Nope. But according to Israel National News after this latest storm front is finished we will have had the longest straight run of rain since 1994. Do you know how many days that is? 8! Yep, 8 as in EIGHT days of rain straight here is enough to tie or produce a record. Here is the link for the full scoop. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/149915#.Tsjs8D0k6so Good thing we are all stocked up on supplies. By that of course, I mean Starbucks Coffee, popcorn and movies. Food we can manage, it's not a snow storm. But when it rains, these 3 things are the essentials in my book! My sister might disagree on the coffee part, but I know I could get her to agree to hot chocolate from Starbucks! It seemed like when winter rolled around in our house, if we weren't off relieving my mom of parental duties by going skiing with our dad, our house could be found stocked with board games, instant hot chocolate and popcorn. So when it rains, that's what I get out at home here too! Our favorite game standard has been Candy Land, Y and M love the dream of really eating all that candy! However, I am rather pleased and excited to see that my kids are taking an interest in Scrabble. Of course basically this means fishing the tiles out of the box to see what we can spell, but Yeah! It's a start. I think we might have to wait just a bit longer to actually be able to keep score. It may not be Oregon, it's at least 25 degrees warmer here! But it's nice to have a little part of it here with us for a few days.
Hope everyone else is warm and dry too!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The case of the missing marmot
I love many things in this world, but there are 3 things that I look forward to at the end of the week. 1) On Friday morning I know that when I turn off the alarm I don't have to reset it for the next day, 2) I will have another episode the The Big Bang Theory to watch and 3) Saturday is sleep in day! This week did not quite go according to plan however. I did get two of three but Sat. was not a sleep in day. At 5:50 am Y was waking my up because his stuffed marmot, which is about 3 inches tall was missing. Marmot was a gift to Y from me a few years back came with a sister Pink Bunny Foo and a brother Husky, whom belong of course to his brother and sister. Marmot is specifically a Boy, although he has a skirt (must be kilt) and matching scarf. Marmot also has the ability to get lost in some usual such as roller blades, shoes and pockets. One day I may write stories about Marmots adventures of getting lost in our house. But back to our story. Now honestly, some days I can handle an early wake up call on Shabbat, this was not one of them. I had stayed up late reading thanks to my mom sending me the latest Steve Berry book and I had zonked out on the couch, with the light on of course, making for a not so solid sleep and some weird dreams. So here it was crack of dawn and Y is out of bed and asking me where marmot is. did I put him in bed with Y and some other related questions. To which I gave some partially coherent answers and tried to look around the couch. After an hour of searching on Y's part and some mild attempts on my part to pretend to look around while really trying to go back to sleep, Marmot was found in Y's bed after all hiding in the blankets. I did manage to back to bed, but 2 days later, sleep is still elusive. Thank G-d for Starbucks Instants!
Shavua Tov!
Shavua Tov!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
We're Home Schooling Now!
Although we are still waiting on our official ishur (permission form) to home school, I feel like we have officially become home schoolers on our own. Y is almost done with his K math book and S is coming along too. It makes sense though, 2nd grade math is a bit harder to digest then, connect the dot, color the carrot and 5+9. So all in all S is doing well. With Grammy and Grandpa here we got some great new resources, like a laminated map of the world (ours was looking pretty well used) and some math charts and a big clock to learn to tell time. Yeah! Plus we had more one on one time this way.
But beyond "book" accomplishments we have made strides in general. 2 weeks ago my kids received violins and a guitar from friends of ours whose kids had out grown them. Did you know that there are kid sized versions of these instruments? I didn't. On top of this, the oldest has offered to come out once a month and work with the kids on lessons. They have had one already. I know traditionally lessons are once a week, but as long as the kids follow the books and practice in between we should be good. Plus we have another friend that also plays and I may talk her into coming out the other week so we get lessons every other week. Grandpa played the guitar with the kids and we now have great recordings of the kids singing with the Grands. Really awesome!
