Too tired to write. It’s almost 11:30 at night. Just got back home with Eric from a show that we went to see. The actors were deaf and blind. It was interesting but not something that I would go to again.
Anyway, I am not going to write much. I just wanted to write that my first cousin here, Avivit, just had a daughter tonight! It was an easy birth, especially compared to the last one, and the baby and mom are doing great! She sounded really wonderful when I spoke to her on the phone tonight.
I’ll write more tomorrow.
I didn’t post last night about Talia’s siddur party so let me catch you up. First of all, in the past years it’s been held at the Kotel. I was totally psyched for it to be there and everyone told me that this was the reason I had made Aliyah, so my child could get her siddur at the Kotel. Well, this year they changed it. I am not sure of all the reasons, since they were all in Hebrew but I think the gist is that it is too complicated to organize and that the weather could be bad. It turned out to be a rainy and cold day, so it was good it wasn’t there.
So Eric’s mom, Lois, went on the bus with Talia and Eric and I drove. We got there at the same time as the bus and we all went inside Heichal Shlomo and stood in a cold entrance and ate our breakfast for close to an hour. I don’t know why everyone couldn’t have eaten at home!! It was good that I packed something for Talia to eat on a whim. So she had a yogurt while everyone else had their sandwiches. It was hysterical. We had all just eaten breakfast. It is known that Israeli kids don’t eat breakfast and that is why we have ארוחת אשר at school. So they ate and then we spent a few hours going on a tour of the museum. They had games for the kids at each place that they took them to and a project for them to do at their last station. It was verrrry long and verrry drawn out. By the time we got to the ceremony where the kids sang and did their parts and got their siddurs it was 5 hours after we had left the yishuv!! By then the kids were hungry, the adults were hungry and we had all had it. At one point Talia turned to me and asked me when they were just going to sing their songs and get their siddurs. It was a really good thing that Ben went to school and didn’t come with us and that I had anticipated being there late and scheduled a play date for him.
Anyway, Talia sang beautifully and she said her part beautifully. It was funny b/c she said it with 3 other girls and when they said it it sounded nothing like how we practiced it! The way it was accented was completely different. She sounded like such an Israeli and all the kids up there singing in Hebrew, it was beautiful. My kids are Israelis!!!
Keren was adorable during the whole ceremony. She was clapping her hands!! I am going to put the pictures up tomorrow night so you can see them. We also have some video that I would like to attach but it’s kind of long so we’ll see how Eric tells me to do it…
After the ceremony we went downstairs to that entrance way, again, and ate cupcakes. Each parents made 15 cupcakes. Then we hung out in Jerusalem a little. We went out to eat a very late lunch (at 3) and then walked around to just a few shops since it was so cold and came back and picked up Ben. I napped in the car, of course, on the way back. I don’t think I am ever awake the whole ride home from Jerusalem.
Today was an exciting day. First of all, I got to sleep late (thank you Eric and Lois!) and then I went to sign up for ulpan. I signed Eric up too when I saw one of the traveling husbands there. I thought if he could do it then so could Eric. I also got my grade from my exam…. 92!! So proud.
After that we took Lois to a shuk in Tel Aviv so she could get some souvenirs for people back in LA. We walked around for a bit. It was a beautiful day, the first in a long time, and we just enjoyed the weather and the pretty city. We came back to Modiin and got some coffee before we had to pick Ben up from school.
After we picked Ben up Eric wanted to show his mom one of the houses that he had looked at, the one he looked at without me. So we went there even though I really didn’t want to see the house since I knew I would fall in love with it and want to buy it and then we wouldn’t be able to afford it and I would be sad. Of course, I know myself so well, I fell in love with it and I want to buy it and we can’t afford to buy it unless we sell the house in America or figure something out with the bank (a miracle?) and I am so sad.
We picked Talia up and on the way picked up the mail and saw that our Israeli driver licenses came!! Yipee. That was really exciting. Then we went to the Judiaca store in Modiin only to find it closed. We had wanted to check out the arts and crafts store nearby b/c they were supposed to be selling the cheapest costumes around. We saw what they had but didn’t buy anything b/c Channah said she has a closet full of costumes and we should come pick one out there. We did go to another store right after that, though, to get Ben the rifle that he was dying for that I said I would buy him closer to Purim. We also needed a birthday gift that I owed Talia’s friend for a week now. So that was good that we got that done.
