Dirty Shoes

This article totally freaks me out. Because my baby daughter Kayla seems to be drawn towards shoes. No matter how many toys or other things are in the room, she will find the pairs of shoes, go get them, and proceed (as many babies do) to put them in her mouth....

Ew gross!!

And after this article, I am slighty freaked out.
Can your flip-flops kill you?

Thanks to Concerned JewGirl for the link.

Scissors

Last year, at the end of the school year, Jonah's teacher mentioned to me that he has trouble cutting properly. So over the summer we worked a little bit with Jonah on cutting, letting him cut, and even buying him special Lefty scissors. At this point, we still aren't sure if he is a lefty or a righty because he uses different hands for different things. Even when he is writing, sometimes he uses his left hand for English writing and his right hand for Hebrew writing.

Cutting is a skill we take for granted but it is also a skill that we learned when we were young. Jonah is now learning that skill but as the one trying to teach him, it's not so easy. I show him how to hold the scissors but he says it hurts his hand. Instead of his thumb being on top, he likes his thumb on the bottom, with fingers on top. Well, that is about the extent of my occupational therapy skills. What else am I supposed to tell him or show him to get him to hold the scissors correctly?

Have you faced this issue or one similar with your children? What did you do? I did mention it to his new teacher this year and she said she had already noticed and would keep a further eye on it and try to work with him. She told me to work with him at home but I told her, I try to show him how to hold the scissors correctly and he just says it hurts and he doesn't want to. Not quite sure what else to do beyond that. She told me to let him practice cutting. But does it matter if he is cutting "incorrectly"?

Shauli thinks this whole thing is craziness. Let the kid cut, the way he wants to. What does it matter? Why is everyone making such a big deal about how he holds the scissors? I don't really know the answer but I'm guessing it has to do with other fine motor skills. If he can't hold scissors correctly and it hurts him, maybe it will affect other fine motor skills in the future. Or maybe it's just an issue with cutting and I should let him cut the way that is most comfortable for him.

Need some opinions on this one ...............

Letter to Our Aliyah Shalicha :)

Dear Shira,

Hi there. I just wanted to drop a quick line to you and let you know how we are doing, a year after we made Aliyah.

We moved to Israel last September and moved straight to Ariel. We could not have made a better decision or found a more fitting city. It is beautiful, the community is so warm and welcoming, and it is situated in central Israel and therefore close to everything. The Anglo community has really grown in the past year and we have found both new Israeli and Anglo friends. In fact, we just hosted a Kiddush on Shabbat to celebrate the birth of our daughter and to celebrate the completion of our first year. One of the hardest things about making Aliyah was leaving our friends and some family behind and I was filled with such warmth and happiness looking around and being surrounded by so many new friends.

I want to thank you so much for your assistance in helping us with this huge step in our lives. I'd also like to make a personal request. When you speak to people considering Aliyah and talk with them about communities, please keep Ariel on file in your mind. :) It is really is a fantastic community - a real city with a small town feel to it, a growing Anglo community but plenty of immersion with Israelis. Affordable housing, and not too far from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. I would be happy to be in touch with anyone considering making Aliyah and/or moving to Ariel and tell them about my experiences here. Ariel may not be the city for everyone but I know there are many many people that would be and are happy here. I appreciate you spreading the word to those it may be right for.

By the way, are you the Shaliach for St. Louis too? And if so, has my grandmother, Margo Grossmann been in touch with you? I know she is considering Aliyah (which would make us SOOOO happy) so I thought I would let you know she is my dear Grandma. :)

Thanks again,
Natalie Zacks

PS- I am attaching a family picture taken a few months ago at my nephew's bar-mitzvah.

Shauli's Speech at the Kiddush

Shabbat Shalom,
We decided to give this Kiddush to give thanks to Hashem for the birth of our daughter, Kayla Rivkah, and to celebrate completing our first year living in Israel.
We named our daughter, who was born in January, Kayla Rivkah. She is named after my grandmother, Rivkah. She was a great בעלת חסד, her house was always open to guests, and our hope is that little Kayla can emulate her מדות . As we were looking for names, we came across the name Kayla, which we really liked. We discovered that the name Kayla has Hebrew origins meaning crowns. Or so we thought.

After I named her in shul, Rav Avner came over and asked me what Kayla is. Shai Urim was there and he answered it’s a very nice American name. So go figure, we have our first child born in Israel and we give her an American name!

