So Monday morning I woke up to feed Keren and then didn’t get up again until close to 10!!  Thank you Eric!!!!  When I got out of bed finally our friends called. They are in from White Plains and they wanted to get together.  yay!!  So we met them at Neot Kedumim where we hiked a little (it was more like a walk) and we saw different plants and trees and we saw different types of sukkot and read about why some of them were kosher and not kosher.  One of the sukkot was really really tall, one was a sukkah on a small boat, etc.   We also saw etrogim growing on trees.  It was really cool.  The kids had a great time and so did we. 

We knew that we had to get to a supermarket before we came home but we thought we were going to be finished with the tour a lot earlier than we actually were.  In the end it was 2:45 by the time we got there and the frist 2 supermarkets we got to were closed!!  At the third and final one, (we were desperate for milk and for salad ingredients since I promised my friend I would make a salad that night) I gave the guy a look of desperation and he told me to be quick but he let me in, phew!!  It got what I needed and even did an Israeli thing and put my stuff on the belt and went back for a forgotten item!

We came home an hour before Yom Tov and I got the kids ready while Eric worked.  We all went to shul that night and it was as much of a balagan here as it is everywhere.  The women had some nice dancing but I just watched and talked for the most part.  No one really knew what hakafah they were up to at any point and it just proved my theory that this holiday is complete chaos and not too enjoyable for the women.  Anyway, the kids ate tons of candy and I met some more people and had a nice time.

That night we ate at Channah’s house (yes, again!) and it was really nice.   Her parents are in from America for a couple of weeks/months and she had only 2 other people and us!  Nice and intimate.  Doesn’t get more intimate than that.  I’ve never seen her table so small.  It was really nice.

We got home around 10 and we dumped the kids into bed and went to sleep.  Well, I actually read and then fed Keren after she woke up and then went to sleep around 12, but Eric went to sleep nice and early.

This morning Eric went to the 6am minyan!  You read that right, he went to the 6am minyan!  I guess he didn’t want to be in shul for long.  He came home around 10, just when I was sending the kids off and putting Keren in for a nap and told me the kiddush was at 10:30.  I knew that I wasn’t going to make it b/c Keren was going to sleep so I sent them all on their way and got back into bed with my book.  Yay!  Ben wound up leaving with friends and going to their house b/c we were going there anyway for lunch and Eric and Talia came home and we read a little more and then went to lunch.

Lunch was nice.  We went to the Glicks, friends from Riverdale who also moved here this summer.  The kids all played nicely and the conversation was good. 

Talia wound up staying and Eric took the boys (their little boy and Ben) to the park while I took Keren home to feed her and put her in for a nap. 

Now for tonight.  Tonight on the yishuv they have hakafot sheniot.  Eric told Talia that I would take her!  i was really unhappy b/c after yom tov I wanted to shower and hop into bed.  I was back and forth and finally i told her that I would take her while Eric stayed home with Keren and Ben.  Well, a few minutes before the end of the chag the phone rang and it was Eric’s office.  he called back and he found out that their computer system was down.  He thought it wasn’t going to be a big deal but it was and still is!!  he can’t get it back up and he’s devastated.  His clients are calling and asking where their stuff is.  He said he would have gotten on a plane but he couldn’t b/c it is yom tov in America.  He is still threatening to do that tomorrow if he has to.  So I put Ben to sleep and pretended to be putting Talia to sleep and then I took Talia and Keren to the hakafot and left Eric at home to figure out what to do with his work.  It was a blast!  They had a band and dancing and we were supposed to stay for a little bit and wound up staying for 2 hours.   We didn’t get home until 10.  I had such a good time.  I finally left b/c I had to take Talia and Keren home.  Keren was passed around a lot and finally conked out in her stroller but I had to get her home to feed her and put her into her bed.

We came home and Talia went straight to bed.  Eric was still here and extremely frustrated and in a lousy mood (who can blame him?)  He said he found someone to come in tomorrow and take a look at the computer.  I hope it works or his one and half week trip will turn into a 2 week trip b/c he’ll leave here tomorrow. 

So now it’s late and I am finally going to get into bed.  I am going to try to upload some pictures all the things we’ve been doing over the chag and put a link to them in my next blog.