Coming back home a little after 4, as we pulled into the yishuv I realized that it was Monday and Ben had Karate and I forgot about it and I forgot to pick up Eitan!!!! Ahhhh!! So I called Robin and she wasn’t home so we ran to drop Ben off and then I called Robin to apologize and tell her that I would take her other sons to karate and pick up Eitan and Ben from karate and bring them home. She was happy since she had a lot going on anyway today and her husband isn’t around.
When we came home Talia had a friend at home and I did some linens and Lois and I fed the kids while Eric worked and then put them to sleep and then I went to take my first tennis lesson!! I haven’t played in so long and 3 girls and I went to play with a pro and it was a blast!! They were all very nice women, all from Modiin, and we were all basically on the same level. I could tell that we were all out of practice but were once very good. There was one woman there that was older that i can see we will be better than in a couple months time but nevertheless we all played nicely tonight. We are going to continue with the lessons for a couple more times and then I think we are just going to play.
Meanwhile, I am completely out of shape, my backhand SUCKS big time and as I write this my feet and other parts of my body are aching like crazy. I won’t be able to move tomorrow, I am sure!!
When I got home Eric took Lois to the airport. We are all sad to see her go. It was too short of a visit. We hope that she will come back soon!! It was nice to have her here.
Crazy weekend, crazy storms!! Apparently people were aware that there was going to be a crazy storm on Friday night and that they should secure all loose items outside. Well, we did not know this tidbit of information since we have no TV and I wasn’t in the car at all on Friday to listen to the news. So, Friday night came and there was an insane storm, practically a hurricane, and it ripped apart our brand new shed that we are still making payments on. It picked it up and moved it, with all the bikes and stuff in it, and just twisted it and tore it to pieces. I spent most of the day today mourning its loss. We also discovered a leak in our ceiling in the living room. Nothing too major.
Other than that, Shabbat was nice. We had my friend Jere for lunch and then seudat shlishit we had Eric’s friend and his wife who were staying by Channah for Shabbat. They have a little boy who is 2 months older than Keren and they were playing together and they were so cute!
Friday Eric went to his rent-a-cop class, the last of them, to shoot some guns. He said it was fun. I cooked a bit while he was gone with his mom.
In the afternoon they took Talia and Ben to Tel Aviv to the shuk. They all seemed to have fun. I stayed back and did some cooking and some resting (but mostly cooking) and Keren took a short nap.
I know that we need the water but I hope that tomorrow is nice so that we can enjoy our day in Jerusalem.
Today we got an early start and after the kids went to school and Keren finally woke up (she slept through now that her ears aren’t bothering her) after 8, we went food shopping. I stopped in at the place that I like to get my chickens and bought them while Lois waited in the car. I just found out that they don’t sell chicken breast on the bone in that store. I don’t know if they do sell it elsewhere and just not there but they did sell it there. So I bought a while chicken and did a fine job of cutting it apart so Lois could have white meat chicken to eat for Shabbat if I do say so myself!! i wanted to show Lois that we do have beautiful big supermarkets in the area so next we went to Modiin and we shopped there for a little while. On the way back Keren fell asleep and Lois stayed in the car with her while I went to one more place.
When we came home I put Keren in her bed and she stayed asleep and I started cooking for Shabbat and Lois went to lie down since she hadn’t slept the night before AT ALL!! Seriously, she said she slept from 10-11:30 and then she was up the rest of the night. I don’t know how she is functioning at all!!
When they both woke up my cleaning man came. We are trying a new day and time and I think it’s working out. The winds shifted and we were getting some really warm air here. So Lois fed Keren her lunch and then took her for a walk and picked Ben up from school. When they came home we decided to get out of the way of the cleaning man and we went out for lunch with Ben. We went to a falafel place here in Modiin. It was good!!! Ben ate almost an entire half! He ordered his with chummus and pickles. So cute.
