeting. I made a quick stop at the mall and was proud of myself that I did not buy an iced aroma. Jordy and his friends came home soon after and played for a while. Jordy and I went to get Nadav from gan where it was reported that he had 2 accidents through out the day. When we got home Nadav requested we change him into his pajamas. He was in his room when I head a splattering noise. I went in to find him completely naked peeing on the floor. The upside would have been that he didn't get any more clothes dirty if it weren't for the fact that he was peeing on a bag of clothes. I then proceeded to clean up the urine. Admit it, you wish your life was as glamorous as mine. Lori had called saying that Yakir really wanted to babysit for Nadav. For those of you who don't know Yakir he is 5 years old. So he came over after the pee episode to "babysit". He and Nadav played a little, watched TV a little and there was only 1 injury in the half hour he was over. Nadav and I then went to get Jordy from chug torani. Both boys came home to eat hot dogs. Nadav watched Tom and Jerry while Jordy and I did Jordy's homework. (Patting myself on the back for successfully typing 3 reports this week in hebrew). While Nadav was watching he announced that he was sad because he missed Daddy. It was cute as he said it with tears in his eyes. I quickly emailed Josh, who we haven't really talked to, and told him to call. Nadav was happy to talk to him and then fell right to sleep. Jordy chatted with Josh for a bit. A babysitter came over and watched Jordy and got him to bed while I went to zumba.

Boring

Not much to report today. I got the boys out and headed to Rami Levy. It was nice and empty and I was in and out in a half hour(I am sure that is some sort of record). I decided to be efficient and run a few other errands in the area however all the stores were closed. Then I went to a post office and the dry cleaners who didn't have my clothes ready yet. So much for being efficient. I came home and worked. I took my lunch break and ran back to the stores that I went to earlier. Jordy and a friend arrived at 3ish and played Wii for a while. I picked up Nadav and then his friend Rachaeli came over for a playdate. I think it was too much for him however as he was a disaster all afternoon/evening until he went to sleep. Jordy did a bunch of homework and he and I read together until bed time.

Back to Normal-ish

I was so happy that Nadav slept through the night last night! It was nice to sleep until 6:40am! Hooray! Even nicer to get the out the door. I went to zumba followed by working until 4. I picked up Nadav and he and I played and watched Madagascar. We then picked up Jordy at chug torani and headed to Pizza Mia for dinner which was only slightly disastrous. Nadav spilled Jordy's drink and only wanted to eat a lollipop for dinner. Jordy was mad we couldn't stop at the makolet to buy supergoal cards. We came home and Jordy and I worked on his homework while Nadav torn the living room apart. Eventually Nadav conked out and then Jordy happily watched TV until bed time. I returend to do some more work and am hoping for another good night sleep.

Feeling Better

Nadav woke up at 3am burning up again. A nice dose of Advil and he was back asleep. We got Jordy out the door and then watched Tom and Jerry until we left for Nadav's doctors appointment. He was rechecked and still just a virus. So we headed back home and I tried to get Nadav to do anything that didn't involve me so I could get some work done but I was pretty unsuccessful. In the good news department he was feeling better and back to his crazy old self. Jordy and Moshe B. returned in the afternoon. Later Josh and Danya called and we got to Skype with them and everyone at the Bar Mitzvah which was fun. We then went out to drop off some dry cleaning and pick up some things Jordy needed for school. We returned for homework and dinner and eventually bed time. Ahh-bed time.