So before I begin about today, I feel I must first explain the title of the blog.  It’s regarding a conversation Eric and Talia had a couple of days ago that I fogot to write about.  Because we were in the hotel with my family, Talia was interested in knowing who married into the family and who was part of the family first.  So I explained about her cousins and who is brother and sister and who my grandparents’ children are, etc.  That night Talia asked Eric who she was closer to.  Eric didn’t understand and tried to ask her what she meant and she was getting very frustrated with him.   He explained that she was both of ours and without either of us there would be no Talia.  She didn’t get it and insisted that because she came from me, that she must be closer to me.  So Eric was trying to explain again that without the two of us she wouldn’t exist.  He told her that there would be a different child if I was married to someone else and we had a baby.  Still no dice.  Finally I got involved and yelled out to Talia that daddy’s seed goes into my egg and it makes a baby so she is a part of both of us.  Well, that seemed to do the trick.  So she said, “oh, so daddy puts a tube in mommy?”  I yelled out, “that’s right!!”  Luckily the conversation ended with her figuring out that that must be why he is in the hospital with me and gets his own bracelet when we have a baby!  Phew!!

So last night the mosquitos were in our room again and we ended up sleeping part of the night in our room and then splitting up and going to other rooms the rest of the night.  I can’t wait for it to get cold here so that they die.  I can’t figure out where the are coming from and they are so small and skinny that it’s nearly impossible to see them.  We can just hear them buzzing around in our ears whenever we turn off the lights.  It is so frustrating.

Today we wanted to do something fun for the kids but also something that we could only do in Israel.  My cousin Miriam used to give tours and she suggested going to Sataf.  So we went to Sataf.  It is a place to hike and see caves and stuff like that.  At one point there is a cave to crawl through that has water in it and you end up in a small pool of water.  The kids had a blast.  They kept going around and around.  I went through it one time with them but it was such a tight space that I had to crawl on my knees and use one hand to hold the flashlight and one to balance myself.  It was definitely an adventure. Glad I made it out with only one bump on my head.

After that we went to the mall for lunch.  It was really late and I think I might have dehydrated b/c I felt really lousy.  I got a yummy chicken sandwhich while Ben got pizza, Eric got Chinese food and Talia got McDonald’s.  Everyone enjoyed.

Next we went to visit Danielle and Asaf again.  We drove to Beth and Peter’s aptartment and I was feeling so lousy that I fell asleep in the car and Eric left me there.  I don’t even know how long I was asleep for.  Eventually he came to bring Keren to me since she had to eat!  Then she slept on me in the car a little and eventually I made it into the house to say hello.  It was late and we had to get going by that point and I was still feeling lousy. Unfortunately it took us a really long time to get out of Yerushalayim b/c of traffic and Keren was screaming in the car.  She finally stopped as we pulled into the yishuv!  The kids were exhausted and I made them some pasta and gave them baths and put them straight to sleep.

Now I have to go fold laundry and catch up on some of the shows that we’ve downloaded from the internet.  I really don’t know how people made aliyah before the tv shows were on the internet!

Shabbat at the hotel was very nice.  Plenty of food to eat!  We are still full tonight from our meal this afternoon.  Friday night we davened and then ate at 6:30.  Ben was starving and couldn’t wait for dinner so he and Talia ran ahead and stole a couple of rolls from the dining room to hold them over until dinner.  During dinner Eric came down with a bad stomach ache and we didn’t see much of him the rest of the night.  He was up much of the night in the bathroom. 

Savta knocked on our door at 7:30 in the morning.  She likes to make sure we are all awake for davening.  Not sure who asked her to wake us up, but she took it upon herself to do so.  Unfortunately, Eric had a lousy night and could have used the sleep and her knocking woke the kids up and Ben was kind of difficult the rest of the day b/c he was so tired from going to sleep late all those nights in a row.  He’s been sleeping in and the knocking didn’t afford him that luxury today.  Oh well!!

After davening we went to breakfast or lunch or whatever it is we went to at 10am.  Eric made it to the meal and was feeling a lot better by then.  Then he took Keren up and the two of them rested until the next meal at 2 (I’ll call it lunch).  I hung out with the kids and my aunt in the lobby playing some games.  Keren didn’t wake up until 3pm so I took turns with Eric eating our lunches. 

The rest of the day we hung out in the lobby playing with the kids.  I can now make a perfect flower out of playdough!

Shabbat was over a little before 6 and we packed up and said our goodbyes and were out of there by 7.  Luckily, when we got in the car and Eric was telling the kids that they get to sleep in their own beds again, it occurred to me that I had no specific recollection of packing Ben’s teddy bear (“Bud”) when I was packing up all of our things.  So I hoped out of the car and went to the room and shook out the kids’ bed and sure enough the bear was in there!!  We really dodged a bullet.

