Shabbat was very nice.  Friday night the kids were kind of going a little bit nuts so dinner wasn’t so nice with them.  My mom bought artichokes at the shuk in Tel Aviv last week and we made them and had them after our gefilte fish.  When Eric and I started eating ours we found bugs in ours!  My parents didn’t have any bugs in theirs, though.  It was kind of gross.  Also, my mom and I decided to try the Israeli gefilte fish.   It wasn’t bad, actually.  Not the same as A&B but good enough and much much more inexpensive.  I think I’ll try another brand next week though.

Shabbat for lunch we went out to friends.  It was very nice.  They had their parents over so they invited us also since they knew my parents were here also.  We had a great time.  My parents were especially happy because they had schnapps there and my parents have bad colds and claim that it whiskey has medicinal value!  They even took some home in a flask!!  So embarrassing.

Talia stayed there and the rest of us got home a little bit before 4.  We hung out until Shabbat was over and then after Shabbat the kids ate and soon after that we got them into bed.  Talia was having a hard time going to sleep because she found out that my parents were leaving Monday morning and she was really really upset.  She was crying for a long time.  She said she wanted to move back to America and live with my parents.  When I called her bluff and said fine, we would move back to America, she changed her story and said she would rather have my parents move here.  So it seems that she likes it here!!  I am so happy.

Last night my family had wanted us to come to them in Petach Tikavah.  My parents were feeling so lousy that we decided to stay in and watch the movies that Eric brought home from America.   We started the first movie and half way through it we lost the sound!  So we watched the second movie, which wasn’t all that good.  Oh well.

Today, Sunday, the kids went to school and I slept late.  It was so nice.  Then we went with Keren and my parents to the mall in Modiin and bought a few gifts for my parents to bring home for people and had some brunch.  It was very nice.

The kids just came home from school a little while ago and Ben is playing here while my dad took Talia out for a bike ride and then he’s going to take her to her English chug.  We are having my grandparents, my Aunt Suzie and 4 of my dad’s relatives come around 4 for tea and cake.  Just my dad’s relatives were supposed to come but my parents are leaving in the morning and my grandparents and aunt were upset they couldn’t go to their house last night because they weren’t feeling well so they are coming over tonight.  So, it will be another afternoon of entertaining for us…

Yesterday my parents went into Yerushalayim while Eric went to a Bris and the kids and I went to our respective schools.  In the afternoon I baked with Ben since we are going out for lunch tomorrow and I wanted to bring her some dessert and Talia went to her swim chug.  Then in the evening we went to a restaurant in Modiin that was recommended to me by one of the guys who I go to ulpan with.  It was amazing!  They put a million and one salads and french fries and hot lafa bread on the table when we were ordering and they were all you can eat.  Every time we finished something they would ask us if we wanted more.  They also gave us water and lemonade and kept refilling them as well.  The kids LOVED it.  We each ordered 2 Skewers of food but we had a hard time finishing it since we had had so many salads.  The food was delicious.  I had chicken livers and a kabob.  YUMMY!!  Definitely somewhere we will be revisiting.  We were joking that we should have just ordered 1 skewer of food for all of us and left since everything else was free

When we got home we put the kids to sleep and my friend Jere came over to schmooze and meet my parents.  While she was here I baked more cookies for my friend.

Today my dad took the kids to school and then we left him home with the baby and we ran out to do some errands with my mom while the kids were in school.  On the way back I noticed some guys playing cricket on the baseball field we have here.  I ran in and told my dad, who was all excited, and I took him over there to play with them a little.  He had a great time.

Now the kids are home from school and my parents are playing with them.  It will be Shabbat in a couple of hours and I am going to go get everyone organized.

I will make this another quick one since I am zonked and I have to go to sleep and Keren is screaming in her bed and I have to go to her too.

Yesterday was a LONG one!!  Ben had his cooking chug and I had given the car to my parents for the day and of course the woman who runs the chug called and told me I had to take one of the kids to the chug!!  I had to scramble and find him a ride and then find a ride for Ben b/c I essentially dropped out of the car pool when this whole thing happened.  Whatever.  Then Talia came home with a friend and Ben came home and Talia went out to her chug with her friend and then before I knew it my cousins came over and my parents came home.  I wound up ordering in pizza from the local place nearby.  They dind’t leave until close to 9 and the kids didn’t get to sleep until then!!  It was crazy.