Still Sick

Of course Nadav woke up in the middle of the night. He came to my room around 2 in need of a drink and more Advil. We went back to sleep until 7am when it was time to get Jordy moving. Nadav and I took Jordy to school and then headed to the bakery to pick up challah. When we got home Nadav announced that his throat hurt. I decided that it was time to take him to the doctor. They had an appointment in a half hour so we headed to Modiin where they said his throat was red but no strep. After we returned home Joel came over and we did the third step of the olive process(I think I forgot to mention that over sukkot we picked the olives on our trees and Josh had been soaking them in water to get them ready for the brine. Josh was concerned that with his being out of town I would not change the water daily so he asked Joel if we could move to the next step so I don't ruin the olives). It didn't take to long and now we have a bunch of jars of olives soaking in brine on the top of our kitchen cabinents. In a few months we should have edible olives. Jordy returned from baseball practice and then Josh and Danya called. (Sidenote-I had told Nadav that Josh and Danya went on an airplane and he keeps looking in the sky for them). It was good hearing from them and we are glad that they are having a good time. I gave Nadav a shower and he fell asleep in my bed a few minutes after. Then it started to hail(I forgot to mention that we got our first big rain the night before). This for some reason knocked out the power but it wasn't just our house, it was everyone and it was back on a few minutes later. Jordy got ready for Shabbat and then Shabbat began. Nadav was still asleep so Jordy and I played Monopoly until Nadav woke up. Then, even though it was still pretty early, Jordy was hungry so we ate dinner. Funny how when it is just me and Jordy eating(Nadav wasn't interested in eating) how dinner lasts 15 minutes. Jordy was really excited because he made kiddush and hamotzei. Jordy and Nadav were starting to fight with each other so I suggested we go on a walk. We headed to the Gerson's house and hung out there for around an hour. We came home and the boys went to sleep. I wanted to read for a while however moments after picking up my book I fell asleep. Nadav arrived in my room at 2:30 in need of a drink and more Advil-poor baby. He and I went back to sleep and woke up at 8:30 when Jordy came looking for us. We hung out at home and played Battleship. Jordy requested kiddush so I let him make kiddush and we had a little treat(no Josh, he didn't go to shul but he was a good helper so I figured he deserved it). We went over to the Block's a little later where we had a pot luck lunch. Jordy and Nadav were so happy to play with Eli and his friend. We had a lovely lunch and by the time it was over we only had a fewh ours left of Shabbat. Nadav and I walked Jordy to a friends house and then Nadav requested we go to Claudia's house so we stopped by over there for a bit. We came home and then Nadav fell asleep in my bed. I did a little reading and heard Jordy come home with his friend. I informed him that Nadav was sleeping and I was going to sleep too. I napped for an hour or so and Jordy woke me when Shabbat was over. Nadav was still asleep. Jordy was really excited to make havdallah which he did wonderfully. Nadav woke up a little later and both boys ate dinner and then watched Tom and Jerry in my bed for the remainder of the evening. I then got them into bed and went to wash the dishes. I heard coughing coming from Nadav and found he had thrown up in his bed. Good times.

Happy Birthday Josh

Thursday morning we started Josh's birthday early-waking up at 5:30am. He and Danya needed to be at the airport by 7 so my wonderful friend Claudia came over at 6:40am to babysit(not many people would offer to do that). Nadav was waking up as we were walking out the door to go to the airport so he came along too. I dropped Josh and Danya off and Nadav and I arrived just in time to take Jordy to school. We then returned home to spend a long day of watching TV. There was no napping and no work done. Jordy came home in the afternoon and did some homework. At one point in the afternoon he seemed upset that I told him he needed to do his homework before having a friend over and he was on the verge of a tantrum. He then stopped and said "it isn't fair for you if I don't behave because Daddy isn't here to help you". I almost fell over. I was very happily surprised! He later had Moshe B. over to play and Nadav and I walked to the makolet to buy milk. The boys ate some Wacky Mac and Nadav was falling asleep in my lap at 6:30pm(which makes sense since he went to sleep at close to 11 last night and was up at 6:30am with no nap). After he went to sleep I helped Jordy with the rest of his homework with Lanie's help(thanks again Lanie!). I then told him he could play Wii or watch TV until bedtime as I had to get some work done. Jordy happily played until bedtime and went to sleep nicely. I then continued to work until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

The One with the Expired Passport

After everyone left after Sukkot life went mostly back to normal. Work, school, laundry, shopping, homework-etc. On Thursday evening Josh took Danya to the photo store where she found out we were attempting to renew her expired passport(oops). We were hoping to get it expedited so she could join Josh in going to Boston the following week for her cousin Moshe's bar mitzvah. She was so overly excited as she has been begging for months to go. On Friday Nadav's gan attended a Hachnasat Sefer Torah and this is what he was wearing when I picked him up from gan:

Cute, huh? Saturday night Josh and I had to pay a shiva call followed by attending a Bar Mitzvah party. After the Bar mitzvah I met up with a few friends at the track to do a practice run for my upcoming 10k. I had a really good run but hurt my knee which was probably not a good thing. We had an appointment at the American Embassy on Monday and were hoping for the best. We went to the embassy(Josh, Danya and I as both parents are required to accommodate a child under 16). It took quite a while but Danya was jumping out of her skin when they said they would have the passport ready in 3 hours! Hooray! Later that evening I told Jordy that they would be going and he would be allowed to choose any Wii game he wanted for them to bring back to him. He was OK with this. Tuesday after work I headed straight to the Nike Tel Aviv 10K Night Run. I was running a little late(no pun intended) for the 8pm start and got there as the first shift was starting and the second shift was lining up at the start. I found a few of my friends and we were off. Thankfully my knee didn't bother me at all during the race however it was really crowded and I didn't do as well as I would have liked. I finished in 1 hour 6 minutes and 18 seconds. It took us a ridiculous amount of time to get out of the race area, to our car and back home. I got home at 11:40 and still needed to eat and shower. Wednesday was a super busy day. I left work a little early so I could run a couple errands prior to Josh and Danya leaving. I got home in time to get dinner for the kids and I did some laundry(Josh had also done some during the day) and get Danya packed. During dinner Nadav announced that he didn't feel so good(which explained why he hadn't been causing trouble up until that point). Sure enough he had a fever. I gave him some Advil and hoped for the best. I went to zumba and when I returned helped get the finishing touches on the packing. Nadav was still awake until around 11 as the Advil made him all better. Danya didn't go to sleep until around midnight-which I was hoping would make her tired on the plan the next day.

Drum Roll Please

I know that the postings here haven't been up to par and for that I apologize-apparently 24 hours in a day aren't enough for me. Some people complain about the lack of updates and I usually joke that they are welcome to write it and then the complaints stop because really nobody has time However when my father-in-law-aka Pops mentioned that I hadn't posted in a while I told him he was welcome to write the blog and guess what? He and my mother-in-law aka Bubs did! So with no further ado I give you Sukkot and beyond: OUR LIFE—SPECIAL GUEST BLOGGERS—Bubs and Pops ( formerly Buts and Pots ( with help from Arica who has the better memory) We arrived on 10/11 and Josh picked us up at the airport for the ride back to Hamor street and the house. Needless to say Danya and Jordy were very happy to see us and of course the 2.5 suitcasees full of presents and other goodies. Bashful Nadav quickly warmed up once he received his special pair of socks”tie-jump rope-earmuffs-gloves–puppet” combo gift. I had my favorite herring that Arica had waiting for me and she informed me that it was the custom in ISRAEL to eat matjes herring, with its special aroma, outside in a succah..regardless of what time of the year it is. (Ed. Note-if you smelled it you would have sent it out too) I have never heard of that before but... ( it was a fine, beautiful every nite here and Cats family seemed to be enjoying the great weather also). Wed was erev yomtov – and shopping and putting the final touches to the Succah and Bubs did laundry, of course. Dinner was great and more food then we could eat. Arica let Bubs make her meat balls and Danya helped.. Strange that all the great food Arica prepared was eaten by everyone but her….great will power or was there something …??..Naw. Thursday was shul and lunch with the Balsam family in celebration of Danya's belated birthday.

Lunch was followed by walks and playing games. Thursday night was Yomtov for us but the kids helped us with the computer and videos. Friday our Israeli friends, the Kliemans and the Flanzers, came to see us for more food and good drinks in the Succah. For Shabbat, Zenia was here and we had a frolicking good time. Did I say how nice the weather was this whole time and how Josh and Arica welcomed us and made us feel so comfortable even tho we probably overstayed our welcome (the same rigermarole and hulabaloo as usual). After Shabbat we stayed around the house and did lots of good things.( who remembers exactly what any more ) and Bubs did laundry Sunday it was off to get our rental car and we took Danya and Jordy and Nadav to Chatzi CHEENOM, near Petach Tikvah (Ed. Note-it was in Hod Hasharon).. the largest supermarket we have ever seen with a huge selection of everything especially olives. We had to buy many varieties because they looked and tasted great. The kids found a toy store there so we looked around and they picked some things they never had before. We had to be home by 5 in order to leave for the great BBQ at Toodies house. Traffic was horrible going there but the food and drink was well worth it. We saw a lot of relatives we have heard about and seen on facebook, but now we actually met them. We had a Great time and it was nice to be there.