We came home and started making the challah for Shabbat. Talia came home shortly after that. It was the weirdest thing, there was a sand/dust storm outside. We had the windows and doors open and everything was being covered in sand. It was also very eery. You could look directly at the sun and it kind of looked like the moon with all the sand in the air.
We all hung out baking and making challah, etc. Ben’s friend Chen came over and they went to the park next door to play. Talia joined them shortly after and they were out there for a while. Then they went to Chen’s house and I ran to take the cleaning man to the bus station and left Lois feeding Keren the rest of her dinner.
We all got back from our various locations and we braided the challah, ate dinner, took showers and went to sleep.
Keren is in a much better mood since her medicine has kicked in although she is quite gassy and it is the cutest thing!!
I am basically waiting up tonight for Eric to call me and say he’s landed. I am so tired and I just want to get into bed. That’s not happening. His flight looks to be coming in 10 minutes early, I’ll take what I can get. The kids think he’s coming home during the day tomorrow. They are going to be so surprised when they see him in the morning.
Lastly, I don’t remember if I blogged this yet, Keren got her 3rd tooth in a couple of days ago. It is her top left tooth, I believe. Yay!
Okay, I have to start off with the latest news that I just received, that being that ulpan was just extended starting this month and going until July!! I can’t believe it! I am going to go Monday morning and see what the story is. It also means I have to figure out what to do with Keren on weeks that Eric is not around since she has been very difficult lately when I take her to class with me since she is so old. Even if I only go on weeks that Eric is home and don’t go when he isn’t, this is great. I am so happy to be able to learn more Hebrew!
So today was a really long day. Last night was a long one. Keren woke up screaming and wouldn’t stop even after I held her for a while. I couldn’t get her back to sleep. I finally did and I was exhausted this morning when I woke up.
After the kids went to school I took Eric’s mom to the mall in Modiin and we did some shopping. We came home and I went to get my eyebrows done while she fed and played with Keren. Then I put Keren in for a nap and she went to get Ben from school. We were having a big BBQ here this evening with friends that live in Modiin and friends who are visiting on their pilot trip. So Ben and Eric’s mom made cupcakes for dessert. While they were baking I took a nap!!
The next thing I knew, Talia came upstairs to wake me up to tell me that her friend sat on her bag and broke it. I came downstairs and fixed her bag and got ready for the BBQ. This was my first time using the BBQ for something other than hot dogs so it was good that Eric’s mother was here to help me and make sure I didn’t burn the food. I did forget to take the plastic off some of the hot dogs though. Woops. Anyway, I was worried that maybe Keren had an ear infection again so I called to make an appointment and they said the doctor didn’t have any appointments available and that I could see another doctor. So I said that I needed to see him b/c we like him adn I have a baby who is in pain and this doctor that I like won’t be in until Sunday or maybe even Monday, etc. I was so Israeli. I got the appointment!! So the appointment was for 5:10 and my company was there. So Lois said she would run across the street with her and take her to the doctor. Turns out that she has another ear infection, or maybe this one just never went away. Who knows? So I had the company and a miserable child and thank goodness Lois was here to help cook and clean up b/c I had to hold Keren most of the time.
When they left at 7:30 I took Keren to get the medicine for her ears and Lois stayed back and put the kids to sleep and started cleaning up. I felt bad that she was working so hard, which is funny b/c if it was my mother helping me I wouldn’t have felt so bad.
I came home just before 8 and kissed the kids goodnight and gave Keren her medicine and nursed her and put her to sleep. Then I finished cleaning up and I am so tired!
Oh, I don’t know if I wrote that I cleaned off the license plate number and the gate to the yishuv still wouldn’t open for me. SO then I took a black marker and went over the numbers on the plate and it still didn’t work (even though the security guard promised it would). Anyway, I totally gave up on it but then tonight it worked!! The guard even wished me a mazel tov! Only in Israel!!
I knew it!! I said that when Eric’s mom gets here it was going to be rainy and cold and it is!! My parents came and that was the one week that it was cold and rainy and after that it was unseasonably warm and sunny with no rain almost all of January. Last week we had one day that we had to put on short sleeves, it was so warm. My mother-in-law comes yesterday and, to quote a professor I used to have in college, “bam, just like that”, it is cold and rainy!! Totally stinks.
