Today was a windy and rainy day so Keren and I stayed in this morning (after doing the shopping) doing laundry and coloring while Eric went to Uplan.  Eric had to stand up in class today and give a speech about the place where he grew up.  Actually, he was supposed to have done it a month ago but somehow got away without doing it for this long. 

This afternoon I took the kids to visit my grandfather in the hospital he is in now for rehab.  He cried when I walked in with the kids and hugged Keren.  Luckily the kids didn’t get freaked out b/c he usually teases them like that but this time he was serious.  He was very happy to see them.  He looked good.  He was in his wheelchair the whole time we were there and he is now able to get in and out of his chair without a nurse, so that is a big improvement since the last time I saw him.

We got home late and Eric helped me get the kids into the house b/c it was pouring when we got home.  We tucked the kids in and I cleaned the chicken and folded the laundry and now I am watching a little American Idol before heading to bed.

Hell of a day Eric and I had today!  We had to take this stupid, ridiculous test today to get into the yishuv that we want to live in.  You would think that it’s a meeting with people on the vaad and they ask you questions about yourself or something like that.  Well, it’s not!!  Today was a day full of copying pictures, drawing a tree and making up a story about that tree, telling a story about 3 pictures that they showed up, drawing pictures inside circles, making paper airplanes and participating in other stupid stupid stupid activities.  Thrown in there were some questions about ourselves and an interview with a woman who, I’m sure, doesn’t live on the yishuv and is employed by the testing center.   Oh, and it was in Hebrew!  We were told that we could answer in English and not have to pay an extra 150 shekels to have them translate it but in the end they charged us (but not our friends who took it last week) and by the end we said that as long as they were charging us that they could give us the rest of the test in English.  So the hard stuff was in Hebrew and the easy stuff was in English.  Oh well.

Meanwhile, what to do with our kids when we have to be there from 8 am to 2 pm??  Well, thank you thank you thank you Robin Zemel for rescuing us!  We zipped out of the house at 7:40 this morning (we were told we could get to the testing center in yerushalayim at 8:30 instead of and dropped Ben and Keren off at Robin’s house and then took Talia to school.  She took care of Keren all day and made sure that Ben went to and from school and English.  Talia went to a friend’s house and her mother took her to English and then I picked them up from gymnastics at the end of the day.  Robin went so far as to tell us to go out for lunch after the horrific morning that we had.  She said she had everything under control.  We went!!  I wonder if we can take her with us to Even Shmuel, assuming that I drew the right pictures this morning, that is!

After a day like today I don’t feel very much like blogging.  I will just say that tonight when I picked Talia up from gymnastics she was helping the other girls clean up like she was supposed to be doing.  They all pick the mats up over their heads and carry them over to where the teacher piles them up.  I noticed tonight that Talia is so short that she kind of jumps as she walks to lift the mats up b/c the other girls are so much taller than she is and they lift them up higher then she can actually reach.  It’s so funny!

Talia was supposed to have had a sleep over at her friend Rachel’s house on Friday night.  She went there for dinner and all was well.  At 11:30 at night I heard what sounded like a skateboard on cobblestone but then I heard “Eric and Tammy!”  Talia’s friend’s mom was outside with Talia and Rachel yelling our name and knocking on our door.  Apparently Rachel told Talia about a movie she had just watched where the pictures came to life and it scared the crap out of  Talia so much that she wanted to come home!  I felt so bad but so did Yochevet (Rachel’s mom).  I think Talia was embarrassed too. 

Shabbat morning we went to 2 Bar Mitzvahs.  We had a kiddush first at a friend’s house (the party is tonight) and then we had a luncheon at the shul.  Ben was supposed to go to Robin’house for lunch and Talia was supposed to go to Rachel’s house.  In the end, they both went to Robin’s house because Talia wouldn’t even go back to Rachel’s house!!

Last night we stayed in and watched 2 new movies that Eric brought back for us.  Well, they were old movies but to us they were new. 

This morning Eric got the kids off to school and Eric, Keren and I went to meet with a potential architect.

This afternoon the kids made me cards for my birthday and then they baked a napoleon cake with Eric.   Meanwhile, I entertained Keren outside and then brought her inside for some play dough time (her new favorite thing to do next to coloring)

This evening we went to a beautiful Bar Mitzvah locally at a place called Neot Kedumim.  It was basically in a cave that was lit up with candles and lights.  It was very, very nice.  We were seated at a great table with our friends and we had a great time. 