However, since then we’ve heard some nice possible meanings for Kayla, such as derived from the name Michaela, which means "who is like G-d", or that it is connected to to the Hebrew word קהילה ,community.

Which brings me to the second reason for this Kiddush. We celebrated our first complete year in Israel this past week,and it has been quite the experince, ברוך השם We, as well as our kids, have adjusted to life here, found friends, and can't imagine living elsewhere. We are filled with gratitude to Hashem and to the Ariel community, who have made us feel at right home.

Thank you very much!

Kiddush

Well, the Kiddush on Shabbat was a smashing success!!!!

We decided to finally have Kayla's Kiddush (to celebrate and thank G-d for her birth) and also have the Kiddush to celebrate our 1 year "Aliyahversary".

Did a big shopping trip on Wednesday (thanks to Rechelle for the ride and to Joanna for calming me down and helping me choose pretty tablecloths, napkins, etc.)

Thursday we had a family BBQ for those who wouldn't be able to come to the Kiddush. But only Sarra, Shlomo, Sruli, and Shev showed up - plus our friend Shlomi. Must have been something about "S" names. Although that doesn't excuse Sim, Shany, Shilo, and Shoham. :)

Friday, Shu and I cooked for Shabbat dinner in the morning and then I started getting nervous about the cake platters I bought. They were WAY too small! So Jonah, Sammy, and I went to the mercaz and raided the 5 NIS store. It's supposedly the $1 store but that would mean 3.77 NIS so that's not quite the case. Jonah and Sammy each got a toy for coming along and behaving so nicely, and I didn't find any platters but just bought big rectangle aluminum pans to put the pretty pink napkins inside. The boys also each got a "Barad" (icee) before we left too.

As we got off the bus near our house they saw Dotan (of the barbershop Otan and Dotan) sitting outside his shop. They are huge fans of Otan and Dotan and often call out their window "Otaaaaaan! Dotaaaaaan!" as they are supposed to be sleeping because they can see the shop from their window. We passed him and Jonah said I want to get my haircut. Sammy agreed. I was surprised but that was fine. I had planned to take them next week but with Sammy's long days at daycare, getting a haircut today and next door would be preferable.

We went home, got some money, and returned. Little did we know - there was a LOOONG wait. Jonah was fine. Sammy began to freak out before we even got through the door. He was clinging to me, crying, and begging to go home. But after the 20+ minutes we ended up waiting (and the stickers Dotan gave them) he calmed down enough and was ready for a haircut. Jonah went first and did an excellent job. He's a pro already and has never really been scared of haircuts. Although at some point he got hair in his mouth so he tried to wipe it off with the "cape" that he was wearing and proceeded to get hair all in his mouth and all over his face. It was pretty gross - poor kid.
Sammy's turn! He asked to sit on my lap but Dotan convinced him it was more comfortable to sit on the big pillow instead. He looked so small sitting in that big chair with the haircut cape on him. Just his tiny head and tiny feet sticking out. I wished I had my camera. And he had such a brave look on his face!!! Well, we got through the haircut and he did surprisingly well. I think even Dotan was shocked. Kol HaKavod Sammy!!

Back to Kiddush preperations....got home and started getting nervous. There was still so much prep and then we had to get the things to shul. AH! How was it all going to get done?? Lucky for me, my friend Yael called and offered to come over with a friend and help me out. They had both worked at Chabad on Campus and were used to preparing meals for lots and lots of people. They came over and I showed them the pans, baked goods, and veggies (needed to be sliced and plated). If life were a cartoon, there would be a whirlwind of activity, hands moving, peels flying, and in a minute, the dust would settle and there would be 5 platters of baked good and 4 platters of veggies all perfectly prepared. Wow!

Then our friend Josh came by and picked up the sodas, boxes of food and paper goods, and the baked goods and veggies and we dropped them off at the shul. That was that.