And our other big accomplishment was our first home school field trip today! We went to the Israel National Museum with approx. 40 other kids and their parental unit. Mostly moms, but a couple of dads too! This activity I found out is mostly for the Israeli or Hebrew speaking crowd. But everyone spoke some English and the people were lovely. The kids were split into two groups and S was off and on his own. He loved it! I stayed with Y and though he missed his brother, did fine. Afterward each boy did an art project and did lovely work. I could go on about the day, but it would probably get boring and be disjointed because I would have to include a full report of what we saw and so on. So I will just give the highlights. What I noticed while we were there is that, in Y's age group the girls were way more socially ahead of the boys. Even though I would say ALL the kids knew each other and most had been there before, it took a while for any of the boys to speak up and then it was still more girls. Which tells me that Yosef, while shy is not so far off of his peers. I am sure that when we go in January (the next time they do this) he will be more open. S, my social butterfly was playing and talking with other boys by the days end and I am sure that he will have friends the next time we do something with the group. It was also great to observe the parents and how interactive they are with their kids. They sat on the floor with them during different stops we made at the exhibits, they let them do their own thing, but without letting them misbehave. The kids showed interest and were intelligent and thoughtful. I enjoyed watching how the parents interacted with their kids and how friendly they were. We were clearly the only "charedi" family there, but no one seemed worried or offended. The opposite of what you might find in other neighborhoods. Thinking about it later, what I finally realized is that, this is a group of parents that love being parents. They WANT to interact and teach their children things. It is not a chore, they aren't just doing this to get through winter or spring vacation or as a rare outing. These are parents who want to be there with kids who want to be there. Is there anything more beautiful? As trivial as it sounds I also loved that there was NO junk food! It was all sandwiches, veggies, fruit and so on. No one needed to bribe their kids with cookies or other junk to be quiet or behave. It was awesome!
But the other thing I realized is that I LOVE home schooling the kids. Yesterday we were out too. We had to go to the Misrad Chinuk for our interview to determine whether we qualify for home schooling or not. I will not get into it now. It is too late at night, but afterwards we rode the train, met up with GL and saw some neat things while running errands in Jerusalem. What I have realized in the last two days even more than I already have is that I LOVE being the one to teach my kids and explore with them. I love that we can go to Jerusalem to run errands and read about buildings from 1890 and the court yard has an ancient olive press and water wells. That I can walk with the kids and find someone cutting doors for a closet and they have learned something new. Walking to the museum we walked passed The Kennesset (our government buildings) and through a park where I pointed out edible plants. I am really hoping to include M next year, though the decision will be her's to make. In January we will for sure include her in the museum field trip. The only reason we didn't this time is that she already missed some school with the Grands. Good thing she went to school today too as tomorrow she gets to be Shabbos Eema, (Sabbath Mommy) so she gets to bring the treats to school.
Speaking of which, anyone who knows anything about Israel knows you don't go to the store on Thurs. or Fri. unless it is a dire emergency as it is total mayhem. Unfortunately, 3/4 of the country goes to the store at this time, which is why it is mayhem! Well we got home today just about the time M did. She beat us by about 5 minutes tops. Clever me, I went to the store right away before it got crowded so I could shop without a big crowd, I took M and it worked. We didn't need much but it was heavy so I had the boys come and we all carried our stuff home. Yeah! Just as soon as I sat down and started work M comes to me, Eema, I have a petach (a note from the teacher) I'm Shabbos Eema. Oh Joy! Back to the store! My question of course was why didn't you say anything at the store? Her answer, because I just gave you the petach. GREAT! In the end I went back out around 5:30pish and I was able to get through the express with no problems. But oh such a kid thing! I know my sister did it to my mom once and she went out at night in her jeans and jammies to get cupcakes or something. All she had was the money in her pocket when she got pulled over for a headlight out. Fortunately the cop had kids ad a sense of humor and didn't make a big deal out of the no headlight, license, etc and she was able to go to the store and come home. Good thing WE live next door to our store!
But going back to my original statement. I feel like we are really home schooling! Every day is a learning experience and I feel like we have reached another plateau. Ask me how I feel next week when we are back at traditional math and I may not feel so cheery! But for now, we are all happy. And as for M, we do work with her. She likes to do math and spelling. They loved picking a letter and listing everything that starts with that letter. They had some good ones too! We also did some great spelling with Paul Newman ABC cookies. I want to get out our Scrabble game over shabbat and see what they can spell with more tiles that they can't eat! M will also be getting violin and guitar lessons as well.