The kids were both really really sad to be home again.  It’s funny b/c Ben had asked me repeatedly if he could go to school and he mentioned missing school and he told me he was bored and missed his toys.  I thought he would be so happy to be home again.  Talia was sooooo depressed to be home.  I feel so bad for them.  They got really used to being in the hotel and these kids don’t like change much and we were there for 5 nights. 

So, I am doing laundry and about to unpack and make some plans for tomorrow.  Have to figure out what we are doing for the second day of Yom Tov!

So yesterday we spent the day at the pool.  It was a nice, sunny day and we had a nice relaxing time at the pool. It was nice because my grandfather actually hauled himself out of bed and came down to the pool with us the entire day!!
In the evening we went to the marina in Tel Aviv with Danielle and Asaf and their kids.  We banked our dinner meal that we were going to be missing at the hotel for a lunch meal on Shabbat.  I don’t know if I mentioned before that we are here only half board and so we don’t have a lunch meal any of the days.  We basically pack up food from breakfast and linger a little bit longer at breakfast so that we can make it to dinner.  It has become somewhat of an art form to see who can pack their food the most efficient way.  At one point I found paper placemats and I wrapped my sandwich in them and put them into plastic bags that I stole from the waiter area that were meant to be garbage bags for each table!!  Eric saw this woman who took an empty water bottle and went over to the juice machine and filled up her entire bottle with orange juice!!!  My uncle took a plastci ziplock bag and filled it to the top with olives.  It is really hysterical!!!

Anyway, we won’t have to worry about that on Shabbat b/c we each banked a meal and now we will all be able to eat together tomorrow for lunch.

Getting back to the restaurant we went to, it was very nice and it was right on the water.  The only problem was the “sukkah.”  I write the word sukkah in quotation marks because although there was a roof, there was only the wall of the restaurant and then just the wood for the frame, no walls.  SO Eric wouldn’t eat there.  He only ordered a salad and he was sad.  I got a delicious pasta dish and the kids got pizza.  We had a great time.  Asaf’s aunt came also with one of his cousins and their kid.  It was a nice evening.

This morning at breakfast Ben made himself quite the sandwich!!  It was white bread that he put through the little toaster machine that he loves and tomatoes and herring!!  Then he ate half of it and said it was great.  Ewww!!  He is so funny.

Today we left the kids at the hotel and all the cousins went shopping to a furniture sale that they were having in Tel Aviv.  It is a huge furniture fair, for lack of a better word.  It was gigantic.  We saw some nice dining room tables but although the prices were better, my cousins said to wait and go into the stores with cash, ready to buy, and we’d do better.  So that’s what we will do.  But they had tons of stuff.  So Savta took the kids to the pool and they had a nice day.

The kids have been fighting like crazy and Ben keeps asking when he’s going to go to school again.  He misses it.  I think they are a little bit bored here with just each other and are looking forward to getting back to their friends.  Last night they were fighting about the bed that they were sleeping in.  One of them was getting too close to the other.  Then we came out of our room and were hysterical laughing b/c when they didn finally fall alseep, it was with their arms around each other.  We made sure to take a picture as proof so they would see that they really do sleep well together.  We showed them the picture this morning and Talia was very unhappy about it and told me not to show it to anyone!

Anyway, that’s about all the news.  Tonight is Shabbat and then we go home tomorrow night for the last day of Sukkot.

This morning at breakfast Ben made himself quite the sandwich!!  It was white bread that he put through the little toaster machine that he loves and tomatoes and herring!!  Then he ate half of it and said it was great.  Ewww!!  He is so funny.

So I haven’t been able to blog but tonight Eric said he’ll copy this onto his computer and them send it to the blog site for me so that I can update everyone on what’s going on here.

Monday, before the chag, we woke up nice and early and Eric went to a friend on the yishuv who was getting their lift that day to help.  These people were on our flight but their stuff had been sent to Turkey b/c of the strikes at the port.  Her husband was going to be at work and she needed help so I volunteered Eric to go and help and I offered to take some of her kids.  Eric said I was just trying to get him back for not being here when our lift came.  Not true!!  Meanwhile, I started to pack up myself and the kids for the hotel.  Eric was there for about 4 hours and I was busy cleaning up the house and packing us up,  Meanwhile, Keren was in a lousy mood and someone came to look around the house b/c her family was staying there for the first day of yom tov since we weren’t going to be there and she wanted to figure out where they were all going to sleep.