Had a very nice Shabbat dinner along with our friend Shaya who spent Shabbat with us. Then we had a scary experience with Shauli breaking out all over his body in hives!! That was not fun. But he survived, thank G-d. We think it may have been an allergic reaction to the new detergent I used. Who knew Shu was so sensitive?! :)

Shabbat morning arrived and the guys headed for shul. I made it there by about 10:00 and fluttered around nervously until kiddush time. Then so many people offered to help I didn't even know what to do with everyone! Luckily, Idit and Joanna and Yael and a few others really took care of things. The tables got set, the food went out, and it was time. Rav Avner made kiddush and once again, in cartoon world there was a whirlwind. Plates flying, crumbs all over, and when the dust settled, the food was all gone.......
:)
A regular kiddush at our shul consists of Bamba, pretzals, chips, crackers, store bought brick cake and soda. A fancy kiddush consists of those items plus cholent and kugels. We made it in between and served: Bamba, pretzals, crackers, pink and white marshmallows, carrots and cukes, chummous and matbucha, and home made cakes, cookies, and brownies. Not to mention instead of just plain white tableclothes and napkins, we spruced it up a bit with bright pink tablecloths and cute pink napkins with baby girl shoes on them.

Avi introduced us and I think he said some nice things about us, however it was all in Hebrew so I didn't quite catch it all. Then Shauli made a nice speech both in English and Hebrew (I will post in my next blog) and then we cleaned up and that was that. I met a bunch of new people who asked about Kayla and about us in general and we got lots of compliments on the Kiddush. So Hooray! It was a success!!
Thanks everyone for all your help and for those who couldn't make it, you were missed.....

I will attach a pic of the cute napkins and maybe one of the tables (although that was Friday afternoon so it's missing quite a bit of the food).

School - Then and Now

As we approached the beginning of the school year, there was a feeling of excitement in the air. For about a week prior to school starting, whenever you met another parent, the conversation always started with - it's almost time for school to start. Hooray!!!!
Gan started on September 1st, Jonah's 5th birthday. So it was a good day in general! He is in Gan Chova this year which is the equivalent of Kindergarten. He also switched from the 3+4 year old gan to the 4+5 year old Gan.


The Big Day

Jonah was mostly looking forward to his new Gan and we had gone to an Orientation the week before. We met the teachers and saw the Gan and the yard (complete with basketball net).
Although as we got closer, he was a bit more hesitant and as we passed his old Gan he said, I don't think I want to go to Gan. But he put on a brave front and we arrived at the Gan. The teachers greeted him warmly and he sat down at a table to play with the other kids. I stuck around for a few minutes, taking pictures, and chatting with him and some of the other parents. Every once in awhile he would glance at me and give me a shy smile. He was fine with me leaving.....I was the one who was having a harder time. Well, Sammy (my 2 year old) was really excited to go to Ma'on (daycare) and kept pulling on me, "Let's goooo". I waved goodbye to Jonah and off we went.



I cannot begin to compare the difference between leaving him last year and leaving him this year. And I am NOT envious at all of the new Olim going through this with their own kids. I remember the tears, the emotion, the heartbreak. In fact, one day I too left in tears. I kept wondering, what did I do to my kid??? How could I take him away from a Gan he loved going to every day and put him somewhere that he doesn't know the kids, doesn't speak the language, and is in tears as I leave.

Those were a rough couple of weeks in the beginning. But now I look at him and listen to him talk about Gan and I want to burst with pride. Because not only does he enjoy going (and his teachers seem to love him) but he is helping out the 2 other Olim boys that are in his Gan. Whether it's translating between them and the teacher or showing them different toys, or playing with them in the yard, he is helping them fit in and feel comfortable. And next year, those boys can help the next batch of Olim. It's a good cycle we have going here. And a fantastic community.

Baruch Hashem, Baruch Hashem, Thank G-d!!! Life is good. :)

To Serve or Not To Serve

I was so proud of myself for getting a jump on my Shabbat cooking last night. I made 2 challahs and a Rice/Noodle dish. And then I was really tired so I went to bed.

Sadly, the little elves who were supposed to put away my food left the rice and noodles out of the fridge.

So, here is the question. It came out of the oven about 10:30pm and went into the fridge (when Kayla woke me up) at about 5:30am. It was no longer hot.

Before I throw it out, I figured I would check with my loyal readers (and those who know more about Food Safety than I) and see what you think. Is there any salvaging this dish?

The ingredients are rice,noodles, chicken soup mix, onion soup mix, margarine, and boiling water.

Let me know what you think - and I prefer to err on the safe side!

Speaking of Sauce.....

Me to Kayla: Kayla, are you hungry? What should I feed you?

Jonah: Mommy, feed her some Potato Sauce.

Me: What's potato sauce?

Jonah: It's like apple sauce. But made from potatoes.

Me: Oh yes, of course....