As usual I have said probably too much and more to say, but this is all for now. For your sake and mine!
Have a good weekend and GO DUCKS! (Because it is that time of year again!) Eema needs a new BCS ornament. Mine broke right off the shoot this year!
But beyond "book" accomplishments we have made strides in general. 2 weeks ago my kids received violins and a guitar from friends of ours whose kids had out grown them. Did you know that there are kid sized versions of these instruments? I didn't. On top of this, the oldest has offered to come out once a month and work with the kids on lessons. They have had one already. I know traditionally lessons are once a week, but as long as the kids follow the books and practice in between we should be good. Plus we have another friend that also plays and I may talk her into coming out the other week so we get lessons every other week. Grandpa played the guitar with the kids and we now have great recordings of the kids singing with the Grands. Really awesome!
And our other big accomplishment was our first home school field trip today! We went to the Israel National Museum with approx. 40 other kids and their parental unit. Mostly moms, but a couple of dads too! This activity I found out is mostly for the Israeli or Hebrew speaking crowd. But everyone spoke some English and the people were lovely. The kids were split into two groups and S was off and on his own. He loved it! I stayed with Y and though he missed his brother, did fine. Afterward each boy did an art project and did lovely work. I could go on about the day, but it would probably get boring and be disjointed because I would have to include a full report of what we saw and so on. So I will just give the highlights. What I noticed while we were there is that, in Y's age group the girls were way more socially ahead of the boys. Even though I would say ALL the kids knew each other and most had been there before, it took a while for any of the boys to speak up and then it was still more girls. Which tells me that Yosef, while shy is not so far off of his peers. I am sure that when we go in January (the next time they do this) he will be more open. S, my social butterfly was playing and talking with other boys by the days end and I am sure that he will have friends the next time we do something with the group. It was also great to observe the parents and how interactive they are with their kids. They sat on the floor with them during different stops we made at the exhibits, they let them do their own thing, but without letting them misbehave. The kids showed interest and were intelligent and thoughtful. I enjoyed watching how the parents interacted with their kids and how friendly they were. We were clearly the only "charedi" family there, but no one seemed worried or offended. The opposite of what you might find in other neighborhoods. Thinking about it later, what I finally realized is that, this is a group of parents that love being parents. They WANT to interact and teach their children things. It is not a chore, they aren't just doing this to get through winter or spring vacation or as a rare outing. These are parents who want to be there with kids who want to be there. Is there anything more beautiful? As trivial as it sounds I also loved that there was NO junk food! It was all sandwiches, veggies, fruit and so on. No one needed to bribe their kids with cookies or other junk to be quiet or behave. It was awesome!
But the other thing I realized is that I LOVE home schooling the kids. Yesterday we were out too. We had to go to the Misrad Chinuk for our interview to determine whether we qualify for home schooling or not. I will not get into it now. It is too late at night, but afterwards we rode the train, met up with GL and saw some neat things while running errands in Jerusalem. What I have realized in the last two days even more than I already have is that I LOVE being the one to teach my kids and explore with them. I love that we can go to Jerusalem to run errands and read about buildings from 1890 and the court yard has an ancient olive press and water wells. That I can walk with the kids and find someone cutting doors for a closet and they have learned something new. Walking to the museum we walked passed The Kennesset (our government buildings) and through a park where I pointed out edible plants. I am really hoping to include M next year, though the decision will be her's to make. In January we will for sure include her in the museum field trip. The only reason we didn't this time is that she already missed some school with the Grands. Good thing she went to school today too as tomorrow she gets to be Shabbos Eema, (Sabbath Mommy) so she gets to bring the treats to school.