Now that we are finally home and wedding and Bar Mitzvah free (until the next invitation lands at our door) I can relax and not have to worry about babysitting for a while, phew!

Yesterday was a nice day and I took Keren to the park in Modiin in the morning while Eric did one of his volunteer policeman things.  He set up a machsom and gave out tickets in Ganei Modiin.  Apparently people don’t stop at the stop sign there.   Then he went to our neighbors in Nahalin and basically checked papers.  He said it was exciting.  For some reason he couldn’t get rid of the huge gun that he carries when he does this stuff and he brought it home with him!!  Needless to say, I was not happy to see it.  He got rid of it later on in the evening when I wasn’t home.  I didn’t let him show it to Ben, I was nervous.

Anyway, in the afternoon Talia went to her chug and then to a friend’s house to practice for a play that they put on today in honor of Tu B’Shvat.  Ben had his swim chug and then I was too tired to do much with him so he watched some TV and then we played with Playdough, something that Keren really enjoys doing!

Last night I went to visit Saba in the hospital and wound up staying there by myself until he finally fell asleep at 10:40!  He wanted me to stay with him b/c he was nervous to be alone.  I told him to just call the nurse if he needs anything but he seemed very anxious. I was able to get him another sleeping pill simply by asking a nurse for it.  She just opened the pill, plopped it in my hand and let me walk away with it.  She didn’t check his chart, she didn’t ask for ID, she didn’t make sure that I didn’t pop it in my own mouth!!   When I have the kids and the nurse gives me medication, I have to sign for it after she checks my bracelet and asking my name and then she stands there watching that I take it.  Anyway, Saba finally calmed down a while later after the sleeping pill (his third, I believe) and I was finally able to leave. 

So today I was exhausted, again!  I think that makes 3 nights this week that I’ve gone to sleep after 12.   In the morning Keren and I spent time with Ben in his gan coloring.  Keren and Ben love that time that we spend there so I try to do it every Friday.  I probably could do it every day but I don’t want to annoy the teachers.   We then made our usual bakery run and I payed them also for what I owed them last week.  Glad I remembered.   It was beautiful today and we spent much of the afternoon outside in the back with the kids watching the usual festivities while the kids pulled out weeds and got dirty in the mud.

I have more but it’s 5 minutes before Shabbat and Keren is enjoying herself pulling all the DVDs off the shelf, as usual!!  I have to clean up and light candles.

Shabbat Shalom!

Just really quickly to bring the blog up to date, yesterday was a pretty typical Tuesday with English chugim, etc.  At night we went to shevah brachot for Avigail in Ramat Beit Shemesh.  It was another really, really late night!

Today I was so zonked that after spending the morning with Keren cleaning up the house, doing laundry and a quick stint at the park, I gave Keren something to eat, threw her into bed for a nap and then took a nap myself!

This afternoon we went to visit Saba in the hospital.  I managed to get all of the kids in to see him.  I don’t think the staff at the hospital would notice if I brought an elephant into the room to visit him, to tell the truth!!  He looked old and sad.  It was hard to see him.  Keren tickled his toes for a while and they both laughed.  Talia and Ben didn’t really know what to do.  Ben, after seeing the bag containing Saba’s urine in it said to me, Mom, your bag was much bigger than Saba’s bag when you were in the hospital!  So that was funny. 

Savta took the kids home and I sat there for a little while longer with Eric and with my cousin Avi.  We all left at 4 and my aunt came to sit with him. 

We got home late and I got the kids into showers and into bed.

So last night we went to our first ever wedding in Israel!  It was crazy!!  It was in Yerushalayim and there were over 700 people there.  The chuppah was really nice, except for the 2 longs speeches, and when they sang Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim and we were in Yerushalayim… well, you know!  Anyway, it was Channah Spiegelman’s daughter Avigail who got married and so it was  camp reunion on one hand and full of Chashmonaim people on the other hand. I knew a million people there. 

Today was an exhausting day because we were so tired from going to sleep so late last night.  Eric did the morning with the kids so I was able to sleep until 8:30 when he had to go to ulpan.  Talia was home when Eric woke me. He said she said she had a stomach ache but that the last time she said that she wound up really being sick so he didn’t want to send her to school.  Keren and I had a play date at a friends house.  We are FINALLY getting a group together to play in the morning once a week so I don’t blow my brains out now that it’s rainy and cold outside and Keren and I have nothing to do.  I told Talia that I would give her breakfast and bring her to school or she could stay in her room the rest of the day in her bed.   She put up quite a fight but just when I was about to leave she said she would let me take her to school.   She made a miraculous recovery and had a great day.