Today my mom came to ulpan with me, it was great!  She came in the middle and stayed until the end.  We had so much fun.  Today we listened to the news in Hebrew and I understood almost all of it.  My Hebrew is really coming along.  I was so proud. 

We did a quick shopping after school and then went to get Ben.  I went out once more to pick up some chicken for Shabbat and then we basically waited most of the afternoon until my father’s family came to visit.  My Savta and Aunt Suzie also came, as it is Wednesday and the day my Savta usually comes.  My dad’s family didn’t come until 5 and stayed until 7 (instead of the original agreed upon time of 4-6 b/c my dad gave them directions and they wound up almost in Yerushalayim) and it was another late night.

For some reason my grandmother seems to think that if she buys the kids noisy toys they will like them better.   For Chanukah she bought Ben a toy gun that shoots and yells at you!  Today she came with a tank that also makes all kinds of noises!  She won’t get the hint either.  This time I came right out and said to Ben that he has to put it away and only play with it at Savta’s house!!  So she said, here is the return receipt, you can exchange it.  So then I felt bad and told her I was kidding!!!  What’s up with the noisy toys and my grandmother?!?!

Keren took a bottle today for the first time.  My dad got her to do it.  I have mixed emotions about it b/c I want to nurse her but then again if she starts taking a bottle I will be able to leave her with a babysitter from time to time and go out and not have to worry about rushing back for her.

I hope she sleeps tonight!!

So the kids are totally freaked out about what’s going on here.  It’s really terrible. They got wind of what’s happening and I think that when I heard there was an arab running around and stabbing people in the town right next door and I closed all the windows and locked the doors in the middle of the day, that’s when they really started to worry!  After that I tried to relax and to assure them that we are FAR AWAY from the fighting.  Still, I was peppered with questions throughout the afternoon and before bedtime.  I am sure someone is going to wake me up tonight!

On a lighter note Ben did say something HYSTERICAL tonight.  He asked me about the rocks and bone marrow that the Arabs are supposedly using to hurt the jews.  I asked him to explain to me what bone marrow was.  After him repeating the same thing over and over he said that it’s what Uncle Elie and Zach have.  A bone marrow!  i finally understood him to mean bow and arrow!!  It was so funny.

Yesterday we took the kids to a magic show that they had here on the yishuv.  It was adorable.  The magician was really fantastic.  I guess it must have been sponsored by the Chabad here b/c we had to listen to this Rabbi for the first 30 minutes making brachot and talking about all kinds of stuff.  He had his kids up there with him.  It was quite boring.  He did, however, tell a story about the Jews not being able to celebrate Chanukah b/c of the persecution and how one family got some potatoes and cut them in halves to form a menorah and they took margarine and burned it as oil and took their pjs and cut them up for wicks.  When we got home Talia was able to tell me the story that he told.  I couldn’t believe that she understood it all.  When I was looking at her it didn’t seem like she was even listening.  I couldn’t believe that she got all of it.  The funny part was when I asked her what they used as oil she told me butter even though the rabbi said margarina.  That was cute.

So after that we went to the mall in Modiin for lunch and then we hung out a little bit b/c we found out that there was going to be a project for the kids to do in the mall at 4.  One of Talia’s teachers was running the program.  The kids had a great time doing the projects.

This morning when I woke up my dad told me that my mom was throwing up last night!  More vomit.  I can’t take it!  If we get sick I am going to be really upset.  My body can’t take it any more.  So the kids hung out in the morning and watched tv and played and my dad and I went to pick up the glass top that we had made for my kitchen table  and then we ran to the supermarket to pick up some things we needed here.

We came home and I made latkes for the last time this Chanukah, which we ate for lunch, and then the 4 of us went to Latrun and we left my mom to rest on the couch.  We had a nice time.

Tomorrow it is back to school for us!  I think my parents might be going to Yerushalayim if my mom is feeling better.  It s supposed to be a really gross day out, though, so I’m not sure what their plans are going to be…

 Here are the Chanukah pictures we’ve taken so far:

So Shabbat was nice.  It was a full house!  Lucky for us, our house here in Israel is much bigger than the house in America and we have room for everyone as long as we put Talia and Ben in the same bedroom.