Language Barrier

I was looking for some applesauce today and stopped at the dry goods store in the Merkaz of Ariel. They sell a lot of random things in addition to the spices, beans, rice, nuts, etc. so I figured I would take a chance.

I asked the man if they sell "Apple sauce" but I said it in English because neither me or Jonah knew how to ask for it. He didn't seem to understand although repeated the word "sauce". I said in Hebrew, "you take apples" and made the motion of like grinding them up. He looked like he might know what I was talking about and walked over to a table. From there, he took something and asked if that was what I was looking for. It was some kind of spread and he asked me, "to put on sandwiches?" I said no, to eat and made the motion of eating something with a spoon. I said for kids, or babies, or anyone really...

Then he said, "Ohh.....we call that Gerber".

:)

Petition

Please sign this petition to Ron Nachmun, Mayor of Ariel, and the Name Change Committee.
Mayor Ron Nachmun wants to change the meaning behind the name of Ariel to honor Ariel Sharon.
You can see an article about it here: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/132385

Ariel Sharon was behind the Disengagement of Gaza 4 years ago. Some of the community of Netzarim now lives in Ariel and it would be a slap in the face to them if the city decided to honor the very same person who threw them out of their homes. And for what?

For peace? Or for the Arabs to destroy that part of the land......

Here is a link to the petition:

http://www.atzuma.co.il/petition/arielcity/1

Thank you!

If I forget thee, O Jerusalem

Psalm 137 contains the phrase "אם אשכחך ירושלים תשכח ימיני - If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget".

Jonah and I were discussing why today, the 9th of Av, is such a sad day. I asked him why it is a sad day and he told me because the" בית המקדש נרשף, the Holy Temple burnt."
I asked if he knew the song "אם אשכחך" and if he knew what it meant (see translation above).

He told me, "Well, Mommy, I'll always remember Yerushalyim, but sometimes I forget which is my right hand."

May everyone have an easy and meaningful fast and may this day next year be one of celebration at our Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Poll

Question:

For those of you who have made Aliyah or are making Aliyah - where did you choose to move, why, and how did you find out about it?

Thanks!

I love Ariel.

I wrote the title and accidentally posted that as my blog. But that pretty well sums it up. Everything else is just details.

When we came on a pilot trip a year and a half ago, we had 2 questions to answer. Do we (by we, I mean Shauli) actually want to make Aliyah and where do we want to live. The first question is difficult but at the same time simple. It's a yes or a no. The path of our lives depends on this decision but there is no grey area - we make Aliyah or we don't. Lucky for us, the answer was Yes.

Question 2 was actually harder. There were SOOOO many options. SOOOOO many places to live and how in the world were we supposed to decide where to move based on spending a couple hours somewhere - with someone who does like living there. That was really intimidating to me.

I think we had a list of about 20 cities to check out. We made it to about 5.
Maalot - Pros = FAMILY, beautiful, not too big/small, big houses. CONS = few Americans, too FAR from everything/everyone.

Modiin - Pros = FAMILY........ Americans (for Shauli) Cons = Affordable renting/not affordable buying, Way too many Americans (for Natalie), too big of a city, bland. Or in the words of one of the residents of Modiin a "Concrete Legoland".

Tel Mund - Our dream city (based on what we read in the Bayit Neeman B'Yisrael book). The people who showed us around had a GORGEOUS 7 bedroom MANSION (of course, they just sold their house in the 5 towns, etc etc). We asked if there were any younger couples, with not so much money...basically the answer was no.

Pardes Hana-Karkur - not sure how we ended up at this place but it was a strange little town. Not for us....

Rechovot/Kfar Saba/Ramat Gan(?) - Drove through and decided on the spot they were too big for us. We didn't want a real city with real city problems like traffic and parking and noise.