Not much else happened today.  Just rain and sun all day long with some hail in the mix.  Crazy weather in this country.  Oh, and we finally decided to put on the heat this afternoon.  So the heat is officially on!

Friday morning I went to school with Ben and stayed there for about a half and hour while he and Keren colored.  I’ve been doing it every Friday.  It is something that Ben enjoys and Keren gets a real kick out of it too.  In fact, when I wanted to leave and couldn’t get her out of there I said, Bye Keren.  She said, Bye Mommy!  So that didn’t quite work out the way I had hoped.  I wound up carrying her out of there crying.  She sits and colors so nicely when she is there!

We took out usual Friday walk to the bakery and makolet and ran into the same people we usually see.  I only had 100 shekels and the woman at the bakery told me to just pay next week when I come!  I’ll never get used to that.  After that we headed to get flowers and bring them over to Channah and family since Avigail is getting married today and it was her Shabbat Kallah.  I thought it would be nice to do and I was going over there anyway to lend them our air mattresses.

Eric came hom in the afternoon.  I picked him up.  He brought home new sneakers for Ben that don’t fit him.  They are too small.  His foot must have grown 2 sizes since this summer.  So we have a very disappointed Ben.  Eric said he threw a complete fit this morning when they realized they would have to be exchanged.  I feel terrible.  I will have to measure his foot this time with a chart that I have here before I send Eric back to Stride Rite.

Friday night after dinner I walked Talia to her friend’s house for a sleep over.  It was Talia’s first time sleeping at a friend’s house.  The only other time she slept out was at camp and we didn’t really count that.  She also went to a sleep over party recently come to think of it.  Anyway,  I walked her there but not inside, she said she would be embarrassed if I walked her inside.  She said on the way that she had butterflies in her stomach b/c she was so excited and nervous.  I told her she didn’t have to go but she wanted to.  She wound up having a great time.

It was Eric’s turn to bring the booze and the cake for the kiddush on Shabbat.  Ben and I baked a ton this week and Eric brought it.   Eric said it all went over very well and everyone enjoyed the home baked goods.  While Ben was playing in shul he ran into a door with his head.  He had a HUGE bump on his head and we were worried about him for a while.  We ran home to put ice on it and give him Tylenol.  I haven’t seen him yet today but he was fine the rest of the day once it stopped hurting him.

After shul we brought our food over to friends of ours.  We had a really nice lunch with them.  It is the first time we’ve done something like that since we are here.  We wound up staying there until close to 4.  When we left we came home to put our food away and Talia met her friends and hung out with them and we went to Channah’s house to say hi and visit her brothers who are in for the wedding.   We hung out there until Eric went to shul and then somehow Ben, Keren and I wound up in Robin’s house for the last few minutes of Shabbat.  We walked home and met Eric coming up the hill to find us since he was locked out of the house. 

This morning I slept in until Keren escaped from Eric’s line of sight while we went to use the bathroom and came to wake me up.  We ran into Kiriat Sefer so I could get new heels put on my shoes.  I want to wear them to the wedding tonight.  Keren played in the park there for a while while we waited for my shoes to be ready.

Now Keren is napping and Eric is at the gym.  When the kids come home from school we’ll probably take them to a park since it’s another nice day, although a little windy.

Tonight we have the wedding and my grandmother is supposed to come babysit until Jere can get here after her doctor’s appointment.  We got a call that my grandfather fell and broke his hip and is in the hospital when Shabbat ended.  We didn’t think my grandmother would make it here b/c of that but he’s had his surgery and he’s doing fine, thank G-d, and she’s been with him all night and all day and I think this might be a welcome break for her, to be with the kids and enjoy them a little.  If she doesn’t come then I’ll stay home and put the kids to sleep and wait for Jere to come and then I’ll got to the wedding a little bit later on.  So we’ll see what happens.