Anyway, Friday night was very nice.  We ate at our NEW dining room table and it sat all of us very comfortably, and the table was closed!!  Also, I was able to use my tablecloths that I haven’t been able to use in a long time b/c we were using the two folding tables together as a square and I only had 1 tablecloth that fit.  So it was nice to see another tablecloth for a change!

Shabbat they went to shul and wound up at a hashkama minyan, I think.  I am not sure what happened but when they got there they said that the minyan was taking out the Torah already so they were told to go downstairs where the minyan was starting.  Then when they finished davening they saw another minyan (probably the main minyan) davening upstairs.  I think they just got to shul too early.  SO they were home by 10:25 am!!!  Meanwhile, I had sent the kids there and they totally missed each other.  So I made my dad go back and find them.  Then the kids came home without my parents…  Eventually they all found each other!

We all relaxed and played with the kids for a while and then we ate around 12:30.  We played some more until 4, at which time we went to a friend of mine from camp who we were invited to for cake and tea.  We stayed there until Shabbat was over.

My grandparents left tonight and my parents did too!!  I thought that my aunt and uncle and cousins were all going to come here but then in the end my dad wanted to go there, I think, and “hit the town.”  He’s been at my house now since Thursday night and I didn’t want him to go stir crazy so I thought it was a good idea.  So I tucked the kids in and I cleaned up from Shabbat and threw in two loads of laundry, I gave the floors a quick wash and now Keren and I are hanging out and it’s nice and quiet!!  So I think that even though I felt kind of abandoned that in the end it was a good idea and I am enjoying my time. 

Last night Keren was up at 1, 3:30 and 6!!  I know that she is teething but it’s nuts!!  I think I might give her a banana to eat before she goes to sleep tonight.  I don’t know what else to do with her.

So my parents are here!!

Last night I got them from the airport and showed them around the house and then we talked for a little before going to sleep.  Of course I didn’t get into bed until 12!  Then Keren woke up around 12:15 and again at 4, of course.

When I woke up in the morning and came downstairs the kids were watching tv with my mom and my mom was giving Cheerios to Keren one by one. I asked my mom if she fed her anything else and she said no so I scooped her up and fed a very hungry Keren her breakfast and then put her in for a nap.

The day was spent going to the makolet, the bakery and cooking for Shabbat, while my mom and dad took the kids on a bike ride and the kids showed them where their schools are, etc.

My grandparents are now here as well and the house is rocking and I have to go heat up the soup and do the last minute things before Shabbat.  I think the rest of my family is planning on coming over after Shabbat and I think it’s going to be a LONG weekend!!  I assume the kids won’t get much sleep again on Sat. night so I am going to have to make sure they get into bed on time tonight!!  Don’t want those little monsters to come back again!

So today was a really really long day!  It was a very cold and rainy day here and there wasn’t much going on here.   Eric ran out in the morning with Ben to pick up some vegetables for Shabbat and Talia and I stayed home and did some cooking together.  Talia has taken to peeling vegetables.  She enjoys the peeler and, to date, still has all her skin intact on her little fingers.

The rest of the day we all kind of hung out.  The kids were happy playing together with minimal fighting.  I had an appointment at the doctor with Keren this afternoon because her eyes have been all gooky for the past few days.  Of course by this afternoon when she woke up from her nap her eyes were significantly better so I felt stupid when I got there and had little to show her.  She prescribed a cream and drops but I told her that since she’s doing so much better that maybe I would wait a few days before I do anything like stick cream into her eyes.

Anyway, this evening we had another party!  What else is new?  We had a chanukat habayit in the neighborhood.  We got there a little after 6 and by 7 we were out the door, as planned!  I couldn’t do another late night with the kids tonight.  We came home, put them to sleep and I fed Keren and put her to sleep and now I am waiting to take Eric to the airport and pick my parents up.  The kids are so excited that I didn’t think they would be able to fall asleep tonight! 