Ride home was much faster and then Bubs did laundry. Monday—Weizman Institute, ( long walk from the parking lot as they did not know what they were doing, after all, what are they, rocket scientists? ) circus ( ? ) acts, experiments, ice cream and Nadav showing his true colors. After that, we drove to the only IKEA now in Israel and tried to get in and have dinner. After much pushing and maneuvering it was great.. and cheap and fun and the kids ate plenty. Off to home via the 431 to Modiin. Bubs did laundry later that nite. (Ed. Note-while Bubs and Pops were chasing the kids around my Mom and I went shopping and then Josh joined us for dinner at Teriyaki). Tuesday— Went to a Yeshiva succah carnival in E Jerusalem

and then a tour of east Jerusalem.

Lots of good history and the story of how Jerusalem was won back in the 67 war. Lots of walking but the everyone made it. Extra credit to Arica who did extra running after Nadav.Then drove back to the old city and a visit to Davids Citadel for a special light show on the history of the city.( Nadav had enough history for one day so Arica had to make sure he did not bother everyone else.) Drove back to Modiin and to Ristratto for dinner and our favorite salads in their Succah ( men only) Everyone had a good dinner followed by ice cream. Left and went back home for sleep and Bubs did laundry. Wednesday—air show( if you could call it that ) In Tel Aviv—garbage park,( closed but very smelly ) shopping. Visited with Neal and Beata Rothner while Jordy picked a bushel of Clemintine tangerines from the fruit trees in their backyard, then back to Josh and Arica's to get ready for Yomtov. Bubs did laundry. We had dinner in the shul with the community and heard (as opposed to understood) speaches in hebrew. Thursday—Yom tov—Josh was honored with Chatan Torah at shul so we had to have a laChaim. Games, walks, sleep, and good food that Arica did not eat(Ed. Note-Arica ate plenty). Zenia made eggplant for her favorite son in law and everyone loved it ,Lucky Josh. Friday-off to Teretz Tzvi—On the way we stopped for falafel which we took to the beach to eat. We made it to the kibbutz just in time because Shabbat was at 4:30—FOOD was damn good and plentiful –the Sfardi Bar Mitzvah was fun to watch.. walked around after dinner and Josh relived his stay there some years ago. Shabbat---Lunch at 10:30 am where we celebrated Nadav's 3rd birthday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY NADAV

---TT tour learned about dates, date museum, horses, history, meat packing info, and a litte nap before Shlosh Seudot. After Shabbat, Arica and Nadav went back home for work and Gan on Sunday –It was very considerate of Nadav on the ride home, to make sure Arica did not fall asleep ---- and we went to Tiberias—game room—ice cream— a long ride— and some funny “BUBS stories”, Jordy did have a good time also but Bubs could not find a Laundromat. Josh and I smoked our cigars at night with a beautiful evening, no flies and very very quiet. We spent some quality time talking about moving back to TT. (Ed. Note-this is the first I am hearing about such plans and I have no such plans) Sunday—Big Breakfast—Nature Park with bikes, golf cart,bike paths, gravel paths ( their map would get you lost ) , old watch tower with great views, fish ponds, corn fields, swimming pools, watching the Chasidim go in the water with all their clothes on, rock climbing, minyan making, snacks in the car, route 6 and home for laundry. Great place and we burned lots of calories.

The kids had dinner with Zenia as she was leaving that nite and taking the left over eggplant with her. (Ed Note-we celebrated Nadav's birthday yet again with the remaining cupcakes)