Speaking of which, anyone who knows anything about Israel knows you don't go to the store on Thurs. or Fri. unless it is a dire emergency as it is total mayhem. Unfortunately, 3/4 of the country goes to the store at this time, which is why it is mayhem! Well we got home today just about the time M did. She beat us by about 5 minutes tops. Clever me, I went to the store right away before it got crowded so I could shop without a big crowd, I took M and it worked. We didn't need much but it was heavy so I had the boys come and we all carried our stuff home. Yeah! Just as soon as I sat down and started work M comes to me, Eema, I have a petach (a note from the teacher) I'm Shabbos Eema. Oh Joy! Back to the store! My question of course was why didn't you say anything at the store? Her answer, because I just gave you the petach. GREAT! In the end I went back out around 5:30pish and I was able to get through the express with no problems. But oh such a kid thing! I know my sister did it to my mom once and she went out at night in her jeans and jammies to get cupcakes or something. All she had was the money in her pocket when she got pulled over for a headlight out. Fortunately the cop had kids ad a sense of humor and didn't make a big deal out of the no headlight, license, etc and she was able to go to the store and come home. Good thing WE live next door to our store!
But going back to my original statement. I feel like we are really home schooling! Every day is a learning experience and I feel like we have reached another plateau. Ask me how I feel next week when we are back at traditional math and I may not feel so cheery! But for now, we are all happy. And as for M, we do work with her. She likes to do math and spelling. They loved picking a letter and listing everything that starts with that letter. They had some good ones too! We also did some great spelling with Paul Newman ABC cookies. I want to get out our Scrabble game over shabbat and see what they can spell with more tiles that they can't eat! M will also be getting violin and guitar lessons as well.
As usual I have said probably too much and more to say, but this is all for now. For your sake and mine!
Have a good weekend and GO DUCKS! (Because it is that time of year again!) Eema needs a new BCS ornament. Mine broke right off the shoot this year!
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
In the J5 News Today....Company!
Mostly right now we lots of company visiting! Today Grammy and Grandpa arrived and it was even better because we totally surprised the kids! Grammy and Grandpa were supposed to arrive a few weeks ago right after the holidays on the 23rd, however, due to circumstances beyond their control they got stuck half way here and had to go home. The one challenge to flying space available. It was very disappointing and there was a lot of crying involved. So 2 days ago we got a call asking if they could try again, everything looked real good and B"H! Here they are. We opted not to say anything to the kids lest something go wrong again, so when they pulled up to the house today there was a lot of shrieking from S. We could hear him 4 flights up! The kids had gone out to play and the twins had come up already, but S was still there. Well it didn't take much to catch the ears of the other two as we could hear S all the way up the stairs, "Grammy and Grandpa are here!" It was a lot of fun, but unfortunately no pics! Rats!
We also have friends here from Portland. Hurray! B&G are here for a family wedding which we will also be attending. They were here for 1/2 a day on Sunday and a good time was had by all! We made stir fry and had a great dinner! We also got the kids to the park to burn off some extra energy!
Due to all the excitement home school has been a little slow this week, but tomorrow we will get back on track with extra hands to help out some! We also got some pretty neat math tools for school including Scooby Doo math books! I have a feeling math will look pretty cool tomorrow! Next Wed. we have our appointment with the Ministry of Education in Jerusalem so we are very excited and looking forward to that so we get our Ishur (official approval to home school) and move on with things in that end! In other home school news, KERITH!!!! Thanks for getting in touch! I hope to hear more from you! GL said she would put me in touch with you, so I hope that is OK! Can't wait to hear about your adventures in home schooling.
As it is 11:00pm here I think I will be calling it a day. Lots done, but again, so much left to do..but tomorrow is another day and I will have help to get it all done!
All the best,
Love,
The busy mommy of TheJ5!
We also have friends here from Portland. Hurray! B&G are here for a family wedding which we will also be attending. They were here for 1/2 a day on Sunday and a good time was had by all! We made stir fry and had a great dinner! We also got the kids to the park to burn off some extra energy!
Due to all the excitement home school has been a little slow this week, but tomorrow we will get back on track with extra hands to help out some! We also got some pretty neat math tools for school including Scooby Doo math books! I have a feeling math will look pretty cool tomorrow! Next Wed. we have our appointment with the Ministry of Education in Jerusalem so we are very excited and looking forward to that so we get our Ishur (official approval to home school) and move on with things in that end! In other home school news, KERITH!!!! Thanks for getting in touch! I hope to hear more from you! GL said she would put me in touch with you, so I hope that is OK! Can't wait to hear about your adventures in home schooling.