We finally got out of the house around 2-ish and 20 minutes later we were at the hotel.  The hotel we are staying at was just redone and it is really beautiful.  It’s in Ramat Gan, which is right next to Tel Aviv.  Each of our rooms are suites!!  We were very happy to learn that we each have a 2 room suite.  So we were able to put Talia and Ben into one room and Eric and I are in another room with Keren.  The gave us a little crib for Keren which just fits into our room.  Each room has a big flat panel tv screen.  We also have tons of closets, like I’ve never seen before in a hotel, and a powder room and another big bathroom with tons of drawers in it.  The decor in the hotel is also really pretty.  We all keep joking that we are going to be stealing a few couches and chairs for our houses.

Anyway, when we got here I unpacked the bags and then I took the kids down to the pool while Eric put Keren in for a nap and did some work.  We didn’t have that long because Sukkot started a little before 5.  The kids had a nice time swimming and then we came upstairs and showered and got dressed.

Eating dinner in the Sukkah at a hotel is a very different experiance than being in a sukkah of a home. It kind of has an industrial feel to it instead of a warm, cozy feel.  Instead of that one light that doesn’t quite reach all four corners or the light that’s slightly dim but gives off a cozy feeling, you have these big overhead flourescent lights and the decorations are perfectly spaced and the roof is super high with perfectly placed scach on top.  Also, it was very warm and a little muggy at night.  SO it’s definitely something to get used to.  The food was delicious.  It was buffet style and there was a huge selection.  We all enjoyed it.  The kids are so happy to be with Shelly (their cousin) and they all get along so well. Shelly gets a kick out of them and copies everyhing that they do.  She is also IN LOVE with “baby keren” and she wants to be with her at all times.  It is very sweet.

The next morning they started davening at 7.  I got to shul at 9:15 and by 9:30 shul was… OVER!!!   From Shul we went to kiddush/breakfast in the sukkah.  We are only staying half board, so we knew to bring a cooler-type bag to pack up lunch in so that we would have something to eat between breakfast at 9 and dinner at 7.  We packed all kind of things up and made sandwhiches and were on our way.  We sat in the lobby and talked for a while with Avivit, Avi, Miriam and Avi while the kids all went upstairs with Savta to play with Playdough in her room.  They were there until after Mincha.  Then everyone went to sleep and I took the kids to the playground and to the pool from 2-4.  The kids swam while I watched them and read a little.  I tried to hide it from Savta b/c I didn’t know how she would feel about me taking the kids to the pool on Yom Tov but she found out.  She didn’t say anything to me about it, though.

Around 4 o’clock Keren woke up and Eric brought her down.  I fed her by the pool and then Ben and I went up to get him showered and changed for dinner.  Talia had already had enough a little bit before that and she was already upstairs and showered and changed by the time we went up. We all hung out at the lobby again and then the guys went to daven and we went to hear havdallah in the Sukkah and then it was all over!!  We ate dinner at 7 and then by 9 got back to our room and tucked the kids in.

Today we didn’t wake up until after 8!!  The kids were so tired from going to sleep at 9 and the rooms were so dark that they slept.  Also, it rained last night so it was really dark in the rooms and hard to tell it was daylight even if you opened the curtains.

Today we had planned to go to the Safari, which is right around the corner from the hotel.  We ate breakfast inside b/c it was raining but by the time we finished it had cleared up and was cool and sunny and beautiful!!  It was a beautiful day for the Safari.  We took 3 cars there.  unfortunately, Ben HATED IT!!  He doesn’t like the zoo and he kvetched pretty much the entire time we were there.  He was scared to death while we were in the car.  The animals were all over the place and he was totally freaked out.  I felt bad but there was nothing we could do.  I told him to close his eyes and pretend he was somewhere else.  He did like the ostrich, which came right up to the cars!!  Then there was some other kind of animal which came right up to the cars and it freaked him out.  I have some great pictures but I won’t be able to post them until we get back home.

Anyway, we parked and went into the zoo and again he freaked out.  So we kept Ben back with Eric in the playground and we all went around the zoo.  The zoo is tremendous!  After about 10 minutes Savta said she was tired and wasn’t feeling well and so we got her a ride back to the beginning of the zoo on a car.  She is taking medicine to calm her down b/c of her high blood pressure b/c she gets herself all worked up and it makes her tired.  So we all coninued on.  It was very nice and we all had a nice time and eventually even Eric and Ben caught up with us and we were able to drag Ben through the rest of the zoo, carefully avoiding any scary animals.  At one point towards the end there was a very cute show for the kids with music and men that used different kinds of things as drums and ben LOVED that.  It was definitely the highlight for him.