We met the Kliemans for dinner at Gachalim ( charcoals ) in the Yishboro center,--- VERY GOOD.\ food Monday— Kids were off to school and we went to Jerusalem, Kotel, shopping, Light Rail , parking ticket,( the meter was broken..lets hope Josh can get it fixed –(the ticket that is, not the meter)had dinner with Flanzers at a sopping mall near the central bus station in Jerusalem. Back to the house to say goodbye to Zenia and Bubs did laundry Tuesday.. I went early to TA to meet Nocky and bike ride from Bet Yam to Sde Dov airport, Bubs did laundry, packed, and cleaned the kids rooms. We went to lunch with the Aronsons at Angelos in Modiin. For dinner we picked up some kabobs, chicken knockknockim ( hot dogs ) burgers and then grilled dinner with kids, packing, looooooooooong nite for flight home . Thanks to Josh and Arica for making us feel at home and to Danya, Jordy and Nadav for never fighting or arguing or whining whenever we went someplace or bought them presents. See you soon. If you enjoyed this guest blog please let us know and we will arrange for other guest bloggers. Thanks Bubs and Pops for the guest blog! Also a special thanks to Bubs, Pops and Savta who all came and showered the kids with attention and gifts and in some cases literally showered them. Thank you for the cooking, cleaning, laundry(can you guess who did that one), dishes, shopping, entertainment, house repairs, cigars, wine-you name it we are grateful! Also thanks to Saba, who couldn't come but sent Savta! We look forward to your next visit!

Thanks to Josh for posting about our tiyul up North! I am going to do a summarized post about everything from after the tiyul until the chaggim, so get ready! After our return we spent Shabbat recuperating from the trip. Sunday morning Danya headed out to her Bnei Akiva "machaneh" which was a 2 day/1 night trip....somewhere(I can't remember where she went but she had a good time and a lot of dirty laundry). Sunday brought my return to working in Raanana. It also brought us to the week where we scramble to get everyone ready for school. On Wednsday I worked from home so I would be able to escort Nadav to his new gan orientation. He seemed happy enough playing in the gan and eating cupcakes that he decorated with frosting and candy(who wouldn't be?). Notice how messy he is and how nice and clean Pnina is. He was a bit disturbed that one of his friends, Keren, wasn't in his gan as she moved away, and kept asking for her. Thursday, September 1st, brought the first day of school. Danya began 5th grade, Jordy 3rd and Nadav trom trom(preschool I think). Everyone had a good day and enjoyed school(I know-this doesn't last to long). The next month we fell into the routine of school again. Playdates, chuggim and work for me and Josh. Luckily for me my boss headed to the States the week before Rosh Hashanah which meant I was able to work from home. This came in handy as I am not sure how we would have had anything to eat over Rosh Hashanah if I hadn't been home. Rosh Hashanah was very nice. We had a lot of food with wonderful friends and family. I actually got to spend some time in shul thanks to the fact that Danya and Jordy kept their eyes on Nadav a bit and the fact that we live across the street from shul. A few days later we celebrated Danya's birthday-HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANYA!!! Since 3 of her 4 grandparents were coming in town for Sukkot we decided to postpone her family birthday celebration until their arrival. Yom Kippur was a few days later. I didn't get to spend as much time in shul as I did on Rosh Hashanah however Danya and Jordy did watch Nadav during the break so Josh and I got to nap and since it was over so early it was ok. Since the kids were on vacation beginning erev Yom Kippur poor Josh had to entertain them while I was at work. On Sunday he took all 3 to a hockey tornument in Rishon Letzion. On Monday Danya headed out on yet anotehr Bnei Akiva trip/overnighter. Monday afternoon Savta arrived all prepared to help out with the kids on Tuesday so Josh could get some work done-thanks Savta!

On Tuesday Bubs and Pops arrived all prepared to help out with the kids and even better.....to guest blog! Stay tuned for Pops guest blog of Sukkot.

Tiyul North Day 3

Friday morning we all got up, ate breakfast, packed and headed out. The plan was to head in the direction of Chashmonaim but make a stop along the way for a few hours. I found a place in Carmiel called Park Hamishpacha (family park). We spent a few hours there and all had a great time.





In the area were some shops, restaurants, and a mall so after a few hours at the park we walked around and got some pizza and some really stale corn nuts.
We stopped at a candy store to round out the tiyul (that's probably the only thing the kids will remember about the whole experience) and headed home for Shabbat.

Tiyul North Day 2

Everyone was awake around 7:30ish. I went to shul while Arica got the kids ready. We met at breakfast a little after 8. One thing about Beit Sefer Sadeh is that they have a good breakfast. We ate pretty well and made sandwiches for lunch. The plan for today was to meet the Gerson's later in the morning and we would go to Nachal Snir together. Since we had most of the morning to kill, we decided to do part of the Har Meron trail. The entire trail is about 2 - 3 hours around the mounatin, but we drove to the top and walked to another scenic overlook about 15 minutes from where we parked.