While Eric is away I am supposed to buy a car!!  The car that we looked at should be back from the Mazda dealership and be all fixed up by Sunday and I am supposed to go and give them the credit cards and sign the paperwork and then take the car home!!  No pressure on me!!

Haven’t been so great about writing.  I feel like I am slipping.  So many late nights lately and no time to write now that the kids are on break from school!!

Yesterday we hung out during the day.  We did a bunch of projects at home and just hung out.  Eric took the car that we are interested in buying to the garage to have it looked at just to make sure it’s okay to buy.  Ben took a short nap in the morning which was good b/c he was such a zombie because Keren woke up at 5:45 in the morning and I thought she might go back to sleep if I let her cry it out instead of feeding her.  Not only did I have to eventually go down and feed her, but she woke Talia and Ben up and they were up for the day! 

In the evening we went to my aunt and uncle in Hod Hasharon for a big family chanukah party.  It turns out that I made both my cousins sick!  I assume it was me since I prepped all the food on Sunday and they came over and ate it!  So Avi was sick on Monday night but he was able to make it to the party on Tues night.  Avivit, however, came down with it Tues evening and not only couldn’t she come but she called her husband back to the house with their child b/c she couldn’t be there alone while she was sick.  Not sure what he could have done for her other than moral support but I guess we all handle vomiting differently!!    I felt so bad!!  The party was very nice.  There were a ton of people there.  We didn’t get home until 11:00.  When we got home I had to clean up the mess from dinner.  I made the kids latkes so that they had something to eat before we left to the party, which only started at 7 (which really meant 8).  We left the house, and kitchen especially, in such a mess and the cleaning man was coming at 7 the next morning.  I basically didn’t get to sleep until close to 1.

Oh, at the party Eric asked my uncle what the garage said about the car because they gave him a report and he had no clue what the report said or what the guys at the garage said since it was all in Hebrew.   It turns out there is a lot wrong with the car!  A lot more than Eric first understood.  Today when he went back to the place, though, they said that they would take care of it all and fix it up for us.  I really hope to have the car by the weekend! 

Today we had plans to go to Yerushalayim to the zoo with friends from camp that live in RBS (Ramat Beit Shemesh).  Unfortunately, it was a really rainy and gross day.  So we made plans for them to come here and go to a paint your own pottery store.  When we got there we found out that we needed a reservation!!  So it was back to the art store (again!) to find stuff of our own to paint.  Luckily we didn’t have to spend money on the paints since I had just bought some the day before!!  So the kids all painted happily and made a mess on my newly cleaned floors.  Then we had lunch and they left shortly after.  Eric went to take care of some of the shopping and by some stroke of luck I was able to get all 3 kids in for a nap at the same time.  I sat down on the couch to check my mail and realized that I could also take the opportunity to sleep!!  I DID!!  I got into bed with Talia and napped!!  yay!!

This evening we went to our friend Channah’s house for another party.  This one was called for 5:45, much kid friendlier time, and the kids had a blast.  Actually, Talia left to go to a pj party and then came back after to join us again.  It was very nice.

Oh, our dining room table came today!!  It is very pretty.  I am excited about it.  Now we just have to order chairs when we can scrape together some more money. 

Other news, if you haven’t already heard, Eric passed his road test! Yay!  He barely passed it.  We can’t figure out why he almost didn’t since he said he drove great and it was only for 5 minutes.  But the important thing is that he passed!  Phew.  Check another thing off the list.

Funny Ben story:  He saw a dog walking when we was coming home from school on Monday with Eric and he said it was a boy dog.  Eric asked him how he knew and he said: “Because I see his big fat balls hanging down!”  he said it very very matter of factly, which is what made it SO cute and not SO gross/rude.

I have cute pics of the kids that I will have to get around to posting, hopefully tomorrow. 

My parents come in tomorrow night.  We are all really excited!  Eric leaves tomorrow night.  We are all really sad!

The weather here is miserable.  Cold and rainy.  We need the rain so I guess it’s good.

Ok.  That’s enough for now.