As it is 11:00pm here I think I will be calling it a day. Lots done, but again, so much left to do..but tomorrow is another day and I will have help to get it all done!
All the best,
Love,
The busy mommy of TheJ5!
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Another Day Gone!
Today was another busy day. Part of our school day was spent making sure our house was in order as we had our meeting the Misrad Chinuk (Ministry of Education) from Jerusalem today. The head inspector came out to meet with us and was here for about an hour and 15 min. It was a great meeting and we really enjoyed meeting with him. The boys and I had met with him at the beginning of the school year briefly so I had a sense of what he was like, but we were really happy with the meeting today. We got a lot of really useful information and I think we have found a great source of support for this endeavor. Hurray! Because our learning was a bit disjointed today we did not accomplish as much as I would have liked, but we did get somethings done and that is what counts. I have to remember that compared to things here, the kids in some ways are quite ahead of their counterparts.
In my own work, I accomplished a lot, though my feelings about the kids school day are reflected in my opinion of my own day. I wish I would have gotten more done. I don't always seem to be able to write fast enough to make the time I spend working equitable to my pay rate and it is frustrating. But I have decided that I am putting my all into it for the next month and at the end of the month I can re-evaluate where I am standing in terms of other work opportunities. As my mom pointed out, and I already know, I need this to work, because I don't have a lot of other choices at this point. But I believe that G-d will help me I just have to be patient and do my end of the work. So I am. I did not get to my book today, but tomorrow is another day at since it is midnight here, it will have to wait until then.
With D working on his own projects I am sure that something will come to us soon. Tomorrow D will be heading out to "play." Our friends from PDX are here for a wedding, which we will also be attending. UB is also a big bike rider so the boys are off to play tomorrow. Hurray! D needs a good friend to go out with. It will do him good to have a change of scenery and do something he loves with a good friend.
Speaking of weddings........ so in Israel, wedding attire is as formal or casual as you want. Since the groom is a very good friend of ours I have opted for seriously formal. The reasoning is that we may be in pics and I know what the family attire will resemble. So rather than having to spend $$$ I don't have on a new outfit, my mom sent me my dress from my sister's wedding. It was a bridesmaid dress, but when we bought them (I and the other bridesmaid actually talked my sister into them) she was worried that we wouldn't be able to wear them again, we assured her it was worth the sacrifice, they are great dresses, and we would be able to wear them again. So unless I change my mind, I will be wearing my fabulous dress again in just a few weeks! The best part of course is that the dress is 11 years old and since then I have had 3 kids and the dress still fits fantastic! Do I rock or what?! I tried it on and the kids were in shock and awe that eema could look so great, but M was a bit disappointed that it wasn't pink (it is dark navy blue) and she was sure it would be. But once I got it on she seemed OK with it! Oh my little princess!
Actually speaking of our resident princess, we are going to have to keep an eye on her. At the mall where the post office is there is a new jewelry kiosk. Today she was checking out the rings with some serious intent and it took some convincing to get her walk away. When we gave our littler girl her name we new it meant queen, but we had no idea what a little queen she would be! She is going to grow up being quite the little diva if we are not careful! She loves jewelery!
That is it for us here in beautiful Israel. Hope you all have a blessed and fulfilling day!
In my own work, I accomplished a lot, though my feelings about the kids school day are reflected in my opinion of my own day. I wish I would have gotten more done. I don't always seem to be able to write fast enough to make the time I spend working equitable to my pay rate and it is frustrating. But I have decided that I am putting my all into it for the next month and at the end of the month I can re-evaluate where I am standing in terms of other work opportunities. As my mom pointed out, and I already know, I need this to work, because I don't have a lot of other choices at this point. But I believe that G-d will help me I just have to be patient and do my end of the work. So I am. I did not get to my book today, but tomorrow is another day at since it is midnight here, it will have to wait until then.
With D working on his own projects I am sure that something will come to us soon. Tomorrow D will be heading out to "play." Our friends from PDX are here for a wedding, which we will also be attending. UB is also a big bike rider so the boys are off to play tomorrow. Hurray! D needs a good friend to go out with. It will do him good to have a change of scenery and do something he loves with a good friend.