This evening when we got home Savta and I took the kids to the pool while Eric worked.  Avivit and Avi were invited to a BBQ at his sister’s house so we went alone.  We wanted to take them to the indoor pool but after finally finding it, they told us that kids weren’t allowed in.  So we went to the outdoor pool, even though it was a little bit cold.  They stayed for about half an hour.  Then we came up and they showered and then played a little bit in Savta’s room and then we all went to dinner at 7:30 in the sukkah.  We stayed again until 9.  My hope is that the kids will sleep late again tomorrow.  Poor Ben has been sitting at the table every night and begging to go upstairs and go to sleep!

SO this is really long and I am going to end it here.  We are having a very nice time here and I am sure that the rest of our stay will be continue to be just as nice.  I hope to write again before Shabbat but I’m not sure I’ll have the time or the energy so we’ll see…

As I am writing this Eric is trying to work out how to use the new seltzer machine and I just heard the words “I should have read the instructions!”  Oh well!

I forgot to mention yesterday in my blog that on Shabbat some of Ben’s Israeli friends came over, specifically his friend Chen, and we heard Ben speaking a little bit of Hebrew to them!!  He was using words like “Bo!” and “maspik!” He had an israeli accent too!!  We were hysterical.  It was so cute.

Anway, back to today, went to ulpan as usual and the kids went to school.  Eric had a busy morning doing some of the floors in the house, cleaning them, and he did a great job.  When I came home I saw that he even moved the tables and chairs!  He took his job very seriouly today and I was so happy when I came home.  Talia has been begging us to earn money so that she can go to the store after school and buy candy and goodies.  So when she came home today the two of us cleaned all the bathrooms.  She had a BLAST!!  I told her that she would be earning money if she helped me and did a good job and she really got into it.

So the house is spic and span and Talia earned 5 Shekel to buy herself some goodies the next time she has school on a Friday.

Ben came home from school with a friend but he wanted to leave almost as soon as he got here!  I don’t know why.  I guess he wasn’t in the mood for a playdate.  We tried to convince him to stay.  We even tried to bribe him with a movie and with popcorn!  He wound up sitting outside and waiting for his mother.  Eric called her and told her that he wanted to leave but she was in the supermarket.  She wound up coming back from the supermarket and then going back out again.  I felt so bad.  In the meantime, Eric had to wait outside with him for close to 25 minutes because he woulnd’t come back inside.  Poor kid.

Eric took Ben out for a new helmet today after his friend left b/c he outgrew his old one and wasn’t wearing his helmet to and from school and I wasn’t happy.  Then he ran out to do a few more errands with Ben.

Talia didn’t want to go run the errands so she stayed home and watched the end of the movie and I got some stuff done around the house.  Someone showed up today with some mirrors for us to hand in the bathrooms that match the cabinets under the sinks.  I am so excited!!  I didn’t know we were going to be getting them.  I even went out an bought ones to hang up.  Now we have to return them!!  The guy said he would hang them for 300 Shekel!  We told him to forget about it, we would take care of it. I guess that’s another thing to take care of afer the chagim!!  Nothing in this country happens between Rosh Hashana and Sukkot!  There is no way we are paying for someone to come hang mirrors in the bathrooms when we might wind up leaving this house in a year!

So I just gave the kids and Talia’s friend dinner and they are playing nicely outside. 

I have to get the kids into bed as soon as her friend leaves.  Her dad apparently was supposed to be back from wherever he went and he’s not picking up his phone…

Check out the pictures we took on our trip into yerushalayim on Friday below:

http://www.yorkphoto.com/share/p=227121223833667740/l=419397232/g=70636009/cobrandOid=1002/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Let me catch up on Friday and Shabbat since I missed Friday. 
Friday we took the kids out of school and we went to Yerushalayim to meet with Eric’s cousin Danielle and her family.  We also wanted to go to the Kotel and to get Eric his lulav and etrog.  Well, we managed to get the lulav and etrog, but once again we didn’t make it to the Kotel!!  Actually, from where Beth and Peter (Eric’s aunt and uncle) have their apartment, you can see yaffo gate and the wall surrounding the old city.  I just told Ben that was the Kotel and he was happy!!   Talia figured it out, though, and I was busted.  So we really have to get there one of these days!

We got a pretty early start and met Danielle and Asaf and the kids on Ben Yehudah. It was so great to see them.  From there we went to the shuk and did some shopping.  We got some bourekas and some fresh pitot and some fruit. 