We walked back to the car and started to make our way to Nachal Snir, about an hour away. We drove through some more mountains and made it there a few minutes after the Gerson's. We parked the car and immediately (after some bathroom breaks) started the hike.







The hike lasted about 3 hours and we had a great time. After the hike, Seth, Dov and I walked back to the beginning to get the cars and meet everyone at a gas station a few minutes away. An hour before we left for the tiyul on Wed, I saw the guy who organized the tiyul last year and he told of a lesser known river where you can park, walk about 20 minutes and if you have inner tubes, put them in the water and tube back to the parking lot. Us and the Gerson's decided to go there next even though we didn't have inner tubes, although we probably could have bought them where we were. It was a 10 min drive and we ended up doing 1 run down the river. It was actually pretty fun w/o tubes, but would have been 10x better with. Maybe next year. After that, we parted ways with the Gerson's as they were heading home. We still had one more day to go, including dinner at Esh Besh, a really good meat restaurant in Kiryat Shmona. Luckily for us (but unlucky for the Gerson's), they tried going there the night before but were told the next table was not for another 2 hours. When we talked to them on Wed. night, they said we should call and make reservations. We did, and had a table when we arrived at 6. The meat was really good. Next time you're in Kiryat Shomona, try and get there but call first!
After dinner we headed back to Meron and everyone was asleep soon after. I want to point out that there exist in Israel wild boars. I did not know this until I went to the car Wed. night after we arrived and heard the sounds of someone or something rustling through the garbage cans nearby. When I went to go see, I saw 4 or 5 of these things looking for food. Here is what they look like (I did not take this picture):
They are large and supposedly not so friendly. When I told our neighbors about it a few days later, they said that they sometimes see them in the Wadi right outside our Yishuv. The noise of them knocking over the garbage cans right outside our room woke me up in the middle of the night. Good thing they don't know how to open doors.

Sorry, dear...(and day 1 of our Trip North)

I (Josh) promised Arica I'd update the blog with the trip details but haven't sat down to do it yet. For all those who may have blamed Arica for not posting, did you judge too soon???? That's what I thought...keep that in mind as the Day of Judgement approaches.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
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It's now time to talk about our much anticipated tiyul to the North (of Israel). This tiyul was probably about 4 months in the making. We knew we'd probably take a tiyul up North toward the end of the summer, but the dates were up in the air, especially once Arica started working full time. After the nine days, we looked at a calendar and decided to go from Aug 24th - 26th. Both Arica and I would only miss 2 days of work and we'd be back home a few hours before Shabbat. (Arica ended up getting paid for those days off, which was good news, especially after the 2 dinners we ate out during the trip.) I was in charge of the itinerary for the tiyul. I knew we would stay at a Beit Sefer Sadeh, since we stayed at one last year (Tuesday, August 17, 2010). Since we stayed on the West Coast of Israel last time, I decided to stay more toward the center and decided on the Beit Sefer Sadeh in Har Meiron. Here is a map of where we started and where we were going.

I knew we couldn't drive all the way there initially, so I decided to find something to do along the way to break up the trip. I had heard of a place called "Gan Hashlosha". The plan was to drive there, spend a few hours swimming, and then go to Tavaria for dinner. 2 Days before our tiyul, I came across a place very similar to Gan Hashlosha called Ganei Chuga. It had small slides in the water and an omega that you can slide down into the water. This sounded a little more kid friendly, so I decided to go there instead. We packed up the car and were on the road by about 10:15.
We took a little bit of an unconventional route...(directly through the West Bank of the Jordan River). The road is pretty mountainous and we had some great views along the way. At one point we stopped at a scenic overlook (I know you love the term "scenic overlook", but I can't take credit for it. We passed many "scenic overlooks" during a road trip to South Dakota that I took with my parents, Bubby Lil, Matthew and Pierre when I was about 13. There were no blogs back then, but I did take some great video which maybe I'll post one day).

The picture of course does not do justice to the view, so you'll have to come see it for yourselves. After about another 1.5 hours of driving, we arrived at Ganei Chuga. This place was as nice as it looked on their website and we ended up spending close to 5 hours there.






