So today was like any other day.  I got the kids off to school and then I went to ulpan.  I told Ben’s teacher that his birthday is coming up in a week and she said that because there are so many kids that have already had birthdays and not celebrated them yet, they are going to be celebrating a bunch together. How stinky is that?!  So I am not sure when it’s going to be, hopefully somewhere near his actual birthday, but he’ll be having a party in school with some other kids.  She got a kick out of the fact that she asked him when his birthday is and he told her November 10th.

Anyway, after ulpan I came home to find out that the water was on.  They said they were turning it off from 9-2 but at 1:30 it was already on.  So I was able to clean up the breakfast dishes and then go get Ben from school.  When I picked him up he really really wanted to have a play date.  His first choice, Amitai, was busy.  We saw his friend/relative through marriage Eitan there and he said he wanted him to come over.  Robin, his mother, was thrilled b/c she had some errands to run and was afraid he was going to fall asleep in the car.  So he came over.  On the way home I bumped into Talia’s art teacher.  She is Israeli and we schmoozed (in Hebrew!) all the way home.   One off the things she said was that she sees a difference in Talia’s understanding of Hebrew and she doesn’t need to translate anything for her when she is at her house!  I am so happy to hear that.  I told her that she pretends that she doesn’t know any Hebrew when we ask her.

Anyway, I fed the kids lunch and they played for an hour.  Talia came home from school with a friend as well and I called her parents to let them know where she was.  The boys played together and the girls played together and it was all going very nicely.  Then I put Keren in for a nap and I wanted them to play quietly so they all wound up downstairs and Talia asked me to make play dough.  So I did and the 4 of them played together until 5!!  At 5 the little girl’s dad came to get her and I gave the 3kids the dinner I made soon after that.  Robin was still out.  Finally, around 5:30-ish Robin came as I was feeding the kids dinner.  I asked her daughter to babysit for us on Sat. night and she said yes, so that worked out well.  We talked for a little while, while the kids finished up their dinner. 

At the same time as all this was going on Rinat, the girl who comes over to help Talia with her Hebrew, walked in and had something to eat and then her mom stopped by to drop something off.  There was a lot going on.  Meanwhile, Keren was still asleep.

So they all left and Talia did her homework with Rinat and Ben and I attempted to get the play dough off the grout on the floor (unsuccessfully) and then we read a few books. 

Soon it was time for baths and bed!  Keren finally woke up at 6:30, after a 3 and a half hour nap.  So we are partying now.  She is watching Laurie Berkner, actually, while eatingher feet.  I think I’ll keep her up for another hour and then give her a bath and put her to sleep.  I’ve noticed lately, and someone this weekend also pointed it out to me although I can’t remember who, that she’s been grabbing things with her left hand and when I give her something she grabs it with her left hand.  Even now as I am writing this she’s eating her left foot that she’s grabbing with her left hand! 

Ben told me today that he knows how to say “it’s not the same picture” in Hebrew.  He told me it’s “ze lo oto davar.”  I explained to him that it means “that’s not the same thing” and not t”hat’s not the same picture” but that he got the gist and that was excellent. 

SO the kids appear to be getting the hang of the language here.  Slowly but surely they are going to speaking it.  Also, every word that they learn in Hebrew they learn with an accent and speak with an accent.  So all the Hebrew from before we came (which isn’t much) is said with an American accent and all the Hebrew they are speaking now is all with an Israeli accent.   It’s cute. 

Oh, forgot to mention we might have a slight ant problem.  There was a whole group of them congregating around something that must have at one time been a crumb of food outside the bathroom on the main floor.  I got most of them and have since been stepping on the stragglers.  Yuck!  Eric said this is the season.  Not sure how he knows that, though.