Then we went and got Eric his lulav and etrog at some place where they were selling tons of them right outside the shuk.  Pictures will follow of Eric picking out the one he wanted, hopefully in the blog to come.  Next went for lunch and then back to Beth and Peter’s apartment in Yemin Moshe.  They have a beautiful place. 

It was great to see the family but the day was short and we had no time to get to the kotel.  So we came running home and got home a little more than an hour before Shabbat.  I still had to make the cholent and the chicken.  I did that and got the kids ready for Shabbat and got myself ready and lit candles!!  It was a close call.

Shabbat here was nice.  Friday night it was just us.  The kids went to shul with Eric.  We all ate and Ben went to sleep around 7:30 but Talia stayed up with us talking and hanging out and singing zmirot until 8:30.  Keren had a lousy night and was up a lot.  Don’t know why.  Waiting for those teeth to pop out!!!

Today, Shabbat, we had a Bar Mitzvah in shul.  I was there for laning but there were no seats and no siddurs!!  Luckily, I managed to find both (with the help of the Spiegelmans, our guardian angels) and then someone from camp took Keren off my hands and I was even able to daven!

After shul Talia had a friend come over for lunch and we all went home and ate.  The kids played nicely the whole day.  At around 3 Ben and Eric went over to the Spiegelmans’ house to play.  Eric wound up watching the boys play and Channah and Ushi got to take a nap.  So that worked for everyone.  We felt bad just sending Ben over again so this way it worked out for everyone.  Eric got to read for some of the time and the other part he was watching the boys.  He said they played nicely, though.

Talia and her friend were in and out most of the late afternoon.  When they came back after the street lights came on I was surprised that her friend was still with her.  I thought she would have gone home.  They were inseperable.  It was nice.  So she stayed until after havdallah and I gave her dinner and then Eric took her home.

Just before Shabbat ended there were some gun shots and a lot of smoke very close to the army base in the back of our house. I figured they were practicing or something with rubber bullets.  We later found out that there was some sort of mishap and the army fired tear gas too close to the base and some soldiers were hurt!!  The kids were all excited about it when it happened b/c there was quite a bit of smoke. I don’t think there were any serious injuries.

Tonight we were supposed to go to a Bar Mitzvah on the yishuv but our babysitter kind of fell through.  I think there was a slight miscommunication.  Anyway, neither of us really wanted to go but I was elected to go.  Eric said that I knew the mother and that the father of the boy didn’t even know who Eric was.  So, I went and left Eric at home.  In the end it was nice.  I met some more people, which is good, and I wound up staying for an hour and a half, instead of the thirty minutes I was planning on staying.  Also had a really good drink made with some sort of alcohol and pommegranate!!  YUMM!  The pomegranate kind of soaks up the alcohol and when you get to them at the bottom of your glass they are delicous.  Quite the yummy drink.  It’s good I drove or I would have had more than the two that I had!! 

Anyway, now it’s late and I have to get to sleep.  Only one day of school for all of us this week and then we are off to the hotel for Sukkot.  Yipeee!!

Wednesday we didn’t do anything.  Literally, we did nothing.  We stayed home all day.  I didn’t even step foot out of the house until it was time to go to shul at night!  I started cooking for Shabbat and got the food together for before and after the fast.  The kids hung out and watched old home movies of themselves over and over again.

We started the fast super early here b/c they change the clocks in Israel every year before Y”K so it’s a shorter day to fast.  We ate and all went to shul.  The kids played really nicely and Keren was really well behaved and I was able to daven the whole time.  Instead of sitting in my assigned seat I sat in the back with the stroller.  Plenty of people were doing it and to tell the truth, I probably didn’t even need to buy a seat for myself!

When we came home at around 7, we gave the kids a snack since they had eaten early with us and were hungry.  Eric gave Keren a bottle of fomula and she took it nicely and we all went to sleep.  keren woke up at 11 and I nursed her and I wasn’t too thirsty when I went back to sleep.  We all slept until around 7.  I fed Keren again, had plenty to give her, Thank G-d. and we stayed in bed until 8 when Eric went to shul.  Shul here starts at 7:45. 

I got the kids out to shul at around 9.  Talia was having a hard time deciding what to wear to shul today.  We didn’t agree, what else is new, and at one point there was plenty of screaming.