Ariel - "Come to Ariel lalalalalala" Sorry, that's the ringer for the people who work in Ariel (like Reuven and Milka and used to be Avi). If you've called them, you know what I mean and you are singing it now too.
Ariel kind of snuck onto our radar. We had our pilot trip set with our list of 20 cities and right before we went on our pilot trip we met with someone from NBN who talked with us about cities and said that maybe we should check it out. So we did.
We spoke to the Aliyah coordinator for about an hour about it. Then we came to visit. Then we came back for Shabbat. And we loved it! From what we could tell, the community was very welcoming, it was pretty, it had everything you need for your day to day living but without the probs of a large city, it was affordable. It was also the first city we went to where people laid the cards on the table. They told us about Ariel (pros and cons) and it was like "This is our city. Take it or leave it. If it's for you, GREAT, we can't wait to welcome you with open arms. If it's not, ok". I didn't feel like they were trying to "sell it". Maybe because it doesn't need to be sold. If this is the type of place you are looking for, it sells itself. And if you aren't interested and are looking at places like Modiin, Maaleh Adumim, or Ramat Beit Shemesh - then this city probably is not for you.
At the time of our pilot trip, there were not a lot of Americans. But there was a lot of enthusiasm about bringing Americans. From the mayor to the people in the community - their goal is getting Olim to Ariel. And they will do whatever they can to help accomplish that.
So we became some of the pioneers of Ariel. The first batch came last summer (that was us and some others) and a few more trickled in through the year and another batch are coming this summer. And it's wonderful. Every person who makes Aliyah to Ariel (or who moves here from within Israel) makes a difference here. That is one of the best things about this community - you make a difference. You can get more involved or less involved but you are a part of Something and you matter. You don't get lost in the crowd.
And for Olim Hadashim, who are making this HUGE, somewhat terrifying move - we are here for you. The Israeli community is here for you. And us "veteran" Olim are here for you. Reuven (the Aliyah coordinator) is here for you, and the real veteran Anglos are here for you. From setting up a bank account and health insurance, to grocery shopping, to buying school supplies. There is someone who will hold your hand every step of the way - until you find your footing and can do it yourself. And then you will take the next Olah's hand and help them.....
That was really important to me. Because Aliyah is scary. It's a dream come true but it's not easy. And the fact that I had people there for me to answer both the big questions and the small was phenomenal. And I hope I can be there for the newbies like others were here for us.

One more thing that really sold it for me. Because this is something new for Ariel and the Anglo community is just starting out - the possibilities are endless. If you want something to happen here - step up to the plate and bring it. Leah wanted to have Shiurim in English, she now gives a weekly parsha class AND a weekly Pirkei Avot class. And people even come from Tapuach for it! Jodi wanted an English story hour and once a week, we get together at someone's house with the kids and she reads a story and does an activity with them. I wanted a weekly basketball game, and I started a weekly basketball game. And people come from Har Bracha, Itamar, and soon from Yakir for it! Yael wants to make an English Resource Center for the Shomron and she is working on that. We can help shape and mold this community the way that we want it to be.

I look forward to looking back :) 20 years from now and seeing how far we have come.

I am not going to say everyone should come to Ariel. Because they shouldn't. Not everyone would like it here (even if I can't understand why). But I do know there are people out there who are looking for something just like Ariel - and those are the people we want to find. This was actually the point of my blog. Yes, I had a point - not just to sing the praises of Ariel.

How can we get the word out? Where do people look when they are looking for a city to settle in? The NBN group seems to be mostly people who already made Aliyah or people who have been accepted to NBN - but I feel at that point, a lot already know where they are going.
For those of you who made Aliyah/are making Aliyah - where did you go to check out cities? Where should I post info about Ariel and what sort of things do people want to know about?

Thanks for your help and please come visit us "Settlers" sometime......

Settler Names

Jonah made a new friend on Shabbat. This kid will be going to Gan with him next year. They became friends because said kid had brought a bunch of little airplanes to shul. Jonah saw that and it was instant friendship. :)

His pal's name is O'have Tzion or אוהב ציון. In Hebrew O'have means love and Tzion is Zion aka Israel. So would that be Loves Zion or Lover of Zion? Lover for short? :)

His brother's name is Na'ar Shalom. I think that translates to a Peaceful Boy.

There is a 3rd child with also a very "Settler-like" name but I can't remember it.

And they say Kayla is a strange name......

Scar Cream?

This is a random post.....

Both of my previous c-section scars healed very nicely and evenly.
This time around, half the scar has basically healed and is even hard to see and half the scar is still red and ugly and gross. The surgeon did not stay on the same scar line for this half, but went below the originals. Not sure why.

Anyway, I vaguely remembering hearing about some kind of cream in the States that you apply to a scar and it helps heal it faster, better, etc.
So my questions are:

Does anyone know of this cream? What is it called?
Does it work?
Do they sell it in Israel or do I need to get it "imported"?
Is there anything else I can use to help a scar heal?

Thanks!

Basket Case

I am sure you have all heard the term "basket case". Generally in reference to someone who is a mess, right?