Yesterday was another cold, rainy day so Keren and I quickly did our food shopping after dropping the kids off at school and then we ran home and stayed in the whole morning. When it was time for a nap I put her into her crib and she started to cry.  I thought it was probably because she is so used to going out and she wasn’t tired at all (even though she woke up at 6:30 again!).  I the end I snuggled with her and gave her a speech about not crying when I put her in and she didn’t cry and went right to sleep.  I think she listened to me

When the kids came home from school I gave them lunch and then took Ben over to Robin’s house.  Talia, Keren and I continued on to see my grandparents in Petach Tikavah.  My grandmother had something removed from her finger and wasn’t able to drive so we went to them instead.  Ben didn’t want to go b/c he had a  bday party so he stayed with Eitan all afternoon and when we came home we picked him up and he was showered and in pajamas and ready for bed!  I love Robin!!

Anyway, we had a nice time there and I was able to help Talia with her book report while my grandmother played with Keren.  So that was a big help b/c that book report is due on Monday and Eric did the last one with her and I had to do this one with her and I was dreading it.  It’s a problem that Keren is always around and looking for attention.  It doesn’t give me any time to do homework with Talia. I think that next year when Ben starts getting homework I am definitely going to need to bring someone in to help during homework time to either do it with them or take care of Keren or the kids not doing the homework.  We really had a nice time there and went out to dinner with my grandparents and Aunt Suzie.  My grandmother suggested that we could start coming to her some weeks. I told her that it’s very nice but the whole point of this Wednesday visit started b/c she offered to come and help me so I could go shopping or cook, etc.  Now it’s turned into just a weekly visit with my grandparents which, while nice, doesn’t help me at all if I can’t get anything done!!  I told her that I would love to come another day but on Wednesdays I am already starting my Shabbat preparations.  So we’ll see what happens in the future.  Certainly on a Shabbat where we don’t have company, like this one, I can go there on a Wednesday afternoon.

This morning I schlepped out at 7 to get Foster from the bus and when I got there and turned my cellphone on I got his message that he had missed the bus!  So I went home to the kids, who were getting dressed and finished up and took them to school.  In the end he got a ride here b/c there was no way I was going back there for him 30 minutes later.

I went to Yerushalayim today with Robin and another friend from the yishuv.  We all needed gifts for past and upcoming Bar Mitzvahs.  Keren was pretty well behaved and we also stopped to get a bite to eat.  It was a really nice morning and we lucked out with the weather.  It somehow was nice and sunny in Yerushalayim even though it was rainy and gross here.  When we got home I transferred a very sleepy Keren into her bed and crossed my fingers that she would stay asleep!  She wound up sleeping for 2 hours.  Guess we tired her out in Yerushalayim.

Ben went straight to a friend’s house after swim and then from there went to some kind of Tu B’Shvat arts and crafts thing that they had in the shul.  Here is the project that he made:

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Meanwhile, Talia came home and then went out to her survival chug and came back with the muddiest shoes I’ve ever seen.  It tooka while to clean them and it is going to take days until they dry out.  She said the were racing in the mud.  I, of course, was just thrilled!  Take a look:

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When she came home she invited a friend to play and they played nicely until 6.  At 6 I took her friend home and picked up Ben. 

We got news today that we won the michraz and we now own a piece of land (pending approval from the vaad hakabalah, of course).  Very exciting news.  All 4 families all won their land!!  Incredible!!

I took a cute picture of Keren the other day wearing her dress up Barbie shoes:

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Had another lousy night sleep last night.  I just started a good book by Nelson Demille and I couldn’t put it down.  I wound up reading until 12 but then didn’t have such a great sleep afterwards.  Oh well. 

This morning it was quite cold out but not raining so Ben rode his bike to school and Talia wound up walking with a friend.  When we came home Keren and I hung out for pretty much the whole morning at home.  I decided that I wanted to make baked ziti for dinner so we ran out later in the morning to get what I needed.  The makolet didn’t have everything I needed so we went to Kiriat Sefer and got the rest.  I bought Keren a ball that she asked for and then we went to the park that’s there to play a little.  The wind was whipping around and I finally got too cold to stay there any longer.  I carried a very sad Keren back to the car.  She was happy to stay and play but it was cold and it was late.

This afternoon the kids had their English chugim and Talia also had gymnastics.  I basically spent the afternoon shuttling the kids around and baking with Ben.  We made 2 more desserts for the kiddush on Shabbat.  I don’t know if I’ve mentioned yet that it’s Eric’s turn this week to bring the kiddush so I am baking for it.  We also made challot for Shabbat. 

I have to mention the funniest thing that Jere told me recently.  She was walking with Ben one Shabbat and she said something about being fat.  He told her that “you aren’t fat, just your hips and your arms are fat!”  She got a kick out of it (luckily) and I just think it’s the funniest thing ever!!