So today we went to a cafe for breakfast with Keren while Talia and Ben were in school. Then we came home and put Keren in for a nap and we watched the latest two episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. Keren woke up after that and we went to some stores that I wanted to show Eric’s mom. One of them being a spice store that sells a ton of baking goods that I knew she would enjoy. She totally enjoyed!
We ran an errand to the change store so she could change money and we got some gas and then we came home and gave Keren her lunch and hung out for a bit until Talia came home. After that I took her over to her English chug while Lois watched Keren again. Then we waited for Ben to come home at 4. They all played together while I relaxed and then i totally forgot that my friend was coming over with her two boys while her daughter was at swimming lessons here. It was nice to see her b/c although she used to come over all the time, she hasn’t been over in a while.
The left and Talia came home and we fed the kids and put them to sleep. Keren was soooo tired tonight. She slept through the night again, this time only waking up once and crying. Ben was also dry after only taking him to the bathroom around 10. I am going to try it again tonight and pray that he stays dry. It’s already close to 10 so I can make it up. I am hoping that Keren will sleep through tonight without crying at all. We’ll see. That would be incredible. I am just happy that I didn’t have to get out of bed once last night! Amazing. Oh, the little things we take for granted.
After all the kids were in bed we ate dinner and then went online and looked at some cake websites. We are stranded here with no TV because the cable box in America that the slingbox is hooked up to is broken and no one is home there to call Cablevision to fix it!! Totally stinks. I want Eric to move it to my parents house since theirs seems to be more relilable. So cake websites was the next best thing, I guess.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a little
The countdown is over, Eric’s mom has arrived!! It’s so nice to see her. The kids are so happy!!
The day started the same as usual. Got the kids to school and then Keren and I ran to the supermarket to do a quick shop. We came home and she took a very short nap and we straightened up the house a little in anticipation of my mother-in-law coming. I tried to get her to nap again but it didn’t work. So I cooked a little for dinner and then went to get Ben from school.
Ben and Keren ate lunch and then we went to pick Talia up and off to the airport it was!
We got there with plenty of time to spare since her flight was delayed 20 minutes and we got ice cream, as I had promised them and waited. Ben had to pee so I took him and just as I thought she was going to come out, he had to go to the bathroom again!! This time for a bit longer. So I left Talia to wait for her and took Keren and Ben and when I came back she was there with Talia.
We came back to the yishuv just on time for Ben’s karate class. So I dropped Talia, Ben and Lois off there since Ben wanted bubby to see him and Talia wasn’t going to miss out either and I took Keren home and made part two of dinner.
They walked home and came in around 5 and we ate and did homework and got the kids to sleep. This evening I was supposed to have a tennis lesson with 3 other women from Modiin. I was VERY excited, to say the least. I got ready and sat down on the couch to feed Keren and I thought I might as well check my e-mail while I was nursing and I saw an e-mail from the girl who was organizing it apologising and saying she guesses it was meant to start next week. Not so sure what happened but assume she screwed up in some way. So sad!! So, I hung out in the kitchen talking to Eric’s mom and catching up. Then I sent her to take a shower and to bed since she hadn’t slept on the 14 hour flight over from LA!!!!! She said she hung out with the flight attendants! Too funny!
Just a side note. We have 2 gates to our yishuv. One is for non residents and you have to see the guard and he decides whether to let you in or not (they always let you in). The other one is for residents and you go to the mazkirut and they photocopy your license and registration and then the gate opens automatically for you. So I did this when I was driving my grandfather’s car with no problems. When Eric went to do it for our car it never worked! So they told us to wait, that they had to update the computer system. So we’ve been trying it every so often and when it doesn’t work we have to back up and hope there is no one behind us who might be annoyed and go through the other gate. Today I decided to try it this morning and it didn’t work. So I backed up (there was no one behind me) and I asked him what the story was and he told me to clean the license plate off and it would work. So I went home and, like an idiot, cleaned it off knowing full well that it wouldnt’ work. When we got back from the airport I decided to try it again. of course it didn’t work, but this time there were about 5 cars behind me and they were all annoyed at me and it was a very stressful situation to try to get them all to back up and let me go the other way. Oy!! SO this time he told me that the numbers are not clear on the license plate b/c some of them have parts that are scraped off and I should color the numbers in with black marker!! So, like an idiot, I did when I got home. I don’t think that it’s going to work, even though he told me that it would 100% work. I am going to try it again tomorrow morning, when there is not so much traffic coming into the yishuv and I’ll post whether it works now!
