Shabbat in Petach Tikvah

So Friday we packed up when the kids came home and went to Petach Tikvah to stay by my grandparents.  It’s funny b/c I didn’t find out until Friday night that it was Halloween that day.  You don’t see anything or hear anything about it here!  Talia was playing on her webkinz and she saw the ads pop up and she asked if it was coming up soon. 

As I was locking the door on Friday, Talia took Keren and decided she would push her in her stroller down the 3 steps we have in front of the house.  I thought she was just taking her TO the steps, like she usually does to help me.  Next thing I know I hear screaming.  You guessed it, she went flying and the stroller went flying and Keren wound up up-side-down in her stroller on the concrete floor!!!  Ben was crying b/c he saw what happened and Talia was crying b/c she knew what she had done, plus she was hurt and Keren was scared to death and crying and she had a red mark under her eye.  Even though she was strapped in, her face still hit the ground, I am guessing from the mark I saw.  Anyway, by now it is already better and there is really nothing there to see.  But it was REALLY REALLY SCARY!!

Friday night after we ate I tucked the kids into bed and then my grandmother and I went to the shalom zachor for my cousin Avi’s baby at his in-laws house.  My great aunt suzie stayed to babysit for Talia and Ben. I took Keren.  There were many many people there.  It was nice.  No so much fun since I really didn’t know anyone but I was allowed access downstairs to see Miriam and the baby and wish her a mazel tov since I hadn’t seen her since she had the baby or even spoken to her, for that matter.

We got home and I had to schlepp the stroller all the way up the 4 flights of stairs.  That was a blast.  Got to sleep around 11 and was woken by Talia around midnight.  She said someone was trying to get into the apt. and she was scared.  She said she heard someone at the door.  i don’t know what that was about.  So she spent part of the night on the floor in my room. That too was a blast.  Keren woke up a bunch of times and the kids woke up for the last time at 5:50 am.  Once again, what a blast!!  I heard them b/c I was nursing and I went to the living room and told them they better get their little tushies back into bed and get to sleep.  My grandmother said when she came out of her room around 7 they were still in their beds but they were awake.  They said they didn’t go back to sleep.

So we went to shul around 10 and stayed until it was over (only half an hour).  Then we walked with Savta to the park nearby and met Avi there who said they wree all asleep at his apt.  So we waited a bit and Savta went home and then finally we went upstairs and made kiddush and had some lunch.  Everyone loved the food that I made so i guess I finally am getting used to cooking here.    Oh, friends who live here were in Petach Tikvah also for Shabbat by her family so it was nice b/c the kids played together for a drop during shul and it was nice to have a friend there.

We got home from Avi and Avivi’ts house an hour before Shabbat was over.  It was too bad b/c Aunt Suzie said that if we would have come home earlier that she would have watched the kids and i could have napped!!!!  oh well.  We probably would have stayed even longer but Ben wasn’t on his best behavior and the kids were fighting a lot and i thought it was probably our time to go so they could have some peace and quiet.  It is a small apt. and we were a lot of people.

Tonight we packed up and we gave the kids something to eat quickly and then we rushed back over to Miriam’s parents’ house to since Hamalach HaGoel and say Shema with the baby.  They kids, who were the ones who were supposed to sing, of course did not want to sing.  We all sang instead.  The kids got goodie bags and they were thrilled.

We came straight home from there. Keren, who hadn’t slept ALL DAY b/c we were out and she doesn’t like to sleep on the go, fell asleep in the car and so did Ben.  Talia pretended to be asleep.  I got them all out of the car and into bed, unpacked, showered, ate and watched another episode of Weeds (almost finished with the whole season) and now I am going to go to sleep. 

Tomorrow we have the Brit back in Petach Tikvah at 2pm (only in Israel!)

All in all, it was a very nice weekend.  The kids haven’t mentioned Eric once (sorry Eric) but we are looking forward to him coming home in 5 more days (but whose counting?)