Speaking of weddings........ so in Israel, wedding attire is as formal or casual as you want. Since the groom is a very good friend of ours I have opted for seriously formal. The reasoning is that we may be in pics and I know what the family attire will resemble. So rather than having to spend $$$ I don't have on a new outfit, my mom sent me my dress from my sister's wedding. It was a bridesmaid dress, but when we bought them (I and the other bridesmaid actually talked my sister into them) she was worried that we wouldn't be able to wear them again, we assured her it was worth the sacrifice, they are great dresses, and we would be able to wear them again. So unless I change my mind, I will be wearing my fabulous dress again in just a few weeks! The best part of course is that the dress is 11 years old and since then I have had 3 kids and the dress still fits fantastic! Do I rock or what?! I tried it on and the kids were in shock and awe that eema could look so great, but M was a bit disappointed that it wasn't pink (it is dark navy blue) and she was sure it would be. But once I got it on she seemed OK with it! Oh my little princess!
Actually speaking of our resident princess, we are going to have to keep an eye on her. At the mall where the post office is there is a new jewelry kiosk. Today she was checking out the rings with some serious intent and it took some convincing to get her walk away. When we gave our littler girl her name we new it meant queen, but we had no idea what a little queen she would be! She is going to grow up being quite the little diva if we are not careful! She loves jewelery!
That is it for us here in beautiful Israel. Hope you all have a blessed and fulfilling day!
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
A Little Better Today
Today went a bit better. Y did great in school and had his first spelling test. 3 words and he got them all right! S did not do so well. I am looking at it as win some, lose some. He does ask questions about some topics like Torah, and I know he wants to learn, but the motivation is not always there. I had the meeting with M's teachers today and it lasted nearly an hour. She is doing fine and does great in class. She has a very special connection with 2 other girls in the class and the are inseparable. It is good to hear. They want us to make a video of her at home so they can see the difference between what she is like at home and at school. It is quite different. At school she is quiet and whispers, but once she gets home she is very loud and outgoing. This will help her teachers see what her true personality is so they can strike a balance in encouraging her to talk more. Right now she whispers, but then that is coming a long way for her.
Tomorrow we have our visit with the Ministry of Education from Jerusalem and the "Ispector" that is his title, but I think that it translates funny to English. Anyway, he is a very nice person, we have met with him once already and he will see our house, meet with the boys and be here about a half hour. About 11:00am, so this is good. We tend to move a bit slow in the morning so we should be in full swing then and the house will still be organized or we will have time tidy up before he does get here! This also gives me a chance to ask some questions about how to deal with the situation here, since we have our 2nd meeting with the Ministry of Education here on Thursday.
As for me, well, I am trying to get myself together. I keep forgetting or losing everything! Yesterday I thought I lost my wallet from my jacket pocket, it turns out I never took it out of the house.... I forget to take laundry out or take pills. I feel like I am going crazy! I have so much I would like to accomplish each day and I feel like I am only succeeding at about 1/2. But now that the holidays are over, school is in and we have hopefully fewer distractions I am back at it. My big goals are to balance out my work more and get more hours, continue working on my book, and get the kids out to their friends more often. I also have to deal with some Ntl. Health insurance issues by the end of this month, so time is ticking there too! I also want to get the kids more involved with chores. S has learned how to cook spaghetti and eggs now. So more progress and a part of our un-schooling portion of home education. I don't feel like I am not organized, I really feel I am, but the kids tend to start late with school and run over. I think it is a matter of getting them back to starting on time and sticking within a time frame for subjects. I also need to go back to lists so I can check things off and so I know what I can do while standing in line at the grocery or riding the bus. In other words, writing while standing in line at the store is a good thing, writing on the bus is bad, I get really motion sick. (I blame it on kids and age! I used to be invincible at that stuff!). But calling on the cell phone in a 2 hour line is not good, it racks up minutes and you can't hear. But calling people on the bus is good, it is an automatic time limiter and I can hear, usually. So little things like that. We also go out to the park almost every day with our neighbors which is great, but I need set time boundaries, except I can't help it because it is great for the kids and I love talking SG. We have a great time together. So all of this is causing me stress which I am also learning how to handle it all.