So here’s what’s been going on:  We’ve been sick!!!  Eric first on Friday night and me next last night!  It’s been a really stinky weekend here at the Mandel house.  Friday night Eric came home from shul, made kiddush, ate fish and soup and then told me he wasn’t feeling well and went upstairs.  That was the end of him.  I ate with the kids and put them to bed and Eric starting throwing up around 11.  I made sure to sleep with Talia that night so I wouldn’t get sick.  HA!

Yesterday (Sunday) we went to see our new dining room table.  We picked out a stain for it and it’s going to be here by Wednesday (I hope).  Then we ran some errands together.  We came home and the kids came home from school and we prepped for our BBQ.  We invited my cousins and their spouses for a Chanukah/Birthday/Anniversary.  We prepared for a while and then all of a sudden around 6 I started feeling unwell and that was the end of me for the night!  Unlike Eric, I was sick many times, too many to count.  I missed the whole party downstairs and Eric had to entertain everyone himself.  So sad for both of us.

This morning the kids had their last day of school before their Chanukah vacation.  Eric took them to school and then went to take his driving test again.  So far no word on if he passed or not.  Anyway, he left Keren here and she woke up around 8:30 and I dragged myself out of bed and got her and plopped her on the floor and she played happily while I layed on the couch like a lump until Eric came home and fed her. 

The rest of my day was spent drinking and laying on the couch while the kids played around me. 

I hope the rest of Chanukah is better than my first day!!  Meanwhile, as Talia went to sleep she said her stomach is starting to hurt her…

So last night was NUTS!!  Ben woke up around 1:30 and the vomiting began!  He woke up crying and calling me and I came down to a bed full of vomit.  Ewwwwwwww.  So I cleaned it up and cleaned him up and went back to bed and a few minutes later he had done it again.  Another change of the bedding in the middle of the night.  Then the diarrhea began as well.  Let’s jus leave it at that.  Iwon’t get into any more detail.  Let me just say that I had to change my pajamas at one point and wash the bottom of my feet too!  Once again, Ewwwwwwww.  This went on until 4am.  I literally got no sleep.  Once I got into bed finally for the last time, Keren woke up!  I think I slept from 4:30 – 6:55. 

This morning, after getting Talia off to school and Ben back into bed this morning I fed Keren and then got into bed and slept until noon!  I ran to ulpan to find out what I missed and then came home and took care of Ben and Keren while Eric went out and bought a car!!  Yay!  He put money down and on Sunday we are going to the car place to look at it and take into a garage to make sure it’s okay and checks out and then it’s all ours after a few more things like insurance, etc.  So I hope to have the car in our posession  some time next week, if all goes well.

Talia had swim today and I had to do carpool.  Then she came home and her Hebrew tutor came and then we all went out to Robin’s house to see Leora and Jeffrey and have birthday dinner for Eric and Robin’s daughter Zahava.  It was very nice.  Ben wasn’t feeling so well and spent most of the time on the couch.  He seemed better this afternoon but then when we got there he didn’t look so good all of a sudden.  He went to sleep saying he wants to go to school tomorrow so we’ll see how he’s doing.

I ran out after I got the kids tucked in tonight to the supermarket (with Keren) to pick up stuff for Shabbat.  Eric didn’t have time today and I wanted to get it done so that tomorrow I could start cooking first thing in the morning.  I think Leora and Jeffrey are going to come over to see our house and I wanted to be able to at least put the soup up before they came in the morning and if I didn’t have chicken I couldn’t do that.   The supermarket was PACKED and I was glad that I learned the words for who’s last in line in Hebrew in ulpan.  There were so many people there that they were just kind of standing haphazardly all over but we all knew who was next for the register!  It was funny.  Kind of a you-had-to-be-there moment. 

One funny story about Talia’s play date yesterday with the Israeli girl.  When I offered her water and she said okay I told Talia to get it for her or at least show her how to get it.  We have a water dispenser inside our fridge.  She got water and didn’t say anything.  When her mom came to pick her up she said to her mom, in Hebrew, they have water in their fridge!!  Her mom didn’t know what the big deal was so she opened the door and pointed and I got her a glass and she showed her mom how she filled it up and they were both standing there looking amazed!!!  I don’t know if most people don’t have something like this in Israel but it was too funny to watch the look of amazement on their faces at the water dispenser!

It’s after 10 and I am zonked and writing this from bed so I’ll end it here.