We left at about 5PM and headed to Tavaria for dinner. After checking E-luna, I decided to go to Cherry. We parked right across the street from the restaurant and looked around at the nearby stores for a few minutes. We bought sunglasses for Jordy and Nadav and a few pairs of underwear for Jordy. I think he wanted to be just like his father and decided that packing one pair would be enough. After a very good dinner, we walked toward the Kinneret, glancing at all the sidewalk shops and people along the way. We stood looking at the Kinneret as the sun was setting behind us. As a side note, we always talk about saving water at home and how the Kinneret is running low on water. Jordy had conjured up an image that the Kinneret was "the size of the kiddie pool at Nili". Needless to say, he was pretty surprised at how big the Kinneret actually was. We then went to get ice cream and headed back to the car.



It took about an hour to get to where we were staying. The ride was mountainous again so I had to drive slow, especially since it was pitch black. We stopped at a certain point to get out of the car and look at the stars. We finally got there, unloaded the car and went to bed.

Testing...testing...1,2,3

Is this thing on? Ok, see next post.

Wine and Water

Here we go again- I am not going to even try to attempt catching up. Nadav has been going to a private little "camp" that has kept him busy while I work and Josh has been entertaining Danya and Jordy in the mornings. I stop working to pick Nadav up from camp and then work again after he goes to sleep. That has been the routine. The only things that stick out are the things that I have photos of. They are:

1) Trip number 1 to the beach this summer. We ended up meeting the Gerson's at the Hertziliyah beach and had a great time despite some sunburn.

2) Josh and I went with the Bordsky's to the Jerusalem Wine Festival. We had a wonderful time however the details are fuzzy. Since Darrell and Leah, who were staying by us, were babysitting we were able to stay until the end and then head out to dinner making it a very long evening and a very hard time working the next morning. Look how happy we all look despite the fact that our glasses are empty(or maybe because our glasses are empty):

3) Trip number two to the beach. This time Rishon. Danya spent most the time in the water and helping Jordy seach for seashells.

Josh figured out a way to get Nadav to sit still:

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Today was a busy day but not much really happened. Nadav was awake early-as is his lovely little habit. I tried to get him to fall back asleep in my bed but at some point I noticed my bed was wet and when I opened my eyes he said "make a pishy in my diaper in Ima's bed". That got me out of bed. I did some work in the earlier hours while everyone was getting up and eating breakfast. When Josh got home from shul I headed to Rami Levy where I survived the Thursday morning shopping. I even hit the meat counter and the cheese counter and made it home in an hour. Not bad. I worked the rest of the morning/early afternoon while Josh and Jordy attempted to keep Nadav out of my room. Danya returned from camp a little crabby as she had a sleepover the night before. Yakir and Tamar came over to play with Jordy and Danya. Nadav was terrorizing everyone so when I took a break from work he and I went on a walk and then invited Lisa to bring Merav over. She arrived with Merav and Michali. Then Nadav spent the afternoon terrorizing Merav. The funny part was that even with all the hitting and pinching etc Merav said she had fun! Michali stayed a little later to play with the bigger kids. Tamar and Yakir stayed for dinner and I got Nadav to sleep. Jordy went to the Gerson's for a sleepover and with Nadav asleep and Danya fading fast I returned to work. Of course Nadav woke up again at 10 but then went right back to sleep. Lets hope he stays that way until at least 7. A girl can hope, can't she?

Another One Bites The Dust

Can you believe it? I am posting again. And....drumroll please-there are pictures! Wow! Even I am surprised.
Monday morning, erev tishab'av Danya had a Bnei Akiva activity VERY early-at 4:30am. We had her set her alarm and she was supposed to walk however I woke up and heard her downstairs. I went downstairs and saw she was a little hessitant about walking in the dark so I bumped up my status from being the worst mom to super mom because I drove her. Note to the Bnei Akiva organizers-parents do not want to wake up at 4:00am the day before a fast. Better yet, parents never want to wake up at 4:00am. Ever. When we woke up later, like 7am, Nadav headed off to his last day at gan. Jordy had his last day at camp and Danya was wide awake and home around 8 so she also went to camp. Nadav's day ended early due to the fast so he was home by 1:00pm. Danya was kind of tired and crabby most the day. Later in the afternoon I was working and all the kids were watching Tom and Jerry in my room:

Not much later Nadav was in the kitchen causing trouble. When I walked out for a minute and returned he was happily splashing water on the laptop. Uh oh. That is the second laptop we lost in 2 weeks. I seriously need some backup. We ate the pre-fast meal and then Josh headed to shul while I got Nadav to bed. Danya was very tired and angry that she had to go to sleep before her "annoying brother". In protest she made a sign that she hung on her door:

The 3 Weeks

Ugh, 3 weeks behind. How apropos considering we are heading into Tisha B'Av. Here we go again! So much has been going on yet I can hardly remember what. The biggest thing is that my boss went to the States for 5 week and during those five week I get to {drum roll} work from home! Hooray!!! It has been great so far. Nothing like rolling out of bed and being at work. Plus I save about 3 hours a day commute time. Ahhh. So nice. My parents went back to Chicago but we had a nice visit with them. The kids spent a lot of time with them and they really seemed to enjoy settling into their house. Danya and Jordy finished camp. They each now go to a small private camp but that all ends this week. Tomorrow is Nadav's last day of gan which is also not good news for anyone. He is going to be sad as are Josh and I. Life is about to change. We also have some house guests. Josh's friend from high school, Darrell Cohn and his wife Leah made Aliyah this week and are staying with us on and off for a while until their apartment is ready. Danya has requested they give up the apartment and live with us forever. In other news our solar panels were installed last week. They aren't up and running just yet but we are getting there. We had quite a noisy week last week as they installed them.

One night Jordy fell asleep downstairs and I had to take a picture because he looked like this:

I know it isn't much but at least Danya will not be able to say "when are you going to update the blog???"

Another Day

In attempt to get back to the blog(read:avoid hate mail)I am blogging for the second day in a row. Don't get to used to it.
This morning Nadav woke up around 5am. After tossing and turning in my bed for a while and kicking me in the eye Josh got up with him and I went back to sleep. Then Danya and her friend woke up at some point and Josh went back to sleep. I got up and got everyone out-Nadav to gan and Danya, her friend, and Jordy to camp. I came home and worked for an hour and a half and then headed to the Gerson's for my ride. I got home around 7:15pm and everyone was finishing dinner. Jordy had Moshe S. over for a sleepover. Apparently while playing Nadav stuck something in the Wii and broke it. Josh spent a large part of his evening trying to fix it. Once Nadav finally fell asleep at close to 9 I headed out to Rami Levy for a big grocery shop. When I returned at 10:20pm Danya was still awake. I sent her to bed and unpacked the groceries. Now it's time for bed.

Short and Sweet

I am not going to even attempt a complete update. I am going to stick with the highlights(which are either written on my calendar, have photographs to remind me or stick out in my sleep deprived brain). In no particular order:


One day Nadav was sad when I left for work so he drew a picture for me-with Sharpies on our front door. If you'd like to see the masterpiece in person it is still here(mostly because we haven't had time to attempt cleaning it).

The school year came to a close. Danya and Jordy each had a closing program. It turns out that they both had a tiyul to the same place a few days apart. Both times the tiyul was many hours. I got to go twice :) The day Jordy and Moshe's was the day before the Balsam's moved into their new house so I got to take Jordy and Moshe.

Camp began and from day 1 Danya and Jordy hated it. I think they are finally getting into it and not as miserable as they had been but I feel bad that they aren't having fun.
Saba and Savta came to town(and apparently I haven't taken any pictures this trip). I have really only seen them on Shabbat for the most part but the kids have spent a bunch of time with them. Danya and Jordy each got to have a sleepover there with their cousins which included a trip to the mall for dinner and a gift and then sleeping over.
Nadav has gone back to his super crazy sleep schedule going to bed after 10 most nights and waking up before 6. We decided it was time to forget the sleep doctors advice and started giving him the melatonin again and we are all happier for it. In other Nadav news-he is really funny when he isn't destroying the house. He was really upset the other day because I had a band-aid on my foot for a blister. He kept saying "Ima-yesh lecah a boo boo?".
On the work front-the job is still great. The commute is getting better, mostly thanks to Seth and his company car. Luckily Josh is doing a wonderful job of working full time and holding down the fort. I am sure there is more to report but I was never going to catch up completely so this will have to do.