Not much went on today. I should start by writing that Ben kept his bed dry last night again. I only took him to the bathroom at 9:30 before I went to sleep and he lasted the whole night! Kol Hakavod!! Keren also only kvetched once at 12 and then slept until 5. Kol Hakavod!!
This morning Ben woke me up to tell me that he was dry. Then we got dressed and had breakfast. The girls slept in. I felt bad dragging Talia out of bed. She slept while I got Ben ready for school and then she woke up as I was about to leave with him. I left her eating breakfast and Keren sleeping while I took him to school. Then I came back and took Talia when she was ready.
After getting Keren ready we went to a woman’s house on the yishuv who was having a breakfast for new olim. It was very nice. I meet some people that I didn’t know yet and schmoozed with people I did know. It filled the morning so that was nice. We left as Keren was rubbing her eyes. I had to kick a cat out of her stroller so we could walk home, ewww!!
Keren then went in for a nap and slept until it was time to pick Ben up from school!! Ben came home and Talia shortly thereafter. We hung out and made signs to hold up in the airport tomorrow for Eric’s mom. Then the kids took their bikes to Talia’s English chug and Ben and I went home but stopped at the mailboxes first, always a big exciting thing to do here.
After English Talia had a birthday party to go to. It started t 4:30 and I thought that was totally normal and then I realized that I have become totally Israeli b/c I would NEVER have thought that going to a birthday party on a week night at 4:30 was normal last February!! Ben’s friend Chen stopped by for a little while which was great b/c I got to clean up the kitchen and take a breather for a few minutes and Ben was happy to have the company while Talia was gone.
After she left Ben, Keren and I ate our chicken while Talia was out and then Ben took a shower and we went to pick her up after the party was over.
I just finished cleaning up and making lunches for tomorrow for the kids. We are going to get my mother-in-law as soon as Talia gets out of school. I told her she has to pack up her bag and run right out of there and hop in the car so we make it on time. Usually she is the last one out of school, the big schmoozer! We are so excited!!
So Friday I was reaaaaalllly tired all day. I couldn’t fall asleep the night before and then Keren was up a bunch of times and then Ben wet his bed again for the second night in a row or something like that, i can’t even keep track anymore. So the kids walked to school and I got back into bed but of course Keren woke up 10 minutes later. We snuggled for a bit and the got up and started our day. We went to the flower store to pick up flowers for Shabbat and then we came home and straightened up a bit and then she went in for a nap and Talia came home (I cannot catch a nap anywhere).
We packed up and we left to Ramat Beit Shemesh around 2:30ish. I didn’t know where we were going and I was afraid it was going to take me a while to get there and they make early Shabbat there according to Jerusalem. We got there with no problem and settled in nicely. Let me just say the kids had a BLAST!!!! The people that we stayed by we know from camp. They have 4 kids all around my kids’ ages but not exactly. So they all played together most of the time and it was great. They were so busy.
Friday night we lit candles and a couple of people walked over. One of them lives next door and I know for a while. It was nice to see her and see how they are doing since we both moved here this summer. Anyway, my friend who we were staying by had 5 of her girls over that she teaches in yeshivah. They were all very nice. The kids were running around like nuts and having a blast. At one point the kids of the family that we went to were sitting on their father’s lap while they were singing a zemer. Ben went onto his lap also and sang with them. It was so sweet. Today he asked me if they were going to ”bench”. I asked him why he was asking, did he want to sing a zemer and sit on their dad’s lap again. He said yes! So cute.