In frivolity I am anxiously awaiting January 27th as that is opening of the movie One For The Money based on the book by Janet Evanovich. I love the series, and although I have been worried about the movie, now that I have seen the trailer, I am getting excited. I have even secured a girls night out for the event! I just hope that it opens here in Israel on Jan. 27th as well. In the meantime I am also awaiting book 18 from the same series. As I always say, I know these books are not rocket science, but I love them. I deal with enough brain cracking in real life. This is my happy land and ranks right up there with The Big Bang Theory. Possible the best sitcom ever! If I want intellect I only have to turn on the news or spend a couple of hours teaching my kids and looking up solar systems, the animal of the month, or something else I never really thought about how to explain to a 5 and nearly 8 year old.
Because it is 11:17pm I have nothing intelligent to say, I could talk about my trip to the store with D, but I will spare you. It is a big thing for us as D never comes with me, but considering the fact that I bought box cereal and two bags of snacks because they were "on sale", maybe it is better he doesn't come with me. I guess all in all that brings the world up to date on the non-eventful life of the J5. Hope you all had a great day too!
Tomorrow we have our visit with the Ministry of Education from Jerusalem and the "Ispector" that is his title, but I think that it translates funny to English. Anyway, he is a very nice person, we have met with him once already and he will see our house, meet with the boys and be here about a half hour. About 11:00am, so this is good. We tend to move a bit slow in the morning so we should be in full swing then and the house will still be organized or we will have time tidy up before he does get here! This also gives me a chance to ask some questions about how to deal with the situation here, since we have our 2nd meeting with the Ministry of Education here on Thursday.
As for me, well, I am trying to get myself together. I keep forgetting or losing everything! Yesterday I thought I lost my wallet from my jacket pocket, it turns out I never took it out of the house.... I forget to take laundry out or take pills. I feel like I am going crazy! I have so much I would like to accomplish each day and I feel like I am only succeeding at about 1/2. But now that the holidays are over, school is in and we have hopefully fewer distractions I am back at it. My big goals are to balance out my work more and get more hours, continue working on my book, and get the kids out to their friends more often. I also have to deal with some Ntl. Health insurance issues by the end of this month, so time is ticking there too! I also want to get the kids more involved with chores. S has learned how to cook spaghetti and eggs now. So more progress and a part of our un-schooling portion of home education. I don't feel like I am not organized, I really feel I am, but the kids tend to start late with school and run over. I think it is a matter of getting them back to starting on time and sticking within a time frame for subjects. I also need to go back to lists so I can check things off and so I know what I can do while standing in line at the grocery or riding the bus. In other words, writing while standing in line at the store is a good thing, writing on the bus is bad, I get really motion sick. (I blame it on kids and age! I used to be invincible at that stuff!). But calling on the cell phone in a 2 hour line is not good, it racks up minutes and you can't hear. But calling people on the bus is good, it is an automatic time limiter and I can hear, usually. So little things like that. We also go out to the park almost every day with our neighbors which is great, but I need set time boundaries, except I can't help it because it is great for the kids and I love talking SG. We have a great time together. So all of this is causing me stress which I am also learning how to handle it all.
In frivolity I am anxiously awaiting January 27th as that is opening of the movie One For The Money based on the book by Janet Evanovich. I love the series, and although I have been worried about the movie, now that I have seen the trailer, I am getting excited. I have even secured a girls night out for the event! I just hope that it opens here in Israel on Jan. 27th as well. In the meantime I am also awaiting book 18 from the same series. As I always say, I know these books are not rocket science, but I love them. I deal with enough brain cracking in real life. This is my happy land and ranks right up there with The Big Bang Theory. Possible the best sitcom ever! If I want intellect I only have to turn on the news or spend a couple of hours teaching my kids and looking up solar systems, the animal of the month, or something else I never really thought about how to explain to a 5 and nearly 8 year old.
Because it is 11:17pm I have nothing intelligent to say, I could talk about my trip to the store with D, but I will spare you. It is a big thing for us as D never comes with me, but considering the fact that I bought box cereal and two bags of snacks because they were "on sale", maybe it is better he doesn't come with me. I guess all in all that brings the world up to date on the non-eventful life of the J5. Hope you all had a great day too!
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