Keren and I went back to sleep until around 11!!  I had hoped she would wake up at 10 and we could get to shul but she didn’t.  We finally got out to shul at 12 at which time they were pretty much finished with Mussaf!!  We stayed until just before Mincha was over but I had to leave b/c Keren needed to eat.  Ben went back to Channah’s house to play with Amitai and Talia decided to stay at shul and continue playing!!

When Eric came home after Mincha it was just the 3 of us.  Very calm!  Keren took a nap and so did Eric.  After a very short nap Keren woke up screaming.  I took her out and couldn’t calm her down.  I passed her to Eric by way of laying her on the floor and she stopped crying.  She wound up sleeping from 3 until 5:30 on the floor.  She felt warm to both of us.  She has a runny nose and fever, I believe.  I am sure it is connected to her teething.  Anyway, I missed all of Neila b/c when she woke up at 5:30 I nursed her and then Eric walked in the door b/c it was all over!

Of course the kids were nowhere to be found!!  We made havdallah and sat down to eat.  I was feeling HORRIBLE.  I had a headache since last night and I was very very weak.  This was definitely the worst fast that I can remember having in ages and ages.  I am wondering if it’s because I am used to starting my fast with loads of Poweade.  I usually drink it the entire week before a fast.  It is either that or the fact that I am nursing.  Tisha B’Av was a longer fast and I didn’t feel this way, though.  Anyway, after about 5 minutes of eating Eric said he was getting nervous about the kids.  So was I, actaully.  Two minutes after that there was a knock on the door.  Talia was home and Ben was on his way.  A friend from camp found them and walked them home!  I felt so bad.  I have to call her tomorrow and thank her.  Talia came in and said she wanted to go back to shul and play!  You can imagine what my answer to her was!!!!

After I got some energy and Eric fed us all, I took the kids upstairs for their baths.  They were FILTHY!!  Ben got into bed before his bath and started to fall asleep.  I dragged him out of bed, he was so dirty, and plopped him in the bath, got him out, dressed him, and he was asleep before I even went in to say goodnight to him.  They were zonked!

Then I did some cooking for Shabbat.  I don’t know how much time I’ll have tomorrow b/c we are taking the kids out of school for the day and going to Yerushalayim to see Eric’s cousins that came in from America yesterday and we are going to go buy a lulav and etrog for Eric and just take in Yerushalayim before Sukkot.  I’ve never been here this time of year.  Of course when we told the kids Talia was thrilled but Ben said he wanted to go to school and we should go without him!

After giving her some Tylenol, Keren is all bathed and fed and in bed and I am going to go do the same.

Not much doing today and no funny stories to tell.  Somewhat of a usual Tuesday.

Went to ulpan today and actually did well on one of the little tests that she gives us periodically.  Only made one minor mistake.  The teacher told me how great I did, something along the lines of “wow, tammy!” and when I looked over next to me the girl to my right had gotten all the questions right and she wasn’t praised at all.  I guess the teacher was just happy that I improved!  Kind of humiliating!!    I was proud of myself regardless.

Came home from ulpan and did some housework.  Then I got a call from Ben’s school that he wasn’t picked up!!  I went running there to get him.  He was supposed to be picked up by someone and taken to his baking chug.  The woman completely forgot him and only remembered when she got to the house that the chug was run in.  So she came running back to get him but school was already over for 15 minutes and they had called me and when he saw me he wanted me to take him there and not the woman who came back for him.  So I ran there with him and then came back home. 

Talia came home shortly thereafter with a friend.  They played nicely.  I gave Keren a bottle of formula that I had bought for the fast.  I plan to supplement and while I was able to pump for her on Tisha B’Av, I don’t think I’ll have enough for her now.  So I bought formula and my mom told me to try it to make sure she doesn’t have any reactions to it before yom kippur.  So i did that and it took about 30 minutes for her to drink only 5 ounces.  oy!  But she took it.  She wasn’t in love with it but I hope to only have to give her 1 or maybe 2 bottles on yom kippur.  The fast ends so early here that it’s not so bad. 

I took Ben and Keren to the park and left Eric home with Talia and her friend.  He was working upstairs so I set the timer on the oven and I told them that when it rings that they should leave and go to their art chug.  So they did.  Talia brought home an amazing cactus that she made the past 3 weeks.  At the park Ben met his friend Matthew so they played nicely and I talked to the girl that brought Matthew to the park.  I met some other moms in the park later on.