By the time the meal ended and I got them to sleep it was about 9:30. I put them all in and then got into bed myself around 10. Keren and I shared a room and Talia and Ben shared a room. Around 12 Keren made some noises and I stuck her pacifier in her mouth. I was glad that she had woken me up b/c I knew I had to take Ben to the bathroom a couple of times b/c I really didn’t want him to have an accident in some one’s house. So I took him and went back to sleep. Next thing I know it’s 2:30 and Talia is in my room waking me up telling me that she is nauseous and has to throw up!! So we go into the bathroom and we are trying to be really quiet and I decided to get Ben and take him to the bathroom again just to be safe as long as I am up. So he is peeing and then Talia starts to vomit and there is nowhere to vomit since he is peeing and she vomits all over herself and the floor. So I carry Ben back to bed and then start running all over the house looking for something to clean the vomit up with. The bathroom was small so the vomit is all over and the two of us are slipping and sliding on vomit. It was lovely. Then Talia gets naked and goes into the shower b/c she is smelly. Of course Keren starts crying at this point. As I was about to cry she stopped crying and I was able to shower Talia and put on a pair of Ben’s pjs (I didn’t bring extra for her but I did for Ben) on her and clean up the bathroom and get everyone back to bed. Keren never even wound up waking up again and slept through the night (OF COURSE!!)
In the morning Talia felt fine and I explained to my friend why she heard the water running in the middle of the night. She couldn’t believe it. I felt bad that she now has to wash the rugs that were in her bathroom but I folded them up neatly and put them into her laundry room.
We all went to shul around 10, just as it was over. The kids woke up and played nicely in the morning and ate breakfast before Keren and I made it down around 8. After shul I went to see my other friend’s apartment and meet her husband and children who I had never met. They weren’t there but she showed me around her apt.
We then went home for lunch. For lunch they had another family whose husband/father was also away. It was very nice.
Ben started to melt down a bit after lunch. He wanted some candy that some of the kids had who were outside and he was just being unreasonable. I read to him and to some of the other kids. At 3:30 they have a rotating tehillim group for girls. The kids both went with my friend, she said Ben could go, and I went to rest for a little since Keren was napping. As I got into bed and took out my book Keren woke up!! Why does she do this to me?? She didn’t love the pack n’ play and she wouldn’t sleep in it for more than half an hour (other than at night). So we snuggled in bed for a while and then went downstairs and joined everyone outside.
Talia was having a great time jumping rope with some kids from the neighborhood. Ben was watching. When he saw me come down he came over and we played ball together.
We went up and had seudat shlishit and then havdallah shortly after that. I packed up and we left and the kids were home and in bed by 7:30 tonight. They were ZONKED. Ben and Keren were asleep after 5 minutes in the car. They kept saying what a great time they had and that they want to go back again. Ben was complaining in bed tonight that he wanted to be there and asked more than once why we couldn’t stay there another night. They were so cute.
Anyway, that’s how our weekend was. Now I am just watching some Slingbox and waiting up so that I can take Ben to the bathroom soon.
Today, my first official day without ulpan, I totally hung out.
After dropping the kids off at school, Keren and I went to the supermarket. There is apparently no one at the supermarket at 8 and by 8:30 we were home, and that included going to the deli counter which usually takes 30 minutes just waiting there.
I gave Keren breakfast and we hung out and then I put her into bed and got back into bed myself. Unfortunately, half an hour later as I was starting to doze off, Keren woke up?!?!?! So that was the end of that. We took a walk since we had nothing else to do and then went to the makolet since I forgot to get the kids their milkies (choc. pudding snack with whipped cream on top) and then we walked to the park and hung out there. Then we came home and hung out some more. Getting the picture?
After I picked Ben up we came home and made some lunch and then started the long process of making a new pizza dough that I got the recipe for online. It is a whole wheat dough. It took all day with all the rising it had to do but in the end it came out pretty good. We played for a bit outside since it was another beautiful day.
Talia came home a little after 4 and Rinat was waiting here for her. They all played together nicely. Keren, who really hadn’t slept much was in a surprisingly good mood and she hung out as well.
We all ate our yummy pizza together and then around 5:30 I took Rinat home.
When we came home I fed Keren while the kids painted at the kitchen table.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll get a nap…