Well, Kayla is having a very hard day. I don't know if it is because she hasn't napped well today or if it is because she might be teething. Whatever the case may be she was crying A LOT!!! And was only happy sometimes if I was holding her and walking around.

I was able to put her down for a minute with Jonah entertaining her (G-d bless older brothers)and came to the computer. I was chatting with my friend online (Shout out to Ariella T!!!) and said that Kayla was such a basket case. She said "haha, basket case. What is the origin of that?" I told her that was a good question, I certainly had no clue. And since we are living in the Age of Information At Our Fingertips, I googled it. Here ya go:

Originating in World War I for a soldier who had lost all four limbs in combat and consequently had to be carried in a litter ("basket"), this term was then transferred to an emotionally or mentally unstable person and later to anything that failed to function. [Slang; second half of 1900s]

And to think I called my daughter a "Basket Case"!!! I'm sorry Kayla....
I wonder what other terms I am using for my daughter that have terrible origins. :P

Kayla's Kiddush

Boys are easier because you know that when the baby is born, the Friday night afterwards is the Shalom Zachor. And you know that assuming the baby is healthy etc, the bris is 1 week later. There is no procrastinating, there is no inviting, it's just the way things are. So while initially I may have thought having a girl party is easier because we can be more laid back, it's infinitely harder to organize. Also with the Shalom Zachor and brit, friends and family basically took care of it all. I wasn't quite up to it so soon after the birth.

Here we are, Kayla is 4 months old and we have not had a kiddush for her yet. So I really want to do something about that.

The question is do we just do a simple little thing at our shul? From what I understand, it's a bring your own kiddush food.
Do we still do something at our shul but also invite friends and family?
If friends and family actually come........where do we put them all? To sleep? To eat? To hang out?

Or do we do something on a weeknight or on a Friday morning.

My friend in the States who had a baby girl shortly after I did also has not done a Kiddush yet. She offered to have a Kiddush together with us and then we could split the cost. But that offer didn't go for the plane tickets too......

Any thoughts? Advice?

Skills

Just wanted to give a little Kayla Update.

She is 4 months old now. Plus a week or so.

She weighs 5 kilo which is 11 lbs.

I don't know how long she is because the last 2 visits they didn't measure her. But the doctor asked if I thought she was longer than before. I said yes. That seemed to satisfy him. :)

She sleeps through the night very very well. (Bli Ayin Hora!!)

She smiles. She laughs. She makes cooing and happy noises. She skwacks. I don't know how to spell that or even if it is a real word. But it's a noise she makes when she wants attention.

And her latest and greatest feat that she started on Thursday and is now a pro at - she rolls over. From back to tummy. Sometimes her hand gets stuck and she can't pull it out (so she skwacks). But she is working it out.

And she's awesome and fabulous and adorable and wonderful.

That's your Kayla update.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Just wanted to wish all the Moms out there a very Happy Mother's Day!!!
To my Moms - Happy Mother's Day - I miss you!!
To all those who have been like a Mom to me - Happy Mother's Day - I am sorry that I have not been better in touch.
To my Grandma and Bubby - Happy Mother's Day to 2 wonderful, amazing ladies - you inspire me.
To all my fantastic sis-in-laws who I consider to be my sisters - I love seeing (most) of you so often, let's continue the simchas (not it). And to D back in the States - yes, we know you're the fave now.
And to all my friends, many of which are either new moms, Mom-To-Be's, or mommies of newborns (in addition to toddlers) - you are all incredible and I miss you so terribly much!!

Update

The truth is, there have been so many things that I have wanted to blog about lately but when it all comes down to it, I haven't had the time. When I am at my computer, I am usually working. And when I am not working, I am often chasing after one kid or another.
3 kids - whew. Wipes me out...

So, I'll give a general update.....
Life is good. Thank G-d. Kids are good, thank G-d. I am so so so happy the winter is over because Bli Iyin Hora, we are able to stay healthy for more than 2 weeks at a time. Not to mention it's great having the windows open and getting the fresh air. I love this weather!

