Talia’s Patach/Kamatz party, Shabbat and Sunday

So Friday morning we had Talia’s Kamatz/Patach party.  W got to her school at 8:30 with a very unhappy Keren.  Keren woke up with fever and all snotty.  Anyway, the hallway of her school was set up with little tables and at every table was a game to play that had to do with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  It was very cute but very crowded and squishy!  Because of all the bodies in the hallway, they wanted all the parents who brought strollers with younger siblings to move out of the way and my friend Heidi suggested babysitting and they put all the kids in one room with some older kids who were running the games and they watched our kids for us.  It was really great!

So we played games for about an hour and Talia got prizes and then we were all called into a room where they sang their songs and a few speeches were made.  It was very cute.

Next we were called into Talia’s classroom where we ate breakfast.  It was also very crowded there but at least the boys were in the boys’ classroom and the girls were in their classroom.  In the end we wound up staying until 10:30!!  It was one long party!  All the moms (and one dad) were looking at their watches b/c it was Friday and we had to get out of there and cook for Shabbat.

Friday afternoon was spent getting the house ready for Shabbat and for the three seminary girls who came.  I had to go to Robin’s house to borrow a comforter cover and I wound up taking Eitan home with me so that he could play with Ben.  I was happy to have him since Ben is ALWAYS there and I feel bad that he never comes here.  The 3 kids played nicely together while I cooked and cleaned up so that was great.  While all this was going on Keren was sleeping.  She slept for 4 hours!  When she woke up she was in a really grouchy mood and would only let me hold her.  Then only part of the day she spent in a good mood was during her bath.

The girls came in the afternoon, around 3-ish and they were adorable.   Three girls from England with the cutest accents. 

Friday night we ate and the kids fell asleep, Talia on the couch and Ben at te table laying on two chairs.  The girls were a quiet bunch but very sweet and very helpful and the kids adored them.  Unfortunately because we’ve had seminary girls in the past and they’ve never gone to shul Friday night, Eric left to shul without them. So Talia walked them to shul and I asked her to tell Eric that they were there before she came home but there were some protests going on outside the yishuv but close by and the army was firing tear gas and it apparently spread to that side of the yishuv and Talia came home and said she couldn’t breath and she was all upset.  So of course Eric came home without them and I was worried that they wouldn’t know the way back so Talia went to find them and then Eric left and then Talia came home with them but then we lost Eric…  In the end we all managed to find each other.

Shabbat we went to the other shul, the more Israeli shul.  It was really nice.  I think we are going to be going there from now on.  I also found out the groups there are supposed to be amazing.  So I am going to force the kids to go to groups there.  Wish me luck!

We came home and we played some bananagrams.  It was great.  Did I mention I love having seminary girls over?  Then we ate lunch and the girls played with the kids a little.  Then they went to rest and I read to the kids and then they went to the park.  As I was on my way upstairs to take a short nap Keren woke up from her really short nap.  Argh! 

Last night Avivit called to see if we wanted to go out to Petach Tikvah.  I was in the mood to go out and wasn’t feeling particularly tired so we called a babysitter and we went and we even left Keren here!!  Of course the second I walked downstairs after putting Keren to sleep she woke up and started crying.   I told the babysitter to leave her alone and she would probably stop.  Luckily she did.  Of course at one point during the evening my phone rang and I went running to it afraid that it was the sitter but in the end it was  a friend from ulpan.  We spent the evening sitting with Avi and Avivit and talking and it was really nice.

Today was a productive day around the house.  I really meant to try to get to the advanced ulpan class this morning but I was too tired after going to sleep so late and I just couldn’t get out of bed.  That, combined with the knowledge that Eric is leaving tonight and this would be the last time I could sleep in for the rest of the week (not that I can sleep in when he is here but whatever), really kept me in bed this morning.  I got up late and did some cleaning up from Shabbat and just random organizing.  We’ve switched Keren out of her old car seat and into the Britax.  So we had to put that stuff away and the wheels from the Snap N’ Go away and take out the other strollers and make room for everything.  I did about 4 loads of laundry today!  In fact, I still haven’t quite finished with everything.  Between all the bedding and everything, it’s been a long day of laundry.  While doing one of the loads Keren kind of escaped out of the laundry basket that I plopped her in and I found her on her way down the steps.  By that I mean she was trying to go down the stone steps head first.  Her feet were dangling in the air and she was on the second step from the top.  I thought I would have a heart attack right then and there.  Next time I do laundry you can be sure that I will have her in that laundry room with me and the door will be closed!!!  That was too close a call. 

We had hoped that today would be the day that we would finally get our car.  Of course when Eric went there this afternoon it wasn’t ready.  The still hadn’t fixed something on the bottom outside of the car that is purely cosmetic but nevertheless needs to be fixed.  So we are going to wait another week until Eric comes home and then pick it up next Sunday and drop my grandfather’s car off by their apartment.  It’s been a long wait for this car.

After the kids came home today we had lunch – pizza on pita – and hung out for a bit until Talia had her English chug.  Talia, Ben and I rode our bikes to her chug and then Ben and I rode home and hung out some more.  After I rode to get Talia the kids watched a movie and played with their shrinky dinks and then we had dinner and showered and went to sleep.

Eric is on his way to the airport now.  He’ll be gone for 4 days.

So I better get to sleep now since I will be flying solo this week!