Talia went to sleep tonight with a shower cap on her head.  Usually that means that they have lice and I’ve put conditioner on their heads with a shower cap.  Luckily, not this time.  Talia decided that she wanted  to put a bunch of ponytails in her hair and she didn’t want it to get ruined before school tomorrow.  So she spent about an hour doing her hair tonight and then put a shower cap on her head in the hopes that she’ll wake up with her hair looking perfect.  Good luck to all tomorrow morning when she wakes up and has to redo her hair again.  I am praying she is satisfied with it when she wakes up but I do not have a good feeling about this one!

Keren has a bit of a cold and she keeps sneezing and then asking me for a “noo shoo” or “new shoe”.  She means tissue, of course.  It is the cutest thing.  So I have her a burp cloth and she wipes her own nose with it after she sneezes or just when she has a bit of a runny nose.  I can eat that child up!

Wednesday my grandparents came in the afternoon and Eric’s grandmother came too.  It was very nice.  I had to run out a bunch of times, first to take Keren to the doctor for a prescription and then to take Talia and Ben to Tipat Chalav for their regular checkups.  It was really funny.  The doctor there, in addition to checking Ben’s height and weight, also made him draw a person and shapes and answer questions about situations and colors, etc.  Unfortunately, when it comes to drawing, Ben isn’t the best.  When asked to draw a person he made his usual stick figure.  He makes a head and then arms coming out of where the ears would go and feet coming out of where the chin would be.  The doctor took one look at the picture and said, in typical Israeli fashion, That’s a person?  That’s not a person!  Where is the rest of it?  I explained to her that that was as good as it gets.  She made him draw another one, this time including a body and hair and hands and feet.  He did a pretty good job.  I wish I had saved it and scanned it in so I could include it in the blog.  Oh well.

While I was running around my grandmother was sitting in the kitchen with Eric’s grandmother and they were discussing all sorts of things.  So they had some nice bonding time.  We all went out to the mall afterwards to eat.  Eric and Saba went to pick up Moshe and they came back and we all ate.  It was crazy in the mall b/c they were having a chocolate and coffee festival but it was nice anyway.

Yesterday (Thurs.) morning Eric had a checkup at the doctor b/c he needed to get a permission slip for the gym that he can work out there.  He didn’t realize it but they told him he had to bring one in. While he was there I took Keren in for a blood test to figure out what the story is with her iron.  Anyway, Eric got terrible news, or I should say that I got terrible news!!  He has high blood pressure!!  What do you do to decrease the high blood pressure?  You go low sodium!!  Now I have to cook with less salt.  We love salt!!  I am so sad.  He told me that it’s really not all about me but I am seriously mourning the loss of salt in my cooking.  So we’ll see how the food tastes this Shabbat but I can promise that my vegetable soup is going to be B L A N D!!  Eric, meanwhile, is busy running around looking at all the food in the house and letting me know what is high in sodium and what’s not.

Last night Talia came home from her chug and told me that I had to drive her back to get her water and her sweatshirt.  She said that one of the older girls took them from her and hid them.  I was fuming.  Ben had a friend here and I had to leave them with Eric (who was working at the time) and throw Keren in the car and go back there with her.  We saw the girl (an American, not an Israeli for a change) and she was holding her sweatshirt and her water.  I told her to get into the car.  She asked me why.  She said she had Talia’s stuff and was looking for her.  Yeah right!!  I explained nicely to her that it wasn’t nice what she did and how sure I was that she wasn’t going to do that again to her.  I also nicely explained that I didn’t appreciate having to leave the house at that time with Keren and with Ben at home.  I think she got the point.  Oh, and when I write that I explained it nicely, I might have raised my voice just a little bit.  Anyway, she called us when we got home to apologize to Talia!

Today, Friday, not much happened.  We are busy getting ready for Shabbat.  Oh, I kashered liver for the first time.  It was exciting.  I didn’t want to taste them so I don’t know if it’s any good but I am looking forward to liver tonight.  I had no clue what I was doing.  I hope I did it right. 

The kids are outside playing and I see that Keren has tracked mud into the house.  I just finished cleaning up for Shabbat, of course.  Which reminds me, yesterday the cleaning man cleaned and then later in the day Keren spilled yogurt, Ben spilled apple juice and then Keren spilled the spicy sauce that come with the pizza on the floor, on herself and on the kitchen chair.  I have been cleaning my floors since then!!

Shabbat Shalom!