We got Jonah's confirmation that he is going to Gan Lotus next year. We will miss Arazim but it's time for him to move on to bigger and better things. :) This year he was in a Gan for 3+4 year olds (Gan Trom Trom Chova and Gan Trom Chova) and next year it is for 4+5 year olds (Gan Trom Chova and Gan Chova). He will just be there for 1 year though before he starts 1st grade. I am a little nervous because I don't know many of the kids - most of his little friends are staying at Gan Arazim but we know a few people switching over and I assume we will meet people. My Hebrew is improving bit by bit although I am still somewhat intimidated to use it. No matter, Jonah will meet people with no problem. His Hebrew is amazing!! He is even picking up the different verbs for boys and girls. Nice. I'm also excited about his new Gan because he will go until 3:30 everyday instead of 1:30. Woohoo!!!

Sammy had a crazy language explosion over Pesach. We were getting a little concerned because he wasn't using a lot of words and he wasn't putting words together. But we spent Pesach with his cousins (R&V for Seder and Shabbat and S&G plus S&S for the rest of the time). The cousins spent hours and hours playing with each other and Sammy just started talking and talking and talking. He doesn't stop now - B"H! Some of his cutest phrases are "Ew, gwoss" and "Woah baby!".

Kayla, our little princess, is getting so big - even though she is just in the 8th percentile for weight. She's just an itty bitty thing but so much bigger than when we first brought her home. She is finally starting to grow into some of her 3 month clothes. All her 3-6 month are still packed away in a bag just waiting..... She started smiling but she is a pretty serious kid. You have to work for your smile, she doesn't just give them out willy nilly. :) Her 2 big brothers absolutely adore her still and love to take care of her and worry about her when she cries. It's really really sweet. She sleeps VERY VERY well at night (Bli Iyin Hora - it's about time I get a good sleeper!!!) but likes to be held and paid attention to when she is awake.... we'll see how long I can work from home with her.

Shu is getting ready to start his own company. He has been having meetings with lawyers and accountants, and his partner - working on the nitty gritty. So he goes to J'lem a lot. In general that's ok but not when he gets lost trying to get to the trempiata (hitching post) and doesn't get home for hours and hours. This happened a couple times recently and I was nearly out of my mind from the kids. 3 tired kids in the evening - it's a lot of work.

As for me....same ol same ol, I suppose. Still working on the medical billing. It is a job that has really saved us this year - I am not sure what we would have done if we came to Israel with no jobs! Of course, it's not my dream job and one day I will move on. But for now, it fits perfectly. My hours are flexible, I can work day or night. So that's convenient. A couple times the websites I use weren't working so that was really annoying. Especially when it is over the weekend and people don't work on Sunday so I can't call to resolve the issue. Or if I am working in the morning here - it's the middle of the night in the States. So that doesn't help either. Annoying.
I am getting closer and closer to starting a women's basketball game. We had a time and a place (and a cost - booo) but that all fell apart when the guy in charge of sports quit his job. There was some shady stuff going on and apparently he feared for his life and the lives of his family. Yikes! But I persevered and there is a meeting today with the head of the Matnas (community center) and my game will be brought up. So hopefully that will get sorted out and we can start playing this week or next week. The question is do we keep it Anglo or invite the Hebs?
I am missing my friends in the States really really really badly. It's been really hard since Kayla was born because my friends there and some family haven't met her yet. It's weird and I don't like it. And I have a LOT of friends in the States who are either pregnant or recently had babies. And I am not there for that either. My friend recently posted some pics of her daughter's birthday party and a bunch of our other friends and their kids were there. I love looking at the pics and seeing how they are all growing up - but at the same time, it's so hard. It's so hard that we aren't there and our kids aren't growing up right next to them. I don't know if this aspect gets any easier. The other hard part is we have NO clue when we will see them next. I really want to plan a visit to the States. I am so jealous of my friend from here who gets to go back every summer for about 3 weeks or a month!! That would make things so much easier on my end. If I knew that every year I would spend a month in Detroit (and St.Louis) and just get to see everyone and spend time with family and friends. I could handle that. Sadly, we are financially nowhere near a trip to the States. So I guess you all have to come visit us here!!
As I have been telling people....we love it here. We really are very happy and love living in Ariel, have a great community, are making friends, are slowly picking up the Hebrew, are really getting settled in. BUT we still miss our friends and family in the States. It's not one or the other, it's both. Loving it here doesn't make us miss everyone less. And missing everyone there doesn't make us not like it here.

So that's that.
I am going to try and write a small post about Yom HaZikaron and Yom Haatzmaut. But right now I have to get to work so I will try to write it another time.

Ok Adina, I blogged, now I want some more pics. Hehe! :)