We came home at 5:30 and met Talia on her way home and the came in to feed the kids dinner.  After about 15-20 minutes the bell rang and it was my friend Geri from ulpan.  She is the one that is in love with Keren and calls herself her Bubby Israel, or something to that effect.  Anyway, she came with gifts for all the kids.  She brought the kids candy, which they were THRILLED about and she bought Keren one of those things that you put on the fridge that they teeth on and 2 outfits and a little hat!  She is so sweet.  I think maybe I’ll have her over one Shabbat for a meal.  I couldn’t believe it.

Somehow after Talia’s bath and between Ben’s bath we got involved watching home videos.  We got carried away and the next thing I knew it was 7:45 and I still had to get Ben in the bath.  After turning them off and promising that they can watch tomorrow as much as they want, I wrestled him into the bath and threw them into bed.  Phew.

Two men came tonight, within 5 minutes of each other, to sell me books in Hebrew.  Annoying!  I was in the middle of talking on the phone and I was eating dinner and Keren was screaming in bed.  uch!

Off to fold laundry and watch the rest of Boston Legal and then off to bed.

(see, boring blog!)

What a day!   A day off from Ulpan today.  I definitely made the most of it that I could.

In the morning Eric got the kids off to school and I stayed in bed until 8 at which time I heard Keren was awake so i got her and fed her.  She was so cute.  She was laying in her bed on her back and holding her feet and cooing.  She’s discovered her new best friends, her feet!  She plays with them and Eric even shoved them in her mouth yesterday much to her delight.  She was cracking up!! 

In the morning I ran to the supermarket, the yucky one that is close that I don’t like but gives free tupperwares.  I got almost everything I needed.  I chickened out when it came time to waiting on line for the chicken and for the steak that I wanted to buy.  The line was too long and I knew that I was going to be pressured when it came time to buy them and I had no clue what cut of meat to get!  I wanted the equivalent of a skirt steak but I knew they wouldn’t know what I was talking about.  In the end I gave up and left and figured I would get it another time.  It is easier in America b/c you don’t have to look at a big chunk of meat and figure out what it is.  It is all pre-packaged for you.  In a way that is nicer but of course it is fresher this way. 
After that I came home and picked up Eric and Keren and we went to the mall in Modiin. It was really nice.  We got a kippah for Ben, some paper for the printer and an English-Hebrew pocket dictionary.  Then we went to the supermarket in the mall and got that meat and chicken that I wanted.  It wasn’t as busy and between the two of us we got something that looks good. The guy there was very patient with us and explained some of it to us.

Next we went to Michal Negrin and I picked out an anniversary present for myself.  We are coming up on number 10 this November and Eric bought me my present a little early this year.  it’s a beautiful necklace.  yay.

Next we went to Cafe Hillel to have lunch!  After that we stopped at the drug store to pick up Keren’s immunization (yes we are still dealing with it) and now we just have to take it to the nurse to have them give it to her sometime this week.  Thank goodness we’ll only have to do this one more time since it’s a three-part vaccine.  At least now we know what to do!

It was a nice morning.

I picked Ben up at 1:30, as usual, and we hung out until Talia came home playing games on the computer, etc.  When Talia came home she told me that there is a birthday party today for one of the girls in her class that I completely forgot about.  I quickly called her mother to ask her if she could come even though we didn’t rsvp.  I didn’t want Talia to just show up.  Turns out, as the mother explained to me, you don’t rsvp for parties in Israel, you just show up.  So Talia quickly did her homework and just before we were going to run out to get a gift for the party Eric suggested that I call someone and find out what people do for gifts here.  He said that if you aren’t expected to rsvp maybe you aren’t expected to bring a gift.  So I called a friend and she said that people do bring gifts but they bring things like stick on earrings and nails or pencils in a pencil case or some markers or something like that.  She told me not to spend a lot.  So with that advice we got what we needed and Talia went to her party.

While she was at the party Ben and I made dinner and hung out.  Then we picked her up.  She said that she didn’t understand most of the games but she won prizes and she was happy.  Ben got a goodie bag too and he was thrilled.

Tonight we went through some of Talia’s hand-me-down clothing to make sure she has stuff for the fall/winter here for Shabbat and thank goodness she has about 4 outfits which should cover us.

Very exciting news, I’ve been able to upload 1 photo at a time to yorkphoto.  So I very very slowly uploaded some of the pictures that I’ve been unable to upload here b/c of the internet/phone issue.  So I am going to attach a link of just a few pictures so that you can see how the kids are growing and the things we’ve been doing here.

http://www.yorkphoto.com/share/p=38761223317904860/l=419333192/g=70636009/cobrandOid=1002/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Enjoy!